Podcast appearances and mentions of Christian hedonism

What does God want more than your obedience? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Luke 15:25–31 to show how God appeals to us not as slaves but as sons.

When Christ redeems marriage, he does not dismantle loving headship and willing submission. He restores it.

What ruins our joy in God's house? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Luke 15:25–31 to show how treating God merely as Master can blind us to the joy of being his child.

What if God doesn't need your strength — but gives his? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows that real service begins with empty hands and a full heart.

Why do our best efforts to fight sin often fail? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens 2 Peter 1:3–4 to show how victory comes through deeper joy in God.

What if real strength doesn't end our suffering but sustains us in the midst of it? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Colossians 3:5 to show how Christ strengthens us in weakness.

Who among us doesn't struggle to relinquish comfort? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Galatians 5:22 to show how faith lets go because it sees what's better.

Why would anyone rejoice after losing everything? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Hebrews 11:1 to show how faith treasures Christ more than comfort or safety.

All the omnipotent energy that drives the heart of God to pursue his own glory also drives him to satisfy the hearts of those who seek their joy in him.

Why does faith lead to love? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Galatians 5:22 to show how faith fights sin by delighting in what God promises to be for us.

How do we fight the power of sin? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens 1 Corinthians 15:10 to show how faith severs sin's lies with the promise of superior joy.

What does living by faith look like each day? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows from Galatians 2:20 how faith works through the ordinary acts of life.

Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. One day, God's delight in his Son will be in us.

Why does God command our joy? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows from Nehemiah 8:10 how delighting in God gives us strength and displays his glory.

Can God be for himself and for you? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows from Isaiah 48:9–11 why God's self-exaltation is his greatest act of love.

The quest for joy is not optional, but commanded.

Joy is not a mere option alongside worship. It is an essential component of worship.

God's greatest interest is to glorify the wealth of his grace by making sinners happy in him.

What can loosen our hold on wealth? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Luke 19:1–10 to reveal how joy in Jesus displaces the love of earthly treasures.

In Isaiah 58, does God condemn his people for having too much delight in his ways? Pastor John distinguishes hypocritical pleasure from true, generous joy in God.

The Lord has spoken: It is more blessed to love than to live in luxury! More blessed now, and forever.

To see God, and know him, and be in his presence is the soul's final feast.

Why does God fill his table with the needy? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Luke 14:15–24 to display the glory of a God who gives freely to those who cannot repay.

What is the heart of God's great banquet? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens Luke 14:15–24 to show that the feast is not just food but fellowship with Jesus himself.

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

Can we ever repay God for his grace? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens 1 Peter 4:11 to show why every step of obedience deepens our joyful dependence on God.

This is one of the beauties of the biblical doctrines of grace: their worst devastations prepare us for their greatest delights.

God is love precisely because he relentlessly pursues the praises of his name in the hearts of his people.

If God loves us enough to make our joy full, he must not only give us himself; he must also win from us the praise of our hearts.

All the other gifts of the gospel — forgiveness, justification, propitiation, eternal life — exist to make fellowship with God possible.

When we see the face of Christ, we see the face of God. And we see the glory of his face when we hear the story of the gospel of his death and resurrection.

The gospel is the good news that God bought for us the everlasting enjoyment of God.

Imagine being able to enjoy what is most enjoyable with unbounded energy and passion forever. That is not our experience now, but it will be one day.

What if joy in God isn't optional but vital? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper uncovers how the Bible weds duty and delight into one single, God-glorifying pursuit.

What kind of heart brings God the most glory? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper presses into the truth that God is not merely to be known — he is to be savored above all else.

The worship of daily obedience is not at bottom a burdensome giving to God, but a joyful getting from God. That is the true service that God demands.

This is the essence of what it means to love God: to be satisfied in him — not just his gifts, but God himself, as the glorious person that he is.

The only joy that reflects the worth of God and overflows in God-glorifying love is rooted in true knowledge of God.

Not being afraid shows that you treasure God as your generous Shepherd, Father, and King.

Is the purpose of life to find meaning? Pastor John responds to Jordan Peterson's claim that happiness cannot be our goal.

Take all the things that drive this world, and ponder how much better and more abiding God is.

The main task of all the ministries of the church is helping people see the greatness of what Christ has purchased for everyone who will value it above the world.

Sometimes, the story of another Christian's joy in God serves to kindle our own. Pastor John takes us to a remarkable moment in the life of Hudson Taylor.

How do we sustain joy in God through the ups and downs of life? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper offers practical wisdom on fighting for joy using three vital weapons.

What sustains joy in God when life feels overwhelming? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper opens 2 Timothy 4:7 to explain how the daily pursuit of joy is essential to persevering in faith.

What should motivate our deeds of love? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper turns to Hebrews 12:2 to demonstrate how joy in God fuels sacrificial love.

Why does God love a cheerful giver? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper explains from 2 Corinthians 9:7 that joyful giving turns generosity into worship that honors him and blesses others.

Why is love more than action? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows from 2 Corinthians 8:1–9 that true love flows from joy in God, transforming generosity into a heartfelt expression.

Why should we seek our deepest satisfaction in God? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper explains how our pursuit of joy in God magnifies his glory.

Why is forsaking God for anything else a tragic mistake? In this episode of Light + Truth, John Piper shows that turning from God leads only to dissatisfaction.