In the following video, Dr. John Piper argues that persecution is not strange; persecution should be expected.

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. For over 30 years, he served as senior pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He grew up in Greenville, South Carolina, and studied at Wheaton College, Fuller Theological Seminary (BD), and the University of Munich (DTheol). For six years, he taught Biblical Studies at Bethel College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in 1980 accepted the call to serve as pastor at Bethlehem. John is the author of more than 50 books and more than 30 years of his preaching and teaching is available free at desiringGod.org. John and his wife, Noël, have four sons, one daughter, and twelve grandchildren.

Resources prepared by George Luke from Bethlehem College & Seminary.

Persecution is promised. How should pastors prepare people in light of this guarantee? In the following video, John Piper explores this question.

1. What are motivations for pleasure in the midst of pain?
2. What are the six responses to suffering that Piper outlines from the text?

In this message, Léonce Crump II addresses the need for speaking boldly and clearly about the Gospel from Acts 4.

Léonce Crump II is the Lead Pastor of Preaching and Vision at Renovation Church in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma and holds Masters degrees in Criminal Justice, with a focus on Case Law (University of Tennessee), Missional Leadership (Resurgence Theological Training Center), and is currently finishing his Masters of Divinity at Reformed Theological Seminary. Léonce also played professional football for the New Orleans Saints. He and his wife, Breanna, have two daughters.

Satan and sin create a storm of influences that tempt us to lose our footing. D. A. Carson describes how we can anchor ourselves in the calm center of Christ.

D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He has served as assistant pastor and pastor and has done itinerant ministry in Canada and the United Kingdom. Carson received a BS in chemistry from McGill University, MDiv from Central Baptist Seminary in Toronto, and PhD in New Testament from the University of Cambridge. He has written or edited about sixty books. He is a founding member and currently president of The Gospel Coalition. Carson and his wife, Joy, reside in Libertyville, Illinois. They have two adult children.

1. Satan is a defeated foe. How was he defeated, and if he was defeated why is there still suffering for the church?
2. Who is responsible for the suffering in the world?

In this video, Tim Keesee explains how missions informs the church of the value of persecution.

Tim Keesee serves as executive director of Frontline Missions International, Inc., an organization founded in 1992 and committed to advancing the Gospel in the world’s difficult places by developing sustainable platforms for work and witness. He is also the executive producer of the mission’s documentary series Dispatches from the Front. In addition, he has authored numerous books and articles on history, politics, and missions, including Dispatches from the Front: Stories of Gospel Advance in the World’s Difficult Places. Tim is married and assisted in the ministry by his wife Debbie. They have two married children, Sarah and Tim, Jr., and one grandchild.

Jason Meyer is the Pastor for Preaching and Vision at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN. Jason has also served as Bethlehem College and Seminary’s Associate Professor of New Testament. Jason holds an MDiv and PhD from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He is the author of The End of the Law: Mosaic Covenant in Pauline Theology and A Biblical Theology of Preaching. Jason and his wife, Cara, have four children.

The following panel discussion addresses questions related to suffering and persecution as taught in the previous sections.