Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We’re on a mission to change that. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ.

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John Piper

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & 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: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently What Is Saving Faith?

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Who Will Judge the World?

Who Will Judge the World?

Scripture speaks of the Father judging the world, the Son judging the world, and sometimes even the word of Christ judging the world. So, in the end, who will judge?

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Paul’s Extraordinary Affection for Believers: 1 Thessalonians 2:17–20, Part 1

Paul’s Extraordinary Affection for Believers

1 Thessalonians 2:17–20, Part 1

Can Christians love other Christians the way that Christ commands without liking them?

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How Are We Born Again?

How Are We Born Again?

The new birth is a sovereign work of the Spirit, but it is a work bound to the word. The Spirit of God works through the word of God to glorify the Son of God.

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Has Wrath Come Upon Israel Forever? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 10

Has Wrath Come Upon Israel Forever?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 10

The Jews rejected their Messiah and have been, for a time, rejected. How long will such wrath last?

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How Money Fears Kill Our Worship

How Money Fears Kill Our Worship

When we trust God with our money, we not only enjoy freedom from worry, but we magnify the shepherd, Father, and King who provides for us.

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How Does Israel ‘Fill Up Their Sins’? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 9

How Does Israel ‘Fill Up Their Sins’?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 9

Scripture teaches that the sins of some needed to be “filled up” before God judged them. What does that mean?

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What Makes Christian Love Different?

What Makes Christian Love Different?

What makes Christian love different from non-Christian love? It is rooted in the cross of Christ, sustained by the Holy Spirit, and aimed at the glory of God.

Water from the Rock for Undeserving People

Water from the Rock for Undeserving People

God promises us his life-sustaining presence, even as he leads us into waterless regions of suffering and loss.

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God Hates When the Gospel Is Hindered: 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 8

God Hates When the Gospel Is Hindered

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 8

If the gospel is the way that souls are saved, it’s hateful to in any way hinder the preaching of the gospel.

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What Does It Mean to Be ‘Overly Righteous’?

What Does It Mean to Be ‘Overly Righteous’?

Ecclesiastes tells us not to be “overly righteous,” but Jesus calls us to a righteousness that exceeds even that of the Pharisees. How can we put these two texts together?

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Who Killed Jesus? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 7

Who Killed Jesus?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 7

For anyone who loves to wrestle with profound mysteries: Who killed Jesus? The Romans, the Jews, or God?

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Gospel Drift — and How to Avoid It

Gospel Drift — and How to Avoid It

You don’t have to commit great sins in order to fall away from Jesus. You just have to neglect your great salvation.

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Was the Apostle Paul Anti-Semitic? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 6

Was the Apostle Paul Anti-Semitic?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 6

The apostle Paul once said of the Jews, “Wrath has come upon them at last!” Did this make him anti-Semitic?

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Why Did Jesus Need to Suffer and Die Publicly?

Why Did Jesus Need to Suffer and Die Publicly?

Did Jesus have to die a public, agonizing death, or could he have saved us by living sinlessly and dying in obscurity?

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How Does the Word Produce New Preferences? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 5

How Does the Word Produce New Preferences?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 5

Are you growing in holiness and love and courage? Then rejoice, the word of God is at work within you.

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Does God Ever Tempt Us to Sin?

Does God Ever Tempt Us to Sin?

God clearly tests his people, but does he ever tempt them to sin? Pastor John explores the distinction between tests and temptations in James 1.

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How the Word of God Brings About Faith: 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 4

How the Word of God Brings About Faith

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 4

To receive the gospel is not just to be ready to go to heaven by it, but to be ready to suffer for it.

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Trembling Before God on Sunday

Trembling Before God on Sunday

Hundreds of times, God tells us to “fear not.” So why does he also call us to work out our salvation “with fear and trembling”?

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What Is Saving Faith? 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 3

What Is Saving Faith?

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 3

Saving faith is not merely assenting to true facts about Christ; it’s a glad reception of all he is for us.

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Is My Humorous Personality a Liability?

Is My Humorous Personality a Liability?

Sober-mindedness keeps us from the silliness that is allergic to serious moments, but it also keeps us from the somberness that doesn’t know how to be joyful.

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How the Word of Man Becomes the Word of God: 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 2

How the Word of Man Becomes the Word of God

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 2

Do you believe the Bible is the word of God and not the word of man? How can you tell if you do or not?

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Are Eternal Rewards and Inheritance the Same?

Are Eternal Rewards and Inheritance the Same?

Peter assures us of an inheritance kept safe in heaven; Jesus calls us to lay up treasures in heaven. Are eternal inheritance and rewards the same?

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Tradition Is Not a Dirty Word: 1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 1

Tradition Is Not a Dirty Word

1 Thessalonians 2:13–16, Part 1

The apostle Paul did not think “tradition” was a dirty word. He wanted churches to receive and pass along a certain type of tradition.

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Fighting for Faith in the Entertainment Age

Fighting for Faith in the Entertainment Age

In an age inundated with entertainment, how do Christians stay awake to the glory of Christ and help others do the same?

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The Greatest Crescendo of Life and History: 1 Thessalonians 2:9–12, Part 5

The Greatest Crescendo of Life and History

1 Thessalonians 2:9–12, Part 5

The greatest crescendo we could possibly experience in life is to be called by God into his kingdom and enjoy his beauty forever.

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