Ask Pastor John

Should churches be willing to somehow “bless” same-sex relationships? Pastor John responds to Pope Francis’s concerning proposal.

God does everything he does for his glory, including answering our prayers. So, how can we align all our requests with this big, overarching purpose?

How can we tell if we’re abusing caffeine (or any food or drink)? Pastor John offers three questions to guide a Christian’s consumption.

If death belongs to the children of God, as the apostle Paul says, then death not only loses its sting, but it turns around and becomes our servant.

On September 22, 1967, V. Raymond Edman collapsed while delivering a chapel message at Wheaton. Pastor John reflects on his college chancellor’s final words.

Some Christians carry an ongoing sense of guilt for sins confessed long ago. What can we do with these stubborn guilt feelings?

If God is sovereign over our suffering, then we can trust him to strengthen us in suffering, sanctify us through suffering, and ultimately save us from suffering.

From eternity, God has been self-sufficiently happy in himself. And because he has no needs of his own, he is gloriously free to meet ours.

If our souls are deeply satisfied in God, what room is there for petitionary prayer? Pastor John reframes the question by clarifying the nature of prayer.

If God is sovereign over salvation, do the non-elect even have a chance to repent? Pastor John addresses Romans 9:22, your most-asked-about Bible verse.

Some biblical truths are essential to believe for salvation — but not all. So, how much error can someone hold and still be saved?

How can parents resist the despair that comes from feeling like failures? Pastor John offers ten words of hope for parents of prodigals.

After ten years and two thousand episodes, Tony Reinke has distilled the best of ‘Ask Pastor John’ in a remarkable new book.

If we obey God outwardly but feel no affection for him inwardly, is our obedience still love? Pastor John takes us to the heart beneath God-pleasing obedience.

How do preachers guard themselves from hypocrisy? Pastor John traces double-faced preaching to its deepest root: the love of human praise.

How did Paul endure such unimaginable sufferings without turning from Christ? Pastor John traces three threads of the apostle’s perseverance.

In Leviticus 21, God forbids men with physical defects from participating as full priests. How do we reconcile this prohibition with Jesus’s approach to the disabled?

How do we enjoy pizza, friendship, or any other good gift without committing idolatry? Not only by enjoying God more than his gifts, but also by enjoying him in them.

How do Paul’s travel plans relate to the Trinitarian depths of God’s love? Pastor John shows how ultimate reality undergirds the love between the saints.

Christians have not only the right but the calling to speak truth to power. But such speech differs greatly from mere political flag-waving.

The wrath of God is gone for those who are in Christ. But does God still sometimes bring physical suffering in response to unconfessed sin?

What factors should Christian students consider when choosing a college or major? Pastor John gives five guidelines for those who don’t want to waste their lives.

How can we know if our heart is hard toward God? Pastor John diagnoses hardness of heart, and gives a remedy for remaining soft to God’s Spirit.

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do these haunting words from Jesus suggest he was confused by the horrors of the cross?

We live in a time of mounting global tensions, of wars and rumors of wars. What hope do we have for the future of missions should conflict continue to build?

In a day starving for transcendence, how might church leaders arrange every element of the Sunday gathering to promote joyful Godward reverence?

How might churches move away from casual culture toward heartfelt, happy reverence on Sunday morning? Pastor John shares five steps for preachers.

Is it wrong to drink coffee during corporate worship? Pastor John moves beyond mugs to the heart of the issue.

From college grads to retirees, many people love to keep bucket lists. Should Christians? Pastor John puts rest and recreation within a biblical mindset.

How can we discern the main point of not only a single verse, but an entire paragraph, section, or even chapter of the Bible?

God’s faithfulness to God may not sound like good news. But the foundation of our hope rests on God’s zeal to display the worth of his name.

On the first day of a new year, Pastor John commends a yearlong Bible-reading plan and invites listeners to join him from Genesis to Revelation.

Sometimes, perhaps even often, we read Scripture with our eyes, grasp its truth in our minds, yet feel little pleasure in our hearts. What can we do in such moments?

Christmas is a day for marveling. Pastor John shares four earth-shaking, soul-satisfying reasons to glory in the coming of the Son of God.

As a new year nears, Pastor John marvels at God’s grace from 2023 and shares exciting plans for the months ahead.

What makes regular Bible intake not only helpful for the Christian life, but crucial? Pastor John gives ten reasons to make the Bible part of your everyday.

The word “therefore” appears almost five hundred times in the New Testament. And every one of them is a doorway to life and love.

Pastor John never reads a book — even novels — without a pencil in hand. What does he do with it, and why won’t he use a pen?

How can teens make their lives count? From dating wisely to failing well, Pastor John offers twelve rules for teenage followers of Christ.

We know God inspired the Bible, but we sometimes forget that he also spoke creation into existence. How might we begin to learn from both of God’s books?

How can normal Christians learn to study the Bible on a topic? Pastor John models his own approach as he prepares answers for ‘Ask Pastor John.’

The apostle Peter calls Christians to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus. But how might we grow in knowledge if we don’t enjoy the process of learning?

At the heart of our unbelief lies not only our refusal to glorify God, but our refusal to thank him. Apart from grace, we take the gifts and ignore the Giver.

What role should emotions play in Christian education? If we take our cue from Scripture, appropriate feelings will be central, not peripheral, to all our learning.

God communicates through not just his word, but also his world. Christian learning presses deeply into the Bible, but the stars have something to say as well.

How can youth leaders lead teens deeper into their Bibles? By teaching with an eye on language, a heart for reality, and a knack for question-asking.

Seasons of affliction, however painful or even deadening they may feel, do not last forever. God will restore the souls he has saved.

Godly pastors and leaders are a tremendous gift to Christ’s church. So, how do we keep hoping in God when our spiritual heroes die?

If you want to kill your selfishness, focus on more than your selfishness. Fill your soul to overflowing with Christ.

Over five hundred years after Luther’s Ninety-Five Theses, what do we celebrate on Reformation Day? Pastor John traces five of the Reformation’s greatest recoveries.