Suffering and the Sovereignty of God (Piper & Taylor)

In the last few years, 9/11, a tsunami, Hurricane Katrina, and many other tragedies have shown us that the vision of God in today's churches in relation to evil and suffering is often frivolous. Against the overwhelming weight and seriousness of the Bible, many Christians are choosing to become more shallow, more entertainment-oriented, and therefore irrelevant in the face of massive suffering.

In Suffering and the Sovereignty of God, contributors John Piper, Joni Eareckson Tada, Steve Saint, Carl Ellis, David Powlison, Dustin Shramek, and Mark Talbot explore the many categories of God's sovereignty as evidenced in his Word. They urge readers to look to Christ, even in suffering, to find the greatest confidence, deepest comfort, and sweetest fellowship they have ever known.

Table of Contents:

Part 1: The Sovereignty of God in Suffering

1. Suffering and the Sovereignty of God: Ten Aspects of God’s Sovereignty Over Suffering and Satan’s Hand in It – John Piper

 2. ‘All the Good That Is Ours in Christ’: Seeing God’s Gracious Hand in the Hurts Others Do to Us – Mark R. Talbot

Part 2: The Purposes of God in Suffering

3. The Suffering of Christ and the Sovereignty of God – John Piper

4. Why God Appoints Suffering for His Servants – John Piper

5. Sovereignty, Suffering, and the Work of Missions – Stephen F. Saint

6. The Sovereignty of God and Ethnic-Based Suffering – Carl F. Ellis Jr.

Part 3: The Grace of God in Suffering

7. God’s Grace and Your Sufferings – David Powlison

8. Waiting for the Morning during the Long Night of Weeping – Dustin Shramek

9. Hope…the Best of Things – Joni Eareckson Tada 

General Editors 

John Piper (DTheol, University of Munich) is the founder and teacher of desiringGod.org and the chancellor of Bethlehem College & Seminary. He served for 33 years as the senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is the author of more than 50 books

Justin Taylor (PhD, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) is executive vice president of book publishing and book publisher at Crossway. He has edited and contributed to several books.

Endorsements

"John Piper and friends tackle some of the hardest and most significant issues of Christian concern, producing one of the most honest, faithful, and helpful volumes ever made available to thinking Christians. It is filled with pastoral wisdom, theological conviction, biblical insight, and spiritual counsel. This book answers one of the greatest needs of our times-to affirm the sovereignty of God and to ponder the meaning of human suffering. We need this book."
R. Albert Mohler Jr., President and Joseph Emerson Brown Professor of Christian Theology, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary

"For all who don't live a charmed life, for all who have given themselves to the point of exhaustion, for all who have been betrayed by pious backstabbers, for all who wonder if they can even go on, Suffering and the Sovereignty of God will be green pastures and deep, still waters."
Raymond C. Ortlund Jr., Lead Pastor, Immanuel Church, Nashville, Tennessee

"This is not another theological volume that complicates what appears to be an irreconcilable paradox; it is a book that grows out of practical experience and applies Scripture to a realistic world where we all live."
Jerry Rankin, Former President, International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention

"This book will challenge you to believe that God is truly sovereign, not just in the safe haven of theological inquiry, but also in the painful messiness of real life. You will be encouraged to live more consistently by God's grace and for his glory."
Mark D. Roberts, Executive Director of Digital Media and the Theological and Cultural Steward, Foundations for Laity Renewal; author, Can We Trust the Gospels?