Podcasts about Theology

This week we answer listener messages about household management routines, what to do when you feel like a failure, the weirdest things that happen to us, informal prayer versus formal prayer, more on international missions work, and more. Join us! The post Grab Bag appeared first on Sheologians.

Should Christians support capitalism? How effective has capitalism been in elevating people out of poverty? In this episode, which is the second part of a two-part series, Sean and Scott lay out the positive case for capitalism (aka, market economics). In the first part of this series, they offer a critique of socialism. In this episode, they advance a moral and biblical case for free markets and they respond to the most common objections. Scott's 2010 book on this subject is called The Virtues of Capitalism: A Moral Case for Free Markets. ==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

A life of faith is radical—it calls us to trust God in ways that feel impossible. But faith is only as strong as its object.In today's episode, we continue our sermon series from the archives, The Gospel According to Mark, as Paul explores the stories of Jairus and the bleeding woman, showing how placing their faith in Jesus made all the difference.To hear more sermons from Paul, visit PaulTripp.com/Sermons.

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Tuesday of the Second Week of Lent by Dr. Shane Owens. Lenten Weekday/ Katharine Drexel, Virgin, Religious Founder First Reading: Isaiah 1: 10, 16-20 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 50: 8-9, 16bc-17, 21 and 23 Verse Before the Gospel: Ezekiel 18: 31 Gospel: Matthew 23: 1-12   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com Join Dr. Shane Owens—Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University—together with Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. John Bergsma, Megan Hjelmstad, and Emily Stimpson Chapman for our Lent Bible Across America study. Sign up to join the movement today at www.stpaulcenter.com/lent

How can business be used as an economic engine for God's kingdom? In this episode, Bill Hendricks sits down with Raymond Harris, a highly successful architect turned “venture capitalist in God's kingdom,” to discuss the biblical theology of wealth and stewardship.   Time codes: 1:14 Raymond's Background 6:53 Raymond's Theology of Money and Stewardship 11:57 The Purpose of Business 16:05 What Does it Mean to Take Care of the Poor? 19:57 Investing in the Kingdom 28:19 Helping Others Develop an Economic Engine 36:00 Exchange your Earthly Wealth for Heavenly Wealth 38:18 The Role of an Entrepreneur 41:04 Satisfaction from Investing in People 43:09 Who is The Most Generous Person? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.Part I (00:14 – 13:49)This War Didn't Start Saturday: A History of Iran's Islamic RepublicPart II (13:49 – 19:20)Iran Had to Be Stopped: Iran's Development of Nuclear Weapons Was Unthinkable for the West — And Especially for IsraelPart III (19:20 – 24:03)This Is a Limited Military Action — The U.S. Does Not Want to Govern IranPart IV (24:03 – 25:45)We Must Pray for Peace in Iran: And We Must Pray for a Better Future for Iran's People and the Entire RegionSign up to receive The Briefing in your inbox every weekday morning.Follow Dr. Mohler:X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor more information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to sbts.edu.For more information on Boyce College, just go to BoyceCollege.com.To write Dr. Mohler or submit a question for The Mailbox, go here.

For our Extra Inning conversation on the Nephilim, join my Patreon Community! Register for Exiles in Babylon, April 28-May 2, 2026! Dr. Joel Muddamalle (PhD) is the director of theology and research at Proverbs 31 Ministries with Lysa TerKeurst and the theologian in residence for Haven Place Ministries. Joel serves on the preaching team at Transformation Church with Pastor Derwin Gray and is the author of several books including the recently released The Unseen Battle: Spiritual Warfare, The Three Rebellions, and Christ's Victory Over Dark Powers. Listen to the "extra innings" portion of this episode, where Joel and I talk about the Nephilim, by joining our TITR community at Patreon.com/theologyintheraw. Yes, spiritual beings really did have sex with women and produce giants. It's all right there in the Bible.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Rescued people don't belong to themselves—they belong to the God who saved them.Today, we continue our year-long Bible study in the book of Exodus, The Gospel: One Rescue at a Time. In this episode, Paul shows how Israel's redemption by the strong hand of the LORD calls us to remember our own rescue from sin.To hear more of these studies, visit PaulTripp.com/Exodus.

God's gift of Bible prophecy provides everything we need to navigate the storms of our times with confidence. Dr. Jeff Kinley shares from his book, "A Visual Guide to the End Times: A Complete Survey of the Chronology and Events of the Last Days." Check out Susie's new podcast God Impressions on Apple, Spotify, or wherever you listen to podcasts! Faith Radio podcasts are made possible by your support. Give now: click here

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Monday of the Second Week of Lent by Dr. Scott Hahn. Lenten Weekday First Reading: Daniel 9: 4b-10 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 79: 8, 9, 11 and 13 Verse Before the Gospel: John 6: 63c, 68c Gospel: Luke 6: 36-38   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com Join Dr. Shane Owens—Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University—together with Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. John Bergsma, Megan Hjelmstad, and Emily Stimpson Chapman for our Lent Bible Across America study. Sign up to join the movement today at www.stpaulcenter.com/lent

In "U is for Unconditional Love," TJ and Tory join Ms. Dee Livery as she delivers a package to Mr. Wiseman—a package with very specific “conditions.” Along the way, they discover the good news that God's love is not like that at all. His love is unconditional, freely given to His children through Jesus. Follow along as TJ and Tory learn about the God's unchanging character week after week with the ABCs of Theology! Season 5 and 6 follow this best-selling card set, and we just know your kids are going to love them. Shop all discipleship tools for kids ages 2 to 12 at tinytheologians.shop, and join our email list to be among the first to know about sales, new releases, and get all the podcast updates right in your inbox! Resources:  The ABCs of Theology Follow Us: Instagram | Website | Newsletter Editing and support by The Good Podcast Co. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

This is the seventh lesson in Dr. Lane G. Tipton's Reformed Academy course, The Theology of Heaven in the Book of Hebrews. This lesson covers the following topics: 00:00 Author of Hebrews Is Not a Premillennialist 02:40 Author of Hebrews Is Not Postmillennialist 19:18 Gaffin on the Usefulness of the Cross 25:58 Amillennialism on Suffering in Christ as Redemptive Blessing Register for this free on-demand course on our website to track your progress and assess your understanding through quizzes for each lesson. You will also receive free access to dozens of additional video courses in covenant theology, apologetics, biblical studies, church history, and more: https://reformedacademy.org/course/th... Your donations help us to provide free Reformed resources for students like you worldwide: https://reformedforum.org/donate/ #heaven #hebrews #reformedtheology #biblestudy

Wesley Vander Lugt is a pastor, theologian, writer, teacher, nonprofit leader, and arts advocate with a passion for beauty, slowness, cultivation, and kinship. He currently works as the Acting Director of the Leighton Ford Center for Theology, the Arts, and Gospel Witness and is Adjunct Professor of Theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Charlotte. He is also the Co-Founder of Kinship Plot, a community of learning and practice imagining and embodying resonant relationships of every kind. His new book is Beauty Is Oxygen: Finding a Faith that Breathes. In this episode, Wes and Jonathan Rogers discuss just how necessary beauty is. This episode originally aired in June of 2024.Support the show: https://therabbitroom.givingfuel.com/memberSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

How do we exercise discernment on the mission field? In this episode of The Missions Show, Alex and Scott examine common misunderstandings about global persecution and why discernment is essential when evaluating reports of suffering in the church. Drawing from missionary experience, they explain that persecution is not always dramatic or violent, but often appears as marginalization, stigma, or family rejection. They caution against glamorizing persecuted believers or assuming their theology is automatically superior. The conversation also explores a biblical theology of generalizations and discernment, looking at Titus 1 and Philippians 1 as guides for thinking clearly and loving wisely. Rather than reacting to headlines or stereotypes, believers are called to exercise Spirit-shaped discernment—rejecting error, approving what is excellent, and praying faithfully for the global church amid complex situations. Key Topics: Misconceptions about persecution in American evangelicalism The many forms persecution can take The danger of romanticizing suffering Biblical generalizations and cultural discernment (Titus 1) Discernment as a pathway to mature love (Phil. 1) Applying discernment to modern persecution claims (e.g., Nigeria) Do you love The Missions Show? Have you been blessed by the show? Then become a Premium Subscriber! Premium Subscribers get access to: Exclusive bonus content A community Signal thread with other listeners and the hosts Invite-only webinars A free gift! Support The Missions Show and sign up to be a Premium Subscriber at missionsshow.com/premium The Missions Show is powered by ABWE. Learn more and take your next step in the Great Commission at abwe.org. Want to ask a question or suggest a topic? Email alex@missionsshow.com.

