Pastor, there are three things John Piper would say to you about your ministry.

Three things that he has said before, at a conference in Phoenix in 2006. Three things: make God central in your heart, central in your thinking, central in your preaching.

And the reason God is central in all these things is because God is central to our joy.

Stream or download all three messages of "Brothers — Feel, Think, Preach God" ...

• Feel (Part 1)
• Think (Part 2)
• Preach (Part 3)

For an idea of the series, I commend up to the 6:41 mark in Part 1:

"Defending the Faith in the Public Arena" — this is the topic of John Piper's message delivered at a 2004 gathering of the National Religious Broadcasters. We recently obtained this audio and commend it to you now. Its relevance hasn't waned.

Piper's approach in two parts:

1. To illustrate the increasingly public nature of the issue of the supremacy of God and ponder how we should respond for the sake of defending the gospel.
2. To answer the charge that God’s self-exalting purposes are a character defect and to draw out from this answer some implications for the defense of the Christian faith in the media.

Stream or download the message.

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Recent posts from "Expository Exultation…

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Caiaphas schemed against Jesus (John 11:49–53). It was horrible. It was injustice.

And yet, the whole thing was God's loving set of events he planned for good. God was up to something bigger. It was for the salvation of you and me.

John Piper recently led a short devotional on this theme with the friends and staff of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association in Charlotte, NC.

Stream or download the 24-minute audio.

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P. S. One notable part of the audio is the warm introduction by 89-year old saint Cliff Barrows. Barrows was a friend of Pastor John's father, the late Bill Piper, and comments that he actually burped Pastor John as a baby back in the 1940s. . . . (yes, that…

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The newest episode of Theology Refresh features a discussion with Russell Moore on the person of Christ.

The doctrine of the person of Jesus — fully God, fully man, one person with two natures — has everything to do with how we live.

In this 14-minute audio Moore encourages pastors that Jesus is with us, that he really does shoulder with us everything it means to be human.

Stream or download the podcast.

[Subscribe to Theology Refresh through iTunes.]

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Recent Theology Refresh podcasts —

• John Piper on the Celebrity Factor and Pastoral Ministry
• Ray Ortlund on Union with Christ
• Jared Wilson on the Doctrine of the Trinity

The newest Theology Refresh features a discussion with Ray Ortlund on the doctrine of union with Christ.

As one writer explains, "Union with Christ is theological shorthand for the gospel itself — a key image that pulls together numerous motifs in the biblical witness" (J. Todd Billings, Union with Christ). It's perhaps the least likely of all doctrines to stifle in the abstract. Saturating the writings of Paul, union with Christ changes everything in how we conceive of ourselves and minister to others.

Stream or download the 15-minute audio.

Recommended resources on union with Christ:

• Circle of Strength, by Raymond Ortlund, Sr.
• Saved by Grace, Anthony Hoekema
• Doctrine of the Chr…

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The Athanasian Creed begins "we worship one God in Trinity, and Trinity in unity;
Neither blending his persons: nor dividing his essence."

This is not a truth for the classroom. The Lord is the holy one-and-three. It is who he is. It is what it means to be God. And it has implications for how the Christian lives.

In this newest episode of Theology Refresh — the theological podcast designed for pastors as a refresher on important biblical doctrines — David Mathis and Jared Wilson discuss the doctrine of the Trinity.

Stream or download the podcast.

[Subscribe to Theology Refresh through iTunes.]

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• John Piper on the Celebrity Factor and Pastoral Ministry
• Paul Miller on the Doctri…

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"To treasure Jesus more greatly and savor his power more sweetly" — that's the experience behind the phrase and title of Jared Wilson's newest book, Gospel Wakefulness. David Mathis recently interviewed Jared about the book:

Time markers:

00:45 — Are we experiencing a "gospel renaissance" in our day?

02:40 — How does your book related to this "renaissance?"

04:40 — What is the gospel?

06:12 — What do you mean by the phrase "gospel wakefulness?"

08:05 — How does "gospel wakefulness" relate to conversion?

11:25 — Why do you consider this a helpful category?

13:54 — What is your story of "gospel wakefulness?"

21:35 — What would you say to someone battling depression?

26:04 — The go…

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The supremacy of God, in the words of Louis Berkhof, means "[God] rules as King in the most absolute sense of the word, and all things are dependent on him and subservient to him." God reigns. That's the point. God reigns in all things.

Back in 1997 John Piper gave a series of three messages on this theme — expounding God's supremacy in preaching, prayer, and missions.

Stream or download the messages:

• The Supremacy of God in Preaching
• The Supremacy of God in Prayer
• The Supremacy of God in Missions

The third message on missions is particularly special as Pastor John honors his late father, Bill Piper, who was in attendance to hear him preach.

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Recent posts from "Expository E…

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Adultolesence is the modern phenomenon in growing up where full adulthood is delayed by procrastinating responsibilities. It has caught the attention of many sociologists over the past decade as it sweeps through college campuses, being no respecter of students, Christian or non-Christian.

A few weeks ago Pastor John spoke to a group of college students facing this encroaching cultural fog. The goal: get a deep, unshakable, holy ambition for your life. One that is so strong that it enables a full leap over adultolescence.

Starting with Romans 15:18-24, Pastor John unfolds the biblical picture of what it means to not waste your life, or stated positively, how to live with a holy ambition…

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Is it hero worship or holy emulation? What are the dynamics that factor into the differences between true-hearted appreciation and unhealthy veneration?

The issue of a "celebrity" status among evangelical pastors has been the topic of some recent discussion. This new episode of Theology Refresh — a podcast for pastors hosted by David Mathis — interviews John Piper on how he has thought through this important subject.

Stream or download the interview.

[Subscribe to Theology Refresh through iTunes.]

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Recent Theology Refresh podcasts —

• Paul Miller on the Doctrine of Prayer
• Jerry Rankin on the Great Commission
• John Piper on the Gospel and Sanctification (Part 2)