Desiring God

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Summary: great message
Review: piper's message is wonderful and timeless. in pursuing God, we find our utmost pleasure. times may sometimes be hard, yet in God we can all find rest and a life that dwarfs all others in happiness and meaning. that being said, his theology is sloppy at times. however, being a preacher, that is excusable. in short, it's a great book that should be read and cherished by all.

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Summary: don't miss this one
Review: it's well written, Biblical and full of deligh

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Summary: An absolute must for your Christian book library!
Review: John Piper's book, "Desiring God", is an absolute must for every Christian's library. This liberating book will help you obtain the kind of relationship that God intended for us to have with Him.

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Summary: An amazing, clear detailed way of desiring God.
Review: John Piper, clearly demonstrates the necessity of longing for God with one's whole being. Not out of duty, but simply from desire. His work is hard to argue with, as his references and quotes come from highly respected scholars and theologians. Furthermore, Piper's message is rooted upon the sound foundation of the Bible, upon which all truth is absolute. The message found within John Piper's book, is almost common sense, but yet how we choose to ignore the reality of God in our life. How we act out of duty instead of wholehearted desire. May not our life in Christ be in vain. God will truly use Desiring God, as a wake up call to unenthusiastic Christian.

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Summary: True - God-Centered - Biblical - Delightful - Ravishing!
Review: Dr. Piper's thesis: "The chief end of man is to glorify God BY enjoying Him forever" is masterfully expounded from Scripture with careful exegesis of multitudes of Biblical texts. Piper unfolds the Reformed theology of a God-centered God Who is in the business of creating white-hot worshippers, with precision and clarity. He draws heavily on the writings of such time-honored theologians as Blaise Pascal, C.S. Lewis, and Jonathan Edwards (despite the criticism of some who think Piper misinterprets Edwards - I have gone on to read numerous books and sermons by Edwards myself, and have found Piper to be right on track with the "greatest theologian" in American history). I found this book compelling and deeply satisfying. Piper DOES care ahout holiness and self-denial and suffering - but he (and now 1) is (am) thoroughly convinced that the Bible does not teach self-denial as an end in itself, but as a means to obtaining the joy that is in God. For those who are stuck in the muck and mire of legalistic, joy-killing, duty-oriented religion, this book will be a liberating breath of pure Biblical air. Take time with it. Read it over and over again. You will never be the same. Because "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

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Summary: Amazing! You can feel God's Spirit speaking through it
Review: Book focuses on the fact that God has created us to seek pleasure. Pleasure that can only be found in Him. Nothing can provide the pleasure that is found in Him, through Worship, Prayer, fellowship,etc........ One of the absolute best Christian writings I have ever read and I have read 100's.

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Summary: Piper's thesis is appealing, but not accurate
Review: Despite the glowing reviews that this book has received by other readers, I must dare to disagree (It may help to know that I too am an ordained minister and have a Ph.D. in Theology). Piper's book is wonderfully appealing, but not very accurate in it's use of either Scripture or the theology of Jonathan Edwards. Piper's thesis is that we glorify God by enjoying Him forever (a slight twist on the Westminster Shorter Catechism's answer # 1 which states, "Man's chief end is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."). Piper's use of Scripture borders on irresponsible at many points (he clearly has an agenda in mind when approaching the text), and he badly misunderstands Edwards who would not agree that "and" (which makes the two activities roughly coordinate) should be changed to "by" (which seems to make the two virtually identical). To the point, Piper neglects to mention Edward's other aspects of glorifying God--knowledge and holiness (which I suspect he would somehow try to subsume under enjoy). I am sure many post-modern, hedonistic, Biblically and theologically ignorant, broad Evangelicals find this book spellbinding, but it needs (and so do they) a massive dose of what Luther called the "theology of the cross" and the far more mature exposition (than Piper's) of the Christian life found in Calvin and his successors. Of course, it could have been no other way since Piper ratherly flippantly asserts in his preface that he "does not care too much about the intetions of 17th century theologians". Too bad for him and his readers, for this would have been a much better (richer, deeper, truer) book if he had! Sola Dei Gloria!

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Summary: The most significant book I've read besides the Bible
Review: This book completely turned my life around. After more than 20 years as a Christian, I found myself just going through the motions. This book revitalized my life in God, by helping me see that God WANTS me to be happy in Him, but that instead of giving me the things that make for happiness, He Himself IS the basis for happiness.

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Summary: IF YOU ONLY READ ONE BOOK, BESIDES THE BIBLE, READ THIS ONE!
Review: Piper writes: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him." What a life changing concept!!! And it is Scripturally sound! The activity of our faith in Jesus Christ is wrapped up in being satisfied in all that God promises to be for us in Jesus! Joy is the business of Christianity. Piper's well thought-out and wonderfully argued thesis will change your life. His grasp of God's soveriegnty will put you in awe of God and spark in your soul a desire to get more of God. His extensive quoting of Jonathon Edwards and other great saints, demonstrates this is no new idea. He is grounded on Scripture and God will use this book to ignite a passion in your soul for His glory. Buy it and read it!

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Summary: Excellent volume!! Spark new spiritual growth!
Review: This book for mature Christians will spark new growth as you renew your love for God and find that your joy spills over into the lives of others.