Podcasts about confessing christ

February 21, 2025Today's Reading: John 7:1-13Daily Lectionary: Job 16:1-22; John 7:1-13For not even his brothers believed in him. Jesus said to them, “My time has not yet come, but your time is always here. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil. You go up to the feast. I am not going up to this feast, for my time has not yet fully come.” (John 7:5–8)In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.Are you more comfortable with the truth or with what is popular? Tough question, isn't it? You want to say the truth, but you're often more likely to stick with what is popular; it is easier, after all.People fret over what Jesus will do for the Feast of Tabernacles. Its ceremonies of light and water clearly point to Jesus as the Light of the world and the One from whom living water truly comes. Will Jesus be baited into going to the place of sacrifice (the temple) early by his enemies? What is the Messiah to do? Be rash, or wait until his time fully comes?Satan tempted Jesus for forty days in the wilderness, but that wasn't the end of his work. He never stops. He always wants to disrupt and harm, you know this. Which is what he does here through these “brothers” of Jesus. He is trying to get Jesus to act rashly and get himself in trouble.That is why I asked about truth or popularity. No one spoke openly of Jesus during the feast because they were afraid of the religious authorities. It was almost as if they could believe in Jesus secretly, as long as it didn't impact their lives.But that is where they are wrong. Confessing Christ is always a finger in the eye to this sinful world. That is what most of the New Testament is about; proclaiming Christ crucified gets you into trouble! But does that really matter? Is that the end of it?Of course not! Jesus eventually does go to Jerusalem openly on Palm Sunday. He dies for the sin of the world, is raised to life again, and sends his disciples out to proclaim his salvation for you. This truth may not be popular, but as Jesus says a bit later in St. John's gospel, this truth sets you free.It will always be a struggle to be faithful in this sinful world. But because Jesus has washed that sin away in his death for you, you have the promise that he forgives your failures even when they hide the truth. So be bold; Jesus has your back.In the Name + of Jesus. Amen.What is the world to me! My Jesus is my treasure, My life, my health, my wealth, My friend, my love, my pleasure, My joy my crown my all, My bliss eternally. Once more then I declare: What is the world to me! (LSB 730:4)-Rev. Duane Bamsch, pastor of Grace Lutheran Church in Grass Valley, CA.Audio Reflections Speaker: Pastor Jonathan Lackey is the pastor at Grace Lutheran Church, Vine Grove, KY.What makes a church "good?" Come join the fictional family as they test out eight different churches in their brand-new town and answer this question along the way. Will the Real Church Please Stand Up? by Matthew Richard, now available from Concordia Publishing House.

On Sunday, February 9, 2025, Pastor Joe Troutman lead a discussion on evangelism in the adult Sunday school.

1. The promise upon confessing Christ2. The threat upon not confessing Christ

We hope you enjoy today's Scripture reading and devotional aimed at equipping you for moral and spiritual transformation. Today's Bible reading is 1 John 3:11–24. To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional. Browse other resources from Robert W. Yarbrough. Follow us on social media to stay up to date: Instagram Facebook Twitter

Dennis & Benedicta discuss what it means to "Confess Christ."To find out more about Dennis & Benedicta Pollock please visit the Spirit of Grace website, where you can find other wonderful resources such as videos and articles. You will also find out how you can support the work of Spirit of Grace by becoming a Friend of Grace .Please send questions, comments, and feedback with us at grace@spiritofgrace.org.

On Sunday, December 8, 2024, Pastor Troutman lead a discussion on the Marks of the Church from the book Confessing Christ by Calvin Knox Cummings.

On Sunday, December 1, 2024, Pastor Joe Troutman lead a discussion on the doctrine of the church from Confessing Christ by Calvin Knox Cummings.

Confessing Christ Courageously - Pastor Carl Miller - Matthew 10:27-33

Teaching from the Sunday Gathering of Missio Dei Church. We will only be able to provide audio each week while we fully move into our newly renovated Gathering Space. We appreciate your patience during this time.

Dr. Laurence White of Our Savior Lutheran-Houston, TX The post 2783. Church Architecture and Confessing Christ – Dr. Laurence White, 10/4/24 first appeared on Issues, Etc..

In this story, we learn that Jesus is the Christ, who came to suffer, die, and rise again. ✧ Check out more resources in The Biggest Story Curriculum ✧ Follow The Biggest Story on Instagram ✧ Watch The Biggest Story Animated Videos! ✧ Sign up to receive weekly emails about the new story each week!

