Our heavenly Father encourages his children to put off sin by delivering strong warnings in Scripture (Hebrews 6:4–8; 10:26–31). But he also motivates us to put on holiness by drawing from our assurances, like in 1 John 3:2a–3:

we know that when he [Christ] appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

This assurance takes root in the life of a believer that is convinced that his or her future is bound inseparably to the presence of Christ. When we know that our personal future is wholly bound up in Christ, we strive to make purity a habit now.

And the passage is written to those who will purify thems…

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If we are called to battle depression together as brothers and sisters in Christ, we must all strive for understanding and compassion. We recently asked Ed Welch, a biblical counselor at CCEF who specializes in these matters, what role antidepressant medications can and should play. In the following clip he answers the question and concludes with a challenge to pastors (and really to everyone in the church who seeks to care for those suffering from depression) to magnify Christ and to maintain focus on the life and hope we have in him. Here's what he said:

Ed Welch is a speaker at our upcoming National Conference. Visit the event page to learn more and register.

For more on the theme …

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In 1954, speaking of spiritual depression, Martyn Lloyd-Jones said, "I have no hesitation in asserting that one of the reasons why the Christian Church counts for so little in the modern world is that so many Christians are in this condition."

It's striking to hear of how common the struggle was in his day. Depression is no stranger to the great leaders in church history (in fact, it affected quite a lot of them), but neither is depression uncommon in the church today.

So what do we, as a church, do about it? We recently asked biblical counselor Ed Welch. Here's what he said.

Ed Welch is a speaker at our upcoming National Conference. Visit the event page to learn more and register.

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Sinful anger is toxic. It corrodes marriages, churches, and workplaces. No relationship is immune from its power. And for many Christians the battle against anger is a prominent battlefront in the fight for personal holiness. So what’s at the heart of sinful anger? We asked biblical counselor David Powlison this question in our recent trip to the CCEF in Philadelphia. Here’s what he said:

For more on this topic see —

• David Powlison, booklet, Anger: Escaping the Maze
• David Powlison, booklet, You Make Me So Mad! Managing Your Anger
• Robert Jones, book, Uprooting Anger: Biblical Help for a Common Problem

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Other videos from our trip to CCEF and Westminster Theological Seminary —

• Is…

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Is progressive sanctification complex or simple? We asked biblical counselor David Powlison in our recent trip to the CCEF in Philadelphia. Progressive sanctification is impossibly complicated, he said. And yet there's a biblical simplicity that addresses the complexities of life. In this video clip, he explains this complexity-simplicity dynamic:

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Other videos from our trip to CCEF and Westminster Theological Seminary —

• How Christ Died To Sin, And Why It Matters (Richard Gaffin)
• Learning About Sanctification From Fyodor Dostoyevsky (David Powlison)
• Why Pornography Robs a Man of His Humanness (Ed Welch)
• The Blessed Struggle Against Fear and Anxiety (Ed Welch)
• God's Aim in Elect…

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Over 50 million unborn lives have been snuffed out through the dark work of abortion since 1973. That’s 3,000 children each day in the United States alone. To bring this stat closer to home (or into your home), as many as 1 in 3 American women will have an abortion in their lifetime. Despite these horrific numbers, the abortion industry in the United States remains wealthy, vocal, and persistent.

Tonight the president of Planned Parenthood will take center stage on national television, certain to disguise the evil of abortion as a woman’s health issue.

But we are right to ask, Who stands for the health and human rights of unborn women in the womb?

In light of the power and influence o…

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Our Savior died for sin, and he died for sinners. But Christ also died to sin (Romans 6:10) — a curious point Paul makes in a chapter loaded with implications for our personal pursuit of holiness.

So what does it mean that Christ died to sin? And why does it matter for our battle against personal sin? During our recent trip to Philadelphia we asked Richard Gaffin, a respected Bible teacher at Westminster Theological Seminary. This is what he said:

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Other videos from our trip to CCEF and Westminster Theological Seminary —

• Learning About Sanctification From Fyodor Dostoyevsky (David Powlison)
• Why Pornography Robs a Man of His Humanness (Ed Welch)
• The Blessed Struggle Against Fear a…

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David Powlison is a biblical counselor, and he is also an avid reader of the 19th-century Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky. Those two facts are not disconnected, as we discovered in our recent trip to Philadelphia and CCEF. In this 5-minute video, Powlison tells us what he’s learned about sanctification and ministry from the writings of Dostoyevsky.

 

Recently published videos from our CCEF trip:

• Why Pornography Robs a Man of His Humanness (Ed Welch)
• The Blessed Struggle Against Fear and Anxiety (Ed Welch)
• God's Aim in Election, and Our Personal Holiness (Richard Gaffin)

“Jesus never intended that the enjoyment of his presence would replace the enjoyment of the presence of Christian friends,” says John Piper in his most recent sermon on 2 Timothy 4:9–12. Although we have an infallible Savior, we still have need of our fickle, fallen, finite, fallible, and failing friends, a point Piper makes in this 5-minute clip:

 

This clip was taken from John Piper’s sermon: “He Stood by Me and Strengthened Me for the Sake of the Gospel” (2 Timothy 4:9–12).

In the shadow of his death, Paul asked Timothy to bring him his books (2 Timothy 4:13). In the following clip from his most recent sermon, John Piper explains the significance of this request. “Form the habit of reading now,” Piper says, “and never think you will outgrow it as you approach the grave.”

This clip was taken from John Piper’s sermon: “He Stood by Me and Strengthened Me for the Sake of the Gospel” (2 Timothy 4:9–12).