Ask Pastor John

If John Piper wants Christians to find their ultimate happiness and joy in God, why hasn’t he ever told a joke from the pulpit?

We make plans and prepare for what’s ahead, but only God orders our steps. Pastor John shares his path toward a lifetime of fruitful ministry.

The Bible commands us to be baptized, but what does the water actually do? Does it save us, like 1 Peter 3:21 appears to say?

Pastor John recently finished a book on the providence of God — the purposeful sovereignty of a heavenly Father who loves and cares for his children.

God has called us sons and daughters, but his people sometimes talk as if we were still slaves. What does it mean to talk like children of God?

When we are saved, we’re united to Christ by the Spirit. Our old self — our unbelieving, rebellious, sin-loving self — dies, and we live by the Spirit.

Jesus said, “Sell your possessions, and give to the needy.” Are we disobeying Jesus if we don’t literally give away all that we have?

How can we forgive others who have hurt us deeply? Pastor John gives three practical suggestions for pursuing forgiveness.

The fall has made childbirth painful and dangerous. But in Christ, the deepest dangers of the curse have been removed.

God keeps his children through midlife crises by empowering them to keep fighting to be kept.

What role does God play in the redemption and damnation of sinners? Is he just as sovereign over both?

A godly father will want to show God the Father to his children. He will want to model for them the heart of Jesus.

If God created the world to display the fullness of his attributes, would he have been less glorious without creation?

We go from a rebel against the King to a child of the King. God’s attitude toward us completely changes. But does he still get angry at us when we sin?

Both Calvinists and Arminians see grace as powerful and necessary, but not in the same way. Pastor John gets at the heart of the theological divide.

If you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit. But is this the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit? Pastor John explains the difference.

We know God will accomplish his purposes for good, but he doesn’t promise our children’s eternal good. How can we be satisfied in God with this unknown?

When we think God has hardened someone’s heart, we should not assume that the hardening is permanent. God can and does break in and save.

“Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and nagging wife.” What are readers of Scripture supposed to learn from a proverb like this?

Is it wise for a girlfriend and boyfriend to travel together and stay in the same hotel? Should they? Pastor John gives three reasons why they shouldn’t.