Ask Pastor John

An excessive self-focus leads to either discouragement or pride. So what steps can we take to conquer the curse of self-consciousness?

Wherever saving truth is hated, distorted, and muted, Satan is at work. Our best weapon against him is to tell and live the truth.

Caring for a disabled child often goes unthanked and unrecognized in this world. But God sees every sacrifice, and he will reward you.

Everything we need in life and death was bought by the blood of Jesus. We have nothing to fear — not even death.

The Bible doesn’t have a category for retiring from ministry. We may retire from a paid vocation, but never from loving and serving others.

Both drug users and Christians feel ups and downs. But the parallels end there. Pastor John gives five reasons why the experiences are different.

Twitter, Facebook, Snapchat — they allow us to say more words to more people than ever before. So how can we use them for an eternal purpose?

Worry gains us nothing. As soon as we discover we have a problem, God has already been working on it, and the solution is on the way.

Is the term “reckless” too reckless? Pastor John offers pastors, worship leaders, and congregations ways to think about the popular lyrics.

Our enjoyment of God is not only a response to God’s glory — it is the way we glorify him. Therefore, joy in God is not optional.

Eighteen years after OneDay 2000, Pastor John reflects on a sermon that roused thousands of young people to not waste their lives.

Is there an ideal sermon length? Pastor John gives five factors to consider when trying to decide how long to preach.

From alliteration and assonance to metaphors, imagery, and illustrations — what role does creativity, imagination, and rhetoric have in preaching?

Good sermons and good Bible reading push into a writer’s words, grammar, and logic to embrace all the glorious realities behind them.

After writing over fifty books, Pastor John explains his six-stage process, from gathering the initial idea to seeing the project come to life.

How does God’s sovereignty not make us robots? Pastor John explores the relationship between God’s sovereignty and the human will in seven steps.

True freedom from body hatred does not come from finally liking what we see in the mirror. It comes from being swept up in the greatness of God.

Enjoying God and loving our neighbors are not competing goals. True love is the overflow of joy in God that meets the needs of others.

Christian community is a precious gift from God. But our love for the community must never replace our love for the Lord of the community.

There were fewer miracles in the Bible than many of us think, and there are more miracles today than many of us know.