The Pleasures of God (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product 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.

About the Author

Dr. John Piper has been the senior pastor at Bethlehem Bible Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, since 1980. He holds degrees from Wheaton College (B.A.), Fuller Seminary (B.D.), and the University of Munich (D.Th.). A respected theologian and author, Dr. Piper has sold more than a quarter of a million books with Multnomah Publishers, including the popular Desiring God (140,000 in print), Future Grace, and A Godward Life. John and his wife, No'l, live in Minneapolis and have four sons and one daughter.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: Multnomah Books; Rev Exp edition (June 26, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576736652
• ISBN-13: 978-1576736654
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.9 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #35,915 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

87 of 91 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Surprised by God: infinitely more delightful than imagined!, August 9, 1999

By	Darren Hsiung (Berkeley, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Paperback)

I have to admit, when I first read this book, I wanted to throw it across the room. But earnestly searching scriptures (with the intent to prove the book wrong), I was forced to unhappily conclude that Piper was completely on the ball. Then the most amazing thing happened: as I reread the book with a heart of faith, my disturbed state of mind gave way to a liberating joy in the good news of the sovereign God who is infinitely worthy and glorious beyond our wildest imaginations. I've always known that God is big, but Piper's expositions have been the lynchpin to my realization that God is BIG; truly one whose ways are above our ways and whose thoughts are above our thoughts. And in light of this, the deep love of Jesus has become even more amazing to me: how such a God could love and die for sinners such as us.

To God alone be the glory!

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Theology and passion become one, July 28, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Pleasures of God: Meditations on God's Delight in Being God (Paperback)

I have read practically all of Piper's books, including his classic Desiring God, and the Pleasures of God outranks all of them. Piper manages to accomplish something that very few theologians can: mesh theology and joyful devotion to God. Theology to Piper is by no means an end in itself; it is meant to direct God's people towards him with deeper understanding of his character. Piper is humble and yet strongly convicted in his apprehension of God and the ways in which he interacts with his son Jesus Christ and his people. He puts down all vying theologies with passion and scriptural weaponry. This book is not for the new Christian or someone trying to explore the character of God for the first time; it is for those who have meditated on scripture for some time but are looking to be impassioned by the Bible and apply its sublime truths in richer, more accurate ways. This book is like the Bible in that it prepares and motivates the reader for application, without w! hich it is meaningless.

22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Irresistible Grace, October 11, 2004

By	L. Knowles (Vermont) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I first saw this book reviewed in the early 1990's. It aroused a double response of curiosity and suspicion. Like many a cynic I asked myself, "Now who's this guy and what's he spinning?" Against my natural inclination to dismiss it, I ordered POG. On receiving it I began reading and found my suspicions confirmed: here was another triumphal and insensitive adherent to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.

Strangely, however, I couldn't stop reading. Despite months of scrawling angry counter-arguments in the margins of its pages I was drawn inexplicably to the sensibility of its core premise about God's delight in being God. To make this story short, I found myself, in the end, exhausted but surrendered to the portrait of God that Piper paints with the full palette of scriptural truth. And finally happy too, with the beginnings of the joy Piper wished for his sons in the Foreword.

Salvation history testifies to the fact that a distinguishing evidence of the truth is that it is often hated - at first. The fact that POG eventually had such an unnatural (or supernatural) effect on someone like me - initially so inclined to resist and rebuff - speaks more to the validity of this book than if I had joined immediately in the chorus of deserved admiration.

This is not a critical analysis of POG; others have provided that sufficiently on this page. Instead it's a personal account of the Irresistible Grace that against all nature drew a small and scoffing soul into undeserved open spaces where God's glory was seen...and is now sung.