A sermon by Matt Zrust on John 1:19-34

Today, we're talking all about the recently-released Confession of Evangelical Conviction:-        What the confession is and what it says-        Why we signed it and got involved promoting it-        How the American church got to the point where a confession of very basic political theology like this is necessary-        And after that conversation, we talk the many layers of Christian nationalism involved in the debacle at Trump's recent trip to Arlington National CemeteryMentioned on the episode:-        The Confession of Evangelical Conviction, and the associated resources-        The video we produced to promote the confessionCredits-            Follow KTF Press on Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. Subscribe to get our bonus episodes and other benefits at KTFPress.com.-        Follow host Jonathan Walton on Facebook Instagram, and Threads.-        Follow host Sy Hoekstra on Mastodon.-        Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra – listen to the whole song on Spotify.-        Our podcast art is by Robyn Burgess – follow her and see her other work on Instagram.-        Editing by Multitude Productions-        Transcripts by Joyce Ambale and Sy Hoekstra.-        Production by Sy Hoekstra and our incredible subscribersTranscriptIntroduction[An acoustic guitar softly plays six notes in a major scale, the first three ascending and the last three descending, with a keyboard pad playing the tonic in the background. Both fade out as Jonathan Walton says “This is a KTF Press podcast.”]Sy Hoekstra: When we first started doing this work and we published our anthology, we went on a couple of podcasts about it. A common thing that people asked of us at the time was, where do you think the White American church, where do you think the like 81 percent of the church, the White evangelical church that voted for Trump is going? And the first time I said it, I sort of surprised myself and I was like, look, it's being cut off the vine for not bearing good fruit and thrown in the fire. There's been a long time coming of a divorce, like a complete split between White evangelicals in America and followers of Jesus.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Sy Hoekstra: Welcome to Shake the Dust, seeking Jesus, confronting injustice. I'm Sy Hoekstra.Jonathan Walton: And I'm Jonathan Walton.Sy Hoekstra: We have a great show for you today. We're doing something a little bit different. We are talking about a bit of a movement, a little, a confession that we have signed onto that we're a part of that we're producing some media around that you may have seen by the time this episode comes out. And it's a confession of sort of evangelical faithfulness to Jesus in a political context. And it is probably a little bit off the beaten path of kind of some of the political commentary that we normally engage in. And we wanted to talk to you about why we think it is a good and strategic thing for us to do during this season, give you some of our thinking behind how we kind of strategize politically and think about ourselves as part of a larger theological and political movement.So I think this will be a really good conversation. We're also gonna get into our Which Tab Is Still Open and talk to you about Christian nationalism and whiteness through the lens of Donald Trump doing absurd things at Arlington National Cemetery [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: But we will get into all of that in a moment. Before we do, Jonathan Walton.Jonathan Walton: Hey, remember, if you like what you hear and read from us at KTF Press and would like for it to continue beyond the election season, I need you to do two things. Go to KTFPress.com and become a paid subscriber. Now, you could also tell other people to do that as well if you've already done that. We've got a ways to go if we're going to have enough people to sustain the work, but we think it's valuable, and I hope you do too. So go to KTFPress.com, sign up, and that gets you all of the bonus episodes of this show, access to our monthly Zoom calls with the two of us and more. So again, KTFPress.com. Become a paid subscriber.What is the Evangelical Confession of Conviction, and Why Is KTF Involved?Sy Hoekstra: All right, Jonathan, let's get started in our conversation. We've signed onto this document called The Confession of Evangelical Conviction. We've produced some media around it. First of all, what is it and what does it say?Some Basic Political Theology That We Need to Restate at This Cultural Moment with UnityJonathan Walton: [laughs] Well, I think the question of what it is, it's words [Sy laughs]. Like there's these things that we put together, it's words. And I think the reason that it's powerful is because of when and how it's said. And so these are basic confessions that every Christian should believe, but it seems like the reason that we're doing it right now and that I've signed onto is because there are seasons when the discipleship and formation of the church needs to be plain and centered. And so being able to say, “I give allegiance to Christ alone,” and then have that be reverberated across denominations, across movements of quote- unquote, Christians around the country that are usually so disparate, they usually don't communicate, they usually disagree with each other in very public ways, to say, “Hey, hey, hey.”We need people to understand who don't follow Jesus, that when Gandhi said, “I like Christ, I don't like Christians,” that's part of the problem. We are part of that problem. Where we don't articulate what we know, what we believe, what we know to be true. I think this is an articulation of that, speaking particularly to a cultural and political and social moment that needs the clarity that Jesus can bring.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. So this is just to get into the weeds of it. It's a confession signed by I would say, the sort of extreme ends, at least to the people that we know about right now, I don't know who's gonna sign it in future, but center-right to more progressive left. And the basic confessions, like the seven statements of the confession are, “We give our allegiance to Jesus Christ alone. We will lead with love, not fear. We submit to the truth of Scripture. We believe the Gospel heals every worldly division. We are committed to the prophetic mission of the Church. We value every person as created in God's image.” And “We recognize godly leaders by their character.” So this is very basic theology [laughs] like you said. And you got a little bit at why it matters to put this out there, why we are involved. I agree with you. I think it's more about the context and it's also about who is saying it more than it is about the content.Because, and by the way, we should say we are giving you our reasons for signing this and why we think it's important. This is not… like there's a group of people that were involved in writing it, so there's lots of people involved who we don't know precisely why they signed [laughs] or precisely why the people who wrote it decided it was necessary. We're talking to you about our opinions. So to me, if you have something that says we pledge our allegiance to Christ alone, that's a rebuke of Christian nationalism to me.We judge godly leaders by their character, that's a rebuke of people who argue that Trump is a godly leader or a leader who has been appointed by God in some way or another. So those are important things to say. And it's with people across a pretty big spectrum of, as I said, the political range. Would Jonathan and I go a lot further than this if we said what we thought is important for political discipleship? Yes, we would, and you know that, because you've heard our other episodes. Or if you haven't, go listen to our other episodes [laughs]. We would go a lot further than that, yes. But we think, I think it's good to work with a broad range of people during a political campaign.Reaching a Broad Audience and Pushing the American Church to ChangeSy Hoekstra: Like I think when you're talking about discipleship at a moment when tensions are extremely high around theology and politics, it is good to do these kinds of things where you are trying to scale your efforts.Where you're trying to reach as many people as possible in the hopes that you will change some minds, both so that they will more faithfully follow Jesus, and in this specific context, so they won't vote for Donald Trump. That's one of my personal reasons for being involved in this [laughs]. And that's how you do campaigns in general. That's how campaigns operate. You try and call as many people as you can. You try and put commercials out there as widely as you can