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John Piper

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org 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: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy.

Who Could Be Happy in a World Like Ours?

Who Could Be Happy in a World Like Ours?

God is a happy-making God, and his plan is to make his people happy. That is why we are able to be “sorrowful, yet always rejoicing” even in such a world as ours.

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Luke 7:36–50, Part 2: God’s Love for the Worst

God’s Love for the Worst

Luke 7:36–50, Part 2

Who will love Jesus more, the one who has been forgiven much or the one who has been forgiven little? If so, why do we not sin more? In this lab, John Piper tackles another difficult question raised by Jesus. His answer helps us understand Jesus’s words and cultivate a deeper love for him.

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When Should We Pray for God to Take Us Home?

When Should We Pray for God to Take Us Home?

When we learn that our time on this earth is short, what truths can help us live out our last days with joy?

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Truths You Will Need When Cancer Hits

Truths You Will Need When Cancer Hits

The Bible speaks to our toughest moments.

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Luke 7:36–50, Part 1: Forgiveness Leads to Love

Forgiveness Leads to Love

Luke 7:36–50, Part 1

What do you do when a verse in the Bible (even words from Jesus himself) seem to contradict core beliefs at the heart of Christianity? In this lab, John Piper models a way forward with difficult texts, not ignoring the problem, but digging deeper to find the harmony with the rest of Scripture.

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Seven Tips for College Students

Seven Tips for College Students

Do what you have to do to be radically devoted to Jesus and his holiness.

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The Joy Project

The Joy Project

A True Story of Inescapable Happiness

The doctrines of grace invite us to discover the endless fountain of all joy. Let The Joy Project guide you on a journey to uncover those riches of happiness.

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How to Help Friends Escape the Prosperity Gospel

How to Help Friends Escape the Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel may be easy to critique from a distance, but what about when it comes home? How can you talk to close friends and loved ones who have accepted the so-called prosperity “gospel”?

Hoping, Singing, and Loving (Q&A)

Hoping, Singing, and Loving (Q&A)

Questions from 1 Peter

Marriage is not about taking hold of our rights, whether men or women, but rather walking humbly in our God-ordained roles.

Born Again to Hope-Filled Humility

Born Again to Hope-Filled Humility

A Summary of 1 Peter

According to the apostle Peter, hope and humility go hand in hand as God awakens his elect in the new birth, providing new affections — most notably, hope — that give rise to new behavior.

How to Live in History’s Last Days

How to Live in History’s Last Days

With time running short, how should we live? Live prayerfully, trust in God’s sovereignty, love your neighbors, and avoid frantic haste.

Lose It All to Win the World

Lose It All to Win the World

People who follow Jesus to the cross can turn to face the malice of those who do not know God, in order to bless them and show the beauty of Christianity.

Do You Want Heaven for the Wrong Reason?

Do You Want Heaven for the Wrong Reason?

It is better to suffer faithfully than to turn away from God. Do you believe that?

The Strongest Comfort and Statement in Trials

The Strongest Comfort and Statement in Trials

Hope that sustains through trials brought on even by the hope itself looks peculiar to a world filled with roots that cannot withstand even everyday trials.

Hope That Puts the World to Shame

Hope That Puts the World to Shame

When insulted, Christians are urged to respond with fearless resilience, honoring Christ, and blessing instead of retaliating, with the hope that their unexpected and gracious response may lead others to see the joy and glory in their faith.

Search for Gold Beneath Biblical Tensions

Search for Gold Beneath Biblical Tensions

Letting all of the Bible speak allows us to dig beneath seeming tensions and make discoveries more glorious and rich and helpful than if we were to just throw up our hands or assume contradiction.

Bless Those Who Bruise You

Bless Those Who Bruise You

Payback is planted in the bottom of our hearts — every one of us is a born retaliator. If we’re to answer wrongdoing with any other response than wrongdoing, we need a change at the core of our being.

Five Steps to Feel What God Feels

Five Steps to Feel What God Feels

The Bible everywhere commands that we feel certain ways. So how do we obey the commands to feel if they seem out of our power?

Honor, Guard, and Cherish

Honor, Guard, and Cherish

A Call to Christian Husbands

Husbands are the head. Therefore, they must go ahead and honor their wives according to knowledge.

Women the World Cannot Explain

Women the World Cannot Explain

Godly women, rooted in unwavering hope, fear nothing — even submission to husbands who do not follow Jesus. They adorn their souls with a peculiar beauty: not base servility or brash power, but a combination of humility and lion-like courage that the world cannot explain.

John Piper Recites 1 Peter from Memory

John Piper Recites 1 Peter from Memory

John Piper illustrates the importance of Bible memorization in the Christian life by reciting 1 Peter 1–3:7 from memory.

Too Many Settle for Too Little in Bible Reading

Too Many Settle for Too Little in Bible Reading

To understand God’s word with power, we need to see it for ourselves, patiently investing time to dig deep and ask questions of the text.

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1 Peter 1:3–5, Part 2: God’s Power Will Guard You

God’s Power Will Guard You

1 Peter 1:3–5, Part 2

God is guarding an infinitely valuable inheritance for you in heaven, and guarding you through faith to make sure you receive it. In this lab, John Piper pulls parts several implications from the new birth, explaining the new hope we have, and the sovereign hands that hold us.

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If My Work Can Be Used for Evil, What Should I Do?

If My Work Can Be Used for Evil, What Should I Do?

If my work can be corrupted by others for evil purposes, does that cancel out any good that I achieve?

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The Only Escape from Our Boasting

The Only Escape from Our Boasting

We love to enjoy the benefits of the gospel, but the gospel is actually not an end in itself. So what is the ultimate goal of the gospel?

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