At the beginning of Romans 9–11, Paul tells us he is sad. Really sad. “I speak the truth in Christ — I am not lying, my conscience confirms it through the Holy Spirit — I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart . . . for the sake of my people . .…
Category: Health
Let Digital Glory Die: Escaping the Online Inner Ring
Few of us would willingly repeat our middle and high school years. For many, the span from age twelve to seventeen held insecurities, fears, disappointments, and maybe even intense suffering that we would not want to relive. Part of our trouble came from the adolescent tendency to filter everything, even our deepest joys and triumphs,…
‘Help, I’m Struggling to Believe Anything Is True’
Audio Transcript Welcome back to the podcast with longtime author and pastor John Piper. There’s an atheistic tendency in every heart — my heart and even in your heart, Pastor John. You said so when we looked at this “powerful atheistic tendency in every human heart” about a year ago in APJ 1980, a sobering…
Prepare to Speak on Sunday: The Ministry of Conversation
What if we recorded talk in the pews one Sunday morning? The sermon ends, the preacher descends, we sing in response, the benediction is given, voices break out, and the recording begins. As people speak to one another, what does one overhear? Men talk of recent house projects, that afternoon’s football game, the weather, global…
The Mirror That Mends: How Scripture Reflects and Renews Us
Bad mirrors disturb me. FaceTime clearly lies. That box in the corner reflects a fish-eye view of my bulbous nose. Surely I don’t look like this! The mirror in an airplane bathroom reveals scales and blotches I’ve never seen before. Is this reality? The disdain in the eyes of someone who opposes me reflects only…
Forget About Yourself: Six Paths to Better Thoughts
C.S. Lewis describes it as the cheerful hallmark of humility. Tim Keller calls it the doorway into freedom. John Piper names it as the best friend of deep wonder. And we know it as one of earth’s most elusive gifts: self-forgetfulness. Joy, true joy, does not live in the land of mirrors. Peace of mind…
Will We See God in Eternity?
Audio Transcript Welcome back to Job week on the podcast. On Monday, we read Job 16 together and had to parse out which of Job’s claims are true and which ones are false — one of the particular challenges of reading Job. Today we read Job 19 and this bold declaration from Job in Job…
Bend the Ear of God: Three Wonders of Christian Prayer
How do you feel when you see the word prayer in a sermon title, or when the preacher announces that today’s sermon is about prayer? Oh no. Here we go. Not many of us feel like we pray enough. We might even pray a good deal, and even earnestly, and still feel a gnawing sense…
Preach the Whole Truth: Counting the Cost with Charles Spurgeon
On the morning of Sunday, June 5, 1864, Charles Spurgeon ascended the pulpit to deliver a sermon that he expected would cost him dearly. Friends might turn away; his influence might take a severe blow; his sermons might no longer be printed. Should he preach it? Should he publish it? Spurgeon later recounted, It was…
God Calls the Weak to War: The Christian Strength of Disability
The young man was fully engaged in worship: hands raised, eyes closed, mouth wide open in song, completely lost in the moment. This man with Down syndrome was entirely free as he worshiped with all his might. In the moment, I wanted to be free like that! But I have since wondered if, because of…