Ask Pastor John
By Desiring God
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Category: Christianity
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Subscribers: 625
Reviews: 3
Kathryn
Mar 15, 2019
short, punchy, Bible based q&a. Very encouraging!
Jan 19, 2019
James
Oct 13, 2018
Description
| Episode | Date |
|---|---|
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What’s the Significance of Simon Carrying Jesus’s Cross?
00:12:09
Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Simon of Cyrene helped carry Jesus’s cross. What’s the significance of this story?
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Apr 19, 2019 |
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Where Was the Holy Spirit on Good Friday?
00:11:52
At the cross, the triune God was at work, securing our redemption. But what role did the Holy Spirit play in Jesus’s crucifixion?
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Apr 17, 2019 |
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Is There Any Place for Fear in the Christian Life?
00:11:02
Fear does not govern the Christian life. But we have a skewed view of the Christian life if we exclude fear.
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Apr 15, 2019 |
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How Does God Answer Today’s Skeptics?
00:13:07
Many of today’s skeptics ask questions that God himself has already addressed. Sometimes, we just need to hear how God responds to his critics.
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Apr 12, 2019 |
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How Do Christians Survive in Middle-Class America?
00:11:56
“Woe to you who are rich. Woe to you who are full now. Woe to you who laugh.” What do Jesus’s woes mean for middle-class Americans?
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Apr 10, 2019 |
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What Is the Sovereignty of God?
00:10:58
God’s sovereignty over all creation is one of the grandest themes in the Bible. Pastor John overviews some of the basics.
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Apr 08, 2019 |
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Why Have Kids If They Might End Up in Hell?
00:09:03
Every child is an eternal being, someone who will live forever. So if our children may end up in hell, would we be better off not having kids?
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Apr 05, 2019 |
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I’m Eager to Pastor Now — Should I Skip Seminary?
00:12:16
With so many urgent spiritual needs in the world, is it wise to spend years of life in a seminary classroom? If someone is eager for ministry, why wait?
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Apr 03, 2019 |
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Why Did Jesus Need to ‘Become Superior’ to Angels?
00:09:55
If Jesus is God, why does the Bible say that he “became” superior to angels? Hasn’t he always been superior to angels?
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Apr 01, 2019 |
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How Much Can Christians Learn from Non-Christians?
00:11:23
Christians can learn many important facts from non-Christian teachers. But they cannot learn the most important facts — or how to love them.
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Mar 29, 2019 |
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He Killed His Wife and Children — Can He Really Be Forgiven?
00:11:21
Chris Watts murdered his pregnant wife and two daughters. A few months into his prison sentence, he said he found God. Can he really be forgiven?
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Mar 27, 2019 |
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Does the Old Testament Alienate the Disabled?
00:10:47
In the Old Testament, the disabled were excluded from the holy place. In the New Testament, Jesus touched and healed the disabled. Why the difference?
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Mar 25, 2019 |
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Why Does God Choose Some and Not Others?
00:12:46
God could have chosen all to inherit eternal life, but he didn’t. So why would God choose some and not choose others?
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Mar 22, 2019 |
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Money, Mardi Gras, and Something Far Better: Stories from South America
00:14:07
Dozens of countries are experiencing a resurgence of biblical Christianity. Pastor John shares several stories from his recent trip to Brazil and Argentina.
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Mar 20, 2019 |
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How Do I Resist Smartphone Overuse?
01:05:55
Your smartphone is changing you, whether you realize it or not. Tony Reinke explains the costs of smartphone overuse, and how we can resist.
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Mar 08, 2019 |
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Can a Coin Flip Reveal God’s Will for My Life?
00:10:59
Making a decision with a coin flip glorifies chance. But making a decision from a renewed mind glorifies God.
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Feb 27, 2019 |
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My Girlfriend Affirms Homosexual Love — Is This a Deal-Breaker?
00:09:57
“My girlfriend affirms homosexual love — is this a deal-breaker?” Yes. Pastor John gives five reasons why.
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Feb 25, 2019 |
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What Does Jesus Mean by ‘I Never Knew You’?
00:08:20
When Jesus says, “I never knew you,” he means, “I don’t recognize you as my disciple, as my follower. You are a spiritual stranger to me.”
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Feb 22, 2019 |
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My Husband Is Passive — What Can I Do?
00:09:12
God may use you to change your spouse. But if you press in to him, no matter how disappointed you are in marriage, he will certainly change you.
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Feb 20, 2019 |
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How Do I Break My Entertainment Addiction?
00:08:48
As God’s child, you are not enslaved to entertainment or anything else. Christ has purchased a way out for you.
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Feb 18, 2019 |
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How Much Entertainment Is Too Much?
00:12:35
Watching a movie, playing a board game, reading a novel — is God disappointed if we use free time for these instead of reading Scripture and praying?
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Feb 15, 2019 |
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I’m an Anxious Person — How Do I ‘Rest in Christ’?
00:09:45
In Jesus, God has given us what we need to rest — even while we work. To every anxious soul, Jesus says, “Come to me, and I will give you rest.”
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Feb 13, 2019 |
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How Can I See the Beauty of God?
00:48:34
Seeing and loving art and seeing and loving divine glory are not the same. They require different ways of seeing. So how can we see the beauty of God?
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Feb 04, 2019 |
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Is Street Evangelism Better Than Building Relationships?
00:07:20
God has not given us a formula for when to share the gospel quickly and when to share over time in the context of a relationship. Both are needed.
