Ask Pastor John

Is permanent birth control a sin? Pastor John draws on principles for marriage, sex, human life, and the sovereignty of God.

Joy is essential to the Christian life, but it’s not the only component. From our hearts’ delight in God flows the desire to please him in the ways we think and act.

Christianity isn’t simply a way of life or a new morality. Christianity is about the best news in all the world that we now herald in word and song.

The New Testament speaks of varying degrees of reward in heaven, but that doesn’t mean there will be any envy or boasting. All will experience fullness of joy in their own capacity.

Injury doesn’t have to impede our ability to grow in and witness to Christ. God wants to use our weakness for his glory.

We may not always know precisely why God does what he does, but we can always trust his infinite wisdom, righteousness, and justice.

The doctrine of election isn’t just a point of theology to study, but a profound truth that awakens amazement for all God has done.

What Jesus Christ offers in the gospel isn’t merely a band-aid for sin, but everlasting joy that outweighs any and every earthly pleasure.

Left to ourselves, we cannot discern or remove the flaws in our thoughts. But God’s word and the Holy Spirit can renew our minds.

When we give money to our churches and to God through them, we need to always remember that every desire and ability to serve and give are themselves gifts from God.

When we feel no joy, when we go to Scripture and walk away discouraged, when God feels distant, what can we do?

Pastor John teaches how the first sin displayed a heart that did not trust nor treasure God.

When we as a church assume that we are owed cultural dominance and prosperity, our otherworldly hope can quickly begin to fade.

Whenever we talk about emotions in the Christian life, like joy, we need to remember that we all experience life differently, and God has grace for all our shortcomings.

When a Christian teen disagrees with their Christian parent, are they both stuck, or is there more to pursue than agreeing to disagree?

Only humans are made in God’s image, and only humans can be redeemed. So do we have any biblical basis for saying our pets will be in heaven?

The past isn’t just a source for nostalgia and fond memories, but a reservoir of God’s grace that empowers our faith in all that God has promised to be for us.

We only have one life on this earth to devote to honoring and glorifying our Lord Jesus Christ. Don’t waste it; make it count.

The content of a pastor’s preaching should connect directly with his text. To preach faithfully is to show your people the truths that are really present in a passage of Scripture.

All men and women should be active in ministry. The question is how. Pastor John explains why God reserves Sunday-morning preaching for men.

Christian police officers have a God-given platform to advocate for positive change in their communities. Pastor John offers four pieces of advice for speaking on race.

Churches are not social action agencies, but Christ does call his community to embody and witness to the power and values of his kingdom.

Pornography and lust may seem harmless at first, but, in the end, they may just cost you the most precious gift in all the universe.

Longing for marriage can be a good, God-given desire. But finding a spouse can never replace our primary life’s passion: seeing and savoring Jesus Christ.

The Church is made of broken people who look to Jesus for satisfaction and joy. Many in the church experienced sexual abuse and struggle in their relationships.

To be ready for a dating relationship, a young man or woman doesn’t only need availability and desire, but a growing relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ.

Boyfriends should take the initiative to lead their girlfriends in ways that are appropriate outside the marriage covenant — especially when it comes to sexual purity.

Our culture may place a high premium on looks, but what attracts godly people isn’t just the right physical features, but the spirit and character that lay underneath.

The local church is a community for all kinds of people, including every age group. And members should constantly be looking for ways to learn from and serve one another across generations.

Matt Chandler joins the Ask Pastor John podcast to discuss the speed of relationships moving toward marriage, and whether social media has negatively impacted dating.

For Christians, the church is the best context for developing relationships because a local community of faith should provide discipleship and accountability like no other place.

Both spontaneous and prepared prayers can edify the health of our spiritual lives, but whenever we pray, we need to aim for glory, rely on God, and speak in the Spirit.

When God issues his call to awaken new spiritual life in a once dead heart, he create what he commands out of an overflow of his love.

Does the apostle Paul actually chose a lesser joy in Philippians 1:23, and actually contradict the Christian Hedonistic principle of always pursuing our highest joy?

Our pain and suffering may result from persecution, or just the troubles of everyday life. Either way, God is at works and desires that we trust him by faith.

Marriage over presents us with a mismatch in sexual desire. But if both husband and wife work to outdo one another in showing honor, sexual intimacy can still bring joy to both.

Sex and its pleasures may not be absolutely essential in a marriage, but we inevitably lose part of the pointer of Christ and his church when sexual intimacy is absent.

Christians don’t need to crave people’s approval because we live every day in the full and lasting approval of our heavenly Father.

Children who perish before they can understand the gospel don’t have to fear judgment, but are enveloped by the grace of God who saves according to his mercy.

When God threatens punishment for our failure to delight in him, he’s not manipulating us, but showing us the urgency of choosing life and joy in him.

During an era when Reformed theology has seen a resurgence, why does it appear that the embrace of Reformed doctrine is disproportionately white?

When Christians lose social influence, we need to remember that opposition is normal, and that our hope for the kingdom never rests with Facebook or Twitter.

What God saves us from isn’t low self-esteem or even just immorality, but his own righteous wrath against sinners.

Parents should monitor their kids use of technology, not just so that they get good grades or avoid trouble, but so that they grow up to live for Christ and his kingdom.

Francis Chan gives reasons why he thinks Christians are delaying marriage.

Husbands have a high calling in their homes. And one of the primary ways we can see our families flourish is by humbling ourselves and not insisting on our own way.

If joy is a fruit of the Spirit, then any Christian home should strive to be a source of joy, for the family first, and then as an overflow to others.

What matters in a potential significant other isn’t just what they do, but whether they know and love Jesus in a deep relationship.

What matters most in our homes isn’t that our children enjoy everything parents do, but that they come to know and love Jesus more than anything else.

Joy in the Lord isn’t automatic, but a daily fight to delight in him. Even prominent leaders like Francis Chan are no stranger to the struggle.