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John Piper

John Piper is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God and The Pleasures of God. Read more about John.

Born Again to a Living Hope

Born Again to a Living Hope

Every Christian has been born again, and everyone who has been born again has a living hope.

The Word Awakens Joy and Worship

The Word Awakens Joy and Worship

According to the apostle Peter, knowing the cause, means, and goal of our election as exiles awakens joy and worship.

Set Apart by the Spirit

Set Apart by the Spirit

Our exile status is connected to our election — a connection carefully woven together by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If we attempt to be exiles apart from the work of the triune God, we end up with Phariseeism.

Exiles on the Earth

Exiles on the Earth

As Christians, our earthly identity is that of aliens, strangers, sojourners, and exiles, with our true citizenship found in heaven.

Basics for Reading the Bible

Basics for Reading the Bible

If you find the Bible boring, mythological, or distracting, then 2 Corinthians 4:6 hasn’t happened to you yet. You will not understand the Bible without the Holy Spirit.

A Survey of Suffering in 1 Peter

If you feel totally at home in this world, 1 Peter will either pass by you or awaken you to your alien status here.

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The Word of God Has Not Failed: Romans 9:1–5, Part 1

The Word of God Has Not Failed

Romans 9:1–5, Part 1

Romans 9 potentially creates a massive problem for the glorious promises of Romans 8. In this lab, John Piper begins a series through this difficult, but critical chapter by explaining the crisis of unbelieving Israel and the sure hope of the new people of God in the word of God.

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Philippians 4:19–20: God Will Supply Your Every Need

God Will Supply Your Every Need

Philippians 4:19–20

God exalts himself by serving us, not by having us serve him, and that sets him apart from all the gods. In this lab, John Piper shows why we should never think we have served God as though he needed anything. He ends by asking if we can serve God at all.

Should a Woman Preach Next Sunday?

Should a Woman Preach Next Sunday?

Digging for the Root Difference with Andrew Wilson

Does the Bible permit women to preach on Sunday? John Piper joins the conversation with Tom Schreiner and Andrew Wilson.

Friendship with Jesus and the Aim of Education in Serious Joy

Friendship with Jesus and the Aim of Education in Serious Joy

John Piper’s commencement message on the relationship between friendship with Jesus and the aims of higher education — specifically the educational aims of Bethlehem College and Seminary.

Conference Message

Education in Serious Joy

Education in Serious Joy

2015 President’s Reception

Education at Bethlehem College and Seminary is education in serious joy.

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Psalm 50:8–15: God Does Not Need You

God Does Not Need You

Psalm 50:8–15

Why did God make human beings? Was it because he needed something that he didn’t already have? This series of labs asks what sets our God apart from all others. In this lab, John Piper asks how we can ever repay God for all he’s done for us.

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Isaiah 55:6–9: God Will Abundantly Pardon

God Will Abundantly Pardon

Isaiah 55:6–9

The God of the Bible is not like any god of any other religion. This series of labs asks what sets our God apart from all the alternatives. In this lab, John Piper looks at the beauty of an infinitely high and holy God stooping to forgive and receive sinners like us.

Typology: How God Targets Your Desires

Typology: How God Targets Your Desires

Here is a woodenly literal translation of 1 Corinthians 10:6: “These things became types of us, so that we might not be desirers of evil things, as they desired.” Clumsy English, but incredibly illuminating. Paul says it again in verse…

A Long Motherhood

A Long Motherhood

A Poem for Mother’s Day

Forty-two years went by between the birth of our first child and when the last of all five turned 18. That’s a lot of parenting. I suppose, if we had planned that season more compactly, there would be fewer regrets…

Ask Pastor John

Can Jesus Really Understand My Temptations?

Jesus did not have a sinful nature like ours, but that doesn’t mean he can’t identify with our temptation. He was tempted as we are, but had to remain without sin to save us forever.

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Isaiah 64:1–4; 46:1–4: God Works for Those Who Wait

God Works for Those Who Wait

Isaiah 64:1–4; 46:1–4

The Bible says several times that our God is utterly unique among all the gods in the world and in history. But what makes him so unique? In this lab, John Piper begins a series looking at key texts for understanding why there is no god like our God.

Ask Pastor John

How Does God ‘Deliver Us from Evil’?

Jesus teaches us to pray that the Father would deliver us from evil. But what exactly does God deliver us from, and does he do it?

Ask Pastor John

Spend Your Life to Build a Risk-Taking Church

The world around us isn’t impressed with a church that lives just like everyone else. What they need to see are people who daily breathe the air of another world.

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Romans 1:18–23: What Can Be Known About God

What Can Be Known About God

Romans 1:18–23

The Bible says that the whole world already knows God, but also says that much of the world does not know him. How does someone know him, and yet not know him? In this lab, John Piper explores this difficult, but critical tension and commissions us into the world to speak the gospel.

Ask Pastor John

Have I Cast My Anxieties or Hoarded Them?

First Peter calls us to cast our anxieties on the Lord. But how can we know if we have really given over all our stresses and burdens to him?

Read the Bible to Your Anxiety

Read the Bible to Your Anxiety

Anxiety is an emotion, not a decision. So Jesus doesn’t give just a command; he attacks anxiety with truth, facts, promises, and reasons.

Ask Pastor John

Why Is Radical Islam Alluring to Westerners?

The human heart longs to be part of a God-sized cause, and radical movements like ISIS tap into those innate desires to lure and recruit.

Conference Message

Life-Risking Courage in the Cause of Love

Life-Risking Courage in the Cause of Love

Where Does It Come From?

Without sourcing our love for others from our joy in God, we will never be able to risk whatever it takes draw more people to Jesus.

Conference Message

It Is Right to Live for Maximum Pleasure

It Is Right to Live for Maximum Pleasure

Seven Reasons from the Bible

The greatest benefits of the cross, like justification, propitiations, salvation, and redemption, are all a means to us enjoying the one greatest benefit: glorifying God by enjoying him forever.

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