Q. How can I get John Piper to speak at my event?

If you would like to find out how to have John Piper speak at your event, please see our speaking request page.

Q. What books have been most influential in John Piper's life and thought?

Several years ago John wrote a short paper detailing the books that have influenced him most. See "Books That Have Influenced Me Most". In addition, the following are some of his suggestions for enrichment of the soul on God:

  • Jonathan Edwards, read Religious Affections, at all costs read Religious Affections! And anything else you can get your hands on by this great saint.
  • Stephen Charnock, The Existence and Attributes of God. Ruminate on a few pages a day for five years or so.
  • Iain Murray, The Forgotten Spurgeon, or his Jonathan Edwards: A New Biography. Murray is so warm and careful and doctrinally concerned. He mingles life and theology in his biographies like no one else. Revival and Revivalism is also very good.
  • Thomas Watson (d. 1689), Body of Divinity. This is his exposition of the Westminster Shorter Catechism, which may not sound lively, but it is incredibly helpful. For example, when I groped for help on understanding the meaning of forgiveness in all it subtleties of church discipline and remaining corruption and ongoing failure of trust, Watson was my rescue with his many, many pages of exposition of the Lord's prayer statement, "Forgive us our sins as we forgive our debtors."
  • John Owen, Volume Six of his Works containing the works that rescued J. I. Packer from spiritual suicide as a student when he was being mistaught about perfectionism. There are four works: On the Mortification of Sin, On Temptation, On Indwelling Sin in Believers, and Exposition of Psalm 130. You will know yourself and God and sin better than you ever thought you could when you are done.
  • Martyn Lloyd Jones, Spiritual Depression. He teaches us how to preach to ourselves from Scripture-which is what everyone must learn to do.
  • Spurgeon, Lectures to My Students. There are essays in here that are so inspiring that every minister it seems must read them. Not necessarily the whole book, but certain ones like "The Minister's Fainting Fits" (on discouragement) and "The Blind Eye and the Deaf Ear" (on how to handle criticism) and "Conversion our Aim" etc.

Q. What ideas have strongly influenced John Piper?

What I have learned from about twenty-years of serious reading is this. It is sentences that change my life, not books. What changes my life is some new glimpse of truth, some powerful challenge, some resolution to a long-standing dilemma, and these usually come concentrated in a sentence or two. I do not remember 99% of what I read, but if the one percent of each book or article I do remember is a life-changing insight, then I don't begrudge the 99%. And that life-changing insight usually comes in a moment, a moment whose value is all out of proportion to its little size. That's why I call it an "immeasurable moment."

Here are some of the examples of the 1% that have gripped me and changed me.

From Jonathan Edwards, his 6th life resolution written in college: "Resolved: To live with all my might while I do live."

From his book the Religious Affections: "True Religion, in great part, consists in holy affections."

From St. Paul a sentence hit me when I was about twenty-two that has shaped my theology ever since, "Work out your salvation with fear and trembling for it is God who works in you to will and to do his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12f).

From C.S. Lewis in his sermon, The Weight of Glory: "If we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord finds our desires not too strong but too weak. We are halfhearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition, when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mudpies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased."

From St. Augustine's Confessions, "I have not hope at all but in thy great mercy. Grant what thou commandest and command what thou wilt."

Also from his Confessions: "For he loves Thee too little who loves anything together with Thee, which he loves not for Thy sake."

Q. What topics has John Piper taught on?

See the topic index in our resource library for a comprehensive listing of all the topics John Piper has taught on.

Q. What is John Piper currently teaching?

You can see the latest added resources in the recently added section in the resource library.