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Articles by Desiring God

Articles by Desiring God

638 episodes — Page 8 of 13

Appointed and Disappointed: Four Lessons for Passing Leadership

Jon Bloom | Every earthly calling you accept will be one you eventually have to release. Have you thought about how to do that well?

Apr 27, 202311 min

God So Loved Himself: Overlooked Help from a Well-Known Friend

David Mathis | God created the world to glorify himself. But does this truth diminish his love for his people in Christ? Consider Jonathan Edwards’s enduring answer.

Apr 24, 202315 min

The Ministry of the Pew: Sunday Morning for Normal Christians

Greg Morse | How many of us arrive on Sunday mornings, sing, listen, and then leave?

Apr 23, 202312 min

Why Do Christians Struggle to Love?

Jon Bloom | If God gives the Holy Spirit to those who believe in Jesus, why do we still have such a hard time walking in love?

Apr 21, 202311 min

Join That Church: Why God Made You for Membership

Marshall Segal | In an age of independence and suspicion of authority, becoming a church member is a loud, arresting statement of our devotion to Christ and our need for his body.

Apr 20, 202312 min

Raw Passion and Messy Missiology: A Tribute to George Verwer (1938–2023)

John Piper | On April 14, 2023, one of the greatest missions leaders of the last hundred years passed into glory — and only glory can measure the global influence he left behind.

Apr 19, 20239 min

The Art of One-Anothering: How the Church Loves Like Christ

Scott Hubbard | To love another well, we need to put on Christ himself. We need to have his mind, offer his welcome, speak his words, show his love, and give his grace.

Apr 16, 202316 min

Beware of the Birds: How Satan Sabotages Sermons

Greg Morse | What if the distractions keeping you from listening to sermons are an act of spiritual warfare?

Apr 14, 202312 min

The Syntax of Sacrifice: Introduction to Leviticus

Joe Rigney | The book of Leviticus can seem as mystifying as a foreign language — until we learn the basic nouns, adjectives, and verbs of the sacrificial system.

Apr 10, 202332 min

The Easter Yet to Come

Marshall Segal | How pitiful would your life seem if Jesus did not rise? How promising and thrilling is it if he really did?

Apr 9, 20239 min

Tree of Shame: The Horror and Honor of Good Friday

David Mathis | Jesus endured the cross, Hebrews tells us, “for the joy that was set before him.” What joy did Jesus see on the other side of Good Friday’s shame?

Apr 7, 202314 min

The Most High on His Knees: Learning Humility from the Last Supper

Greg Morse | Before Jesus gave his hands to the nails, he used them to wash the dirt from his disciples’ feet. What thoughts caused one so high to go so low?

Apr 6, 202312 min

Redeeming Discipline: How Grace Reforms Our Effort

Scott Hubbard | When the apostle Paul lost his legalism, he did not lose his discipline — not even a little. So what did he know about discipline that we may not?

Apr 2, 202311 min

Does Alcohol Still Sober You? Five Warnings About Abuse

Marshall Segal | A healthy, godly use of alcohol remains vigilant against at least five great dangers of alcohol.

Mar 30, 202315 min

The Father’s Way: When Good Parents Say Yes and No

Joe Rigney | If we love our children, we sometimes must say no. But we would do well to think carefully about how, and how often, we say no.

Mar 27, 202311 min

He Comes Quickly: Are You Still Waiting?

Greg Morse | The last picture of the church in Scripture shows a bride looking up to heaven, crying out, “Come!” Do we still look and long for our Lord’s return?

Mar 26, 20239 min

Still on the Throne: The Glories of a Seated Christ

David Mathis | Jesus rose and ascended, then his Father seated him on heaven’s throne. But what is he doing right now up there where he’s been sitting for centuries?

Mar 23, 202311 min

What God Can Make from a Shattered Life

Scott Hubbard | In the midst of suffering, it can be hard to imagine how all this heartache could possibly end in glory. That’s why God didn’t leave us to our imaginations.

Mar 20, 202310 min

What Will Make You Resilient? Learning from a Living Miracle

Jon Bloom | Any Christian who lives in a cursed world like ours will need to learn resilience, and God hasn’t left us without staggering examples to follow.

Mar 19, 202311 min

Should We Get Married? How to Find Clarity in Dating

Marshall Segal | If you want to pursue greater clarity in a dating relationship, look carefully in three directions: your desire, your community, and your opportunity.

Mar 16, 202318 min

My Son, Give Me Your Heart: The First Desire of Fruitful Parenting

Joe Rigney | An ancient proverb teaches us that we are to aim at more than just our children’s obedience. More than anything, we want their hearts.

Mar 13, 20237 min

The Shadow We Cannot Shake: What to Do When Darkness Remains

Scott Hubbard | “Up and be doing.” It’s not the only wise counsel to give to someone walking through doubt or spiritual darkness, but it might be the counsel some need to hear most.

Mar 12, 202311 min

God of Ages Past: The Awakening We Need Today

Greg Morse | Though our experience may tell us to expect few conversions, few baptisms, and no grand spiritual movements, the God who revives and awakens is still our God today.

Mar 10, 202311 min

Thirty Days of Easter: Invitation to Enjoy the Risen Christ

David Mathis | Narnia, Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter — the best stories reward re-reading. And none matches the one we rehearse each spring as Easter approaches.

Mar 9, 202311 min

Losing Christ in Christianity

Greg Morse | Christianity without Christ is a sunless solar system, a waterless ocean, an airless sky. Yet how subtly and easily we who name Christ can lose sight of him.