toward your targeted audience, whatever. Not in the hopes that the vast majority of the people who see it are going to suddenly be like, “Oh my goodness, I agree with everything you say,” but in the hopes that you'll reach enough of the people whose minds you can change to make a difference in their decision when it comes to November.You will reach them and you will start to be one of the people who affects their choices, is what I'm trying to say. So I don't know, that's kind of the strategy of it from my point of view. It is a similar way of thinking to me from the anthology. When we published the anthology four years ago, it was different because we were letting people say their own beliefs. And it was people from all over the spectrum kind of saying why they weren't voting for Trump in whatever way they saw fit [laughs], on whatever topic they saw fit. That was our approach. But this is the way some other people are going to do it, and we're gonna be happy to work with them in that way.Jonathan Walton: I think for me, I see the political strategy of it. I see the strategery that's happening, to use a word from SNL. My hope is that…Sy Hoekstra: From SNL 25 years ago [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yeah. My hope… [laughs]. It was such a great sketch. “Strategery,” it was so good. “I'm the decider” [Sy laughs]. So I think one of the things that stands out to me, particularly in reviewing it more and assign it and then come on board, is, I hope that this is a Belhar Confession type moment for the United States and followers of Jesus. Particularly, because when we look at the Dutch Reformed Church, the Dutch Reformed Church was the theological backbone and framework for apartheid in South Africa. They gave the covering for those things to happen. It gave theological and moral legitimacy to a movement that was oppressive, violent, exploitative, and un-Christian at every level. Because there are Christian leaders who are willing to say, “You know what? This is really good. This is actually right. This is good and just, and God intended this.” And we have the exact same type of nonsense happening in the United States.There are quote- unquote, prophets and apostles and preachers and teachers and publishing houses and Amazon independent book publishers rolling out materials that say, “America first.” America is the kingdom of God. America is the kingdom of heaven. America is this baptized land on the earth, as opposed to being a land that is rooted in land theft, genocide, violence, patriarchy, greed and exploitation. Which it is that. It's actually not the kingdom of God at all. And so I hope that this creates a groundswell that goes beyond November 5th and beyond January 20th. And could this be a pivot point of orientation for people who followed Jesus to say, “You know what? Actually Jesus didn't say any of that.” If all of these people, right, left, middle, above, otherwise are saying this, maybe I should consider. “Oh, Randall Balmer said that, and Mercy Aiken” [Sy laughs]? “Shane was there too? Alright. Shane is on the same page as Curtis Chang and Sandra Van Opstal? Alright, let me jump in and get on this.” That's what I hope happens, is that it becomes impossible to avoid the question of allegiance to Jesus, or allegiance to the United States. Just like in South Africa the question was, are you pledging allegiance to apartheid or are you gonna follow Jesus?Sy Hoekstra: I totally agree with that. And I would say that it is 100 percent in line with the sort of premise of this podcast, which is helping people shake the dust and walk away [laughs] from the places where the word of God is not accepted as Jesus put it. And you let your peace return to you and you move along on your way.Jonathan Walton: Yes.How Did We Get to the Point Where This Confession Is Necessary?Sy Hoekstra: So let's actually talk about that thing that you were just saying. The thing where all these people from these different walks of life are coming together to make this specific statement at this time. How did we get here, aside from the obvious thing that Donald Trump is very good at uniting people who oppose him [laughter]. How did we get to this point in the church in America?Jonathan Walton: I think we need to narrow the scope a little bit.Sy Hoekstra: Okay.Jonathan Walton: Of how we got to this point, I think I would start at Acts 2 [laughter]. But, and then the church and then the alliance with the empire to escape persecution. Constantinople like Nicea, I mean…Sy Hoekstra: Let's focus on America.Jonathan Walton: Yeah, let's focus on the United States.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs] Zoom in a little bit.The Moral Majority Took Us Very Far down a Path Away from JesusJonathan Walton: I think that one of the pivot points in the United States is 2008 in the ascendance of Barack Obama. With Barack Obama, you have what was roiling and starting with Al Gore, but like can Christians vote for Democrats and still be Christians? Because with the ascendance of the moral majority, with what Randall Balmer talks about this coalescing around abortion as a position, and then the policies laid out by Jerry Falwell. And there was a conference in 1979 in Houston. Lots of organizations came out of that gathering. And so when those types of things occur, I think we are living in the wake of that wave, but that wave wasn't really challenged until 2008 when many, many, many, many people said, “Oh, I wanna vote for Barack Obama.”And so with the ascendance of Obama, then the question particularly among the Black community from evangelical Christians is like, can you be a Christian and vote for Obama? And that was talked about extensively in Tamice's book, Faith Unleavened, which is amazing. And that scene that she describes of the dissonance between the White evangelical church that she was sitting in, and the conversation she was having with her grandma on the phone, who she called Momma.Sy Hoekstra: Where her family was having a party because Obama had been elected and her White church was having a mournful prayer service.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. I think a lament session basically, for the United States being now overtaken by a demonic force. And so I think if we start there and move forward, like if this was a ray coming from a point, then the line actually starts to diverge from there, from the center point. And now we are actually so far apart that it's very, very difficult to justify what's happening. So if we're at our end points right now, we have followers of Jesus legitimizing sexual violence by saying Trump is fine. You have followers of Jesus legitimizing fraud, saying that that's fine. You have followers of Jesus legitimizing insurrection, saying that's fine. We are way, way down the road and very far apart from these basic confessions.And so I think people that are co-opted and indoctrinated by Fox News and the conservative White evangelical and conservative Catholic and conservative… because there's a smattering of Christian movements that have so aligned themselves with political power that it is very apparent even to non-Christians, that this is not Christ-like. And so I think for us, similar to the church in South Africa, to say, “Hey, we need to just make very plain every person is made in the image of God, and you shouldn't enslave, violate and steal from people.”If we could articulate that and do that, and have a movement around that, then I think that is how we got here, is that basic tenets of following Jesus have stayed the same, but forces, institutional, the powers, the principalities, and also people who chose to align themselves with that have taken the ball and run so far down the road that even people who don't follow Jesus and folks who just have basic biblical engagement are seeing that this is just not the way. And so I think followers of Jesus across the spectrum are starting to say, “You know what? This is a moment that we can actually speak into.”The White Evangelical ChurchA Divorce between White Evangelicals and Followers of JesusSy Hoekstra: Yeah, I agree with all that. I think, I mean, look, when we first started doing this work and we published our anthology, we went on a couple of podcasts about it. A common thing that people asked of us at the time was, where do you think the American church, where do you think the like 81 percent of the church, the White evangelical church that voted for Trump is going?” And the first time I said it, I sort of surprised myself, but I was like, “Look, it's being cut off the vine for not bearing good fruit and thrown in the fire.” That's it. There's been a long time coming of a divorce, like a complete split, I think, between White evangelicals in America and followers of Jesus.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: White evangelicals have had a whole long history of being involved in, as you said, in the exact same way that the Dutch Reformed Church was involved in apartheid, just being involved in everything. Every [laughs] terrible thing America's ever done, we've been there cheering it on and supporting it in all kinds of ways. And I think a lot of what Trump in particular, and it's sometimes a little bit hard to put my finger on why it was him, but Trump in particular, I think highlighted to a lot of Christians who viewed themselves as kind of like just nice, gentle, center right Christians who were a part of a larger movement where maybe there were some people who were a little bit off the deep end, but overall, these institutions and these people are trying to accomplish good things in the world and follow Jesus faithfully, realized that that wasn't the case.I think there are a lot of people who realized that they actually had opinions about what it meant to follow Jesus that were dramatically different than the average person in their institutions, or the average evangelical Republican.Policy Debates for White Evangelicals Have Been a Cover for Power HungerSy Hoekstra: Peter Wehner, I think would be one of these people, who writes for the New York Times. He was a George W. Bush speech writer. He recently wrote an article saying, “Look, Donald Trump has explicitly said that if you took one of these super restrictive state abortion bans and you passed it in Congress and you put it on my desk, I would veto it. I would not pass a national abortion ban.”Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: Which for the pro-life movement, that's the end goal. That would be [laughs], that would be the thing they've been fighting for for decades [Jonathan laughs]. And he has said, “I will not sign this.” And do you hear anything about that from Franklin Graham [laughs]?Jonathan Walton: So Al Mohler was on the Run-Up of the New York Times this week, when you listen to this probably like two weeks ago, talking about how, “Hey, Donald Trump just said he's not gonna sign a national abortion ban. What's your position on that?” And his position hasn't changed, because again, it is framed as you all are the radical people, not us. We are the victims, not you. There's a constant revision of reality that they are gonna continue to turn out and communicate that is rooted in fear and a lust for power and control and dominance. And that is toxic as all get-out, and obviously un-Christian.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, that was the end of my point, was that a thing that people have been arguing for a long time, which is that, this focus on abortion, this focus on prayer in school, or this focus on whatever the evangelical issue of the day is, has in fact been about power from the perspective of the leaders.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: Maybe not the rank -in-file people like marching and the March for Life or whatever.Jonathan Walton: Exactly.Sy Hoekstra: But the leaders are after power, and they always have been. That's what, if you go back a couple years to our episode with Mako Nagasawa, the first episode of season two where we talked about abortion. That's what his whole book is about, is the history of abortion policy and how it's almost never been about abortion. It's almost always been about something else like anti-immigrant sentiment or professionalizing the medical profession or whatever. It's always been about some other issue of people trying to establish themselves and gain power over somebody else. That's what I think a lot of people are realizing, and so a lot of people who are, I think more to the right in the group of people who have signed this document that we have are on that journey, like are in the middle of it.Or not in the middle of it, but they've been going on it for a few years and they've been rejected by who they thought were their people for saying things like, “Hey, should we maybe adhere a little more closely to the teachings of Jesus?” [laughs] And now they're saying, okay, they've gotten to a point where they're like, “I need to draw a line in the sand. I need to make something clear here.” And that I think is different. That is genuinely different than eight years ago when everybody was, a lot of people in the middle were just kind of waffling.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. Yeah, right.Sy Hoekstra: Were not really sure what to do yet. And they still viewed the people on the far right who were all in for Trump as possibly a minority on their side, or possibly just something like a phase people were going through. Something that would flare up and then die, and it just didn't turn out that way. I think that's kind of how I view a lot of how we got to the place that we are now.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: Again, zoomed in on America and not looking at the entirety of church history, which is where you wanted to go [laughter].Jonathan Walton: Yeah. And I mean, and I'll name some of the people that are key to that. So, Kristin Kobes Du Mez, like her book Jesus and John Wayne, Jemar Tisby's book, The Color of Compromise. And we could also throw in some Christianity adjacent, but loved by them books as well. So like all of the quote- unquote, anti-racist books, where people who are trying to leave the race-based, class-based, gender-based environmental hierarchy that White evangelicalism enforces, like I wrote about that in Twelve Lies as an explicit book. But you could say that Ibram X. Kendi's book is trying to get away from that. That White Fragility is trying to get away from that. That all of these books pushing back against [laughs], what now is called like Trad Wife and all these different things, it's trying to push back against these things. They're trying to call people to another reality because the one that some people have found themselves in is deeply unhelpful and not Christian.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. I feel like that's been like you're refrain of this podcast. “And also, not Christian” [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Not Christian. Right.Sy Hoekstra: And not Jesus.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: Do we have any other thoughts on this subject, or do we want to jump into our segment?Jonathan Walton: I just think people should go sign it.Sy Hoekstra: Oh, yeah.Jonathan Walton: And there's a fun bible study there that [laughs] we talked about two weeks ago on the podcast and spread the word about it. I think it's gonna be a good thing.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah, the link to the website, the people who organized it, Jonathan said, “Hey, you can put the Bible study that we talked about in our last episode up, if you want a place for people to go to scripture on these subjects.” And they did.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: So that's cool. We will have the link to the confession in the show notes, as well as the link to the video that we created, which has a bunch of the signers of the confession reading parts of it, which we would love it if you would all share as widely as possible on your social media, and share the confession as well. We hope that this, as I said, changes somebody's hearts and minds, has some good effect on some people both in their discipleship and in their politics, which is what we're all about.Jonathan Walton: Yeah. Amen. There's actually a worship album that came out too. So along with Phil Vischer's cartoons for kids that can be shown in churches, there's a Return to Love album by a bunch of folks that you all may know like Will Matthews, Crystal Lewis, Ryan Edgar. These are folks that have led worship in great places that the evangelical world has followed for a long time. And so having worship leaders willing to call us out as well is pretty great. Along with Phil Vischer, because these videos will definitely be great for kids.Sy Hoekstra: Is that worship album already out?Jonathan Walton: Yeah, it's out right now [laughs]. You could click on it.Sy Hoekstra: I don't know how they did that that fast. That's incredible [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Hey man, listen. There's a thing called the Holy Spirit.Sy Hoekstra: [laughs].Jonathan Walton: And I think we all know that when Jesus moves, Jesus can do some things.Which Tab Is Still Open?: Trump at ArlingtonJonathan Walton: And so let's get into our segment, Which Tab Is Still Open?, where we dive a little deeper into one of our recommendations from the newsletter. And remember, you can get our newsletter for free by signing up for the mailing list at KTFPress.com. You'll get recommendations on articles, podcasts, and other media from both of us on things that will help you in your political education and discipleship. Plus, you'll get reflections to keep you grounded and hopeful as we engage in this challenging work together. News about KTF and what's going on, and a lot more. So go get that free subscription and a paid one too. Alright. So this is your recommendation, so let's jump into it.Sy Hoekstra: This actually has a lot to do with what we were just talking about.Jonathan Walton: Yes, it does.Sy Hoekstra: This is all about Christian Nationalism [laughter]. And Trump kind of stepping in it when it comes to dealing with his Christian Nationalist followers. So here's the story, and the article that I recommended in the newsletter was actually, it both gave the details of the story, but it was actually for me, an example of kind of the thing that I was critiquing [laughs]. It was an Atlantic article, and basically the facts of what happened are as follows. Trump went to Arlington National Cemetery, which if you don't know, is I just learned the second, not actually the largest, the second largest national cemetery in the country.Jonathan Walton: Oh. Huh.Sy Hoekstra: The largest one's on Long Island, Jonathan, I had no idea.Jonathan Walton: What!Sy Hoekstra: [laughs] Yeah.Jonathan Walton: [laughs] I did not know that.Sy Hoekstra: So the people who are buried in Arlington are soldiers who served in active duty. Some of them died, some of them were retired and passed away later. And then like very high ranking government officials, like Supreme Court justices or presidents or whatever. So Trump went and visited a specific spot that had I think 13 soldiers who died during the evacuation of Afghanistan when there was a suicide bomb attack from the Taliban.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: And he did this basically to highlight Biden administration screw ups. You didn't handle this evacuation well. And so because Harris is part of the administration, he's criticizing his opponent. And he went and took some pictures, which is fine, but he then was like specifically taking pictures in this area and like narrating a video talking about Biden screw ups and everything. And an employee of the cemetery pointed out correctly that campaign activities are illegal under federal law [laughs] at Arlington National Cemetery. And they kept going anyways. And they got in a little bit of an argument with her, and then later to the press said that she is mentally ill and was having a mental health crisis in that moment, and that she needed to be fired.And, fortunately the cemeteries said, “No, that's all a lie, and she was correctly telling you that you shouldn't have been doing what you were doing and et cetera.”Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: But there were a number of people, and I don't know if this is a majority or anything like that, but there were actually some Trump supporters who viewed this as a violation, like something that Trump really shouldn't have done. He was being disrespectful to the dead, the troops who were there, by doing partisan stuff at the National cemetery. It was not necessarily about the things that he was saying, but just by conducting yourself in a way that you're not supposed to conduct yourself at a national cemetery.Sy's Experience with Arlington and it's Strong Christian NationalismSo here's my in for this. I have a very long history of military [laughs] service in my family. Somebody in my family went on Ancestry.com one time, and I have a direct ancestor who was a drummer boy in the Continental Army with George Washington [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Oh, wow.Sy Hoekstra: And somebody who enlisted in the Union Army during the Civil War. And my great-grandfather was in World War II in Korea, grandfather was in Vietnam. And my grandfather who was in Vietnam, he died when I was about 10. My grandmother remarried a very highly decorated army colonel also from Vietnam, who he passed away and we had a funeral for him at Arlington. And Arlington does like 20, 30 funerals a day. So if you're a rank-in-file soldier, it's like a very, it's an in and out thing [laughs]. But because of either his rank or his awards or both [laughs], it was an event, Jonathan. It was like, we had the bigger, more beautiful chapel, and then we had a procession, because I can't see, I can't tell you how many it was, but at the very least, dozens of soldiers with a commanding officer taking his casket from the church to the burial site, there was a 21-gun salute. There was the presentation of the flag with the shell cases from the 21-gun salute to my grandmother. It was a big thing.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: And if you've been to Arlington, you know that one of the key messages there is that the people who served America and the army served the kingdom of God, served Jesus. That is what they did. They served, and they may have died serving heaven [laughs] effectively. And so what that means is this is one of the holiest sites for Christian nationalism. This is one of the places where you go to be reassured with some of the highest level, like some of the world's greatest pomp and circumstance. The world's most convincing showing of pageantry and religious activity that the United States Army and the people who died serving it are also serving God, which is, you can't get more Christian nationalist than that.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: Which is also why we have talked about Christian nationalism, actually far more common than people think it is [laughs]. It is absolutely normal in how we talk about the military. So what I think happened here with Trump is that because what I believe about Trump is that he's a conman to the core. He is pure... he's like self-interest incarnate [laughs]. He is out to promote Donald Trump and nothing more, and nobody more than that.Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: I think he forgot that his self-interest can actually diverge from Christian nationalism [laughs]. I think that he forgot that he can step on his people's toes in a way that he doesn't want to. And he's basically going to look out for where those things diverge in future in order to not have this happen again. Because he's just there doing what he does, which is promoting himself anytime, anywhere at all costs. And he forgot that one of the things that he harnesses, which is Christian nationalism, is not actually something that he believes in, and so he can misfire [laughs]. The irony to me is that I want to gain enough power to do anything and not be held accountable for it to better myself in my own position, is a pretty good summary of how kind of the operating principle of the US military in our foreign policy has been for so long.So it's actually, it's like [laughs], it's two entities, a former president and the US military kind of clashing in their basically excuse making for their own unaccountability and their own sin. Which is how I view the Christian nationalism of a place like Arlington. What I just said Jonathan, is [laughs] blasphemy to a [laughs] lot of the people that I probably, to some people that I know personally. So I will just acknowledge that. But that is what I believe, and I think is true to the Bible. So hopefully you can at least give me that credit [Jonathan laughs]. Jonathan, boy, did I just talk for a long time. I'm sorry. I actually had in the outline that I wanted to ask you first what your thoughts were before I went on my rant, and I just couldn't help myself. So, [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Well, Sy, I mean…Sy Hoekstra: Jonathan, what are your thoughts?Jonathan Walton: I think one, I just appreciated the explanation of the closeness, why it's still open for you. Because I think when I was writing Twelve Lies, I wrote about the military, and I wanted to say, “Oh, they're only going to these types of communities to get people.” That would've been my hypothesis or was my hypothesis, but the research proved different.Sy Hoekstra: And when you say that, you specifically mean exploiting like poor Black and Brown neighborhoods?Jonathan Walton: Yes.Sy Hoekstra: You're saying like, “We'll get you into college, we'll give you benefits, et cetera, if you come fight and die for us.”Jonathan Walton: Exactly. And so…Sy Hoekstra: Potentially die for us.Jonathan Walton: Right, there's this exchange that's gonna happen for your body. Whether alive or dead, there will be benefits and resources for you or your loved ones. And so I went in with that lens, but what my research showed me was that the