Desiring God Ask Pastor John Audio: Recent Episodes
Desiring God
Should church leaders require Christians to tithe since God commanded tithing in the Old Testament? Pastor John commends a better approach.
Arguments, logic, and careful analysis may give us 99 percent certainty for some doctrine or truth claim. But what about the remaining 1 percent?
Why did God take the life of Ezekiel’s wife and then command Ezekiel not to mourn? Pastor John considers the perplexing yet merciful ways of God.
How can we love our enemies when they treat us horrifically? Pastor John appeals to six biblical realities to help us face unimaginable darkness.
“Curse God and die.” Why does the author of Job relate the apparent despair of Job’s wife? What purpose does she play in the message of the book?
How can perfectionists make decisions without getting paralyzed by fear? Pastor John shares seven encouragements for those who feel stuck.
How much should we sacrifice in order to do excellent work? Pastor John encourages perfectionists to find wisdom from a strong, spiritually mature community.
If Christians are no longer under wrath, why does Paul say that we will stand before God’s judgment seat? Pastor John clarifies the Christian’s future judgment.
How much money should we set aside for retirement? Pastor John commends three biblical principles to apply in our various contexts.
Does God ultimately sustain our faith, or do we? Pastor John unfolds 1 Peter 1:4–5 to show how God guards us to the end.
Do humans have free will — and if so, what is it? Pastor John considers the depravity of the human heart and the sovereign grace that saves us.
Does God’s command to deny ourselves contradict Christian Hedonism? Pastor John clarifies the God-centered, pleasure-seeking aim of all Christian self-denial.
How does zeal for God relate to joy in God? With help from Jonathan Edwards, Pastor John traces the crucial connection in four steps.
How do we overcome half-hearted spiritual laziness? Pastor John appeals to the apostle Paul and Jonathan Edwards to commend a life totally devoted to Christ.
The Roman Catholic Church teaches numerous unbiblical doctrines. So, can devout Catholics be genuinely saved?
Luther didn’t stand alone 500 years ago. Nor does he stand alone today. We’ve created a 31-day journey to introduce you to the many heroes of the Reformation. Join us at desiringGod.org/stand.
How can active, impatient doers learn to wait on God? Pastor John describes spiritual waiting — and shows how we can answer such a question for ourselves.
Why do so many American Christians bear the marks of worldliness? Too often in our churches, Christ is too cheap, heaven is too distant, and earth is too big.
“God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him.” How did John Piper craft this memorable motto? Tony Reinke tells the story.
Why do you exist? Why does anything exist? Pastor John shows from Isaiah 43:1–7 that God created his people to glorify him by enjoying him.
Will God forgive my very worst sin? Pastor John shares seven powerful encouragements for those paralyzed with guilt.
Thinking is indispensable — but thinking is also dangerous. How can we use our minds to glorify God rather than puffing up ourselves?
How can we help those struggling with hoarding? Pastor John shares five underlying factors and five practical suggestions for those who seem stuck.
How do we make sense of Bible passages that we don’t understand? Pastor John demonstrates how to patiently interpret Scripture with Scripture.
Though our response to God often feels frustratingly inadequate, he is worthy of all our heart, soul, and mind. He is worthy of “white-hot worship.”
What comfort does God give to those who feel responsible for tragic loss? Pastor John offers eight words of hope to a brokenhearted mom.
What does it mean to “work heartily, as for the Lord” in our 9-to-5 jobs? Pastor John considers five qualities of faithful work from Paul’s words in Colossians 3.
In Christ, the righteous deeds you do by faith are emphatically not “filthy rags.” Pastor John corrects a common and profound misunderstanding.
If God is sovereign over life and death, does it matter what risks we take? Pastor John considers the place of precautions beneath God’s providence.
Scripture gives us a category for addressing the devil, but our normal way of defeating him is by trusting the promises of God and killing our own sin.
How can we not lose heart over children who wander from Christ? Pastor John opens the parable of the prodigal son to offer encouragement after encouragement.
Can Christians ask God to teach the unrepentant hard lessons? Pastor John helps us pray against others’ sins without presuming to be God.
Should a Christian construction worker help to build a casino — or any other building that facilitates sin? Pastor John offers principles for the Christian conscience.
Staying married is not first about staying in love. It’s about keeping a covenant that reflects Jesus’s own faithfulness to his bride, the church.
