Ask Pastor John

Jesus tells us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. But what about enemies who constantly kill and destroy innocent life like ISIS?

Sex may be a natural, physical act, but the union of a man and woman is from God himself. Only those with eyes to see can truly know the wonders of the marriage bed.

God has deep purposes in our most searing pains. We don’t always know what he is doing, but we can experience joy in the sorrow when we trust him.

To write with a calling from God isn’t simply to enjoy putting pen to paper, but to have an insatiable drive to awaken delight in God with whatever you say.

The process of writing — putting thoughts into words and sentences and paragraphs — clarifies our thinking in ways that dialogue simply cannot.

Doctrine and ethics are never far apart. The beliefs and views that lead distort one will inevitably corrupt the other.

The hope of heaven not only grants us comfort when we think of eternity, but also empowers our love for God and Neighbor today.

The resolve to keep moving forward in ministry doesn’t come from mere determination, but daily dependence on God’s amazing grace.

Sometimes the Bible confronts us and tears down our longstanding opinions. And although the process may hurt, being refined by God’s word is always worth the cost.

God’s world shines with his glory — and so does his word. Just as the heavens declare God’s greatness, so his word overflows with the beauty of his majesty.

When it comes to making God-honoring decisions, our greatest problem isn’t necessarily that we don’t think enough, but that we don’t have hearts and emotions that treasure God above all else.

As we study the Bible, we want to go deep into the details of specific texts, and we want to get a broad overview of the whole. How can we do both in a limited amount of time?

We need more pastors with both theological backbones of steel and compassionate hearts of warmth. In short, we need more pastors like our Lord Jesus Christ.

Should a parent share their past sins with a child to comfort or warn them? Or are parents better off just keeping their sins to themselves?

The Bible repeatedly calls Christians to set their minds on what is above — on what is true and good and beautiful. But does that mean we need to avoid anything that isn’t obviously Christian?

As a writer and musician, Trip Lee reads regularly to spark his creativity. So what three books have influenced his life most?

We may assume that we can always just do something later, but God never guarantees a “later.” We must make the most of the time we have now.

We will never find security if we think we have what it takes to make it through life. Only God himself can provide the fullness of hope we desperately long for.

God calls Christians to stand firm in the truth, but that doesn’t excuse us for being jerks when our culture turns against us.

Our phones offer us plenty of convenience, but it comes at the price of distraction. Sometimes we need to step back and make sure we control our phones and that they haven’t mastered us.