It would be difficult to find a better summary of what Desiring God is all about than from this quote taken from the writings of Puritan Thomas Watson:

We glorify God by working out our own salvation. God has twisted together, his glory and our good. We glorify him by promoting our own salvation. It is a glory to God to have multitudes of converts; his design of free grace takes effect, and God has the glory of his mercy; so that, while we are endeavoring our salvation, we are honoring God.

What an encouragement is this to the service of God, to think, "while I am hearing and praying, I am glorifying God; while I am furthering my own glory in heaven, I am increasing God's glory!"

Wo…

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I am in the midst of revising Future Grace for a new edition this fall. For the few of you who have read the book and stumbled over some ambiguities, I hope to bring new precision and clarity.

One area for clarification is what I meant by saying “Faith is primarily future oriented” (13). I’m changing the word “primarily.” I’m going to use “profound and pervasive” and then explain. All that follows is an exerpt:

Faith has a profound and pervasive future orientation. To be sure, it can look back and believe a truth about the past (like the truth that Christ died for our sins). It can look out and trust a person (like the personal receiving of Jesus Christ). And it can look forward and be a…

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The argument isn't my primary concern. Articles like "After-birth abortion: why should the baby live" are more treacherous for the outcome of their argument than the argument itself, as silly as it is. Ideas really do have consequences.

When I read academicians pontificate from their ivory towers I think about children with names. Children like Paul and Andrew and Michael and Kristina and Mia. Real children. 

And I remember the Apostle Paul’s admonition to the church:

The eye cannot say to the hand, “I have no need of you,” nor again the head to the feet, “I have no need of you.” On the contrary, the parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable. . . (1 Corinthians 12…

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For the last twenty years thousands of men from across America struggling with sexual sin have come to our intensive counseling workshop. Over half were pastors and missionaries.

I wish our experience was unique.

Several years ago a seminary professor told me: “We no longer ask our entering students if they are struggling with pornography, we assume every student is struggling. The question we ask: ‘How serious is the struggle?’”

One missions agency told me that 80% of their applicants voluntarily indicate a struggle with pornography, resulting in staff shortages on the field.

Pornography is just one level of sin, a form of visual sex, or heart adultery. Physical adultery includes an…

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Why would God reach down his hand and drag his fierce fingers across rural America killing at least 38 people with 90 tornadoes in 12 states, and leaving some small towns with scarcely a building standing, including churches?

If God has a quarrel with America, wouldn’t Washington, D.C., or Las Vegas, or Minneapolis, or Hollywood be a more likely place to show his displeasure?

We do not ascribe such independent power to Mother Nature or to the devil. God alone has the last say in where and how the wind blows. If a tornado twists at 175 miles an hour and stays on the ground like a massive lawnmower for 50 miles, God gave the command.

• “The wind of the Lord, shall come, rising from the wi…

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While  John Knight (www.theworksofGod.com) stands on the wall and warns the world of murder by other names, let Eric Metaxas do the same with the story of Hitler’s slaughter of the weak.

“As early as 1929 [Hitler] had publicly proposed that 700,000 of the ‘weakest’ Germans be ‘removed’ per year.” It seemed ridiculously implausible — even as “after-birth abortion” (infanticide) does in America today.

But ideas have consequences. Nietzsche was the John the Baptist of this Aryan anti-Christ. And the German race were to be the Übermenschen, while the Poles, the Jews, and the disabled were the Untermenschen.

With all eyes on the Polish front the “domestic nightmare could begin; the fog of…

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...what? What drives you?

John Piper says, "I exist to to spread a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ." This is the mission of John Piper, the mission of Desiring God, and it's a statement Pastor John unpacked in less than three minutes at the recent Conference for Pastors.

Watch the entire video from the recent Conference for Pastors.

The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation (Exodus 15:2).

For the past decade or so, discovering our strengths has been the buzz in North America, particularly in leadership and management circles. Lots of books have been published and numerous tests developed to help us identify our strengths.

The closest biblical parallels are texts like Ephesians 4:11, 1 Corinthians 12:28, Romans 12:6–8, and others where we are given lists of gifts “that differ according to the grace given to us” by God. And we are urged to use them for the benefit of the church.

But note that even here the Bible tends to refer to “gifts” rather than “strengths.” The difference in focus…

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What is self-worth? And whatever it is, do you have the right kind?

Back in 1976, during his college teaching ministry, John Piper was interviewed about the then burgeoning talk of self-esteem. Responding to nine questions, he gives a biblical assessment of what it means to be human and have value.

Read the entire interview.

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For a preview, here are the questions with short excerpts of Pastor John's response:

1. What does the term “self worth” mean to you?

. . . Man is valuable because he is created in the image of God and is therefore an expression of God's glory. Humans have value in that they unlike all the animals have the unique potential to consciously honor God by than…

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In this brief video clip from the recent Conference for Pastors, John Piper explains Jonathan Edwards's vision of the Trinity; the intense, pure, delight and love flowing between the Father and the Son, "an energy of joy that makes atom bombs look like firecrackers."

[Esprit de corps = the common spirit existing in the members of a group and inspiring enthusiasm.]

For more, see:

• The full conversation
• Jonathan Edwards' essay
• Joe Rigney's lecture
• God's Passion for His Glory, pages 84–86 (free PDF)
• A God Entranced Vision of All Things, pages 26–28 (free PDF)