Discussion question your group will work through:
1.Piper opens by describing a kind of Christianity that is marked more by duty than by delight — a religion of grinding obligation rather than glad-hearted pleasure in God. Does that description resonate with your own experience, past or present? Be honest.
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About This Study Guide
John Piper's Desiring God opens with a thesis that many Christians find simultaneously liberating and unsettling: the chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying him forever. Piper calls this "Christian Hedonism" — the conviction that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him. Drawing on hundreds of Scripture passages, and standing on the shoulders of Blaise Pascal, Jonathan Edwards, and C. S. Lewis, Piper argues that the pursuit of joy is not a distraction from worship but the very heart of it. To seek your deepest pleasure in God is not selfishness — it is the one pursuit that simultaneously honors God supremely and satisfies your soul completely.
This study guide is designed to take you through Desiring God chapter by chapter, one week at a time. The pattern each week is simple: read the assigned chapter before your group meets (or before you sit down to journal), work through the questions slowly and honestly, and then spend time in prayer applying what you've found. Don't rush. Piper is a dense but rewarding writer, and the questions are designed to help you stop, feel the weight of his arguments, and ask where your own heart is. Some weeks will feel theologically stretching; others will feel searingly personal. Both are features, not bugs.
By the end of this guide, you should expect more than an intellectual grasp of Christian Hedonism. You should expect to have examined the quality of your joy in God, identified places where duty has crowded out delight, and been pointed — again and again — to Jesus Christ as the all-satisfying treasure at the center of Piper's vision. Whether you are reading alone or with a group, let honesty be your guide: the questions are not asking you to perform spiritual maturity, but to honestly encounter the God who promises that in his presence is fullness of joy.
13-Week Schedule
- Week 1Preface & Introduction — The Longing That Demands an Answer8 questions
- Week 2Chapter 1 — The Happiness of God: Foundation of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 3Chapter 2 — Worship: The Feast of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 4Chapter 3 — Love: The Labor of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 5Chapter 4 — Scripture: The Kindling of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 6Chapter 5 — Prayer: The Apex of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 7Chapter 6 — Money: The Currency of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 8Chapter 7 — Marriage: The Covenant of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 9Chapter 8 — Missions: The Overflow of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 10Chapter 9 — Suffering: The Sacrifice of Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 11Appendix 1 — The Indirect Pursuit of Joy / Objections Answered8 questions
- Week 12Appendix 2 — How Jonathan Edwards Shaped Christian Hedonism8 questions
- Week 13Review & Reflection — Looking Back, Moving Forward8 questions
Week 1: Preface & Introduction — The Longing That Demands an Answer
Free sampleRead the Preface and Introduction of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Psalm 16:11; Matthew 13:44.
1.Piper opens by describing a kind of Christianity that is marked more by duty than by delight — a religion of grinding obligation rather than glad-hearted pleasure in God. Does that description resonate with your own experience, past or present? Be honest.
2.The central thesis of the book is: "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him." In your own words, what does Piper mean by this? What would have to be true about God and about us for this statement to be correct?
3.Piper coins the term "Christian Hedonism" to describe his position. Why do you think he chooses such a provocative label? What reaction does the word "hedonism" produce in you — and is that reaction something Piper anticipates and addresses?
4.Piper quotes Blaise Pascal's famous observation that there is a "God-shaped vacuum" in every human heart — a restless longing that nothing in creation can finally fill. How does Pascal's insight set up Piper's argument? Where have you experienced that restlessness yourself?
5.C. S. Lewis's argument in "The Weight of Glory" — that our problem is not that we want too much pleasure, but that we are "far too easily pleased," settling for mud pies when a holiday at the sea is offered — is a key building block for Piper. How does Lewis's image reframe what it means to pursue joy?
6.Jonathan Edwards argued that God's own pursuit of his glory and our pursuit of happiness are not in conflict — they are the same pursuit seen from two angles. Does this idea feel freeing or troubling to you? Why?
7.Piper says he wants this book to do more than inform — he wants it to change the way you feel about God. What would it look like for you to approach this study not just as an intellectual exercise but as an invitation to a more joyful relationship with God?
a.What is one habit or assumption you are bringing into this study that you are willing to have questioned?
b.What would "success" look like for you by the end of this book?
8.Jesus compares the kingdom of heaven to a treasure hidden in a field, for which a man sells everything he has — with joy (Matthew 13:44). How does this parable connect to Piper's thesis? What is the relationship between sacrifice and joy in that story?
