- Paperback: 400 pages
- Publisher: Multnomah Books; Rev Exp edition (Jun 26 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1576736652
- ISBN-13: 978-1576736654
- Product Dimensions: 21.3 x 15 x 3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 476 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #143,115 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Details |
Product Description
Review
Praise for The Pleasures of God
“The Pleasures of God is perhaps the most important book that John Piper has written. It is certainly the freshest and most penetrating. Many preachers and writers are calling Christians today to be more Godcentered. The irony is that even the call to be God-centered focuses attention on us, on what we must do. Certainly the Bible spends no small part of its pages telling us what we must do, but it does so out of profound God-centeredness. And here is a book that does not tell us what we must do to be God-centered; it simply is God-centered. Intoxicating.”
—D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“There are quite a few books every Christian should read. And there are some that need to be read a second time to really digest them. But then there are a select few that should be read and reread and reread…perhaps every year. John Piper’s The Pleasures of God belongs on that ‘to be reread every year’ list.”
—Randy Newman, campus minister and author of Questioning Evangelism
“John Piper takes ten of God’s expressed ‘delights’ and searches their significance and implications with rare zeal. What a privilege to have someone think through these biblical realities so lovingly and seek out our biblical reactions so keenly. If all Christian books were offerings on an Australian barbecue, this would be one of the juiciest steaks around—hot, healthy, and wonderful.”
—Simon Manchester, senior minister, St. Thomas Church, North Sydney, Australia
“In Desiring God, John Piper introduced us to the idea that the pursuit of God’s glory and the pursuit of our joy are not at odds, for the pursuit of God’s glory is our joy. In The Pleasures of God, Piper helps us to see that God’s glory is revealed in great part in what makes Him happy. The Pleasures of God is an invitation to meditate on what makes God
happy. If what makes God happy reveals His glory, and if we become like Him as we behold His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), then meditating on the pleasures of God will be a means for increased joy in God and gradual conformity into His likeness. If that is your desire, then take up this new edition and read it over and over again.”
—Juan R. Sanches Jr., preaching pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, Texas
“This book is breathtaking in both its scope and its focus and constitutes a joyful yet prophetic call to adore and worship God—whose infinite worth and excellence is revealed in what he loves and delights in. It is at once beautiful and moving, serious, stretching, and profound. The Pleasures of God surely ranks with J. I. Packer’s Knowing God as one of the most profoundly moving and world-view forming Christian books of modern times.”
—Reverend Richard M. Cunningham, CEO of Intervarsity UK
“Few books are genuinely life-changing. The Pleasures of God by John Piper is clearly one of them. I’ve often said to people, ‘If I were on a desert island and could have only three books, in addition to the Bible, I’d choose Desiring God and The Pleasures of God by John Piper.’”
—Sam Storms, president, Enjoying God Ministries, Kansas City, Missouri
“Books have profound potential—particularly the one you hold in your hand. John Piper is saturated with God, and his passion fills the pages of this book.”
—C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries
“Run, don’t walk, to buy this remarkable work.”
—Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes
“I encourage you to read [The Pleasures of God] twice; once to see the portrait as a whole, a second time to savor the sheer delight of loving a God so magnificent, so excellent, so holy.”
—Erwin W. Lutzer, senior pastor, The Moody Church
“In our fallen world, staring at the sun blinds us. But, by God’s grace, contemplating God gives us spiritual sight. Of all of Pastor John’s books, this is the most radical. Get this vision of God, and begin to see.”
—Mark Dever, pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC
“The Pleasures of God is perhaps the most important book that John Piper has written. It is certainly the freshest and most penetrating. Many preachers and writers are calling Christians today to be more Godcentered. The irony is that even the call to be God-centered focuses attention on us, on what we must do. Certainly the Bible spends no small part of its pages telling us what we must do, but it does so out of profound God-centeredness. And here is a book that does not tell us what we must do to be God-centered; it simply is God-centered. Intoxicating.”
—D. A. Carson, research professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
“There are quite a few books every Christian should read. And there are some that need to be read a second time to really digest them. But then there are a select few that should be read and reread and reread…perhaps every year. John Piper’s The Pleasures of God belongs on that ‘to be reread every year’ list.”