1 Timothy 4:8 NIV “For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come.”   *Transcription Below*   Brian Smith, author of The Christian Athlete: Glorifying God in Sports, is a staff member with Athletes in Action and a cross-country coach at Lowell High School. A former collegiate runner at Wake Forest University, he earned a BA in Communications and Journalism before completing his MA in Theology and Sports Studies at Baylor University's Truett Theological Seminary. Brian lives in Lowell, MI with his wife and three children. You can find him on Twitter @BrianSmithAIA.   Ed Uszynski is an author, speaker, and sports minister with over three decades' experience discipling college and professional athletes. With a heart for reconciliation and justice, he also works as a racial literacy consultant and marriage conference speaker, blending Biblical wisdom with practical living in the midst of complex cultural realities. He has two theological degrees from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and a PhD in American Culture Studies from Bowling Green State University. He and his wife Amy have four children and live in Xenia, Ohio.   The Christian Athlete Website   Thank You to Our Sponsor:  Sam Leman Eureka   Questions and Topics We Cover: What is one of kids' greatest game day complaints?  Is it true that young athletic success is a predictor of adult athletic success? What are a few tips for instilling a heart of gratitude in our young athlete, rather than entitlement?   Related Savvy Sauce Episode: 230 Intentional Parenting in All The Stages with Dr. Rob Rienow   Connect with The Savvy Sauce on Facebook or Instagram or Our Website   Gospel Scripture: (all NIV) Romans 3:23 “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,”   Romans 3:24 “and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.”   Romans 3:25 (a) “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”    Hebrews 9:22 (b) “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”    Romans 5:8 “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”    Romans 5:11 “Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”    John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”   Romans 10:9 “That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”    Luke 15:10 says “In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”   Romans 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”   Ephesians 1:13–14 “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession- to the praise of his glory.”   Ephesians 1:15–23 “For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.”   Ephesians 2:8–10 “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God – not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God‘s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.“   Ephesians 2:13 “But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near through the blood of Christ.“   Philippians 1:6 “being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.”   *Transcription*   Music: (0:00 – 0:11)   Laura Dugger: (0:12 - 1:51) Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, where we have practical chats for intentional living. I'm your host, Laura Dugger, and I'm so glad you're here.   The principles of honesty and integrity that Sam Leman founded his business on continue today, over 55 years later, at Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka.   Owned and operated by the Bertschi family, Sam Leman and Eureka appreciates the support they've received from their customers all over Central Illinois and beyond. Visit them today at lemangm.com.   Brian Smith and Ed Uszynski are my guests for today.   They are co-authors of this recent amazing book entitled, A Way Game, A Christian Parents Guide to Navigating Youth Sports. And from the very beginning, I was captivated, even with one of the endorsements from Matt Martens, who's the president and CEO of Awana, and he summed it up this way, A Way Game provides a much needed perspective shift on one of the most sacred idols in our culture, youth sports. So, Brian and Ed are all for youth sports, and yet you're going to hear there's a different way to approach it than what we've been trained in culture.   And they're going to share some wonderful and very practical insights. I can't wait to share this with you. Here's our chat. Welcome to The Savvy Sauce, Ed and Brian.   Ed Uszynski & Brian Smith: (1:51 - 1:54) Thanks for having us, Laura. Yeah, good to be here, Laura.   Laura Dugger: (1:54 - 2:04) So, excited about this chat. And will the two of you just start us off by sharing your family's stage of life and your involvement in sports?   Brian Smith: (2:05 - 3:29) Yeah, there could be a lot on the back end of that question. I'll start with sports, then get into family. I've been involved in sports my entire life, played every sport imaginable growing up, got cut from just about every single sport my freshman year of high school, ended up running track and cross country because it was the only sports that you could not get cut from at my high school.   And I ended up being pretty good at it by the time I was a senior, won some state championships, ended up getting a scholarship to run at Wake Forest University. So, I did that for four years right out of college. I coached a little bit collegiately.   Soon after that, I joined staff with a sports ministry called Athletes in Action that Ed and I have a combined 50 years with Athletes in Action. And really, that's been my life ever since. I've been ministering to college and pro athletes, discipling them, helping them figure out what does that actually look like to integrate faith in sport.   Even today, I live in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I coach high school cross country while I'm still on staff with Athletes in Action. I have a middle school Bible study that I run on Wednesday mornings.   Been married to my wife, who I actually met in high school. She was a distance runner too, and she ran at Wisconsin. So, we've been married for 20 years.   We have three kids, a high schooler, a middle schooler, and an elementary schooler who are all involved in sport at some level, some way, shape, or form.   Laura Dugger: (3:30 - 3:34) Wow, that's incredible. Thank you, Brian. And Ed, what about you?   Ed Uszynski: (3:34 - 5:04) Well, my story is very parallel to Brian's, just different sports and some different numbers. Just tack on 15 years. Yeah, I was a basketball player.   Grew up on the west side of Cleveland with a high school football coach. My dad was, but I was a basketball player. I played at high levels all the way through my 20s, got to play overseas.   I mean, this was a long time ago, but I got everything I could out of that sport. And as soon as I graduated from college, though, I started to work with that Athletes in Action ministry that Brian mentioned. So, I've been working with college and professional athletes for 34 years now.   And same, coached at different levels, have four kids. Amy and I have been married for 26 years. We have four kids, three are in college, and one's in ninth grade, who has a game this afternoon, actually.   So, we've just been going to games and have been involved in going to sports stuff for the last 20 years with our kids. And really what happened with Brian, and I is that we looked up a decade ago and realized this youth sports thing was a fast train that was moving in directions that we weren't used to ourselves, even though we've been around sports our whole life. It's like, there's something different happening now.   And then thinking about it as Christians, like, how do we do this well as Christ followers? We don't want to separate from it. We don't want to just go for the ride. How do we do this as Christian people? And that's what got us talking about it and eventually led to this book.   Laura Dugger: (5:05 - 5:23) Well, the book was easy to read and incredible. And I'd like to start there where you begin, even where you go back before going forward. So, when you're looking back, what are the factors at play that changed youth sports over time?   Ed Uszynski: (5:26 - 6:17) Well, I'll say this and then Brian, maybe you jump in and throw a couple of them out there. I mean, youth sports is a $40 billion industry today, which is wild to think about. It's four times how much money gets spent on the NFL, which is just staggering.   I can't even hardly believe that that's true, but it is. And it's really just in the last 20 years that that's happened. I mean, 50 years ago, you couldn't have had the youth sport industrial complex, as we refer to it.   You couldn't have had it. There were a bunch of things that had to happen culturally, as is true with any new movement or any paradigm shift that happens in culture. You've got to have certain things be true all at the same time that make it possible.   So, Brian, what were a couple of those? Again, I'll throw it over to you. There's six of them that we talk about in the book. And I think it's really fascinating because I'm a history guy.   Brian Smith: (6:18 - 8:40) Yeah. And we can obviously double click on any of these, Laura, that you want to, but we talk about how the college admissions process became an avenue where youth sports parents saw, man, if we can get our kids involved in some extracurriculars and kind of tag on high level athlete to their resume, it actually helps with the college admissions process. And so even the idea of college scholarships became an opportunity for youth sports parents to get their kids involved.   And then, yeah, maybe sports can actually get them into college. We talk about the economic shifts that happen, the rise of safetyism and helicopter parenting. ESPN was a massive one in 1979.   This thing called ESPN starts, and we get 24-7 coverage of sports, which they started exploring even early on. What does it look like to give coverage to something like Little League World Series and saw that it didn't really matter how young the sport was, it's going to draw a national audience. And so, we've almost been discipled by ESPN really over the last 50 years with this consistent coverage.   We talk about the rise of the sports complex. This one to me is like the most fascinating out of all of them. In 1997, Disney decided to try to get more people to come to their parks.   They built a sports complex, just a massive sports complex. The idea was, are the older kids getting sick of the Buzz Lightyear ride and the Disney princesses? So, let's build a sports complex and maybe it'll be something else that will draw this older crowd too.   And what happened was, I mean, a lot of people started coming to it, but kind of the stake in the ground game changer was when 9-11 hit. In the months and years after that, they saw a lot less people go to their parks, but population actually doubled going to the sports complex, which is wild to think that people were afraid to go to theme parks for a vacation, but they were willing to travel across state lines to play sports at the Disney complex. So other cities and municipalities took notice of that.   Today, there's over 30,000 sports complexes like Disney's, which again, this is all adding to the system of the youth sports industrial complex. Did I miss any, Ed?   Ed Uszynski: (8:41 - 10:47) Well, no, and that's good. And the reason why we even put all that on the table, again, everybody kind of intuitively knows if you're involved, you know, something's not right. But I think it's important to say this is not normal what's happening.   It's a new normal that's been manufactured by a bunch of cultural trends, by a bunch of entrepreneurs that are doing what entrepreneurs do, and they're taking advantage of the moment, and they are generating lots of money around it. So, it should be encouraging. If it's not normal, that means actually there's a counter way of going about this.   There really can be reformation. But when all this money gets involved, the two biggest consequences that come out of that is our kids start getting treated like commodities, which they are, and we could talk the whole time even just about what that means. But maybe even more importantly, or what comes out of that is that beyond their physical development, most coaches and clubs are not paying any attention to their emotional development, their psychological development, their spiritual development, all the different aspects of what it means to be human that, frankly, used to be paid quite a bit more attention to in youth leagues when I was growing up.   I'm 58 now, so I was playing in the 70s and the 80s. And it used to be expected, at least at some level, even among non-Christian people, that you would take those aspects of a kid's life seriously. And now those just aren't prioritized.   And so, what do we do about that? Again, that's kind of our whole point is, well, as Christian people, we're really supposed to be our kid's first discipler anyways. And part of that role and part of taking on that identity is that we would be asking, what is God trying to do in the wholeness of their life, the entirety of their life, even in the context of sports?   So again, I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but that's why we're trying to poke into that to say, oh, we could actually make change. We may not change the whole system. In fact, we won't. Most of us won't be expected to do that, but we can make significant change in our corner of the bleachers and what happens with our kids.   Laura Dugger: (10:48 - 11:05) That's good. And just like you said, to double-click on a few places, first of all, real quick, the 30,000 number, I remember that shocking me in the book, but I'm forgetting now, is that worldwide, the amount of sports complexes or is that just in America?   Brian Smith: (11:05 - 11:06) That's domestically in the US.   Laura Dugger: (11:07 - 11:52) Yeah. That is staggering. And then one other piece, all of this history was new to me as you brought it all together, but it was also fascinated.   This is from page 32. I'll just read your quote. The American youth sports ball began rolling when a British movement fusing spiritual development with physical activity made its way across the Atlantic Ocean at the turn of the last century.   And Ed, that's kind of what you were touching on, that they were mixing, I'm sure, spiritual, psychological discipleship, physical. Can you elaborate more on what was happening and where it originated? Because we've come very far from our origins.   Ed Uszynski: (11:53 - 13:18) Yeah. And there's been a bunch of really great books written about this topic called muscular Christianity. This idea, like you just said, Laura, of wedding physical activity through sports with our spiritual development and expecting and anticipating that somebody that was taking care of their body and that was engaging in sport activity, that was the closest thing to godliness.   That opened up the door for you to also be developing spiritually. And there was an expectation that both of those are going on at the same time. A bunch of criticism about that movement, but it was taken seriously.   The YMCA is actually a huge byproduct of the muscular Christianity movement. The Young Men's Christian Association created space for sports and for athletic activity to take place under the banner of you're also going to grow spiritually as you're doing this. So again, that was a hundred years ago.   And that's not really what AAU stands for today. The different clubs and leagues that we get involved in just don't talk that way anymore. Of course, culture just in general has shifted away from sort of a Judeo-Christian ethic guiding a North Star for us.   Even if we're not Christian people, that used to be more of a North Star. That's gone now. And so, it really is not expected in sports anymore.   Brian Smith: (13:18 - 13:55) And what we're saying is we cannot expect organizations to own that process for our kids. We can't outsource the discipleship of our kids to the youth sports industrial complex or the YMCA or the AAU. It really does start with us as Christian parents to be the primary discipler of our kids.   And there is a way to take what's happening on the field or the court or the pool and turn it into really amazing discipleship opportunities. But it means, and Ed is starting to tease this out, it means we need to change our perspective as parents when we sit in the bleachers or on the sidelines of what we're looking for and even the conversations we have with our kids on the back end.   Laura Dugger: (13:57 - 15:29) And now a brief message from our sponsor.   Sam Leman Chevrolet Eureka has been owned and operated by the Bertschi family for over 25 years. A lot has changed in the car business since Sam and Stephen's grandfather, Sam Leman, opened his first Chevrolet dealership over 55 years ago.   If you visit their dealership today though, you'll find that not everything has changed. They still operate their dealership like their grandfather did, with honesty and integrity. Sam and Stephen understand that you have many different choices in where you buy or service your vehicle.   This is why they do everything they can to make the car buying process as easy and hassle-free as possible. They are thankful for the many lasting friendships that began with a simple welcome to Sam Leman's. Their customers keep coming back because they experience something different.   I've known Sam and Stephen and their wives my entire life and I can vouch for their character and integrity, which makes it easy to highly recommend you check them out today. Your car buying process doesn't have to be something you dread, so come see for yourself at Sam Leman Chevrolet in Eureka. Sam and Stephen would love to see you and they appreciate your business.   Learn more at their website, LemanEureka.com or visit them on Facebook by searching for Sam Leman Eureka. You can also call them on 309-467-2351. Thanks for your sponsorship.   Laura Dugger: (15:30 - 15:31) And I want to continue getting into more of those practicals. Do you want to give us just a taste or an example or story of what that might look like?   Brian Smith: (15:32 - 16:54) We keep saying, we keep talking about the importance of the car ride home that it's tempting for us and not us broadly in the U.S., tempting for us, Ed and I, as people who have done this for 50 plus years and who should know better, it's tempting for us as discipled by an ESPN over analyzing everything culture and want to talk about sports to get in the car ride home with our kids and all we want to talk about is how game went, what they did right, what they did wrong, what they could fix next time.   Maybe instead of passing to Tim, they should take the shot next time because they're wide open. They just hit three in a row. So, and what our kids need from us in those moments is less coaching, less criticizing, less critiquing, and they just need us to connect with them.   The stats on kids quitting youth sports is crazy right now. Its 70 percent are quitting before the age of 13, in large part because it's not fun, and a lot of kids are attaching this idea of it not being fun to the car ride home with their parents who, let's say this too, most of us are well-intentioned parents. We're not trying to screw our kids up.   We want what's best for our kids, but the data and the research and the lived experience continues to tell us what our kids need from us is just to take a deep breath, connect with them, less coaching. Ed keeps saying less coaching, more slurpees.   Laura Dugger: (16:55 - 17:07) I like that. And that ties in. Is it called the peak-end principle that you discovered why kids are resisting that critique on the way home?   Brian Smith: (17:07 - 18:17) Yeah, absolutely. The peak-end rule in psychology is known as this: we, just as humans in general, not just kids, we largely remember things in our lives based on the peak moment of that event, but also how the event ends. And so, the peak moment in sport can be anything from something that goes really well, like they scored a goal or made a basket or something that did not go well, just like a massive event that took place that they're going to remember.   But then it's also married to how that event ends. So, if you think for kids, how does every youth sport experience end? It ends with the car ride home.   So, if they're experiencing the car ride home as I did not live up to mom and dad's standards, or there's fear getting into the car because they don't know what their parents are going to say, how are they remembering the totality of their youth sport experience? It is, I didn't, I didn't measure up. I wasn't enough.   It felt like sports was a place that I needed to perform for my parents or my coach. And I always feel a little bit short. We want to help parents see like there's a different path forward that can be more joyful for you, but hopefully more joyful for your kid as well.   Ed Uszynski: (18:17 - 21:37) Well, and, and I'll just, let me keep going with that, Brian. I thought you really articulated all that so well. I can just imagine a parent maybe thinking, was there never a time to correct?   Is there never a time to give input? And we would say, well, of course there, there is, they need far less of it from us than we think they need when it comes to their sport. And again, we can talk about that.   They need far less of that from us. They need us to be their parents, not to be their coaches. Even if we are their coach, they need us to be more their parents.   But there is a time to do it. We're just saying the car ride home is the worst time to do it. And that's usually the time that most of us, you know, we've got two hours of stuff to download with them.   And that's just, it's not a good time. But the other thing that Brian and I keep talking about is how about, what if we had some different metrics that we were even trying to measure? So, most of the time our metrics have to do with their performance.   Like what, what are we grading them on? Again, depending on what the sport is, there's these different things that we're looking for to say, how you did today is based on whether you did this or you didn't do that and whatnot. And we're saying as parents, and again, starting with us, we needed some other metrics that were actually more concerned about what was going on in their soul.   So again, I'm sure we'll talk more about this, but the virtues, how did love show up in the way they competed today? Where that usually is tied to them noticing somebody else. Do I, am I even asking them any questions about that?   Are they experiencing peace in the midst of all this chaos and anxiety that shows up at every game? How do we teach them to experience peace? How do they become other-centered instead of just self-centered all the time in a culture, a sport culture that's teaching them to always be the center of attention and try to be?   So, we just have needed to exchange some of what we had on that performance list, like tamper that down a little bit and maybe expand the list of categories that we're looking for that actually will matter when they're 25. And we keep saying this, our goal is that they'd come home for Thanksgiving when they're 25. And so, we need to stay relationally connected to them and how we act on the car ride home day after day after day after day, year after year is doing something to our relationship.   But we also are recognizing that it's really not going to matter whether Trey finishes with his left hand at the game today when he's 25, it's not going to matter. It's not going to matter probably a year from now, but how he goes through the handshake line after the game and the way he addresses other people, and whether or not he's learning to submit to authority, whether or not he's learning to embrace other people's humanity. Yes, even in the context of sports, that's really going to matter when he's 25.   It's going to matter when he's married. Those are the things that will matter. And we say that as people who are older and have been involved in ministry and have worked with college athletes and see what happens in their lives even after they're finished, and they have no idea who they are anymore.   And this thing that's dominated their life has not actually prepared them well to do life. And that's a problem that we say, let's start changing that when they're six and not hope they're figuring it out when they're 22.   Laura Dugger: (21:38 - 22:11) I love that because that's such a theme throughout those virtues that you talked about, but discipleship and sports are a tool or a way that we can disciple our kids. I also love that you give various questions throughout the book and even quick phrases. So to close that conversation on the car ride home, if we say, okay, that's what I've been coaching the whole way home, what is a question we could ask our child afterwards and a statement we could say and leave it at that and do it a better way?   Brian Smith: (22:12 - 23:56) The question I have consistently asked my kids after learning that I've been doing this the wrong way for a long time, I tweet my question to they get in the car and I say, is there anything that happened today from the game that you want to talk about? And it's frustrating to me because 99% of the time they say, no, can we listen to the radio? And we listen to the radio, or they play a on my phone, but I'm respecting their desire that they're done with what just happened and they're ready to move on to the next thing, even though I really want to talk about what just happened.   And then the statement that I want to make sure that I'm consistently saying that they're hearing is I love you and I'm proud of you. So, game didn't go well. Yeah, you did play well today.   That's okay. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you. Game went well today.   Awesome. Great job. Hey, I love you and I'm proud of you.   So I want that to be the consistent theme that they're hearing for me, which is hopefully going to help them better understand the gospel later in life, that as they get older and older, hopefully they'll begin to realize it seemed like the way that my mom and dad interacted with me when I was performing in sport, but their love was not attached to my performance. That seems really similar to what I'm learning more and more that Jesus does for me, that I'm trying to do all these things that are good. But from what I'm understanding about the gospel, it seems like Jesus loves me in spite of what I do.   He loves me just because He's connected to me, that God loves me because I'm a son or daughter, not because I'm performing as a son or a daughter. So, in a very real way, I really am hoping that I'm giving a good teaser for my kids now for when they fully experience the gospel as they go through the life.   Ed Uszynski: (23:56 - 24:47) Another really good connecting question. I love how you said all that, Brian, is if they don't want to talk about the game, is it okay, did you have fun today? And they can only go in one of two directions.   No. Well, tell me about that. Why not?   And it opens up the door to talk about, well, because I didn't get to play or because something bad happened. And again, tell me more about that. Tell me more about that.   Or they say, yes, great. What happened that was fun? And it creates a very different conversation in the car.   And it opens up, again, relational possibilities that go way beyond, why do you keep passing it when you should be shooting it? Wow. And just all the different ways that that comes out of us, depending on sport, depending on their age.   But those are great questions. Go ahead, Brian.   Brian Smith: (24:47 - 25:41) I just asked my son this morning. He's a freshman. His wrestling season is almost done.   And I just asked, like, what has been most fun for you in wrestling this year? And his first thing was, I feel like I'm learning a lot. And that's really fun for me, which he's on a really good team.   He's had a lot of success. He's made a lot of good friends. But even that gave me a window into his characters.   My son enjoys and I knew this is true about him. But my son enjoys learning, which means he enjoys the process of getting better and better and better, which can happen in school, it can happen doing stuff in the yard, it can it can also happen in sport. But for me to remember moving forward, yeah, he he's probably going to have a different metric for what's fun in sport than I often do for him.   Yeah, like I wanted to learn. I want him to win though, too. He's happy with learning right now.   So, I need to be happy with that for him.   Ed Uszynski: (25:41 - 26:34) If I can say this, too, again, I don't want to be vulnerable on your behalf. But then knowing this, he's lost a lot this year to really good kids. Yeah.   And so much of the learning has been in the context of losing. So, you as a dad, actually, you could be crushing him because of those losses and what he needs to do to fix that and what he needs to do so that that doesn't happen again. And it's like he's already committed to learning.   How do you just how do you celebrate the loss? Like he took the risk to try something new in this movie. He tried to survive an extra period.   That's a process when and it's we just need to get better at that. Like you genuinely can celebrate that. That's not just a that's not like a participation trophy.   It's acknowledging now, do you're taking you're taking the right steps that are actually making you a winner, even if you don't have more points at the end of the game right now.   Laura Dugger: (26:34 - 26:54) Yeah. Yeah. And that long term win that you're talking about, even with character and you've talked about fun and asking them about fun.   Is it true that that's the main reason kids are dropping out of sports at such a rapid rate before age 13 is that it's just not fun anymore?   Ed Uszynski: (26:55 - 28:58) Yeah. Yeah. And why is it not fun?   And again, this is where Brian and I are always getting in each other's business. And we know that this conversation gets in all of our business as adults. But why is it not fun?   It's not fun because of the coaches and it's not fun because of the parents. We are creating stress. We are creating again collectively because we're all in different places on the on the spectrum on this in terms of what we're actually doing when we show up at games.   But if you even just go to any soccer game and you be quiet and just listen to what's happening and everybody's shouting and screaming things and there's contradictory messages being sent and there's angst at every turn and there's an incredible celebration because this eight year old was able to get the ball to go across the line for another goal. And what that's doing inside the kids is it is creating a not fun atmosphere. Let's just say it like that.   That's a not fun atmosphere when you're eight, when you're 10, when you're trying to figure out how to make your body work. You're trying to learn the game that you're unfamiliar with and you're trying to do what this coach is telling you to do. And you're also trying to do what all the parents are telling you what to do.   And if it's a team sport, you're trying to interact and play with other kids who are all in that same state of disarray, which is very stressful and frustrating. And we're just adding to it. So instead of removing it, instead of playing a role that says, we're going to keep diffusing that stress.   