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Thursday, June 11th, 2026 Today, inflation spikes to 4.2% as oil prices climb; Maine, South Carolina and Nevada held their state primary elections; the government admits it lied about events at Cities Church in a new filing in the criminal case against Don Lemon and other journalists, a judge refused to issue a restraining order against the $1.8B Slush Fund but gave a stern warning to Justice Department lawyers; the Justice Department's bid to get the courts to release certain Epstein files was a ruse after all; and Allison delivers your Good News. Thank You, Helix 20% Off Sitewide when you go to HelixSleep.com/dailybeans Thank You, Fast Growing Trees Get 20% off your first purchase FastGrowingTrees.com/dailybeans The Latest Breakdown:Trump DOJ CORNERED by Judge in Jan 6 Cover-Up | The Breakdown Stories5 takeaways from the latest midterm primaries, with Platner's win and mixed results for Trump support | PBS News Inside Trump's White House, the Epstein Files Caused a Freakout | The New York Times Inflation jumps to 4.2%, the highest since early 2023 | NBC News Don Lemon seeks grand jury transcripts in Minnesota civil rights case, citing misconduct | AP News Good Trouble APA Services defends psychological science amidst NSF upheaval →Noah Caldwell-Gervais - YouTube is doing a 12hr Livestream June 13 → https://riseupsingout.com and http://nokings.org →Triumphal Arch - Section 106 Assessment of Effect and Draft Programmatic Agreement →Regulation for Federal Financial Assistance - Open For Comments →The Forest Service is accepting public comments until June 7th →Form WTAF-8647 →Recall Gov. Jeff Landry - Louisianadeservesbetter.com →STOP the deportation of Mohsen Mahdawi - Action Network →detentionwatchnetwork.org →FieldTeam6.org →Standwithminnesota.com →Tell Congress Ice out Now | Indivisible, Defund ICE | 5Calls →Congress: Divest From ICE and CBP | ACLU →ICE List →iceout.org Good NewsDemocrat Annie Andrews to face off against Sen. Lindsey Graham in South Carolina, CBS News projects Indivisible How to build a pollinator garden | U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service →Share your Good News & Good Trouble - The Daily Beans →Beans Talk audio -beans-talk.simplecast.com →Email Dana LGBTQ Owned eating establishments in your area - hello@mswmedia.com Subject: “Dana's Project” Subscribe to the MSW YouTube Channel - MSW Media - YouTube Harry Dunn is running for CongressHarry Dunn for Maryland Our Donation Links Blue Wave California - bluewavecalifornia.org/concert Donate to Public Citizen - https://citizen.org/beans/ The Daily Beans is donating $10,000 and invites you to give what you can to support their life-affirming work - Donate to It Gets Better / The Daily Beans Fundraiser Pathways to Citizenship link to MATCH Allison's Donationhttps://crm.bloomerang.co/HostedDonation?ApiKey=pub_86ff5236-dd26-11ec-b5ee-066e3d38bc77&WidgetId=6388736 Join Dana and The Daily Beans in support of Human Rights Campaign http://onecau.se/_ekes71 More Donation LinksNational Security Counselors - Donate, ActBlue.com/donate/msw-bwc, WhistleblowerAid.org/beans Dr. Allison Gill - The Breakdown | Allison Gill, Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com - Bluesky, MSW & The Daily Beans Podcast @muellershewrote - Instagram, MSW Media - YouTube →Federal workers - email AG at fedoath@pm.me and let me know what you're going to do, or just vent. I'm always here to listen. Dana Goldberg - Dana is on Patreon! At Dana's Dugout, @dgcomedy - Bluesky, @dgcomedy - IG, Dana Goldberg - Facebook, DanaGoldberg.com More from MSW Media - Shows - MSW Media, Cleanup On Aisle 45 pod, The Breakdown | Allison Gill Reminder - you can see the pod pics if you become a Patron. The good news pics are at the bottom of the show notes of each Patreon episode! That's just one of the perks of subscribing! patreon.com/muellershewrote Listener Survey:http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=shortFollow the Podcast on Apple:https://apple.co/3XNx7ckWant to support the show and get it ad-free and early?https://patreon.com/thedailybeanshttps://dailybeans.supercast.com/https://apple.co/3UKzKt0 Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Visit Crossmap.com — your trusted source for inspiration and life-changing stories from people of faith.Top headlines for Wednesday, June 10, 2026Florida pastor Willy Rice is elected president of the Southern Baptist Convention, outgoing SBC chief Clint Pressley urges Baptists to “hate pride,” and Cities Church pastor Jonathan Parnell opens the SBC annual meeting in prayer months after anti-ICE protesters disrupted worship at his church. Plus, a Texas jury convicts Karmelo Anthony in the stabbing death of Austin Metcalf, a brutal knife attack in Belfast sparks renewed debate over immigration in the U.K., Bill Maher says late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk “wasn't a monster,” and British YouTuber Joe Weller says he has become a Christian after hitting rock bottom.00:11 Willy Rice elected Southern Baptist Convention president01:03 Karmelo Anthony convicted of murder in death of Austin Metcalf01:49 Cities Church pastor gives prayer at SBC Annual Meeting02:41 British MP warns of 'uncontrolled' migration after Belfast attack03:30 Clint Pressley says Southern Baptists must ‘learn to hate pride'04:21 Bill Maher defends Charlie Kirk: 'Wasn't a monster'05:05 Joe Weller says he's found Jesus after hitting rock bottomSubscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercastFollow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTubeGet the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for AndroidSubscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!Links to the NewsWilly Rice elected Southern Baptist Convention president | Church & MinistriesKarmelo Anthony convicted of murder in death of Austin Metcalf | U.S.Cities Church pastor gives prayer at SBC Annual Meeting | Church & MinistriesBritish MP warns of 'uncontrolled' migration after Belfast attack | WorldClint Pressley says Southern Baptists must ‘learn to hate pride' | Church & MinistriesBill Maher defends Charlie Kirk: 'Wasn't a monster' | PodcastJoe Weller says he's found Jesus after hitting rock bottom | Entertainment
Trump's Kristen Welker walkoff, the Cities Church ruling, Thomas Crooks, H1B fraud, and the jobs report headline today's A.M. Update. Trump drops his mic and walks off an NBC News interview after Kristen Welker pushes California election fraud questions, and Aaron asks the obvious follow-up: if the press is that dishonest, why keep giving them the interviews. New Judicial Watch documents reveal Thomas Matthew Crooks exchanged emails with a Butler County sheriff's deputy before the July 2024 assassination attempt, and a remote device with an antenna was found in his pocket. St. Paul City Attorney Irene Kao declines to file state charges against the anti-ICE protesters who stormed Cities Church in January, and lead pastor Jonathan Parnell asks his mayor directly whether evangelical Christians are included in her commitment to the city. A blowout May jobs report of 172,000 new payrolls sends markets tumbling as investors price in a Fed rate hike, with the S&P 500 posting its worst day since October. Kayleigh McEnany airs an H1B visa fraud report on Fox News that Aaron says you would never have seen there ten years ago, and Aaron closes with Jeff Bezos on why compromise is not truth-seeking and what that actually means outside the boardroom.
Sing to the Lord a New Song Marshall Segal Download Psalm 98,Oh sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.2 The Lord has made known his salvation; he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.3 He has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulness to the house of Israel.All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.4 Make a joyful noise to the Lord, all the earth; break forth into joyous song and sing praises!5 Sing praises to the Lord with the lyre, with the lyre and the sound of melody!6 With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the Lord!7 Let the sea roar, and all that fills it; the world and those who dwell in it!8 Let the rivers clap their hands; let the hills sing for joy together9 before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth.He will judge the world with righteousness, and the peoples with equity.Last fall, my oldest son and I planted a couple hundred tulip bulbs in two front flower beds. My wife's from California, so we love spring and summer in our home. I mean everybody really loves spring and summer here, but some of us hate winter more than others. The Segals express that hatred with gardening. We spring really hard. We plant a couple hundred tulips — red and yellow and white, some white with red stripes, some purple double tulips. We also have about a dozen peonies, each with a dozen blooms. If you've ever seen peonies up close, they don't look real. They look like some fine cloth has been woven together and overstuffed. They're glorious. I love them, and I love them for the same reason Jesus loved them:“Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?” (Matthew 6:28–30)Consider the lilies. Are you struggling with little faith? Stop and listen to the lilies. They're singing. And they call us to sing with them about God and his glory. That's what we see again at the end of this psalm. Verse 7:Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;the world and those who dwell in it!Let the rivers clap their hands;let the hills sing for joy together. . . .Creation is performing for us. Can you hear it? The seas, wide and deep, are roaring out the bass line. The hills are dancing and breaking into high harmonies. And the rivers are clapping along to all that beautiful music. My wife and I actually got to hear an orchestra on Friday in Downtown Minneapolis, and that's what's happening all around us all the time. And it's happening with even greater precision and purpose than all those violins and cellos and trombones, because God is conducting everything we see and hear and taste and touch. Psalm 98 reminds us that creation is singing for anyone who will listen, and so before we really even get into the psalm, let's go ahead and get to some application for us as a church: Don't squander creation's performance this summer. Don't Squander CreationWhen God's people needed strength to keep believing, keep obeying, keep singing, they deliberately went and looked at rivers and seas and hills. Do you do that? Remember God himself is telling you here that he made all this to help you worship. He knew it was going to be hard to keep going. He knew we'd be prone to wander and doubt. And so he made stuff — all kinds of crazy stuff. He made galaxies and galaxies of crazy stuff, more than we could ever find, much less analyze, so that we'd have all kinds of reminders and reasons to worship him. My kids were studying sperm whales this week. Did you know that sperm whales have the largest brain of any creature on earth? Why would God do that? Why would God make these mammoth whales, with these massive brains, who dive 3,000 miles down to eat giant squid? So that you would see a sperm whale and his big ol' brain, and marvel at the creativity and power and goodness of God — and then do psalm 98:“Oh sing to the LORD a new song, for he has done marvelous things!”I don't care what it looks like for you this summer. The Segals aren't big camping people, but we love flowers and long walks and new parks and the beach. Don't squander creation this summer. Get out there and look and listen and learn and worship. Let something God has made remind you to sing. And then go find something else tomorrow. And then something else the next day.1. Sing to the LordAlright, the main point of the psalm is that very first line:Oh sing to the LORD a new song,for he has done marvelous things!His right hand and his holy armhave worked salvation for him.We don't know who wrote this psalm, but it's one of a series of psalms here highlighting God as king. Verse 6 says,“With trumpets and the sound of the horn make a joyful noise before the King, the LORD!”This psalm is calling people to sing because their King has saved them again.“His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”We don't know what deliverance they're singing about. It could be the exodus out of Egypt, or the deliverance from the wilderness, or the conquest of Canaan, or victory over the Philistines, or the return from exile. We don't know. God delivered Israel a lot. Whatever deliverance it was, the psalmist saw what God had done and he said, we should sing. And people who have been saved by God should sing, right? Why do we sing? Why would the infinitely creative, infinitely powerful God alter our brains and vocal cords to give us the capacity to make melody and harmony? I think it's because some things in life are just too good to be said. For example, I can say, “I love Jesus.” I can say, “I really love Jesus,” and I do. I can say, “Jesus is my greatest Treasure,” and he is. I can say, “Jesus is the greatest, most trustworthy, most satisfying, most glorious Treasure in the world.” Can I get an amen? Or I could sing, “Hallelujah! All I have is Christ!” I don't even have to sing it well — and it still says more than words can say.God gave us singing because there's a joy greater than words. He didn't make all of this and us so that he could be understood and explained. God gave us singing because we were made to worship — to glorify him by enjoying him forever. It's not enough to know, study, or describe this God. To really know him is to enjoy him, to treasure him, to worship him. So, point one, sing to the Lord for who he is and what he's done for you.To Our MenAnd before I go to point two, I want to take Psalm 98 as an opportunity to rally our men in particular. Now, a lot of our men sing and sing loud. I love you and thank God for you, don't stop, abound all the more — and I'm not talking to you right now. No, I want to plead with the men we don't hear on Sunday morning. This text, and lots of other ones, teach us that a man isn't fully a man if he's not singing. Men, you weren't just made to work and protect and fix stuff. You were made to sing! You were made to sing, andwe need you to sing. I'm going to get to this in a minute, but Psalm 98 teaches us that one way we guard and provide for and build the church is to sing. You have no idea what impact it has when the people around you, especially all the young sons and daughters here, see grown men sing with all their hearts. I really think there are few things more captivating in our society than a man so filled with faith that he freely and enthusiastically sings — even when he can't sing. Especially when he can't sing. I could name some names here. Again, it's not ability. I personally think that's why the psalm says in verse 4:“Make a joyful noise to the LORD.”Sing! Shout! Make some kind of noise! If you can't carry a tune, if God gave you a bucket — then bang on the bucket. It doesn't have to sound good. It just needs to sound like joy. Grab a trumpet, grab a tambourine, grab a lyre (whatever that is). Clap your hands. If you have joy in the Lord, make it a loud joy. Don't cave to social pressure, put it under a basket, and make bad excuses for sitting out of the singing. We need to hear your joy in God. We need a song, and not just any song. We need a new song. 2. Sing a New SongWhen God calls the people to sing, he specifically says, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song!” Don't just keep singing the same songs. No, new deliverance calls for a new song. If God hears our prayers and fights for us, we're going to sing about it. This is one of the great lessons of the psalms, right? I mean we're in the process of walking through 150 songs. This is already our eighth summer in the psalms. We get the point by now, don't we?We were made for worship. Life is hard and confusing and painful, because of sin. But God still reigns (and creation testifies to that). God watches over his people, satisfies them with himself, and delivers them from every kind of enemy and trial. So trust in God, and worship him.Do we really need 150 versions of that? Oh my goodness, yes! Are you kidding me? We need 150 million songs to try and capture the glory of this God. This is why the 150 psalms keep telling us to sing even more new songs.Psalm 33:3,“Sing to him a new song; play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.” Psalm 96:1,“Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!”Psalm 149:1,“Praise the Lord! Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise in the assembly of the godly!”When God's people experienced his salvation in some new way, they wanted a new song. We need a new way to express all the thanks and faith and joy we feel toward God right now. . . . Notice that there's nothing actually new in the psalm. Again, we can't even tell what event they were singing about. That's not the point of “new” here. New wasn't unveiling new information. No, it's rehearsing the same glorious realities about God with different words and melodies, because he deserves all the lyrics and melodies. We sing a new song because there will always be more to celebrate. I love how Psalm 40:5 unleashes this kind of worship:You have multiplied, O Lord my God,your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us;none can compare with you!I will proclaim and tell of them,yet they are more than can be told.Do you hear that? God, I'll tell them everything you've done for me — all your wondrous deeds — yet they are more than can be told. If I tried to say it all, I'm going to run out of ink, breath, time, or all of the above.Our lead pastor is leading us well here. Pastor Jonathan wrote that first song we sang this morning — “I Am Free.” He's not rushing to tell you that, and I admire him for that. But that won't keep me from telling you.No more death, no debt is due,The blood of Christ has made me new!The curse undone, my heart is freeThe risen Son has rescued me!Amen! And may it be the first of dozens of new songs we sing together as a church. Now, we don't have to write every new song (a “new song” might just be new to us), but it's especially sweet when one of us pours their heart into lyrics and melody to say Jesus is real, his mercy met me at the cross, and he set me free. And if God keeps delivering us — and he will keep delivering us until he brings us safely home — then we'll need another song soon. So go ahead and sing a new song, and then another one, and then another one. You're not going to exhaust him and his salvation. And singing a new song will help you see more of him.3. Recruit the ChoirIn verses 1–3, Israel is singing a new song about the salvation God has worked for them. In verses 4–6, though, the psalm turns and invites the whole earth into the choir. Let's start in verse 3:The Lord has remembered his steadfast love and faithfulnessto the house of Israel.All the ends of the earth have seenthe salvation of our God.Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth;break forth into joyous song and sing praises! . . .Make a joyful noise,” verse 6, “before the King, the LORD!”All the ends of the earth have seen this salvation — they've seen God love and deliver this people from their enemies — so come and sing with us! You can be saved too, if you'll humble yourself and bow to the true King.Notice that we're not inviting the world with yelling. This feels relevant given what we've been enduring for months now. Lots of yelling. We're not yelling back, no we're inviting all the earth, even that little stretch of green across the street, with singing. And we're singing because we're not just inviting them to acknowledge the truth and bow to the King; we really are inviting them into our joy. World, you have seen and heard what he's done for us — “All the ends of the earth have seen the salvation of our God.” Jesus came and died and rose so that you don't have to die for your sins. You don't have to face the wrath of God. You don't have to settle for weak and fleeting pleasure here on earth. You can be saved! Get in on this! Come taste something so good you can't help but sing! He's looking out on all the earth — I'm thinking of the missionaries we prayed for a few weeks ago during global missions Sunday, they're saying to all the nations, billions of lost people, come join this choir. Far As The Curse Is FoundBut the choir doesn't stop there. Verses 4–6 call all the tongues, tribes, peoples, and nations into the choir room — all the earth, praise him. Come and have what we're having. Come and be saved by grace through faith. Look at verses 7–8 again, though. The psalm goes even farther…Let the sea roar, and all that fills it;the world and those who dwell in it!Let the rivers clap their hands;let the hills sing for joy together. . . .He wants the rivers and hills and oceans and whales to get in on this, too. Now, we already saw that they're singing — and they really are. But by verse 7, even creation is singing a new song. And we know that because of verses 9–10. I'll begin in verse 8 again:Let the rivers clap their hands;let the hills sing for joy togetherbefore the LORD, for he comesto judge the earth.He will judge the world with righteousness,and the peoples with equity.Why are the rivers clapping? Because God has come to judge the world. He's finally come to put an end to sin, to pour out justice on all who refuse to receive his mercy, and to make all things right again. This psalm tells us that creation isn't singing at full strength yet. And we know this at the Segal house. I told you about our peonies. Well, a couple days after our first one bloomed — big beautiful white blooms, with yellow inside and a bright red center — the rain came through and ripped all the pedals off. Every single one. It's a big green shrub of ugly little stumps. We had just a few glorious days, and now we're left waiting for another 362 days. What kind of deal is that? I told you we planted 200 tulips last fall. I didn't tell you that we only got to see a dozen or two, because deer came through and ate them all before they bloomed. What's the point? Creation's not singing at full strength yet. Consider the lilies — they're dying. They're getting eaten. They're all going to be buried in snow in six months. Creation is cursed because of sin.Strawberries get moldly before they make it to the fridge. Parasites wipe out crops and other animals. Wildfires break out and destroy communities. It gets brutally cold in Minnesota for half the year. And don't get me started on construction. That's our creation, not his, but man, it's good illustration of the curse under sin. Your normal street's totally dug up, you don't know which way to go, it takes twice as long to get there, and you just want to get home.The creation is beautiful and it is singing, but it's also cursed — for now. And when Christ comes to judge the world, there won't be any more construction (or disease or mold or cold).This is why I've come to love “Joy to the World” even more. Isaac Watts wrote the hymn in 1719, and it's based on this psalm. And while it's a great Christmas hymn, it's not only a Christmas hymn. This isn't only a Christmas hymn, listen:Joy to the world, the Lord is come; [That's Christmas. He has come.]Let earth receive her King!Let every heart prepare him room And heaven and nature sing!Joy to the earth, the Savior reigns!Let men their songs employWhile fields and floods, rocks, hills, and plains,Repeat the sounding joy!No more let sins and sorrows grow,Nor thorns infest the ground;He comes to make his blessings flowFar as the curse is found!That's not Christmas! It's not. When Jesus came the first time, and lived and died and rose and ascended, his blessings didn't flow far as the curse is found. If you don't believe me, just step outside and stand with our security guys for a few minutes. You don't even have to step outside, though. There's enough heartache inside this room to tell us this hasn't happened yet. But it will, he's coming again, and that's what Isaac Watts is singing about. Romans 8 says: “The creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.” (Romans 8:20–22)So, creation is singing, but it's also waiting, groaning, suffering. It's in bondage. This psalm looks back and celebrates past deliverance — his right hand and holy arm rescued us — and it's preparing for a final deliverance, when even the seas and hills and rivers are finally set free. Jesus is going to come again and save us, Cities Church! And that means we can sing even while we're waiting for justice and deliverance here. Can we sing songs like this in hard days? Of course we can. He has already delivered us. What more does he have to do? And he will deliver us again, and soon. And so we can sing right now, wherever we are in between. In fact, we must sing, because singing is one of the ways God delivers his people. That's why songs like Psalm 98 and “How Great Thou Art” and the song we're about to sing exist. Who knows how much God is saving us from while we sing these songs together each Sunday?His Right Hand and Holy ArmSo, sing a new song to the Lord. And how could we not when we have seen an even greater salvation? This brings us to the Table. We say these same words, verse 1:“His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.”But when we sing about “his holy arm,” we picture real arms stretched out wide, bloody and straining for air, on the cross. When we sing about “his right hand,” we see the nails in his hands, and the thorns in his head, and the spear in his side. Oh sing to the LORD a new song,for he has done marvelous things! [Hasn't he?]His right hand and his holy armhave worked salvation for him.The LORD has made known his salvation;he has revealed his righteousness in the sight of the nations.Yes, he has. That's what we remember with this meal. The King has come and worked salvation for us — he lived without sin, convicted without a crime, put to death without justice, and three days later, he rose from the dead. And he will come again to bring full and final salvation.
