Customer Reviews

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ (A Study Guide to the DVD Featuring John Piper) (John Piper Small Group)

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John Piper has written an excellent book here with the design of letting the glory of Christ shine through these meditations on Scripture. This book will serve as an encouragement to the Christian, inspiring worship and adoration. But it will also be evangelistic to the unbeliever, inspiring (with the Holy Spirit's help) awe and trust.

Piper focuses on many aspects of Christ's person and work including His zeal for God's glory; the excellence of His person; His wisdom, mercy, power, and severity; His anguish and sufferings; and His resurrection and Second-Coming.

I found this a very beneficial book drawing me closer to my Lord. I read it on a plane between Dallas and Cincinatti (it is short!) before preaching a series of special meetings. It was wonderful preparation for my heart. I would highly recommend it for both your own soul and as a gift to others.

I read this book during a pretty dry and seemingly unfruitful time in my life (part of which I am still going through). If nothing else, God has used Piper to remind me that all of life is about the glory and supremacy of Christ. It is very easy for us to forget Christ as the focal point of all of history, and to look to ourselves or other means for satisfaction. John Piper, a man who is in a singular pursuit of God's glory by the means of revealed truth (the Bible), uses the same scripture to paint a portrait of Jesus Christ that we might leave both seeing and savoring Him more than we ever had before.

This book is nowhere near as difficult a read as many of Piper's other books are, but it exudes the sweetness of Christ in a most extraordinary way. None of the chapters are over ten pages in length, and as one reviewer already noted, each one ends with a prayer. For me, this book has been a great supplement to my pursuit of God in the Word. As always, Piper doesn't skimp on the scriptural meat and brings out verse after verse reflecting on the character and person of Christ. This is a great read for anyone who wants to know more about whom Christ is or even for those who want to be reminded of the sweetness of their Savior.

Including the indices, the book is only 146 pages long. Each paragraph is fairly short, and there is a ton of room at the end of each chapter to journal any thoughts or questions that you might have. Piper offers us two different kinds of indexes at the end of his book, the first is a scriptural index (6 pages long) with the second being a subject index (3 pages long). I've been reading it along with the Pleasures of God [Piper] and The Body of Divinity [Thomas Watson], which has worked out well to (again) emphasize that God is ultimately about His glory and praise from the farthest reaches of the world.

Part exposition, part devotional, SEEING AND SAVORING JESUS CHRIST offers such a thorough, biblically based examination of the person of Jesus Christ that I think you'd be hard-pressed to find a comparable book; think of it as a meditative Bible study minus the superficial fill-in-the-blanks. Piper manages to pack loads of scripture and insight into a slim volume of fewer than 150 pages, and he does so by adhering to his usual standard of excellence.

Arranged topically, the book's 13 chapters cover Jesus' purpose, deity, excellence, joy, power, wisdom, and so forth. (In typical Piper style, he titles a chapter on the desecration of Jesus "The Glorious Poverty of a Bad Reputation." I love it.) Each chapter begins with scriptures or quotations, or both, and ends with a thoughtful prayer that is longer than usual for a devotional type of book. But this book strays from both the usual Bible study format and the usual devotional format, creating a rich hybrid that ministers to the mind and the heart.

All that is to say that this is a book to be read and, well, savored. Despite its brevity, it's not the kind of book you can breeze through if you expect to get much out of it. As an example, the chapter on Jesus' sacrifice, "The Glory of Rescuing Sinners, Not Removing Satan," handles the problem of evil in a convincing and beautiful way. Piper writes: "Christ must have had a very high stake in the ongoing existence of Satan, because, even though he has the right and power to annihilate him now, he defeats him in stages at the cost of his own life." What's the stake? "God wills for his glory to shine forth not only through acts of physical power, but also through acts of moral and spiritual power that display the beauty of his grace with lavish colors," he writes. "To take sinners out of Satan's hands by virtue of Christ's sin-bearing sacrifice and his law-fulfilling obedience to the Father was a more glorious victory than mere annihilation of the enemy."

The main value in Piper's work is the way it will enrich an individual believer's walk with God. But there are two other areas in which the book becomes a valuable resource: as a counterpoint both to the liberals who embrace a view of Jesus akin to the conclusions of the Jesus Seminar and to that segment of evangelicalism that has reduced Jesus to a casual buddy. Neither view does justice to the glory of God, and neither provides a full understanding of the character, mission and glory of Jesus Christ.

Piper probably won't change a whole lot of liberal minds, drawing as he does on scripture as his sole source of information on Jesus. But evangelicals would be wise to use this book as their text for introducing others to Jesus --- and for reacquainting themselves with the one on whom they base their faith.

