How should we view the trials in our lives? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper turns to Hebrews 12:3–11 to reveal how our Father lovingly uses suffering to lead us deeper into holiness. Watch Now ..read more

Pro-life advocates waking up last November 6 could be forgiven for thinking it was 2016 all over again. Now, as then, a candidate and her political party sworn to promote abortion wholesale was defeated in favor of a candidate and party that might limit the evil done. For many pro-life advocates, the result was not exactly a decisive victory, only a stay of execution, warding off something far worse. However, pro-lifers today are awakening to serious worldview challenges that went largely unnoticed when Roe v. Wade was the law of the land. These challenges don’t replace the ones I wrote of du ..read more

Men and women, old and young are not the same — nor do they call for the same kind of pastoral care. Mature pastors exhort each one appropriately. Watch Now ..read more

This very desire is your prayer, and if your desire is continuous, your prayer is continuous too. The apostle meant what he said, Pray without ceasing. —Augustine (Expositions on the Psalms 37.14) Humans do very few things without ceasing. We are by nature limited beings. We cannot always be working or always talking or always feeling sad, mad, or glad. We start and stop. We begin and end. Yet there are some things we do without ceasing; we breathe without ceasing or we cease to be. Can one of those things we do without ceasing be prayer? Paul’s exhortation to the Thessalonian church to “pr ..read more

What role does the church play in upholding truth? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper turns to 1 Timothy 3:15 to reveal the church as a pillar of truth in a society prone to falsehood. Watch Now ..read more

In Acts 12, God allows Herod to kill James, but he thwarts the king’s plan to kill Peter. What might this chapter teach us about God’s providence? Listen Now ..read more

Do you ever feel overwhelmed in prayer? God is so infinitely glorious that our praises do not do justice to his majesty. And the petitions we could bring to his throne of grace are almost countless — individual, family, church, local, national, and international requests. Given the sheer volume of our needs and the needs of others, it can be easy to give up trying to mention them all in our prayers. Too often, our petitions become self-focused and our praises become repetitive. Just as it is difficult to read the whole Bible without a plan, so it is difficult to pray widely and deeply without ..read more

We ought to honor the elderly; the Bible makes that clear. But why? Do we honor the aged because they are often wiser, or does the reason go deeper? Watch Now ..read more

The door flew open. My anxious, driven pre-med roommate rushed in. I was sitting on my bed, snarfing chips and a coke, reading about sports. He looked at me in disgust. “What have you done today to justify your existence?” I smiled and replied, “Nothing!” I felt it was my mission to help him stop taking everything so seriously. He’d be happier if he joined me in savoring life and thinking deep English-major thoughts. “Worthless!” he snorted and went busily to his desk. I acted like I had notched a victory. But his words haunted me. Did I actually need to prove my life was worthwhile? As I mov ..read more

Do not love the world or the things in the world. (1 John 2:15) My oldest daughter was three years old when we walked through Disney and her little voice rose to my ears: “Daddy, are we in Vanity Fair?” Are we in Bunyan’s famous town that detains Christian pilgrims on their journey to the Celestial City with its consumerism, comforts, and trinkets? “Yes,” I replied. “Yes, we are.” The modern world has perfected Vanity Fair. The average middle-class man would hesitate to switch places with ancient kings. Our lives are lived between commercials; million-dollar industries train us in greed. Yo ..read more