An ICE whistleblower reveals a secret memo where DHS lawyers say agents can arrest people in their homes without a warrant. The Fourth Amendment says otherwise! And the Supreme Court's conservatives were extremely unimpressed with Trump's plan to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on Truth Social. We'll break down Wednesday's oral argument in detail but first, we've got approximately one million ... DOCKET ALERTS (Dun dun DUNNNN): Former Special Counsel Jack Smith testified before the House Judiciary Committee. Watch it for yourself here. The Justice Department arrested three people in relation to the protest on January 18 at Cities Church in St. Paul. Nothing has appeared on the docket, but the DOJ claims to have charged them under the Freedom of Access to Clinic Entrances Act of 1994, meant to protect women seeking abortion care. The Eighth Circuit administratively stayed District Judge Katherine Menendez's preliminary injunction barring DHS goons from brutalizing protesters. A jury in Chicago took just three hours to acquit a man of trying to hire someone to murder CBP's head thug Greg Bovino. Don't drunk text! Donald Trump's latest trollsuit targets JP Morgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon. It's filed in state court in Miami and seeks $5 billion for tortious debanking. Washington Post reporter Hannah Natanson secured a standstill order barring the government from looking at the computers and hard drives it seized from her house in Virginia as part of its investigation into classified leaks by government contractor Aurelio Luis Perez-Lugones. The Fifth Circuit, sitting en banc, reheard a challenge to Louisiana's HB71, which required every public school classroom to display the Ten Commandments. Background here. Judge Paul Engelmayer rebuffed a request by Reps. Thomas Massie and Ro Khanna to enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act and order the government to disclose all materials on Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell. Remember this next time you hear some rightwing pundit railing against "activist judges." And we bid a fond farewell to Lindsey Halligan, who finally quit trying to pass herself off as US Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Well … fond-ish. After getting benchslapped by a federal judge and seeing her job posted online by the chief judge in EDVA, she finally took the hint. Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
DOCKET ALERTS: Joe Dye begins a series on the second phase of the redistricting wars at his Substack. Multiple states are threatening to tax payouts from Trump's slush fund at 100 percent. The Trump Administration is suing Massachusetts for failing to give "confidential," hard to trace license plates to ICE and CBP. A panel of federal judges in Alabama once again rejected the state's congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander. The state has appealed to SCOTUS. Don Lemon moved to unseal the grand jury transcript in the Cities Church protest prosecution. He cited the recently unsealed magistrate's docket, showing the government's wild overreach — not to mention incompetence — in its warrant applications, along with the many cases where courts have said the DOJ is currently lawless and entitled to no presumption of regularity. The New York Times had a wild story this week about the Justice Department's total loss of credibility with grand juries, including in Wyoming, where the US Attorney's total violation of grand jury rules led to the dismissal of nine indictments. MAIN SHOW: The US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois is reportedly investigating E. Jean Carroll for perjury. In a deposition in 2022, Carroll misspoke and said that her litigation was not being funded by anyone else. She later corrected the record to say that some of her fees were being paid by a nonprofit associated with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. The government is trying to do to that nonprofit what it's done to the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that it somehow conspired to hide its activities by getting Carroll to lie under oath. Meanwhile, the SPLC is moving to dismiss its case based on vindictive prosecution. Luckily it has eleventy-seven clips of Trump officials declaring that they're on a revenge mission to take out the civil rights organization. In non-political news, a drag queen named Pattie Gonia is in a trademark dispute with the brand Patagonia. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Trump is making NDAs great again. How Democrats Can Take Back the Redistricting Wars Pt. 1 https://josephdye.substack.com/p/how-democrats-can-take-back-the-redistricting US v. Massachusetts [Confidential License Plates] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73400637/united-states-v-the-commonwealth-of-massachusetts/ Milligan v. Allen https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61494291/milligan-v-allen US v. Levy-Armstrong [Cities Church/Don Lemon] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72212459/united-states-v-levy-armstrong/ In re Search Warrant [Cities Church/Don Lemon magistrate docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72323660/in-re-search-warrant/ As Trump Politicizes Justice Dept., Prosecutors Struggle With Grand Juries https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/us/politics/trump-justice-department-grand-juries.html DOJ probes Democratic-allied nonprofit that helped fund E. Jean Carroll's legal bills https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/28/doj-probes-reid-hoffmans-nonprofit-funding-e-jean-carrolls-legal-bills/ US v. Southern Poverty Law Center [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73223865/united-states-v-southern-poverty-law-center-inc/ Patagonia, Inc. v. Entrepreneur Enterprises, Inc. ("Patty Gonia") [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72169060/patagonia-inc-v-entrepreneur-enterprises-inc/ Pattie Gonia Instagram responding to lawsuit https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2L725tVow/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
Watch this sermon on YouTube at: https://youtu.be/3CdyBSiLPOA
DOCKET ALERTS:Joe Dye begins a series on the second phase of the redistricting wars at his Substack. Multiple states are threatening to tax payouts from Trump's slush fund at 100 percent. The Trump Administration is suing Massachusetts for failing to give “confidential,” hard to trace license plates to ICE and CBP.A panel of federal judges in Alabama once again rejected the state's congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander. The state has appealed to SCOTUS.Don Lemon moved to unseal the grand jury transcript in the Cities Church protest prosecution. He cited the recently unsealed magistrate's docket, showing the government's wild overreach — not to mention incompetence — in its warrant applications, along with the many cases where courts have said the DOJ is currently lawless and entitled to no presumption of regularity.The New York Times had a wild story this week about the Justice Department's total loss of credibility with grand juries, including in Wyoming, where the US Attorney's total violation of grand jury rules led to the dismissal of nine indictments.MAIN SHOW:The US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois is reportedly investigating E. Jean Carroll for perjury. In a deposition in 2022, Carroll misspoke and said that her litigation was not being funded by anyone else. She later corrected the record to say that some of her fees were being paid by a nonprofit associated with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. The government is trying to do to that nonprofit what it's done to the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that it somehow conspired to hide its activities by getting Carroll to lie under oath.Meanwhile, the SPLC is moving to dismiss its case based on vindictive prosecution. Luckily it has eleventy-seven clips of Trump officials declaring that they're on a revenge mission to take out the civil rights organization.In non-political news, a drag queen named Pattie Gonia is in a trademark dispute with the brand Patagonia. SUBSCRIBER BONUS:Trump is making NDAs great again.How Democrats Can Take Back the Redistricting Wars Pt. 1https://josephdye.substack.com/p/how-democrats-can-take-back-the-redistrictingUS v. Massachusetts [Confidential License Plates]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73400637/united-states-v-the-commonwealth-of-massachusetts/Milligan v. Allenhttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61494291/milligan-v-allenUS v. Levy-Armstrong [Cities Church/Don Lemon]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72212459/united-states-v-levy-armstrong/In re Search Warrant [Cities Church/Don Lemon magistrate docket]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72323660/in-re-search-warrant/As Trump Politicizes Justice Dept., Prosecutors Struggle With Grand Jurieshttps://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/26/us/politics/trump-justice-department-grand-juries.htmlDOJ probes Democratic-allied nonprofit that helped fund E. Jean Carroll's legal billshttps://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/05/28/doj-probes-reid-hoffmans-nonprofit-funding-e-jean-carrolls-legal-bills/US v. Southern Poverty Law Center [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73223865/united-states-v-southern-poverty-law-center-inc/Patagonia, Inc. v. Entrepreneur Enterprises, Inc. (“Patty Gonia”) [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72169060/patagonia-inc-v-entrepreneur-enterprises-inc/Pattie Gonia Instagram responding to lawsuithttps://www.instagram.com/p/DY2L725tVow/Show Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Our Current Situation Jonathan Parnell Download Acts 1:1-11,In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, 2 until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. 3 He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. 4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” 6 So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” 7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” 9 And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, he was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. 10 And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, 11 and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.”Acts 2:1-4,When the day of Pentecost arrived, they were all together in one place. 2 And suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. 3 And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. 4 And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.Today, on Pentecost Sunday, it has seemed good to the elders to have a sermon that addresses our current moment. Now, if you've been around for the past few months, you know that we've not ignored our situation — we have tried to ‘keep our eyes on the base' ahead of us, and every now and then we've said things behind this pulpit, and I've written things, to try to guide us through these days. But what makes today different is that I want to address everything a little more ‘on the nose,' as it were. My hope is to be as clear as possible. I want to tell you three realities about our current moment: Where we areWhat we're facingHow we respond And if you're a guest with us this morning, I need to explain that we normally do what's called expositional preaching. It's the central part of our worship, which is the heartbeat of our church. Every Sunday, we open the Bible and preach through a passage of Scripture. My goal as a preacher is to simply tell you what God says. We do that by conviction, because we believe what we most need, and the power to change our lives, is the word of God. And we're in the word today, here in Acts 2, but we're just gonna spend most of our time, not on exposition, but on application. You'll see what I mean. Let's get started.The first reality of our current moment … I want to tell you …1. Where we areRight away, it's this: we are currently in the promised age of the Spirit.We are in the part of redemptive history when the Holy Spirit has been poured out on the people of God. The gospel is advancing. Jesus is building his church — And that's what I tell my grandfather every summer when I seem him on our family trip to North Carolina.Twenty-three years ago, when I believed God was calling me to be a pastor, my grandfather was one of the first persons I told. He is a godly man who has had a deep influence on me, and I try to see him at least once a year. And every summer that I've seen him for the last decade, he always asks me, “Son, how's the church?” And for several years now, the first thing I say is: “Grandaddy, the gospel is advancing. Jesus is building his church.” And he just smiles.Well, this morning, from Acts 2, I wanna tell you the short story of why that's true.The Story of PentecostThis is where the Day of Pentecost comes in. Pentecost is the foundational event in the Book of Acts, and Luke wants us to see the connection between Pentecost and the ministry of Jesus. Look at Acts 1, verse 4. Luke writes, And while staying with them he [Jesus] ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me…”Notice that when Jesus gives his disciples instructions for receiving the Spirit, he starts it by saying “you've heard me talk about this.” Jesus has taught on the Holy Spirit before, and we've heard this teaching! The Holy Spirit is the big topic in the Farewell Discourse, in the Gospel of John. We've heard Jesus say:John 14:16, “… I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth …”John 15:25, “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.”So as we come into the Book of Acts, we already have an expectation: the Spirit proceeds from the Father — he is the promise of the Father and Jesus will ask and receive from the Father to give the Spirit to us. And so we are ready for this. Now jump over to Acts Chapter 2.Acts 2, verse 1 — it is the Day of Pentecost — 50 days after Jesus's resurrection, about a week and a half after Jesus's ascension. And the disciples have done what Jesus instructed; they had been waiting in Jerusalem; they were altogether, and then verse 2: … suddenly there came from heaven a sound like a mighty rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire appeared to them and rested on each one of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.The promised Spirit has come!And it leaves the onlookers amazed and perplexed, so Peter ‘stands up' among the disciples to explain what's going on. This is significant: Because Peter had fallen — which we saw last week: in his worst moment he denied Jesus — but he is now restored and standing among his brothers. And, filled with the Holy Spirit, he preaches the best sermon ever. He says that Jesus, who had been crucified, is now raised up, and, verse 33:Being therefore exalted at the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he has poured out this that you yourselves are seeing and hearing.Notice how this ties it altogether. We know the behind-the-scenes here, because Jesus told us: Jesus has asked the Father for the Spirit, to give him to us. Jesus has received the Spirit from the Father, and now, on this Day of Pentecost, Jesus has poured out the Spirit on his people. This is so significant that it marks the official transition from the old covenant to the new. This moment commences what the apostle Paul calls the “day of salvation” (2 Corinthians 6:2). That's another way to talk about the ‘promised age of the Spirit' or the ‘messianic age of salvation.'Witness and OpportunityThis age means at least two things:First, it means that we are Jesus's witnesses.The Spirit who bears witness to Jesus, bears witness to Jesus through us. We've talked about this recently: the work of Jesus in this world has not ended, but it's continued now by his Spirit through his people. We are not of the world, but Jesus has sent us into the world, and he tells us in Acts 1:8, “you will be my witnesses.”We are here to be life and light to a dead and dark world by pointing to Jesus.And secondly, this age of the Spirit means what Peter says in Chapter 2, verse 21 … that right now, because the Spirit is poured out, “everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” It doesn't matter who you are or where you're from; your background, your mistakes, your name — none of it matters. If you call on the name of Jesus Christ — if you ask Jesus to save you, he will save you. This is more amazing than we can begin to comprehend! It is the real headline today — just like it was the real headline yesterday. In fact, this has been the real headline everyday for the past two thousand years! Ever since Acts Chapter 2, the real daily headline is: TRUST CHRIST AND BE SAVED!That is where we are. That is the truest situation we're in. The grace of God is abounding all over this world! And so get in on the grace while you still can. That's where we are. Now, #2 … what we're facing …2. What we're facingIn a word, what we're facing is opposition — which is not strange.First, it's not strange because opposition is a kind of trial — and trials of various kinds are a means that God uses to produces in us steadfastness (James 1:2–4). This is part of the way that God shapes our character and deepens our hope (Romans 5:2–5). This is how he brings to completion the good work he began in us (Philippians 1:6).Another reason opposition is not strange is that, in light of churches throughout history and churches all around the world, countless local churches face opposition. It's just how it is! From the moment the Spirit is poured out in Acts 2, the church advances through both power and resistance.If anything, the opposition and challenges we're facing make us more at home with world Christianity — and more at home with the Book of Acts — than we ever were before.And so, ultimately, church, we're gonna be okay. Jesus Christ is risen from the dead and we will see his face one day, and until then our Heavenly Father watches over us in such a way that not a hair can fall from our heads apart from his will, and in fact, all things must work together for our salvation. Hey, we're blessed! And we need to remind ourselves of this everyday, over and over again. And the Holy Spirit helps us to do that! He ministers hope to us through this Book!And at the same time, as we live in this hope, we should not downplay the opposition set against us, especially not the parts that are unlawful, harmful to our families and children, and that put other churches at risk.I think about a good friend in college … he spent a whole summer in West Africa, in the bush, doing a missions project, and one of the individuals on his team was so eager to suffer for Jesus that they decided not to the bring a toothbrush for the entire four months. And this person experienced all the things you might imagine you would if you don't brush your teeth for a long time. And one of the lessons my friend learned is that “Jesus is most likely okay with a toothbrush.”The lesson is that although suffering for Jesus is normal — and the Bible teaches us to expect it — that doesn't mean that we seek it out or accept it without any concern.For example: God has instituted earthly authorities, known as government, as a means to create and guard ordered societies. According to Romans 13, we should expect our government to punish wrongdoing.What happened to us on January 18 was wrong, period.And much of what continues to go on out here on Sunday mornings is also wrong.And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, then great. Keep it like that. There are ways to get into this space without having to walk past these people who hate us. I'd encourage you: avail yourselves to those ways.But to be clear: out front, over the past few months we have experienced, and have evidence of, chargeable offenses. People have said things and behaved toward our church members with the intent to cause harm and induce reasonable fear. They want to make our coming to worship as uncomfortable as possible so that we would stop coming. (Their goal is to shut us down, just like the people who desecrated our worship service on January 18.) But, the more serious issue is that, so far, our city and state officials are doing nothing about it. And that's the bigger problem. The world hating us is expected — Jesus told us they would. But our local government should enforce the law equally, for all people, including for Baptists … including for Evangelical Christians … but they're not doing that.So that's what we're facing, here in our little slice of the world, in the Twin Cities, in this promised age of the Spirit poured out.Now #3, I want to tell you …3. How we respondNow before I say anything here about our response, I first want to commend you and thank you for your response so far.And I want to give a special thanks to our security team. These men have done so much over the past several months to protect us from physical harm and to promote safety, and I thank God for them. I encourage you, when you get a chance, express your gratitude to these men. And for our entire church, corporately, look, your response has been remarkable. Over and over again the fruit of the Spirit has been manifested in you: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.I've seen it in you! So thanks be to God, and may this fruit abound more and more!Now, as we look forward to a new season, and the opposition drags on, I want to tell you about a three-part strategy that's trying to taking everything into account. With God's help, these are three actions that we can take in these days.1. We will pursue wise and lawful means to hold our opponents accountable for wrongdoing. We are continuing to document everything, and we're doing our best to work with the St. Paul Police and city officials to get the law enforced. This means that we, as your pastors, gotta be a little persistent. We have to kindly bother them, and that's what I plan to do.I hope to have an audience with Mayor Her, and I want to appeal to her. And I would say:Mayor Her, on April 20th this year, in your address on the state of St. Paul, you said that you are committed to listening and to acting and to lifting St. Paul higher to its full potential, but I wonder: Do you include Evangelical Christians in that commitment? Or, do you only care about people you agree with? You have left us to wonder this. These are serious questions that we need to ask. That's one part of our response.Here's the second:2. We will increase our fervent prayer.I know many of us have been praying, and many other churches have been praying for us, and I want to encourage us to keep on, and even pray more. Look, we know, Ephesians 6:12, we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.Our opposition is fundamentally spiritual, and therefore our response must be fundamentally spiritual. We put on the armor of the Lord, which includes praying at all times in the Spirit (Ephesians 6:18).And so the plan is to equip our greeters and security with some guided prayer points to carry with them as they're serving, and I would like to build a small team of prayer warriors to pray as our people are coming to worship. I will send more communications about this, but just know it's coming. We're gonna pray more. I'm reminded of the quote, goes back to Oswald Chamber. He says:“Prayer does not equip us for greater works — prayer is the greater work.”3. We will remember the real headline. Now I've already told you the real headline, but it's probably not one that you're gonna find in your feeds. The real headline today — and everyday until Jesus comes back — is that THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS BEEN POURED OUT!TRUST CHRIST AND BE SAVED!Church, Jesus is real. Jesus is alive — and he is not anxious about anything. He's not worried about our future. Right now he's reigning from the Father's right hand. He has all authority in heaven and on earth, and he has many in these cities who are his people. We are in the promised age of the Spirit, the age of salvation. And that means that anybody from anywhere — it doesn't matter who you are or where you're from or what you're past is — if you call on the name of the Lord you will be saved!And because this is true, church, be filled with the Holy Spirit and take the next step on mission — Have that gospel conversation with your neighbor or coworker. Invite people to church! — hey, if you think people are not gonna wanna come because of the opposition, just test that out. Invite people to come see for themselves who we truly are.In these days when our opponents want to shut us down, I pray that God doubles our size. I pray that he multiplies us! I pray that he sends us out! We don't want less mission — we want more. More prayer. More courage. More witness. More disciples made.More of the glory of Jesus overcoming us and overflowing through us! The promised Spirit is here! And he is at work. In a couple of months, God willing, I'm going to see my grandfather in North Carolina. And he's been following what's going on. He keeps up on us. But when I see him, he's gonna ask me, “Son, how's the church?” And I'm gonna say, “Granddaddy, the gospel is advancing! Jesus is building his church!”And he's gonna smile because he knows it's true. This is the time in which we live. May God be glorified through us!And that's what brings us to the Table. The TableAt this table each week, we enter into a ritual that Jesus gave to his church. It's for Christians.So if you're here and you're not a Christian, if you have not put your faith in Jesus, this is an opportunity to do that. On this day, in this moment, I invite you: call on the name of Jesus, put your faith in him, and be saved. Now, for Cities Church and all who trust in Christ, let us remember him — let's remember his death and resurrection for us, and let's remember the hope we have in him.