Where should an unmarried pastor look for a wife? Pastor John encourages single men in ministry to take practical steps while trusting God’s providence.
What makes for a true friend, according to God’s word? Pastor John sketches the nature and importance of friendship across the Scriptures.
God looks throughout the earth, eager to work for those whose hearts are whole toward him. Pastor John unfolds glory from a favorite verse.
Will God condemn someone for being born into another religion? Pastor John responds to a former Muslim deeply worried about her loved ones.
“For his steadfast love endures forever” appears 26 times in Psalm 136. What might we learn from this psalm about the right kind of repetition in worship?
If you want more of your thoughts to become captive to Christ, open the Bible and pray, “Anything in my thinking that needs to be destroyed, destroy it.”
American citizens enjoy lavish blessings of common grace. Pastor John calls us to give thanks without giving away our far deeper allegiance to God’s special grace.
If joy in God is a gift from God, why does he also command us to rejoice? Pastor John takes us into a paradox that lies at the heart of the God-glorifying life.
The local church’s task of sending and sustaining long-term missionaries rests on several deep biblical assumptions. Pastor John shares five.
At the root of our sin is not a mind ignorant of God’s ways, but a darkened love, a hardened heart, and a will bent away from God’s ways.
In this fallen age, resurrection power does not keep us from pain. Instead, it brings life to others as we keep loving Jesus in our pain.
Bible reading can bring comfort, but Bible reading can also bring fear. How can we rightly embrace both the comfort of God’s promises and the fear of his warnings?
Paul says that the renewed mind discerns God’s good will “by testing.” What does that testing look like in the thousands of everyday decisions we make?
Our boredom in this world is meant to point us to another world — a world where the infinitely interesting God will banish boredom forever.
No matter how comfortable our friends and neighbors may seem, they are headed for hell unless they repent. So, what words might break through their comfort?
Why does Paul call Satan “the prince of the power of the air”? Pastor John explores the extent of Satan’s authority and Christ’s decisive victory.
If God has not chosen to save me, then why would he condemn me for not believing? Pastor John explains the kind of inability that does not remove responsibility.
Is Shia LaBeouf right to say that Jesus experienced “maximum joy” as he died? Pastor John considers the joy set before Christ and the horrors of the cross.
“Cross,” “nails,” “spear,” and “thorns” are words that evoke images in our minds — images with tremendous power to dispel lustful thoughts.
How should Christians think about sexually explicit material on the page rather than the screen? Pastor John offers ten questions for readers of erotica.
Parents have the God-given duty to warn their children not to rebel against Christ, and some of the most powerful warnings come from stories of failed rebellions.
How can a mom raise boys to become strong and godly men? Pastor John offers counsel for training up the next generation.
Sometimes, God responds to our sinful requests with a merciful no. But other times, he gives what we ask, brings misery with it, and then amazingly works good through it.
How can Christians grow in expressing their deepest affections for God and others? Pastor John offers eight pieces of counsel for those who struggle to speak.
God could destroy Satan at any moment. So, why has God allowed Satan to blind the minds of unbelievers from seeing the glory of Christ?
Does Proverbs 22:6 promise that children raised by godly parents will become Christians? Pastor John explains the proverb and points parents to their ultimate hope.
What makes a good sentence? Good sentences are true, clear, authentic, thoughtful, creative, well-timed, clean, loving, and glorifying to God.
How can we walk through this world of sin, suffering, and futility with strength and joy? Psalm 90:14 holds the key.
In a society steeped in self-worth and self-esteem, how can Christians aim for significance in a way that glorifies Christ?
Should churches be willing to somehow “bless” same-sex relationships? Pastor John responds to Pope Francis’s concerning proposal.
God does everything he does for his glory, including answering our prayers. So, how can we align all our requests with this big, overarching purpose?
How can we tell if we’re abusing caffeine (or any food or drink)? Pastor John offers three questions to guide a Christian’s consumption.
If death belongs to the children of God, as the apostle Paul says, then death not only loses its sting, but it turns around and becomes our servant.
On September 22, 1967, V. Raymond Edman collapsed while delivering a chapel message at Wheaton. Pastor John reflects on his college chancellor’s final words.
Some Christians carry an ongoing sense of guilt for sins confessed long ago. What can we do with these stubborn guilt feelings?
If God is sovereign over our suffering, then we can trust him to strengthen us in suffering, sanctify us through suffering, and ultimately save us from suffering.