Week 2: Chapter 1 — The Happiness of God: Foundation of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 1 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Psalm 104:31; 1 Timothy 1:11; John 17:24.
1.Piper argues that the foundation of Christian Hedonism is not primarily about us — it is about God. God himself is a happy God (see 1 Timothy 1:11, "the gospel of the glory of the blessed — happy — God"). Why does it matter that God is happy? How does this change how you think about worship?
Week 3: Chapter 2 — Worship: The Feast of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 2 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Psalm 63:1–5; John 4:23–24.
1.Piper opens this chapter by confronting the idea that true worship requires us to set aside our own desire for joy. His counterargument is that worship without delight is not really worship at all — it is mere performance. Do you agree? What is at stake in this distinction?
Week 4: Chapter 3 — Love: The Labor of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 3 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Matthew 22:37–39; 2 Corinthians 9:7; Philippians 2:3–4.
1.The title of this chapter calls love "the labor of Christian Hedonism." What does Piper mean by the word "labor" here? How can something that is joyful also be laborious?
Week 5: Chapter 4 — Scripture: The Kindling of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 4 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Psalm 19:7–10; Psalm 119:14, 72, 111, 162; Jeremiah 15:16.
1.Piper describes Scripture as "the kindling" for Christian Hedonism — the primary instrument God uses to awaken and sustain delight in himself. How does this understanding of the Bible differ from seeing it primarily as a rulebook, a history, or a theological textbook?
Week 6: Chapter 5 — Prayer: The Apex of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 5 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: John 16:24; Psalm 37:4; Matthew 7:7–11.
1.Piper calls prayer "the apex" of Christian Hedonism. What does he mean? Why is prayer — rather than worship or Bible reading — the highest expression of the pursuit of joy in God?
Week 7: Chapter 6 — Money: The Currency of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 6 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Matthew 6:19–21, 24; Luke 12:15–21; 1 Timothy 6:6–10, 17–19.
1.Piper calls money "the currency of Christian Hedonism" — a paradoxical title. What does he mean? In what sense does money become a tool for joy rather than a competitor with it?
Week 8: Chapter 7 — Marriage: The Covenant of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 7 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Ephesians 5:25–33; Genesis 2:18–25; Hebrews 13:4.
1.Piper's central claim in this chapter is that marriage is designed by God to be a living parable of the relationship between Christ and the church (Ephesians 5:25–33). How does this vision of marriage differ from the way marriage is typically presented in our culture — or even in much of the church?
Week 9: Chapter 8 — Missions: The Overflow of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 8 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Psalm 67:1–7; Matthew 28:18–20; Romans 15:9.
1.Piper describes missions as "the overflow of Christian Hedonism" — not a duty imposed from outside, but joy that cannot keep itself to itself. How does this framing change the emotional texture of the missionary call? Does it make it feel more or less compelling to you?
Week 10: Chapter 9 — Suffering: The Sacrifice of Christian Hedonism
Read Chapter 9 of Desiring God. Key Scripture: Romans 8:18; 2 Corinthians 4:17; Philippians 3:7–11; Hebrews 12:2.
1.Piper calls suffering "the sacrifice of Christian Hedonism" — a phrase that sounds almost contradictory. How can suffering be part of a philosophy built on joy? What does Piper mean?
Week 11: Appendix 1 — The Indirect Pursuit of Joy / Objections Answered
Read Appendix 1 of Desiring God ("The Ethics of Christian Hedonism" or the section addressing objections to Christian Hedonism). Key Scripture: Matthew 5:11–12; Galatians 5:22–23.
1.By this point in the book, what is the objection to Christian Hedonism that has felt most compelling to you personally? What has Piper said or not said that either strengthened or answered that objection?
Week 12: Appendix 2 — How Jonathan Edwards Shaped Christian Hedonism
Read Appendix 2 of Desiring God (on Jonathan Edwards and the theological roots of Christian Hedonism). Key source: Edwards's 'The End for Which God Created the World.'
1.Piper credits Jonathan Edwards as the primary theological architect behind Christian Hedonism. What was it about Edwards's thought — particularly his work on the end for which God created the world — that shaped Piper so profoundly?
Week 13: Review & Reflection — Looking Back, Moving Forward
Review your notes, journal entries, and marked passages from all chapters of Desiring God.
1.Before you read *Desiring God*, how would you have completed this sentence: "The chief end of man is to glorify God..."? And how would you complete it now? What, if anything, has changed — and why?
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