The Fall of Peter — and Every Disciple David Mathis Download John 18:12-27,So the band of soldiers and their captain and the officers of the Jews arrested Jesus and bound him. 13 First they led him to Annas, for he was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. 14 It was Caiaphas who had advised the Jews that it would be expedient that one man should die for the people.15 Simon Peter followed Jesus, and so did another disciple. Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest, 16 but Peter stood outside at the door. So the other disciple, who was known to the high priest, went out and spoke to the servant girl who kept watch at the door, and brought Peter in. 17 The servant girl at the door said to Peter, “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?” He said, “I am not.” 18 Now the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire, because it was cold, and they were standing and warming themselves. Peter also was with them, standing and warming himself.19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching. 20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret. 21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.” 22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” 23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?” 24 Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.25 Now Simon Peter was standing and warming himself. So they said to him, “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?” He denied it and said, “I am not.” 26 One of the servants of the high priest, a relative of the man whose ear Peter had cut off, asked, “Did I not see you in the garden with him?” 27 Peter again denied it, and at once a rooster crowed.Our world loves a rise-and-fall story. History has its Julius Caesars, its Napoleon Bonapartes, its Richard Nixons. In recent years, we've watched the great rises and falls of athletes like Lance Armstrong and Tiger Woods, of film producers Harvey Weinstein, of comedians Bill Cosby.In fact, our world loves these fall stories so much that we like to have a hand in making them. In our sin, we have a twisted appetite for accelerating the rise, and then piling on to exacerbate the fall.The Bible also has its great fall stories. The big one is the Fall of humanity in Genesis 3. But Abraham has his fall. And the people of Israel, fresh off deliverance from Egypt and receiving the law, make a golden calf, led by their first high priest. And we find the rise and various falls of Saul, David, Solomon, and with them the fall of the kingship in Israel and the nation itself.This morning we come to the fall of Peter.Four Lessons from Peter's FallTwo parallel tracks unfold in this passage as Jesus is arrested and separated from his disciples: Jesus moves toward the cross, to Annas, to Caiaphas, to Pilate.In the meantime, the disciples scatter, as Peter, chief among them, denies three times that he knows Jesus.For the first time, we have the breaking of fellowship between Jesus and his disciples. The shepherd is struck; the sheep scatter. Jesus must go to the cross alone. No sinner can assist him in this work, to rescue sinners.The heart of this passage is the back-and-forth contrast between Jesus and Peter. John's point isn't that we point fingers at Peter but that every disciple is like Peter. The contrasts are stark: Jesus says, I am; Peter says, twice, I am not. Peter stands with bad company warming himself, while Jesus shivers in the cold alone. Peter tries to protect himself; Jesus exposes himself to harm. Peter's nerve fails, while Jesus is steady and composed under great pressure. Jesus stands; Peter falls.The point is the contrast. The shame of Peter is a foil to the stunning glory of Jesus. But here's the angle of approach I'd like for us to take this morning. I want to learn from Peter's fall.Humility learns from the failures of others. I think what God has for us this morning, at least in part, is to learn from the fall of Peter as it sits side by side with the shining faithfulness of Jesus.So, let's follow the arc of Peter's fall with four lessons.1. Stay Awake.By that, I mean stay awake spiritually. Just this week, with Peter's fall on my mind, I came across Mark 13:33–37 and was surprised how much this was exactly what Peter needed:Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come. 34 It is like a man going on a journey, when he leaves home and puts his servants in charge, each with his work, and commands the doorkeeper to stay awake. 35 Therefore stay awake—for you do not know when the master of the house will come, in the evening, or at midnight, or [get this:] when the rooster crows, or in the morning— 36 lest he come suddenly and find you asleep. 37 And what I say to you I say to all: Stay awake.Jesus gave Peter many warnings. We saw in John 13:36, Peter says: “Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus says, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times.”Here's how Jesus warns Peter in the Gospel of Luke, 22:31–34:“Simon, Simon, behold, Satan demanded to have you, that he might sift you like wheat, 32 but I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” 33 Peter said to him, “Lord, I am ready to go with you both to prison and to death.” 34 Jesus said, “I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow this day, until you deny three times that you know me.”This is vintage Peter with these strange ups and downs.One moment: You are the Christ! Then: Never, Lord!One moment: Don't wash my feet! Then: Wash my whole body!One moment: I will lay down my life for you! Then Jesus says: No, Peter, I'm laying down my life for you — and all the while you'll be denying me three times.After so many warnings, what happens in the garden? Peter falls asleep. He's not alone: James and John do too. Jesus warns them: “the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak.” Then, sleeping again, Peter is startled awake as soldiers approach. He's caught off guard. He draws his sword and cuts off the ear; Jesus rebukes him; the disciples scatter.So, the first lesson from Peter is to heed Jesus's warnings to stay awake. That is, no spiritual sleeping. No spiritual vacations. No coasting or autopilot. Satan targets his attacks on us at the times he thinks we'll be least ready.So, are you awake this morning? Have you been awake this week? Spiritually awake. Are your eyes open to spiritual reality? Are your ears attuned daily to Jesus's word? Are your lips whispering prayers? Are you walking arm in arm with Christ's people? Or are you falling asleep?2. Beware your perceptions of social pressure.To be clear, Peter's denials are sin. Great sin. And his sin comes out in a particular circumstance: the questions of strangers. Peter's fall is not one of isolation; it's a failure of nerve in the face of what he's assuming other people are thinking. (And not just others but strangers.)Peter wants to protect himself. His master is in grave danger, and Peter assumes the disciples must be in danger too. But the reason I emphasize Peter's skewed perception is the presence of John.The best explanation of this enigmatic “other disciple” is that this is the author's humble way of telling a story he's in but it's not about him. Verse 15 mentions “another disciple.” Verse 16: “Since that disciple was known to the high priest, he entered with Jesus into the courtyard of the high priest.”The key word is “also”: Verse 17: “You also are not one of this man's disciples, are you?”Verse 25: “You also are not one of his disciples, are you?”What's the “also”? It assumes this other disciple. The high priest and his people know John, and they know he's a disciple. Which is why they ask Peter, “Hey, you're not also a disciple, are you?” And the form of their question helps Peter deny it: “Surely, you're not with this Jesus too, are you?” The way they ask the question cues Peter up to deny it. But the denials are Peter's. People will do that, you know: “You're not one of those Christians, are you?” They're setting you up to say, Of course not.The reason we know Peter's perception was mistaken is it turns out nobody crucified John. The high priest and the people know that John is a disciple. But it's Jesus they want. So, John's presence, as a known disciple, shows how Peter's perception of what the strangers think was off. His fear was misplaced; Peter was off balance and misreading the situation. And even if he had read it right, that's no excuse for disowning his Master — not once or twice, but three times, and that after being warned so clearly. Then comes verse 27: the rooster crows. And Peter comes awake to his sin.What happened next to Peter? John doesn't tell us; he knows we have the other three Gospels. But before we go there, let's glean this: beware what thoughts you let dance in your head about what people think, especially strangers you do not know. Sometimes people, even strangers, catch us off guard at the strangest times with significant questions about our faith, the Bible, Christianity, our church, and they cue you up for the groupthink answer, whatever the context. Be ready for that. Don't give in. Pushback. Ask a question back. Or just give them the honest, straightforward, wisely worded truth that they need to hear to fry their categories.One more thing to add here, from one of your pastors: Be so careful with online and social-media impressions of what the masses are thinking. The two-dimensional, algorithmic online environment is highly distortive. It is a hall of mirrors and radicalizing extremes. People who grow more and more highly online do not grow more balanced in their assessment of other people's perceptions; they begin to lose touch with reality.So, stay awake, and beware your perceptions of social pressure.3. When you've failed, look Jesus in the eye.Now we pick up, from the Gospel of Luke, what happens once the rooster crows. This is an awesome moment. Luke 22:60–62:“Immediately, while [Peter] was still speaking, the rooster crowed. 61 And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord, how he had said to him, “Before the rooster crows today, you will deny me three times.” 62 And he went out and wept bitterly.”So, the rooster crows. Both Jesus and Peter hear it. Peter reflexively looks at Jesus. And Jesus turns and looks at Peter. They lock eyes. What must this have been like for Peter?Was it utterly devastating? I don't think it was. I expect there was a lot in that look. I'm sure it was not an easy moment for Peter. He is startled wide awake. He is humbled. He goes out and weeps bitterly. But Peter doesn't hang himself. Somehow this is a healing devastation. It's an empowering humiliation. Yes, his soul is flooded with shame and conviction, but it leads to repentance and life.Peter's fall is so different than Judas's. It was so good for Peter that he looked Jesus in the eye. Imagine how much Jesus communicated in that look, without any words — Jesus's foreknowledge of Peter's fall, his clear warnings, his righteous anger, his genuine grief, his profound compassion, and his transforming power.Jesus not only had said Peter would deny him. He also said,“I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.”Not “if you turn,” but “when you have turned.” Peter, you will turn. I have prayed for you. I will see to it, that you will turn; you will rise from this fall, so much so that you will strengthen your brothers.Yes, Peter had failed Jesus, and that was worth mourning. But now, freshly humbled, he also has a commission from the sovereign Christ. Peter locks eyes with Jesus and finds renewed strength to persevere and even strengthen the brothers.And oh what courage we'll come to see in Peter. His story will not be a rise and fall; it is a fall and rise. Which comes not because of his faithfulness but Jesus's.Jesus's Rise to the CrossSo, now we need to put our lessons on hold for a few minutes, and pick up Jesus's part of the story in verses 19–24. Remember: as Peter falls, Jesus stands.For me, the big question in verses 19–24 is, Wait, hold on, who is the high priest?It's confusing on the surface. Verse 13 says Jesus comes first to Annas, “the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year.” Then we have John's reminder in verse 14 about Caiaphas's prophecy (which we saw last fall back in 11:50: “it is better for you that one man should die for the people, not that the whole nation should perish”).Then the focus shifts to Peter in verses 15–18, then back to Jesus in verse 19: “The high priest (is that Caiaphas?) then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.” Jesus answers,“I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.”This high priest is trying to get Jesus to incriminate himself, without any witnesses. So, Jesus asks in verse 21:“Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”In other words, ask my disciples; there are plenty of witnesses. And the irony is that just as Jesus is saying his disciples can witness for him, Peter is failing so miserably by denying him.At this, Jesus is struck, unjustly, by “one of the officers standing by,” who says, “Is that how you answer the high priest?” Jesus responds with a question, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”Then comes the surprise in verse 24: “Annas then sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.” Wait a minute: Jesus hasn't gone to Caiaphas yet. He's been standing before Annas till now? If that's the case, verses 19 and 22 have called Annas the high priest. But John said in verse 13 that Caiaphas “was high priest that year.” So, who is the high priest? Is it Annas, the father-in-law, who's been high priest before? Five of his sons have served yearlong terms, including now his son-in-law Caiaphas. Annas is the patriarch. He's the boss high priest; his sons and son-in-law take turns filling the role, but Annas is the one who holds the power. So, is he really the high priest?Or is it Caiaphas who formally holds the office? The Old Testament had said the high priesthood was to be for life. But the Romans have limited that seat of Jewish power by enforcing these one-year terms. So, technically, Caiaphas is high priest that year. Is he really the high priest?I don't think this confusion is by accident. I suspect John wants us to see that yes, Annas is in some sense high priest, and yes, Caiaphas also is in some sense high priest. But when you ask who's really high priest in John 18, what's the answer? It's not Annas. It's not Caiaphas. It's the man who stands before them, bound like a sacrifice. This man has chosen to be here, and he goes willingly to the cross as the true high priest who offers the true and final sacrifice.And the reason Jesus goes to the cross is not for sins of his own, but for disciples like Peter. Jesus's work as high priest and his sacrifice makes it so that disciples who have failed can lock eyes with him, and not only feel conviction, and not only grieve their failures, but so that they can see in his eyes, “I'm for you. Yes, you have failed me, but I love you, and I have made provision for your sin by the sacrifice of myself. You need not stay devasted. You too can turn.”When Jesus locks eyes with you in your sin, it's appropriate to weep. But not tears of despairs. Tears of repentance. When Jesus looks at you, be like Peter, repent; turn; don't reject Jesus and make your sin worse with self-sabotage; honor the achievement of his cross; acknowledge that he came to rescue sinners; get over yourself and receive his rescue. Which leads to our final lesson.So, stay awake; beware your perceptions of social pressure; lock eyes with Jesus when you've failed. And finally…4. Receive his sacrifice and his Spirit.Peter's faith didn't fail. He wept, and he turned. Which meant he received Jesus's sacrifice — for him, for John, for you, for every disciple.The work of Jesus as both high priest and sacrifice means he covers and deals with the just payment of our sin. And it is the finishing of his life-work of perfect righteousness which becomes ours in union with him by faith. And Jesus's sacrifice doesn't only forgive sins, and give us righteous standing before God, but the risen Christ also pours out his Holy Spirit (as we'll celebrate next week on Pentecost) to dwell in Peter, and dwell in us.Which gives us another piece of the complex picture of how Peter fell: he didn't yet have the Holy Spirit. Not like he would after Pentecost.When the Spirit comes, Peter will be awesome. He will rise indeed as the chief spokesman to proclaim what God has done in Jesus. And this Peter, and this John with him, will stand before this same Annas and Caiaphas and the whole Jewish council, and full of the Holy Spirit, say,“there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. . . . Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, 20 for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard. (Acts 4:12, 20)Brothers and sisters, when you fall, know that in Jesus you can rise. Remember Peter. Do not presume on grace when tempted to sin. But when you have sinned, keep company with Peter in the aftermath. Lock eyes with Jesus. Go to him in his word, and in prayer, and through a Christian brother or sister. Own your sin; grieve it; and receive the purifying, empowering grace of his gaze, in his sacrifice and in his Spirit.Grace for You AlsoI don't know how this sermon is landing on you this morning, whether God is bringing to mind some failure, some fall, in private. Maybe in the past. Maybe it's a live, unresolved fall right now, and this message is for you, to lock eyes with Jesus, own your sin, and see the purifying grace in his eyes.Or perhaps you're thinking of this time in our city, and in our church, and how you've responded when someone caught you off guard with, “You're not also at Cities Church, are you?”Jonathan has more to say about our moment next Sunday. But Peter's full story says to those who have been like him, and failed Jesus in some way: there is grace for you in the same place Peter found grace.Which brings us to the Table.Did you catch that quick detail in verse 18, that “the servants and officers had made a charcoal fire”? That's an odd detail: charcoal fire.The only other charcoal fire in all the Bible is just three chapters later in John 21. Jesus has risen. He appears to his disciples while fishing, gives them a miraculous catch of fish, and when they come ashore, verse 9, “they saw a charcoal fire in place.”This is the public restoration of Peter. Jesus means to use this flawed man, oh does he. He failed three times by a charcoal fire, and now Jesus gives him three matching opportunities to declare his love, and receive the commission to feed Jesus's sheep.However you've fallen short of what Jesus is worth, let this Table be your charcoal fire this morning. This is a table of restoration, of fresh grace and fresh resolve and fresh dedication.
Hour 2 of the show begins with Jon talking about threats from the Champlin City Counsel meetings. Then Jon transitions to talking about how politics has ended friendships more today than it has in the past. Hour 2 of the show ends with a conversation about the Cities Church protesters that assaulted a TPUSA reporter pleading not guilty, as well as the need to put the 10 Commandments back in public spaces.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Hour 2 of the show begins with Jon talking about threats from the Champlin City Counsel meetings. Then Jon transitions to talking about how politics has ended friendships more today than it has in the past. Hour 2 of the show ends with a conversation about the Cities Church protesters that assaulted a TPUSA reporter pleading not guilty, as well as the need to put the 10 Commandments back in public spaces.
Acts 14:8-22,8 Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, 10 said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. 11 And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. 13 And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. 14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it, they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out, 15 “Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. 16 In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. 17 Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.” 18 Even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.19 But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. 21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.We conclude our worship gathering here each week with the commissioning, reciting Jesus' words to us in Matthew 28:19-20. He tells us to “go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all I have commanded you…”The authority given to us from Jesus Christ, to “make disciples” from all the nations, applies to all sorts of tasks: it includes local tasks such as raising children, encouraging a brother or sister in Christ, confronting a friend who is drifting, or explaining the gospel to a Lyft driver. But it also goes beyond our local horizon to tasks like learning a new language to communicate in a different country. When we come to “missions” Sunday, we mean something specific. Missions means that someone is sent, with purpose, for a goal. And the specific goal we understand with that term is, “cross-cultural witness” about Jesus. Why is that?The Great Commission does not allow us to be content with our own home or neighborhood. It requires us to look beyond the horizons of our city, and of our nation or people. God has a special and distinct delight in creating disciples from among all nations.That nudge, that delight, that push to emphasize “all nations” is what we call “missions.” Of all that God calls us to do, one part that requires a reminder and special attention, is to pray for, to send, and to go toward peoples who have not yet heard or accepted the gospel.And in Acts 14 we have an example of the first missionary team to the nations, Paul and Barnabas.This story gives us a picture or model of what it looks like to bring the good news about Jesus to a new place. Whatever situation we face today, we can ask how to respond in ways that reflect what we see from the Apostles. My hope is that this text stimulates us to send cross-cultural witnesses (missionaries). And, I pray that it would confirm some people in this room with the desire to join that work.How does cross-cultural witness glorify God? Cross-cultural witness glorifies (or makes much of) God—through Light, Life, and Love.Light: It shines light into darkness.Life: It brings new groups of people to Jesus.Love: It helps believers walk in a cross-shaped way.1) Light: Light into Darkness (vv. 9-18)How does cross-cultural witness glorify God? It shines light into darkness. This is the main point of the story about Paul and Barnabas's witness in the town of Lystra.The story has three parts: a healing, a misunderstanding, and then light (the explanation).HealingThe Apostles announced the saving power of Jesus through a miracle.Paul says to a lame man, “Stand upright on your feet” (14:10). And the man rises. In fact, the text says that he “sprang up”, and began walking. The people of Lystra were no fools. They must have known this man. They knew he could not walk and had never walked. He was disabled from birth. There was no orthopedic surgery at this time. No Dr. Peter Cole to set those bones, and no physical therapy to train him to walk. And yet, in a moment, the power of Jesus changed everything.We are all familiar with showcased, staged healings. It is difficult for us to contemplate what a real public healing would look like. What would you feel if you were there? Remember, this is someone the townspeople knew. The evidence, for them, was clear as the blue sky. This man couldn't walk, and now he can.And that makes their reaction a bit less surprising.Misunderstanding“And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, ‘The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!'” (v. 11) Paul and Barnabas didn't understand what was said. Notice that the people were speaking in Lycaonian. Paul and Barnabas were undoubtedly speaking Greek, and we think most people would have spoken Greek as well. Cities such as Lystra were founded as Greek cities several hundred years earlier.But this verse tells us that there was a deeper culture, an older culture, an older language still at play. When the people were startled by this obvious miracle, they responded in their native language.Verse 12 explains the confusion,“Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.”It would be a big surprise for you and me to be mistaken as “gods”. I think it was a surprise for Paul and Barnabas as well. The people saw the miracle and concluded this must be a divine visit. They picked the most likely visitors from the Greek pantheon—Zeus, king of the gods, and Hermes, the messenger of the gods. The misunderstanding went even deeper when the priest of Zeus proposed sacrificing an ox to celebrate the visit from these god-like figures. The text says that when Barnabas and Paul “heard of it,” that is, someone had to tell them what was going on…they spoke up and explained the true situation.Think about what Paul and Barnabas were feeling at that moment. “We've been totally misunderstood!” Even after Paul's explanation, Luke records that “even with these words they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them” (14:18).So, despite a clear word from Paul, there was misunderstanding.Dear friends, have you ever been misunderstood in your gospel witness? It happens that we try as best we can to make the gospel clear, and yet people around us hear it through their own lens. Perhaps, “Ah, so you are religious and I'm not.” “So you hold a particular political view.” Or, as I experienced with a driver in Vietnam once, “You ask Jesus for good stuff, and I ask Budda for good stuff. We're basically the same.”But I want us to see in this text that misunderstanding has a purpose. It fuels clear gospel witness. Misunderstanding forces us to new and fresh ways of speaking. Misunderstanding is the stuff of cross-cultural witness because it forces us to push through. It forces us to learn a new language, whether a literal language or the vocabulary of a sub-culture we've never experienced—maybe even one in our own city.LightA misunderstood healing gives Paul a chance to speak. And he has a message, a beam of light into darkness. He says in verse 15,“We bring you good news.”What is that good news?What was the great problem regarding god in the ancient world? Because there were so many powers in the universe, so many potential gods, the greatest challenge was to know which god should be worshipped. All the sacrifices in the pagan world were attempts to ask, “Will this help?” “Will that help?” My Vietnamese friend treated Buddha in the same way: He can help me get what I want.That is why Paul says in verse 15, “We bring you good news!” It frees us to learn that there is one God above all. It is freeing to hear that this God has spoken. If I am worried about offending one of the many gods, to hear that there is one God above them all changes things.Remember that the priest of Zeus is waiting there with a sacrificial ox. But Paul doesn't say, “Just like Zeus, the god I proclaim is the king of the gods. He directs the lightning. He shows his power in the sky.”The Living God is not like Zeus. He is not a part of creation, but completely separate from it. As the “living” God, he is life and he gives life. He created all things and so rules over all things.And people need that same word today. Without a belief in the living God, people have no real connection to what is bigger than themselves. A world without a creator has a great emptiness. All our quests to be part of something bigger than ourselves are pointing in that direction. We may settle for building our own little empire, or devoting ourselves to a political cause, or vaguely hoping that “helping people” gets us a bit more meaning, but in quiet moments we know that we are alone in this universe without connection to one who created all things.Dear friends, this is the “light” of the gospel message. The God who made the world, the one whom we cannot avoid, has spoken and acted for us in Jesus.Luke doesn't record the end of Paul's message here, but he does in Acts 17, when Paul visits Athens. There Paul says,“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31).The resurrection of Jesus Christ has announced God's salvation and judgment to the world.Some of you are facing difficult conversations with friends and family about what you believe. You may be uncertain about how to make clear what you mean by faith in Jesus. Paul's witness here reminds us that even in the midst of misunderstanding, the gospel announces real, solid light to every culture and sub-culture, to every sector of society, and to every man and woman. And the work to make that gospel light clear is the glorious work of witness, particularly cross-cultural witness.2) Life: New Followers of JesusCross-cultural witness glorifies God because it results in life: that is, new followers of Jesus.What Does Christian Conversion Look Like? (v. 15)It is to “turn from vain things to a living God” (Acts 14:15). Paul explains this to the Thessalonians in 1 Thessalonians 1:10, “you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God.” Notice the contrast: Vain things, idols, that is, whatever claims to meet our needs. Instead we should turn to the “living God.” “Living God” does not mean simply that “he exists.” Rather, he is life and he gives life. He is not an inert, distant power or force—like gravity. But he is active, alive, and giving life.Psalm 36:9,“For with you is the fountain of life; in your light do we see light.” This reminds us why the message is good news.Turning to God is not just doing what we are told: like getting back to your homework after wasting 30 minutes scrolling. It is not like getting serious after throwing around some jokes with friends, or setting yourself a long list of goals to make yourself better. Instead, the New Testament describes conversion as turning from darkness to light. It is stepping away from emptiness and toward fullness. It is to reorder your desires and values so that you look up to the one who is the most valuable and say, “Yes! I have everything I need in You!” Everything else is “vanity,” insufficient, incomplete, temporary, and ultimately unsatisfying. If we have Jesus, then we lack nothing. Our cup is full. And we are satisfied with all that God is for us in Jesus. He is to us, not only Lord and Savior, but also our treasure.Have you turned from vain things to the Living God? Have you given up on empty pursuits (and you know deep down that they are empty) to look toward the God who gives real life? Paul calls the people of Lystra to the most significant moment of their lives. He tells them not to miss out on what God gives. And if you have not yet put your faith in Jesus, then God announces this to you again today: Come to him.And the miracle is that people in Lystra believed.New Disciples and New ChurchesActs 14:21-22,“When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith....”They “made many disciples” and they returned to “strengthen the souls of the disciples.” In the midst of misunderstanding, people believed. When Paul and Barnabas came back to Lystra, perhaps a month or two later, there were “disciples.”This is the great promise of gospel witness. Real lives are changed. Human lives take a new direction. And those believers make churches, churches that often endure. Do you remember Paul's companion, Timothy? Do you know where he is from? Lystra. This very town (Acts 16:1-3).I know Lystra is not on a tour of Bible lands today. That part of Turkey was conquered by Muslims in the Middle Ages, but the church in Lystra survived for at least four hundred years after this event. There is evidence that the bishop of Lystra attended a church council in 451 AD. So, the cross-cultural witness here produced fruit for hundreds of years to come.How does cross-cultural witness glorify God? It brings life and joy that transform the lives of men and women…and then it bears fruit in churches and communities for decades and centuries. So, Cities Church, if a mature member of this church says, “Yes. I want to give my life for that work in a fresh, cross-cultural environment,” will we get behind them? Are we ready to send a member or members of this church to live and witness cross-culturally for the sake of new spiritual life? Might that perhaps be you? 3) Love: Believers Walk in a Cross-shaped Way (vv. 19-20)Cross-cultural witness brought Light (out of darkness and into light), Life (new life that grows in Christ), and then Love (Believers now walk in a cross-shaped way).Acts 14:19-20,“But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. 20 But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.”Can you imagine this scene? As Paul, you are hit in the head with a stone that knocks you out. Next thing you know, you wake up in the dust on a road outside the town.Imagine what that felt like for Barnabas. Here we are, a few months into this journey. We've seen some success, we've seen people come to faith. And even in Lystra it looked hopeful after the misunderstanding. But then, it all comes crashing down in a mob action directed at Paul. How do you respond to that? Luke records this very simply: Paul got up, went into the city, and left the next day with Barnabas. These guys knew what they were about, and they were not surprised.We have been studying John 17, and Jesus makes this perfectly clear:“I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.” (John 17:14)“As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.” (John 17:18)Paul and Barnabas looked at each other that day and said, “Brother, we are not of this world. But we are sent into the world. The world hates our Savior, and so it hates us as well.”Here is how Paul reflected on that day when he wrote to Timothy several years later, 2 Timothy 3:10-12,“You, however, have followed my teaching, my conduct, my aim in life, my faith, my patience, my love, my steadfastness, 11 my persecutions and sufferings that happened to me at Antioch, at Iconium, and at Lystra—which persecutions I endured; yet from them all the Lord rescued me. 12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted…”When Paul thinks through his “persecutions and sufferings”, he goes back to this event. He tells Timothy, you want to know what my life looks like? Remember Lystra. We can call it a cross-shaped life. Just as Jesus told us,“If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. 24 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.” (Luke 9:23-24)Do you believe that, dear friends? The life of love is a life poured out for others in serving them and proclaiming the good news about Jesus Christ. And cross-cultural witness among unreached people makes this abundantly clear. C.T. Studd, one of the missionaries to China in 1885 said about his years there: “For five years we never went outside our doors without a volley of curses from our neighbors.” Those who engage in front-line, pioneering cross-cultural witness often face a negative response from people. And yet there is glory in it. Would it not be a glory to display that cross-shaped life as a witness to a people group among whom there are few believers? Would it not be a grace to spend your life working through the frustration of cross-cultural misunderstanding to see new spiritual life spring up? Would it not be worth it to find yourself spent, tired, and poured out for the sake of people who might not hear the gospel clearly any other way? And for every Christian, it may be that you will face a “volley of curses” when you go outside your door. You might even face such a thing today. And that is why Paul's exhortation to the new believers in Lystra applies also to us, Acts 14:22:“strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”Your “many tribulations” might look like anything: this includes both opposition and just plain difficulty. Paul says to you that “through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” This is from God and God is with us in it.The TableAnd how do we know that God is with us in difficulty? One way is through the witness of the Lord's Supper.Believers have a life shaped by the cross. Behind our struggles with misunderstanding and opposition is a confidence in Jesus, who suffered and died for us. And so, if you feel inadequate for a difficult situation. If you feel like your knees would buckle when faced with opposition. If you sense that your body and soul are not sufficient for the risk-taking life that we see in Paul and Barnabas here, then God has a word for you here at this table. Jesus Christ endured all for you, and he gives himself to you to be received in faith, just as we take and eat these elements. And if Christ is in you by the power of the Spirit, then all of heaven works for your good.
