Podcast appearances and mentions of John Piper

If none of God's purposes can be frustrated, then he must be the happiest of all beings.

Did Jesus preach the gospel before his death and resurrection? Pastor John calls us to a deeper understanding of God as Creator and King, and Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The quest for joy is not optional, but commanded.

Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship.

Take up the Bible, ask the Holy Spirit for help, lay the promises up in your heart, and fight the good fight — to live by faith in future grace.

Hey, Beyond Sunday listeners! Today, we're kicking off a brand-new season based on John Piper's book, "Battling Unbelief: Living by Faith in Future Grace". In this episode, Wes and Sonia introduce the new season and give us a look at what's ahead as we explore what it means to live by faith in God's future grace. Tune in today for the first episode of the new season!

How can we witness to those who just want a quick fix? Pastor John presses home the shocking reality of eternity and the astounding love of Jesus.

God's greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him.

The truth of Christ frees us from the slavery of sin, for the freedom of holiness.

“When I pray, coincidences happen, when I don't, they don't.” – William Temple “Risk is woven into the fabric of our finite lives. We cannot avoid risk even if we want to.” – John Piper“What's unnoticed by people is never forgotten by God.” – Craig Groeschel  Join us as we continue our Live Sent Series, this week exploring the fascinating call of Esther, who was sent to be a voice for the voiceless.

Confidence in God's absolute control is the source and power of radical obedience to the call of God.

David Mathis | The world's diversions at college may distract and entice. But when we pursue lasting pleasure in God, every semester counts for eternity.

The Bible is no empty word. It is your very life — the foundation and kindling of your joy!

Can a disabled mother model the Proverbs 31 woman? Pastor John describes the gift of a heart that hopes in God's steadfast love.

What sustained Christ in the dark hours of Gethsemane was the hope of joy beyond the cross.

When it comes to being a candidate for grace, your background has nothing to do with God's choice. That's good news.

You have a possession in heaven that is better, and lasts longer, than anything this world can offer.

Rigorous exposition isn't at odds with engaging preaching. Pastor John encourages pastors to work for creativity when technical, abstract sermons feel easier.

God intends for particular promises to help you fight against particular anxieties.

The Lord has spoken: It is more blessed to love than to live in luxury! More blessed now, and forever.

In Jesus Christ we who are born of God have the unspeakable privilege of knowing Yahweh as our Father.

Marshall Segal | How do we respond when the curse encroaches on our lives? In Psalm 108, David guides us to groan, praise, ask, trust, and tread.

Why should we refuse to get sucked in by the empty promises of this world? Because this age is passing away; nothing it offers will eternally satisfy.

Only Jesus, the Son of God who died and rose for us, can make us truly free.

Gathering with other Christians is a crucial way to encourage and be encouraged in Christ. But do we really need to gather every week?

Sit down to the feast of joy in Christ and worship the King of Glory. The banquet hall is very large.

To see God, and know him, and be in his presence is the soul's final feast.

Two things have to be true if your joy is never to be taken from you. One is that the source of your joy lasts forever and the other is that you last forever.

How did Paul demonstrate the power of the Spirit in his ministry? By preaching in weakness, Paul showed a faith that boasts only in Christ crucified.

