Ask Pastor John
Channel Details
Ask Pastor John
John Piper answering tough theological and pastoral questions.
Recent Episodes
2325 episodes
Why Did Jesus Call Her a Dog?
Did Jesus demean the Canaanite woman he called a dog? Pastor John explains how Jesus’s test revealed her great faith — and her adoption as one of God’...
When Walking Away Feels Good
Why should we follow Jesus when life seems easier without him? Pastor John responds to a man questioning the cost of daily obedience.
How a Crushed Faith Comes Home
Deep suffering can drive us away from true hope and comfort. But our Father waits to gather us back to himself.
When Nice People Face God
Does eternal punishment in hell bring God glory? Pastor John challenges the rejection of God’s judgment by pointing to his unmerited mercies and perfe...
Can My Silence Cost Souls?
Why does evangelism matter when God has chosen whom he will save? Pastor John unpacks and rejoices in our role as God’s instruments.
The Pleasure Trap
How can Christians avoid placing a relationship or hobby over a desire for God? Pastor John calls us to let earthly delights turn us Godward.
Selfies in the End Times
Are selfies a sign of the end times? Pastor John looks beyond smartphones and social media to our society’s desire for deep satisfaction.
Your Regrets Cannot Ruin You
Can past sins separate us from the love of God? Pastor John offers hope in God’s promised forgiveness for believers wrestling with crippling shame.
Why a Crowd Got Resurrected
At Jesus’s last breath, a crowd of saints rose from their tombs in Jerusalem. Pastor John offers six reasons Matthew’s Gospel includes this event.
Does God Owe You?
What’s the relationship between our good deeds and God’s reward? When he empowers us to obey him, he loves to celebrate the beauty of his grace.
Doomscrolling Done Right
How does God intend for us to deal with tragedy in the news? Pastor John offers six reasons why suffering should drive us to repentance and action.
When Your Boss Expects You to Lie
How do we respond when an employer expects us to compromise the truth? Pastor John offers counsel for keeping an uncompromised faith in the workplace.
Surviving Financial Panics
How can we fight anxiety through financial panic and stress? Pastor John offers five truths about God’s character to calm our hearts and minds.
If Jesus Returns Tonight
How would we use our time if Christ were coming back tonight? Pastor John gives ten transforming ways to live while waiting for the second coming.
Why Good Men Fail God
King Asa worshiped God almost all his days, but he drifted in his old age. So, how should we respond when sin corrupts good men?
Should You Marry Her Anyway?
Does past sexual sin ruin a future marriage? Pastor John counsels a confused young man to trust God’s redeeming love for repentant sexual sinners.
God’s Plan for Your Prayers
If God is sovereign, why should we pray? Pastor John encourages us to seek God with confidence in his power and plan for our lives.
When Your Pastor Feels Distant
How can the pastor of a growing church care for each member? Pastor John encourages shepherds to care tenderly for the flock and depend on God’s mercy...
Breaking Prayer Ruts
How can we shift our prayers from rote repetition to an awareness of God’s larger purposes? Pastor John models praying Scripture back to God.
Obedience Will Never Ruin Your Life
How can Christians act in obedience when they face a life-changing cost? Grace can sustain us through the painful consequences of following God.
Why God’s Protection Still Hurts
How can we reconcile the pain we feel in this fallen world with God’s promise to keep us from all evil? Pastor John applies Psalm 121 to this life.
Sovereignty and My Murdered Friend
Even great evil serves God’s eternal purposes — yet God also gives us precious promises to comfort us in the midst of our pain and grief.
How to Save a Marriage
To redeem relationships, we need humility — but how do we get that kind of sacrificial heart? Looking to Christ and his cross strips away entitlement.
Zeal For God Gone Wrong
How can Christians tell the difference between true and false zeal for God’s name? Pastor John examines Jehu’s tragic history in 2 Kings.
Preaching Outrage
Should pastors expose every fresh cultural outrage from the pulpit? Pastor John encourages pastors to condemn sin without being consumed.
Defeating Daily Anxiety
When we face day-to-day pressure and stress, Jesus’s teaching steadies our hearts and minds. Pastor John offers eight truths to fight anxiety.
The God Who Gives You Worth
Is God’s pursuit of his glory and man’s pursuit of our joy a selfish transaction? Pastor John insists on keeping our joy in God connected to God himse...
Kill Your Ego, Find Your Joy
Every recognition and reward we receive is a gift of God’s steadfast love, poured out so that we might magnify the glory of his undeserved grace.
The Secret Superpower of Silence
How does Jesus’s silence before his accusers teach us how to suffer? Pastor John offers encouragement for Christians facing unjust treatment.
The Freedom That Kills Regret
True freedom means our desires align with God’s; we want what he wants. Pastor John answers three questions from Galatians about Christian liberty.
The God Over Dice
What do we mean when we say God is sovereign? Pastor John traces God’s sovereignty throughout the Bible and draws out two big, soul-steadying truths.
Don’t Wait for the Pain to Stop
We don’t need to wait for painful seasons to end before we feel joy again. By God’s grace, we can hold sorrow and joy in the very same heart.
Why Your Mind Cannot Die
If consciousness is part of the soul, what are the implications when the brain degrades and dies? Pastor John speaks to consciousness in both life and...
When Obedience Is Evil
How should Christians respond when an authority asks them to sin? Pastor John encourages believers to respect earthly institutions without compromisin...
Delighting in a Holy God
God’s children are set apart as saints, given the privilege of sharing in Christ’s moral beauty. Pastor John explains how God’s holiness draws us to h...
Suffering for Joy
Christianity isn’t a fix for all suffering in this life — but it does offer unshakable joy in trials and immediate relief from the deepest of pains.
Ten Seconds After You Die
Do the souls of believers “sleep” in the grave after death, or do they go to be with the Lord? Pastor John explains the logic of the resurrection.
Don’t Let Her Die Before You Say This
How can we show Christ’s love to a dying, unbelieving loved one? Pastor John shares ten ways believers can embody God’s love.
Fur Babies and Pet Stewardship
How should Christians steward pets? Pastor John offers guidance for enjoying animals without treating their companionship like human companionship.