Hour 2 of the show begins with Jon talking about an editorial about the Cities Church protests. Then Tom Emmer joins the show to talk about a variety of topics. Hour 2 raps up with Peggy Bennett joining the show to talk about her campaign for Minnesota Governor.
Hour 2 of the show begins with Jon talking about an editorial about the Cities Church protests. Then Tom Emmer joins the show to talk about a variety of topics. Hour 2 raps up with Peggy Bennett joining the show to talk about her campaign for Minnesota Governor. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
John 17:6-13,“I have manifested your name to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word. 7 Now they know that everything that you have given me is from you. 8 For I have given them the words that you gave me, and they have received them and have come to know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me. 9 I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours. 10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them. 11 And I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, keep them in your name, which you have given me, that they may be one, even as we are one. 12 While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”John 17 is one of the most amazing chapters in the Bible because the entire chapter is a prayer of Jesus — and it's a prayer he prays for us. We know this because of what Jesus says in verse 20. He says to his Father:“I do not ask for these only [that's the eleven disciples], but also for those who will believe in me through their word [that's us, his church].”By the grace of God, we believe in Jesus through the gospel that has been passed down to us in the apostolic word (that's the New Testament!). So when Jesus prayed in John 17 — yes, the eleven disciples were right by his side and he prayed for them — but he also had us in mind.Which means: what Jesus prayed in John 17 he prays for us — and notice I'm saying “prays for us” in the present tense.For this to make sense, I think we need to understand something important about prayer itself. In Revelation 5, when the four living creatures and twenty-four elders bow down in worship to Jesus, John makes a curious statement about prayer. He says that each of these worshipers are holding “golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints.”It's a minor detail on one hand, but it's also a clue that the prayers of God's people are collected. I think it tells us something about prayer that we can know by experience: it's that our prayers don't ever expire, but they accumulate.The more we pray, over time, those prayers shape us into a certain kind of person. The prayers themselves can change, in maturity and clarity, but basically we all become the kind of person who prays the way we do.Maybe a better way to say it is that our prayers stay with us. When we pray about something, we don't ever just ‘check the box' and move on — because prayer is not ‘one and done' sort of thing. The way we pray, even in private, gets represented by us everywhere we go. Everywhere we go, we go as persons who are praying a certain way.And we even talk this way as a church. A lot of times we'll say something like “Yeah, I'm praying about that” or “I'm praying for you” — we use the present tense. We understand that our prayers stay with us. That's true of us … and that's true of Jesus, like right now.I want you to know that the prayer Jesus prayed in John 17 is still operative. It's not a mere record of the way he prayed once upon a time. It's not left behind in the dust of history. But this is a prayer that reflects the heart of Jesus this morning. Jesus carries this prayer with him, and he wants all of this for us now like he wanted it when he first prayed it. We know the word of God is living and active! — I want you to know this prayer in the word of God is living and active!I want you to know that Jesus is praying this for you today!There are three things he's praying that I want to show you.1. Jesus is praying for us to be kept. I'm not sure what you think when you hear the word “kept” but it's got a rich biblical meaning. And it's really an image. For God to “keep you” means he holds onto you and cares for you. He doesn't let you go and he provides for what you need. That's what we hear in Psalm 121 when the psalmist says: The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night. The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life. (Verses 5–7)Or it's like when God says of his servant in Isaiah 42, verse 6:“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you …” That's an image. He's saying: I'm looking out for you. I'm protecting you. I'm gonna get you where I'm leading you. In the New Testament, we see this in places like 1 Peter 1:5, “by God's power [we] are being guarded [or kept] through faith …” Or Jude 24, which we sing sometimes, “Now to him who is able to keep you … be glory!”Theologically, this idea of being kept is about endurance. It is part of a doctrine known as the “perseverance of the saints.” That doctrine teaches that those whom God truly saves he faithfully preserves. If you are in Christ, you will make it! That's the doctrine, and we see it in action in this prayer. Doctrine in ActionNotice first how Jesus describes who he's talking about. Jesus calls believers those whom the Father has given him. We can see that right away in verse 6. Jesus says, “I have manifested your name [Father] to the people whom you gave me out of the world. Yours they were, and you gave them to me …”Jesus says that's who he's praying for. Verse 9:“I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world but for those whom you have given me, for they are yours.”This is a big deal. Jesus is doubling-down on a distinction: there is the world here, and then there are those out of the world that the Father claims as his own and gives them to the Son.Where Are You?Here's an important question: How do you know where you are? Are you of the world? Or has the Father given you to Jesus out of the world?That's a good question. I was thinking about this the other day. I was on the road, sitting at red light, and there were seven cars at the intersection turning left in front of me, and I decided I would just look at the face of each person as they drove by. I think people are fascinating. So I'm looking at each person, and they're all different; they're all going somewhere; they all got stories, and I thought: “I wonder which of these people have been given to Jesus?” That one? That one? That one?Here's the thing: you can't really tell by just looking at people, but I know the answer: The ones who are given to Jesus are the ones who believe in him. That's what it means to keep Jesus's word in verse 6. Or, in verse 8, to “know in truth” who Jesus is. We're asking the wrong question if we're asking: “Have I been given to Jesus or not?”The question is: “Do you believe him?” If you believe in Jesus, you are given to Jesus, and if you are given to Jesus, you are kept by Jesus. Because he's praying for that. Right now. This means, for Christians in the room, we are gonna make it! We need to remind each other of this more often, especially in the face of hostility. Church, we will endure. We will make it through. Jesus is praying for us to be kept. 2. Jesus is praying for us to glorify him. This is a very simple sentence in verse 10, but I'd love for you to see it. Everybody help me out and find verse 10. Chapter 17, verse 10.“All mine are yours, and yours are mine, and I am glorified in them.”This is the first time Jesus has ever said this. Now he's talked about his glory before, at some key places in the Gospel. He opens verse 1 of this prayer asking the Father to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. We saw that last week. Jesus is saying:Father, make me shine, so that you shine!Magnify me so that people see you! And Jesus is referring to the cross and resurrection. That is the most vivid revelation of God's heart! It's what the entire ministry of Jesus was been building toward — when Jesus was lifted up as our sacrifice and then raised from dead to defeat sin and death! Jesus is glorified in his cross and resurrection! He's told us that. But verse 10 is the first time Jesus has ever said that he's glorified in his disciples. It's a remarkable statement. Now Mediated Glory!Last week, Pastor David Mathis walked through “the story of Jesus's glory.” He showed us that Jesus has: Pre-world glory, Incarnate glory, Crucified glory, and Resurrected glory.Today, we add one more: Mediated glory. Now, like today — after his resurrection or because of his resurrection — Jesus shines through the work he does in his disciples. Including us.Because he's not here anymore, remember? But we are. That's what he says in verse 11 — Jesus is now in heaven with the Father, but we are here, with his Spirit. And that means that now we have become the living theater of his glory in this world. Jesus is now seen and heard, and known and loved, through the nature and witness of his church.That is how he is glorified in us. We might have the impression that to glorify Jesus means we must accomplish some grandiose thing; we might think we must do something super radical that gets people's attention — but that's not the case at all.We glorify Jesus, first, simply by the reality of who we are as believers. We trust him. We are born again to a living hope.I told you last week, church, we are living miracles. Our very being — and our being together — is because of the work of Jesus Christ. He is glorified in us by our existence.And then, also, he is glorified in us when we bear witness to him — when we join his mission to make his glory known. This part is astounding. …We get to really and truly display Jesus to others. We get to acknowledge him by our lifestyles, and give him in our relationships. We get to point to him and tell of him. Our Eager Expectation and HopeChristian, look: Jesus can be glorified in you through what you do. Isn't that amazing? You can make your Savior shine! You can show him, in all kinds of ways — starting with the meditations of your heart … to the words of your mouth, from serving your family well … to sharing the gospel with the lost, from small acts of faith … to costly acts of love, from resisting temptation … to enduring hostility with a smile on your face — we can do things that glorify Jesus. And don't you want to? Just for the wondrous fact that Jesus is happy about it. That he truly shines.I believe that if we could see the smile of Jesus upon us, we could do anything. I pray as a church that our ambition would become like the apostle Paul's, who said in Philippians 1:20, “it is my eager expectation and hope that … Christ be honored in my body, whether by life or by death.”That's it. Whatever it takes! Jesus be glorified in us — and Jesus is praying that! Jesus is praying for us to glorify him. 3. Jesus is praying for us to have his joy.Take a look at verse 12. Jesus prays:“While I was with them, I kept them in your name, which you have given me. I have guarded them, and not one of them has been lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled. 13 But now I am coming to you, and these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves.”Jesus says again here what we've already seen — he keeps his own. He guards his people. Judas, however, ‘went out from them because he was never truly of them' (1 John 2:19). It was foretold in the Scripture. Jesus was not surprised by this. It was no failure on his part.He has been faithful to the mission the Father gave him, and he says again in verse 13 what he's been saying this whole time: I'm coming home. Another Purpose StatementJesus is going back to his Father, and we're staying here — and he wants something for us here.In fact, Jesus makes another purpose statement about the Farewell Discourse.Notice in verse 13 he says, “these things I speak in the world that they may have…” — it's a purpose statement.The “these things” includes this prayer he's praying, but he's thinking about everything he's been teaching. Jesus is praying that everything he's been teaching will accomplish a purpose. I want you to tell me what it is. Everybody look at verse 13, Jesus says: “these things I speak in the world, that they may have my joy.” He already told us he wanted us to have his peace, now he tells us he wants us to have his joy!Now you gotta go back to those people who asked you about the Farewell Discourse a couple of weeks ago, and you gotta tell them that Jesus wants us to have peace and joy! That's what he says. He wants his joy fulfilled in us.He said the same thing in Chapter 15, verse 11. He said there:“These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.” He wants our joy to get filled up with his joy. The Joy of JesusWe can say for sure here that Jesus is not talking about generic joy. He says “my joy.” So what does that mean?What is the joy of Jesus that he wants us to have?The joy of Jesus that he wants us to have is joy in the glory of the Trinity. It's joy in the love that the Father has for the Son, and the Son for the Father, and Spirit who is the very presence of that joy. The joy of Jesus is truly joy in God himself — it is non-derivative, infinite, independent, and inexhaustible. That's why it's so good. It's what we could call “big picture joy” — and I mean that in the most profound way you could ever imagine it. Biggest possible picture joy.Which means: it's a joy that has the ability to look beyond the immediate. It can look beyond even pain and suffering. Now this is really important: I'm not saying that this joy ignores pain and suffering. It does not pretend those things don't exist. They do. This joy can say: “Father, it if be possible, let the cup pass from me!” (Matthew 26:39).This joy can say: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46)This joy can say: Father, this hurts. I don't want it. Make it stop. Bring me through it. This joy doesn't ignore pain and suffering, but it's able to see to the other side. “For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). Big picture joy — the joy of Jesus — is a joy in front of us so glorious that it reaches back into our lives now and makes us make it. We're gonna make it because of this joy — and if I keep going, I'm describing the ministry of the Holy Spirit. But let me say this: Jesus wants you to have his joy — He prays for you to be kept. He prays for you to glorify him. He prays for you to have his joy.The InvitationAnd this morning, I would like for us to close with an invitation: Would you open your heart to the joy of Jesus?I mean this, first, for non-Christians: If you're here and you've never put your faith in Jesus, you are currently without this joy. You do not have Christ, but I'm inviting you to have him. Right now, you can pray: Jesus, I'm done walking down this path I've been on, save me. Trust in Jesus Christ. And for all the Christians in the room, for Cities Church: don't we want more of the joy of Jesus? For many of us, the burdens have piled up. We're weighed down. Life is heavy. We need that big picture joy! We need the joy of Jesus — and I'm inviting you: open your heart to him again. Ask for a fresh filling of his joy this morning. And you can do that at this Table. The TableAt this Table we remember the death of Jesus for us! He welcomes us again into his fellowship, into his joy. If you are a Christian, this is for you. Receive his bread and cup today and may the Lord Jesus restore to you the joy of his salvation. He's praying for you.
For Hour 2 of the show Jon gives an update on the protester that was arrested outside Cities Church. Then Jon transitions to talking about why restaurants and hospitals are struggling financially.
For Hour 2 of the show Jon gives an update on the protester that was arrested outside Cities Church. Then Jon transitions to talking about why restaurants and hospitals are struggling financially. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Episode Summary: Everyone loves empathy these days. But beware! Empathy seems to be a virtue perfect for hijacking and using for evil under the banner of good. In this provocative episode, we sit down with theologian Joe Rigney to expose the dangerous confusion between biblical compassion and what he calls “the sin of empathy.” When compassion is untethered from truth, it can manipulate hearts, distort justice, and harm the very people it claims to help.From gender identity and immigration to poverty, criminal justice, modern therapy culture, and almost every other social issue, we explore how empathy is often used to silence truth, reward dysfunction, and pressure Christians into moral compromise. This conversation challenges today's “compassion narratives” and calls believers back to a deeper, stronger, and more truthful love that's anchored in Scripture.This is a call to true Christian compassion: the kind that tells the truth, seeks genuine healing, and refuses emotional manipulation.Who is Disciple Nations Alliance (DNA)? Since 1997, DNA's mission has been to equip followers of Jesus around the globe with a biblical worldview, empowering them to build flourishing families, communities, and nations.
For Hour 3 of the show, Jon talks about the women who was arrested outside Cities Church on Easter Sunday and had all the charges dropped. Also Jon gives his thoughts on the No Kings protests, and Paid Family Leave. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For Hour 3 of the show, Jon talks about the women who was arrested outside Cities Church on Easter Sunday and had all the charges dropped. Also Jon gives his thoughts on the No Kings protests, and Paid Family Leave.
The Matt McNeil Show - AM950 The Progressive Voice of Minnesota
The Artemis II mission for some good news; stolen valor T-shirt; right-wing terrorism; Trump’s genocide threats against Iran; Wisconsin Supreme Court election; MTG’s vacated seat up for election; MNUFC player could be seriously ill; Patrick Coolican is back this week; Cities Church protest on Easter. The post The Matt McNeil Show – April 7, 2026 first appeared on AM 950.
For Hour 3 of the show Jon talks about Operation Not Forgotten, as well as a protester outside of Cities Church that got arrested. Then the Jon finishes the show by talking about how the increased graduation rate is paired with a decrease in academic readiness.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
For Hour 3 of the show Jon talks about Operation Not Forgotten, as well as a protester outside of Cities Church that got arrested. Then the Jon finishes the show by talking about how the increased graduation rate is paired with a decrease in academic readiness.
The Matt McNeil Show - AM950 The Progressive Voice of Minnesota
Matt is back today; best food day ever; Trump threatens war crimes in horrific Easter message; racism has been successful as a right-wing policy; Gopher women’s gymnastics to the championship; Matt’s attire draws reactions in South Carolina; Engen and Hudon’s drunk armed escapades; another arrest at Cities Church; video released of non-fatal ICE shooting in… The post The Matt McNeil Show – April 6, 2026 first appeared on AM 950.
John 17:1-5,When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, 2 since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. 3 And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. 4 I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. 5 And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.We love to say, thanks to Pastor Kenny, that Sunday is the best day of the week. And if that's so, then what is Resurrection Sunday but the best day of the year?But why is Easter so good? Christians make much of Easter, and rightfully so, but do we know why? Why is Jesus's resurrection so important? Didn't Jesus himself say, on Good Friday, “It is finished”? If the work was accomplished on Friday, what's so glorious about his rising at Easter?Is Easter more than prophecies fulfilled, and God making good on his word? Is Easter more than the Father vindicating the sinless life of his Son? Is it more than confirmation that Good Friday worked, that our sins are covered, and perfect righteousness provided? Is Easter more, even, than our having access to the finished work of Christ, because he's alive, and by faith we're joined to him so that what he did counts as ours?That's where John 17 takes us this Easter. It answers the question: What's the bottom line why the resurrection of Jesus is such good news?Longest WinterCities Church, it's been a long winter (and not because of weather!). God has provided for us so remarkably by putting us in John 14–16 on this longest Thursday night in history, while many of us have endured through the longest winter of our lives. Oh how he has met us in these dark weeks with grace to let not our hearts be troubled, and to stay in the vine, and not fall away, but to lean on the promised Helper, even as we expect the world's hate, and remember Jesus's greatness, and know he turns our sorrows into joy. And then last Sunday, to end chapter 16: Take heart, Cities Church, your Lord has overcome the world!Now, on Resurrection Sunday, he provides for us again with John 17:1–5, which is not only about resurrection, but also crucifixion. We have here both Good Friday and Easter Sunday, and we have the answer for what makes Easter so glorious. This prayer from Jesus goes to the very bottom of why the resurrection of Jesus is so worthy of our celebration.This Majestic ChapterJohn 17 is one of the greatest, most majestic, chapters in all the Bible. Here we have Jesus, God himself among us in our flesh and blood, praying aloud, at length, for us to hear. He begins in verses 1–5 praying for himself as he goes to the cross, and he spends the bulk of the chapter praying for his disciples (vv. 6–19) and for us, “for those who will believe in me through their word” (vv. 20–26). You're in this prayer. Jesus is not just praying for his disciples; he's praying for you. What makes this chapter special is its height and depth. From beginning to end, this is the Bible's most unsearchable, inscrutable, incomprehensible chapter. We get to overhear Jesus praying to his Father, on the night before he goes to the cross. He prays from a soul that has joy set before him, enough to go to the cross and endure unimaginable agony. This prayer is an endless ocean of wonder, and so we wade in on Easter Sunday.Four Easter GloriesThe reason this is such a good Easter text is that the main request Jesus makes in verses 1–5 is that his Father would glorify him — and resurrection is an essential part of that glory. He makes his main request twice:End of verse 1: “glorify your Son”Verse 5: “Father, glorify me”But this is not only a prayer for resurrection. To understand what Jesus asks for when he prays for his Father to glorify him, we need to understand this story of his glory which has been unfolding in the Gospel of John and now comes to a head in these verses. Jesus's prayer in verses 1–5 strikes four notes about his glory that lead us to the deepest reason why Easter is worthy of celebrating.1. Pre-world glory: Jesus had glory before creation (v. 5)If we take these glories in chronological order, we start with the pre-world glory of the divine Son before creation in verse 5:“…now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”Divine glory is not new to Jesus as he comes to the cross. The eternal Son had glory with his Father before the foundation of the world; he is preexistent and eternal, as we confess,“God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made; of the same essence as the Father. Through him all things were made.”The Father and Son did not make the world in order to obtain a glory they lacked. Rather, they existed together from all eternity in such overflowing, effusive, abounding glory that their fullness spilled over in creation to make a world in which that glory might be displayed.And if the glory of God is reason for the world, the lack of his glory in us is what's gone wrong with the world. Sin is our falling short of, our lacking, the glory of God. Romans 3:23: “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” That's true for everyone in this room: God made you to reflect his fullness of glory, and you have not lived up to that calling. We have not imaged him, as we ought. In fact, in our sin, we have rebelled against and made assault on his glory.So, first in the story is the pre-world glory. Jesus had glory with his Father before creation, and they made the world to display their glory.2. Incarnate glory: the Son came and lived to his Father's glory (v. 4)Our sin against God, and his glory, became the occasion for God the Son to come on a rescue mission in the world he made.So, the eternal Son, sent by his Father, emptied himself of divine privilege and added our humanity to his person, and lived utterly dedicated to his Father's glory. So, Jesus says in verse 4:“I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.”Jesus dedicated his earthly, human life to thinking and feeling and speaking and acting in such ways as to make his Father known as great. As man, Jesus lived for his Father's glory, not his own, as he says in John 8:50, “I do not seek my own glory.” His teaching honored his Father (John 7:16–18). His miracles, his good works, all to the honor of his Father. “I honor my Father” (John 8:49).And in doing so, Jesus shows us our privileged calling as humans, as those who bear the image and carry the name of God: to live to his glory. To think, feel, speak, and act to make him known as great.Yet, as the cross comes near, something new emerges. It's not a pivot or change of direction, but now, uniquely, as the divine Son, we see in Jesus's “near approach” to the cross that he is different from us. Truly man but no mere man. We do not follow him here.We heard for the first time in chapter 12 that at last his hour had come. What's this hour? Notice the first thing he prays and then what he says in John 12:23–24 and 27–28:“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. . . . 27 Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour'? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify your name.”As Jesus has prayed his whole life, so he prays, Father, glorify your name — even as he acknowledges “the hour has come” which is an hour “for the Son of Man to be glorified.” And he talks about dying. How does his being glorified, to his Father's glory, go with his dying?3. Crucified glory: the Father exalts his Son at the cross (v. 1)The first way the Son will be glorified is by dying. He will be lifted up (glorified) as he is lifted up in torture on the cross. He will be glorified in his dying. Which brings us back to 17:1, in this holy moment, in prayer, the night before he died. He prays, “Father, the hour has come,” and then, “glorify your Son.” Which means he is praying for the cross. “Glorify your Son” is his way of praying, Your will be done. When he prays, Glorify your Son, he is resolved to go to the cross.This is the strange glory of Good Friday. It's not the glory humans expect. We expect the divine Son to be lifted up to the throne; we do not expect him first to be lifted up in the shame and horror of the cross.And the reason it's glory (a lifting up), and not defeat (going down), is because the sins he dies for at the cross are not his own. If Jesus had deserved to die, this would have been utter shame, not glory. But he died, verse 2 says, “to give eternal life to all whom you have given him” — that is, the Father gives him a people, called the church. And the people are sinners, rebels against God. They deserve death. And Jesus dies for their sins, to make them right with God. Which makes the cross a glory. Which is why we'd call an otherwise horrible Friday good.So, Jesus's main prayer, first in verse 1, then echoed in verse 5, is “Father, glorify me.” In verse 1, it means lift me up as I go to the cross. And in verse 5, we get more.4. Resurrected glory: the Father exalts his Son by raising him (v. 5)Now, let's get all of verse 5:“And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence [with yourself, beside yourself] with the glory that I had with you [beside you] before the world existed.”Jesus looks not only to the strange, crucified glory of Friday, but to the triumph of Sunday and to the great lifting up to come: in the resurrection, then in the ascension, and then coronated as king of all at his Father's right hand.And verse 5 shows us how Jesus got there. In this prayer, Jesus looks through the shame of Friday to the honor of being with his Father. He looks through the pain of the cross to the joy of being with his Father. Which is “the joy set before him” Hebrews 12:2 so memorably talks about:“…for the joy that was set before him [Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”Looking to the joy of resurrection, and ascension, and coronation, and reunion — that is, being glorified with his Father, beside his Father, in his presence — that look strengthened Jesus to endure the cross. What got Jesus to and through the cross was looking to the joy of resurrection glory, with his Father.Which brings us back to our question and the last part of this prayer in verses 2–3. Our question was: Why is the resurrection so important? What's so glorious for us about Easter?Over All, for His ChurchFirst, verse 2:“you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.”The Father has given Jesus authority over all flesh — get that, all flesh, all humans, no exceptions. Jesus is over all. But for what purpose? End of verse 2:“to give eternal to all whom you have given him.” Who's that? His church. Those who believe in him and worship him and celebrate him and find joy in him. The Father gave him authority over all that he might give eternal life to his people. That he might build and beautify his church. Let that sink in. Do you know what the risen Christ is doing right now with his authority over all? He's taking care of his church. Do you know what he's doing with his authority over Iran? He's giving eternal life to all whom the Father has given him. Do you know what he's doing with his authority over this country? Building his church; caring for his church.People in the world may say “Trump this” and “Iran that,” and “Putin this” and “China that,” and the risen Christ says, Who? They are my tools, servants whom I use as I give eternal life to my church. I'm giving eternal life to all the Father has given me; I'm saving my people; I'm building my church.Easter's Bottom Line But we're not yet to the answer of our question. One verse remains, and verse 3, like Philippians 3:7–8, is one of the most important in all the Bible, because it gets to the very bottom of it all. There Paul says, “whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.”And here in John 17, in this sacred moment, the night before he dies, having prayed that the Father will glorify him, that he might glorify the Father, and that by giving eternal life to those God has given him, he now says what this eternal life is. Verse 3:“And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”Eternal life is not luxury vacations. It's not mere reunions with loved ones. It's not just streets of gold. At its heart, in its essence, eternal life is knowing God — the God who made you and made you to know him. Your heart is restless till you find rest in him. You will be unsatisfied until you find satisfaction in him. And then Jesus adds, “and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”There is no competition for glory here between Father and Son but mutual glorification as the Son glorifies Father in life and in going to the cross, and Father glorifies Son at the cross and in raising him, and the Son glorifies his Father by giving eternal life to his people, and eternal life is knowing the Father, and the Son.Brothers and sisters and guests, this is eternal life: to know Jesus and his Father. And it begins now. That's the bottom line why Easter is such good news: Jesus is alive to be known and enjoyed forever.He's alive, not just to forgive your sins, but that you might know him and enjoy him. He's alive not just to provide your righteousness, but for the joy of daily communion — and one day soon full communion. He's alive not just to vindicate his work but to satisfy our souls in him. He gives himself, and his Father, when he gives eternal life.The glory of Easter is that Jesus is alive to be known and enjoyed forever. That's who we seek together at this Table, and in church life, and in his word, and in prayer — we make use of these God-given, Christ-bought means to the great end of knowing Jesus.At the bottom, the resurrection gives us Jesus.
