Messages by Desiring God

David Mathis | How is meditation different from simply reading the Bible? Slowing down and sinking deep into God’s word aids our joy and draws us closer to him.

There once was a man who gave up everything important so he could cling to things that fade. If we want to follow Jesus, we cannot be like that man.

Paul doesn’t just want Christians to know the truths of the Bible — he wants us to set our minds on them. But what does that mean, and how do we do it?

Scott Hubbard | To his friends, George Müller embodied Psalm 23 even under the towering burdens of orphan ministry. What kind of communion with God made such peace possible?

David Mathis | How can exercise equip us for the daily fight against sin? Training the body for our joy, mind, and will frees us to pursue every good work.

God fulfills his purpose for the church by his work in the church: He magnifies his grace by beautifying his people.

David Mathis | God’s voice thunders through the forests and the pages of Scripture, calling heaven to rejoice and setting his people at peace. Do you tremble at the force of his word?

Sharing God’s nature and upholding creation by his word, the heir of all things suffered in our place to purify us from sin. Who is like Jesus Christ?

David Mathis | The church depends on Jesus Christ for its existence, authority, and ultimate joy. But how does the God-man’s nature direct the church’s health?

For the preaching pastor, each sermon demands a fresh hunt for insight in service of a hungry people. How do we find that life-giving truth?

David Mathis | To lead the church faithfully, we need supernatural, sober-minded wisdom. God meets us in his word, by his Spirit, through prayer, with a team.

Jesus endured for the joy set before him. Moses obeyed, expecting the Messiah. The early church suffered for a better reward. This is faith.

Scott Hubbard | Self-awareness can be good, but it can also go too far. Our thoughts of self often grow quieter when we look to God and follow where he leads.

David Mathis | Exercise may seem like a distraction from a life of serving others, but God can use our movement to deepen our joy and broaden our love.

Marshall Segal | When the Bible talks about setting an example, does it mean only super-Christians? No, even the humblest high-school mentor can make the right mark.

David Mathis | Pursuing a holy ambition means seeking maturity in Christ more than we seek influence in the world. An enduring example takes hidden work.

When God ordains sufferings for the good of his people, he also sustains them and cares for them with all the strength of his love.

Because God’s purposeful sovereignty reaches absolutely everywhere, his gospel can satisfy, his mission will succeed, and his people can never be lost.

Jesus’s glorified body, his purpose for believers, his astonishing power, and the glory of the new creation all insist that the resurrection must happen.

Marshall Segal | Jesus’s sheep are happy to be his, and Jesus will never leave them behind. But why would anyone reject this patient, kind, and powerful Savior?

There has never been, nor will there ever be, a greater reality than the God we see when we look at Jesus Christ. His very supremacy is our deepest hope.

David Mathis | How can we sing in the valley of sorrow? In Christ, joy and grief can coexist — and grief now prepares for us far greater joy in the end.

What is the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and how does it relate to making music to God in a church gathering? God opens our eyes so we can sing to him.

Marshall Segal | Where will we find true blessedness? Sexual sin tempts us to find it in fleeting, false pleasures — but God’s promises hold out a better, surer joy.

David Mathis | Where do we find more of God’s grace to increase our joy in Christ? God has created patterns for us to follow in reading, prayer, and fellowship.

John Piper | Listen Now

David Mathis | When Jesus came to Bethlehem, and later to Jerusalem, he was not the king we expected. He was far, far better.

Joy in Jesus is an invitation and a privilege. Is it also a duty? John Piper lays out six reasons joy in God is essential to the Christian life.

When we believe in Jesus, we receive him as living water, bread of life, and all-satisfying treasure. Saving faith is the awakening of joy in Christ.

David walked with God through disasters, diseases, attacks, and his own sins. What pattern of life did he follow to depend on God through it all?

How do Christians respond to God’s fatherly indignation against our sin? The prophet Micah teaches us: Respond with brokenhearted boldness, with contrite courage.

David Mathis | God invites us to quench our thirst by hearing his voice, having his ear, and belonging to his body. So, come stand under the waterfall of his grace.

Cowardice, consumption, and comfort often stand between us and God’s global work. What can set us free to be world Christians?

David Mathis | Does seeking joy in God ruin our love for others? Jesus meant what he said: Remembering God’s radical reward frees us to serve those in need.

David Mathis | As the Son of God, Jesus pursued his joy and God’s glory in an unrepeatable way — but as man, he stands forth as an example for our own pursuit of joy.

David Mathis | Christian, your joy in God shows the kind of God he is: awesome and glorious, happy and holy, beautiful and delightful beyond measure. So, come, eat, drink, and rejoice.

What are the doctrines of grace? Before we wade into the depths of these doctrines, we need to know something of the greatness of God.

David Mathis | Those who cherish God’s majesty become a certain kind of people: a commending, called, candid, conquering, and soon-to-be crowned church.

Marshall Segal | How do mature Christians pray when trouble comes? David teaches us from Psalm 86: “Meet my need.” “Glorify your name.” “Teach me your way.” “Gladden my heart.”

In Jesus Christ, we find a Treasure more precious than everything we have in life and everything we lose in death.

How does the chief end of man — to glorify God by enjoying him forever — shape our approach to classical Christian education?

Marshall Segal | No sin is too great, no place is too far, and no wall is too high to keep us from receiving the living water of Jesus — if only we’ll come to him.

Tony Reinke | No star or ocean, insect or tree, bird or cloud has a voice to speak God’s praise. But when we rejoice in God, we take creation’s worship and put it into words.

As Jesus bleeds in Gethsemane and then submits to arrest, we see that the mission of God triumphs through prayerful suffering, not the self-defending sword.

When Jesus returns in glory, he will stand ashamed of those who were ashamed of him here. But what will it really mean for Jesus to be ashamed?

David Mathis | How might regular exercise serve not just our bodies but our souls, and so make us more ready to honor God by doing good to others?

David Mathis | Our “habits of grace” prime us for witnessing, giving, and serving — and God uses even these outward expressions to give us even more grace.

Marshall Segal | When our Bible meditation feels more like a job than a joy, these five short prayers can take us beyond discipline into delight.

Why did God set his saving love on his people before the foundation of the world? So that we might praise the glory of his sovereign grace.

David Mathis | Did Jesus endure the cross for his joy or despite it? The answer takes us to the heart of Jesus’s unusually human joy, and ours.