—Randy Newman, campus minister and author of Questioning Evangelism
“John Piper takes ten of God’s expressed ‘delights’ and searches their significance and implications with rare zeal. What a privilege to have someone think through these biblical realities so lovingly and seek out our biblical reactions so keenly. If all Christian books were offerings on an Australian barbecue, this would be one of the juiciest steaks around—hot, healthy, and wonderful.”
—Simon Manchester, senior minister, St. Thomas Church, North Sydney, Australia
“In Desiring God, John Piper introduced us to the idea that the pursuit of God’s glory and the pursuit of our joy are not at odds, for the pursuit of God’s glory is our joy. In The Pleasures of God, Piper helps us to see that God’s glory is revealed in great part in what makes Him happy. The Pleasures of God is an invitation to meditate on what makes God
happy. If what makes God happy reveals His glory, and if we become like Him as we behold His glory (2 Corinthians 3:18), then meditating on the pleasures of God will be a means for increased joy in God and gradual conformity into His likeness. If that is your desire, then take up this new edition and read it over and over again.”
—Juan R. Sanches Jr., preaching pastor, High Pointe Baptist Church, Austin, Texas
“This book is breathtaking in both its scope and its focus and constitutes a joyful yet prophetic call to adore and worship God—whose infinite worth and excellence is revealed in what he loves and delights in. It is at once beautiful and moving, serious, stretching, and profound. The Pleasures of God surely ranks with J. I. Packer’s Knowing God as one of the most profoundly moving and world-view forming Christian books of modern times.”
—Reverend Richard M. Cunningham, CEO of Intervarsity UK
“Few books are genuinely life-changing. The Pleasures of God by John Piper is clearly one of them. I’ve often said to people, ‘If I were on a desert island and could have only three books, in addition to the Bible, I’d choose Desiring God and The Pleasures of God by John Piper.’”
—Sam Storms, president, Enjoying God Ministries, Kansas City, Missouri
“Books have profound potential—particularly the one you hold in your hand. John Piper is saturated with God, and his passion fills the pages of this book.”
—C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries
“Run, don’t walk, to buy this remarkable work.”
—Joni Eareckson Tada and Steven Estes
“I encourage you to read [The Pleasures of God] twice; once to see the portrait as a whole, a second time to savor the sheer delight of loving a God so magnificent, so excellent, so holy.”
—Erwin W. Lutzer, senior pastor, The Moody Church
“In our fallen world, staring at the sun blinds us. But, by God’s grace, contemplating God gives us spiritual sight. Of all of Pastor John’s books, this is the most radical. Get this vision of God, and begin to see.”
—Mark Dever, pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington, DC
Book Description
Beginning where the foundational truth of Desiring God left off, that "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him," this expanded rerelease of another classic by John Piper will further explore 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 the reader 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 the reader very satisfied in Him.
Be Most Satisfied in God…
Because GOD Is Most Satisfied in God.
You don’t truly know someone until you know what makes him 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—behold and embrace—the great, glorious, sovereign, happy God of the Bible.
Be Most Satisfied in God…
Because GOD Is Most Satisfied in God.