In Hour 3 of the show Jon talks about the Artemis II launch, as well as the Cities Church continuing to have protesters on Sundays. Then Jon is joined by Josh Schirard to talk about the Byrna launchers.
In Hour 3 of the show Jon talks about the Artemis II launch, as well as the Cities Church continuing to have protesters on Sundays. Then Jon is joined by Josh Schirard to talk about the Byrna launchers. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Top headlines for Tuesday, March 24, 2026We explore the newly installed marble statue of Christopher Columbus at the White House, commemorating the upcoming 250th birthday of the United States, and the varying public reactions it has sparked. Next, we shift focus to the escalating tensions in the Middle East, where the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz is gaining prominence in the unfolding conflict. We'll also cover the Catholics for Catholics gala held in Washington, D.C., featuring notable speakers like Candace Owens and Carrie Prejean Boller, highlighting the fusion of religious and political discourse. Lastly, we bring you the emotional story of Pastor Wulfrano Portillo from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who has been deported to Mexico, delving into the implications for his community and the broader conversation on immigration. 00:11 US planning potential weeks-long operation to reopen Strait of Hormuz, possibly seize Kharg Island01:00 United Methodist Church, SMU to continue relationship, end lawsuit01:53 3 highlights from Catholic gala featuring Candace Owens02:35 Pastor deported to Mexico after decades of ministry03:22 Judge drops charges against woman in Cities Church case04:12 WH erects replica of Christopher Columbus statue toppled in 202005:03 High Point men united by John 15:13 ahead of NCAA winSubscribe to this PodcastApple PodcastsSpotifyGoogle PodcastsOvercast⠀Follow Us on Social Media@ChristianPost on TwitterChristian Post on Facebook@ChristianPostIntl on InstagramSubscribe on YouTube⠀Get the Edifi AppDownload for iPhoneDownload for Android⠀Subscribe to Our NewsletterSubscribe to the Freedom Post, delivered every Monday and ThursdayClick here to get the top headlines delivered to your inbox every morning!⠀Links to the NewsWH erects replica of Christopher Columbus statue toppled in 2020 | PoliticsUnited Methodist Church, SMU to continue relationship, end suit | EducationUS planning potential operation to reopen Strait of Hormuz | World3 highlights from Catholic gala featuring Candace Owens | U.S.Pastor deported to Mexico after decades of ministry | U.S.Judge drops charges against woman in Cities Church case | U.S.High Point men united by John 15:13 ahead of NCAA win | Sports
John 16:16-24,“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” 17 So some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, ‘because I am going to the Father'?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about.” 19 Jesus knew that they wanted to ask him, so he said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, ‘A little while and you will not see me, and again a little while and you will see me'? 20 Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. 21 When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come, but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world. 22 So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.Our passage begins with something like a riddle. Jesus says,“A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” We're reading The Hobbit at home, and so I couldn't help but think of Bilbo Baggins and Gollum in the cave trading riddles while Bilbo hides the ring. What has roots as nobody sees / Is taller than trees / Up, up it goes / And yet never grows? . . . (A Mountain). Voiceless it cries / Wingless flutters / Toothless bites / Mouthless mutters. . . (Wind). Jesus had a little Bilbo in him here. He says, “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” You can picture poor Andrew sitting there and thinking it over. . . . Mmm mountain! No, wind! The disciples are all turned around here.Some of his disciples said to one another, “What is this that he says to us, ‘A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me'; and, ‘because I am going to the Father'?” 18 So they were saying, “What does he mean by ‘a little while'? We do not know what he is talking about.”I don't think these guys would have made it out of the cave with Gollum's ring. “A little while, and you will see me no longer; and again a little while, and you will see me.” So what did he mean? He's talking about what's about to happen in the next few days. He's talking about the cross, the tomb, and the victory. In a matter of hours, you will not see me because I'm going to be killed. The good shepherd is about to lay down his life for the sheep. . . . And then, in a couple days, you're going to see me again. Oh you're going to see me.You Won't See MeFirst, he's preparing them for his death. “A little while, and you will not see me. . . .” Friends, I'm going to die. . . . You're going to have to watch me be betrayed, and slandered, and mocked, and then nailed to a tree and left to hang there until I can't breathe anymore. You're going to watch me bleed to death. And you're going to be sad. And it's right to be sad. It's going to be terrible, the worst nightmare any of you have ever seen. The crucifying of the Son of God is the greatest evil and heartache in history — and our history is filled, from Adam to Iran, with lots of evil and heartache. Whatever sorrow you're bringing in here — and there are serious sorrows in this room — whatever sorrow you're bringing in here, this is greater. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14) — and they murdered him. They met all of that grace and mercy face to face, and they spat on him. They drove nails through his glorious hands, his sinless feet. He came to die for their sins, and they saw him, and they went and sinned even harder against him. They tortured him, and they savored his pain and shame. Verse 20, Jesus says to his disciples, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice.” I'm really going to die, and you're really going to weep. At the darkest hour, you're going to wish you couldn't see me anymore. That's how bad it'll be. And the world is going to watch you cry and they're going to cheer. In just a little while, it's going to be awful.You Will See meThat's not the whole riddle, though.“A little while, and you will not see me, and again a little while, and you will see me.”I'm going to die — but hear me, I ain't going to be dead long.“And again a little while, and you will see me.”I'm really going to die — my heart will stop, my eyes will empty, my lungs will collapse, my flesh will go cold — and then I'm really going to rise.“You will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”I'm not going to be dead long, and so you won't have to be sad for long. I love the comma at the heart of that key sentence: “A little while, and you will not see me [comma, not a period] and again a little while, and you will see me.” The three days aren't even long enough for a period. Almost as quickly as he left and died, he's going to rise and return to them. He's going to walk with them, talk with them, even eat with them.He gives them a picture for what's about to happen in verse 21. “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come. . . .”Can he get an amen, Cities Church? I mean Jesus is speaking our language here. We love babies in this church. We max out nurseries in this church. Some of us buy passenger vans. This is a familiar picture for us. And pregnancy is hard. God says to the woman, Genesis 3:16: “I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children.” These nine months are nine months of multiplying pain. You have back pain from carrying that little bowling ball everywhere you go. Your blood pressure might spike, threatening you or the baby. Your hormones surge, making you more anxious and irritable and sometimes sad. You're tired because your body's constantly in overdrive — your heart, lungs, kidneys all straining to support another human being. You're tired, but you don't sleep well at all, which makes everything (even the smallest tasks) ten times harder. You have to go to the bathroom every 12 minutes. You feel sick and you probably throw up. Some women throw up a lot — for months. And then, at the end of all of that, you might be in the agony of labor for hours (or even longer).Listen to what Jesus says: “When a woman is giving birth, she has sorrow because her hour has come [comma] but when she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.” She doesn't remember?!If he wasn't Jesus, we could say he's just another naïve guy who doesn't get it. But he gets it. “He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him,” — the baby, the womb, the placenta, the epidural — “and without him was not anything made that was made.” He gets it. And you get it, if you've ever seen a mother after she's had her baby. She's not holding her baby and grumbling about how much her back hurt for the last nine months. She's not complaining about all the times she had to wake up in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom. She's not hung up on all the extra doctor visits and the poking and prodding and anxiety. No, if you watch her, it really seems like she just forgot all of that. She forgot months of pain and exhaustion and vomitting in minutes — in seconds even. In just 6 pounds and 8 ounces, all of that is behind her. Why? She has her baby!“When she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish,” Jesus says. Then verse 22: “So also you have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”You're going to have sorrow when I die, but you're going to see me again soon, and when you do, you're going to be absolutely overcome with joy. You'll be so overcome with joy that you just might forget the pain. The joy will be so full and so intense that you won't think about how sad you were. And he wasn't lying. In just a little while in the Gospel of John, we're going to see this happen. Here's John 20, after his death on the cross:On the evening of that day, the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.” When he had said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord.Their sorrow turned to joy, and no one and nothing took that joy from them. Remember, most (if not all) of these men will be killed for following Jesus, and none of that could touch their joy. Preparing You for Your SorrowsNo sorrow could touch their joy in him, and no sorrow in your life can touch the joy you have in the risen Jesus. In these verses, Jesus is clearly preparing his friends for his suffering on the cross, but he's also clearly preparing them for their own suffering to come. And we see this all over this final meal together. He told them, again and again, that they were going to suffer when he was gone.“If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. (John 15:19)“The hour is coming when whoever kills you will think he is offering service to God. . . . I have said these things to you, that when their hour comes you may remember that I told them to you.” (John 16:1)“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33)If you follow me, you're going to have tribulation. You're going to have tribulation. You're going to have tribulation. This is going to be hard. Do you know that, Cities Church? Do you remember that when tribulation comes to your door? . . . So many Christians in the world have been led to believe that life with Jesus should be only joy and never sorrow. And so they're devastated when sorrow comes, and sorrow comes to us all. Jesus told us that, he warned us — but they're not listening to Jesus.Jesus said, I'm going to rise from the dead and so you're going to have untouchable, unshakeable hope and joy, but you're going to suffer. You're going to have sorrows of various kinds — prayers that go unanswered year after year. And I want you to be ready. And so he prepares his disciples for those sorrows in at least three ways here in these verses.1. You can have joy, even in sorrow.First, when sorrow comes, Christian — and sorrows will come — know that you have a reason to rejoice, even now. Verse 20: “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy. . . . 23 You have sorrow now, but I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you.”This was true when Jesus died, and it's still true right now. He's still risen and living and reigning! He's as real and alive in heaven as you are in this room. Because he rose, we have joy, even now, even in the sorrows that come. We are sorrowful, yes, but always rejoicing (2 Corinthians 6:10), because Christ has conquered death, he's overcome the world, and he's preparing a place for us in glory where we will live with him forever. Our sorrows are real and heavy and painful, but they cannot touch that joy.He gives us another reason to think that we can have joy now, though, even in sorrow. Look down at verses 23–24:In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.While they live and wait and hurt in a world without Jesus — with sorrows everywhere they turn — he wants them to pray. Ask me anything, he says. And he's specifically encouraging them to pray (notice) that their joy may be full. Pray in my name, ask me anything, that your joy might be full. And not full one day in heaven, but full right now in sorrow.He's not talking about joy when he comes again and takes them home. That will be a joyful day — the fullest joy and pleasures forevermore. No, he's saying pray here and now so that your joy might be full here and now. That's how powerful my resurrection is. You have a reason to rejoice and a power to rejoice no matter what your circumstances are. So many Christians in the world have been led to believe that life with Jesus should be only joy and never sorrow (and so they're undone when sorrow comes). Other Christians (maybe this is you) have suffered so much that you've started to think that life with Jesus, at least in this life, is only sorrow and never joy. And so you've stopped expecting to experience any joy here on earth. If Jesus has risen, and I can assure you he is not dead anymore, you can have joy, even now — if you ask.2. Joy comes to those who ask.So, when sorrow comes, first, know that you can have joy, even now. You still have big, strong reasons to rejoice. Second lesson here: joy comes to those who ask. It comes to those who pray. And that's where Jesus goes in verse 22:I will see you again, and your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take your joy from you. 23 In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you. 24 Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full.Whatever you ask. . . What does the whatever really mean here? Clearly, it doesn't mean that God will automatically give us whatever we ask. We know that from experience, if we've ever prayed for anything for long. No, God doesn't immediately give us whatever we ask for. That wouldn't be loving. Parents understand this. Our kids ask for all kinds of things all the time, and we want to give them all the best things — but often that means not giving them what they want in the moment. No, he says, “whatever you ask of the Father in my name” — whatever you ask in reliance on me and for my glory. He said that earlier in the night, John 14:13–14: “Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.” There you have it again, whatever you ask. No, he doesn't immediately give us whatever we ask (because he loves us). No, the whatever here means we can ask him anything in this name. There's no ask too small or big. We're invited to ask like children. Children don't worry about asks being too small or too big. They just ask. That's how your Father wants you to ask, so that your joy might be full. Joy comes to those who ask.And our sorrows keep us asking, don't they? They keep us praying. In fact, this is one great reason for sorrow in Christian life. What do you pray for most often and most passionately? You probably pray for the things in your life that hurt — the loved one who isn't saved, the relief or healing that won't come, the bill that won't go away, the temptation that won't relent, the person who won't talk to you. You pray for those things because you have to. Sorrows keep us asking, and that means they keep us closer to Jesus. And in his presence, close to him, is fullness of joy — “that your joy may be full.” This is why the saints in your life who have suffered most are often strangely the happiest in him.3. Your sorrows will have a baby.Lastly, your sorrows will have a baby. What do I mean by that? I mean your sorrows, all your sorrows, have a purpose. They're going somewhere. Your pain, in the hands of God, it's producing something. Soon and very soon, your sorrows are going to give birth to a new life, a new world with only joy and never sorrow. God wants you to know that, in a little while, the baby's coming.In these verses, the sorrow of losing Jesus gives birth to the eternal joy of his rising from the dead. His suffering, every inch and millisecond, was filled with divine and perfect purpose. And your suffering, all of your suffering, has that kind of purpose. It's part of your path to glory, and this pattern is all over the New Testament.2 Corinthians 4:15-17,[When sorrows come] “We do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison.”Or Romans 8:16–18,“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him” — we're going to suffer, we're all going to have sorrows — “in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”John 16:21,“When she has delivered the baby, she no longer remembers the anguish, for joy that a human being has been born into the world.”Your sorrows are going to give birth to a joy so great that it'll make you forget the sorrows you're carrying right now. When Jesus returns, you won't have to carry them anymore. Your joy in Jesus is going to outlast your sorrow. No one can take away your joy, but someone can take away your sorrow. If you entrust your sorrows to Jesus, he's going to take them away.You Will Ask Me NothingI skipped over a line in verse 23, and I want to end there:“In that day you will ask nothing of me. Truly, truly, I say to you, whatever you ask of the Father in my name, he will give it to you.”What did Jesus mean when he said, “In that day you will ask nothing of me”? It might mean, “You'll stop asking me for things, and you'll start asking the Father in my name.” It might mean that, but I don't think that's what's going on here, and that's because the words for ask here are two different words in the Greek: “you will ask nothing of me” and “whatever you ask of the Father in my name.” The second one (“whatever you ask of the Father in my name”) is typically used for supplication: asking someone for something or to do something. The first Greek word (“you will ask nothing of me”) is most often used when someone's asking for information — when they need someone to explain something. And Jesus says to his confused disciples, who have all kinds of questions: “In a little while, you're not going to ask those questions anymore.” Think about all of their questions just in the last couple chapters:“Lord, where are you going?” “Lord, why can I not follow you now?” “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?”“What does he mean by ‘a little while'?”They actually say in our passage, verse 18: “We do not know what he is talking about.”And Jesus is saying to them: You're going to know really soon, and then you will ask me nothing. You won't ask me where I'm going, and when, and how you're going to find me. In that day, you will ask me nothing, because I will have already died and rose. You're going to know what you need to know. And that's what we remember right here at this Table. Each Sunday, we come with all kinds of questions, all kinds of sorrows we desperately want him to heal and take away. But we're not asking how Jesus is going to save the world anymore. We know. With all our hearts, we know.This Jesus, conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary, he suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried — “a little while, and you will see me no longer.” He descended into hades. “And again a little while, and you will see me.” The third day he rose again from the dead. He ascended to heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty. From there he will come to judge the living and the dead. And when he does, he will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore — only joy and never sorrow.