From eternity, God has been self-sufficiently happy in himself. And because he has no needs of his own, he is gloriously free to meet ours.
If our souls are deeply satisfied in God, what room is there for petitionary prayer? Pastor John reframes the question by clarifying the nature of prayer.
If God is sovereign over salvation, do the non-elect even have a chance to repent? Pastor John addresses Romans 9:22, your most-asked-about Bible verse.
Some biblical truths are essential to believe for salvation — but not all. So, how much error can someone hold and still be saved?
How can parents resist the despair that comes from feeling like failures? Pastor John offers ten words of hope for parents of prodigals.
After ten years and two thousand episodes, Tony Reinke has distilled the best of ‘Ask Pastor John’ in a remarkable new book.
If we obey God outwardly but feel no affection for him inwardly, is our obedience still love? Pastor John takes us to the heart beneath God-pleasing obedience.
How do preachers guard themselves from hypocrisy? Pastor John traces double-faced preaching to its deepest root: the love of human praise.
How did Paul endure such unimaginable sufferings without turning from Christ? Pastor John traces three threads of the apostle’s perseverance.
In Leviticus 21, God forbids men with physical defects from participating as full priests. How do we reconcile this prohibition with Jesus’s approach to the disabled?
How do we enjoy pizza, friendship, or any other good gift without committing idolatry? Not only by enjoying God more than his gifts, but also by enjoying him in them.
How do Paul’s travel plans relate to the Trinitarian depths of God’s love? Pastor John shows how ultimate reality undergirds the love between the saints.
Christians have not only the right but the calling to speak truth to power. But such speech differs greatly from mere political flag-waving.
The wrath of God is gone for those who are in Christ. But does God still sometimes bring physical suffering in response to unconfessed sin?
What factors should Christian students consider when choosing a college or major? Pastor John gives five guidelines for those who don’t want to waste their lives.
How can we know if our heart is hard toward God? Pastor John diagnoses hardness of heart, and gives a remedy for remaining soft to God’s Spirit.
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Do these haunting words from Jesus suggest he was confused by the horrors of the cross?
We live in a time of mounting global tensions, of wars and rumors of wars. What hope do we have for the future of missions should conflict continue to build?
In a day starving for transcendence, how might church leaders arrange every element of the Sunday gathering to promote joyful Godward reverence?
How might churches move away from casual culture toward heartfelt, happy reverence on Sunday morning? Pastor John shares five steps for preachers.
Is it wrong to drink coffee during corporate worship? Pastor John moves beyond mugs to the heart of the issue.
From college grads to retirees, many people love to keep bucket lists. Should Christians? Pastor John puts rest and recreation within a biblical mindset.
How can we discern the main point of not only a single verse, but an entire paragraph, section, or even chapter of the Bible?
God’s faithfulness to God may not sound like good news. But the foundation of our hope rests on God’s zeal to display the worth of his name.
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.
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.’
Throughout the New Testament, Jesus and the apostles draw some profound connections between the glorious second coming and our ordinary everyday lives.
On May 19, 2023, Tim Keller entered the reward of his Master. In this special episode of Ask Pastor John, Tony Reinke shares a sermon clip from Dr. Keller on the joy of God in the face of cancer.
Discussions of the second coming often spiral into speculation — or misconception. Pastor John explains five mistaken beliefs about Christ’s return.
In the midst of a busy life, how can we find the time to read great Christian books? We might begin by setting aside just fifteen minutes a day.
God does not give us a list of foods and drinks we can and cannot consume. Instead, he gives us his words and his Spirit to shape how we see all of life.
If we are going to find lasting satisfaction in the beauty of Christ, despite the pain of rejection, four massive changes need to happen in our hearts.
Headship calls a man to put away his anger and initiate reconciliation — no matter how much of the fault lies with his wife or with his children.
The movement from orthodoxy to demon theology happens sometimes slowly and sometimes suddenly — but always because love for Christ has grown cold.
“Nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving,” Paul says. So can Christians enjoy pot if they thank God for it?
Will a professing Christian go to hell if he never shares the gospel? Pastor John gets to the heart and offers practical suggestions for growing in evangelism.
Paul desired that “in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands.” Should men in the church today still lift their hands when they pray?
At the core of Christian Hedonism is the glorious reality that the duty God requires of us is the path to our greatest joy.
Should parents allow children to cross-dress? Pastor John explains why this cuts across the grain of God-created reality and how to offer counsel to Christian parents.
Jesus promised that his followers would be “hated by all,” but Paul said pastors must be “well thought of by outsiders.” So should the world like us or hate us?
Jesus could have healed the man born blind with a simple command; instead, he used spit and mud. Why?
If a man has a history of fornication, is he disqualified from the office of pastor — or can he still be considered “the husband of one wife”?
If God has really given us “a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control,” then why do we still struggle with fear and anxiety?
In the face of every fear and insecurity, the gospel says, “In Christ, God is for you — always and forever, with all of his heart and soul. So what can man do to you?”
In Psalm 15, David tells us to despise the vile; in Matthew 5, Jesus tells us to love them. How can we do both?
God “desires all people to be saved,” Paul tells us — but clearly not all people are saved. Does this mean God cannot do what he wants to do?
Christ’s global purpose to ransom people from every tribe and tongue can be summed up in his words, “I have other sheep. I must bring them also.”
God gave work as a blessing in the beginning, but we live now on the other side of the fall. So is our work today a blessing or a curse?
Alongside his personal study of Scripture, what whole-Bible commentaries has Pastor John found most helpful over the years?
If you want to settle the question of personal identity, don’t ask “Who am I?” Ask, “Whose am I?”
We know the devil can tempt us and attack us and try to deceive us, but can he put thoughts into our heads?
At every moment, God knows the thoughts and intentions of every human heart. Pastor John explores six vast implications of this foundational truth.
The book of Romans interprets life — and it also transforms life. Pastor John shares how Romans has shaped him, from conversion to the pastorate.
How can a Christian business leader speak about his success in a way that makes God, not him, look great?
Is there really a difference between complaining about our problems and venting about them — or are we just kidding ourselves?
What is the simplest, shortest definition of Christian Hedonism? Pastor John explains in two minutes why pursuing joy in God is essential to the Christian life.
Women, Paul says, “will be saved through childbearing.” How does childbirth save women — and what about women who never have children of their own?
Those who play the victim to their sexual lusts act like slaves, like dogs eating their vomit, like washed pigs rolling in mud. But in Christ, they don’t have to stay that way.
Even if you remember only one sentence of a book, that one sentence can create an immeasurable moment, a flash of insight that shapes you forever.
What might Scripture say to a woman who desperately wants to become a man? Pastor John offers six reasons why attempting to “de-gender” is a tragic act of sin.
Are Christians who have the opportunity to vote obligated to do so — or can we abstain from the whole process for righteous reasons?
Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near.
No angel, no saint, and not even Mary herself can improve the access to God we already have through Christ and his finished work.
In 1 Timothy 1:15, the apostle Paul claims to have been “the foremost” of sinners. Is Paul speaking in hyperbole here, or was he really the world’s worst sinner?
How can we become bolder in evangelism? Pastor John shares a story of his stumbling attempts to love a neighbor, and God’s patient persistence through it all.
When we look with eyes of faith on our pre-conversion life, we find abundant reason to thank God for his mercy, and abundant reason to give others hope.
The jealousy of God shows his zeal for his own worth — and it also shows his zeal for our deepest joy.
The biblical mindset puts God and his glory, not man and his desires, at the center of the universe. And grasping this blazing center unlocks the greatness of the gospel.
Is there any hope for the recovery of a shipwrecked faith? Pastor John offers four reasons shipwreck need not be final.
Should we speak of Christians as saints or sinners? Pastor John explores why Paul addresses Christians as saints dozens of times — and as sinners almost never.
What drove the apostle Paul to win people to Christ? He longed to taste the joy of the gospel not only in his own heart, but in the hearts of countless others.
Sound preaching comes from those who live in the presence of God-centered glory and long to echo his infinite worth.
“The law is good, if one uses it lawfully,” Paul says. But how can we tell if we are using the law in the way that God intends?
How can we guard against drifting in the Christian life? By looking and looking and looking at Jesus.
You do not need to walk in sinless perfection in order to have a good conscience. You just need to walk in the light.
The apostle Paul strongly warned Timothy and Titus against the “myths” of his day. What might he have to say about the fictional stories in our own day?
If we’re going to listen to Jesus and not drift away from him, we likely will need to turn down the noises that capture so much of our attention.