You don’t truly know someone until you know what makes him 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—behold and embrace—the great, glorious, sovereign, happy God of the Bible.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
First Sentence
There is a beautiful phrase in 1 Timothy 1:11 buried beneath the too-familiar surface of Bible buzzwords. Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
There is a beautiful phrase in 1 Timothy 1:11 buried beneath the too-familiar surface of Bible buzzwords. Read the first page
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Concordance
Browse Sample PagesConcordance
Front Cover | Copyright | Table of Contents | Excerpt | Index
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heart Breaker,
By
This review is from: The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Paperback)
To put in in a sentence, if you want to have your heart slain, read this book. Although this is not so much a book to be read as it is a book to devour and pray through, Piper writes with the passion and description of a poet when describing the attributes and pleasures of God, comparing the fear and hope of the Lord to a storm upon a Greenland glacier, yet with a depth and intelligence that places him among any of today's foremost theologians.His writing is on par with Christianity's most eloquent writers - but with footnotes, passion, humility, love, God-centered doctrine, and love; both for the God who calls and for the lost sinners of the world. Once again, if you want your heart broken for missions, for your prayerlessness, your inability, your treason, for the love of God, read this book. Read it twice. Buy two copies, and give one to a friend. It is a treasure. It is deep enough to captivate and cause the theologian to meditate upon these teachings for weeks and months, it is elementary enough for the beginner, and it is passionate enough to cause even the hardest of hearts to break out into tears and fall to the floor on your face in adoration and repentance over failing to put God first in your life. As water saturates the earth after a hard spring rain, so does John Piper's love for God saturate the pages of this amazing book.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Rare, Relentlessly God-Centered Work,
By
This review is from: The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Paperback)
This is the most God-centered work that the decidedly theocentric pastor John Piper has produced. Not coincidentally, this is also Dr. Piper's best work.Dr. Piper begins by considering a quote from Henry Scougal: the excellency of a soul is to be measured by the object of its love. Scougal was referring to human souls, but nevertheless this quote raised a question in Dr. Piper's mind: couldn't we also measure the greatness of God by looking at the objects of his love? Every chapter analyzes one object of God's love, and how God's affections for each object reveal his greatness. Chapter One is the foundation for everything that follows. There Dr. Piper examines the ultimate pleasure of God the Father: his Son, who is the perfect, fully divine image of himself. Every subsequent chapter is memorable. Chapters Two and Three contemplate God's free sovereignty and fame, respectively. Chapter Four, on God's delight in his creation, is a much-needed corrective to the widespread belief that (as Stephen Jay Gould once wrote) whatever we think of God, his wisdom is not manifest in nature. Chapter Five is a clear popular defense of unconditional election. Chapter Six is the book's climax, and reveals how the Father's delight in bruising his Son lay in displaying his righteousness while justifying those who belittled his glory. Chapters Seven through Nine consider different facets of God's delight in his dealings with us humans. Chapter Ten contains a powerful defense of the place of study and thinking in the Christian life. And the appendix, "Are There Two Wills in God?" is a little masterpiece in its own right. This is by no means a perfect work, being the product of a finite and fallen mind. But Dr. Piper clearly finds God totally enthralling, and he has painted a portrait of God that is biblically solid and overwhelmingly lovely. The Pleasures of God is a stirring expression of happy, God-centered theology and devotion.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Read this One! One of the Best Christian Books Written,
By
This review is from: The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Paperback)
The Pleasures of God is by far one of the great books of our generation. John Piper is not only a clear and easy to follow theologian, he has a zeal and enthusiasm for the Person of God that is contagious. The genre of this book is hard to peg. Its theology runs deep - very deep, yet it is at the same time devotional; it stretches the intellect but cuts straight to the heart. Piper's style is truly unique. His convictions are unashamedly Biblical. The essence of the book may be condensed down to this: God does just as He pleases. Yet this thesis opens a universe of implications and questions, some of which Piper addresses in the book's ten chapters. They are titled, "The Pleasure of God in His Son, The Pleasure of God in All He Does, The Pleasure of God in His Creation, The Pleasure of God in His Fame, The Pleasure of God in Election, The Pleasure of God in Bruising the Son, The Pleasure of God in Doing Good to All Who Hope in Him, The Pleasure of God in the Prayers of the Upright, The Pleasure of God in Personal Obedience and Public Justice, and The Pleasure of God in Concealing Himself from the Wise and Revealing Himself to Infants." Piper's God is the Sovereign God of the Bible. Although we can only understand what He has revealed, He makes no apology for being God nor for His nature; instead, He glories in Who He is. Because the believer is in union with Him through Christ, we are included in the great love felt between the Persons of the Trinity. Piper takes the reader through numerous theological and daily issues, like election, why a good God would allow evil, foreign missions, prayer, the holiness of God, the Sovereignty of God, the purpose of Christ's atonement - and a whole lot more. I found that this book stretched not only my mind but my soul. World Magazine rightly included this volume on its list of the top 100 books of the Twentieth Century. It will take you a while to journey through these 340 thoughtful pages, but it will be a journey you will long remember.
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