Ask Pastor John

The question of tattoos involves more than law or culture. It touches the allegiance of our hearts.

Although emotionalism can lead churches into unhelpful practices and even abuse, emotionless churches are in greater danger. Pastor John explains why.

If God does not sit at the center of your theology, your worship will fizzle out. He made you to delight in him.

What factors led to the current rise in Calvinism? Where does Pastor John fit into the picture?

If you feel the slightest tug to go with the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world, here are seven steps to speed you on your way.

Whereas Allah can act capriciously, the Bible assures believers that God’s sovereignty works in perfect harmony with his justice and love.

Pastor John relays lessons from his trip to the Middle East — The harvest is plentiful, the pastors need teachers, and God has opened the door for the gospel.

We know the Bible teaches that homosexual behavior is a sin. Why is that so? Does Scripture give us reasons touching closer to the heart of the issue?

The “good news” of the prosperity gospel preys upon the poor and leads people into suicidal desires for wealth, all while missing the greater riches of eternal life in Christ.

Christians should not use pills that destroy a fertilized egg. But if children are a blessing from the Lord, should contraceptives ever be an option?

Although pastors should find their own rhythms for preparing sermons, the prayer remains the same: “God help me to see and say what’s really in your Word.”

Pastor John’s ability to preach rose up out of a heart that was satisfied and thrilled by the Bible.

Christ’s kingdom advances through the ministry of faithful mothers whose homes are light for their children, and for the world.

Pastor John walks through three lines of evidence that make a compelling case for the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Proud hearts don’t know their need for grace, but humble hearts joyfully give thanks to the God who has given them everything, including salvation.

As believers become more and more like Jesus, they will come to love the things that God loves, in the way that God loves them.

In John 15, Jesus cuts off branches that bear no fruit. Does that mean that Christians can lose their salvation?

Pastor John offers cultural, practical, and biblical support for his encouragement for wives to take their husbands’ last names.

Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks — but what if we stop the speaking? Have we still sinned?

All sin makes war on the Christian, so the Christian must make war on all sin — whether sexual immorality or self-pity.

How does God provide the food so that his appointed shepherds — time-pressured, busy pastors — can feed their flocks?

Academia affords more leisurely time to study the Bible, but the pastorate compels shepherds to find daily biblical nourishment daily to feed themselves and their flock.

Discernment and financial abuses exist in charismatic and non-charismatic churches alike. Pastor John urges believers to cling to the word of God.

Flaws litter charismatic and non-charismatic churches alike. Pastor John has two biblical warnings for those who prize feelings over mature thinking.

Do new-covenant prophecies carry the same level of authority as Scripture? Pastor John explains three reasons why they don’t.

Paul told the Corinthians to earnestly desire the gift of prophecy. But should Christians today do the same?

Pastor John talks about his plans to strengthen pastors in the Middle East and asks listeners to pray for strength.

Pastor John encourages Christian loners — even those who have been hurt by the church — to pursue God in Christ-exalting friendships.

All of history details the story of God's redemptive grace through Jesus Christ. We will not forget this story in heaven — we will rehearse it forever.

Pastor John explains how Christian Hedonism avoids idolizing joy.

Jesus surpasses whatever good the world has to offer. So rather than worship those good things, disciples of Jesus receive them as gifts.

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty doesn’t only mean that he controls everything, but that he controls everything for the good of his people.

Pastor John discusses how God's sovereignty relates to joy in God.

How has God designed our community to help keep us in Christ? Pastor John unpacks God’s prescriptions of prayer and exhortation.

God does not traffic in futility or vanity. He intends all things, even terrible calamity, for the ultimate good of his people.

Pastor John explains God's sovereignty over evil acts without himself being evil.

How do we reconcile seemingly conflicting commands from Scripture to hang out with the corrupt and to befriend them like Jesus?

Children are a blessing from the God who commands us to be fruitful and multiply. But how does that command fit in a world with orphans who need a home?

God calls pastors to lead their churches by serving, not dominating, and he calls congregations to follow with humble teachability.

Alcohol consumption is permissible and can be a blessing, but it is also fraught with dangers.

God is working a weight of glory through our hardships, even the ones that seem most trivial.

For Christians, to embrace the definite atonement is to embrace that Christ set his love on them particularly, specially, and certainly.

The forbidden tree was neither an arbitrary test of obedience nor a greedy restriction by a stingy God. It was an insurance policy to secure supreme pleasure.

Although Lewis held several defective doctrines, Pastor John gives six reasons why he remains so helpful to Christians worldwide.

A good imagination transforms the normal into the fantastic. A great imagination sees normal things for the wonders they really are.

God’s pursuit of his own glory is the best possible news for all who seek him because “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.”

Walking by the Spirit can seem vague and hard to live out. Pastor John gives believers practical steps to walk and live by the Spirit.

No other motive provides a better foundation for missions than God’s own zeal to be glorified by blood-bought people from every tribe and tongue.

Christians do not celebrate what dishonors Christ. Pastor John gives five reasons why he would not attend a so-called same-sex wedding.

However mundane dirty diapers and yet another meal may seem, Jesus assures busy moms, “Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.”