Where should pastors and other Christians draw lines for ministry partnerships? Pastor John shares the degree of unity he has pursued in six ministry settings.
Does Numbers 5:22 suggest that women guilty of adultery were punished with miscarriage? And if so, how does this passage speak to the pro-life position?
If we don’t have a plan for when, where, and how we will read the Bible, our devotions will probably fall before the demands of the day.
Every pastor receives criticism. But at what point might criticism become so serious or sustained that a pastor should consider stepping down?
Everyone passes through seasons of despondency — seasons when the soul is troubled and hope feels thin. But when does despondency become sin?
How can we push the truth of the Bible from our heads to our hearts, so that our times of daily Bible reading become times of daily worship?
Given the pain of this world, the joy of salvation, and the glory of God, what kind of tone should a pastor seek to set on Sunday morning?
Some people find intermittent fasting helpful for losing weight. But is fasting for merely physical purposes a sacrilegious use of a spiritual gift?
The psalmists show that darkness and discouragement are part of the normal Christian life. And they also show a crucial strategy for finding the light again.
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?
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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”?
Christ bids his people both to wisely get and freely give, and he supplies us with the grace we need to discern when to do what with our talents.
The death of Christ was no accident. He came to be crucified, that he might hang the sins and sufferings of those he loves with him there.
Christian love labors to overlook the sins of others, just as Christ went to the cross to forgive us, not to shame us.
Real differences exist between real Christians. But where we lack unity of conviction, we can share unity of humble, sacrificial disposition.
We ready ourselves to suffer well when we look our life dead in the eye and say with Paul, “I count it all as loss compared to Christ.”
When Christ died, so did our sin-loving selves. Now, God sends suffering to weed out the sin that lingers and stunts our joy in Christ.
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?
What are the two greatest questions in the universe? Pastor John explains by looking at 1 Peter 2:11–12.
When do innocent desires of the flesh become threats to the soul? When they cross over from serving God’s will to serving our rebellious self.
The biblical authors often intertwine faith and hope, yet they also distinguish them. So what is the difference between these two gifts of the Spirit?
When the light of Christ shines upon the darkness of our sin, we either run to Christ as the only covering for our shame, or we run further into darkness.
Scripture speaks of the Father judging the world, the Son judging the world, and sometimes even the word of Christ judging the world. So, in the end, who will judge?
The new birth is a sovereign work of the Spirit, but it is a work bound to the word. The Spirit of God works through the word of God to glorify the Son of God.
When we trust God with our money, we not only enjoy freedom from worry, but we magnify the shepherd, Father, and King who provides for us.
What makes Christian love different from non-Christian love? It is rooted in the cross of Christ, sustained by the Holy Spirit, and aimed at the glory of God.
Ecclesiastes tells us not to be “overly righteous,” but Jesus calls us to a righteousness that exceeds even that of the Pharisees. How can we put these two texts together?
You don’t have to commit great sins in order to fall away from Jesus. You just have to neglect your great salvation.
Did Jesus have to die a public, agonizing death, or could he have saved us by living sinlessly and dying in obscurity?
God clearly tests his people, but does he ever tempt them to sin? Pastor John explores the distinction between tests and temptations in James 1.
Hundreds of times, God tells us to “fear not.” So why does he also call us to work out our salvation “with fear and trembling”?
Sober-mindedness keeps us from the silliness that is allergic to serious moments, but it also keeps us from the somberness that doesn’t know how to be joyful.
Peter assures us of an inheritance kept safe in heaven; Jesus calls us to lay up treasures in heaven. Are eternal inheritance and rewards the same?
In an age inundated with entertainment, how do Christians stay awake to the glory of Christ and help others do the same?
Saving faith is the gift of God, who opens blind eyes and raises dead hearts. So what can unbelievers do when they find themselves unable to believe on their own?
Sometimes, busyness and stress are reasons to realign our priorities. Other times, they are invitations to pray that God would empower us to do the seemingly impossible.
God doesn’t give us a blueprint for our futures, but he does give us biblical trajectories by which we can discern his will and follow it with confidence.
How do “spiritual wisdom and understanding” fill us with the knowledge of God’s will for our daily lives? Pastor John explains from Colossians 1:9.
In our sin, we refuse to hear the truth, receive the truth, believe the truth — until God intervenes to give us a deep and abiding love for the truth.
