Ask Pastor John

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John Piper answering tough theological and pastoral questions.

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John Piper’s Conversion Story

03.22.2023

The book of Romans interprets life — and it also transforms life. Pastor John shares how Romans has shaped him, from conversion to the pastorate.

Ask Pastor John episodes:

03.22.2023 John Piper’s Conversion Story The book of Romans interprets life — and it also transforms life. Pastor John shares how Romans has shaped him, from conversion to the pastorate.
03.20.2023 How to Glorify God in Business Success How can a Christian business leader speak about his success in a way that makes God, not him, look great?
03.17.2023 Is Venting the Same as Complaining? Is there really a difference between complaining about our problems and venting about them — or are we just kidding ourselves?
03.15.2023 Christian Hedonism in Two Minutes 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.
03.13.2023 How Does Childbirth Save Women? Women, Paul says, “will be saved through childbearing.” How does childbirth save women — and what about women who never have children of their own?
03.10.2023 I’m Stuck in Sexual Sin — Should I Excommunicate Myself? 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.
03.08.2023 1 Percent of a Book Can Change Your Life 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.
03.06.2023 Is ‘De-Gendering’ a Sin? 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.
03.03.2023 Are Christians Obligated to Vote? Are Christians who have the opportunity to vote obligated to do so — or can we abstain from the whole process for righteous reasons?
03.01.2023 Why Christians Don’t Need Holy Shrines Seven times in the book of Hebrews, the author captures the heart of Christianity in a simple, wonderful command: draw near.
02.27.2023 Do Angels Carry Our Prayers to God? No angel, no saint, and not even Mary herself can improve the access to God we already have through Christ and his finished work.
02.24.2023 Was Paul Really the World’s Worst Sinner? 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?
02.22.2023 Overcoming Fear and Passivity in Evangelism 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.
02.20.2023 Was God at Work in My Pre-Conversion Life? 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.
02.17.2023 How Could God Be Jealous? The jealousy of God shows his zeal for his own worth — and it also shows his zeal for our deepest joy.
02.15.2023 The God-Centeredness of God Unlocks the Gospel 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.
02.13.2023 I Shipwrecked My Faith — Am I Doomed? Is there any hope for the recovery of a shipwrecked faith? Pastor John offers four reasons shipwreck need not be final.
02.10.2023 Sinners or Saints — How Should We Speak of Christians? 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.
02.08.2023 Why We Share the Gospel 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.
02.06.2023 Preaching the Gospel of the Happy God Sound preaching comes from those who live in the presence of God-centered glory and long to echo his infinite worth.
02.03.2023 Can I Really Trust My Interpretation of the Bible? “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?
02.01.2023 How to Keep Your Eyes on Christ How can we guard against drifting in the Christian life? By looking and looking and looking at Jesus.
01.30.2023 How Can I Have a Good Conscience? You do not need to walk in sinless perfection in order to have a good conscience. You just need to walk in the light.
01.27.2023 Did Paul Oppose Fiction? 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?
01.25.2023 Turn Down the Noise and Listen to Jesus 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.
01.23.2023 Where Do You Draw Lines for Ministry Partnerships? 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.
01.20.2023 Were Abortions Induced on Old Testament Adulteresses? 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?
01.18.2023 Fight for Delight by Planning Your Devotions 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.
01.16.2023 Eight Counsels for Those Thinking of Quitting Every pastor receives criticism. But at what point might criticism become so serious or sustained that a pastor should consider stepping down?
01.13.2023 When Does Despondency Become Sin? Everyone passes through seasons of despondency — seasons when the soul is troubled and hope feels thin. But when does despondency become sin?
01.11.2023 How Do I Push Truth from My Head to My Heart? 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?
01.09.2023 Getting the Tone Right on Sunday Morning 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?
01.06.2023 Is Intermittent Fasting Sacrilegious? Some people find intermittent fasting helpful for losing weight. But is fasting for merely physical purposes a sacrilegious use of a spiritual gift?
01.04.2023 The Bible’s Main Road Out of Discouragement 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.
01.02.2023 John Piper’s Favorite Things 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.
12.30.2022 Can I Be a Nurse for a ‘Gender-Reassignment’ Surgery? 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?
12.29.2022 Appeal from John Piper Your prayers and financial support help us bring more people into the fullest enjoyment of the greatest treasure ever found. For every $10 per month you give, we can reach 70 more people with God-centered resources. Would you join us ...
12.28.2022 Beat a Path to the Word in 2023 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.
12.26.2022 How Do I Put Away My Desire for Praise? 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?
12.23.2022 The Christmas We Needed The best gift anyone can receive at Christmas is deliverance from our two greatest enemies: sin and Satan.
12.21.2022 What Makes for a Good Musical Worship Experience? 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.
12.19.2022 ‘Though He Slay Me’ — Why the Silence on This Verse? “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?
12.16.2022 Does God Still Save the Lost Through Visions? Does God save the lost through visions today — or does someone need to hear the gospel to be saved?
12.14.2022 John Piper’s 2022 Year-in-Review Pastor John discusses personal and ministry highlights from 2022, including podcasts, books, global outreach, and a new goal for ‘Look at the Book.’
12.12.2022 Good and Bad People-Pleasing 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.
12.09.2022 How Can I Cast My Cares on God? 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.
12.07.2022 Satan Cannot Scare You into Hell Satan may oppress you, attack you, and rage against you. But if you are in Christ, he holds no power to finally destroy you.
12.05.2022 Build Structures to Serve Your Calling How can leaders prevent the pressures of running an organization from squeezing out opportunities for face-to-face work and ministry?
12.02.2022 How Can Satan Harm Christians? 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?
11.30.2022 Amusing Ourselves from Death Outside of Christ, the fear of death is a slave master that holds everyone in bondage — even those who seem unaware of their chains.

