Ask Pastor John (Weekly Digest)

This week we released episodes 29–33 in the Ask Pastor John podcast. We began the week with an artist's question about the value of art. In episode 29 Pastor John offered a theology of art in five minutes. In part he said,

Art is basically a craft or a skill that aims at more than just keeping food on the table. What makes it Christian, I think, is that God is an artist. He made the heavens that are telling something about his glory [Psalm 19:1]. In other words, he didn’t just make the heavens to protect us from solar rays. The heavens are not just utilitarian, they are beautiful, they say something about his glory. … God is the maker, and we have the mind of the maker. We talked about this once before [episode 17]. And therefore it seems to me that Christians have the deepest and best foundations for serious art than anybody.

Listen to the entire podcast here.

On Tuesday we asked him a question related to Christian Hedonism and whether we glorify God in our desire to enjoy him even when we do not feel the joy? And do we glorify God more when we also experience the joy (episode 30)?

That was followed on Wednesday with a listener’s question about whether Pastor John’s pro-life position changes in situations involving rape, incest, and threat to the mother’s life (episode 31).

We closed out the week by asking whether it’s permissible for missionaries to lie in order to do ministry in closed countries (episode 32)? And finally with the question about why — if the Holy Spirit permanently dwells within us — do we find our affections for God always in flux (episode 33)?

Current List of Episodes

We've released 33 episodes to date. Here are the top five (in order of total plays):

1. Fighting Porn Addiction with Grudem’s Systematic Theology (Episode 18)
2. Was Adam For Real, and Does It Matter? (Episode 4)
3. Reflections from John Piper on His 67th Birthday (Episode 1)
4. Does God Ever Withdraw His Presence from His Children? (Episode 19)
5. Must Bible Reading Always End with Application? (Episode 26)

And here's a full list of avaliable episodes:

• The Spirit Lives in Me, So Why Do My Affections Fluctuate? (Episode 33)
  
• Should Missionaries Intentionally Lie? (Episode 32)
  
• How Does Rape, Incest, and Threat to the Mother's Life Affect Your Pro-Life Stance? (Episode 31)
  
• Three Levels of God-Glorifying Emotion (Episode 30)
  
• A Theology of Art in Five Minutes (Episode 29)
• Should a Joyless Pastor Preach Joy in God? (Episode 28)
  
• Fighting for Joy in Pastoral Ministry (Episode 27)
  
• Must Bible Reading Always End with Application? (Episode 26)
  
• What Is Leadership? (Episode 25)
  
• Writing Poetry: Where Do I Start? (Episode 24)
• What Is Definite Atonement, and Why Does It Matter? (Episode 23)
  
• Priorities for Youth Pastors (Episode 22)
  
• What Does Christian Hedonism Offer the Depressed? (Episode 21)
  
• Joy in God: To Be Waited for or Pursued? (Episode 20)
  
• Does God Ever Withdraw His Presence from His Children? (Episode 19)
• Fighting Porn Addiction with Grudem’s Systematic Theology (Episode 18)
  
• We Are Makers — Lessons on Vocation from Dorothy Sayers (Episode 17)
• Interpreting the Miracles of Jesus (Episode 16)
  
• Why False Doctrine Can Make You Happy (Episode 15)
  
• Why John Piper Recycles (Episode 14)
  
• The Essential Warfare for Holiness (Episode 13)
  
• Exercising the Body (For the Sake of the Soul) (Episode 12)
  
• What Is the Difference Between Right Risk and Wrong Risk? (Episode 11)
  
• Safety Is A Myth (Episode 10)
  
• Arrests and Imprisonments In Opposing Abortion (Episode 9)
  
• Leadership Lessons from Martin Luther King (Episode 8)
  
• Takeaways from Passion 2013 (Episode 7)
  
• What’s It Like Preaching to 60,000 People? (Episode 6)
  
• Why Adam Matters for Global Missions (Episode 5)
  
• Was Adam For Real, and Does It Matter? (Episode 4)
  
• How Important Is a Christian Writer's Influence? (Episode 3)
  
• Who Was George Herbert? (Episode 2)
  
• Reflections from John Piper on His 67th Birthday (Episode 1)

Tuning In

The Ask Pastor John daily podcast is a series of 3–8 minute conversations released on weekdays at 11am (EST) via the DG Facebook and Twitter feeds. We're currently hosting all the recordings on SoundCloud, a website that makes it easy to listen to several of the podcasts in one sitting. They’re also beginning to be archived on the DG website.

Soon the podcast will be syndicated in iTunes, and we have plans to make these recordings more accessible to listeners on a daily basis.

We want to hear from you. To submit a question to Pastor John please include your first name, hometown, and your question in an email to AskPastorJohn AT desiringGod DOT org.

Thanks for listening to the podcasts. We appreciate your engagement and interest.