And again, I'll speak for myself. Too often, I have been the one that's actually adding to it. And so, kids are just like, why would I do this?   Why would I want to get in that car again with you? It's not fun. This is a game.   And so, there's a million other things that I can do with my time where I don't have everybody yelling at me and I don't have to listen to you correct me for two hours.   Laura Dugger: (29:00 - 29:21) Well, and one other thing that surprised me, maybe why kids are dropping out, you share on page 47, a quote that research reveals a strange correlation. The more we spend, the less our kids actually enjoy their sport. So, did you have any more insight into that?   Brian Smith: (29:21 - 30:50) Yeah, this was a real study that was done at Utah State. Researchers found that the more money parents are spending, again, let's say well-intentioned parents, the more we're spending in sports, the less our kids are enjoying. And the more they have dug into it, they're finding, and intuitively it makes sense.   If you buy your kid a $600 baseball bat, what's the expectation that they're supposed to do with this really expensive bat? When they swing, they better hit the ball, and they better get on base. If we're going to buy you this expensive of a bat, you can't just have process goals with it.   You better swing and hit it. And that's causing stress for kids. If you travel across state lines and you go to Disney to play at their sports complex, you're not there for vacation.   You're there to perform. So even if parents are saying we're trying to have fun, kids know when you're traveling and you're getting all this good equipment and you're on the elite team and you're receiving the best of the best stuff, they know it comes with some sort of an expectation. College athletes can barely handle that type of pressure and expectations, but we've placed this professional on youth sports from fifth five-year-olds to 15-year-olds, and it's just crushing them.   It's crushing them. Again, college athletes and professional athletes can barely handle it. They need mental health coaches for sports, but we're expecting that our five-year-olds can handle it, and they can't.   Ed Uszynski: (30:51 - 31:19) And they may not even be able to articulate it. So that's the other thing. They may not be able to identify what's actually going on inside and put it into words.   So again, that's why we're trying to sound the alarm for ourselves and for others who are listening, because we can do it different. Again, just to even keep spinning it back in an encouraging direction, we can do this different. We can change this this week in our corner of the bleachers.   We can start over again.   Laura Dugger: (31:21 - 31:48) Absolutely and make a difference. And before we talk about even more of the pros with sports, I think it's also necessary to reflect and maybe even grieve a few things. So, what would you say are some things families are missing out on when they choose youth sports to overfill their calendar, that that's all that they make time for?   What do you think they're missing out on?   Brian Smith: (31:51 - 33:16) Yeah, I think a couple that come to mind are family dinners are a big one. That's big for us in the Smith house, is just having the ability after a long day to sit at the dinner table together, to eat food together, and to process the day and be with one another. But when my kids' practice goes late, it means we're either eating almost towards bedtime or we're eating in different shifts.   And so that's something that we grieve. I think for me, when my schedule is full, I'm tempted to adopt the mindset that what's happening on the wrestling mat or on the track matters more than it actually does. And it robs me of the ability to just take a deep breath and smile and enjoy watching my kids play sports.   That without an intervention or a pregame devotional in the car for myself, I risk sitting in the stands or being on the sidelines, being stressed out and putting pressure on myself and pressure on my kids and gossiping about why the coach didn't put this kid into the people next to me, instead of just enjoying the gift that is sports and watching my kid try and succeed and try and fail. That is a gift available to me as a dad to watch my kid do that. But the busyness often robs me of that perspective.   Ed Uszynski: (33:17 - 36:06) Well, and the busyness robs, again, if you're married, that busyness eventually wears away at your relationship. And it's not just sports. I mean, busyness, we can fill our schedule, overfill our schedules with any number of things.   We can overfill our schedules with church stuff to a point where it becomes detrimental to our relationship. If we don't set boundaries so that we're making sure we're doing what we need to do to be face-to-face and to be going to areas beneath the surface with each other in our relationship and being able to do that with our kids as well, eventually there's negative consequences to that. It may not happen right away, but I've definitely experienced that.   We've experienced that in our home where it's easy to maybe chase one kid around for a while, but what happens when you add three into the mix and you haven't really done a time budget or paid attention to the fact that when we sign up for all these things, you get a month into it and you realize, oh, we have to be in different places at the same time. So, we're not even watching stuff together anymore. We're just running.   I can endure anything for a season, but what youth sports wants now in every sport from the youngest ages is that it becomes a year-round commitment. So, you're not even signing up to play a season anymore. You're signing up for a year in most cases because after the games, then they're going to have training.   They're going to have this other thing going on. And so again, can we say, well, we'll play the actual season, but then we're not going to do the additional training over these next three months. Again, we want to give parents' permission that you can say no to that.   Well, we paid for it. Well, it's okay. If you want your kid to be on that team and you like this club or whatever, then you pay the money and you just say, we're going to sit those three months out and we're going to use those three months actually to have people over our house for dinner.   Again, whatever's on the list, Laura, that you said about being more holistic and not letting sport operate like an idol in our life where it's taken on, it's washed out everything else in our life. We can get back in control of that by just saying no a little bit. You can go to church on Sunday.   Even if there's tournament games going on on Sunday, you can go to the coach early and say, hey, we just, in our family, we just don't want to be available before 12. Are you okay with that? And most of the time coaches will be.   The kid might have to sit extra maybe for not being, whatever. Okay. That's not going to be the end of the world that they had to sit out an extra game or had to sit out a half because they weren't available on Sunday morning.   It might actually make a huge difference that they weren't at church for two and a half years in the most formative time of their life.   Laura Dugger: (36:07 - 37:36) And a lot of times the way of wisdom includes reflection, getting alone with the Lord and asking, have we overstuffed our schedule this conversation today? Let's talk specifically with youth sports. Is that trumping everything else?   Because what if we're putting it in a place it was never intended to be as an idol where we sacrifice hospitality or discipleship or community or even just a more biblical way of life? I think we have to bring wisdom into the conversation for what you've mentioned. Whether it's worth it, if they're even enjoying it, how much we're spending on it, and do we have the budget to allocate our finances that way and evaluating the time just to see and make sure that it's rightly ordered.   Did you know you could receive a free email with monthly encouragement, practical tips, and plenty of questions to ask to take your conversation a level deeper, whether that's in parenting or on date nights? Make sure you access all of this at thesavvysauce.com by clicking the button that says join our email list so that you can follow the prompts and begin receiving these emails at the beginning of each month. Enjoy!   But if we flip that to if youth sports are rightly ordered, then what are some things that we can celebrate or reasons that you would want families to give this a try?   Brian Smith: (37:37 - 40:09) The massive positive that we keep coming back to is we have a front row seat to see our kids go through every possible emotion in sport, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And then if we have the right perspective, we are armed with awesome opportunities and awesome information that we're seeing. We get to see what our kids are really good at.   We get to see their character gaps. And then we get to be the ones who, again, who are their primary response, primary disciplers. It really goes back to like, are we trusting youth sports for too little in our kids' lives?   Like many of us are trusting that our investment is going to get them a spot on a team, or maybe they get an opportunity in high school, maybe in college. And what we're saying is, yeah, that maybe. And that's not a bad end goal.   But if that's everything that you're investing into youth sports, it's not enough. Like what you have available to you every single day is to ask your kid if they showed somebody else's dignity on the field. You don't know if your kid's going to hit a home run today.   That may not be available to them their entire life. What's available to them every single day is to ask a question to their teammate, to see somebody and show dignity to them. And that's really, it's like, it's almost the opportunity of a lifetime for us as parents who, when our kids get home from school, we really don't know what happened most of the day.   We asked them how it went and we get the one-word answer. In sports, we don't have to guess. We get to see everything that happens.   And again, if we are actually trusting youth sports for discipleship investment, that's a good ROI. That's a good return on our investment. But we need a consistent intervention almost daily to say, no, this is why they're in sports.   Yes, I want to see them get better. I want to see them have fun, but Holy Spirit, would you help me see things today that I normally don't see? Holy Spirit, would you put them in circumstances and relationships today and in the season that's going to help them look more and more like Jesus by the time the season's done?   Holy Spirit, would you convict me in the moment when I am being a little too mouthy and saying things that I shouldn't? Would you help me to repent? And God, in those moments where I'm actually doing wrong on behalf of my kid, would you help me to humble myself and apologize to them?   And God, would you repair our relationship that way? So again, all of these options are available just because our kid's shooting a ball or they're on the field with somebody else tackling other people. We're trusting youth sports for too little.   Ed Uszynski: (40:10 - 41:10) That's all big boy and big girl stuff. It just is. I don't normally naturally do any of that.   I have to be coached into that. I have to be discipled myself. I have to work through my own issues, my own baggage, my own fears about the future, my own idolatrous holding onto this imagined future that I have for my kid, irrespective of what God may or may not want.   I've got my own resentment. I've got my own regrets from the past. I wish things had gone differently for me, so I'm going to make sure they go different for you when it comes to sports.   And it's hard to look in the mirror and admit that I have anger issues. I mean, youth sports create a great opportunity for me to get up all my pent-up frustration from the day. We've given ourselves permission to do that, in most cases, to just yell and yell at refs and gripe about coaches and yell at kids.   Brian Smith: (41:10 - 41:31) Because that's what we do at the TV, right? When our favorite team is playing, we've conditioned ourselves to say, awful call, that was terrible. Then we get on social media and we complain about it.   We are discipling ourselves to this is how it's normative to respond within the context of sports. Then we carry all that baggage to our six-year-old soccer game.   Laura Dugger: (41:33 - 42:02) Well, I love how you keep pointing it back toward character and discipleship. You clearly state throughout the book, sports don't develop character, people do. But could you maybe elaborate on that a little bit more and share more now that we've listed pros and cons, you still list a completely different way that we can meaningfully participate while also pushing back?   Brian Smith: (42:04 - 43:49) I'll start with the first part, and then you can answer the second. We use the handshake line as a great example of why character needs to be taught to our kids. If you just watch a normal handshake line left without coaching, the kids are going through it, especially the ones who lose with their head down, they have limp hands, there's no eye contact, and they're mumbling good game, good game.   Sometimes they don't even say it, they'll say GG stands for good game. They don't just learn character by going through the handshake line. If anything, that's going through it like that without any sort of intervention or coaching, that's malforming their character.   That's teaching them when things don't go well, that it's okay for them not to be a big boy or a big girl and look somebody in the eye and congratulate them. What needs to happen? An adult needs to step in and say, hey, as we go through the handshake line, whether you win or lose, here's how we do it with class.   We shake somebody's hand, we look them in the eye, and we say good game. Even if in those moments we don't actually mean it, we still show them dignity and honor. And then when we're done going through the handshake line, guess what we're going to do?   We're going to run down the refs who are trying to get in their car and get out of here, and we're going to give them a high five and say, thank you so much for reffing today. That stuff needs to be taught. Our kids don't just come out of the womb knowing how to do that.   We have to teach them how to do it. Sometimes good coaches will do that, but the more and more we get sucked up into the sports industrial complex, we're getting well-intentioned coaches, but we're getting coaches who care more about the big W, the win, than the character formation stuff that happens.   Ed Uszynski: (43:49 - 45:27) They need to keep hearing it over and over again. I have a ninth grade Bible study in my house the other day with athletes and a whole bunch of my son's basketball team. Exactly what Brian just said, I actually was like, wow, I've got them here.   There was a big blow up at a game the other day, and we wound up talking about it. I said, I'm going to take this opportunity actually to say what Brian just said. When you go through a handshake line, this is how you go through it.   I watched what happened in the game a couple days later. Basically, they did the exact opposite of what I told them to do, and they lost. It was just what Brian said.   They went through limp handed. They didn't look anybody in the face, and they weren't even saying anything. I just chuckled to myself, and you know how this is as a parent.   They may or may not do it. Of course, those aren't my kids. I have more stewardship over my child, who actually, he is doing what I've asked him to do because I've re-emphasized it across time now.   It's not a failure because they didn't do what I said. Again, the pouty side of me wants to be like, forget it. I'm just not even going to try anymore.   It's like, no, they're kids. That was the first time they've heard that. They're going to do what their patterns have, the muscle memory that's been created by their patterns, just like we do as adults.   The next time I have a chance to bring that up again, I'm not going to shame them. I'm just going to go over it again with them. Here's how we do it.   It's super hard to do this, guys, when you just want to be violent with people or you want to cry. You got to pull yourself together. That's what big men do.   That's what big women do in life. They pull themselves together in those moments and do the right thing.   Brian Smith: (45:28 - 46:01) You don't know whether the fifth time you say it is going to stick or the 50th time. Your responsibility as the Christ-following parent is to do it the sixth time and the seventh time and the seventh time and trust that God is going to take those moments and do what he does. We're ultimately not responsible for our kids' behavior.   We're responsible for pointing them in the right direction, and then hopefully, yeah, the Holy Spirit steps in and transforms and changes and convicts in those moments, but it might take some time.   Ed Uszynski: (46:02 - 47:47) Tom Bilyeu So that's how you push back, Laura. You were asking that. How do we push back without being just completely involved in it or going for the same ride that everybody else is going for?   There's just little moments like that scattered throughout. Literally, every day that my kids are involved in youth sports, the car ride over, what happens on the way home, how we talk about it, what happens during the game and what we wind up talking about out of that, the side conversations that happen that just get brought up apart from games of how we interact with people and so-and-so looks like they're struggling. What do you know about that?   That's how we push back, that in our corner of the bleachers, oh, how we interact with other parents. We haven't even talked about that yet, that I can take an interest in more than just my own kid in the bleachers and spend way more energy actually in cheering for other kids and just trying to give them confidence and spend way less time trying to direct that at my own child who knows that I'm there. In fact, my side kid has said he doesn't want to hear my voice during the game.   It distracts him. He's like, I'd much rather that you cheer for other people. It's like, okay.   Having questions ready for other parents during timeouts and as you sit there for hours together, what do you talk about? Well, I could be the one that actually initiates substantive conversations over time with them and asks them about what's going on in different parts of their life. And in having done that, people want to talk.   They want a safe place actually to share what's going on in their So let me be the sports minister. Let me take on that identity and actually care about other people.   Laura Dugger: (47:49 - 49:47) I love that. Even that practical idea of just coming to each game, maybe with a different question, ready to open up those conversations. And I'll share a quick story as well.   Our two oldest daughters recently just gave cheerleading a try at a local Christian school that allows homeschool kids to participate. And this is an overt way that somebody chooses the different way. So, it's the coach of the basketball team.   His name is Cole. And at the end of every game, we saw him consistently throughout this season when it was a home game, whether their team won or lost, he would ask them, okay, shut off the scoreboard. It's all blank.   He gathers both teams. As soon as the game is over teams, cheerleaders, the stands stay filled with all the parents. And he says, this is not our identity.   The world and Satan, our enemy, who's very real. He wants us to put our identity here, but it's not here. You made us better tonight by the way that you played and you were able to shine Jesus.   And we're going to go a step further and we're going to do what we call attaways. So, he's like, all right, boys, you open it up. And his team is trained.   They say to the other team, Hey, number 23, what's your name? I loved how you pushed me so much harder tonight and says, my name's Ben. And so, their Attaway is, Hey, Ben.   And everybody goes, Hey, Ben. Yeah, Ben. Yeah, Ben Attaway.   And everybody just erupts in clapping. And the other team is always blown away and they are just grinning, whether they just lost. So, the boys go through that for a while and then they open it up to the other team and they start sharing Attaways.   And then they open it up to the crowd and the parents are able to say, I see the way you modeled Jesus by being selfless with the ball or whatever it is. So, Cole said that his college coach did that many years ago and he's passed that on. And I love that's one way to redeem the game.   Ed Uszynski: (49:47 - 51:39) Wow. Beautiful. Beautiful.   Yeah. That's amazing. And, you know, I, so Brian and I talk about this too.   And I coached at a Christian school. So, we, we think that it's really important if you're going to play sports and you're going to be a Christian coach that you actually take the game seriously. And that we actually are here to compete and we are here to try to win.   There's nothing wrong with that. And we're going to pursue excellence when we show up with our bodies, and we train for this sport and we're going to try to win. Cause I think sometimes we end up kind of going all or nothing, especially within our Christian circles.   We're uncomfortable with that. And it's like, yes, do that. And on the backside of that to do what that coach did is amazing.   It's that, that is, that is exactly what we're saying. We're also going to try to form our souls in the midst of this. We're going to try to win on the scoreboard.   Okay. The game's over, we lost, we won, whatever. There's more going on here than just that. And can we access that together? And again, that's so rare. Probably everybody listening has never even heard of anything like what you just said.   It would be amazing if a bunch of people did, but that's what we're saying. Let's do more of that. Let's find ways to have more of those conversations in our sphere of influence.   Maybe we're not the coach, but we can do that in our car. We can do that when we're at dinners with the other, with other players and other team, you know, we, we can do that. We can take that kind of initiative.   If we have those categories in our mind, instead of just being frustrated that my kid didn't get to play as much tonight. And I'm that bugs me. It's like, okay, it can bug you.   And now I gotta, I gotta be a big boy and get more out of this than just being frustrated that he or she didn't get to play as much. It's hard.   Laura Dugger: (51:40 - 52:11) Absolutely. Well, and like you guys are doing having Bible studies outside of the, the team that you can instill values in that way and share scripture that they're memorizing to go out there with excellence for the Lord. So, I love all of that.   And I've got just a few quick questions, just kind of for perspective. I want to draw out something from the book. Is it true that young athletic success predicts adult athletic success?   Brian Smith: (52:13 - 53:51) It is not true. This is, this is not a hot take. This is researched back more and more research they're doing on this.   And they're finding that there's not a direct correlation between a young elite athlete and them continuing that up into the right trajectory and being an elite athlete later in life in large part, because when puberty hits, like everything is a game changer. So, this is, I found this fascinating and this is probably going to be new to you too. This just came out today.   At the time we're doing this podcast, the winter Olympics is going on in Norway. It's just like, they're killing it. Nor Norway's youth sports system.   This is wild. They give participation trophies for all the kids. They don't keep score until 13 years old.   They don't do any national travel competitions, no posting youth sports results online. So, there's no online presence of youth sport results. And their country motto is joy of sport for all.   And they're, they're killing it right now in the Olympics. So, like, that's not to say, like you got to follow their model and then you're going to win all these gold medals, but it is, there is something to just let the kids have fun. And the longer they play sport, because it's fun, the better opportunity you're actually going to have to see them blossom and develop some of these God-given gifts that they might have.   Don't expect it to come out before they're 13. Even if it does, there's no guarantee that it's going to continue on until they're 23. Just let them have fun.   Ed Uszynski: (53:52 - 55:55) Brian, we, Brian and I got to speak at a church the other day about this topic. And there was a couple that came up afterwards and they asked the question of what, so when do you think we should let our kids play organized sports or structured sports? And so again, Brian and I are careful.   Like I, there's no, there's no one size fits all answer to that. We would suggest as late as possible, wait as long as possible. Because once you start doing structured sport where there's a coach and you have to be at practices and the games are structured and there's reps, it just cuts away all the possibility they have to just play and just to go up to the YMCA and just play for three hours at whatever it is that they like to do.   And they said, well, it's encouraging to hear that they said, because we, we actually are way more into just developing their bodies physically. And so, we do dance with them, and we do rock climbing and they were kind of outdoorsy people, and they just started listing off all these things they do because we want them to become strong in their bodies, and learn to love activity like that. And I just thought, again, that's, that probably would cause a lot of people to freak out to hear that, that they have eight, nine-year-olds that aren't on teams yet.   They're just, they're training their bodies to appreciate physicality and to become coordinated and to, you know, to get better at movement. And it's like, what sport is that not going to be super helpful in five years from now, even when they're 12, 13 years old. And now they really do want to play one sport, and they do want to be on a team.   They're going to be way ahead of the kids actually that just sat on benches or stood in the outfield, you know, day after day after day at practices. Again, that's maybe hard to hear, but maybe there's some adjustments that need to be made again; to give ourselves permission to say, we don't have to get on that train right now. You don't have to, your kid's not going to be behind.   They actually could be ahead. If you do the kinds of things we just talked about.   Laura Dugger: (55:56 - 56:11) I love that. And even that example with what it looks like played out with Norway and also, do you have any other quick tips just for instilling and cultivating a heart of gratitude and youth sports rather than entitlement?   Brian Smith: (56:13 - 57:33) I'm a high school cross country and track coach, and I have kids on my team who want to get faster at running, but instead of running, they want to lift weights and they want to do plier metrics. So, there's, yes, there's a spot for that. But the way you get better at running is to run.   You got to run more miles and more miles. And I think gratitude is similar. That gratitude, part of it is a, it's a feeling, but it's also a muscle that we can flex even if we don't feel it.   And so, I would encourage parents who are trying to instill gratitude into their kids to give them practical things like, hey, after practice, just go shake your coach's hand or give them a fist bump and tell them, thanks for practice today, coach. That that's a disciplined way to practice gratitude that will hopefully build the muscle where they're, they're using it later in life. After a game, I taught my kids this when they were young and they still do it today.   Go shake a ref's hand. I mentioned this earlier, just a really, really practical way to show thankfulness and gratitude to somebody who really doesn't get a whole lot of gratitude pointed at them during a game or after a game. If anything, they have people chasing them through the parking lot for other reasons.   I want my kids to be chasing them down to give them a fist bump or a high five. And so, gratitude is something that we can just practice practically. And hopefully the discipline practice will lead to a delight and actually doing it.   Ed Uszynski: (57:34 - 59:39) And how do we cultivate an inner posture? Cause I tend to be a cup half empty type person. I'm a, I'm a whiner by nature and a continuous improvement.   There's always something wrong. And I'm, it's easy for me to find those things just as a person. I'm not even saying that as a dad or a coach or anything.   And it's been super helpful to me in the last decade, even to just like, I can choose to shift that. There, there is, there's a list of things that are broke, but there is always a list of things that are good. There's always something good here to be found.   And even as I've tried to like, again, tip the scales more in that direction, I can keep pushing that out of my kids. So, so this, you know, my ninth-grade son tends to just like, he doesn't like a whole bunch of what's going on in basketball right now. So, I keep asking him if he's having fun.   He says, no, like, why not? Or like, who did, why did you not have fun today? So, it's just the same thing every day.   I'm like, okay, who did you enjoy even being with today? Nobody. And I'm like, dude, I don't believe that actually.   I just, I don't believe that. There was somebody that you had some moment with today that you enjoyed, or you wouldn't want to keep going back up there because, and he does. So, give me a name.   Okay. Lenny. What happened with Lenny that was fun? And I make him name it. Like I'm, I'm, I'm trying to coach him through it. And sure enough, he does have some sentences of what was fun today.   And it's like, good, let's, let's at least hold onto that in the midst of all the other stuff that's not right. Let's choose to see the thing that was good and that you enjoyed and that we could be thankful for. Not everybody got to have that today.   Again, I have to have my, I have to be the parent. I have to be the discipler. I have to be in, you know, in charge of my own soul that wants to be negative all the time and say, nope, we're going to, we're going to choose gratitude today because the Bible tells us to do that.   There's something about that posture that opens the door for the gospel to be expressed through us. So, let's practice.   Laura Dugger: (59:40 - 59:50) Well said, and there's so much we could continue learning from both of you. Where can we go after this chat to learn more from each one of you?   Brian Smith: (59:52 - 1:00:14) Yeah, we do a lot of our writing online at thechristianathlete.com. And so, if you go there, you can see articles that are specifically written for parents, for coaches, for athletes, all around this idea of what does it look like to integrate faith and sport together? So, the