John 15:18-25,18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin,[a] but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.'We continue in our journey on this Thursday night, the longest Thursday night in history, and Jesus is preparing his men, and us, for the storm. As the cross approaches, the God-man speaks with new clarity and striking self-focus. Fourteen times in this passages Jesus says I, me, and my. These are not passing, incidental references; it's an emphasis.And the effect of this emphasis is to help us. This is love. We've seen how chapter 15 is like a battlefield speech. Jesus is getting his men ready for hell to break loose. And when the world's hatred shakes Jesus's disciples, the greatest danger isn't death. The greatest danger is falling away from Jesus.So, he gets us ready: stay with me, stay in the Vine, and bear fruit. Love each other, with an expansive love that longs to draw others in. And as you expand outward in love to be Jesus's instrument to bring others to him, and make room for others, be ready to encounter the world's hatred.The world's hate contrasts with Jesus's repeated summons to love (13:34–35; 15:12, 17). His disciples move toward the world in love and find themselves met with hatred. And notably absent is any sense of responding in kind. The implication is, keep loving even as your efforts to love are met with hatred.Why would the world hate Christians?Which raises the question, for Jesus's disciples and for us: Why would the world hate Christians?You might feel this very personally: Why would I be hated? I'm a Minnesotan. I'm nice. I don't want to upset people. I want them to be happy, and I've found in Jesus the great Treasure. I want others to know Jesus. Jesus is love, and teaches love. Why would someone hate me for that?It's an important question. And Jesus wants us to know why, and he wants us to know how to handle it. That's our focus this morning: Why would the world hate Christians, and what are we to do about it?We'll begin with the why, which is both simple, and has some layers to it. And we'll end with Jesus's two directives about how to handle it.The World Hates JesusAt one level, Jesus's answer is simple: the world hates you because the world hates me. Jesus is the focus. The followers of Jesus are hated because they are followers of Jesus. And the world hates Jesus. Listen again how Jesus is the focus of verses 18–21, with it all culminating at “on account of my name”:If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you…. 20 Remember the word that I said to you [in 13:16]: ‘A servant is not greater than his master [that is, Lord].' If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things [hate you, persecute you, disregard your word] they will do to you on account of my name…“On account of my name” means because of me and what they think about me. They are mistaken, in some sense, as we'll see. But they know some true things about him, and what they know they don't like. Actually, they hate. It may often come out as dislike or indifference, but deep in the soul, it is hatred. (Their speech may be smooth as butter, yet war is in their heart, Psalm 55:21).So, Jesus says, the world hates you because it hates me. That's his simple answer and focus.Why Does the World Hate Jesus?But there's another layer. You can also ask, Why does the world hate Jesus? Verses 22 and 24:If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin…. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.The world hates Jesus because he, in a new way, exposes the sinfulness of their sin.Now, we need to say more about “world.” What does “world” mean here? This is not the world of Genesis 1–2, the world created by God and untainted by sin. This is the world of Genesis 3 and since, the world under the power of sin (“the created moral order in active rebellion against God,” Carson). This “world in rebellion” is the world in view in John 3:16: “God loved the world” — the world of sinners, set in opposition to God, loving sin, not loving him —God loved this hellbent, rebellious world in this way: “he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” That's love. And God's love in giving his Son is all the more stunning because the world he loved was the world dead set against him.That's the world in our passage: the world in love with sin, the world that hates God. No wonder such a world would hate Jesus. Jesus is God incarnate. He comes as the light, shining in the darkness. And in the light of his words and his works, the true nature of sin is exposed. The sin was there before he came, when the Light himself comes, then sin is exposed like never before, and seen to be what it is: an assault on God himself. There were lights for the exposing of sin before Jesus came: the light of nature, the light of Moses and the prophets. But the coming of Christ, the true light, so surpasses the previous lights, that his coming ushers in a whole new day. Yes, there was some light before, but the light of Christ is so strong, so pure, so bright, it's as if the previous lights hardly shone. Like twinkling stars at night compared the sun when day comes. And when Jesus comes, the sinfulness of sin becomes apparent: sin is rebellion against God. Hatred of God. Preferring of other things to God is cosmic treason. Longing for and loving created things over the Creator himself is treason.And remember, it's Thursday night. There will be no more outrageous display of the sinfulness of sin than when sinners conspire to put God himself to death the next day. The cross is the ultimate exposé of human sin: sin is an attack on God.So, why does the world hate Jesus? Because he exposes the true nature of sin, and takes away excuses for sin. That's one layer.No Longer “of the World”But Jesus gives us another layer in verse 19, for why the world hates Christians:If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.Jesus has talked before about choosing his disciples (John 6:70; 13:18), and as recently as verse 15:“You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide…”It's not that the disciples first chose Jesus; he chose them. They were once of the world. They were born in rebellion against God. They loved darkness rather than light. Yet, Jesus took the decisive step to pluck them out from the world, and make them his own.But the sinful world, in rebellion against God, loves its own who love sin, not God, and affirm sin and celebrate sin. But when Jesus plucks his disciples out from the world, the world doesn't like that. The world hates that. And I know many in this room have experienced that hatred very personally.Jesus chose you. He opened your eyes. You came to faith in him and began to follow him — and your old friends or your family didn't like it. Maybe they kept up a veneer of Minnesota nice, and you didn't sense any deep hatred, but Jesus is telling us here what was, what is, going on: the world in its sin, with guilt-ridden conscience, desperately craves the affirmation of its sin, and fears the exposure of the sinfulness of its sin — and it hates when its fellows in darkness see the Light.This hatred can be stirred when we're plucked out, or when we refuse go back in, as 1 Peter 4:3–4 says,the time that is past [now that the Light has come] suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. 4 With respect to this they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you [speak evil of you, say things that make you look bad].Yet, what's the posture of our hearts to be like in moments like this, when the veneer comes off, and hatred begins to seep out? We don't hate them in return. But we remember we were there, but for the grace of God. We were “of the world,” but Jesus drew us out. So, we have the spirit of Titus 3, which calls us…to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people. 3 For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. 4 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, 5 he saved us… (Titus 3:1–5)The World Does Not Know the FatherWhich brings us to one last layer, the bottom layer, for why the world hates Jesus. Now, we pick up the final pieces:The end of verse 21: “because they do not know him who sent me.”Verse 23: “Whoever hates me hates my Father also.”End of verse 24: “now they have seen and hated both me and my Father.”The world's love for sin, and hatred of Jesus, shows that they do not know the Father.This is true of all who do not know Jesus: they do not know God. There are no “good people” who are honestly mistaken about God and not culpable in their sin. They may hide their hatred of the Father well (with speech smooth as butter), but if they are not in Jesus, they do not know God; and they will be “gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned” (John 15:6).This is an exclusivist bottom layer. You know that term “exclusivist”? It means, as Jesus says here, he is the exclusive way to God. There aren't other ways around him or apart from him. Jesus is the Word, the revelation, of the one God who made this world, and over and against whom the world stands in its sin. Buddhists, Muslims, Hindus, Jews who reject Jesus as Messiah do not find other paths to God. Jesus is the one way, the one God provided, and all who reject Jesus reject the only God. So, in Jesus's words in verse 23 is a condemnation of all world religions, including secularism, except for the one Jesus brings.Which lands on the world as profoundly offensive. And lands on Jesus's people, who know themselves sinners and undeserving, as the best news in the world: you mean there's a way! In my sin, in my guilt, in my weakness, there's a way!So, we have the focus of the world's hate and the layers. The world of darkness hates Christians because it hates Jesus, the light. And it hates Jesus because he exposes the sinfulness of sin. And it hates his people because Jesus chose them out of the world. And at bottom, the world hates Jesus, and his people, because the world does not know the Father.So, what do we do about it? Jesus clearly means for verses 18–25 to have an emotional effect on us. There are six ifs in this section, which makes it read almost like poetry, with a rhetorical effect. Jesus wants us to be ready for the world's hate, and stay with him and love one another — and keep endeavoring to expand the circle of our love.In these verses are two imperatives, two commands, that lead us to what Jesus wants us to do about the world's hate. So, he's told us the why, with its focus and layers. Now what to do: he wants us to know in verse 18, and to remember in verse 20. So, know what? Remember what?1. Know this: the world hated Jesus first.What's that do? It helps us get ready. The world hated Jesus, so much so it put him to death; and we're his, we're with him. We should expect the world's hate, know it's coming, and not be surprised by it.The effect of the if in verse 18 is far more like a when: When the world hates you, and it does. The end of verse 19 says, “the world hates you.” Verse 20: they will persecute you. So, 1 John 3:13 says, “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.” That's what Jesus is doing here: keeping us from getting caught off guard. Like 1 Peter 4:12:Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you…And to help us in John 15, verse 25, Jesus draws in a line from Psalm 69: “they hated me without cause.” Psalm 69 is King David, “a righteous sufferer who is zealous for God but is persecuted by God's enemies for no good reason” (ESVSB). This is true of Jesus. And it will be true of us who are his.And critical to the pattern of Psalm 69 being true about Jesus, and being true about us, is that we don't give the haters any good reason.Twin dangers face us once we learn that the world, at bottom, hates Jesus, and hates us: we could try to avoid their hate or provoke it. As thoughtful members of a society, it's easy to figure out the fault lines between Jesus and the world — and we can easily avoid them or easily provoke them. Knowing that the world's hate is coming doesn't mean we seek to dodge it, nor that we try to prompt it. It's there, and it's coming; don't let the world's hatred steal the agenda one way or another.There's a vast difference between expecting it and trying to excite it. I expect the government to want more of my money, but I don't try to excite it. And there's a world of difference between the holy, Christlike expectation of the world's hate, and unholy, un-Christian attempts to excite the world's hate. Cities Church, we wanna be the right kinda hated. We are hated, and will be hated, and we want it to be for the reasons they hate Jesus, not because we're fools on Jesus's terms just as much as the world's.Contagious zeal for Jesus that accumulates detractors on account of him is one thing. Learning how to enrage people and garnish it with Jesus's name is another. And worse yet is falling away from Jesus because of his haters.So, know this: the world hated him first. We expect the world to hate us too. And we're pleasantly surprised and don't try to sabotage it, when the hatred ebbs at times.2. Remember this: Jesus is great.I love verse 20: Jesus says, “Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.'” Which is not mainly about the lowliness of the servant, but about the greatness of Jesus.Don't miss this: Jesus is great. Remember this, he says: your Lord is great. Which may sound simple but is powerful.In 1856, Charles Spurgeon was preaching to more than 10,000 people in a packed-out hall when agitators interrupted the service by yelling fire. A stampede ensued, and seven were trampled to death; thirty were seriously injured. In the horror of it all, Spurgeon suffered a severe emotional breakdown, and the event left a mark on him the rest of his life. He faced critics, (haters) and went into depression over it. Years later he testified,I was pressed beyond measure and out of bounds with an enormous weight of misery. The tumult, the panic, the deaths, were day and night before me, and made life a burden.How did God rescue him? He says, From that [nightmare] I was awakened in a moment by the gracious application to my soul of the text, “Him hath God the Father exalted” (“God has highly exalted him,” Philippians 2:9). The fact that Jesus is still great, let his servants suffer as they may, piloted me back to calm reason and peace. (Lectures to My Students, 162 [1954])There it is: “Jesus is still great.” Seven are dead, thirty seriously injured. But Jesus is still great. When the storm comes, look for the greatness of Jesus.When for his sake, you sense their hate,Remember that your Lord is great.And part of that greatness is that you get to be with him. What holds John 15 together is that you're with him, on his side. Hated with him means loved by him! And united to him! You're with Jesus! Enjoy him.Cross of Hate and LoveIt's heavy to spend a whole sermon dwelling on the world's hate for Jesus, and for us. But then we come to this Table. The cross is a demonstration of the world's hate. Sinners conspired together to put God to death. And the cross is the ultimate demonstration of love. “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
In this episode of the Carl Jackson Show, Carl is joined by Tyler O'Neill, senior editor at the Daily Signal, to discuss the recent arrest of agitators who invaded a church in Minneapolis. Carl shares his thoughts on why this incident is crucial and how it's part of a larger battle between communism and Judeo-Christian principles. Tyler delves into the specifics of the case, including the use of the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act to bring charges against the agitators. They also touch on the spiritual dimension of evil and the importance of the midterms in addressing these issues. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonShow.com Visit our Store https://CarlJacksonStore.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In this episode of the Carl Jackson Show, Carl is joined by Tyler O'Neill, senior editor at the Daily Signal, to discuss the recent arrest of agitators who invaded a church in Minneapolis. Carl shares his thoughts on why this incident is crucial and how it's part of a larger battle between communism and Judeo-Christian principles. Tyler delves into the specifics of the case, including the use of the FACE Act and the Ku Klux Klan Act to bring charges against the agitators. They also touch on the spiritual dimension of evil and the importance of the midterms in addressing these issues. Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/carljacksonradio X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/carljacksonshow Parler: https://parler.com/carljacksonshow Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thecarljacksonshow http://www.TheCarlJacksonShow.com Visit our Store https://CarlJacksonStore.comSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
It started with the banning of the Associated Press from certain White House events over its refusal to use the term “Gulf of America” instead of “Gulf of Mexico.” Then there was a recent FBI search of a Washington Post reporter's home. And then in January two journalists, including former CNN host, Don Lemon were arrested following an immigration protest at Cities Church in St Paul, Minnesota. What's happening to freedom of the press? First Amendment scholar RonNell Andersen Jones, professor of law at the University of Utah, joins The Excerpt to dig into all of it.Let us know what you think of this episode by sending an email to podcasts@usatoday.com. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe green new scam is dead, and in Texas people are now seeing that wind and solar cannot support the electrical load during the cold. China said the quiet part out loud, they were suppose to be the reserve currency. Trump’s new Fed chair help with the transition. Trump is now exposing the criminal underworld the people of this country. The people are seeing all the pieces of the crimes they have committed. When the people see that all the characters are criminals and have done horrible things and that these people are the same ones that have been trying to stop trump, it is game over. Trump is now pushing the Save Act to shutdown the [DS]. Trump is setting the country up for the win. Economy Report: Texas Wind and Solar Failed During This Week's Winter Storm, Grid Carried by ‘Natural Gas and Coal' The recent snow storm that overtook Texas reportedly crashed the state's wind and solar energy generators, leading to natural gas, coal, and nuclear providing most of the state's electricity. https://twitter.com/RyanMaue/status/2015854614206206101?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015854614206206101%7Ctwgr%5Eccb14922c034250da614ea4ff40e89ae08ce9117%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Freport-texas-wind-solar-failed-weeks-winter-storm%2F According to David Blackmon, an energy-related public policy analyst and consultant, by the early morning hours of Jan. 26, natural gas, goal, and nuclear were providing 89 percent of all the state's power. “Natural gas alone is chugging along at an impressive 68%,” Blackmon reported online on Substack later that same day. Politico similarly reported that the U.S. energy grid “leaned heavily on coal and natural gas generation to satisfy the energy appetite from Winter Storm Fern.” https://twitter.com/mayes_middleton/status/2015822288663228536?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2015822288663228536%7Ctwgr%5Eccb14922c034250da614ea4ff40e89ae08ce9117%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Freport-texas-wind-solar-failed-weeks-winter-storm%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com China is on a ‘strong currency' mission to make the yuan a global reserve: Xi Xi Jinping says the goal of becoming an international powerhouse is a long-term one and will rest on core foundations China needs to build a “strong currency” that can become widely used in international trade, investment and foreign exchange markets, and reach the status of a global reserve. Source:.scmp.com Trump Launches $12 Billion Strategic Mineral Stockpile To Counter China; Rare Earth Stocks Jump The Trump administration is preparing to launch a major initiative aimed at protecting US manufacturers from disruptions in the supply of critical minerals, committing about $12 billion in initial funding to build a strategic stockpile of essential materials, according to Bloomberg. The project, known as Project Vault, is designed to reduce America's dependence on China for rare earths and other strategically important metals. By creating a centralized reserve for civilian industries, officials hope to cushion companies against sudden shortages and sharp price swings that can disrupt production and strain finances. Shares of MP Materials, USA Rare Earth, Critical Metals and other rare earth associated names are higher between 5% and 10% heading into the cash open on Monday on the news. At this point it’s safe to say last week’s Reuters rare earth hit piece (authored most likely at the behest of a disgruntled short), which sent the sector tumbling on disputed claims the Trump administration was seeking to distance itself from the rare earth space by moving away from a price floor on critical metals and suggesting MP’s deal with the government may be in question, has been thoroughly debunked. Even the MP Materials X account was mocking the grotesque misreporting: https://twitter.com/MPMaterials/status/2016734732835573833?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw Project Vault will be financed through a mix of private and public funding: $1.67 billion is expected to come from private investors, while the US Export-Import Bank is set to provide a $10 billion loan with a 15-year term. The bank's board is scheduled to vote on the deal, which would be the largest in its history. More than a dozen major companies have joined Project Vault, including General Motors, Stellantis, Boeing, Corning, GE Vernova, and Google. Three large trading firms – Hartree Partners, Traxys North America, and Mercuria Energy – will handle sourcing and purchasing materials for the stockpile. Source: zerohedge.com https://twitter.com/Geiger_Capital/status/2018319873609290010?s=20 https://twitter.com/StephenMoore/status/2017295983940354307?s=20 https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2018300872447418573?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Political/Rights https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/2018249171900227730?s=20 https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018147684276748388?s=20 https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018146323581513971?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018146323581513971%7Ctwgr%5Ebf8eb4e3fdfcee731660a65a8ed9f8dad15fa004%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F02%2Fnicki-minaj-fires-back-grammys-host-trevor-noah%2F know — yet they continue to attempt bullying. Also, I won't be releasing an album until my contract is renegotiated & until I tell you about all the sabotage this RICO is finding out about Billboard. https://twitter.com/NICKIMINAJ/status/2018156644689920362?s=20 https://twitter.com/TrumpWarRoom/status/2018142074906845333?s=20 accused of being there, not even by the Fake News Media. Noah, a total loser, better get his facts straight, and get them straight fast. It looks like I'll be sending my lawyers to sue this poor, pathetic, talentless, dope of an M.C., and suing him for plenty$. Ask Little George Slopadopolus, and others, how that all worked out. Also ask CBS! Get ready Noah, I'm going to have some fun with you! President DJT https://twitter.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/2018162192676229182?s=20 the TV tells them to. https://twitter.com/DrunkRepub/status/2017198485510963485?s=20 https://twitter.com/MrAndyNgo/status/2018184786209087562?s=20 Lord Mandelson resigns from Labour Party over Epstein links Lord Mandelson says he has resigned his membership of the Labour Party as he does not want to “cause further embarrassment” by his links to the late convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein. The former cabinet minister, who was sacked as US ambassador last year because of his past connections to Epstein, appeared in the latest release of files by the US Department of Justice on Friday. Documents suggest Epstein made $75,000 (£55,000) in payments to Lord Mandelson in three separate $25,000 transactions in 2003 and 2004. In his letter to Labour’s general secretary on Sunday, Lord Mandelson said: “I have been further linked this weekend to the understandable furore surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and I feel regretful and sorry about this.” He added: “Allegations which I believe to be false that he made financial payments to me 20 years ago, and of which I have no record or recollection, need investigating by me. Source: bbc.com https://twitter.com/Patri0tContr0l/status/2018011104094380207?s=20 TRUMP'S DOJ that arrested Epstein. Facts are hard for professional liars like Eric Swalwell. Newly-Released Emails Reveal Jeffrey Epstein May Have a Secret Son Newly-released emails reveal Jeffrey Epstein may have a secret son. Sarah Ferguson, the former Duchess of York, congratulated Epstein on the birth of his baby boy. Ferguson said she ‘heard from the Duke' that Epstein had a baby boy. The email is date September 21, 2011 so if Epstein has a secret son, he would be 14 years old today. The Daily Mail reported: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/JayTC53/status/2018073517368184847?s=20 Jew night” “media elite” and “once the money is paid” https://twitter.com/JayTC53/status/2018128138715443273?s=20 the biggest Trump haters were best friends with Jeffery Epstein https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018358307052793892?s=20 since been neutralized by King Salman and new crown Prince MBS. This Epstein email reveals (confirms) two sides of the Deep State triangle. House of Saud, and the Rothschilds. https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018185343263019234?s=20 https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2017859237502767117?s=20 https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2018351298685419772?s=20 the documents with required redactions. With Trump exonerated & damaging details now pointing toward Democrat power brokers, the pressure has abruptly flipped back to secrecy. https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018138887655133692?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018017331499213275?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/visegrad24/status/2018020919252230227?s=20 since 1996 but was stormed by the police for the eviction 5 weeks ago. Nearly 2000 of the protesters later broke off from the main demonstration and fought the police for hours in the streets. They threw stones, fireworks and homemade bombs while also setting barricades and police vehicles on fire. Many Italians are now calling on Meloni to launch a crackdown against violent far-left extremist. https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2018311833405293048?s=20 friendship and respect for Prime Minister Modi and, as per his request, effective immediately, we agreed to a Trade Deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced Reciprocal Tariff, lowering it from 25% to 18%. They will likewise move forward to reduce their Tariffs and Non Tariff Barriers against the United States, to ZERO. The Prime Minister also committed to “BUY AMERICAN,” at a much higher level, in addition to over $500 BILLION DOLLARS of U.S. Energy, Technology, Agricultural, Coal, and many other products. Our amazing relationship with India will be even stronger going forward. Prime Minister Modi and I are two people that GET THINGS DONE, something that cannot be said for most. Thank you for your attention to this matter! War/Peace https://twitter.com/AP/status/2017881629440483383?s=20 https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2018022342731976897?s=20 We have the biggest, most powerful ships in the world over there… hopefully, we’ll make a deal. If we don’t make a deal, then we’ll find out whether or not he was right.” https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2018030967823192563?s=20 Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/EndWokeness/status/2018176829723398321?s=20 https://twitter.com/Tyler2ONeil/status/2017430244496412840?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2017430244496412840%7Ctwgr%5E1d06078b39cc73de0216e98cb34ee981fb7d135c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2026%2F02%2F02%2Fbreaking-2-more-arrested-minnesota-church-invasion%2F Armstrong tells Lemon—who knows the location but is hiding it from his audience—that they’re going to “disrupt business as usual” at what we later learned was Cities Church. Lemon said he would see her there. https://twitter.com/AGPamBondi/status/2018326184468058566?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2018326184468058566%7Ctwgr%5E1d06078b39cc73de0216e98cb34ee981fb7d135c%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailysignal.com%2F2026%2F02%2F02%2Fbreaking-2-more-arrested-minnesota-church-invasion%2F https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2018337163188846994?s=20 https://twitter.com/Rightanglenews/status/2018101057902059727?s=20 Anti-ICE Resistance Manuals and Training at Schools Receiving Federal Funding Anti-ICE resistance training manuals, including de-arresting and blocking, are being distributed, and in some cases, the training is being held in schools receiving government funding. Image of de-arresting by Minnesota ICE Watch. Minnesota ICE Watch, the organization that Renee Good and her wife were members of, distributed a document known as the “De-Arrest Primer,” which instructs activists on how to physically interfere with law enforcement officers during arrests. The manual provides detailed guidance on pulling detainees from officers' grips, pushing and pulling officers, breaking holds, and opening law enforcement vehicles to free suspects. The manual also teaches the use of coordinated chanting to create confusion and overwhelm officers during active arrests, as well as surrounding officers until they release detainees. The guide openly acknowledges that these actions may constitute criminal offenses but argues that the risk is justified. Each successful interference is described as a “micro-intifada,” framed as a tactic meant to spread, replicate, and inspire wider disruption. The manual claims these methods originated in pro-Palestinian campus protests and presents them as a model for broader resistance activity. While no single formal publisher is identified, the manual appears to originate from broader activist and radical networks that promote direct physical interference with law enforcement. It has circulated widely through Instagram and other activist communication channels and has been used in training individuals described as “constitutional observers” or “ICE watchers.” Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018111147237425556?s=20 https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2018114619320017259?s=20 JUST IN: Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson Signs “ICE On Notice” Executive Order to Prosecute ICE Agents Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson at a press conference hosted by Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker / Screenshot: MSNBC Chicago Mayor Brandon Johnson signed an executive order on Saturday, launching investigations into ICE agents and laying the groundwork for criminal referrals for alleged law violations. The order “creates a framework for public accountability in the event federal agents violate local or state law while operating in Chicago,” a press release from Johnson's office reads. “Nobody is above the law. There is no such thing as ‘absolute immunity' in America,” Johnson said in a statement. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/9mmsmg/status/2017633783638368516?s=20 https://twitter.com/Sec_Noem/status/2018435428932538861?s=20 President Trump's Plan Federal Appeals Court Tosses Justice Department's Misconduct Complaint Against Judge Boasberg A federal appeals court tossed out a Justice Department misconduct complaint against Judge James Boasberg. AS previously reported, DC Chief Judge James Boasberg and other DC Judges admitted bias against the Trump Administration during a March 2025 judicial conference with Chief Justice Roberts, according to a memo obtained by The Federalist. For the last year, DC Circuit Court Judges have engaged in a judicial coup against President Trump. Far-left DC judges James Boasberg, Beryl Howell, Chutkan, Berman Jackson and others have ruled against President Trump in every case related to deportations and firings in the Executive Branch. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/WallStreetApes/status/2018099758943084657?s=20 agencies, Los Angeles County has more than 36 states combined and 30X MORE than the whole state of Florida and New York “How is that possible? And take a look at this map, a cluster of 287 hospice providers, in a two-mile radius, some in strip malls, unmarked buildings, even a wrecking yard and vacant lot. All of it is just paperwork. I could fill that out in Kazakhstan if I want and get a hospice license waiting for me.” https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/2018172495535247571?s=20 Rebuilding, can be, without question, the finest Performing Arts Facility of its kind, anywhere in the World. In other words, if we don't close, the quality of Construction will not be nearly as good, and the time to completion, because of interruptions with Audiences from the many Events using the Facility, will be much longer. The temporary closure will produce a much faster and higher quality result! Based on these findings, and totally subject to Board approval, I have determined that the fastest way to bring The Trump Kennedy Center to the highest level of Success, Beauty, and Grandeur, is to cease Entertainment Operations for an approximately two year period of time, with a scheduled Grand Reopening that will rival and surpass anything that has taken place with respect to such a Facility before. Therefore, The Trump Kennedy Center will close on July 4th, 2026, in honor of the 250th Anniversary of our Country, whereupon we will simultaneously begin Construction of the new and spectacular Entertainment Complex. Financing is completed, and fully in place! This important decision, based on input from many Highly Respected Experts, will take a tired, broken, and dilapidated Center, one that has been in bad condition, both financially and structurally for many years, and turn it into a World Class Bastion of Arts, Music, and Entertainment, far better than it has ever been before. America will be very proud of its new and beautiful Landmark for many generations to come. Thank you for your attention to this matter! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP President Trump to SETTLE $10 BILLION IRS LAWSUIT — Plans to DONATE THE PROCEEDS TO CHARITY President Donald J. Trump is preparing to settle his massive $10 billion lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service and the U.S. Treasury Department, and he says he will donate the entire payout to reputable charities instead of keeping a penny for himself. President Trump, Eric Trump, Don Jr., and the Trump Org filed a lawsuit against the IRS for leaking their tax returns. They are seeking $10 billion in damages. In September 2023, federal prosecutors charged a former IRS contractor who worked for the agency from 2018 to 2020 with unlawfully obtaining and disseminating the tax details of a high-ranking public official and numerous affluent Americans to media outlets. According to court documents and an official press release from the Department of Justice, Charles Littlejohn, 38, of Washington, D.C., stole tax return information associated with a high-ranking government official, referred to as Public Official A – now known as Donald Trump. He then disclosed this information to a news organization identified as News Organization 1 – now known as The New York Times. Littlejohn reportedly stole IRS information on thousands of wealthy people. The stolen information was then disseminated to two news outlets (New York Times and ProPublica). “In July and August 2020, Littlejohn separately stole tax return information for thousands of the nation's wealthiest individuals. Littlejohn was again able to evade IRS detection. In November 2020, Littlejohn disclosed this tax return information to News Organization 2, which published over 50 articles using the stolen data. Littlejohn then obstructed the forthcoming investigation into his conduct by deleting and destroying evidence of his disclosures,” the DOJ previously said. L Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/CynicalPublius/status/2018117811625730171?s=20 some facts: 1. Yesterday’s voter turnout was 94,938. 2. In the same district in 2024, the voter turnout was 400,339. 3. In the same district in 2022, the voter turnout was 277,883. 4. This was a special election to fill a vacant seat resulting from a state senator's promotion into state comptroller. 5. Based on the timing of this election and the next election, and the peculiar nature of Texas state government, it is a 99.99% certainty that this new Democrat will never cast a single vote in the term he is filling. 6. The vote was on a Saturday. I am as passionate a MAGA voter as is alive, but if I lived in TX-SD9, I would have stayed home and enjoyed my Saturday based on fact #5 alone. Is this good for the GOP? No. Is it bad for the GOP? No. Then what is it, CP, you big smartypants? IT'S NOTHING. IT'S MEANINGLESS. So everybody please calm down. For the 2026 midterms, every Trump voter knows that if he does not win, the House will impeach him twice weekly. That fact will be as widely understood as any fact during the 2024 election. There are still many issues Trump needs to work on, and I'm not guaranteeing a 2026 victory. What I AM guaranteeing is that yesterday's TX-SD9 election has as much meaning as peanut butter on a dog's nose. (The dog freaks, everybody laughs, but ultimately the dog gets the peanut butter and we all move on.) https://twitter.com/JohnBasham/status/2018199554764447926?s=20 The Georgia Elections Board. https://twitter.com/WSJ/status/2018277500464275804?s=20 Complaint against Tulsi Gabbard could do ‘grave damage to national security': Report The whistleblower's allegations are so highly classified that documents are being kept locked in a safe and the complaint still hasn't been shared with Congress From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it’s investigating the financials of Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, ‘The A Word’, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging. At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story. The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford i Source: the-independent.com There’s an “8 month old complaint” from a “US official” alleging “wrongdoing” https://twitter.com/awaitekw14/status/2018081688803516456?s=20 ballots from Fulton. Coincidence? No way. COVID wasn’t just a ‘pandemic’—it was the engineered pretext that flipped every state rule on mail-ins, drop boxes, and signature verification. Harvest those ballots, truck them in after 3 a.m. stops, rinse & repeat in swing-state blue zones. Regime change 2.0 after Russiagate flopped.If they can prove those Fulton ballots trace back to illegal harvesting (or even foreign interference via the biolab network), the whole house of cards collapses. Treason on a scale we haven’t seen since the founding. Trump saying ‘interesting things happening’ soon? Understatement of the century. Stay frosty, patriots. The storm is here. https://twitter.com/liz_churchill10/status/2018006616369496424?s=20 https://twitter.com/AndrewDesiderio/status/2018375101847097793?s=20 Andrew Desiderio Schumer issues new statement reiterating that the SAVE Act is “dead on arrival” in the Senate — amid push from GOP Rep. Luna & others “If House Republicans add the SAVE Act to the bipartisan appropriations package it will lead to another prolonged Trump government shutdown” https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2018378753873969400?s=20 elections from fraud. REP. AUGUST PFLUGER, Chair of Republican Study Committee nails it: “The House did our job nearly 300 days ago. It's high time that the Senate do theirs!” President Donald Trump has proposed building a massive triumphal arch in Washington, D.C., often referred to as the “Independence Arch” or “Memorial Circle arch,” to be located on Columbia Island near the Potomac River, close to the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery. The structure is envisioned as a 250-foot-tall monument, which would make it more than twice the height of the 100-foot Lincoln Memorial, taller than the 70-foot White House, and larger than Paris’s 164-foot Arc de Triomphe—though still shorter than the 630-foot Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Trump’s motivations stem from a desire to create a grand symbol of American pride and exceptionalism, emphasizing that Washington, D.C., is “the only city in the world that’s of great importance that doesn’t have a triumphal arch The arch signifies Trump’s emphasis on monumental nationalism and grandeur, evoking historical triumphal arches built by emperors and leaders to commemorate triumphs and project power—earning it nicknames like “Arc de Trump.” (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
This week, Julie & Brandy are joined by former Evangelical Pastor and reformed Republican, Pat Kahnke, who breaks down Cities Church of St. Paul and it's leaders who are responsible for the unlawful arrest of 4 journalists (including Don Lemon). And there's also a quick & dirty rundown of the latest Epstein drop. More to come on that next week.*******CHECK OUT FREE EPISODES OF JULIE & BRANDY'S PATREON PODCAST**********FOLLOW JULIE ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER****FOLLOW BRANDY ON INSTAGRAM & TWITTER***CHECK OUT THEIR T-SHIRTS!***EMAIL THEM! JulieBrandyPodcast@gmail.com****Check out Pat Kahnke's Work: https://www.youtube.com/@culturefaithandpoliticsBuy a Cameo from Black Trump! https://www.cameo.com/tdaddy2488?qid=1770156674&aaQueryId=31f2ace928e25faca6a7f7779ef01a51*** Dumb Gay Politics with Julie & Brandy **** Dumb Gay Podcast with Julie & Brandy **** Julie Goldman **** Brandy Howard **** Julie and Brandy *** The People's Couch *** DGP *** Gay Podcast *** Political Podcast *** Lesbian *** Bravo *** Housewives *** Queer *** Liberal **** LGBTQ **** Killer Burlesque *** Host *** Portland *** Denver *** Nightmare on Strip Street *** Funny *** Comedy *** Democrat *** Progressive *** Comedian *** Jewish *** Politics *** Left *** San Francisco ***See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
Don Lemon arrested for taking part in the insurrection at Cities Church in Minnesota, Judge finds probable cause for FBI Raid on Fulton County Election office, Mike Davis, Terrence Williams, Intel Chairman Rick Crawford and Rep. Wesley Hunt join the show Check out our partners: Bon Charge: Go to https://www.boncharge.com/BENNY and use coupon code BENNY to save 15% Helix Sleep: Go to https://www.helixsleep.com/benny for 20% off sitewide.. Patriot Mobile: Go to https://www.PatriotMobile.com/Benny and get A FREE MONTH Blackout Coffee: http://www.blackoutcoffee.com/benny and use coupon code BENNY for 20% OFF your first order Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices
Former CNN host Don Lemon was arrested by federal authorities after a Minnesota grand jury indicted him on charges of conspiring to deprive civil rights and violating the FACE Act. The charges stem from his involvement in disrupting Sunday services at the Cities Church in St. Paul on Jan. 18. The Sekulow team discusses the case against Don Lemon, the ACLJ's pending case against CNN at the U.S. Supreme Court - and much more.
Today, federal agents arrested journalists Don Lemon and Georgia Fort in connection with their coverage of a protest inside a church in St. Paul, Minnesota — reigniting a nationwide debate over press freedom and the First Amendment.Lemon — a longtime national news anchor — and Fort — an independent journalist — were taken into federal custody after covering a demonstration that disrupted services at Cities Church, where protesters confronted a pastor alleged to be affiliated with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Federal prosecutors have alleged violations related to the disturbance, but critics and civil rights advocates argue these arrests represent an unprecedented crackdown on journalists simply doing their jobs.At the same time, federal agents executed a court-authorized raid on the Fulton County, Georgia Election Hub, seizing 2020 ballots and election records — a move that has drawn sharp criticism from election officials and democracy watchdogs alike.In this podcast:
Join Jim and Greg for the Friday 3 Martini Lunch as they examine the arrests tied to Sunday's anti-ICE protest at a Minnesota church, the Trump administration's new TikTok deal that does not comply with the TikTok ban, the San Francisco 49ers' unusual investigation into this season's rash of injuries, and a major winter storm bearing down on millions of Americans.First, they applaud Attorney General Pam Bondi and the FBI for arresting three figures central to the horrific anti-ICE protests that barged into Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. The list includes William Kelly, who berated churchgoers, and is a serial harasser of Christians in multiple cities.They also groan as the Trump administration's new arrangement for TikTok still leaves ByteDance with nearly 20 percent control of the company. Federal law requires a full divestment from any firm tied to the Chinese Communist Party. With ByteDance still involved, it's increasingly unlikely that pro-China and anti-U.S. propaganda will disappear from users' feeds anytime soon.Then, they dig into the San Francisco 49ers launching an investigation into whether an electrical substation near their stadium and practice facility could be connected to the unusually high number of injuries suffered by key players this season.Finally, they brace for the snow & ice storm head for much of the South and the East Coast this weekend.Please visit our great sponsors:Protect your family with Ethos Life Insurance — get your quote in minutes at https://Ethos.com/3MLUpgrade your wardrobe with Mizzen & Main — get 20% off your first purchase at https://MizzenandMain.com with promo code 3ML20. Stay consistent with your skincare and save 15% with OneSkin — use code 3ML at https://Oneskin.co/3ML and let them know we sent you!New episodes every weekday.
The Department of Justice and Attorney General Pam Bondi announce arrests tied to last weekend's coordinated attack and disruption at Cities Church in St. Paul, with charges including conspiracy against rights and FACE Act violations—signaling accountability for the ransacking of a worship service. Vice President JD Vance addresses immigration enforcement tensions in Minnesota, emphasizing the need for local cooperation to reduce mistakes and chaos. Plus, Jack Smith's congressional grilling, Elon Musk's Davos comments on robots and aging, and listener questions in Ask or Tell Me Anything, from Snowmageddon prep to daycare concerns and more. The AM Update, Cities Church arrests, Pam Bondi FACE Act, Minnesota church attack, JD Vance immigration, ICE local cooperation, Jack Smith hearing, H-1B visa fraud Texas, Elon Musk Davos robots, Ask Me Anything
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe world is continually paying the [CB]s more and more of their hard earned labor. In Germany the people are taxed 42%, almost half of their income. Fed inflation indicator reports no inflation, Truinflation reports inflation is at 1.2%.BoA and Citibank are in talks to offer 10% credit card. Trump says US will the crypto capital of the world. Globalism/[CB] system has failed, the power will return to the people. The patriots are sending a message, DOJ 2.0 is not like DOJ 1.0, same with the FBI, you commit a crime you will be arrested. The message is clear, the protection from these agencies are gone. Bondi arrest the Church rioters. Trump’s message at DAVOS is clear, the [DS] power and agenda is no more. Trump is now in control and the world will begin to move in a different direction, either you are on board or you will be left behind. The power belongs to the people. Economy https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2014289396112011443?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); Fed’s Favorite Inflation Indicator Refuses To Show Any Signs Of Runaway ‘Trump Tariff’ Costs The Fed’s favorite inflation indicator – Core PCE – rose 0.2% MoM (as expected), which leave it up 2.8% YoY (as expected), slightly lower than September’s +2.9%… Bear in mind that this morning’s third look at Q3 GDP printed a +2.9% YoY for Core PCE. Under the hood, the biggest driver of Core PCE remains Services costs – not tariff-driven Goods prices… In fact, on a MoM basis, Non-durable goods prices saw deflation for the second month in a row… Source: zerohedge.com https://twitter.com/truflation/status/2014322072286302619?s=20 – Food – mostly Eggs – Household durables – particularly housekeeping supplies – Alcohol & tobacco – mostly alcoholic beverages Our number is derived by aggregating millions of real-time price data points every day to calculate a year-over-year CPI % rate. It is comparable but not identical to the survey-based official headline inflation released monthly by the BLS, which was 2.7% for December. Bank Of America, Citigroup May Launch Credit Cards With 10% Rate Two weeks after Trump shocked the world by demanding lenders cap credit card interest rates at 10% for one year, Bank of America and Citigroup are exploring options to do just that in an attempt to placate the president. Bloomberg reports that both banks are mulling offering cards with a 10% rate cap as one potential solution. Earlier this week, Trump said he would ask Congress to implement the proposal, giving the financial firms more clarity about what exact path he's pursuing. Bank executives have repeatedly decried the uniform cap, saying it'll cause lenders to have to pull credit lines for consumers. Source: zerohedge.com Trump sues JPMorgan Chase and CEO Jamie Dimon for $5B over alleged ‘political’ debanking The lawsuit claims JPMorgan’s decision ‘came about as a result of political and social motivations’ to ‘distance itself’ Trump and his ‘conservative political views’ President Donald Trump is suing JPMorgan Chase and its CEO Jamie Dimon in a $5 billion lawsuit filed Thursday, accusing the financial institution of debanking him for political reasons. The president's attorney, Alejandro Brito, filed the lawsuit Thursday morning in Florida state court in Miami on behalf of the president and several of his hospitality companies. “ Source: foxnews.com https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/2013984082640658888?s=20 WEF Finance/Banking Panel – If Independent National Economies Continue Rising, Global Trade Drops and We Lose Control Globalism in its economic construct is a series of dependencies. If those dependencies are severed, if each country has the ability to feed, produce and innovate independently, then the entire dependency model around globalism collapses. Within the globalism model that was historically created there was a group of people, western nations, banks, finance and various government leaders, who controlled the organization and rules of the trade dependencies. The action being taken for self-sufficiency, in combination with the approach promoted by President Trump that each nation state should generate their own needs, then the rules-based order that has existed for global trade will collapse. If nations are no longer dependent, they become sovereign – able to exist without the need for support from other nations and systems. If nations are indeed sovereign, then globalism is no longer needed and a threat of the unknown rises. How will nations engage with each other if there is no governing body of western elites to make the rules for engagement? The need for control is a reaction to fear, and it is the fear of self-reliance that permeates the elitist class within the control structures. If each nation of the world is operating according to its individual best interests, the position of Donald Trump, then what happens to the governing elite who set up the system of interdependencies. This is the core of their fear. If each nation can suddenly grow tea, what happens to the East India Tea Company. Who then sets the price for the tea, and worse still an entire distribution system (ships, ports, exchanges, banks, etc.) becomes functionally obsolescent. Source: theconservativetreehouse.com Political/Rights TWO-TIERED JUSTICE: Conservative Journalist Kaitlin Bennett Charged and Fined for Interviewing Democrats in Public — While Don Lemon Storms Churches With Zero Consequences The United States now operates under a blatantly two-tiered justice system, where conservative journalists are criminally charged for speech in public spaces, while left-wing media figures face zero consequences for harassing Americans and disrupting religious services. Conservative journalist Kaitlin Bennett revealed this week that she was charged with a federal crime and fined by the National Park Service in St. Augustine for the so-called offense of asking Democrats questions on public property. According to Bennett, federal agents targeted her while she was conducting on-the-street interviews, a form of journalism protected by the First Amendment. Despite being on public land, Bennett says she was cited and punished simply for engaging in political speech that the Left finds inconvenient. Bennett addressed the incident directly in a post on X, writing: https://twitter.com/KaitMarieox/status/2014174254799958148?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2014174254799958148%7Ctwgr%5Ef4a6650cd0c60d38edfea018c5665c2cc2fe5199%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F01%2Ftwo-tier-justice-conservative-journalist-kaitlin-bennett-charged%2F When asked by another local journalist exactly what “lawful order” Bennett had disobeyed, the ranger reportedly could not provide a straight answer. WATCH: Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2014322865848406370?s=20 Alexander Conejo Arias, fled on foot—abandoning his child. For the child's safety, one of our ICE officers remained with the child while the other officers apprehended Conejo Arias. Parents are asked if they want to be removed with their children, or ICE will place the children with a safe person the parent designates. This is consistent with past administration's immigration enforcement. Parents can take control of their departure and receive a free flight and $2,600 with the CBP Home app. By using the CBP Home app illegal aliens reserve the chance to come back the right legal way. https://twitter.com/DHSgov/status/2014049440911303019?s=20 inflicting corporal injury on a spouse or cohabitant. An immigration judge issued him a final order of removal in 2019. In a dangerous attempt to evade arrest, this criminal illegal alien weaponized his vehicle and rammed law enforcement. Fearing for his life and safety, an agent fired defensive shots. The criminal illegal alien was not hit and attempted to flee on foot. He was successfully apprehended by law enforcement. The illegal alien was not injured, but a CBP officer was injured. These dangerous attempts to evade arrest have surged since sanctuary politicians, including Governor Newsom, have encouraged illegal aliens to evade arrest and provided guides advising illegal aliens how to recognize ICE, block entry, and defy arrest. Our officers are now facing a 3,200% increase in vehicle attacks. This situation is evolving, and more information is forthcoming. https://twitter.com/nicksortor/status/2014063905413177637?s=20 CNN Panelist Issues Retraction and Apology After Going Too Far in On-Air Trump Attack footage of CNN's “Newsnight with Abby Phillip” was posted to social media platform X featuring 25-year-old leftist activist Cameron Kasky alongside panel mainstay Scott Jennings. A moment between the two went viral when Kasky casually declared that President Donald Trump had been involved in an international sex trafficking ring. Jennings wasn't going to let that remark go unchallenged by host John Berman. The topic of conversation had been Trump's interest in Greenland and the Nobel Peace Prize, but Kasky threw in a jab at Trump with an allusion to the president's relationship with the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein — an allusion Kasky's now trying to walk back. “I would love it if he was more transparent about the human sex trafficking network that he was a part of, but you can't win 'em all,” he blurted out. https://twitter.com/overton_news/status/2013455047288377517?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2013455047288377517%7Ctwgr%5E20edbbd712c7076d1aafdac2d1e39d7eb8307263%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fcnn-panelist-issues-retraction-apology-going-far-air%2F Berman asked Jennings a follow-up question about Greenland, but instead of addressing that, Jennings circled back to Kasky's remark. “You're gonna let that sit?” Jennings asked Berman. “Are we going to claim here on CNN that the president is part of a global sex trafficking ring or …?” After assuring Jennings that he would do the fact-checking, Berman asked Kasky to repeat what he'd said about the global sex-trafficking ring. “That Donald Trump was … probably … very involved with it,” the arrogant young man replied, with perhaps a touch less confidence. To Berman's credit, and the CNN legal team's, he immediately said, “Donald Trump has never been charged with any crimes in relation to Jeffrey Epstein.” https://twitter.com/camkasky/status/2013760245298864477?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2013760245298864477%7Ctwgr%5E20edbbd712c7076d1aafdac2d1e39d7eb8307263%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fcnn-panelist-issues-retraction-apology-going-far-air%2F Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2014189561002291385?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/brentdsadler/status/2014311942119137584?s=20 important as these agreements cover the entirety of the Chagos group of islands/features. Critical as future third party presence in those areas proximate Diego Garcia could in practical terms render those U.S. military facilities operationally impractical (ie useless). The current deal under consideration in the UK parliament in a rushed vote as soon as 2 February is ill advised. And it likely would break the decades long understanding with the U.S. government. See: Active U.S. treaties: https://state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Treaties-in-Force-2025-FINAL.pdf 1966 Foundational Understanding: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20603/volume-603-I-8737-English.pdf 1972 Understanding regarding new facilities on Diego Garcia: https://treaties.un.org/doc/Publication/UNTS/Volume%20866/volume-866-I-8737-English.pdf 1976 Understanding and concurrence on new communications facilities on Diego Garcia and references as foundational the 1966 Understanding: https://treaties.fcdo.gov.uk/data/Library2/pdf/1976-TS0019.pdf?utm_source https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/2014150131247874267?s=20 The EU-Mercosur deal is a major free trade agreement between the European Union and the Mercosur bloc (Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay). Negotiated for over 25 years, it aims to create one of the world’s largest free trade zones, covering more than 700 million people and reducing tariffs on goods like cars, machinery, pharmaceuticals, and agricultural products. It includes commitments on sustainability, labor rights, and environmental protections, but critics argue these are insufficient to address issues like Amazon deforestation and unfair competition for European farmers. The agreement was politically finalized in 2019 but faced delays due to environmental concerns and opposition from countries like France and Austria. It was formally signed on January 17, 2026, after EU member states (with a qualified majority, despite opposition from five countries including France) greenlit it on January 9. The Stupidity of Davos Explained Using an Example of Their Own Creation China is manufacturing a product to create a carbon credit certificate in response to the demand for carbon credits from all the world auto-makers. Any nation that has a penalty or fine attached to their climate goals is a customer. Those are nations with fines or quotas associated with the production of gasoline powered engines if the auto company doesn't hit the legislated target for sales of electric vehicles. In essence, EU/AU/CA/RU/ASEAN car companies buy Chinese car company carbon credits, to avoid the EU/AU/CA/RU/ASEAN fines. The Chinese then use the carbon credit revenue to subsidize even lower priced Chinese EVs to the EU/AU/CA/RU/ASEAN car markets, thereby undercutting the EU/AU/CA/RU/ASEAN car companies that also produce EVs. China brilliantly exploits the ridiculous pontificating climate scam and has an interest in perpetuating -even emphasizing- the need for the EU/AU/RU/ASEAN countries to keep pushing their climate agenda. China even goes so far as to fund alarmism research about climate change because they are making money selling carbon credit certificates on the back end of the scam to the western fear mongers. This is friggin' brilliant. The climate change alarmists are helping China's economy by pushing ever escalating fear of climate change. You just cannot make this stuff up. What does the outcome look like? Well, in this example we see hundreds of thousands of unsold BYDs piling up in countries that emphasize climate regulations with no restrictions on the import of EVs (which most don't even manufacture), which is almost every country. Big Panda doesn't care about the car itself; they care about generating the carbon credit certificate to sell in the various carbon exchanges. Put this context to the recent announcement by Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney about his new trade deal with China to accept 49,000 EVs this year. Prime Minister Carney bragged about getting the Chinese to agree to only super low prices for the Canadian market. Mark Carney was very proud of his accomplishment to get much lower priced vehicles for Canadian EV purchasers. No doubt Big Panda left the room laughing as soon as Carney made his grand announcement. 1. China sells EV's in Canada, creating credits available on the carbon exchange scheme. Europe et al will purchase the carbon credits because Bussels has fines against EU car companies. 2. With a foothold already established in Europe, China will then take the money generated by the carbon credit purchases and lower the prices of the Chinese EV cars sold in Canada. It's gets funnier. 3. Carney bragged about forcing China to only sell low price EV's as part of the trade agreement. The low price of the EV's in Canada will be subsidized by Europe. China doesn't pay or lose a dime. But wait…. 4. Carney can't do anything about the scheme he has just enmeshed Canada into, because Canada has a Carbon Credit exchange in law.
