Battle Ready Saints

What Makes a Mission Trip Successful? With Michael Carrel of Lampei MinistriesWhat turns a mission trip from just a good experience into a truly life-changing one?In this episode, I sit down with Michael Carrel—pastor, former medic, and founder of Lampei International Ministries—for a deep and practical conversation on what really makes a mission trip effective.Michael unpacks the crucial difference between working for God and allowing God to work through you. We talk about how to evaluate mission opportunities, discern motives, and partner with ministries that are truly aligned with God's will.Whether you're a church leader planning short-term missions, figuring out where to send support, or simply considering going on a trip yourself, this episode will help you think clearly, biblically, and strategically.Listen in and learn how to make a mission trip impactful—for you and for those you serve.Learn more about Lampei Ministries:https://www.lampeiministries.orghttps://www.facebook.com/share/27s5V2...

I'm joined by Noel Fenderson, a police officer and owner of the Christian apparel company Dangerous But Good as we discuss what the company stands for, the need for biblical masculinity to come back to the church, and how answering the true call of the Gospel is the most meaningful and adventurous thing a person can do. Check out what more of what Dangerous But Good has to offer: www.dangerousbutgood.com Use discount code "DBGDAVE"

Ever find yourself feeling isolated as a christian, or maybe you're not seeing any fruit from your labor and you start to wonder if God wants you somewhere else? Michael Carrel is a firefighter/paramedic and pastor from Vermont, a very unchurched state. We talk about what it's like having a ministry is such a spiritually tough area, and how to deal with seasons where we're not getting the results we think we should. We also go into what it's like working in a field like being a first responder and how that can be a very spiritually dark place as well. How can we still be salt and light to the world when everything around us seems apathetic or even annoyed by our faith? We go into all this and more! If you'd like to see more of Michael and the work he's doing in Vermont, check out: North Pownal Congregational Church www.northpownalcc.org Mountain Valley Church www.Mountainvalleyny.org Northeastern Baptist College www.nebcvt.org

Everyone is bombarded with thoughts throughout the day, but how do you tell which thoughts are yours and which ones may be from the Holy Spirit? Some christians speak as though many of their thoughts or feelings come directly from God, but how do we discern something like this? In this episode, I speak with Eric about discerning our own spirit from the leading of the Holy Spirit. Eric offers insightful thoughts based in scripture that help to clear away the confusion when it comes to figuring out where our thoughts are coming from and what God wants from us.

In this episode, I'm joined again by John Cooper from The Godly Grunts to talk about addiction. John runs a homeless shelter in Niagara Falls New York and has a lot of experience dealing with people who have substance abuse problems. We talk about what an addiction is at its root and how we as christians should approach dealing with someone who has come to us with an addiction. We also discuss how we should handle issues in our own lives that fall into the category of addiction. Lastly, we discuss what the Church's responsibility is to the poor in our communities. Resources: The Godly Grunts podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-godly-grunts/id1613732060 Niagara Gospel Mission: https://niagaragospelmission.org/ Give to Niagara Gospel Mission: https://niagaragospelmission.org/give/ Books: Extreme Ownership by Jocko Willink: https://a.co/d/bj4YlnR The Mortification of Sin by John Owen: https://a.co/d/crH7R6y 12 Rules for Life by Jordan Peterson: https://a.co/d/fopClL6

Everyone is talking about what happened at the Grammys this year. But what what few people are talking about is the presence of many of the leading Christian Music artists and their lack of response regarding what occurred at this event. Pastor Marc Hamer and I discuss why this is a problem, what it could mean for the modern christian culture, and we go into some arguments that occurred after we had posted about the Grammys on social media. Youtube Channel: https://youtu.be/1PBHexy0p-E Instagram: https://instagram.com/battlereadysaints?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y= Logo by: https://artofkarlb.com

In this part 2 episode with Pastor Chris Swansen of Calvary Chapel Chester Springs, we dive into what it means to pour out your heart to God, to make supplication or requests, and many other different ways that we can pray. We go through the Lord's prayer to see what kind of guidance Jesus gave us on how to pray. We also talk about what it means when the Bible tells us to "pray in the spirit". To hear more from Pastor Chris, go to the Calvary Chapel Chester Springs website: https://cc-chestersprings.com/

Who are we talking to when we pray? God the Father? The Son? The Holy Spirit? All three persons of the Trinity at the same time? Why did Jesus go off to pray if He was God the Son? Where should I start if I'm terrible at praying but want to get better? Paster Chris Swansen of Calvary Chapel Chester Springs and I dive into all these questions and more as we look at the crucial role that prayer plays in a Christian's life. Pastor Chris goes into what biblical prayer is, and how we often overcomplicate it, or miss out on some crucial blessings when we don't properly understand the purpose of prayer. Hear more of Pastor Chris's teaching at: https://cc-chestersprings.com

It can be very difficult to know how to handle traumatic events. Whether we are the ones who have gone through it, or if it's someone that we know, we're often left feeling like an outsider and the easiest solution is to ignore it. In this video, Dave and Wes draw on their experiences of traumatic events as first responders and Wes goes into how he has counseled people through difficult and traumatic events as he works closely alongside first responders.

