John Piper | Desiring God

Most people in the world have no experience of lasting joy in their lives. We’re on a mission to change that. All of our resources exist to guide you toward everlasting joy in Jesus Christ.

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John Piper

John Piper is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and chancellor of Bethlehem College & 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 Why I Love the Apostle Paul: 30 Reasons.

He Sees with New Eyes: My Love for David Powlison (1949–2019)

He Sees with New Eyes

My Love for David Powlison (1949–2019)

I love David Powlison, and would like to honor him and exult in his Savior by giving you seven reasons why.

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Luke 6:20–26: The Kind of People God Blesses

The Kind of People God Blesses

Luke 6:20–26

If we are Christ’s disciples — whether poor, hungry, weeping, or persecuted — we are blessed.

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Was Job a Man or a Myth?

Was Job a Man or a Myth?

Job is a profound book on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study. But was Job himself a real, historical character? And does it matter?

Message Excerpt

Immediate Aid, Eternal Relief: Why Christians Work for Both

Immediate Aid, Eternal Relief

Why Christians Work for Both

We have no need to prioritize temporary aid or eternal relief. Christians labor for both because Jesus himself cared about both.

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Why Does God Discipline Some Christians with Death?

Why Does God Discipline Some Christians with Death?

Why would God take some of his children home as a means of discipline when he could have prevented their sin another way?

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Evidence of the New Birth: Living Out Identity in Christ

Evidence of the New Birth

Living Out Identity in Christ

All of the New Testament commandments are a call to become in experience what we are in Christ. And what we are in Christ is a new creation.

Message Excerpt

Why Christians Care About Every Injustice

Why Christians Care About Every Injustice

One day, God will set every wrong to right. But until then, he calls his people to stand against every injustice.

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How Do I Kill My Pride?

How Do I Kill My Pride?

Faith kills pride by forcing us to look away from ourselves to God to receive the gift of salvation that we could never earn on our own.

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The Effort Needed to Fight Sin: Living Out Identity in Christ

The Effort Needed to Fight Sin

Living Out Identity in Christ

The Christian’s life on earth will always be walking along the narrow path. Living for sin is easy. Following Christ requires carrying a cross daily.

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Do I Need to Love Myself More?

Do I Need to Love Myself More?

Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. How is this kind of self-love different from the mantra we hear in advertising and social media?

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How Much Authority Does Satan Have in the World?

How Much Authority Does Satan Have in the World?

All Satan’s power is by permission. He has no authority to do anything God does not permit for infinitely wise purposes.

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Be Who You Are: Living Out Identity in Christ

Be Who You Are

Living Out Identity in Christ

When we read commands and obligations, we are being summoned to become in experience what we are in Christ.

Message Excerpt

His Blood Breaks the Back of Ethnic Pride

His Blood Breaks the Back of Ethnic Pride

Jesus poured out his blood for people from every bloodline on this planet. At the cross, he breaks the back of every ethnic pride.

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Are Christians Righteous or Unrighteous?

Are Christians Righteous or Unrighteous?

Are Christians righteous or unrighteous? Pastor John explains two forms of righteousness in Scripture that get to the core of the gospel.

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Philippians 3:11–14: Run Hard for Your Reward

Run Hard for Your Reward

Philippians 3:11–14

We are going to win this race. We are going to get the crown. Not because we are great runners, but because Christ has made us his own.

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Should We Postpone Children While I Finish My Degree?

Should We Postpone Children While I Finish My Degree?

Deciding when to start a family can be complex. Pastor John shares how he and Noël decided, and what biblical truths should inform the process.

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Why Is It Better That Christ Went Away (John 16:7)?

Why Is It Better That Christ Went Away (John 16:7)?

It’s better for us that Jesus is gone. He said so when he left. But why is Christ’s physical absence from us better for us than his physical presence?

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Philippians 3:11–14: When Should I Forget My Past?

When Should I Forget My Past?

Philippians 3:11–14

Pursue, strain forward, press on. God wants us to put all energy into making it to the end, not revisiting the life we had before we started the race.

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Will Marriage Cure My Lust?

Will Marriage Cure My Lust?

Sex in marriage, just like other physical gifts from God, is not an absolute cure for lust, but it can be a great help in the battle.

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Philippians 3:11–14: The One Reason to Live

The One Reason to Live

Philippians 3:11–14

Devote your whole life to this one pursuit: attaining the fullest possible experience of Christ imaginable.

What Do Christians Care About (Most)? To the Class of 2019

What Do Christians Care About (Most)?

To the Class of 2019

Christians care about all injustice in our fallen world. But our outrage against wrongdoing will fizzle out unless we root our concern in God himself. We care especially about injustice against God. John Piper preached this message at the 2019 Bethlehem College & Seminary commencement.

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Can an Elect Person Die Without Hearing the Gospel?

Can an Elect Person Die Without Hearing the Gospel?

Letting the truth of election deter evangelism isn’t only illogical, but unbiblical. Pastor John shows how election moves us to action, not inaction.

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Should a Gay Couple, Once Converted, Stay ‘Married’?

Should a Gay Couple, Once Converted, Stay ‘Married’?

The union of two men or women is not “gay marriage.” It’s no marriage. When they come to Christ, that former relationship has no binding authority.

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Philippians 3:11–14: Can I Really Have Assurance?

Can I Really Have Assurance?

Philippians 3:11–14

God wants to give his children the assurance that they will be saved. But not the kind of assurance that ignores the warnings along the way.

Message Excerpt

All God Promises to Be for You

All God Promises to Be for You

The Bible repeatedly calls God’s people to rejoice, but what exactly are we supposed to find our joy in?