majority of people who serve in the military are family. Their parents were in it, their grandparents were in it, their cousin was in it. It's actually like only about two percent of the United States population is affiliated with the military. We're recruiting from the same groups of people. And this would also be true for law enforcement. People who were in it essentially raise their children and bless and send them into it as well as most often. It's not actually about income.The income, if I remember correctly, was between 50 to 70 thousand dollars a year in a household, which in a rural area is at the time, 10 years ago, felt like a living wage. And so that reality was also something that's interesting for me. So when Trump came out against Mark Milley, when Mark Milley challenged him to say, “Hey, you will not use me, quote- unquote, the military, as a prop in your racism, standing in front of St. John's church holding that Bible up,” which was literally the distorted cover of our book, our anthology, because these things were happening. When he insulted John McCain, that was a moment where the military and I think those who are beholden to Christian nationalism tried to speak up. Tried to say, “Hey, we won't do this.” But then the ball continued down the road.I don't know what the fallout of the Arlington stuff will be, but I do know based on Up First the NPR podcast this morning in the morning that we're recording September the seventh, they said the military and the employees actually let this go. But the reason they brought it back up was because Trump got on Truth Social , used platform and stature to say, “This did not happen. There was no altercation. This person had a mental health episode.” And when you go into that, that's where I think the, “We will not be disrespected” thing kind of came up. Like what do you mean? No, we're gonna talk about this and we're gonna name that. You will not desecrate this holy site. Holy in holy site of Christian nationalism, as you were saying.So I hope that there are more people that are offended, because I think that if we allow ourselves to be offended, to be bothered, to be uncomfortable, then maybe there will be some movement. Because I think you're absolutely right. He is, you said self-interest incarnate. I think that is a great quote [laughs].Trump Cheapened the Spiritual Cost People Pay to Be in the MilitaryJonathan Walton: What's painful to me, so I too have, my father was in Vietnam. My brother was in the Navy, my uncle was in the Army. My other uncles were in Vietnam. And Brodnax, the town where I'm from, has many gravestones from Vietnam and Korea. And so what is fascinating to me is the level of belief that you have to have to commit acts of atrocity or commit acts of violence. Like Shane Claiborne would say, we were not made to kill people, you have to be taught to do that.And I am in no way condemning a soldier or a person who's in military service, who's listening. That's not what I'm saying. I'm observing, it costs us something to do these things. And I think the thing that Trump did was cheapen the cost that many, many, many thousands of people have paid for something that they thought was a collective interest blessed by God when Trump said, “No, you are a pawn in my game. And I will use you for my benefit.” Now you again, you will have people that say that's what's happening anyway. Trump is just doing in like what everybody else does behind closed doors. But I think that tension that he articulates or brings up for us, I hope it's allowed to rise to the surface, and then we can have a conversation about the cost.Like the silent war in the military right now is that even soldiers who have not seen active duty are committing suicide. I hope it brings to the surface the, like my dad, Agent Orange ruined some of his life. They're still figuring out what the effects of that were. You have people who are saying they support troops in one hand, but then voting against resources and benefits for them in the other hand, when the legislation comes up. Lauren Boebert did that yesterday. I hope that the perceived belovedness of our veterans and military versus the reality of how they're exploited and taken advantage of and dismissed and cast aside, we would actually acknowledge that and then do real work to ensure that they don't end up on the street.They don't end up stuck on painkillers. They do get the medical resources they need. They do get the mental health support that they need. Their families do get the resources that they need on and off-base and not just a discount at the PX. If that could be the conversation because of this, then I'd be very glad.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. Just one more thing you said there. You said lots of people use the military as pawns and it's true. Or like props for their campaigns. It is just another one of those things about Trump where he will just do what everybody else did, but he'll turn it up to 11 [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Yeah, no, yeah. It's true.Sy Hoekstra: Everybody else, every politician, if they have a military background, if their family does, if they can visit a military site or whatever, they do it all the time. And even if their love for the military or for America is real, it is also true that they use them for their campaigns [laughs]. Use them to prop up. That has been… since we elected George Washington, the general of the Continental Army, has been true [laughter]. Right?Jonathan Walton: Right.Sy Hoekstra: So Trump is just the one who says, “Whatever your rules of decorum are, I'm going to break them.” And in most cases, that is actually his appeal. “Yes. I break rules of decorum and there's no consequences. And that's because these elitist can't tell me what to do and we need to take back power.Jonathan Walton: Oh Lord have mercy, Jesus [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: You need someone like me who can just break through all this nonsense.” You know what I mean?Jonathan Walton: Right. Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: That's usually his appeal. And in this case, it just happened to be that he crossed the wrong line for some people. I'm sure there's a lot of people who probably don't care [laughs].Jonathan Walton: Right. It may not wrangle a lot of people, but I hope it wrangles the right people.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: And him stretching out this poop that he stepped on and not wiping it off his foot and continue his campaign, I hope that roils people. He is a disrespectful person.Sy Hoekstra: Yeah.Jonathan Walton: And for Christians, literally James chapter four, it's that God opposes the proud. We are called to be humble people, and so I pray for Trump. I pray for his family. Not that he would win an election and all those things, but literally that they would come to know Jesus. Literally that they would know the freedom in him. Literally, that they would be able to experience the freedom that money cannot purchase and privilege cannot provide for you. And so I say all these things in hopes that everyone who is watching what happens is disquieted because we should not be comfortable with what's happening. Especially as followers of Jesus [laughs].Sy Hoekstra: Yeah. Amen to that Jonathan. Amen.Jonathan Walton: Yeah.Sy Hoekstra: I think we'll wrap it up there. Just as a reminder, as we finish, please again, go to KTFPress.com, get that newsletter and sign up as a paid subscriber to support everything that we do. We're centering and elevating marginalized voices. We're helping people seek Jesus in their discipleship and in their politics. We really do need some more support than we have right now if we're gonna make this sustainable kind of past this election season. So please do come and sign up as a paid subscriber at KTFPress.com. Our theme song is “Citizens” by Jon Guerra. Our podcast Art is by Robyn Burgess, transcripts by Joyce Ambale, editing by Multitude Productions. I am the producer along with our lovely paid subscribers. Thank you so much for joining us, and we will see you in two weeks.[The song “Citizens” by Jon Guerra fades in. Lyrics: “I need to know there is justice/ That it will roll in abundance/ And that you're building a city/ Where we arrive as immigrants/ And you call us citizens/ And you welcome us as children home.” The song fades out.]Jonathan Walton: Give me one second. One moment. I'm gonna get the name right so that you don't have to go edit this later [Sy laughs]. … So yes, we… Robert Mohler. The—Richard Mohler. Al Mohler. That's his name [Sy laughs]. Al Mohler [laughs]. It says R dot Albert Mohler. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.ktfpress.com/subscribe

