Messages by Desiring God

David Mathis | The Father not only planned for his Son to die, but was pleased to crush him. And for those in Christ, this can be as comforting as it is astonishing.

Marshall Segal | Do you ever stop, slow down, and marvel at something God has made? If we could see it all like he does, we’d see far more than we do.

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.

David Mathis | When loss surrounds us, when fears assail us, we have a banner to which to flee. We turn to the God who has spoken, and there find real hope and strength.

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.

David Mathis | Good preachers carry many burdens before preaching, while preaching, and after preaching — and the rewards still outweigh the costs.

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

David Mathis | Psalm 46 teaches us God can handle the earth’s undoing and nations raging against his people — and that if he can do that, he can be a very present help in our trouble.

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.

David Mathis | What if, with some intentionality, the news could become a source of refreshment rather than a continual distraction and discouragement?

David Mathis | We boast on Sunday because Christ died on Friday. No cross, no favor with God. No crucifixion, no resurrection. We live because he died.

David Mathis | How do we meet with God in his word for a lifetime? Every morning, seek to gather a day’s portion.

David Mathis | What is freedom in Christ? Freedom from trying to earn God’s acceptance, and freedom to know and enjoy God forever.

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.

David Mathis | Before we step out to attempt big, ambitious things for Jesus, we need to prepare ourselves to receive and embrace the humbling that will inevitably come.

David Mathis | Why would Christians exercise? Working and pushing these bodies, as God designed them, serves our learning, our joy, and our love.

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.

Tony Reinke | Is a lightning rod — and by extension, all other tech — an act of faith or an act of God-thwarting unbelief?

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.

David Mathis | God made us to be led, every one of us. He designed us to thrive, not in autonomy, but under the wisdom and care of worthy leaders.

Tony Reinke | Many of us today love to swipe, scroll, and stare, but hardly read. Tony Reinke shares 23 tips for reading more and better in a digital age.

John Piper | About changes to this podcast.

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.

David Mathis | Moses made an audacious request. God answered — but only in part. And what he revealed at Sinai pales in comparison to Calvary.

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.