Baptism is considered THE entrance to Christian faith -- but Christians vary widely in practice and belief on what baptism does, who it is for, and why we do it. So for part 10 of 12 on “What is the Nicene Creed?” we unpack this lines:"We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins."So we wade into the muddy waters of the River Jordan to ask: what is sin, what does it mean to be forgiven, and how does this apply when some people are literally infants when they are baptized? What does God do when we are baptized? And why is this significant that it only happens once? +++Like what you hear? We are an entirely crowd-sourced, you-funded project. SUPPORT US ON PATREON: https://www.patreon.com/AndAlsoWithYouPodcastThere's all kinds of perks including un-aired live episodes, Zoom retreats, and mailbag episodes for our Patreons!+++Our Website: https://andalsowithyoupod.comOur Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andalsowithyoupodcast/++++MERCH: https://www.bonfire.com/store/and-also-with-you-the-podcast/++++More about Father Lizzie:BOOK: https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/762683/god-didnt-make-us-to-hate-us-by-rev-lizzie-mcmanus-dail/RevLizzie.comhttps://www.instagram.com/rev.lizzie/https://www.tiktok.com/@rev.lizzieJubilee Episcopal Church in Austin, TX - JubileeATX.org ++++More about Mother Laura:https://www.instagram.com/laura.peaches/https://www.tiktok.com/@mother_peachesSt. Paul's Episcopal Church in Pittsburgh, PA++++Theme music:"On Our Own Again" by Blue Dot Sessions (www.sessions.blue).New episodes drop Mondays at 7am EST/6am CST! 