Mar 6, 202312 min

Do You Want to Die Well?

Marshall Segal | What would life be like if you were unafraid of death? If you knew death would really be gain, what kind of life might you be free to live?

Mar 5, 202310 min

A Holy Conspiracy of Joy: The Heart of Healthy Pastors and Churches

David Mathis | In the healthiest churches, we find a holy conspiracy between pastors who gladly care for the sheep, and sheep who do what they can so that the pastors might serve joyfully.

Mar 3, 202310 min

Sit at the Feet of Loss: What Endings Teach the Living

Jon Bloom | The wisdom we need in this world often wears black. Painful as they are, all our deaths and endings hold lessons we cannot live wisely without.

Mar 2, 202310 min

Man Enough to Weep

Greg Morse | When was the last time you cried over someone’s soul? Do you ever ask God to make the tears flow again?

Feb 26, 202311 min

Four Marks of Faithful Teaching

Scott Hubbard | In Paul’s final meeting with a group of pastors, he gives them four marks of faithful teaching — the kind of teaching God uses to win the world.

Feb 23, 202310 min

Live Against the Drift: Refocusing the Distracted Soul

Marshall Segal | For many Christians, our greatest danger is not that we will suddenly run from Jesus, but that we will slowly, subtly drift away.

Feb 20, 202311 min

The Stable Presence: Five Traits of Resilient Fathers

Joe Rigney | Our homes need men who see with clarity, stand with stability, and act with wisdom. We need resilient, sober-minded fathers.

Feb 19, 20239 min

Move the Body, Renew the Mind: A Christian Use for Exercise

David Mathis | To think seriously about Christ and his word, you will need to push your brain. And if you want to push your brain, you may need to push your body.

Feb 17, 202311 min

Friends Who Fell Away: When Apostasy Comes Close to Home

Greg Morse | They sang with us in church, confessed to be Christ’s, renounced the world and Satan — and later walked away. How can we make sense of such painful apostasies?

Feb 15, 202311 min

Suffering Proves We Are Real

Marshall Segal | No one asks for suffering. But when it comes through the hands of our wise and loving Father, we can do more than tolerate it. We can rejoice, even in this.

Feb 12, 202312 min

The Living God: What Makes Him Different and Satisfying

Joe Rigney | Have you considered how wonderful it is to draw near to the God who now and always lives?

Feb 10, 20238 min

Faith in the Wilderness of Waiting

Scott Hubbard | The gnawing ache of hopes unmet and prayers unanswered tries our faith. But God is with us in our waiting. None who trust in him to the end will be disappointed.

Feb 9, 202311 min

Beneath the Mountain of Smoke: Recovering the Awe of Worship

Greg Morse | Does Sunday morning feel like a gathering before almighty God? We can far too easily lose sight of what we’re doing when we come together to worship.

Feb 6, 202311 min

Christ Did Not Please Himself: The Joy of Bearing with Others’ Failings

David Mathis | Christians know ourselves called to love (and keep loving) difficult people. Fewer of us may realize that this hard path is also the path of joy.

Feb 5, 202313 min

Every Marriage Needs a Mission: Three Steps for Husbands

Scott Hubbard | How can a husband lead his marriage into God-glorifying mission? He might begin by taking three modest steps: dream, draw, and do.

Feb 3, 202311 min

Does Technology Help or Hurt Dating?

Marshall Segal | Technology can help dating relationships, and technology can hurt them. Unfortunately, many assume the former, while living the latter.

Jan 26, 202314 min

Be Still, My Soul: A Hymn for the Hardest Losses

Jon Bloom | Some three centuries ago, a hymn appeared that has comforted countless hearts in the deepest pain of grief and loss: “Be Still, My Soul.”

Jan 23, 202314 min

The Light and Momentary Success of the Wicked

Joe Rigney | Many see how the wicked prosper and abandon the costly path of faith and godliness. If only they could see where each path leads.

Jan 22, 20238 min

How Not to Pray: Learning from Pharisees and Pagans

Greg Morse | The look-at-me prayer of the Pharisee and the say-more prayer of the pagan both find their cure in the simple Godward sincerity of the Lord’s Prayer.

Jan 20, 202310 min

The Spiritual Power of Staying Put: Why Christians Are Slow to Leave

Scott Hubbard | In one sense, it’s never been easier to move — to find a new job, a new home, a new church. In another sense, it’s never been better to stay.

Jan 19, 202313 min

Lovers of Good: Eyes of Hope in a World Gone Bad

David Mathis | Christians believe in good. They look for good. And they do good because, at bottom, they are lovers of good.

Jan 17, 202310 min

Forgive Me and Help Me Forgive: The Lord’s Prayer for Daily Sin

Marshall Segal | Many Christians pray at every meal and often thank God for giving them daily bread. But how many pray as often about forgiveness?

Jan 15, 202311 min

Begin Where You Are: How to Renew Your Prayer Life

Joe Rigney | C.S. Lewis wrote a book on prayer in which he pens four words that might change your prayer life: “Begin where you are.”

Jan 12, 202311 min

Do the Will You Know: The First Step for Further Guidance

Scott Hubbard | How can you walk in God’s will for your life? Do the will you already know. Discern the will you don’t.

Jan 10, 202312 min

The Curse Under Our Breath: What Grumbling Sounds Like to God

Greg Morse | If we could hear all that our grumbling says, we would be slower to murmur and quicker to seek more joy in God.

Jan 8, 202313 min