When God puts us in the flames of suffering, he often intends to rescue us from self-sufficient comfort and awaken in us desperate, earnest prayer.
We need pastors who will regularly remind us that our greatest allegiance is not to any political party, ethnicity, or nation, but to King Jesus.
Paul teaches that Jesus will not return until “the man of lawlessness is revealed.” Who is this man of lawlessness?
The Christian pro-life cause goes far deeper than legislation. We aim not only to change laws and behavior, but to change hearts and eternities.
Satan will try to put us to sleep in prayer. And he does so, most commonly, by tricking us into staying up too late the night before.
Is God present in hell, as John seems to say in Revelation 14:10 — or is he absent, as Paul seems to say in 2 Thessalonians 1:9?
Scripture describes the process of sanctification in many different ways. How can we weave the various strands together into one coherent picture?
Because Jesus loved Lazarus, the Gospel of John tells us, he did not come to him right away, but lingered and let him die. How is that love?
When temptation strikes, we need more than a vague sense of God’s goodness — we need specific promises. Pastor John shares his favorite passages for fighting sin.
If God aims to be glorified in this world, why is human history and the daily news filled with so much that dishonors him?
The love of money often lives where others least suspect, like in the hearts of Pharisees, miracle workers, and those who seem most moral.
Paul speaks of wrestling in prayer, and many of us use his phrase. But what might our prayer lives actually feel like if we wrestled like the apostle?
“Husbands, love your wives, and do not be harsh with them,” Paul writes. But what can a wife do if she finds herself with a harsh man?
How does God bring us from the grace of new birth to the glory of heaven? Pastor John explains eight essentials for Christian living from 2 Thessalonians 1:11–12.
Jesus tells us to give to those who ask, but Paul warns the church against giving to the lazy. How might we apply these teachings when we meet a panhandler?
If there is no forgiveness without shed blood, how could Jesus forgive sins apart from the sacrificial system and prior to his own death?
In an age of hate, Christians testify to God’s grace by praying for all kinds of people: high and low, white and black, Democrat and Republican, friend and enemy.
When God grants us a ministry, does his leading come to us through internal impulses, external affirmation, or some combination of the two?
Does Scripture ever command us to pray for unbelievers, or does it only command us to pray for the evangelists who speak to them?
Prayer is the easiest step of love, and it is also the most powerful. God can do far more for others in response to our prayers than we could ever do on our own.
God is honored when we do our jobs with technical excellence, and he is also honored when we give ourselves to the kinds of excellence that cannot be measured.
How can we require obedience of our children without provoking and discouraging them? Pastor John offers eight pitfalls for fathers.
Throughout Scripture, God warns that he will not hear the prayers of the disobedient. So do answered prayers depend on our holiness?
We will never plumb the depths of sin and grace merely from past experience. Only God’s word can tell us how lost and dead we were, and how found and alive we are.
In the early twentieth century, many Christian leaders lent their approval to the cause of Prohibition. Would Pastor John have done the same if he lived back then?
In Christ, God has chosen us from eternity, and called us in time, so that we would boast no longer in ourselves, but only in him and his great love.
Some teachers influence us so deeply that we find ourselves imitating them without trying. So how can we move past imitation to make biblical truth our own?
Paul says we all were dead apart from Christ, but he also says we died when we were united to Christ. In what sense, then, do dead men die?
Nothing but God can forever satisfy hearts that are made for God. And so, in great mercy, God loves us in a way that makes much of himself.
Christians can disagree over many doctrines and stay friends. But what should we do when a friend rejects a doctrine central to the gospel?
How might Christians process feelings of guilt over the death of a loved one? Pastor John offers counsel to a new widow struggling not to blame herself.
In Christ, God makes more of us than we could ever imagine. And he will go on doing so forever.
Does faith bring about the new birth, or does the new birth bring about faith? Pastor John offers three reasons why getting the order right matters.
Does God delight in his people based on Christ’s work alone, or does his delight also depend on our own holiness?
When God makes much of us, he does it for his sake, not ours. And that makes his love far greater than we could have imagined.
Some shame condemns and destroys, and some shame heals and restores. So how can we tell the difference between misplaced and well-placed shame?
In his letters, Paul speaks not only of teachings he delivered to the churches, but also of traditions he passed on. What kind of traditions does he have in mind?
Many nominal Christians go to church, believe God loves them, and yet are on their way to hell. So what marks the born again from those who only think they are?
