Ask Pastor John

God’s sovereignty over all creation is one of the grandest themes in the Bible. Pastor John overviews some of the basics.

Every child is an eternal being, someone who will live forever. So if our children may end up in hell, would we be better off not having kids?

With so many urgent spiritual needs in the world, is it wise to spend years of life in a seminary classroom? If someone is eager for ministry, why wait?

If Jesus is God, why does the Bible say that he “became” superior to angels? Hasn’t he always been superior to angels?

Christians can learn many important facts from non-Christian teachers. But they cannot learn the most important facts — or how to love them.

Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters. A few months into his prison sentence, he said he found God. Can he really be forgiven?

In the Old Testament, the disabled were excluded from the holy place. In the New Testament, Jesus touched and healed the disabled. Why the difference?

God could have chosen all to inherit eternal life, but he didn’t. So why would God choose some and not choose others?

Dozens of countries are experiencing a resurgence of biblical Christianity. Pastor John shares several stories from his recent trip to Brazil and Argentina.

Your smartphone is changing you, whether you realize it or not. Tony Reinke explains the costs of smartphone overuse, and how we can resist.

Making a decision with a coin flip glorifies chance. But making a decision from a renewed mind glorifies God.

“My girlfriend affirms homosexual love — is this a deal-breaker?” Yes. Pastor John gives five reasons why.

When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” he means, “I don’t recognize you as my disciple, as my follower. You are a spiritual stranger to me.”

God may use you to change your spouse. But if you press in to him, no matter how disappointed you are in marriage, he will certainly change you.

As God’s child, you are not enslaved to entertainment or anything else. Christ has purchased a way out for you.

Watching a movie, playing a board game, reading a novel — is God disappointed if we use free time for these instead of reading Scripture and praying?

In Jesus, God has given us what we need to rest — even while we work. To every anxious soul, Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”

Seeing and loving art and seeing and loving divine glory are not the same. They require different ways of seeing. So how can we see the beauty of God?

God has not given us a formula for when to share the gospel quickly and when to share over time in the context of a relationship. Both are needed.

The Great Commission isn’t disconnected from the church — it’s given to the church. God designed the local church and missions to be wed together.

We cannot afford to ignore hell. Christians must care about suffering, but especially eternal suffering. And it must mobilize us to go and to send.

We were made to work, and we are happy only if we do work. But what should we do if our job makes us feel trapped, not fulfilled?

If we are not finding purpose in our work from God, then we will likely turn our job into a means of self-fulfillment and self-advancement.

Wherever we put our money, we are accepting risk. So is there any difference between educated sports gambling and investing in stocks?

“The bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast.” Did Jesus endorse polygamy here?

How can single people who desire marriage keep those desires in proper perspective? Pastor John offers six ways to cultivate godly desire.

God sends the wicked to hell because they deserve it. God welcomes the humble to heaven because Christ secured it. This isn’t inconsistent. This is the gospel.

Marriages die from neglect but grow with God-centered time and attention. Pastor John gives six ways to feed your marriage the time it needs.

When does diminishing time in God’s word become sinful? Pastor John identifies five symptoms of Bible neglect.

We wake up every day needing to meet God in his word. Don’t leave the word to fill the cracks. Force other things into the cracks.

If I have only an hour a day to read, how should I divide my time between the Bible and great Christian books?

As we begin another year of Bible reading, Pastor John takes us back to the basics: feed your motivation, grow in skill, and pray for illumination.

As you plan your Bible reading for 2019, know yourself, know your tendencies, but know most of all that you desperately need God’s word.

Can the Christlike virtues of patience, forgiveness, and gentleness survive in a cutthroat technology sector like Silicon Valley?

The famous hymn calls every heart to “prepare him room.” But what does it mean to receive Christ this Christmas?

The wrath of God is our biggest problem. If it didn’t exist, we wouldn’t need the gospel, and we wouldn’t need Christmas.

Will Christians be raptured before the tribulation? Or will we rise to meet the Lord only at his final coming?

We often say that our dead loved ones are with Jesus now. But Paul seems to say that Christians will meet Jesus at the second coming. Which is right?

Colossians 1:20 says that Christ will reconcile “all things” to himself. Does that include demons and unbelievers?

Gift giving, done rightly, doesn’t distract from the meaning of Christmas. Pastor John puts Christmas gifts in biblical context.

If we think Christ cannot compete with Santa in the hearts of our children, we don’t know the real Christ.

When we say “Jesus Christ,” we should be thinking “Jesus the Messiah”: the promised Priest, King, and Prophet, the one God anointed to redeem us.

When the prognosis is an early death, how can we live in a courageous manner that honors God and refuses to be jaded toward him?

What do you say when a professing Christian is ready to embrace the gay lifestyle? Pastor John offers a place to start.

Instead of seeing introversion as a fatalistic limitation, ask, “How can I make my peculiar personality bent a means of grace to others?”

Why did Pastor John name his book and ministry “Desiring God” instead of “Enjoying God,” “Delighting in God,” or “Rejoicing in God”?

What will happen to Christian Hedonism in generations to come? Pastor John shares eight dangers for young Christian Hedonists.

Christian Hedonism does not revise Reformed theology. Rather, it clarifies one of the central assumptions of Reformed theology.

Is there an alternative between empty, duty-driven worship and spontaneous, joyful worship? Pastor John gives six marks of a middle way.

We all want to know we are making the right decisions. To decide wisely, do we need to hear from God beyond what he has already written?