What makes God happy? Read The Pleasures of God →

John Piper Photo

John Piper

John Piper is founder and teacher of Desiring God and chancellor of Bethlehem College and Seminary. For 33 years, he served as pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota. He is author of more than 50 books, including Desiring God: Meditations of a Christian Hedonist and most recently Foundations for Lifelong Learning: Education in Serious Joy. Read more about John.

Conference Message

Glorifying God by Reaching the Lost

Glorifying God by Reaching the Lost

Campus Outreach Staff Conference

Campus Outreach exists to glorify God by building laborers on the campus for the lost world. The word “lost” is in your mission statement. What does it mean? We use the word “lost” in different ways. It can mean…

Ask Pastor John

If God Is Happy, Why Does He Seem Angry?

If God Is Happy, Why Does He Seem Angry?

God delights in all of his works in the grand scope of God’s redemptive plan. But in the day-to-day sins and struggles of his image-bearers, God grieves.

Ask Pastor John

What Is Evil?

The heart of evil lies in its desire for other things above God. When evil looks out at all that is, it chooses creation over Creator.

Conference Message

Glorifying God by Being Compelled by God’s Love

Glorifying God by Being Compelled by God’s Love

You are precious to God, and the greatest gift he has for you is not to let your preciousness become your god, but to enable you to make much of him as your God.

Books Don’t Change People, Paragraphs Do

I have often said, “Books don’t change people, paragraphs do — sometimes sentences.” This may not be fair to books, since paragraphs find their way to us through books, and they often gain their peculiar power because of the context…

Ask Pastor John

Bible Memory as Ministry to Others

Bible Memory as Ministry to Others

By memorizing and reciting Scripture before others, believers become emissaries of grace who make mundane moments explode with significance.

Conference Message

Glorifying God . . . Period

Campus Outreach Staff Conference

On January 5, 2001, I was introduced to Campus Outreach. I was standing in front of 4,000 students in Atlanta at the Campus Outreach National Christmas Conference. From that first meeting, it was in my heart to bring Campus Outreach…

Live for the Particular Glories of Jesus, Not a Smudge

Live for the Particular Glories of Jesus, Not a Smudge

Scour the Bible for the gold of God’s character. Learn as much as you can and fix your gaze on the glory you find.

Ask Pastor John

I’ve Sinned Horribly, Is There Any Hope?

I’ve Sinned Horribly, Is There Any Hope?

Pastor John walks through Psalm 107 to call Christians who have sinned grievously and foolishly to cry out to the God of steadfast, enduring love.

Ask Pastor John

On Ghostwriters

On Ghostwriters

Properly attributing people's work is a matter of honesty. God wants us to give credit where it's due.

Are We Fascinated with Lewis’s Fame or His Influence?

The video below introduces the amazingly influential C.S. Lewis. If your time is short, just go straight to the video. But if you wonder why we should even care about Lewis’s influence, you might want to read these few paragraphs.…

Ask Pastor John

How Do I Delight Myself in the Lord?

How Do I Delight Myself in the Lord?

Delight in God as most admirable. Delight in God as Savior and friend. Delight in God through his gifts. And you will delight yourself in the Lord.

Five Reasons to Embrace Unconditional Election

Five Reasons to Embrace Unconditional Election

We should embrace unconditional election primarily because it’s true. But we should also embrace it because it’s precious.

Ask Pastor John

Advice for Better Bible Reading

Advice for Better Bible Reading

If you struggle in your Bible reading, Pastor John commends copying down the Scriptures each day and gives four reasons why.

How Pervasive and Practical Is the Beauty of God?

Nothing ugly is ever called glorious in the Bible. There is “great sin” (Genesis 20:9), but never “glorious sin.” The evil one has “cosmic power” (Ephesians 6:12), but not cosmic “glory.” The reason for this is that sin and evil…

Ask Pastor John

Mealtime Prayers: Impromptu or Memorized?

Mealtime Prayers: Impromptu or Memorized?

Spontaneous and memorized prayers teach families important aspects of a real, dynamic relationship with God.

Ask Pastor John

Patriotism and the Christian

Patriotism and the Christian

God’s people are Christians before they are patriots, but they still work for the good of their homelands.

Ask Pastor John

Mealtime Prayers: Necessary or Optional?

Mealtime Prayers: Necessary or Optional?

Prayers at meals, even when we don't feel like making them, form soul-nourishing habits of joy that can pass from generation to generation.

Should We Tell Children to Love Jesus?

Should We Tell Children to Love Jesus?

Charles Spurgeon encouraged parents to speak more to their children about trusting Jesus than about loving Jesus. Was he right?

Ask Pastor John

How Food and Sex Are Made Holy

How Food and Sex Are Made Holy

Food and sex easily turn from gifts into gods. Pastor John encourages believers to dethrone false gods by thanking the true God for his gifts.

Know This Dreadful Deformity of Your Soul — And Your Deliverance

Know This Dreadful Deformity of Your Soul — And Your Deliverance

By default, sin reigns over us as our king. We all need a more powerful king to break sin’s reign and save us.

Ask Pastor John

Is My Boyfriend’s Porn a Marriage Deal-Breaker?

Is My Boyfriend’s Porn a Marriage Deal-Breaker?

Porn ravages souls. Porn demeans women. Porn destroys love. So should porn use be a marriage deal-breaker?

Ask Pastor John

Suffering, Sacrifice, and Christian Hedonism

Suffering, Sacrifice, and Christian Hedonism

Christian hedonism does not ignore pain for the sake of joy. Rather, it exclaims that God is satisfying enough to give you joy in the midst of pain.

Ask Pastor John

Does Christian Hedonism Make Joy an Idol?

Does Christian Hedonism Make Joy an Idol?

Don’t delight in delight, glorify God by rejoicing in him, and three more safeguards against idolizing joy for Christian Hedonists.

Ask Pastor John

What Does It Mean to Be Dead to the World?

What Does It Mean to Be Dead to the World?

Jesus surpasses whatever good the world has to offer. So rather than worship those good things, disciples of Jesus receive them as gifts.

New Resources
in Your Inbox

A digest from Desiring God