Messages by Desiring God

If pastors are going to labor for the joy of their people, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1:24, then they must first make it their priority to pursue their own joy in the Lord.

Nothing is more important as a church grows than that its people help each other rejoice in Jesus.

The costs of taking the gospel to the unreached is high, but the Lamb who is worthy to receive the reward of his suffering is infinitely greater.

The church is blessed by strong, humble, Christ-like male leadership and the corresponding culture it breeds.

God has eternally enjoyed himself as Trinity and creates us to make his glory go on public display that we may be satisfied in him forever.

Every detail of the death of Christ happened according to the plan of God — even his betrayal and agonies.

Getting old is about God's glory, not the American Dream

Israel’s bad kingship was a grievous sin. But God planned bad kings to pave the road for a spectacular Savior.

God's command to us to meet with and encourage each other is for our happiness.

Injustice marks both Joseph’s story and Jesus’s, but even in dire circumstances, God is sovereignly working everything for our good and his glory.

In the Christian life, joy sustains us in suffering, flavors our suffering, and is the goal of our suffering.

How can Christians fulfill their vows to their family and provide for them spiritually while facing terminal cancer, despite being at peace with it as a gift from God? How can Christians seek to maintain a good reputation without becoming excessively focused on being overly well-liked?

The world exists in its current suffering state because it best prepares the world for God’s plan of redemption, which is centered on displaying the worth of Christ through his death and resurrection.

All suffering experienced of any kind, all suffering experienced in the path of faithful obedience to God is suffering with Christ and is suffering for Christ.

Suffering is an essential part of the Christian life, and through it we have a unique opportunity to show the preciousness of Christ.

The global glory of the gospel shines all the more beautifully when it filters through the prism of diversity.

The story of Lazarus serves as an anchor to those who have lost loved ones to suicide by showing the preciousness of Christ over life.

We are sinful by nature because of our father, Adam, but we can claim the righteousness of our Savior, Jesus.

Satan and all his works are evil. But Jesus crushes Satan’s head and disarms him of his deathly power.

God will use everything — even the tragedies of our lives — to shine a bright light on the goodness and glory of Jesus Christ.

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In order to understand how we display the mercy of God to others, we must first understand how God has displayed his mercy toward us.

Christ promises that he will build his church and the gates of hell will not prevail against it.

John Piper answers four crucial questions people ask about divorce and remarriage.

Jesus calls us to keep our marriage covenant in a way that tells the truth about him.

Jesus gives us more than one reason why it is worth the risk to share the gospel.

Don’t provoke your children to anger. Show them in your own soul how it can be replaced with tenderhearted joy.

The moment that we put our trust in Christ, God began to work all things for our good. And only he can move us to pour out his forgiving love on others.

Marriage is not just about filling the earth with warm bodies but filling the earth with worshipers of Jesus.

Not all of our obedience pleases God. If we try to earn our justification or even pay God back, we trample on the greatest achievements of the cross.

The ultimate goal of God in everything he does is the glory and fame of his own name.

We must not be peddlers of God’s word, motivated by greed and fear; rather, we must preach Jesus as the only soul-satisfying treasure and the only God-satisfying obedience.

How can we live in a way that shows that the church is our family?

The triumph of the gospel in the new heavens and new earth consists in the hope that comes through God’s promise to raise his children with glorified bodies to inhabit a world fit for their fellowship and everlasting enjoyment of God.

Four mistakes you should avoid making in life are: Bigger is better than smaller, newer is better than older, having is better than being, and visible is better than invisible.

Family relationships are of great value, but the promises and blessings that come from Christ are of infinite value.

God loves pastors who, feeling the weight of Sunday’s sermon, prepare themselves by immersing daily in Scripture with fresh fervor.

How can we explain the gospel to children so that they not only understand all that content, but also come to cherish the God of the gospel with us?

Psalm 43 demonstrates that joy in God is the ultimate goal of our existence, and it details the steps a person can take when they feel distant from God.

Delighting in Christ is not simply a blessing that comes in time, but is the essence of saving faith itself. To enjoy Jesus is to know Jesus.

The beauty and attraction of Jesus Christ isn’t just that he is meek or just that he is strong, but that he is meek in his strength and strong in his meekness.

Salvation comes through faith not only by believing objective facts, but by experiencing Christ as supremely satisfying.

The essence of sin is preferring anything more than God. Only he is truly worthy, but in our depravity, we shun the life he offers.

God’s ultimate goal is to uphold and display his glory for the maximum enjoyment of his redeemed church.

A Christian woman hopes in God, fears nothing, and wears the jewelry of godliness.

We will reign with Christ and find our joy not in usurping God's majesty but in saying: “How majestic is your name in all the earth.”

There is knowledge that is communicated to all through nature, and then there is knowledge that is only communicated in the gospel: “Everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins.”