What do we learn about God’s providence from the reign of Nebuchadnezzar? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Daniel 4 to reveal the depth of God’s rule over all rulers. Watch Now ..read more

Of all the amazing feats of the Holy Spirit in the apostolic age, surely one of them is the fact that the team who led the early church was comprised of once-confused, “uneducated, common men” (Mark 8:14–21; Acts 4:13). What might we learn from them as we seek to build healthy leadership teams in our churches? Paying careful attention to their example and instruction gives us a few vital paths toward healthy pastoral teams. Clarify Expectations and Roles First, the apostles were clear on their expectations as a team. Jesus instructed them that they were to be his witnesses (Acts 1:8). They un ..read more

Bible reading can bring comfort, but Bible reading can also bring fear. How can we rightly embrace both the comfort of God’s promises and the fear of his warnings? Listen Now ..read more

Paul says that the law is fulfilled in the command to “love your neighbor as yourself.” But how does such love fulfill the whole law? Watch Now ..read more

Father’s Day is a wonderful common-grace gift, an explicit reminder to fulfill a gracious obligation God has placed on us: “honor your father” (Exodus 20:12). But for some fathers, this day is a painful reminder of ways they haven’t been able to fulfill all a typical father’s responsibilities, often due to circumstantial or physical weaknesses largely or wholly outside of their control. Which means that, for some, Father’s Day can seem to highlight more shame than honor. I imagine Father’s Day might have had that effect on my own father. You see, Dad suffered from a humiliating affliction, a ..read more

Since Christ saved me, I have been fascinated by war. I learn about conflicts I can see to feel the gravity of that cosmic war I can’t. Although few know it, the unseen conflict is no less vicious or valorous, gory or heroic, real or requiring than wars of men, but much more. I try to enter the psychology of the soldier to better know how to conduct myself in spiritual battle. Paul does the same as he calls Timothy forward: “Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him” (2 Timothy 2:3 ..read more

What does it mean to love your neighbors as yourself? It means you seek their good with the same passion with which you seek your own, and you find your joy in theirs. Watch Now ..read more

God’s providence means he is always at work in our lives, even when he doesn’t seem to be. In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper turns to Matthew 2:23 to encourage us with God’s unseen care. Watch Now ..read more

Though I grew up in a less-than-perfect family (like every human), one positive thing my family did marked me forever. Every Saturday night, my siblings and I, one after the other, would take a bath and then deliver our shoes to my dad to be polished, all in preparation for the Sunday-morning worship service at the Toledo Gospel Tabernacle. There was never a debate about whether we would go. We never needed to fit church into the family calendar. The weekend schedule of the Tripp family was planned around the one thing we would never think of missing: Sunday worship. For that, I will be forev ..read more

Paul says that the renewed mind discerns God’s good will “by testing.” What does that testing look like in the thousands of everyday decisions we make? Listen Now ..read more