Ask Pastor John

If Jesus promises that his yoke is easy and his burden light, then why do some people struggle so much to put their faith in him?

If God created us for good works and wants us to labor diligently, then how do we determine when our career has become an idol?

If your job requires you to work on Sundays, how do you honor the Lord’s Day? Pastor John offers three pieces of counsel.

Every Protestant owes a debt of gratitude to the Reformers, especially for one of their most precious gifts to us: expository exultation.

Christians should judge a book not by the color of its author or the number of its century, but by the God-exalting or God-ignoring content of its pages.

As we sit under preaching in our churches, what matters most is not how eloquent the teacher is, but how much truth shines forth in his content.

Sermons are more than a transfer of facts and stories. They are a part of worship that God uses to work miracles in both the preacher and the people.

With all the demands on our time, how can young families pace themselves to run the marathon of life without burning out halfway through?

God’s sovereignty is his right and power to do whatever he pleases. God’s providence is his wise and purposeful sovereignty.

If God has given you elders in your local church and brothers and sisters in Christ, then why should you bother seeking wisdom from this podcast?

God may not reveal every detail we want to know about our future, but he does promise to walk with us and direct our steps.

Our culture may celebrate sin and stifle truth, but that doesn’t mean we should lose hope. God can still grant an awakening.

If we believe in the sovereignty of God, then how do we explain friends or prominent leaders who turn their backs on Jesus?

Our song choices influence our churches nearly as much as our sermons. If we don’t choose our music with care, we aren’t shepherding well.

False teachers threaten churches all over the world. Every Christian, and especially pastors, should know how to respond to their danger.

A wife’s submission to her husband is qualified submission. She follows Jesus first, and then does whatever she can to honor her husband’s leadership.

The Bible describes degrees of happiness for the saints in heaven. Does that mean there are degrees of despair in hell?

If John Piper wants Christians to find their ultimate happiness and joy in God, why hasn’t he ever told a joke from the pulpit?

We make plans and prepare for what’s ahead, but only God orders our steps. Pastor John shares his path toward a lifetime of fruitful ministry.

The Bible commands us to be baptized, but what does the water actually do? Does it save us, like 1 Peter 3:21 appears to say?

Pastor John recently finished a book on the providence of God — the purposeful sovereignty of a heavenly Father who loves and cares for his children.

God has called us sons and daughters, but his people sometimes talk as if we were still slaves. What does it mean to talk like children of God?

When we are saved, we’re united to Christ by the Spirit. Our old self — our unbelieving, rebellious, sin-loving self — dies, and we live by the Spirit.

Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” Are we disobeying Jesus if we don’t literally give away all that we have?

How can we forgive others who have hurt us deeply? Pastor John gives three practical suggestions for pursuing forgiveness.

The fall has made childbirth painful and dangerous. But in Christ, the deepest dangers of the curse have been removed.

God keeps his children through midlife crises by empowering them to keep fighting to be kept.

What role does God play in the redemption and damnation of sinners? Is he just as sovereign over both?

A godly father will want to show God the Father to his children. He will want to model for them the heart of Jesus.

If God created the world to display the fullness of his attributes, would he have been less glorious without creation?

We go from a rebel against the King to a child of the King. God’s attitude toward us completely changes. But does he still get angry at us when we sin?

Both Calvinists and Arminians see grace as powerful and necessary, but not in the same way. Pastor John gets at the heart of the theological divide.

If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit. But is this the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit? Pastor John explains the difference.

We know God will accomplish his purposes for good, but he doesn’t promise our children’s eternal good. How can we be satisfied in God with this unknown?

When we think God has hardened someone’s heart, we should not assume that the hardening is permanent. God can and does break in and save.

“Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.” What are readers of Scripture supposed to learn from a proverb like this?

Is it wise for a girlfriend and boyfriend to travel together and stay in the same hotel? Should they? Pastor John gives three reasons why they shouldn’t.

At any moment, God can put a complete stop to the plans of man. Rebellious human plans never threaten a sovereign God.

Job is a profound book on human suffering, worthy of a lifetime of study. But was Job himself a real, historical character? And does it matter?

Why would God take some of his children home as a means of discipline when he could have prevented their sin another way?

Faith kills pride by forcing us to look away from ourselves to God to receive the gift of salvation that we could never earn on our own.

Jesus said we should love our neighbors as ourselves. How is this kind of self-love different from the mantra we hear in advertising and social media?

All Satan’s power is by permission. He has no authority to do anything God does not permit for infinitely wise purposes.

Are Christians righteous or unrighteous? Pastor John explains two forms of righteousness in Scripture that get to the core of the gospel.

Deciding when to start a family can be complex. Pastor John shares how he and Noël decided, and what biblical truths should inform the process.

It’s better for us that Jesus is gone. He said so when he left. But why is Christ’s physical absence from us better for us than his physical presence?

Sex in marriage, just like other physical gifts from God, is not an absolute cure for lust, but it can be a great help in the battle.

Letting the truth of election deter evangelism isn’t only illogical, but unbiblical. Pastor John shows how election moves us to action, not inaction.

The union of two men or women is not “gay marriage.” It’s no marriage. When they come to Christ, that former relationship has no binding authority.

Pain surrounds us in this world, and for those in Christ, the exact opposite awaits us after we die. Is it sinful to want to die and be with Jesus?