One of the most tragic realities in modern Christianity is that many do not truly understand the Old Testament. Too often, it gets neglected and treated as an optional preamble to the New Testament. However, this collection of books, written over centuries and centuries, informed not only Jewish belief and practice but also pointed to the coming Messiah. These scriptures provided the foundation from which Jesus taught and the Apostles drew extensively. One of the core problems, I think, is that we fail to see the Old Testament narrative as our story. The people seem so distant and different from us, the circumstances almost alien, and the stories and characters confusing. We can, sadly, sometimes be a people with amnesia. An individual who can't access their memories changes; their personality and moods often aren't what they once were. Similarly, our biblical amnesia can mean that we start to change; our spiritual personality is off-center. Sandra Richter, an Old Testament scholar, puts it this way when addressing the consequences of us not understanding this part of Scripture. The first, and to me most heartbreaking, [problem] is that most Christians have not been taught that the Old Testament is their story. This has the consequence that, The Church does not know who she is, because she does not know who she was. I bring this up because this twelfth chapter of Hebrews contains some important, but often difficult, applications. If we dont understand where the author is coming from, we can misunderstand and misapply the principles this chapter gives us. So, I think it would be good to take stock of where weve come from. While we walk through Hebrews 12 together, please keep this in the back of your mind; you are in this story too. To make sure that we are grounded and ready for the applications this passage has in store for us, we need to do some review. Hebrews was originally written as a letter, potentially as a transcription of a sermon, to Jewish Christians in the middle of the 1st century. It was written primarily to show four things: Jesus is preeminent above all things Jesus is the fulfillment of Gods promises Jesus established a new and better covenant Offer a warning against falling away from Jesus Said a different way: Jesus is better than anything, because He is God Therefore, Jesus could fulfill all of Gods promises Therefore, Jesus satisfied the old covenant and made a better one Therefore, we should cling to Jesus because He is our only hope Remember how this letter opens. It starts by pointing to just how much better Jesus is. 1:1 Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, 2but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom He appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. 3He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power. (Heb 1:1-3a) Ultimately, Jesus is better than everything else because He is God. He radiates Gods glory and is the exact imprint of His nature. The universe was created through Him and is upheld by Him. The letter then goes on to unpack how Jesus is better than anything else the Hebrew people have encountered as the chosen people of God. Were going to fly through this, but please refer back to Shauns sermons if youd like to dive deeper into any of these. According to the text, Jesus is better than: The prophets (1:1-3) The angels (1:4-14; 2:5-9) Moses (3:1-6) The Land of Promise and Joshua (4:1-8) The Sabbath Rest (4:8-13) The Levitical Priesthood (4:14-5:6; 7) The Old Covenant (8:1-13) The Tabernacle and Temple (9:1-10) The Sacrificial System (9:11-10:18) Thats quite a list! And I want us to pause and recognize how revolutionary this was for the people of the time. This would be similar to somebody coming into our church and saying, Im better than Calvin or Luther. In fact, Im greater than Paul, John, Matthew, and the rest of the apostles. I am better than a church service. Even more, Im elevated above baptism and the Lord's Supper. I know Wyomingites can be a reserved bunch, but Im pretty sure there would be a riot. When Jesus stepped into history, was born of a virgin, died a criminals death, and then rose in grand victory, He defied all 1st-century Jewish expectations of the Messiah and, indeed, the entire notion of what it meant to be Gods people. But it goes even further! The author of Hebrews not only gives us this grand language about Jesus being really awesome (thats a technical theological word, by the way), but also explains how Jesus fulfills Gods promises made in prophecy. No other New Testament book has a higher density of Old Testament quotations than Hebrews. The author constantly points back to the prophets who promised a Messiah to save both Israel and the world. We see that Jesus would: Become incarnate as a human (2:5-8) Be a priest outside of the Levitical priesthood (5:6) Establish a new covenant (8:6-12) Do away with the sacrificial system (10:5-7) Die on a cross (12:2) These are just a few examples, but they get us to the heart of the matter. The author is trying to get his audience to see that Jesus is the one theyve been waiting for, the one of promise. He lived the perfect and sinless life that they could not, and yet died the death that they deserved. Put in more personal terms, Jesus lived the perfect and sinless life that I cannot, and yet He died the death that I deserve. This gave Him the ability to satisfy the Old Covenant on our behalf, pay our penalty, and then rise to new life, conquer death, and make a way for us to enter again into the presence of God. Hebrews tells us of this new covenant. 6 But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second. ... 12 For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. 13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. (8:6-7, 12-13) Brothers and sisters, there could be no better news than this. Because of Jesus, our sins are no longer remembered, and we receive Gods mercy. We no longer stand condemned by the Law, but have been restored to a relationship with the living God. Remember, this is the story of all Gods people. Try as we might to live up to the Law, we cannot. But Jesus did. And then He ushered in a new covenant. But we must be careful, however. The author also has warnings for us. You can hear this writer's pleading to his readers in the opening of the second chapter. 2:1 Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. 2 For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, 3 how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, 4 while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. (Heb 2:1-4) Pay attention! the author is shouting. Dont drift away! Look at what happened in Israels past when they walked away from God and tried to forge their own path. Remember the golden calf. Remember the exile in Babylon. Jesus rose and spoke to us! Hear how many people testified about what they saw. Remember the miracles. We have a better covenant now! Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life. Consider what happened to those who ignored the old covenant. What will happen to us now if we neglect the better covenant? We still hear the author's plea nearly 2,000 years later. Dont let go. Whatever you do, dont let go of Jesus. You can write this progression of thought as a formula. Remember it; I promise it will be important later on. Jesus is better

Jesus endured unspeakable agony at the cross. Pastor John marvels at the force of his love sustained by expectant joy.

If we live by faith in God's promise of future grace, it will be very hard for anxiety to survive.

God will see to it that you are not tested in any given day more than you can bear.

God will certainly take his energy and creative skill, and use it to care for his children since they will live forever.

Paul relates everything to Christ crucified, including his own ability to preach. How else could he promote faith that boasts in God's power?

Jesus helps us to fight the good fight against unbelief and to be free from anxiety.

Is the Bible accessible only to readers with a high IQ? Pastor John reframes biblical maturity as a moral issue centered on our obedience, not our intellect.

The way you fight the good fight for faith is by meditating on God's assurances of future grace and by asking for the help of his Spirit.

If you treated your salvation no longer as a gift, but as a purchase, God would no longer be the free benefactor.

You can't give anything to God or do anything for God that he hasn't first given to you and done for you.

Paul could have come to the Corinthian church with oratorical skill and philosophical wisdom, but he chose not to. Why?

Daily productivity requires often elusive focus and grit. Pastor John offers ten charges to live each day to the glory of God.

Fear not. Your adversaries can do no more than God grants. And he will grant you the faith you need. Those are gospel promises.

Nothing will separate us from the love of Christ because Christ is alive and is still loving us right now.

God loves us so much that he will not allow our preciousness to become our god.

God often uses risks to bring life to others and to end long-standing fruitlessness in our lives. What would it look like to step out for the sake of Christ?

In the old covenant, the gracious enabling power to obey God was not poured out as fully as it is since Jesus.

Did Jesus demean the Canaanite woman he called a dog? Pastor John explains how Jesus's test revealed her great faith — and her adoption as one of God's own.

If you feel vulnerable, you can say to God, “Lord, help me. I'm not even sure how to pray.” Trust that he will respond and will help you.

This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights.