The Pleasures of God by John Piper
Week 1: Introduction — The Pathway of God's Delights
Read the Preface and Introduction of The Pleasures of God. Key Scripture: Psalm 16:11; Zephaniah 3:17.
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Before diving into any specific pleasure of God, Piper lays down a surprising claim: that the pathway of God's delights is itself a pathway into knowing God. Take a moment before reading to ask yourself: do you believe that what God enjoys reveals who God is?
Discussion Questions
7 questions1.Piper opens with the premise that a person's deepest enjoyments reveal their deepest character. Do you find that claim convincing when you apply it to human beings? Can you think of an example from your own life where someone's delight revealed something important about who they are?
2.Why might studying the *pleasures* of God feel surprising or even uncomfortable as a theological exercise? What assumptions about God might make this approach feel strange?
3.Piper insists that God's joy is not a weakness or a concession to human categories, but a genuine perfection of his nature. What Scriptures does he point to early on that suggest God experiences something we can rightly call delight or pleasure? What do those passages tell you about the kind of God the Bible describes?
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