This is a bit of an unusual conversation for Theology on Air, but it is especially relevant. America is living through - whether they like it or not - an economic shift away from "Free Trade" dogma towards "Fair Trade" dogma. Think of something like tariffs for fair trade and a desire for the lowest price for consumers in the free trade camp. Both ideas have their merit and both have been debated since the founding of America. But which is right? Thanks to Ken Cowan and Brian Lantz for debating this important topic!

In this Black History Month conversation, Latasha Morrison and Dr. Vincent Bacote explore the role of the Black Church in American Christianity. They discuss the contextualization of theology, the importance of understanding race and ethnicity, and the challenges faced by the evangelical identity. Dr. Bacote emphasizes the need for diverse voices in theology and the moral voice of the Black Church in society. The conversation also touches on the theological vacuums present in the evangelical church and offers hope through the resilience of Black evangelicals.Join in the conversation on our social media pages on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠LinkedIn⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ to let us know your thoughts on this episode!Executive Producer - Latasha MorrisonProducer  & Editor - Sarah ConnatserMusic from "Bridge" by Ellie Holcomb, used by permissionLinks:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Become a Recurring Donor of Be the Bridge⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Be the Bridge:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Our Website⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠BTB YouTube⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Join the online community BTB Connect⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Connect with Dr. Vincent Bacote:WebsiteNot all views expressed in this interview reflect the values and beliefs of Latasha Morrison or the Be the Bridge organization.