After reading this book I fell in love with Jesus all over again! I was going through a rather discouraging time of my life when I read it, and was letting satan's lies get the best of me, but God used the truths in this book to encourage and strengthen me. The book is not very long, and contains 13 short little chapters, each one focusing on a different aspect of the character of Christ. Jesus is so awesome! He's the Lion and the Lamb, the express radiance of the glory of God, and in fact God himself. Yet despite His position He gave it all up and suffered through shame and reproach and inexpressible anguish on this earth because of our sin. Jesus knows when to be tough and when to be compassionate, and He always has our best interest in mind. He is the source of invincible life and there's nothing that can keep in in the grave! And some day He's going to come back in all of His glory, and faith will be swallowed up by sight. John Piper states all of these truths and many more in such a clear, concise way. This book contains so much scripture, it could almost come straight from the Bible. Each chapter ends with a powerful prayer that really makes you think. This is one book I can wholeheartedly recommend for ANYONE, saved or unsaved, and it ends with a clear gospel presentation. "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ" is definitely my favorite Piper book because it gets beyond all the theological talk and the reasoning and the mumbo jumbo, and you're only left with Jesus, and He is the only thing that matters anyways. His lifechanging power is displayed on every single page of this book. Order two copies, one for yourself and one to give away. And reread it often as a short devotional, it always reminds me of how much Jesus has done for me and how awesome he is, and I go about my day rejoicing!

Piper's book, "Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ," is hands-down one of the best books I have ever read in devotional time. His work is saturated with Scripture, driving the reader deeper into the Word of God, and is written in such a way to leave one in awe of this Man Christ Jesus. This is a great book to take into your prayer time and lose yourself in the beauty of who Jesus is again and again...

This is a great book. The style of this book is typical of Piper's works. Very vivid and very Biblical. I really found the prayers that occur after every chapter to be great! It helps readers remind that while this book is for reading, it is even more so intended for a practical application to the Christian life. This is a great book to give to a seeking friend!

John Piper's Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ is a terrific companion to his book The Passion of Christ. I finished Piper's book on the 50 reasons Jesus came to die just a couple weeks before I began this one.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ is written in a devotional style. Piper continually quotes from Scripture as he writes, investing his work with authority.

There are two chapters that stood out especially for me. Chapter 7 speaks of the bad reputation that Jesus endured. So often I have only noticed the passages that speak of Jesus' enormous popularity in the Gospels. Piper reminded me that Christ's reputation was tarnished by the circumstances surrounding His own birth and by misunderstandings revolving around His association with sinners. Yet, Christ suffered these slanderous comments for our sake and for His own glory.

The second chapter that meant a lot to me personally was on the Severity of Jesus Christ. The tough portrait of Jesus is rarely portrayed in our churches, so it was good and healthy to remember the untamable Savior I serve.

I do not want to be a baby that can't handle solid food, but a grown-up who is able to take the healthy meat of the Word even when it does not go down as easily. Piper helped me to remember the importance of maintaining a teachable spirit. In seminary, this is of vital importance. Humility is difficult to maintain when you are in an institution that prizes knowledge, intellectual ability, and communication skills. If pride takes root now, it will grow into a bitter tree that God will have to chop down in due time. Piper's chapter on the severity of Christ reminded me of these lessons.

I enjoyed the final chapter, one that spoke about Jesus' return. Piper quotes so much Scripture in this chapter that it almost becomes a chain of Bible verses with only periodic interruptions from Piper's pen. I appreciated the author's love for Scripture and found myself enthusiastic and excited about Christ's second coming, as well as convicted over my lack of preparation. Too often, the lamps of my life are not lit and the candles are not burning.

I typically spend Advent preparing spiritually for Christ's Second Coming. Piper's chapter lit in me a passion for preparing constantly for Jesus' Coming, for indeed, it could be any day now.

John Piper has written an excellent book about the various aspects of Jesus'life. The book challenges us to really experience Jesus for who He was and to recognize the impact this has on our own lives. This book is an excellent book for believers and seekers alike.

The healing of the soul begins by restoring the glory of God to its flaming, all-attractive place at the center (of our soul). (p.15)

There is no one who doubts there is something that needs healing in the human soul.

But the proposed cures are many, even in Christianity.

The fact that American Christians are largely just as dysfunctional as unbelievers is testimony that we largely haven't gotten the cure of the soul right.

To overuse a cliche', maybe we haven't kept the main thing the main thing.

The main thing is Jesus Christ. God created our souls to see and savor the glory of His Son.

That is what John Piper helps us to do in Seeing & Savoring Jesus Christ. In 124 pages Piper gives us portraits of Christ's deity, His power, His wisdom, His sacrifice, His mercy. Unbelievers will be confronted with the truth and the beauty of who Jesus is. Believers will get to lovingly gaze at their Savior.

Seeing & Savoring Jesus Christ is a wonderful book for personal devotions, group study, and outreach.

Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ will help you to know more about Christ and to know Christ more. This insightful little book is very easy to read and hard to ignore; it makes you think about Jesus in all His glory. Each chapter explores a different aspect of Jesus, is full of Scripture, and concludes with a thoughtful prayer. Our Eldership read through Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ in 2010 to reflect on God's Word and Jesus' majesty. Read a chapter today; you'll be glad you did.