Sustained by the Faithfulness of God …
The freedom of God in the calling of sinners gives us hope. No one is too bad. No one is too hard. No one is too far gone. God is free.
1 Corinthians 1
Christ Did Not Send Me to Baptize …
Baptism is an act of obedience to the command of Jesus (Matthew 28:19, 20). And for that very reason it should never divert our attention away from Christ onto a man. It should express our desire to rely on Christ alone for salvation and to boast only in him.
The Nature of the Unity We Seek …
Sunday Evening Message
We should aim at full doctrinal unity and full heart unity.
Christian Unity and the Cross …
The cross undermines the deepest basis of disunity and lays a new foundation for unity.
Let the One Who Boasts Boast in the Lord …
Reflections on a People and Their Preacher
God Called Us into Life and Hope …
The call of God is effective; it creates what it commands.
Consider Your Calling …
God’s love for his people is so rich and full that they need the Holy Spirit's help to really feel it.
Let Him Who Boasts Boast in the Lord! …
God's purpose in creating man and saving sinners is that we might boast in him.
1 Corinthians 2
The Wisdom of Men and the Power of God …
John Piper's Installation
In his first sermon as pastor at Bethlehem, John Piper explains the source of his authority and the reason for his fear.
The Present Power of Christ Crucified …
The cross is not a mere event in history; it's a way of life!
The Wisdom We Speak …
The remedy for the darkness of man's mind is not mindlessness but light.
How the Spirit Helps Us Understand …
The first and most fundamental work of God's Spirit in the life of the natural man is to shatter pride.
Natural People and Spiritual People …
Without the Spirit, we are so rebellious against the Lord that we cannot recognize the truth and beauty of a crucified Christ.
Joy Exchanged and Joy Forfeited …
We have exchanged our joy for the dead-end street of judgment.
1 Corinthians 3
Planting a Passion for God: A Dream for Bethlehem in 2002 …
A Call to Focused Prayer, Soul-Searching, and a Church-Wide Dream
The Danger of Being Merely Human …
There is a group of people whom Paul calls not spiritual and not natural, but "fleshly," or "babes in Christ."
Let God Be All in This Building! …
It's the absence of the centrality of the biblical God in all of life that is leading to the collapse of our civilization.
Let Christ Be All in This Building! …
Let us be vigilant to keep Christ as the foundation of our church.
How Much Do You Own? …
For those who live to spread my praise to all nations, says the Lord, nothing shall be lacking.
All Things Are Yours …
Bethlehem College and Seminary Commencement
Minneapolis, MN
1 Corinthians 4
Battling the Unbelief of a Haughty Spirit …
The battle against pride is the battle against unbelief. The fight for humility is the fight of faith.
Sustained by All His Grace …
Unpacking the Master Planning Team Document
All things are by his grace because all things are for his glory. The all-sufficient, inexhaustible Giver gets the glory.
Compassion, Power, and the Kingdom of God: An Introduction …
What is the nature of the kingdom of God? And what is the "power" that the kingdom exerts now in the church?
1 Corinthians 5
How Satan Saves the Soul …
Jesus is Satan's ruler, and he uses him to save and sanctify his people.
The Nature of the Christian Life …
John Piper uncovers the argument behind Paul's appeal to walk in newness of life.
1 Corinthians 6
I Will Not Be Enslaved by Anything …
Preserve your freedom in Christ! Can you say with Paul, "I will not be enslaved by anything!"?
The Claims of the New Life in Christ …
John Piper uncovers the argument behind Paul's appeal to glorify God in your body.
You Were Bought with a Price …
Glorify God with Your Bodies
Christianity has to do with everything your body has to do with—food and sex and sleep and talking and playing and working.
1 Corinthians 7
Satan Uses Sexual Desire …
When you battle with sexual temptation, you battle against Satan.
Sexual Intimacy and the Rights Over a Spouse's Body in Marriage …
Thoughts on the Application of 1 Corinthians 7:3–5
How can married couples break the sexual stalemate that Paul puts them in?
Your Job As Ministry …
How you do your job is an essential part of Christian discipleship.
Let Christians Vote As Though They Were Not Voting …
How should our thoughts on voting be affected by the age to come?
1 Corinthians 8
Think Hard, Stay Humble: The Life of the Mind and the Peril of Pride …
Desiring God 2010 National Conference
Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God
1 Corinthians 9
Becoming All Things to All Men to Save Some …
Until the wrath of God figures as largely in our worldview as it did for Paul, we will not have the passion for evangelism that he had.
