Ask Pastor John

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.

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.