John Piper Christian Life and Ministry Collection (10 vols.)

John Piper pleads with fellow pastors to abandon the secularization of the pastorate and pursue the prophetic call of the Bible for radical ministry. We pastors are being killed by the professionalizing of the pastoral ministry. The mentality of the professional is not the mentality of the prophet. It is not the mentality of the slave of Christ. Professionalism has nothing to do with the essence and the heart of the Christian ministry. The more professional we long to be, the more spiritual death we will leave in our wake. For there is no professional childlikeness, there is no professional tenderheartedness, there is no professional panting after God. Brothers, we are not professionals. We are outcasts. We are aliens and exiles in the world. Our citizenship is in Heaven, and we wait with eager expectation for the Lord (Phil. 3:20). You cannot professionalize the love for his appearing without killing it. And it is being killed. The world sets the agenda of the professional man; God sets the agenda of the spiritual man. The strong wine of Jesus Christ explodes the wineskins of professionalism.

“The radical pursuit of joy in God may cost you your life. . . . But it will be worth it.” The world has an inconsolable longing, which it tries to satisfy with anything but God. Scenic vacations. Sexual exploits. Ascetic rigors. Managerial excellence. Sports extravaganzas. We have turned our back to the breathtaking beauty of God and fallen in love with our shadow. To delight in the light is a dangerous duty indeed. It may cost you your friends. It may cost you your reputation. It may cost you your life. But it will be worth it. Because the steadfast love of the Lord is better than life (Psalm 63:3)! In 96 pages, John Piper distills the essence of “Christian Hedonism.” This is not a word game. It is the biblical reality of the glorified God and the satisfied soul. We invite you to come and feast.

The author’s now classic ideas are presented here in an accessible size that will allow readers to absorb and apply them quickly—leading them to a dramatically different and joyful experience of their faith. Filled with biblical reasons for living a life of celebration, this life-changing read helps people discover not only why but how to delight more fully in the Lord. John Piper turns your heart towards the one true object of human desire—God. He shows how fulfilling your duty to delight in him can change your attitude toward worship, toward marriage, toward material goods, toward your very mission and purpose on earth! Join him on a journey from desperate desire to infinite delight!

The pursuit of pleasure is not optional. It is essential. Scripture reveals that the great business of life is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. In this paradigm-shattering work, John Piper reveals that the debate between duty and delight doesn’t truly exist: Delight is our duty. Join him as he unveils stunning, life-impacting truths you saw in the Bible but never dared to believe. The message of Desiring God is that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. In this book, Piper calls this worldview “Christian Hedonism” and explains why pursuing maximum joy is essential to glorifying God. He discusses the implications of this for conversion, worship, love, Scripture, prayer, money, marriage, missions, and suffering.

In Finally Alive, inspired by a sermon series on Jesus’ peculiar command, “You must be born again,” John Piper points out that Jesus “wasn’t simply sharing interesting information; he was directing us toward eternal life.” As it is essential to know what God intends when he uses this language of being born again, so that we may experience new birth and help others do the same, Piper explores and biblically defines the “new birth” to help believers embrace its reality. Summing up the vision for this book Piper says, “I hope that showing that the new birth is not in our control helps make pastors and other Christians desperate for the supernatural in their ministries.”

Being “born again” is now defined by what people say they believe. The New Testament however defines Christians very differently. When Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again,” the devout and learned religious leader was unsure what Jesus meant. It would seem nothing has changed. Today “born again Christians” fill churches that are seen as ineffectual at best. Those claiming to be “born again” live indistinguishable from those who don’t; they sin the same, embrace injustice the same, covet the same, do almost everything the same.

What is future grace? It is all that God promises to be for us from this second on. Saving faith means being confident and satisfied in this ever present future grace. This is why saving faith is also sanctifying faith. The power of sin’s promise is broken by the power of a superior satisfaction; namely, faith in future grace. Gratitude for past grace was never meant to empower future obedience. Tomorrow’s crisis demands tomorrow’s grace. And faith that future grace will be there is the victory that overcomes the world.