Older episodes

Ask Pastor John

What's Ask Pastor John about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

Ask Pastor John episodes:

John Piper’s Conversion Story

How to Glorify God in Business Success

Is Venting the Same as Complaining?

Christian Hedonism in Two Minutes

How Does Childbirth Save Women?

I’m Stuck in Sexual Sin — Should I Excommunicate Myself?

1 Percent of a Book Can Change Your Life

Is ‘De-Gendering’ a Sin?

Are Christians Obligated to Vote?

Why Christians Don’t Need Holy Shrines

Do Angels Carry Our Prayers to God?

Was Paul Really the World’s Worst Sinner?

Overcoming Fear and Passivity in Evangelism

Was God at Work in My Pre-Conversion Life?

How Could God Be Jealous?

The God-Centeredness of God Unlocks the Gospel

I Shipwrecked My Faith — Am I Doomed?

Sinners or Saints — How Should We Speak of Christians?

Why We Share the Gospel

Preaching the Gospel of the Happy God

Can I Really Trust My Interpretation of the Bible?

How to Keep Your Eyes on Christ

How Can I Have a Good Conscience?

Did Paul Oppose Fiction?

Turn Down the Noise and Listen to Jesus

Where Do You Draw Lines for Ministry Partnerships?

Were Abortions Induced on Old Testament Adulteresses?

Fight for Delight by Planning Your Devotions

Eight Counsels for Those Thinking of Quitting

When Does Despondency Become Sin?

How Do I Push Truth from My Head to My Heart?

Getting the Tone Right on Sunday Morning

Is Intermittent Fasting Sacrilegious?

The Bible’s Main Road Out of Discouragement

John Piper’s Favorite Things

Can I Be a Nurse for a ‘Gender-Reassignment’ Surgery?

Appeal from John Piper

Beat a Path to the Word in 2023

How Do I Put Away My Desire for Praise?

The Christmas We Needed

What Makes for a Good Musical Worship Experience?

‘Though He Slay Me’ — Why the Silence on This Verse?

Does God Still Save the Lost Through Visions?

John Piper’s 2022 Year-in-Review

Good and Bad People-Pleasing

How Can I Cast My Cares on God?

Satan Cannot Scare You into Hell

Build Structures to Serve Your Calling

How Can Satan Harm Christians?

Amusing Ourselves from Death

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