Ask Pastor John

Someone recently claimed that 88% of our happiness is outside of our control. How should a Christian hedonist evaluate this theory?

The Reformation spread when an unknown monk leveraged a rudimentary piece of technology developed by a devout Roman Catholic.

Good biographies expose us to times, people, and thinking outside of our own day. Here are some of the best biographies of Reformation figures.

Choosing which of the five ‘solas’ is most important is like choosing which wing of an airplane matters most. All the ‘solas’ stand or fall together.

Racism, hate, and anger have all erupted in fresh ways this last year. Are we born with these ethnic prejudices, or do we learn them?

The Bible not only recognizes that God controls everything. It also demands that we build our lives around that truth.

What is the difference between God’s holiness and his righteousness? And what does that mean for us?

Is Ephesians 1:18 about God inheriting believers, or is it about believers inheriting God’s glory? Pastor John offers a few defenses for his view.

God did not design marriage for outbursts, verbal putdowns, or raised voices. If this describes your marriage, here’s some advice from Pastor John.

Falling in love is a wonderful gift, but for most the maturity to handle a relationship of that depth doesn’t come in high school.

Anger destroys relationships, but the Bible has a category for righteous anger. So what’s the difference between the good version and the deadly one?

Hearing the word of God is not a mere discipline — it is a matter of life and death. But how can we take in God’s word when reading feels like a chore?

Communion calls to mind the most tragic event in the history of the world and the greatest hope ever offered. Only mature believers can set that tone.

Jesus is clear that abiding in him is not optional. But what does it actually mean to daily remain attached to him?

This slogan became the heartbeat of Pastor John's life and the hallmark of Desiring God’s ministry. So where did it come from?

The ultimate sin in the garden was not eating the fruit. Adam and Eve lost their taste for God’s beauty before they reached for the tree.

We know that God has the ability to control everything, but does he always choose to exercise his full sovereignty?

All authors are flawed, but what should we do with an author’s work when a public failure discredits them as a sound teacher?

We don’t have to pretend we don’t feel pain from our losses. Grieving with hope means something far greater than moving on from the pain.

God doesn’t mean for us to forget him or minimize him when hurricanes devastate human life. Pastor Piper turns Godward and prays in the path of hurricanes.

Jesus focused a lot on the kingdom of God. But what is the kingdom? And why does the rest of the New Testament hardly mention the theme?

A pastor’s job is not to count how many people come on Sunday, but to make faith-filled, self-denying, fruit-bearing disciples.

Parents will fail hundreds of times as they strive to raise their kids biblically. So how can we find hope in the midst of these many shortcomings?

God never designed marriage to be our ultimate treasure. Here are some signs that we have made our marriage into something God never intended it to be.

God’s love and election work hand and hand. There’s no election that is not loving, and there’s no initiating love that is not electing.

When thinking about TV, music, or movies, don't ask, “What’s wrong with this?” but, instead, “Will it maximize my holiness?”

Wartime lifestyle seeks to glorify God — not to live with the least amount of stuff. It simply admits that life must be different during a battle.

When is it right to please people? When is it wrong to please people? Motive matters.

God has designed marriage to bring about a kind of cherishing that emerges nowhere else. But that doesn’t mean you are uncherishable if your single.

Jesus faced more opposition from the Pharisees than the Romans. Are religious formalists a greater threat to the church today than our secular neighbors?

Students, attending college means stepping out into the front line of the war for your faith. In order to hold fast, arm yourself for battle.

God created sex for marriage. He designed it as beautiful gift and placed it precisely where he knew it should be.

We by nature don’t delight in God but in his gifts. New cars, our job, even our phones all compete for our supreme joy unless God transforms our hearts.

One way to honor our parents is to love them as we love ourselves. If we would hope to be helped in our old age, we should find ways to help our parents.

Members of our churches learn truth not only from the sermons they hear, but also from the songs they sing. Lyrics on Sunday morning matter.

Jesus provides the litmus test for all religions. Any religion that refuses to worship him is a false religion.

Two parents are better than one. But does God require a single parent to marry if he or she doesn’t desire marriage?

Following Jesus brings suffering we could have avoided. But the alternative is losing your soul while only gaining the cheap pleasures of the world.

Was Piper right to say, “You don’t have a chance against the devil unless you know how to read and understand God’s word”?

A catechism can help children interpret the Bible, point them to important Scriptures, and capture the whole counsel of God’s word.

For millions of people, the future reign of God is terrible news. His rule will not be an invitation to eternal joy, but a final verdict: eternal damnation.

Joy will come, even when it feels like the pain will never end. In the meantime, God promises to be near you in ways you can’t feel outside of suffering.

Our aging bodies and nearness to death need not sap the joy that God gives us while we remain on earth. He still has a purpose for us.

When couples temporarily suspend sexual intimacy for the purpose of prayer, they say with their bodies how desperate they are for God to answer.

Those who have had an abortion should own the guilt, but they should not stop there. God has more than enough grace reserved at the cross.

Moms, your walk with God is as essential for the good of your children as the milk you feed them and the diapers you change.

Our deepest, sweetest joy will not come from God making much of us, but from God freeing us to make much of him forever.

Egos do not shrink when we stop dreaming big. With big, small, and even stagnant dreams, we will need to kill our self-promoting instinct.

Sleep shatters our God complex because we have to put down our tools, take off our boots, and remember that God is the decisive worker, always.

Widows and widowers should feel no pressure to rush into a remarriage, but they shouldn’t exclude the possibility either.