We hope you enjoy today's Scripture reading and devotional aimed at equipping you for moral and spiritual transformation. Today's Bible reading is Matthew 16:21–28. To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional. Browse other resources from Dan Doriani. Follow us on social media to stay up to date: Instagram Facebook Twitter

AN APOSTLE'S FIRST STEPS Acts 9:19-31 Why do parents remember their kids' first steps? Confessing Christ before the World Why is it important to confess Christ openly? Suffering with Christ in the World What is the cost of confessing Christ openly? Blessed in Christ in Spite of the World How is it blessed to confess Christ openly?

A new MP3 sermon from Millersville Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessing Christ as Savior and Lord Subtitle: Core Values Series Speaker: Todd McAllister Broadcaster: Millersville Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 5/19/2024 Bible: Romans 10:9-13 Length: 30 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Millersville Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessing Christ as Savior and Lord Subtitle: Core Values Series Speaker: Todd McAllister Broadcaster: Millersville Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 5/19/2024 Bible: Romans 10:9-13 Length: 30 min.

A new MP3 sermon from Millersville Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: Confessing Christ as Savior and Lord Subtitle: Core Values Series Speaker: Todd McAllister Broadcaster: Millersville Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 5/19/2024 Bible: Romans 10:9-13 Length: 30 min.

We continue to look at the fourth sign and consider the following points from John 6-60-71--1. Difficulty with Christ-2. Departing from Christ-3. Hiding from Christ-4. Confessing Christ

We continue to look at the fourth sign and consider the following points from John 6:60-71:1. Difficulty with Christ2. Departing from Christ3. Hiding from Christ4. Confessing Christ

We discuss the familiar Easter 2 reading of Thomas encountering the risen Lord Jesus and how the Holy Spirit shapes our lives as Christians.Preacher: Vicar Timothy ContrerasSubmit Sermon Questions:Email | podcast@stjohndublin.orgLink to SermonChurch Website: stjohndublin.orgChurch Center: stjohndublin.churchcenter.comThank you to Higher Things Inc. for permission to use their recording of LSB 834 “O God, O Lord of Heaven and Earth”. (leader.higherthings.org)Thank you for listening to the Post-Sermon Podcast.

Episode Notes.Being Aware of Personal Hypocrisy (Luke 12:1-12)"Exploring Luke's Gospel: Unveiling Hypocrisy, Fearing God, and Confessing Christ"IntroductionWelcome to another episode of "Exploring Luke's Gospel." I'm your host, and today we delve into Luke 12:1-12, where Jesus imparts crucial teachings to his disciples. In this passage, we encounter profound truths about avoiding hypocrisy, fearing God, and confessing Christ.Unveiling Hypocrisy: Beware of the Leaven (Luke 12:1-3)Jesus begins by addressing the multitude that had gathered, urging his disciples to "be on guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy." He doesn't warn against hypocrites but specifically against hypocrisy, revealing a deeper concern for the disciples' internal authenticity.The metaphor of yeast is potent, symbolizing a seemingly insignificant influence that can permeate and transform. In this context, Jesus warns against the insidious nature of hypocrisy—pretending to be something one is not. He highlights the futility of concealing actions and emphasizes the inevitable exposure of hidden truths.The inevitability of exposure, the revelation of concealed actions, and the public proclamation of hidden whispers underscore the profound truth that authenticity is not just a moral virtue but a practical and wise way to navigate life. Jesus dismantles the illusion of long-term concealment, urging disciples to embrace genuine authenticity.Fearing God Over Men: Do Not Be Afraid (Luke 12:4-7)Jesus shifts the focus to fear, cautioning against the fear of men. He emphasizes that earthly authorities can only harm the body, urging disciples not to succumb to fear that might lead them into hypocrisy. Instead, they are directed to fear God, the One with authority over both body and soul.To reinforce the value God places on each individual, Jesus employs the illustration of sparrows. While sparrows are sold for a meagre sum, not one is forgotten by God. This serves as a powerful reminder of God's immense care and knowledge, encouraging disciples not to fear but find security in their great value to God.Confessing Christ: Acknowledge Him Before Others (Luke 12:8-12)The third command Jesus imparts is to confess Him before others. The fear of God and refusal to fear men naturally lead to openly acknowledging Jesus. This command reflects a bold expression of faith and allegiance to Christ, aligning believers with the fear of God and prioritizing His approval over human judgment.The promise of reciprocal acknowledgment—Jesus confessing believers before the angels of God—underscores the significance of unashamedly standing for Christ. Conversely, denial before men results in denial before the angels of God, implying a lack of acknowledgment and rewards in the heavenly realm.In verses 11-12, Jesus foretells persecution and instructs disciples not to worry about how to defend themselves. The Holy Spirit, promised to guide and empower believers, will provide the necessary words. This emphasizes a posture of trust and reliance on God's provision, reinforcing the biblical principle that God's grace is sufficient in weakness.In the culmination of these commands, a profound truth emerges: believers are called to fear God the Father, trust in Christ, and rely on the Holy Spirit for help. This Trinitarian relationship is woven into the fabric of Jesus' teachings, providing a comprehensive guide for navigating the complexities of lSupport the showMy Amazon Author Pageamazon.com/author/jeremymccandlessJeremy McCandless is creating podcasts and devotional resources | PatreonHelp us continue making great content for listeners everywhere.https://thebibleproject.buzzsprout.com

We hope you enjoy today's Scripture reading and devotional aimed at equipping you for moral and spiritual transformation.  Today's Bible reading is 1 John 3:11–24. To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional. Browse other resources from Robert W. Yarbrough. Follow us on social media to stay up to date: Instagram Facebook   Twitter

