Favorite John Piper books

Desiring God is having a 2-Day sale on June 27-28th where ALL BOOKS will be sold for only $5 each!  In case you’ve wondered which John Piper book to get here’s my list of suggestions:

Desiring God - This is the classic book that articulates John Piper’s famous statement: God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.  John Piper explains what it means to be a Christian Hedonist with all of its gloriously shocking language.  its also a manifesto on Christian living covering topics on marriage, giving, prayer, missions, service, and many others.

Let the nations be glad - I was first introduced to this book from a reading assignment at Grace School of Theology and Ministry.  I was intrigued by the chapter on Hell that I wanted to read more so I purchased the book and have read it at least twice.  This book helps us to see the realities of
missions and how it is the means to make worshippers of Jesus Christ.  Consider the opening sentence of the book:

Missions is not the ultimate goal of the church.  Worship is.  Missions exist because worship doesn’t.

God is the Gospel - This little book has been the victim of controversy since Piper has been accused of redefining the Gospel when in reality he is not.  All he is simply doing is explaining that the greatest gift of the Gospel, the greatest benefits of the Gospel, the final terminating point of the Gospel is not heaven, but God.  He asks a provocative question, “Would you go to Heaven if Christ were not there?”  Are you seeking the gifts and not the giver?  Has the Gospel become a means of escape only and not joy in seeking for God Himself?  Piper wants to clarify that the Gospel is God himself that he is the highest good that we seek for in proclaiming, in believing, and in living the Gospel.

The Swans are not Silent series - These books are biographical sketches of men that God used mightily in advancing His kingdom.  I’ve read the first only, atleast a few times called The Legacy of Sovereign Joy.  My former pastor encouraged us to read biographies when you begin to naval-gaze in depression or feel spiritually dry or overwhelmed by your circumstances.  He encouraged us to look at the lives of other people’s problems and see how God brought them through it.  The first covers the lives of Calvin, Luther, and Augustine.  Did you know that prior to conversion Augustine was trapped in sexual perversion?  Or that Luther suffered from hemorroids and continued to preach and teach?  Or that Calvin lost several children along with his wife yet continued to persevere in his ministry?  That he was banished from preaching in Geneva and when asked to come back, preached the very next verse he left off from?  Read these series and be encouraged to see how normal these spiritual giants were and be encouraged by how God used them in a mighty way.

So try some of these at the bargain price of $5 each.