Desiring God Messages by John Piper Audio

The Puritans took joy seriously because they read the Bible carefully. They saw that delight in God is at the heart of all true obedience.

You will not be perfect in this life, but you can be pleasing to God. You can become a real ingredient in the divine happiness.

Before he created the earth, God knew pain would plague this world. And not only knew, but planned. And not only planned — but purposed.

The individual soul’s affection for God is essential to the corporate, eternal reality of the worshiping church.

When glad in God, we bend low in love for others. We imitate Christ, who not only bowed the knee but hung his body on the tree.

God promises us his life-sustaining presence, even as he leads us into waterless regions of suffering and loss.

Faith does not shipwreck upon the rocks of history, logic, science, or ethics, but on the mountains of sinful desire.

Humility flourishes in hearts that focus not on being humble, but on gladly exalting Jesus, who is superior to us in every possible way.

There is a kind of unhealthy preaching that fails to make plain the effective connection between the sin-bearing work of Christ and the sin-killing work of the Christian.

Why does the apostle Paul speak so much about himself and his suffering? Because his suffering for the sake of others makes the love of Christ tangible to them.

The sovereign supremacy of Christ both keeps us from error and enables us to persevere through hardships with patience and joyful thankfulness.

Joy in God becomes our stronghold when we are awakened to see and savor him as our greatest joy.

The first Christmas brought good news. With it came fearless, great joy for all those who confess, “Jesus is Lord.”

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.

Prayer says more than the words it speaks. The act of praying vocalizes a profound reality: God himself abides in us, and we abide in him.

The church exists for missions — and because of missions. God plans for his people to come from the peoples, a promise he first made to Israel.

God plans to win the world with singing. Here are five connections between our joy-filled worship and the finishing of the Great Commission.

The Lamb who was slain will one day receive the reward of his suffering — people will come to him in joyful faith from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Christian leaders often carry great burdens. But God never leaves them without the opportunity to know serious joy, even in the hardest trials.

One of the most challenging commands in all the Bible is to rejoice when reviled. It’s not just difficult; it is humanly impossible.

How do joy and sorrow mingle in the Christian life? Does joy come only after sorrow passes, or can it come in the very midst of our griefs?

Christ has secured innumerable benefits for his people. But without this central, most foundational achievement, all the rest would collapse.

Abortion holds out hope that ending the unborn child’s life will spare you misery and hardship. But doing the right thing will never ruin your life.

Believing in Jesus, according to the Gospel of John, overlaps with love because it involves an act of the soul whereby one receives Jesus as their soul-satisfying bread, thirst-quenching water, and life-giving vine.

The central work of pastoral ministry is leading the people of God by feeding them with the word of Christ.

The lines of the Lord’s Prayer tend to pass by our eyes, and through our mouths, in a routine manner. But what might we be missing in our familiarity?

What does Bible reading look like for John Piper? In this message to fathers, he tells personal stories and shares how he has weaved Bible reading into all of life.

The nature of genuine saving faith isn’t mere mental assent, but receiving all that God is for us in Jesus Christ.

Suffering may quiet our singing for a time, but God designed singing to sustain our souls. And one day, we will sing forever with unrestrained joy.

What sinners and Satan intend for evil, God always superintends for good. Our all-wise God brings restoration from ruin and deliverance out of danger.

To exposit a text is only one part of preaching and teaching. We must drill down into the words and unearth the reality that holds the text together.

Preachers, instead of taking your text and making a beeline to the cross, take the cross and make a beeline to your text.

True contentment in Christ not only guards against our ever-changing circumstances, but frees us to overflow in costly love to others — even our enemies.

As we look forward to Christ’s second coming, what matters most is not that we have the timing and details down, but that we hold fast to Jesus as our great hope.

Suffering, pain, and trouble never have the last word for the people of God. He is our hope and our joy, and he will bring us all the way home.

To take God’s name in vain is about far, far more than avoiding foul language. Our reverence for God’s name cuts to the very core of our worship in all of life.

Jesus’s call to deny ourselves isn’t a demand to give up happiness but an invitation to walk with him on the path to deep, lasting joy.

True Christian education fills our hearts and minds with a joy so serious and strong that our society loses its power to control where we stand and what we say.

God will not settle for redeeming people from just a few parts of the globe. He will have people from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

The humblest response to our culture’s tirade against objective truth isn’t to retreat, but to lovingly and kindly contend for what the Bible says.

Every believer in Jesus Christ has a potent spiritual superpower. With the Spirit’s help, we now can seek the very things of heaven above.

The preacher’s task is not merely to teach or inform, but to rejoice with his people over the wonders of Scripture.

Glory and joy appear all over the Bible, but how they relate is not readily obvious. Listen to John Piper tell the story of how God connected the dots between the two.

Enjoying God, being satisfied in him, is essential in glorifying him as he deserves. God is not as glorified by mere duty as he is by delight.

Jesus’s resurrection not only guarantees that we too will rise, but that we can taste steadfast, heavenly joy here and now — even in suffering. John Piper preached this sermon at the Sing! Conference in Nashville.

Tears, crying, and weeping are all a proper response to the God-ordained sorrow and pain we face. Just because God is sovereign doesn’t mean we ignore our pain.

Suffering and injustice infect every inch of our world. But Jesus grants his people the resolve to labor for change that makes an everlasting difference. John Piper preached this message at the Sing! Conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Sermons are not speeches. Preaching isn’t a lecture. When a pastor speaks God’s words to his gathered people, in the power of the Spirit, miracles happen. John Piper delivered this message at the Sing! conference in Edinburgh, Scotland.

In this life, we will not be able to see all God is doing through sickness and pain, but we can trust that he will reveal more of himself to us through every trial and trouble.

The greatness of God’s glory invites a response that moves his people beyond mere words. And so we sing. John Piper preached this sermon at the Sing! Conference in Belfast, Northern Ireland.