Ask Pastor John

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.

God is self-existent and self-sufficient, far beyond any need or lack. So, what can we give to God when we gather for corporate worship?

The command to “serve the Lord” appears all through Scripture — but Scripture also assures us that God has no needs. So, how do we serve an all-sufficient God?

For some, forgiving family from the heart may be one of the hardest steps of obedience. Pastor John offers five ways forward when forgiveness feels impossible.

Sibling rivalries have fractured families since Cain and Abel. So, how does God work redemptively between siblings, and how might parents do their part to promote peace?

Increasingly, parachurch ministries are allowing women to occupy positions of spiritual authority once reserved for men. Do they have biblical warrant to do so?

In Isaiah, God promises that “the former things shall not be remembered” in the new creation. Will we really have no memory of this age in the age to come?

Why do so many of us reach instinctively for our phones in the morning? Pastor John identifies six temptations and points to a better way to begin our day.

How can a preacher faithfully call out a culture’s sins while still sounding the dominant note of amazement at the glories of God in Christ?

How can we recognize what Paul calls “an unhealthy craving for controversy” in ourselves and others? Pastor John identifies six traits of a controversy-loving spirit.

“The laborer deserves his wages” — including those who labor in preaching and teaching. But how might a church decide what a pastor’s wages should be?

In Paul’s elder qualifications, he seems to assume that pastors will be married. So how should churches assess the qualification of a single man who wants to pastor?

Why does Paul call Christians to pray for kings and other political rulers — and what specifically might we ask God to do in them and through them?

In a world filled with wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famines, a right understanding of the end times can bring stability to anxious minds.

When Jesus returns, he will magnify the radiance of his glory by multiplying our own joy in that glory. We will happily marvel, and he will forever shine.

If we’re going to rejoice in even the worst circumstances, then we need clear and strong reasons for why God wills suffering for the children he loves.

Tony Reinke shares two upcoming changes to ‘Ask Pastor John’ in light of a brand-new John Piper sermon podcast called ‘Light + Truth.’