Segment 1 • Cities Church in Minnesota was invaded mid-service by protesters. Are you ready if it happens to your church? • Government is called to protect, but when it doesn't, the church must be prepared to respond wisely. • Are public disruptions and protests legal in sanctuaries? Here's what Christians need to know. Segment 2 • Inside info from Cities Church: they avoided escalating tension, showing restraint. • Yes, your church has legal protection under the FACE Act. • Should pastors confront protesters directly? Segment 3 • Document the disruption, but avoid emotional confrontation. • Have a plan: ushers, kids' ministry, security—every team should know exactly what to do. • Parents must be in the loop so that no one is confused if the occasion comes. Segment 4: The Blessing and Cost of Persecution • 1 Peter reminds us that persecution isn't a curse—it's a blessing and calling. • Persecution, though painful, draws us closer to Christ as we see the suffering he underwent for us. • Being hated for Christ's sake is a sign of God's favor. Prepare your heart to suffer well. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn't be more thankful for you if we tried!
Allie tackles the disturbing weekend incident at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, where Black Lives Matter and anti-ICE activists stormed a worship service, shouting obscenities, terrorizing families, and disrupting prayer — while the intrusion was livestreamed and covered by Don Lemon, who was invited and knew about the planned protest. She exposes the manufactured outrage, the double standards in media narratives, and the real agenda: using toxic empathy to shield criminals, some of whom are convicted child sex offenders, while demonizing law enforcement and Christians. Allie also addresses Russell Moore's interpretation of Romans 13 and brings biblical clarity to the matter. And lastly, she responds to James Talarico's New York Times interview, criticizing his terminology of "progressive Christianity" that distorts biblical teachings on abortion, homosexuality, and government welfare. A sobering call to discern truth, reject selective empathy, and stand firm for order, sovereignty, and the gospel. Buy Allie's book "Toxic Empathy: How Progressives Exploit Christian Compassion": https://www.toxicempathy.com --- Timecodes: (00:00) Intro (03:30) Minnesota Church Protest (14:00) Left-Wing Mobs (21:00) Who Organizes These Protests? (30:55) Don Lemon (42:00) Who Is ICE Trying to Detain? (51:40) Russell Moore & Romans 13 (01:04:45) Response to James Talarico --- Today's Sponsors: Good Ranchers | To support a company that's committed to honoring America's past, present, and future, visit GoodRanchers.com today. And if you subscribe to any Good Ranchers box of 100% American meat, you'll save up to $500 a year! Plus, if you use the code ALLIE, you'll get an additional $25 off your first order. We Heart Nutrition | Check out We Heart Nutrition at WeHeartNutrition.com and use the code ALLIE for 20% off. Re-Prev | Re-Prev supports your body in shifting out of fight-or-flight mode to a relaxed state of calm. Go to WholesomeIsBetter.com and use discount code ALLIE at checkout for 20% off your order. Paleovalley | Small American farms. Regenerative agriculture. Transparency in food. When you choose Paleovalley, you're not just snacking — you're making a statement. Right now, you can get 15% off your first order at Paleovalley.com with code ALLIE. Range Leather | The quality is absolutely top-notch. Go RangeLeather.com/Allie to receive 15% off all Range Leather products when you visit my landing page. --- Episodes you might like: Ep 1283 | Is Tucker Carlson Right About Islam? https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000743878076 Ep 1287 | Why Your Aunt Hates ICE: A Spiritual Analysis of Liberal Women https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000744895339 Ep 1289 | 'Civil Rights' Were Weaponized to Crush Christians. Now the Trump Admin Is Fighting Back | Harmeet Dhillon https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000745478509 Ep 1273 | Autism Fraud, Islamic Corruption & a Crucial Tennessee Election https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/relatable-with-allie-beth-stuckey/id1359249098?i=1000739184571 Ep 328 | Cancel Culture, Antifa & BLM Strike Again https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-328-cancel-culture-antifa-blm-strike-again/id1359249098?i=1000499199303 --- Buy Allie's book "You're Not Enough (and That's Okay): Escaping the Toxic Culture of Self-Love": https://www.alliebethstuckey.com Relatable merchandise: Use promo code ALLIE10 for a discount: https://shop.blazemedia.com/collections/allie-stuckey Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
John talks about Trump's lust for seizing control of Greenland and how that is playing out on the world stage. Trump spoke at the Davos Economic Forum in Switzerland, receiving a wall of sharp words and condemnations for American foreign and economic policy toward Europe. He also discusses anti-ICE protestors disrupting a sermon at Cities Church in ST. Paul Minnesota where their pastor moonlights as an ICE Director in their local field office. Then, he interviews Larry Cohen who is the Executive Director and Co-founder of Point Source Youth, a national organization working to prevent and end youth homelessness in the U.S. through advocacy, research, and support of scalable interventions like direct cash transfers and targeted housing assistance. And, Erika Hartman, who is Chief Executive Officer at Safe Place for Youth, which provides over 1,200+ young people with critical life-saving services yearly including daily meals, substance abuse counseling, mental health services, and access to housing. Point Source Youth and Safe Place for Youth are expanding the CASH LA Targeted Housing Assistance Program, a cost-efficient, evidence-based intervention that helps young people ages 18 to 30 stay housed before they enter the homelessness system. Next, John jokes with J-L Cauvin who is a community advocate, lawyer, and comedian who is running as a Democrat to succeed Governor-Elect Mikie Sherrill and represent New Jersey's 11th District in Congress. And then lastly, he welcomes back Rev. Barry Lynn who's an ordained minister in the United Church of Christ and served as the executive director for Americans United for the Separation of Church and State until his retirement in 2017. Rev. Barry's memoir “Paid to Piss People Off” comes in three volumes: PEACE, PORN and PRAYER.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
On Sunday morning, a group of anti-ICE protestors stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota during services, reportedly because the pastor of the church appears to also be an ICE official. This is the latest escalation in an ongoing confrontation taking place in Minneapolis between Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (also known as ICE) carrying out their duties and protestors (often encouraged by media and politicians) who are determined to obstruct them. To understand some of the dynamic that is going on in Minneapolis, I sat down with Mike Gonzalez, a Senior Fellow here at the Heritage Foundation.
Watch The X22 Report On Video No videos found (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:17532056201798502,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-9437-3289"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");pt> Click On Picture To See Larger PictureThe Danes are pushing back and they are planning to sell all US Treasuries. The EU is moving forward with the Great Reset. The US and EU are moving in opposite directions. SC hearing the Fed case, Cook committed fraud. Message is clear, globalism has failed. The [DS] is now planning to push the agenda of shutting down the midterm elections. They are pushing an insurrection to push Trump into shutting down the election. The opposite will happen, Trump is preparing to make it possible to have one day voting. The message is clear, expose the criminal syndicate and the crimes they have committed to the people of this country. Then once the people understand, arrest those involved. Finally win the midterms to have accountability. This is not just a 4 year election. Economy (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:18510697282300316,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-8599-9832"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="https://cdn2.decide.dev/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs"); https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2013609922974421502?s=20 push for Greenland. https://twitter.com/WallStreetMav/status/2013591319399092551?s=20 https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2013563044270383434?s=20 Europe is going for a digital Euro which will allow people to be cut off financially in 2029 if they say anything the government doesn't like https://twitter.com/profstonge/status/2013589829951615468?s=20 Supreme Court to hear Trump case on firing Federal Reserve governor Howard Lutnick: “Globalism Has Failed”… The fully engaged Trump MAGAnomic team begin their outlines to the World Economic Forum in Davos with Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and the top line announcement, “Globalism has failed the United States of America.” Lutnick explains the reason are for President Trump's policy. Why would the EU destroy it's own energy policy? “Why would Europe agree to be ‘net-zero' in 2030, when they don't make a battery,” he asked. Thus, the pragmatic realism of policy intersects with the hypocritical action and creates an outcome that no one can explain. “So, if they go 2030, they are intentionally deciding to be subservient to China who makes the batteries,” he continued. This makes absolutely no sense. Source: theconservativetreehouse.com Political/Rights https://twitter.com/KristiNoem/status/2013275291385319855?s=20 last 6 weeks, our brave DHS law enforcement have arrested 3,000 criminal illegal aliens including vicious murderers, rapists, child pedophiles and incredibly dangerous individuals. A HUGE victory for public safety. There is MASSIVE Fraud in Minneapolis, at least $19 billion and that's just the tip of iceberg. Our Homeland Security Investigators are on the ground in Minneapolis conducting wide scale investigations to get justice for the American people who have been robbed blind. MAKE AMERICA SAFE AGAIN https://twitter.com/rawsalerts/status/2013058985125929230?s=20 https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2013363079086567449?s=20 https://twitter.com/lukerosiak/status/2013419999000424488?s=20 Minnesota Transgender State Rep. Leigh Finke Calls on Anti-ICE Protestors to Storm More Churches Minnesota transgender State Rep. Leigh Finke called on leftists to storm more churches in protest of ICE. Far-left anti-ICE protestors stormed Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, on Sunday. Source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/mrddmia/status/2013337519853834307?s=20 ” Don Lemon can go to hell. But he must go to federal prison first. https://twitter.com/AAGDhillon/status/2013311806647738613?s=20 anything but a Government job. Investigate these Corrupt Politicians, and do it now! https://twitter.com/RealJessica/status/2013413159663534169?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheLastRefuge2/status/2013437081947640243?s=20 DOGE Geopolitical https://twitter.com/AwakenedOutlaw/status/2013431594967802038?s=20 candidates who will do precisely that. Turns out you can just do things. https://twitter.com/EricLDaugh/status/2013607858760196486?s=20 https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2013614189823004938?s=20 https://twitter.com/DataRepublican/status/2013597058142294419?s=20 https://twitter.com/disclosetv/status/2013624149948723648?s=20 extremely important land is an act of GREAT STUPIDITY, and is another in a very long line of National Security reasons why Greenland has to be acquired. Denmark and its European Allies have to DO THE RIGHT THING. Thank you for your attention to this matter. PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP https://twitter.com/HungaryBased/status/2013364583168098337?s=20 https://twitter.com/nettermike/status/2013455319201128884?s=20 Cold War – Eisenhower → Kennedy: nonstop negotiations for bases, radar, missiles. Post–Cold War – Clinton/Bush/Obama: expanded Arctic security & missile defense. 2019 – Trump: said publicly what presidents discussed privately for 150+ years. The U.S. didn't “suddenly” want Greenland. It's been defending it, negotiating it, and embedding there since the 1800s. Greenland = Arctic power, shipping lanes, missiles, minerals. Trump didn't invent it. He said the quiet part out loud. https://twitter.com/scrowder/status/2013340689522925582?s=20 2/3 of NATO defense costs. That imbalance, and the arrogance behind it, is why Greenland is on the table. https://twitter.com/KobeissiLetter/status/2013591373006676322?s=20 Reports: Iranian Regime Accused of Using Chemical Agents in Crackdown on Protesters The Iranian regime is accused of using deadly chemicals against the protesters who want the regime replaced. Growing allegations that the Islamic Republic of Iran may have used chemical agents against protesters have intensified scrutiny of the regime's most recent crackdown, described by observers as the deadliest suppression of public dissent in the country's modern history. The claims gained momentum following the circulation of footage from Sabzevar showing Iranian security forces equipped with protective gear typically associated with hazardous chemical environments, as well as testimony from protesters in Tehran describing prolonged and unusual medical symptoms after exposure to what authorities labeled “tear gas.” Video at Iran So Far Away. source: thegatewaypundit.com https://twitter.com/GBNT1952/status/2013441161247998050?s=20 This is how states demonstrate commitment along a shared line of effort without firing a shot: visible logistics, presence, and implied backing that complicate an opponent's decision cycle. This is also why the USS Abraham Lincoln Carrier Strike Group is on the way to the Middle East as we speak. From a doctrinal standpoint, this kind of move deliberately raises the escalation ladder, forcing US planners to account not just for Iranian responses, but for second and third order effects involving a near peer competitor. That reality likely explains why President Trump has avoided striking Iranian targets, because any kinetic action now risks collapsing the problem set from a regional contingency into a multi theater confrontation. In simple terms, Iran stops being a standalone target and becomes part of a larger system tied to Chinese interests, and no serious commander ignores force posture, alliance signaling, and deterrence dynamics when weighing an OPLAN. China obviously understands this, which is precisely why these moves matter: they restrict American freedom of action by design, without ever needing to engage directly. Thus the Iran problem becomes even more complex. War/Peace https://twitter.com/DougAMacgregor/status/2013468575055405338?s=20 https://twitter.com/HansMahncke/status/2013426712839614628?s=20 Oh Dear – The Wall Street Journal Just Realized, President Trump is Making U.N. Functionally Obsolescent The Wall Street Journal just realized the purpose of President Trump inviting world leaders to a new structure of global leadership. As the outlet contemplates the mission of the “Gaza Board” they recognize the bigger intention, the nullification of the United Nations. WASHINGTON DC – President Trump has expanded the mission of his proposed Gaza Board of Peace into a global body that would take on the role mediating conflicts currently held by the United Nations and carry a $1 billion fee for a permanent seat, according to a charter sent to prospective members. “It's hard not to read this as an attempt to establish a precedent in Gaza that could be used elsewhere in terms of saying that Trump is going to be calling the global shots here, and you either fall in line or you're not part of the process,” said Julien Barnes-Dacey, director of the Middle East and North Africa program at the European Council on Foreign Relations. (read more) Figured that out all on their own, did they? Source: theconservativetreehouse.com Medical/False Flags [DS] Agenda https://twitter.com/amuse/status/2013471087640686700?s=20 BUSTED: California Ordered to Return $1+ BILLION After Dr. Oz–Led Audit Exposes Federal Healthcare Funds Spent on Illegal Immigrants The Trump administration has dropped the hammer on California and a coalition of deep-blue states after a sweeping federal audit uncovered more than $1.3 billion in misused federal healthcare funds spent on non-emergency medical care for illegal immigrants, a clear violation of federal law. A Federal auditors identified nearly $1.4 billion owed back to U.S. taxpayers, with California alone accounting for the overwhelming majority: California: ~$1.3 billion New York: ~$30.7 million Illinois: ~$29.8 million Minnesota: ~$12.7 million Oregon: ~$5.4 million Washington: ~$2.3 million Washington, D.C.: ~$2.1 million Colorado: ~$1.5 million TOTAL: ~$1.394 billion These funds were billed to the federal government for routine medical care, not emergencies, an explicit violation of Medicaid rules. WATCH: https://twitter.com/USAttyEssayli/status/2013360442626973796?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E2013360442626973796%7Ctwgr%5E80a417827250e274cad382abb10aebc715484685%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thegatewaypundit.com%2F2026%2F01%2Fbusted-california-ordered-return-1-billion-after-dr%2F Source: thegatewaypudit.com https://twitter.com/FBI_Response/status/2013361891712631238?s=20 are th https://twitter.com/BehizyTweets/status/2013417355272130860?s=20 https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/2013350008733487510?s=20 brackets of 8% and 10% on people making over $600K. – A new 10% tax bracket for anyone making over $1M. – 3.8% investment tax on top of state income taxes. – Raise the hotel tax. – New personal property tax on landscaping equipment. – Ban gas powered leaf blowers. – Guarantee illegal aliens free education. – Make it illegal to approach somebody at an abortion clinic. – Extend the time absentee ballots can be received after election day to three days – Allow people to cast their votes electronically through the internet. – Expand ranked-choice voting. – Extend the deadline for ballot curing to one week after election day. – Redact the addresses of political candidates from FOIAs. – Add Virginia to the National Popular Vote Compact for presidential electors. – Make it illegal to hand count ballots. – $500 sales tax on firearm suppressors . – “Assault weapons” and large capacity magazine ban. – 11% sales tax on all firearms and ammunition. – Prohibit outdoor shooting of a firearm on land less than 5 acres. – Lower the criminal penalties for robbery. – Ban the arrest of illegal aliens in courthouses. – Remove mandatory minimum sentences. – Allow localities to install speed cameras. Replace Columbus Day with “Indigenous Peoples Day.” https://twitter.com/nedryun/status/2013371388653117889?s=20 an existential threat to their party.” President Trump's Plan The Insurrection Act could be a dress rehearsal for interfering in the midterms President Trump has threatened to invoke the Insurrection Act, a statute first enacted in 1792, allowing him to deploy the military inside the United States in response to protests in Minnesota. The largely peaceful protests intensified after an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency officer shot and killed Reneé Good, a Minneapolis mother, after an encounter. “If the corrupt politicians of Minnesota don't obey the law and stop the professional agitators and insurrectionists from attacking the Patriots of ICE who are only trying to do their job, I will institute the INSURRECTION ACT,” Trump wrote last Thursday morning on Truth Social, adding that the move would “quickly put an end to the travesty that is taking place in that once great state.” He has already alerted 1,500 troops in Alaska for possible deployment to Minnesota. If he does it, the action will certainly face legal challenges. Occasional acts of violence do not an insurrection make. But don't bet on the Supreme Court to block Trump from invoking the law. Before this court, the bottom line is that Trump usually wins. Americans have been traditionally uncomfortable with the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. Granted, the law gives the president power to deploy troops in an emergency. Trump tried it with the National Guard in Chicago but was shot down by the Supreme Court because of the statutory requirement of showing that “regular forces,” namely the military, would not be effective in executing the law. Does Trump see the deployment of the military in Minnesota as a dress rehearsal for the armed forces policing key polling places to intimidate voters and seize voting machines? A slippery slope is always dangerous, and a slippery slope from a fragile democracy to a malignant authoritarianism is a real red flag for all of us. Source: thehill.com https://twitter.com/ElectionWiz/status/2013682627941630020?s=20 https://twitter.com/WarClandestine/status/2013329534729285982?s=20 It's all one giant criminal conspiracy, imbedded within our own system. Uprooting it, while managing public perception, is not an easy or straightforward task. This is why the Insurrection Act and the NG Quick Reaction Force are so important, because the enemy we are facing is within. Foreign adversaries have infiltrated the United States, and they used the Democrat Party as a vehicle to destroy this nation from within. The US MIL must be on standby to safeguard the public, because the Dems are going to try to burn this nation to the ground in an attempt to avoid accountability for their crimes . That's what you are witnessing right now. A cold/warm civil war, that the Dems are trying to turn into a hot civil war. https://twitter.com/DC_Draino/status/2013410848186798440?s=20 https://twitter.com/thomasjeans/status/2013481182785077577?s=20 https://twitter.com/justicecometh/status/2013434601935376795?s=20 https://twitter.com/TheNatConvo/status/2010225316598559209?s=20 https://twitter.com/MarioNawfal/status/2013577244950851725?s=20 (function(w,d,s,i){w.ldAdInit=w.ldAdInit||[];w.ldAdInit.push({slot:13499335648425062,size:[0, 0],id:"ld-7164-1323"});if(!d.getElementById(i)){var j=d.createElement(s),p=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0];j.async=true;j.src="//cdn2.customads.co/_js/ajs.js";j.id=i;p.parentNode.insertBefore(j,p);}})(window,document,"script","ld-ajs");
In this episode, we welcome David Mathis to the studio. He is the Senior Teacher and Executive Editor at desiringGod.org, a pastor at Cities Church in Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the author of “A Little Theology of Exercise: Enjoying Christ in Body and Soul”. In this interview, we discuss the connection between exercise and Christianity, why most pastors are overweight, the rewards we can receive from taking care of our bodies, how Christians are able to enjoy physical exertion more than non-Christians, why we should make sure we are fit for good works, and much more. Let's get into it… Episode notes and links HERE. Donate to support our mission of equipping men to push back darkness. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Join Jim and Greg for the Monday 3 Martini Lunch as they discuss Don Lemon and radical anti-ICE activists disrupting Christian church services, Iran's regime refusing to pause the slaughter of demonstrators, and the stunning questions the Harris campaign reportedly asked Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro.First, they unload on the lunatics from the Racial Justice Network who barged into Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota, claiming one of the pastors also works for ICE. Jim and Greg chronicle the chaos, explain why the stunt was a blatant violation of the church's constitutional rights, and examine how far Don Lemon has fallen in attaching himself to this kind of spectacle.Next, they report on the head of Iran's judiciary declaring that demonstrators opposing the regime are “terrorists” who will be sentenced and punished swiftly. Terrorism is punishable by death in Iran. There are also multiple reports of rising death tolls. Will evidence that the killings have not stopped have an impact on President Trump?Finally, they react to Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro claiming that the Harris campaign asked him whether he was an Israeli agent or had been in contact with one. This is just the latest revelation demonstrating that one of the weakest presidential candidates in recent memory was even worse than we thought.Please visit our great sponsors:Protect your family with Ethos Life Insurance — get your quote in minutes at https://Ethos.com/3MLProtect your future with Noble Gold Investments — visit https://NobleGoldInvestments.com/3ML to download your free Gold & Silver Guide and learn how to build lasting financial security. Stay consistent with your skincare and save 15% with OneSkin — use code 3ML at https://Oneskin.co/3ML and let them know we sent you!New episodes every weekday.
The Trump DOJ is launching an investigation into the anti-ICE protest that threatened the safety of Christians at Cities Church in St. Paul, Minnesota. The Sekulow team discusses Attorney General Pam Bondi's statement, former CNN pundit Don Lemon's role in the protest, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt's press conference, the ACLJ's legal work – and much more.
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