This is a pro-life seminar that my wife and I had the opportunity to do at our church, Refuge Calvary Chapel recently. We go over some common pro-abortion arguments, what the Bible says about the roll of government, what the United States Constitution says about the protection of persons, and then show how Scripture and science both clearly point to the personhood of babies in womb. Abortion is a topic where discussions can easily get heated and emotions run high. It's important that we take a strong stance for truth, and give a voice to the voiceless. All of this should be done with love and kindness, and this presentation will help you learn how to do that! Refuge Calvary Chapel channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCm6QM6NH... Meet Baby Olivia: https://babyolivia.liveaction.org/?_g... Live Action website: https://www.liveaction.org/

So you're a Christian who's decided to live your life for Christ and be a good and faithful servant, but there's no current crisis of faith or ministry task that gives you a clear roadmap for what you should be doing. What do we do with spiritual "down time"? This episode is about four very basic steps that every Christian can be applying to their life to give them an objective to be working towards. The goal is to be working for thing kingdom of Heaven, and here are four things we can all be doing to do just that!

Marriage is not always easy. It can be a struggle sometimes, but your spouse is not the enemy. There are other enemies out there that would love to drive a wedge between you and your spouse. The things we do every day can set us up for failure or for victory. Listen to how Marc and Brenda navigated the sometimes difficult road to a successful marriage. Their story is a true testament to how God remains faithful to His children even when things look darker than they have ever been. To get the visual experience of this episode, check out the Battle Ready Saints YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/HDdUsCCncEA

Do all christians hear "well done, good and faithful servant" when they get to heaven, or is that greeting reserved for only some? What does it mean to be good and faithful? It's important to be certain about what we believe, and then to live like we believe it. You have purpose in Christ! You were designed specifically to do certain things in this life. Are you doing them? Or are you not totally sure what you should be doing, where to look for motivation, or even what exactly you believe? In this first of a two part series, we look at the parable of the talents to find purpose, direction, and inspiration.

Christians in the military and law enforcement, just war theory, biblical self defense, and tactics for spiritual warfare are just some of the topics I discuss with John Cooper in this episode. John is an army veteran who has spent time deployed overseas as an infantry sniper, and now has a ministry where his mission is “making soldiers better christians, and christians better soldiers”. See more of John: website: https://thegodlygrunts116.wixsite.com/my-site/blog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thegodlygrunts/ Instagram: https://instagram.com/thegodlygrunts?utm_medium=copy_link Podcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/6hDvHFDo0UF6mO9tuWS6HE?si=595jidUOTFiKIGQGB6rI7Q Battle Ready Saints logo by: https://artofkarlb.com

Can you really ever be sure that you're saved? It's a question that haunts many of us from time to time, and can really get in the way of fully committing ourselves to living for God.  In this episode, I'm joined once again by pastor Marc Hamer, and we dig into the issues of doubting your salvation and where that really comes from, eternal security, and how this all factors in to spiritual warfare and being a battle ready saint.    Refuge Calvary Chapel New Holland website: https://rcc-newholland.com/  Refuge Calvary Chapel YouTube channel: https://youtube.com/channel/UCm6QM6NHGU4czH3rVHml6yw  Follow Battle Ready Saints on Instagram! https://instagram.com/battlereadysaints?utm_medium=copy_link  Battle Ready Saints logo by:  artofkarlb.com

We've all heard the term "critical race theory" by now. It's a hot topic in schools, politics, and churches. So what is it? Is it really that important? And what should our response to this theory be? These are the questions I explore with my guest, Bridget Depew, as we discuss why this topic should be a big deal to christians. We go over why this theory is harmful, particularly to children, what parents can do about the direction that public schools are going, and how christians can have a voice against a narrative that is designed to silence opposition. If you would like to hear more from Bridget, check out her writing at: https://wordly-perspectives.com/ https://www.therachelmaria.com/ Further reading: Black Victim to Black Victor https://amzn.to/3vI5VhQ Fault Lines https://amzn.to/3vCOqPI

It's important for Christians to arrive at the right conclusions and to be able to defend how they got there. A big part of that is not using logical fallacies, and recognizing them when they are used against us. This video identifies five very common logical fallacies that are probably familiar to most Christians, and gives some examples of how they are often used. This is meant to provide the average Christian with some basic tools to utilize in looking out for bad argumentation, whether it's being used by themselves, other Christians, or someone arguing against their beliefs. We want to call out logical fallacies when we see them and replace them with sound arguments for why we believe what we believe.

Is encouragement something that all christians should be concerned about getting right? In this episode, Jackie and I jump into a discussion about what biblical encouragement looks like, whether or not it's always the right tool to use, and why it's so important for christians to be encouraging people. Logo by Art of Karl B: https://artofkarlb.com/

The deity of Christ is an essential christian doctrine that is often challenged, so it is important that we are able to support that doctrine with Scripture. Today, we'll be looking at one of the most powerful examples of Jesus saying who He was. This takes place when Jesus is before the High Priest and He quotes Daniel chapter 7. For further reading: The Unseen Realm book: https://amzn.to/3h3kKW6 Logo by Art of Karl B: https://artofkarlb.com/

In this episode, I'm joined by Justin Walker, a law enforcement officer and photographer. We discuss the commonly misunderstood concept of meekness and the idea of whether or not harmless people can be considered virtuous. We divide strength up into categories of physical, mental, and spiritual and go over things that we can do as Christians to develop ourselves in these areas. We end by discussing the level of priority that each of these categories should have in our lives, and what we can do if we find ourselves prioritizing the wrong areas.

What makes something Christians doctrine? What are the core elements of a Christian worldview? What is it that makes something essential? We will be diving into these questions and more! I'm talking with pastor Marc Hamer about the idea of Christian essentials. We explore what are the elements that determine whether something is Christian doctrine, or something heretical. We go through a list of things that should be considered essentials and talk about why they so essential.

What is the gospel, and why is sharing it so crucial? In this episode, I'm talking with my guest who lives in Asia and loves to talk with anyone about the gospel. He also loves to help Christians understand it and share it with others. Hopefully, this time will give you a clearer picture of the gospel as it is defined in Scripture, and what we should do with it.