On the first day of each month, we release Grace & Knowledge, a more in-depth article from Paul that allows him to expand on biblical truths beyond his weekly Wednesday's Word.Our prayer is that this resource helps you “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:18).In this month's Grace & Knowledge, Paul teaches that parenting, and every relationship, is transformed when we remember our own need for God's mercy and extend that same compassion to others.

Several times in the Bible, we read that what is impossible for man is possible for God. What does this mean in various settings? Is making the impossible possible a matter of faith? Character? God's power? What might be dangerous about the possibility for humans? How can we understand and fully live within the boundaries of the possible while stretching to experience God's power in the impossible?Receive When life feels uncertain, it helps to remember who God truly is and that the Bible says repeatedly that nothing is too hard for God. But... the Scriptures also tell us there are things God cannot do—He cannot do evil, He cannot lie, and He cannot be overcome by death. That means His character is completely trustworthy. When we face fear, confusion, or disappointment, we can rely on His goodness, believe His promises, and trust that nothing—not even death—has the final word. Reflect Read the verses connected with this episode below. As you reflect on the Scripture, what stands out to you? Job 34:10, 12 Hebrews 6:18-19 John 12:24 Psalm 18:3-5 Psalm 16:9-10 Acts 3:15 Jeremiah 32:37 Genesis 18:14 Matthew 19:16-30 Genesis 11:1-9 Matthew 17:20 Hebrews 11:6 Job 34:10 says that it's impossible for God to do evil. How does this encourage you in your daily walk with Him? Hebrews 6:18 says that it's impossible for God to lie. How can this help you trust Him more? Acts 2:24 says that it's impossible for Jesus to die. How does this give you hope for your own rebirth with Him? Respond (Use this prayer to start a conversation with God) “Thank You Jesus that some things are impossible for You. Because You cannot do evil, cannot lie, and cannot be bound by death—let that help me trust You even more and encourage me to walk closer with You.”  Discover more about the topics in this episode with these recommended resources Mentioned in this episode: Our Daily Bread Reading Plans  Listen: God of Hope  Seemingly Impossible Commands | Week 1  Seemingly Impossible Commands | Week 2  Read: Facing The Impossible The Love of God: An Intimate Look at the Father-Heart of God Watch: The Mysterious Prophecy of Isaiah 53  The Holy Land: Connecting the Land with Its Stories  

Special thanks to Undeceptions Season 16 major sponsor Zondervan Academic. A popular myth is that when the Roman Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity, he forced everyone else to embrace the faith - or else face deadly consequences.But this couldn't be further from the truth.It was under Constantine that the very modern-sounding ideas of freedom of religion and “justice for all” were first instituted.These were revolutionary ideals, and they came from a very smart, learned Christian in the Emperor's inner circle.FOR FULL SHOW NOTES - https://undeceptions.com/podcast/against-coercion/(00:00) - - One of history's great persuaders (07:50) - - Persecution and the Crisis of the Third Century (11:25) - - Christianity and Neoplatonism (19:17) - - Lactantius: The Christian Cicero (32:34) - - Lactantius and Constantine (40:50) - - Constantine and religious tolerance (49:30) - - Arguing Christian ethics from pagan philosophy (53:05) - - Freedom of religion and Thomas Jefferson (57:48) - - Lactantius and justice (01:09:09) - - Five Minute Jesus (01:13:38) - - Lactantius' legacy CREDITSUndeceptions is hosted by John Dickson, produced by Kaley Payne and directed by Mark Hadley. Alasdair Belling is a writer-researcher.Siobhan McGuiness is our online librarian. Lyndie Leviston remains John's wonderful assistant.  Santino Dimarco is Chief Finance and Operations Consultant. Peter Kozushko is our North American representative and a point of contact for church pastors interested in engaging with our work here at Undeceptions.  Editing by Richard Hamwi.Our voice actors today were Yannick Lawry and Dakotah Love. Special thanks to our series sponsor Zondervan for making this Undeception possible. Undeceptions is the flagship podcast of Undeceptions.com - letting the truth out. Undeceptions sponsors: Zondervan AcademicAnglican AidSelah Travel 

Trump Promised No More Wars—Now America Is Fighting Iran

On this Second Sunday of Lent, Coffee to Go journeys into Gospel of John 3:1–17 and the midnight questions of Nicodemus. What does it really mean to be “born from above”—and why are we so desperate for clear, concrete answers? Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith explore the tension between certainty and trust, grace and effort, and the radical claim that God's love is for the whole world—not just the “right” believers. Instead of clinging to John 3:16 as a simple formula, they invite us to linger with John 3:17 and its promise of a love that refuses to condemn. It's an honest, hope-filled conversation about walking a Spirit-led path—even when there are no road signs. Listen to more episodes in the Coffee to Go series. Download the Transcript. Thanks for listening to Faith Unfiltered!Follow us on Facebook and Instagram!Intro and Outro music used with permission: “For Everyone Born,” Community of Christ Sings #285. Music © 2006 Brian Mann, admin. General Board of Global Ministries t/a GBGMusik, 458 Ponce de Leon Avenue, Atlanta, GA 30308. copyright@umcmission.org “The Trees of the Field,” Community of Christ Sings # 645, Music © 1975 Stuart Dauerman, Lillenas Publishing Company (admin. Music Services). All music for this episode was performed by Dr. Jan Kraybill, and produced by Chad Godfrey. NOTE: The series that make up Faith Unfiltered explore the unique spiritual and theological gifts Community of Christ offers for today's world. Although Faith Unfiltered is a Ministry of Community of Christ. The views and opinions expressed in this episode are those speaking and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Community of Christ.

