Ask Pastor John

Preachers are emissaries of God’s revealed truth. So how should we talk about parts of the text we don’t understand?

Christian ministry is relationally painful. Friends in the ministry can leave and never return, as even the apostle Paul experienced near the end of his life.

Jesus, Paul, Peter, and the author of Hebrews all describe people who begin well in the Christian life before eventually making shipwreck of their faith.

No one likes to receive criticism, even when it’s well-intended. How can we learn to control our emotional responses and remain grounded in the love of Christ?

We all face crises, and without grace, we find our world collapsing in the midst of them. But there is strong and stable hope in the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Scripture calls us to do everything for the glory of God. Does that mean no action we take is morally neutral?

What will the relationship between husband and wife be like in the age to come? Pastor John explains how the best parts of marriage point ahead to eternal joy.

How can Christians always pray and not lose heart? In part, by remembering the generous heart of God and his delight to hear his people.

How can a wife go on praying for her unbelieving husband after years, or even decades, of no evident change?

How can we see the glory of Christ? Renounce the praise of man. Devote yourself to Scripture. Turn to Christ through his word. Keep praying for sight.

Why is the fear of man such a big problem? Because those who fear men cast their vote against the trustworthiness of God.

How can Christians live fearlessly? Replace the fear of man with the fear of God. Fear man — live fearfully. Fear God — live fearlessly.

Godly submission does not require that a woman do everything her husband says. Before she is a wife who submits to her husband, she is a Christian who submits to Christ.

How do we know if we are able to bear the heavy calling of being the aroma of life to some and the aroma of death to others?

Pastors who flaunt their riches will not draw anyone to the hope of the gospel. They will draw men and women to the hope of luxury.

Men and women may face temptations peculiar to their sex, but we both share a deep, common depravity and a profound need for mercy.

Hope in God clothes a woman with a beauty that will never fade, never perish, and never cease to be precious in God’s sight.

How might we as parents teach our daughters, even at young ages, how to express their femininity without flaunting their body?

God calls church members to submit to their pastors, wives to their husbands, employees to their bosses. But is there also a sense in which God calls us to submit to everyone?

“Love your enemies,” Jesus says. But who are our enemies? The answer is broader than we might imagine.

In the wake of great betrayal, how do we respond with love and forgiveness without minimizing the evil of the sin?

Peter tells wives to win their husbands “without a word.” Does that mean a wife should never confront her husband over a pattern of habitual sin?

How can a father governed by anger begin to recover kindness and tenderheartedness? By freshly embracing God the Father’s forgiveness through Christ.

Is heartfelt anger toward God ever righteous, or even morally neutral — or is such anger always sinful?

Does the Bible teach that God has predestined some to disobedience and destruction, just as he has predestined some to salvation?