Ask Pastor John

God may not call you to move to another country to join the Great Commission, but he has called you to play a significant part.

Some have suggested Reformed theology is a hurdle to racial harmony. Pastor John explains why the opposite has been true over decades of urban ministry.

Is all jealousy bad? No, God models perfect jealousy, and calls us to have the same zeal for his glory in all we do — even in dating.

God’s highest priority is not for us to have children, but for us to have Christ-exalting faith that overflows in meeting the needs of others.

Has a husband and father failed in his God-given responsibility if his family is suffering when he could have prevented it?

How can we glorify God in our jobs? Pastor John offers ten reflections to help Christians integrate their Christian life with their working life.

Some men may avoid a midlife crisis, but many of us will face one. Pastor John describes his own midlife crisis, and how God carried him through.

For fifty years, our culture has denied that men have any unique responsibility to care for and protect women. It was a myth, and it isn’t working.

When God feels distant, he may be calling us away from a flimsy faith to a tough, unshakable allegiance to Jesus.

God’s priorities for efficiency in this life are not ours. His aim is not to provide the most direct route, but to sanctify the traveler.

The Bible calls us not to over-think, under-think, think poorly, or think falsely. So how can we avoid slipping into these ruts?

Many believers experience deep emotional stress over the sin and pain in the world. When these emotions become paralyzing, what should we do?

Although some singles are delaying marriage for the wrong reasons, many are not. What does God say to those who yearn to marry but have no prospects?

Protestants have long championed justification by faith alone. But we distort this truth when we confuse justification and final salvation.

What encouragement does God give to those who are the product of reproductive technology and feel like they were abandoned by a biological parent?

In the new heavens and new earth, Christians will sit with Jesus on his throne. Ordinary believers will join God in judging the universe.

God calls us to pursue our fullest joy in him. Will we fall short if we don’t pursue the extraordinary supernatural gifts like tongues and prophecy?

In this special episode, Pastor John reflects on the life and legacy of Billy Graham.

Roman Catholic teaching has led many astray, even into destruction. But are there some genuine Christians in the Roman Catholic Church?

All sin involves the will. But continuing to sin deliberately — with eagerness and persistence — will destroy the soul.

Bacon, ground beef, sausage — God allows us to eat meat. But he didn’t always allow it. Is it wise to return to a pre-fall diet?

Don’t let the truth of God’s electing love prevent you from declaring that Christ died for all. Whoever believes in him will have eternal life.

Instagram selfies, Facebook updates, and endless Snaps feed off our self-focus and self-exaltation. But the sins behind the technology are not new.

If you pluck out your right eye to fight lust, your left eye will pick up the slack. We need more than self-mutilation to fight this enemy.

The New Testament teaches that Christians should confess their sins regularly — not only to God, but also to each other.

If you have a mustard seed of faith and mountains aren’t moving, you may have the wrong kind of faith — or God may have a better plan.

Grading on a curve, competing for a job against others, sports-team tryouts — how do we seek the good of others when they are our rivals?

God calls us to not only resist lustful thoughts, but to fill our minds with the beauties of Christ so that our desires gradually conform to his.

We don’t get to negotiate the cost of following Christ. But there is no cost you can pay that won’t be made up a thousandfold in the resurrection.

Jesus commands us to do our good deeds in secret, but he also commands us to let our good deeds shine before others. How can we do both?

God would be just to condemn us even if we only sinned for five seconds. The time it takes us to sin does not measure the gravity of the offense.

Seminary professors need to be more than competent exegetes, linguists, or theologians. They need to embody the pastoral office.

When one sinner repents, God and his angels rejoice in heaven. Does that mean that God’s happiness depends on ours?

All Scripture is profitable — not just the pages of the New Testament. But how should Christians read the Old Testament in light of Christ’s coming?

God has a special love for his adopted children, but that does not mean he has no love for those who reject him.

Can a non-Christian ever please God? If not, how should we understand the account of Cornelius in Acts 10?

When billboards, TV commercials, and even dolls tell women that beauty comes from tight, trim-cut clothing, how can we cultivate beauty in the heart?

What should a pastor do if he feels discouraged, defeated, and almost ready to quit? Pastor John gives a series of diagnostic questions.

Staying married is not first about staying in love. It’s about keeping a covenant that reflects Jesus’s own commitment to his bride — the church.

Deep study of Scripture yields deep payoffs, but many of us can’t engage in rigorous study every day. So how do we strike a proper balance?

We need to read large sections of Scripture and stop to meditate on short passages. Pastor John recommends a reading plan that allows you to do both.

Retirees, what a glorious exchange it would be to give up our golf game and bridge club for the mission field. But where should we start?

We can say with confidence God does not dwell in a geographic place we could go to in a spaceship. So what can we say about the location of heaven?

Why does Hebrews tell us that Jesus needed to “learn obedience” and “be made perfect” if the Bible also says he never sinned?

Christmas may fall short now, but one day our delight will be full — and it will go on increasing for all eternity. This is what Christmas is all about.

Every good gift we receive comes through the death of Christ. So every gift from God is an opportunity to enjoy God himself.

Jesus is one hundred percent God, one hundred percent man. This union of divinity and humanity may be mysterious, but it’s the only hope for sinners.

Let’s stay close to the heart of Christmas: God took on flesh that he might die to destroy our enemies, deliver us from sin, and give us eternal life.

The key to magnifying Christ in life and in death is to find him more precious and more satisfying than everything we lose in death.

The only kind of sin that does not lead to death is the sin that we confess, repent of, and resolve to fight by God’s grace.