WHO'S IN CHARGE? PART ONE. We asked Dr. Christa L. McKirland who is Dean of Faculty and Lecturer in Systematic Theology at Carey Baptist College. Her books include "A Theology of Authority: Rethinking Leadership in the Church" (2025) and "God's Provision, Humanity's Need: The Gift of our Dependence" (2022). Born in Atlanta, Georgia, USA, she currently lives in Aotearoa, New Zealand with her husband, Matthew, and their two children. The Tru316 Foundation (www.Tru316.com) is the home of The Eden Podcast with Bruce C. E. Fleming where we “true” the verse of Genesis 3:16. The Tru316 Message is that “God didn't curse Eve (or Adam) or limit woman in any way.” Once Genesis 3:16 is made clear the other passages on women and men become clear too. You are encouraged to access the episodes of Seasons 1-11 of The Eden Podcast for teaching on the seven key passages on women and men. Are you a reader? We invite you to get from Amazon the four books by Bruce C. E. Fleming in The Eden Book Series (Tru316.com/trubooks). Would you like to support the work of the Tru316 Foundation? You can become a Tru Partner here: www.Tru316.com/partner

Jesus both subverts and fulfills our expectations.To be human is to have expectations about how we hope life to go. Even John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Messiah, has expectations about who Jesus is and what he should do. In this sermon, we explore how Jesus both subverts and fulfills our expectations, and why that is good news.

Send a text****Read the Bible in a Year with me in 2026 right here on the podcast!***Bible Verses of the Week: Week 10-Psalm 19:7-9Welcome to the podcast Move Forth With Grace!  We will be reading the entire Bible in a year.  This is such a perfect way to get into God's Word each day and to develop your own relationship with God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ. I am your host Angela and want to first of all say that I am not an expert in Theology or Church History or a Minister and I never will claim to be.  I am a  wife and mother who has been reborn and want to be of service to God in gratitude for calling me back home. Welcome to the Podcast! The Bible that I will be reading from is the McArthur Daily Bible.  It is a New American Standard Bible.Thank you for being here....thank you for becoming less like you and more like Jesus.May you Move Forth with Grace today!Love, Angela Connect with me on social media or send a prayer request to me on my website here:https://campsite.bio/moveforthBible Teachers that I recommend:Mike Winger on https://biblethinker.org/meet-mike/John McArthur on https://www.gty.orgDr. Chuck Missler on www.khouse.orgNancy Missler on www.kingshighway.orgDale Partridge on www.relearn.orgChuck Smith on http://www.pastorchuck.org/RC Sproul Eschatology Playlist:https://youtu.be/n22MRa0P6_I?si=Aw53nQLSteu6T3-ASupport the show

In Friday Night Live on the 27th of February 2026, philosopher Stefan Molyneux examines the escalating tensions in the Middle East, sharply criticizing the role American evangelicals play in pushing for war. He looks at Iran's nuclear program through a theological perspective, questioning the deeper beliefs driving these conflicts. When callers bring up personal struggles, he guides them toward self-empowerment and clear thinking, especially when dealing with manipulative or abusive situations. With his characteristic blend of humor and direct insight, he urges honest self-examination while cutting into the moral and political complexities of the day.GET FREEDOMAIN MERCH! https://shop.freedomain.com/SUBSCRIBE TO ME ON X! https://x.com/StefanMolyneuxFollow me on Youtube! https://www.youtube.com/@freedomain1GET MY NEW BOOK 'PEACEFUL PARENTING', THE INTERACTIVE PEACEFUL PARENTING AI, AND THE FULL AUDIOBOOK!https://peacefulparenting.com/Join the PREMIUM philosophy community on the web for free!Subscribers get 12 HOURS on the "Truth About the French Revolution," multiple interactive multi-lingual philosophy AIs trained on thousands of hours of my material - as well as AIs for Real-Time Relationships, Bitcoin, Peaceful Parenting, and Call-In Shows!You also receive private livestreams, HUNDREDS of exclusive premium shows, early release podcasts, the 22 Part History of Philosophers series and much more!See you soon!https://freedomain.locals.com/support/promo/UPB2025

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Saturday of the First Week of Lent by Mr. Clement Harrold. Lenten Weekday First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8 Verse Before the Gospel: Second Corinthians 6: 2b Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com Join Dr. Shane Owens—Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University—together with Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. John Bergsma, Megan Hjelmstad, and Emily Stimpson Chapman for our Lent Bible Across America study. Sign up to join the movement today at www.stpaulcenter.com/lent

The Christian life is nothing other than a daily Baptism. Baptism does not just happen to us; by it, the Lord transforms us by death and resurrection (Romans 6:3-4). We walk in our Baptism each day by living in repentance and the gracious forgiveness found in Christ. The Lord enables our faith to flourish as we mortify the flesh (Romans 8:13), turning to Him and trusting that His forgiveness in Christ is ours. “God's own child I gladly say it, I am baptized into Christ.” (LSB 594, st. 1) Rev. Daniel Lewis, Assistant Professor of Theology, Concordia University, Seward, NE, joins Rev. Brady Finnern to conclude our study of Baptism as confessed in the Large Catechism. Find your copy of the Book of Concord - Concordia Reader's Edition at cph.org or read online at bookofconcord.org. Study the Lutheran Confession of Faith found in the Book of Concord with lively discussions led by host Rev. Brady Finnern, President of the LCMS Minnesota North District, and guest LCMS pastors. Join us as these Christ-confessing Concordians read through and discuss our Lutheran doctrine in the Book of Concord in order to gain a deeper understanding of our Lutheran faith and practical application for our vocations. Submit comments or questions to: listener@kfuo.org. 

Send a text****Read the Bible in a Year with me in 2026 right here on the podcast!***Bible Verses of the Week: Week 9-1 Timothy 3:16Welcome to the podcast Move Forth With Grace!  We will be reading the entire Bible in a year.  This is such a perfect way to get into God's Word each day and to develop your own relationship with God our Father through His Son Jesus Christ. I am your host Angela and want to first of all say that I am not an expert in Theology or Church History or a Minister and I never will claim to be.  I am a  wife and mother who has been reborn and want to be of service to God in gratitude for calling me back home. Welcome to the Podcast! The Bible that I will be reading from is the McArthur Daily Bible.  It is a New American Standard Bible.Thank you for being here....thank you for becoming less like you and more like Jesus.May you Move Forth with Grace today!Love, Angela Connect with me on social media or send a prayer request to me on my website here:https://campsite.bio/moveforthBible Teachers that I recommend:Mike Winger on https://biblethinker.org/meet-mike/John McArthur on https://www.gty.orgDr. Chuck Missler on www.khouse.orgNancy Missler on www.kingshighway.orgDale Partridge on www.relearn.orgChuck Smith on http://www.pastorchuck.org/RC Sproul Eschatology Playlist:https://youtu.be/n22MRa0P6_I?si=Aw53nQLSteu6T3-ASupport the show

Trying to cram some theology into 5 minutes or so. Please consider donating to help keep this podcast going by going to buymeacoffee.com/catholicdailybrief Also, if you enjoy these episodes, please give a five star rating and share the podcast with your friends and family

Welcome to Episode 262 of The Burning Bush Podcast, where we share the message of the Bible while enjoying a good cigar. In this episode we're reading the New Testament book of Galatians Chapter 2 with commentary from the notes in the Charles Spurgeon Study Bible, and I'm smoking the StillWell Star Bayou No. 32 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Toro 6x52.Charles Spurgeon Study Bible: https://csbspurgeonstudybible.csbible.com/StillWell Star Bayou No. 32 by Dunbarton Tobacco & Trust Toro 6x52: https://www.dunbartoncigars.com/marca/stillwell-star/Listen and subscribe at: https://www.theburningbushpodcast.comYouTube: https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL2xuUIvnTwNsmlHN2fxlidI6Zhgt-GPB7&si=t0IqlNyWtCYOiSwHRumble: https://rumble.com/user/SteveMcHenryEmail: steve@theburningbushpodcast.com#TheBurningBush #Podcast #Scripture #Theology #Jesus #Bible #Christian #GroundworksMinistries #Cigars #BOTL #SOTL #HolySmokes #TreatsNTruth #LogosBibleSoftware #CharlesSpurgeon #SpurgeonStyle #DunbartonTobaccoAndTrust #DTTCigars #SteveSaka #Sakasquatch #StillWellStar #StillWell #StillWellCigarsSUPPORT THE SHOW & OUR PARTNERSCash App - http://cash.app/$StevenJMcHenryVenmo - https://www.venmo.com/u/Steve-McHenry-3Paypal - http://paypal.me/SteveMcHenrySend me a Text MessageGroundworks MinistriesPromoting the "chapter-a-day" reading of God's Word.Treats-N-Truth MinistryHelping those in need through the love & grace of God.The Burning Bush Merchandise StoreGet your Burning Bush Podcast swag here!Logos Bible SoftwareA digital library and Bible study platform for in-depth study, sermon prep, and academic research.Instacart - Groceries delivered in as little as 1 hour.Free delivery on your first order over $35.Buzzsprout - Let's get your podcast launched!Start for FREEDisclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the show

The Law of God and the Christian Life (Lesson 2)

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Saturday of the First Week of Lent by Mr. Clement Harrold. Lenten Weekday First Reading: Deuteronomy 26: 16-19 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 119: 1-2, 4-5, 7-8 Verse Before the Gospel: Second Corinthians 6: 2b Gospel: Matthew 5: 43-48   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com Join Dr. Shane Owens—Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University—together with Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. John Bergsma, Megan Hjelmstad, and Emily Stimpson Chapman for our Lent Bible Across America study. Sign up to join the movement today at www.stpaulcenter.com/lent

This is The Briefing, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.On today’s edition of The Briefing, Dr. Mohler discusses the generation that may never marry, children and Christian joy, and he answers questions about designing missiles as a Christian, if girls should participate in wrestling as a sport, and if children bear responsibility for what they believe.Part I (00:14 – 07:37)A Dark Dating Reality: Younger Generations May Never Even Marry – This is CatastrophicThe generation that may never marry by The Spectator (Aria Schrecker)Part II (07:37 – 13:44)Having Children Won't Make You Happy? Secularists are Worried About Your Happiness, but the Christian Worldview is More Concerned About JoyThink having children will make you happier? Think again by The Telegraph (Eir Nolsøe)Part III (13:44 – 17:56)Is Designing Missiles Contrary to My Christian Faith? — Dr. Mohler Responds to a Letter From a 19-Year-Old Listener of The BriefingPart IV (17:56 – 21:03)Should My Daughter Participate in Wrestling as a Sport? — Dr. Mohler Responds to Letters From Listeners of The BriefingPart V (21:03 – 26:38)Do Children Bear Moral Responsibility For What They Believe? — Dr. Mohler Responds to a Letter From a 16-Year-Old Listener of The BriefingSign up to receive The Briefing in your inbox every weekday morning.Follow Dr. Mohler:X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTubeFor more information on The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, go to sbts.edu.For more information on Boyce College, just go to BoyceCollege.com.To write Dr. Mohler or submit a question for The Mailbox, go here.

