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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 and The Pleasures of God. Read more about John.

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How Is Covetousness the Root of Sexual Idolatry? Ephesians 5:3–7, Part 2

How Is Covetousness the Root of Sexual Idolatry?

Ephesians 5:3–7, Part 2

If Christ is not the King of your heart on earth, he will not be the King that satisfies your heart for all eternity.

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The God Who Brings Us into Everlasting Pleasure

The God Who Brings Us into Everlasting Pleasure

Those who live for joy in God now will possess joy in God forever. And until then, God pledges his protection over body and soul, through life and death.

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Should Saints Be Warned About Wrath? Ephesians 5:3–7, Part 1

Should Saints Be Warned About Wrath?

Ephesians 5:3–7, Part 1

Those marked by sexual immorality, impurity, and covetousness will not inherit the kingdom of God. Are such warnings aimed at Christians?

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Can We Really Give God More or Less Glory?

Can We Really Give God More or Less Glory?

Christians sometimes talk about giving God “some” glory, “more” glory, or “most” glory, but are those really biblical categories?

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Was God Pleased with the One He Cursed? Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 3

Was God Pleased with the One He Cursed?

Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 3

If the Father crushed the Son on our behalf, could he also be pleased with his Son while he died?

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How ‘Progressive’ Can a Christian Get?

How ‘Progressive’ Can a Christian Get?

None of us has an infallible understanding of the Bible, but at what point does open contradiction of Scripture call into question someone’s profession of faith?

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Christian Love Is Sacrificial Love: Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 2

Christian Love Is Sacrificial Love

Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 2

Loving others as Christ loved us is not a safe or convenient enterprise. It is a sacrificial love that bleeds.

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God’s Plan When Our Plans Fail

God’s Plan When Our Plans Fail

God, in his grace, does not keep us from trouble and pain. But he does order and measure our trouble and pain — and then uphold us through it all.

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The Effects of Being Greatly Loved by God: Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 1

The Effects of Being Greatly Loved by God

Ephesians 5:1–2, Part 1

The love of God is too great to leave us as we were. Anyone who has experienced the love of God has been transformed by the love of God.

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How Can I Resist a Critical Spirit?

How Can I Resist a Critical Spirit?

A love for excellence can easily grow into a hypercritical spirit. How can we resist the tendency to focus mostly on the failures of others?

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Can You Forgive Those Who Do Not Repent? Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 5

Can You Forgive Those Who Do Not Repent?

Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 5

Can you forgive someone who doesn’t repent of doing you any wrong? Can there be real forgiveness?

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John Piper’s Ministry in One Bible Text

John Piper’s Ministry in One Bible Text

John Piper’s ministry has been marked by rigorous attention to God’s word paired with deep delight in God’s word — a double emphasis captured in Psalm 119:97.

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How Do the Easily Angered Become Tender? Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 4

How Do the Easily Angered Become Tender?

Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 4

If you are a Christian, you are a new person. You are not what you were. You are fundamentally, profoundly, deeply new.

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The God Who Turns Hearts to God

The God Who Turns Hearts to God

The story of Elijah on Mount Carmel shows that God rules over fire and rain, bulls and rocks — and even over every human heart.

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The Fruit and Root of Bitterness: Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 3

The Fruit and Root of Bitterness

Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 3

Whenever we get hurt, we become vulnerable to bitterness. But God calls us to be kind, tenderhearted, and forgiving.

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Does Righteous Anger Kill Our Joy?

Does Righteous Anger Kill Our Joy?

If we allow anger to come quickly and stay long, it will eventually consume love, consume gratitude, consume mercy, and consume true perceptions of reality.

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How Does the Spirit Seal Us for Eternity? Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 2

How Does the Spirit Seal Us for Eternity?

Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 2

God seals us with his Holy Spirit to ensure we make it home. And this sealing by the Spirit leads to a life of love on earth.

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How Do I Write a Personal Mission Statement?

How Do I Write a Personal Mission Statement?

God has reasons for everything he does — and an ultimate purpose driving it all. Personal mission statements help us align all of life with that great purpose.

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Is God Above Being Grieved? Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 1

Is God Above Being Grieved?

Ephesians 4:30–32, Part 1

What does it mean that God can be grieved? Isn’t he unable to feel human feelings?

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The Glorious Duty of Thanksgiving

The Glorious Duty of Thanksgiving

Gratitude is a duty — we ought to thank God for the grace he has given. But genuine Christian gratitude is far more than mere duty.

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Giving Grace with Our Mouths: Ephesians 4:25–29, Part 8

Giving Grace with Our Mouths

Ephesians 4:25–29, Part 8

Keep your eyes on fellow Christians. Are they worn out, discouraged, downcast? Ask God for an upbuilding word.

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How Can I Serve My Disabled Friends?

How Can I Serve My Disabled Friends?

Jesus healed people with deep, lifelong disabilities. So should we pray that he would heal loved ones with disabilities like Down syndrome or cerebral palsy?

The Pleasures of God’s Faithfulness: Reflections on Bethlehem’s 150 Years

The Pleasures of God’s Faithfulness

Reflections on Bethlehem’s 150 Years

In 2021, Bethlehem Baptist celebrated 150 years as a church. As part of the celebration service, former pastor John Piper reflects on how a church could endure, and bear fruit, over generations.

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What Is the Christian Alternative to Stealing? Ephesians 4:25–29, Part 7

What Is the Christian Alternative to Stealing?

Ephesians 4:25–29, Part 7

What does stealing reveal about our hearts? It shows a lack of love for people and a lack of contentment in the Lord.

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Is Violent Crime Under God’s Providence?

Is Violent Crime Under God’s Providence?

When we don’t understand God and his ways, we can still rest here: God is always totally sovereign, and God is always infinitely good.

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