Like a tender shepherd, Paul wrote the letters of 1 & 2 Thessalonians to the church he founded in Thessalonica, a huge city in Macedonia. These were friends he knew, loved, and missed. His purpose in writing was to thank them for their work of faith, their labor of love, and their continued hope in the Lord Jesus Christ . . . and His coming again. Paul was also eager to remind them of the example their faithfulness had been to those around them.

Similarly, Paul's letter to Titus--a young pastor in Crete--is filled with personal affirmation, counsel, and guidance on how to prepare...

The people of Israel were carried away to Babylon, where they lived as exiles and outcasts. God sent this judgment on His people because of their continued unfaithfulness to His word--but the day came when He called them to return to Jerusalem. However, when they arrived there, they discovered things had dramatically changed for the worse. The Temple was destroyed, the city walls were torn down, and the land had been taken over by people who did not want them back. There was work to be done, and it was not going to be easy.

In this study, John MacArthur guides readers through an...

Many of God's people through the ages have been called to endure times of hardship, loneliness, and suffering. Some, such as Daniel and Esther, were even members of a race carried away to a foreign land that had never heard of the God of Israel. Their lives were not easy, but even in the midst of trials, these men and women discovered that God was with them--and that He was actively leading the events in their lives.

In this study, John MacArthur guides readers through an in-depth look at the historical period of Israel's exile beginning with the prophet Daniel being carried off to...

During the time of the divided kingdom, both the nation of Israel in the north and Judah in the south witnessed great miracles and great failures as their kings vacillated between serving God and following pagan practices. As God led the people through prophets such as Elisha--miraculously curing one man of leprosy and raising another back to life--the clock on the nation's self-rule began to tick down. For to the east, the powerful kingdom of Assyria was threatening to conquer all the people in the land of Canaan. It was a time of decision: would God's people serve Him or divide their...

Under King Solomon the Israelites had been a united people, but that all changed when his foolish son Rehoboam came to power. In the days that followed, the nation divided into two separate kingdoms. The reigns of these kings were turbulent, marked by a succession of ungodly monarchs in conflict with the Lord's prophets. Among these rulers, perhaps none stood out more than Ahab and Jezebel, who not only led the northern nation of Israel into idolatry but actually conspired to murder a man simply because they wanted his garden

In this study, John MacArthur guides readers through an...

The New Testament launches with an eyewitness account of the events of Jesus' life from Matthew, a former despised tax collector who experienced a radical conversion and became one of Jesus' own disciples. Matthew's unique view interweaves his strong Jewish knowledge of the expected Messiah with his personal recollections of the flesh-and-blood Savior. In the process, he reveals the qualifications that prove Jesus was the promised Messiah: His miraculous birth, His response to the test of His kingliness, His inauguration, His miracles, His teachings, and His public ministry. Every...

The Gospel of Mark, more than any other Gospel, gives us precious glimpses into Christ's humanity. Jesus amazes His followers--those in the past as well as His disciples today--as He teaches, heals, performs miracles, casts out demons, and raises the dead. Mark's account shows Christ using every opportunity, despite resentment and persecution from His enemies, to show God's awesome power. Through Mark's writings, we follow Jesus' pain, joy, and fervent dedication as He walks the earth, touches lives, and ultimately conquers sin and death through His crucifixion and resurrection.

The...

The Gospel of Luke tells the story of Jesus from a perspective unlike any other. As a physician, Luke presents a detailed account of Jesus' conception and birth. As a meticulous historian, he highlights Jesus' parables, teachings, healings, and compassion to the outcasts in Israel. He follows Christ on His journey to the cross, recounts His last days that led to His crucifixion and burial, and documents Christ's victory over the grave. From the beginning of Jesus' public ministry to the Lord's final words, Luke stresses Jesus' willingness to go to the cross to complete His ultimate...

The Gospel of John is filled with profound truths and rich spiritual stories. Stories of Christ's miracles that inspire His followers; stories of a death that redeems the lost; and stories of a resurrection that provides us with hope for eternal glory. Every miracle, teaching, and action of Jesus that John captures in his Gospel has one clear purpose: to prove that Jesus is the Word, the Messiah, and the Son of God. The dramatic milestones of Christ's ministry, as portrayed by John, have invited millions of believers throughout the ages into a saving faith with Jesus Christ, and will lead...

Luke wrote the book of Acts as a testament to the explosive spread of the gospel and the rapid growth of the church after Christ's ascension. Beginning with the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost when the church was born, he shows how Christ empowered His followers with divine authority to preach the gospel to all nations. Luke also shows how, even in the midst of persecution and opposition, the early believers were able to rely on God's spirit for direction and continue with the work He had given them to do. God showed His infinite power regardless of the circumstances, just as He...