Five Biblical Truths About Thanksgiving

As Christians, we should always be giving thanks. That means expanding our focus beyond food, family, and football. Joseph Scheumann, writing for Desiring God, discusses five biblical truths about thanksgiving:

1. Thanksgiving Is Trinitarian
   
2. Thanksgiving Replaces Sin
   
3. Thanksgiving Sanctifies Creation
   
4. Thanksgiving for the Gospel
   
5. Thanksgiving in All Circumstances

Read the full article here.

Don't Waste Your Life Sentence

Here is the trailer for the upcoming Desiring God film Don't Waste Your Life Sentence:



Read more about this film here.

Desiring God 2008 National Conference Audio and Video

You can access the audio and video of the 2008 DG Conference here.

• September 26, 2008
  The Tongue, the Bridle, and the Blessing: An Exposition of James 3:1-12
  - Sinclair Ferguson
  
  
• September 26
  Panel Discussion
  - John Piper, Mark Driscoll, and Sinclair Ferguson
  
  
• September 27
  Words of Wonder: What Happens When We Sing?
  - Bob Kauflin
  
  
• September 27
  How Sharp the Edge? Christ, Controversy, and Cutting Words
  - Mark Driscoll
  
  
• September 27
  The Life-Shaping Power of Story: God’s and Ours
  - Dan Taylor
  
  
• September 27
  Panel Discussion
  - John Piper, Paul Tripp, Bob Kauflin, and Dan Taylor
  
  
• September 27
  War of Words: Getting to the Heart for God's Sake
  - Paul Tripp
  
  
• September 28
  Is There Christian Eloquence? Clear Words and the Wonder of the Cross
  - John Piper

In Defense of Christian Hedonism

This morning, I ran across a blog post that was praising an article by Craig W. Booth entitled "God Is Most Glorified...When?" The article is an attempt to paint John Piper as a false teacher for promoting the concept of "Christian hedonism," which he sums up in the phrase "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him."

I can't help but wonder if Booth and the blogger he so impressed have ever heard John Piper speak or have ever read anything he has written. For one thing, in their attempt to shred his philosophy they immediately overlook the two little words "in us." I think it is inarguable that God certainly is most glorified in us (in our lives) when we are most satisfied in Him.

What do we think God wants? Are we supposed to go through life as sour-faced suffering servants? Does it bring God pleasure when we begrudgingly perform our Christian duties with no desire to be happy and fulfilled?

"These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:11). That's Christian hedonism in a nutshell. We are to find pleasure in the Lord. He should be the source of our joy. And if we are "most satisfied in him," who do think is the one giving us that satisfaction?

Jesus says in John 6:35, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst." Why does he say that? Because Christ is the only one who can satisfy.

If we're supposed to take issue with the phrase "God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him," then what are we to do with the commands to be happy and satisfied in the Lord? Psalm 37:4 says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart." In Psalm 100:2 we read, "Serve the Lord with gladness! Come into his presence with singing!" In doing so, are we not fulfilling the commandment to "love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27)?

The concept of Christian hedonism isn't that difficult to understand. As Piper notes, it is nothing more than "stating an ancient, orthodox, Biblical truth in a fresh way."