Ask Pastor John

Pastor John, like the rest of us, has his likes and dislikes. From movies and soft drinks to breakfasts and songs, here are twelve of his favorite things.

If a hospital asks a Christian nurse to participate in a “gender-reassignment” surgery, should she agree — or should she take her nursing skills elsewhere?

Strong Christians read the Bible, memorize the Bible, meditate on the Bible, and live on the Bible. They make intentional plans for the word to be their daily bread.

A desire to do good can easily become a desire to look good. So how do we put away our hunger to be praised by other people?

The best gift anyone can receive at Christmas is deliverance from our two greatest enemies: sin and Satan.

A good musical worship experience involves head and heart, truth and affections. It will lead people to know their God and to embrace him with joy.

“Though he slay me, I will hope in him.” Why has Pastor John barely mentioned these remarkable words of Job throughout his decades of preaching and teaching?

Does God save the lost through visions today — or does someone need to hear the gospel to be saved?

Pastor John discusses personal and ministry highlights from 2022, including podcasts, books, global outreach, and a new goal for ‘Look at the Book.’

How can we find freedom from living for the opinions of people? Pray for and pursue a big vision of God. Find a firm identity in Christ. Look to your eternal reward.

Casting your cares onto God begins with believing that he really is the infinitely powerful, all-wise, always-good God he reveals himself to be.

Satan may oppress you, attack you, and rage against you. But if you are in Christ, he holds no power to finally destroy you.

How can leaders prevent the pressures of running an organization from squeezing out opportunities for face-to-face work and ministry?

Scripture is clear that Satan is not ultimately sovereign — God is. But under that sovereignty, in what ways can Satan still harm God’s people?

Outside of Christ, the fear of death is a slave master that holds everyone in bondage — even those who seem unaware of their chains.

Our churches grow in wisdom and maturity when the young honor the old, the old listen to the young, and all clothe themselves with humility.

Suffering may be the price of Christian love, but it is not the aim of Christian love. Our aim is to do as much good as we can on the lowly path of service.

How can we aim to be done with anxiety and enjoy peace in any circumstance? By bringing every circumstance to God in prayer.

If God saves his people through faith alone apart from works, why does Peter say that baptism now saves us?

In 1 Peter 3:19, we read that Christ “went and proclaimed to the spirits in prison, because they formerly did not obey.” What might Peter mean?

There is no distress that puts you beyond the good news that God brings — not even the distress caused by your own sin.

Thirty years after ‘Let the Nations Be Glad!’ was published, Pastor John reflects on the book’s beginnings and its lasting legacy.

Paul and Peter charge Christians to use our spiritual gifts for the good of the church. But what if we don’t seem to have any spiritual gifts?

If God has given helpful skills to both believers and unbelievers, what makes the difference between a merely natural ability and a spiritual gift?

How can Christians live so that, at bottom, we can say with Paul, “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me”?