Olympic Spirituality, Part 1 …
Beyond the Gold
The way you run your race and fight your fight will make the difference between sharing in the promises of the gospel or being disqualified.
Olympic Spirituality, Part 2 …
How Then Shall We Run?
Eternal life hangs on the way we run and the way we fight.
1 Corinthians 10
Avoiding Sexual Sin …
Northwestern College Chapel
Twin Cities, MN
The Sovereignty of God and the Sin of the Believer …
A Note on 1 Corinthians 10:13
When we give in to temptation is that ultimately self-determination or God's sovereign will?
Idolatry, the Lord's Supper, and the Body of Christ …
The Lord's Supper exists to deepen and strengthen our participation in the benefits of the cross and to nourish our fellowship with Christ.
The Joyful Duty of Man …
In sharing the truth of Christianity, Truth #1 is that God created us for HIS glory. Truth #2 is that this is, therefore, the duty of every man and woman and child—to live for the glory of God. And the wonderful thing is that this duty is not a burden. It is freedom and joy.
1 Corinthians 11
The New Covenant and the New Covenant People …
The covenant that makes us belong to God makes us belong to each other.
Why and How We Celebrate the Lord's Supper …
When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we feast spiritually by faith on all the promises of God bought by the blood of Jesus.
What If Our Dying Is Discipline? …
Meditation on 1 Corinthians 11:29-32
Sometimes God takes a sinning saint because he loves him too much to let him go on in sin.
1 Corinthians 12
Spiritual Gifts …
God gives us spiritual gifts so that we can help others keep the faith in the midst of life's storms.
Gifts of Healings and Workings of Miracles …
"Gifts of healings" and "workings of miracles" are for the church and the mission of Christ in the world today.
Living in the Spirit and in the Body for the Common Good …
Gifts are for the glory of God and the good of the church.
How Important Is Church Membership? …
All believers should join a church if possible, because the local church is an expression of the universal church.
Body Pains: Feelings of Uselessness …
If we say we are useless, we not only say no to the idea of the body, but worse, we say no to God. We don't trust him.
Body Pains: Feelings of Self-Sufficiency …
Even if we don't have the same heart for a particular issue facing us, let us have the same heart for each other.
1 Corinthians 13
Dying as a Means of Loving, Part 2 …
We simply cannot love the way Paul describes until we die.
What Love Does and Does Not Do …
Anniversary Thoughts on 1 Corinthians 13:4-7
Paul isn't abstractly defining love 1 Corinthians 13. He is showing how it applies to the church.
When Will Prophecy Cease? …
The spiritual gift of prophecy has not passed away, but is meant for the good of the church until Jesus comes.
1 Corinthians 14
Amen …
A Word Common to Many Languages
God's beauty is magnified when it is echoed in prayer and preaching with agreements like "Amen!"
Two Audiences 'Til April …
We ought to seek to win people to Christ by giving valid reasons for the Bible’s claims about him.
1 Corinthians 15
The Overflow of Easter …
A Whole Theology of Resurrection in One Chapter
In just one chapter Paul outlines a whole theology of the resurrection.
"Grace to You" and "Grace with You" …
Paul lived by faith in future grace. And therefore he blessed all his churches over and over again with future grace.
Pity Not Them Who Rise With Christ …
Easter Sunday
Christ is alive and able to persuade you that he is true and the greatest treasure in the universe.
Six Gifts of the Resurrection …
Easter Sunday
The greatest news in all the world is in order to make you happy and glorify Jesus, God raised him from the dead to reign forevermore.
Jesus Is Precious Because His Biblical Portrait Is True, Part 1 …
If the church has no compelling reasons for believing the biblical portrait of Jesus, then we are acting like well-trained animals who can be turned this way and that by arbitrary incentives.
But Christ Has Been Raised, You Are Not Still In Your Sins …
Easter Sunday
If we are saved by Christ's death, what does his resurrection add?
He Must Reign …
Easter Sunday
The great word of the resurrection is OPEN! Therefore write in capital letters over every closed door in your life, OPEN!
The Hope of the Resurrection …
John Piper uncovers the argument behind Paul's teaching about the future resurrection of believers.
What Happens When You Die? The Dead Will Be Raised Imperishable …
God will honor the work of his Son by raising your body from the dead, and you will use your body to glorify him forever and ever.
How God's Word Produces Our Work …
The Mighty "Therefore" of the Ultimate Victory God Gives Us in Christ
It is wonderfully energizing to settle in your heart and mind the truth that Christ is real.