Future Grace contains 31 chapters—one for each day of the month—including practical chapters on how faith in future grace defeats anxiety, pride, shame, lust, despondency and more. No one sins out of duty. We sin because we want to. Sin promises happiness, and we buy the lie. So how can the root of sin be severed in our lives? The penalty of sin must be paid by the righteous blood of Christ. And the power of sin must be broken by banking on the promises of Christ. John Piper’s meditations are rotted in rock-solid biblical reflection. Chapter by chapter, he reveals how, by cherishing the promises of God, you can break the power of anxiety, despondency, covetousness, lust, bitterness, impatience, pride, misplaced shame, and more.

This collection of 120 brief meditations concentrates on savoring the supremacy of God in all of life. The Bible exhorts us to glorify God in whatever we do, “whether we eat or drink” (1 Corinthians 10:31). This implies that nothing is insignificant to God. But to think and do everything in a way that makes God supreme is radical living. These daily meditations encompass many topics—from intensely personal concerns to vital public and cultural issues—yet all are deeply rooted in the Scriptures. They are intended to help you place God fully at the center of every thought, every action, every choice, every love: at the center of all that you are and all that you do.

Life is short. Eternity is long. Live like it. You will exist forever. You and God are both in the universe to stay—either as friends on his terms, or enemies on yours. Which it will be is proven in this life. And this life is a vapor. Two seconds, and we will be gone. Surely God means for our time on earth to count for something significant. In these 31 meditations, John Piper will connect you to a fresh understanding of God and a renewed relationship with him. You’ll find your faith stirred to make every day count for Christ as you consider life as a vapor.

Thirty-one subjects are addressed in this book, as unique as “How to Be a Refuge for Your Children,” “How to Drink Orange Juice to the Glory of God,” and “Embracing the Pain of Shame.” Some are longer, some shorter, like the real-world conversations they so closely resemble, and each comes from the fertile mind of John Piper and is written in his own inimitable style. Together, the readings will lead to a deeper understanding of God and a cleaner, clearer relationship with him. Most of all, Piper’s approach shows how meditating on God’s powerful Word can affect every aspect of our lives. Whether you’re steeped in the Word of God or newly acquainted with it, these 31 meditations will penetrate to the deepest reaches of your soul. With a contagious passion, John Piper awakens us to violent prayer, piercing pleasure, and fearless faith. “May these meditations become in your life the living embodiment of God’s Word and penetrate to the deep places of your soul. God has a good work to do there.”—John Piper.

This classic volume by John Piper (revised and expanded from his 1991 work) contains 10 chapters, each focusing on a different but related aspect of God’s pleasure in his own character or work. The chapters move logically from the initial focus on God’s greatness and majesty in himself to his grace and condescension toward us.

Emphasizing the foundational truth that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him, Piper further explores a life-changing essential: we will be most satisfied in God when we know why God himself is most satisfied in God. Fully understanding the joy of God will draw you into an encounter with his overflowing, self-replenishing, all encompassing grace—the source of living water that all Christians desire to drink. The Pleasures of God will again put God at the center of creation and leave you very satisfied in him.

You don’t truly know someone until you know what makes them happy. Our pleasure is the measure of our character. So it is with God. We can only know the greatness of his glory if we know what makes him glad. Therefore we must understand “the pleasures of God.”

This is not a book about you. It’s about the one you were made for—God himself. In this theological tour de force, pastor John Piper navigates the biblical evidence to help us see and savor what the pleasures of God show us about him so that we might become like the one we behold.

What the church and world need today, more than anything else, is to know and love the great, glorious, and sovereign God of the Bible.

This resource replaces A Godward Life: Book Two and adds 20 fresh entries to the original 120 daily meditations, broaching current and controversial subject matter, such as partial-birth abortion and gay marriage. Piper finds poignant, practical truths from the Bible regarding many of the difficult questions facing Christians today. These pages of substantive spiritual nourishment will brace readers’ minds with truth and nourish their hearts with God’s sovereign grace. Pastors and lay leaders will find the three indexes included in this revision very helpful. Piper’s offering of 140 carefully crafted meditations will satisfy your spiritual hunger pangs, whetting your appetite for more of God himself. These meditations are designed to refresh you in your daily communion time with Christ. R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tells us, “This volume is a treasure of true doctrine applied to life.”