Over the last two weeks on the Ask Pastor John podcast we talked a lot about social media, about goals for Twitter and fasting from Facebook. Pastor John also addressed creativity in communication, and the meaning and importance of Easter. We talked about the value of Bible commentaries written by women, a practical suggestion for battling lust, and how our works exceed the works of Jesus.

What follows is a list of episodes, along with quotes pulled from each recording. Click on the titles to listen.

How Jesus’s Glory Drives Creative Communication (Episode 54):

Jesus really is striking. Jesus really is amazing. Jesus really is worthy of the most wonderful — or the most surprising — ways of describing him truly. And the Holy Spirit regularly honors that effort by opening the eyes of the blind to see a truly-described Jesus.

How Do I Know If I Love the Gifts More Than the Giver? (Episode 55):

We are sinners, which means we are spring-loaded to turn gifts into alternatives to God. And so what does God do? In this age between our fall and our perfection at the second coming, he uses pleasure and pain to provide us with revelations of his goodness and to protect us from loving substitutes.

Do You Use Bible Commentaries Written by Women? (Episode 56):

The reason for saying, “I don’t permit a woman to teach or have authority over men” (1 Timothy 2:12), is not because she’s incompetent. It is not because she can’t have thoughts. In fact, the women in our church, and the woman you are married to, have many thoughts that you would do well to note and learn from. And so the issue there is not she doesn’t have thoughts, the issue is how manhood and womanhood works.

What Makes Easter So Special? (Episode 58):

The reasoning of 1 Corinthians 15:17 is this: If Christ has not been raised, our gospel is in vain, your faith is in vain, we are found to be preaching a false gospel. We might as well eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we die. Paul put all of his eggs in that basket. If the resurrection didn’t happen — physically, bodily, permanently — then Christianity is just a sham.

Living Easter Sunday’s Victory on Monday Morning (Episode 59):

Don’t forget good Friday and Easter. Fix your heart as you wake up on Monday morning on the fact that, whether I feel it or not, and whether the evidences around me convince me of it or not, the cross means I am loved. And Easter means this love is victorious, and he will not stop loving me because the highest cost has been paid to obtain me for himself.

How Can We Serve One Another in Battling Lust? (Episode 60):

If a guy (or gal) is fighting a losing battle against lust, they know who they are. They also know they’re supposed to fight. But if someone is regularly losing this battle, they need to tell their small group, and then they need to pull out their iPhone and do this …

Twitter Goals and “Humble Brags” (Episode 61):

Using humble language to quote a tribute that you have just received, I see this all over Twitter. Everybody feels self-conscious about saying something that somebody said about them. And yet I see it everywhere. There is something inside of me that twists about that.

Fasting from Twitter and Facebook (Episode 62):

Practice a fast. Pick a period of time, say, a week. For me, two years ago, it was eight months. Zero Twitter. Zero blogging. And see what happens to your soul. See if your soul has become addicted to being known, being followed, being read.

How Do Believers Exceed the Works of Jesus? (Episode 63):

Jesus said, I am going to give you the Holy Spirit, you disciples, you followers of me, every one of you. And the effect of this is going to be that you are going to witness to the crucified and risen Christ with such effectiveness that sins will be forgiven or withheld according to your message of the crucified and risen Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit. Now that had never been done before in the history of the world. Jesus himself had never done that because he hadn't been crucified yet. He hadn't been raised yet. He hadn't ascended yet. He hadn't poured out the Holy Spirit in fullness yet on these people as the Spirit of the risen Christ. ... In that sense these works are greater than even what he had done.

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. You can tune in to the new episodes through the new Ask Pastor John iPhone app, which can be donwloaded for free here. 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 archived on the DG website and syndicated in iTunes.

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

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