AI Date Cafe: A New York City cafe is offering "tables for one" designed for people to take their AI chatbots on public dates, prompting a discussion on isolation and the value of messy, real-life relationships.The Toddler Skincare Trend: Major brands are now marketing multi-step skincare routines to toddlers and elementary-aged children, raising concerns about the early onset of vanity and appearance-based anxiety. Shifting Gender Narratives: Scott and Sean examine a recent New York Times piece criticizing medical organizations for prioritizing ideology over scientific rigor regarding youth gender-affirming care. The Iran Protests: A heartbreaking report from 40 doctors details the brutal massacre of protesters in Iran, underscoring the reality of evil and the desperate need for human rights. Listener Question: Creeds in Modern Worship: In response to a listener question, Sean and Scott discuss the value of reciting ancient Christian creeds in modern church settings to ground congregations in a historical ancient faith. Listener Question: Navigating Tenant Relationships: A landlord asks for guidance on selecting tenants who align with their preference for a nuclear family environment as well as help thinking Biblically about having transgender tenants.Listener Question: Leaving a "Quiet" Church: A listener seeks advice as they wrestle with leaving a church that stays quiet on cultural issues to become a cultural apologist themselves.==========Think Biblically: Conversations on Faith and Culture is a podcast from Talbot School of Theology at Biola University, which offers degrees both online and on campus in Southern California. Find all episodes of Think Biblically at: https://www.biola.edu/think-biblically. To submit comments, ask questions, or make suggestions on issues you'd like us to cover or guests you'd like us to have on the podcast, email us at thinkbiblically@biola.edu.

Welcome to Ask Paul Tripp, a weekly podcast from Paul Tripp Ministries where pastor and best-selling author Dr. Paul David Tripp answers your questions, connecting the transforming power of Jesus Christ to everyday life.This week, Paul kicks off a special series of archive episodes by addressing two important marriage questions: what it truly means for a husband and wife to become “one flesh,” and how to lovingly encourage your spouse when they are struggling with sin.If you have a question you'd like to ask Paul, you can email ask@paultripp.com or submit it online at PaulTripp.com/Ask.Marriage: 6 Gospel Commitments Every Couple Needs To MakePaulTripp.com/MarriageOther Helpful Resources:PaulTripp.com/Store

How often do we think about disgust? Yet it shapes our choices, relationships, and even our faith every day in ways we rarely notice.  In this episode of the Allender Center Podcast, Dr. Paul Hoard and Billie Hoard discuss their new book, "Eucontamination: Disgust Theology and the Christian Life," exploring how this powerful, often overlooked force influences us. Drawing from theology and psychology, they examine how disgust—originally designed to protect us—can become a tool for exclusion when applied to people rather than pathogens. From purity culture to nationalism to everyday relational divides, they consider how "contamination logic" forms the world around us. But the heart of their work is hopeful: Jesus doesn't abolish disgust—he inverts it. In Christ, holiness is not fragile. Love is stronger than sin. What looks contaminating does not defile him; instead, his presence transforms from within. This conversation invites us to reflect on where disgust may be shaping our reactions, relationships, and theology—and to imagine a discipleship formed by more courageous, more transformative love. About the Allender Center Podcast: For over a decade, the Allender Center Podcast has offered honest, thoughtful conversations about the deep work of healing and transformation. Hosted by Dr. Dan Allender and Rachael Clinton Chen, MDiv, this weekly podcast explores the complexities of trauma, abuse recovery, story, relationships, and spiritual formation. Through questions submitted by listeners, stories, interviews, and conversations, we engage the deep places of heartache and hope that are rarely addressed so candidly in our culture today. Join the Allender Center Podcast to uncover meaningful perspectives and support for your path to healing and growth. At the Allender Center, we value thoughtful dialogue across a wide range of voices, stories, and lived experiences. In that spirit, our podcast features guests and hosts who may hold differing perspectives. The perspectives shared on this podcast by guests and hosts reflect their own experiences and viewpoints and do not necessarily represent the views, positions, or endorsements of the Allender Center and/or The Seattle School of Theology & Psychology. Stream each episode, plus find transcripts, additional resources, and more at: theallendercenter.org/podcast To become a supporter of the Allender Center Podcast, visit: https://theallendercenter.org/2025/11/podcast-support/  

The St. Paul Center's daily scripture reflections from the Mass for Friday of the First Week of Lent by Dr. John Bergsma. Lenten Weekday. Day of Abstinence from Meat (age 14 and up) First Reading: Ezekiel 18: 21-28 Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 130: 1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8 Verse Before the Gospel: Ezekiel 18: 31 Gospel: Matthew 5: 20-26   Learn more about the Mass at www.stpaulcenter.com Join Dr. Shane Owens—Associate Professor of Theology at Franciscan University—together with Fr. Dave Pivonka, Dr. John Bergsma, Megan Hjelmstad, and Emily Stimpson Chapman for our Lent Bible Across America study. Sign up to join the movement today at www.stpaulcenter.com/lent

Welcome to Remedial Theology: Mattie Mae and Meghan Take TheoBros Back 2 School. The TheoBros have been loud, confident, and very wrong—and Mattie Mae and Meghan are handing out syllabi. In this episode, we take on Mark, who argues that socialism is "anti-God" with extremely thin scriptural grounding. Class is in session. Egos will be bruised. Homework is mandatory.

Nate speaks with author and Willard scholar Keas Keasler about the enduring helpfulness of Dallas Willard's life and work.

Welcome back to the "Compared to Who?" podcast! In today’s episode, host Heather Creekmore continues the Waiting for Weight Loss series, taking us through the third "exhale": Establishing Your Purpose. Episode Highlights: Heather Creekmore gets real about her longtime struggle with believing that she needed to “fix” her body before stepping into her God-given purpose. She addresses the misconception that physical appearance is necessary for spiritual effectiveness, referencing Biblical truths and reflecting on Jesus’ own earthly life. Do you ever feel like your body is an accident or a barrier to God’s plans? Heather dives deep into the theological roots of these beliefs and encourages listeners to release them. Discover why God intentionally created your body for HIS purposes—not your goal weight, not your own timeline—and how the idea of stewardship is often misunderstood. Real talk about shifting your focus: from waiting for weight loss to living out your calling, right now. Listen for practical encouragement: Heather leads a breathing exercise to help you exhale the pressure and inhale purpose. Key Takeaways: God’s purpose for your life is not on hold until you hit a certain weight or achieve a certain look. Your body was intentionally crafted, and you can embrace your calling today. Stewardship of your body matters, but it shouldn’t overshadow all other gifts and stewardship principles—in fact, there’s no direct Biblical command to be a “good steward” of your body above all else. The more you step into your purpose and gifting, the more you’ll find peace with your body image. Join the Community! What stood out to you in today’s episode? Has waiting for weight loss ever made you put off something God is asking you to do? Share your story and join the conversation with others who are also letting go of the wait. Visit waitingforweightloss.com and become part of our supportive community today! Thanks for listening! Don’t forget to subscribe, and leave your feedback on the episode—we’d love to hear from you. Discover more Christian podcasts at lifeaudio.com and inquire about advertising opportunities at lifeaudio.com/contact-us.

A Catholic archbishop has declared that attending certain Latin Masses could result in automatic excommunication. In the Archdiocese of Maceió, Brazil, the Traditional Latin Mass is now restricted to a single approved location. According to the archbishop, attending or celebrating the Latin Mass elsewhere constitutes a “public act of schism,” which carries the most severe […]

This episode is part of the Restoration Theology class. What’s the difference between reading the Bible and studying it? Reading the Bible is like surfing on the waves, following the general flow of thought as you go. Studying the Bible is more like swimming underwater, perhaps with scuba gear to enable you to investigate matters thoroughly. Today we’re doing the second one. You’re going to learn how to interpret a biblical text in its literary context using the grammatical-historical hermeneutic. This includes learning about genre, scriptural additives, context, and intertextuality. Our goal is to understand the authorial intent of a scripture so that you interpret it accurately.   Listen on Spotify   Listen on Apple Podcasts —— Links —— Check out the other episodes of the Restoration Theology class Support Restitutio by donating here Join our Facebook group, follow on X @RestitutioSF or Instagram @Sean.P.Finnegan Leave a 90 second voice message via SpeakPipe with questions or comments and we may play it out on the air Who is Sean Finnegan?  Read his bio here Get Finnegan’s book, Kingdom Journey to learn about God’s kingdom coming on earth as well as the story of how Christianity lost this pearl of great price. Get the transcript of this episode Intro music: Good Vibes by MBB Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported (CC BY-SA 3.0) Free Download / Stream: Music promoted by Audio Library.

Far from being an obscure doctrine, the Trinity is the source of all the grace and delight of the gospel. Today, Michael Reeves explains how knowing God as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit enriches our understanding of redemption. Request Michael Reeves' book Delighting in the Trinity with your donation: https://gift.renewingyourmind.org/   Live outside the U.S. and Canada? Request Dr. Reeves' digital teaching series The Fear of the Lord with your donation: https://www.renewingyourmind.org/global Register today for Ligonier's 2026 National Conference, Crucial Questions: https://www.ligonier.org/2026   Meet Today's Teacher:   Michael Reeves is a Ligonier Ministries teaching fellow, and president and professor of theology at Union School of Theology in Wales.   Meet the Host:   Nathan W. Bingham is vice president of media for Ligonier Ministries, executive producer and host of Renewing Your Mind, and host of the Ask Ligonier podcast. Renewing Your Mind is a donor-supported outreach of Ligonier Ministries. Explore all of our podcasts: https://www.ligonier.org/podcasts

Our emotions are God-given signals designed to guide us toward greater self-reflection, self-awareness, and spiritual growth. But how do we learn to manage our feelings instead of letting them control us?In this episode, you'll learn:How to maintain emotional health, whether you tend to suppress your emotions or feel them intensely.Practical strategies for staying emotionally regulated as a parent.How relationships contribute to our emotional well-being — for better or worse — and how to improve this.Links and Resources We Mention in This Episode:We're grateful to the American Association of Christian Counselors for being a yearlong sponsor of Therapy & Theology. Click here to apply for their Youth Mental Health Coach program — a biblically grounded, clinically excellent training to help you support youth facing today's most common mental health challenges. Go to Compassion.com/Lysa to join us in sponsoring a child through Compassion International today.Subscribe here to receive new Therapy & Theology episodes straight to your inbox.Want a chance to be featured on Listener Mail? Leave Lysa, Jim, or Joel a message or a question right here.If you'd like to give a gift today so Therapy & Theology can reach even more women in their desperate moments, go to proverbs31.org/givenow.Click here to download a transcript of this episode.

Join the Theology in the Raw Patreon community to get access to our "extra innings" raw conversation on the pronoun debate.Dr. Tim Muehlhoff (Ph.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a Professor of Communication at Biola University and the Senior Director of Biola's Winsome Conviction Academy that seeks to reintroduce compassion and civility into our disagreements. He's the co-host of the Winsome Conviction Podcast where people with differing viewpoints are brought on for engaging dialogue and has written extensively in the area of cultural engagement and conflict including I Beg to Differ, Winsome Persuasion, Winsome Conviction, and his newest book (co-written with Sean McDowell) is End the Stalemate: Move Past Cancel Culture to Meaningful Conversations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.