In America, there are hundreds of thousands of frozen embryos, left over from in vitro fertilization. How might Christians weigh the decision to adopt one of them?
What kind of person does Romans 7:14–25 describe? Pastor John offers nine reasons to read Paul’s description as part of the Christian experience.
The church of Acts often gathered together to praise God and intercede for his people. So what might we lose if we pray only by ourselves?
God gave us a book about Jesus, not a video. So how might Christians think about dramatic portrayals of Jesus’s life in television or movies?
If God’s wrath comes against evil desires, and not only evil behaviors, why will his wrath not come against Christians, who still battle evil desires?
A lack of love for other people doesn’t show that we’re trying too hard to please ourselves — it shows that we’re far too easily pleased.
How can we turn our attention away from regrets, dreams, and other consuming thoughts so that we can set our minds on things that are above?
If two spouses agree that they do not want to have more children, would it be sinful to pursue permanent forms of birth control?
How do I follow God’s lead in my daily decisions? I know he’s my shepherd, and that he’s leading me, but how do I know if I am following him?
To be a Christian is not only to trust Christ and treasure Christ, but to be indwelt by Christ. And that new identity transforms all our relationships.
God still answers prayers for physical healing today. But how should Christians evaluate the claims of so-called healing ministries?
We know that Jesus has purchased both our forgiveness and our physical healing at the cross. But what kind of healing can we expect in this life?
If all our sins are forgiven — past, present, and future — does ongoing confession show that we doubt Christ’s finished work?
If our sinful flesh was crucified with Christ when we first believed, why do we keep sinning like we do?
How do we make sure the good we do is not done in vain? Listen to Pastor John’s answer more than thirty years ago, just weeks after becoming a pastor.
When we look around at our world of horrific suffering, how can we keep believing in an all-good, all-wise, totally sovereign God?
Some self-denial exalts self and feeds sin, and some self-denial exalts Christ and kills sin. So how can we practice the right kind?
Every Christian battles excessive and distorted desires. And in Christ, God gives every Christian daily forgiveness, hope, and strength to keep fighting.
At the cross, Paul says, God “disarmed the rulers and authorities.” So what weapons are no longer in Satan’s hands?
How can Christians pursue education without being taken captive by worldly thinking? Pastor John reflects on Paul’s warning against “philosophy” in Colossians 2:8.
In 1938, a small publishing ministry began distributing gospel tracts. Today, that ministry has spread millions of tracts, books, and Bibles all over the world.
Paul says that God has reconciled to himself “all things” in heaven and on earth. Does that mean even unbelievers and demons will be saved in the end?
How should Christians respond to divisions in the church? Don’t make light of them, for they are tragic. And don’t make death of them, for they are predicted.
Under God, musical worship can mobilize the church to finish the Great Commission. The gladness of Godward singing sends lovers of Christ to the nations.
Scripture includes stories of angels talking with humans through dreams and visions. So should Christians expect, and even pursue, conversations with angels today?
When God puts the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, giving us a spiritual sight of his fatherly care in Christ, we can’t help but cry, “Abba! Father!”
The freest people in this world are those most in love with the next. If our hope is safe in heaven, we can afford to take risks on earth.
Colossians 1:23 says the gospel “has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven.” Does that mean the gospel has already reached the entire world?
If our final salvation rests on the condition that we persevere in faith, how can we know that we really will make it to heaven?
Unless we become mature in our thinking, we will regularly be blown about by the winds of subtle, clever, politically correct language.
In creation, God made Adam and all the animals from the ground. So why, when God made Eve, did he take a rib from Adam’s side?
All good gifts are from God, through God, and to God. But in his providence, those gifts often come to us through others, who rightly deserve our thanks.
Pastor John commends Tony Reinke’s new book — a panoramic, penetrating theology of technology, tethered to God’s infallible Scriptures.
How can Christians live faithfully in the day of Big Tech? In ‘God, Technology, and the Christian Life,’ Tony Reinke explores God’s relationship to the innovations of our age.
Does the story of David and Bathsheba suggest that Bathsheba was a willing partner in his adultery, or that David took her against her will?
God made some Christians to enjoy spending a lot of time alone. But what makes the difference between a Christian loner and a self-centered loner?
The God of the universe cares about every problem you have, no matter how small. And he wants to draw you up into purposes far greater than your problems.