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Feb 01, 2019 |
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Why Global Missions Requires Healthy Churches
00:09:33
The Great Commission isn’t disconnected from the church — it’s given to the church. God designed the local church and missions to be wed together.
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Jan 30, 2019 |
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Should Hell Motivate Our Missionaries?
00:11:20
We cannot afford to ignore hell. Christians must care about suffering, but especially eternal suffering. And it must mobilize us to go and to send.
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Jan 28, 2019 |
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I Feel Trapped in My Job — What Should I Do?
00:09:45
We were made to work, and we are happy only if we do work. But what should we do if our job makes us feel trapped, not fulfilled?
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Jan 25, 2019 |
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How Your Career Could Crush You
If we are not finding purpose in our work from God, then we will likely turn our job into a means of self-fulfillment and self-advancement.
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Jan 23, 2019 |
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Is Investing in Stocks Any Better Than Gambling?
00:08:09
Wherever we put our money, we are accepting risk. So is there any difference between educated sports gambling and investing in stocks?
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Jan 21, 2019 |
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Did Jesus Endorse Polygamy in the Parable of the Ten Virgins?
00:08:02
“The bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the marriage feast.” Did Jesus endorse polygamy here?
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Jan 18, 2019 |
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Why Is God Withholding Marriage from Me?
00:08:25
How can single people who desire marriage keep those desires in proper perspective? Pastor John offers six ways to cultivate godly desire.
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Jan 16, 2019 |
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Are Calvinists Inconsistent with Romans 9?
00:10:18
God sends the wicked to hell because they deserve it. God welcomes the humble to heaven because Christ secured it. This isn’t inconsistent. This is the gospel.
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Jan 14, 2019 |
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How Can We Prioritize Our Marriage over Work and Kids?
00:10:06
Marriages die from neglect but grow with God-centered time and attention. Pastor John gives six ways to feed your marriage the time it needs.
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Jan 11, 2019 |
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When Does Bible Neglect Become Sinful?
00:08:29
When does diminishing time in God’s word become sinful? Pastor John identifies five symptoms of Bible neglect.
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Jan 09, 2019 |
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I’m Tired and Busy — How Do I Make Time for the Bible?
00:09:01
We wake up every day needing to meet God in his word. Don’t leave the word to fill the cracks. Force other things into the cracks.
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Jan 07, 2019 |
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I Have an Hour a Day to Read — How Much Should Be Bible?
00:07:39
If I have only an hour a day to read, how should I divide my time between the Bible and great Christian books?
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Jan 04, 2019 |
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Three Reasons to Read the Bible Every Day in 2019
00:08:11
As we begin another year of Bible reading, Pastor John takes us back to the basics: feed your motivation, grow in skill, and pray for illumination.
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Jan 02, 2019 |
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How Do I Make the Most of Daily Bible Reading?
00:09:23
As you plan your Bible reading for 2019, know yourself, know your tendencies, but know most of all that you desperately need God’s word.
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Dec 31, 2018 |
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Can a Christian Survive in Silicon Valley?
00:12:37
Can the Christlike virtues of patience, forgiveness, and gentleness survive in a cutthroat technology sector like Silicon Valley?
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Dec 28, 2018 |
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How Do I Welcome Christ at Christmas?
00:11:59
The famous hymn calls every heart to “prepare him room.” But what does it mean to receive Christ this Christmas?
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Dec 25, 2018 |
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What Makes Christmas So Controversial?
00:11:04
The wrath of God is our biggest problem. If it didn’t exist, we wouldn’t need the gospel, and we wouldn’t need Christmas.
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Dec 23, 2018 |
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What Is the Rapture?
00:12:52
Will Christians be raptured before the tribulation? Or will we rise to meet the Lord only at his final coming?
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Dec 21, 2018 |
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Will We Meet Jesus as Soon as We Die?
00:10:44
We often say that our dead loved ones are with Jesus now. But Paul seems to say that Christians will meet Jesus at the second coming. Which is right?
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Dec 19, 2018 |
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How Will Christ ‘Reconcile’ Unbelievers to Himself?
00:10:15
Colossians 1:20 says that Christ will reconcile “all things” to himself. Does that include demons and unbelievers?
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Dec 17, 2018 |
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Why Do We Give Christmas Gifts?
00:11:08
Gift giving, done rightly, doesn’t distract from the meaning of Christmas. Pastor John puts Christmas gifts in biblical context.
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Dec 14, 2018 |
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What Should I Tell My Kids About Santa?
00:12:43
If we think Christ cannot compete with Santa in the hearts of our children, we don’t know the real Christ.
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Dec 12, 2018 |
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How Do We Know Jesus Is the Messiah?
00:17:13
When we say “Jesus Christ,” we should be thinking “Jesus the Messiah”: the promised Priest, King, and Prophet, the one God anointed to redeem us.
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Dec 10, 2018 |
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I Will Die Young — How Do I Fight for Hope?
00:12:16
When the prognosis is an early death, how can we live in a courageous manner that honors God and refuses to be jaded toward him?
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Dec 07, 2018 |
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My Friend Claims She’s Gay — What Do I Say?
00:09:58
What do you say when a professing Christian is ready to embrace the gay lifestyle? Pastor John offers a place to start.
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Dec 05, 2018 |
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How Do Introverts Guard Against Selfishness?
00:11:04
Instead of seeing introversion as a fatalistic limitation, ask, “How can I make my peculiar personality bent a means of grace to others?”
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Dec 03, 2018 |