Ask Pastor John

When the opportunity comes to testify to Christ’s goodness, we don’t always need a rhetorically sound presentation. We need to overflow from faith-filled communion with our Lord and Savior.

Checking our phones first thing in the morning won’t prepare us for the day ahead. Our routine should set our eyes on, and strengthen us in, God alone.

Every morning we wake up with a craving — a craving our phone is eager to satisfy. But this temporary snack cannot feed us like the bread of life.

In the gospel, we receive forgiveness and salvation, but also so much more. The end point of the good news is pure joy in the presence of God forever.

Rigorous study of the Bible doesn’t have to be cold and detached. Rather, intense intellectual work can fuel worship for God and love for others.

Mealtimes should offer a time for families to enjoy one another’s company. But what if phones get in the way?

Christians refrain from keeping the Old Testament law code not because we ignore Scripture, but because Jesus Christ fulfills the whole law.

If we come to Christ simply to receive his gifts, then we have actually missed the greatest gift God can bestow: himself.

Pray is not only a means for us to commune with our Creator, but is God’s appointed means by which his kingdom will come and have victory.

The cross is the ground of all that God does in redemptive history, which means that the cross should be the basis for all that we preach and teach in our churches.

When tragedy strikes, Christians have need to know how to respond. So how does the Bible guide us to think, feel, and act in the face of calamity?

How will the Supreme Court’s decision to legalize so-called “same-sex marriage” impact Christians and our churches? Scholar and Theologian D.A. Carson weighs in just after the ruling was announced.

In the trenches of day-to-day parenting, we need to remember the big picture — namely, that we have the unique opportunity, under God, to shape a form a human soul.

Money may allow us to buy stuff, but it can never buy contentment. If we try to use money to purchase our happiness, it will fail us every time.

The Lord takes away not so that we experience loss, but so that we know the fullness of hope and joy only Jesus Christ offers.

God’s grace is sufficient for our every weakness — even the subtle weakness of taking pride in our own “strength.”

Sex isn’t a topic the church should be embarrassed about. In fact, our God-given sexuality offers us an opportunity to display fundamental truths about God and his world.

When sex becomes all about “my pleasure,” it corrupts a pleasure that God intended to be shared and enjoyed in close, intimate relationship.

God has set boundaries for sex not because he wants to deny us some hidden pleasure, but because he wants us to experience the best joy possible.

What happens when a postmodern perspective on good and evil collides with a breathtaking tragedy like the holocaust?

Our hearts have a natural drive to seek glory. But unless we find that desire in God, we will never experience the satisfaction we so crave.

Unless our pursuit of pleasure has proper boundaries, we’ll always come up short of the lasting joy we’re looking for.

Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But what about enemies who constantly kill and destroy innocent life like ISIS?

Sex may be a natural, physical act, but the union of a man and woman is from God himself. Only those with eyes to see can truly know the wonders of the marriage bed.

God has deep purposes in our most searing pains. We don’t always know what he is doing, but we can experience joy in the sorrow when we trust him.

To write with a calling from God isn’t simply to enjoy putting pen to paper, but to have an insatiable drive to awaken delight in God with whatever you say.

The process of writing — putting thoughts into words and sentences and paragraphs — clarifies our thinking in ways that dialogue simply cannot.

Doctrine and ethics are never far apart. The beliefs and views that lead distort one will inevitably corrupt the other.

The hope of heaven not only grants us comfort when we think of eternity, but also empowers our love for God and Neighbor today.

The resolve to keep moving forward in ministry doesn’t come from mere determination, but daily dependence on God’s amazing grace.

Sometimes the Bible confronts us and tears down our longstanding opinions. And although the process may hurt, being refined by God’s word is always worth the cost.

God’s world shines with his glory — and so does his word. Just as the heavens declare God’s greatness, so his word overflows with the beauty of his majesty.

When it comes to making God-honoring decisions, our greatest problem isn’t necessarily that we don’t think enough, but that we don’t have hearts and emotions that treasure God above all else.

As we study the Bible, we want to go deep into the details of specific texts, and we want to get a broad overview of the whole. How can we do both in a limited amount of time?

We need more pastors with both theological backbones of steel and compassionate hearts of warmth. In short, we need more pastors like our Lord Jesus Christ.

Should a parent share their past sins with a child to comfort or warn them? Or are parents better off just keeping their sins to themselves?

The Bible repeatedly calls Christians to set their minds on what is above — on what is true and good and beautiful. But does that mean we need to avoid anything that isn’t obviously Christian?

As a writer and musician, Trip Lee reads regularly to spark his creativity. So what three books have influenced his life most?

We may assume that we can always just do something later, but God never guarantees a “later.” We must make the most of the time we have now.

We will never find security if we think we have what it takes to make it through life. Only God himself can provide the fullness of hope we desperately long for.

God calls Christians to stand firm in the truth, but that doesn’t excuse us for being jerks when our culture turns against us.

Our phones offer us plenty of convenience, but it comes at the price of distraction. Sometimes we need to step back and make sure we control our phones and that they haven’t mastered us.

Explicit sexuality and nudity are pervasive in our culture. And because it’s everywhere, Christians need to guard their souls more than ever.

We may sometimes be tempted to think that God is just a cosmic killjoy with lots of rules. But in reality, he is working for our highest joy, even when he asks us to deny ourselves.

We can use social media as a tool for good, but all too often, the likes and retweets can consume us. How do we get sucked in so easily?

Joy in the Christian life doesn’t usually come without a struggle. We have to fight to delight in the Lord on a daily basis.

True strength doesn’t come from having the energy to do everything we want to accomplish. According to the Bible, when we are weak, then we are strong.

Jesus did not have a sinful nature like ours, but that doesn’t mean he can’t identify with our temptation. He was tempted as we are, but had to remain without sin to save us forever.

Jesus teaches us to pray that the Father would deliver us from evil. But what exactly does God deliver us from, and does he do it?

The world around us isn’t impressed with a church that lives just like everyone else. What they need to see are people who daily breathe the air of another world.