Pull-tabs and scratch games incentivize risky, destructive behaviors, especially among those who can least afford to play.
What might it look like for a Christian with significant disabilities to live a productive, spiritually fruitful, God-glorifying life?
Should I become a preacher? Pastor John’s own road to the pastorate shows that God often makes preachers in unexpected ways.
If Scripture doesn’t obligate parents to leave a financial inheritance to their children, how might Christians decide what to do with their money?
God will never leave or forsake his children. But for our lasting good, he may sometimes hide his face and allow us to walk through seasons of darkness.
When we memorize and meditate on God’s word, we create a deep, transforming connection between the Bible, our minds, and our hearts.
The Bible describes idols as actual objects people worship, but today many use the language of “idolatry” more broadly. So what is an idol?
In our pursuit to be holy as God is holy, how do we move past our failures to obey without feeling condemned in the process?
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God may use medicine to lengthen our lives, but he will always use habits of grace, like prayer and Bible reading, to sustain our faith in suffering.
We miss the miracle of what Christmas is if we forget why Christmas happened: God the Son became man — to die in our place.
Christmas is not just another bend in the river of redemptive history. Christmas marks the end of the river and the arrival of the ocean.
The Bible teaches both the absolute sovereignty of God and the genuine accountability of man. And nowhere are they considered contradictory.
No Christian consistently longs for God, which is one reason God gives us prayers like Psalm 86:11: “Unite my heart to fear your name.”
Those who live for joy in God now will possess joy in God forever. And until then, God pledges his protection over body and soul, through life and death.
Christians sometimes talk about giving God “some” glory, “more” glory, or “most” glory, but are those really biblical categories?
None of us has an infallible understanding of the Bible, but at what point does open contradiction of Scripture call into question someone’s profession of faith?
God, in his grace, does not keep us from trouble and pain. But he does order and measure our trouble and pain — and then uphold us through it all.
A love for excellence can easily grow into a hypercritical spirit. How can we resist the tendency to focus mostly on the failures of others?
John Piper’s ministry has been marked by rigorous attention to God’s word paired with deep delight in God’s word — a double emphasis captured in Psalm 119:97.
The story of Elijah on Mount Carmel shows that God rules over fire and rain, bulls and rocks — and even over every human heart.
If we allow anger to come quickly and stay long, it will eventually consume love, consume gratitude, consume mercy, and consume true perceptions of reality.
God has reasons for everything he does — and an ultimate purpose driving it all. Personal mission statements help us align all of life with that great purpose.
Gratitude is a duty — we ought to thank God for the grace he has given. But genuine Christian gratitude is far more than mere duty.
Jesus healed people with deep, lifelong disabilities. So should we pray that he would heal loved ones with disabilities like Down syndrome or cerebral palsy?
When we don’t understand God and his ways, we can still rest here: God is always totally sovereign, and God is always infinitely good.
Jesus never lied, stole, coveted, grumbled, lusted, or sinned in any other way. And that means Jesus alone knows the full force of temptation.
When suffering overshadows the life of a family, how can parents help their children embrace God’s all-good, all-wise, all-governing providence?
Are God’s callings for men and women merely functional and practical, or do they flow from something deeper in his design?
We live in the day of salvation, the day of patience, the day of tolerance. But when Jesus returns, that day will end forever.
Despite the warnings, cigarette smoking and other forms of nicotine use persist. How concerned should parents be about whether their teens smoke, chew, or vape?
Pleasure in God is not complete unless it overflows in praise to God. And praise to God is not sincere unless it overflows from pleasure in God.
Joy in God was never meant to be a solitary pursuit. Joy sends us out to serve — and serving fills us up with joy.
Few of us feel as attractive as we would like, and some of us feel downright ugly. Why does God allow such unattractiveness in a world that prizes physical beauty?
Fifteen states have now legalized the recreational use of marijuana. What message might God be sending to the church in an age of legal pot?
The boldest people in the world are those who can look into the face of God, in all of his holiness and power, and know that he is for them in Christ.
Whether Old Testament or New Testament, stories fill the pages of Scripture. How can we begin to discover God’s meaning in the Bible’s narratives?
Life’s pressures have a way of exposing hidden sins and introducing new temptations. So how do we know if pressure is making us more holy or more sinful?
Many wish they could have seen Jesus in person as he walked on the earth. But to have the four Gospels is even better than being there.