Ask Pastor John

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.

When do our hobbies glorify God, and when do they become a wartime waste? Pastor John offers three guiding questions to ask of any hobby.

What do the Scriptures say about communicating with dead ancestors? Pastor John explains four truths about God and the sufficiency of his revelation.

With so much at stake in the fight against abortion, can pro-life advocates use doctrinal falsehoods to persuade parents to keep their babies?

Intelligence without affection is barren, mechanical — even artificial. Pastor John reflects on his ministry in the light of developing AI technologies.

Given Paul’s command to “rejoice always,” do we sin when we lack joy? Pastor John offers a simple answer with three crucial qualifications.

Genuine joy in God is far deeper than a choice we make. Even so, our actions can help or hinder the spontaneous experience of joy.

Can new-covenant Christians claim old-covenant promises? As long as we keep some key distinctions in mind, we not only can, but should.

God has not left us without evidence for the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. But evidence alone will never open the eyes of the blind.

God-centered theology can raise all kinds of questions about God’s love for us. Pastor John asks and answers nine of them.

If the penalty for sin is eternal punishment, how could Jesus’s finite sufferings pay the price of our redemption?

Why did Jesus leave earth after his resurrection? Pastor John gives six reasons for Jesus’s ascension to the Father’s right hand.

If Christ has not been raised, Paul says, then Christians are “of all people most to be pitied.” But why should we be pitied when we live with such joy?

“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” What does Pastor John mean when he talks about “satisfaction in God”?

Christ is our rest on Monday as well as Sunday. But how do we experience the peaceful rest of Jesus in the midst of our labors?

The doctrines of grace are designed to destroy human boasting. So, what can we do if we find our theology becoming a platform for pride?

At least six biblical pointers give us reason to expect some kind of work in the age to come. But whatever eternity holds, it will be a future beyond disappointment.

Rich doctrine makes the heart sing. So, where might Christians start if they want to read time-tested, soul-deepening books?

With so many demands on our time, why should we carve out precious minutes for books? Pastor John gives seven reasons he loves to read.

When life is hard and heaven seems silent, how can God’s people still feel his love? Pastor John offers six reminders for those in spiritual darkness.

How important is unconditional election for the Christian life? Pastor John offers ten reasons why Christians need this crucial doctrine.

Anyone who preaches for long will find his preaching criticized — sometimes unfairly, but often wisely. Pastor John shares ten criticisms that have shaped him.

If Jesus and his apostles promised that faithful Christians would suffer, how can comfortable disciples make sense of their experience?

The Bible rings with the language of pleasure and joy in God. But how can we explain that pleasure and joy in ways non-Christian loved ones may understand?

World evangelization would spread more quickly, it may seem, if God had chosen the wise and powerful. So, why did he choose the foolish and weak instead?

When doubts disrupt our Bible reading, how can we resist the inner skeptic? Pastor John offers six ways to fight for faith in daily devotions.

Seasons of doubt may afflict our minds and shake our hearts, but they need not take our joy. Beneath the waves of doubt, joy’s deep waters can still remain calm.

The New Testament seems to connect the person of the Holy Spirit with the joy we experience as believers. But how do the two relate to each other?

If you want to prepare for the unknown controversies of tomorrow, know your Bible deeply, thoroughly, confidently, joyfully.

Some Christians identify spirituality with gifts like speaking in tongues and healing. Does that view match the Bible’s own description of truly spiritual people?

If we are in Christ, then God has saved us from our sins in the past, and he will save us from his wrath in the future. But in what sense is he saving us right now?

How can we celebrate the good we see without succumbing to flattery? Pastor John traces a key distinction between godly and ungodly praise.