Dr. David B. McWilliams - October 1, 2023

Show Notes Contact the Podcast: RWJPodcast@gmail.com or www.raisedwithjesus.com/podcast  Click here to find a nearby congregation or church home.   yearbook.wels.net All rights reserved. Content used at this podcast comes from a variety of locations & sources.     Ask the Pastor requests: https://forms.gle/qqXHSwcerd5aPRUZ6    Resisting the Dragon's Beast notes:  Pastor Zarling's Book, Resisting the Dragon's Beast: https://a.co/d/33vpeyf  Fan Mail, questions, and comments: resistingthedragonsbeast@gmail.com   For more about the concept of “democide” – https://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/20TH.HTM   Tulsa Race Massacre – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsa_race_massacre     Gene Strusz's books: Morning Prayers for a Christian School: https://a.co/d/ajUEV8A  Essays on Coaching Christian Athletes: https://a.co/d/7HfQ5tk    Dr. John Brug's Lulu Store: https://www.lulu.com/search?contributor=John+Brug    Grace Abounds Reading Guides:  https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19Tw74cyqt4ZNRcGpwjJ6l1XsT0ldhyxj    CW21 Daily Lectionary:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1PN_RWjgV4wnvFALd8f4Hu3MvWAo8Jgh-/view?usp=sharing    Casting Nets Podcast: https://castingnetspod.podbean.com/ Apple   Spotify Contact Casting Nets: castingnetspod@gmail.com    Bethlehem Lutheran Church - Carmel, IN https://www.youtube.com/@bethlehemindiana    Impact Podcast - St. Andrew, Middleton WI https://st-andrew-online.org/impact/  RSS Link: https://feeds.libsyn.com/314675/rss    Prince of Peace - Thousand Oaks, CA https://www.princeofpeaceto.com  https://www.youtube.com/c/PrinceofPeaceTO/featured    Upside-Down Savior (Pastor Nate Nass) https://www.youtube.com/@upside-downsavior-pastorna1482    Water of Life Lutheran Church - Caledonia & Racine, WI https://www.wateroflifelutheran.com  https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcICs1dldnmZ-rcBqs4QtVQ    Life Challenges Podcast https://christianliferesources.com/life-challenges-podcast/    Dust and Breath Podcast https://dustandbreathpod.buzzsprout.com/1071946  Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dust-and-breath/id1504141389?uo=4  Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/1Luw8MfSUa2bcA8ljaomu5  Google Play: https://podcasts.google.com/?feed=aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5idXp6c3Byb3V0LmNvbS8xMDcxOTQ2LnJzcw==    St. Paul Lutheran Church - Ottawa, ON, Canada https://www.stpaulottawa.org/  https://www.youtube.com/c/StPaulOttawa    Worship at the Anvil Podcast Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/worship-at-the-anvil/id1601290288  https://anchor.fm/s/6f8bf9b0/podcast/rss  Also on Spotify.   Martin Luther College - New Ulm, MN https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCG3EyO6dSM4-5Ujr2HM9ExA    His Word 360 (WLS Prof. Rev. Stephen Geiger) https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCd542RpYW_KSrkEBUSNw-Lg    WELS Streams: https://www.youtube.com/c/welsstreams    WELS Congregational Services: https://vimeo.com/welscongserve  https://vimeo.com/wels    Point of Grace Campus Ministry https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsI7Z5KbPwLdHeIVj_l1z_A    Pilgrim Lutheran Church - Menomonee Falls WI https://www.youtube.com/user/pilgrimlutheran  Through My Bible readings by Rev. Martin Spriggs.  Audio accessed at https://wels.net/serving-you/bible/through-my-bible-archive/  Produced 2022 by Pastor Hagen: pastorhagen@icloud.com or (419) 262-8280  Music from Joseph McDade: https://josephmcdade.com #raisedwithjesus #lutheran #sanctification #toledome #toledo #welstoledo #jesus #bible #podcast #dailyjesus #jesusdaily #rwjpodcast #jesusfortoledo  Resurrection - Maumee: Family Bible Hour at 10:15 AM, Worship on Sundays at 9 AM & 11:15 AM 2250 S. Holland Sylvania Rd - Maumee, OH Contact RWJ: RWJPodcast@gmail.com (419) 262-8280 CCLI Copyright License 11582729 and Streaming License 20003552 

We hope you enjoy today's Scripture reading and devotional aimed at equipping you for moral and spiritual transformation.  Today's Bible reading is Matthew 16:21–28. To read along with the podcast, grab a print copy of the devotional. Browse other resources from Dan Doriani. Follow us on social media to stay up to date: Instagram Facebook   Twitter

On Friday, June 23rd our host, Tomeria Jordan, explores a topic that affects us all: the influence of bad company. Have you ever noticed how being around negative people or witnessing their actions can impact your own behavior and mindset? Join us as we delve into this subject from a biblical perspective and share practical ways to protect ourselves from the negative effects.   Scriptures (In order of Reference)   Proverbs 22:24-25 Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered Proverbs 13:20 Walk with the wise 2 Corinthians 10 Paul's Defense of His Ministry 2 Corinthians 6 Paul's Hardship and Warning Against Idolatry 2 Corinthians 5 Awaiting the New Body and the Ministry of Reconciliation Jeremiah 1:5 I knew you before you were born 2 Timothy 4:1-8 Run your race 1 Samuel 15 Saul loses his place, obedience is better than sacrifice Revelation 12:11 They triumphed over him [satan] by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony Matthew 15 What defiles us Proverbs 26 Do not be wise in your own conceit, Ceasing strife Luke 21 Signs of the times, watch and pray Luke 12 Hypocrisy, Confessing Christ, Discerning the times, etc. Romans 11-12 Israel's Rejection, Behaving like a Christian   Subscribe to our YouTube Channel for available visual podcast episodes, more inspiration, and entertainment: www.youtube.com/@confidencerestored   You may also click the following link to go to the direct episode: Bad Influences: Be Careful of the War So You Don't Become Like That Which You Abhor   Access the audio podcast via linktr.ee/ccamericallc or www.confidencerestoredpodcast.com   Rate, comment, share, and subscribe to The Confidence Restored.   Radical Obedience T-shirt and Mug from Confident Connotations (Inspirational apparel and products) Providing inspirational apparel and products that promote confidence, inspires life and sparks conversation. www.confidentconnotations.com Love the Show? Buy Us a Coffee To help support the costs associated with producing the CC: America Podcast you can now buy us a coffee to show appreciation. Visit https://www.buymeacoffee.com/ccamerica   Opening Music Surface by Loxbeats | https://soundcloud.com/loxbeats      Music promoted by https://www.free-stock-music.com        Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License  https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/deed.en_US   CC: America LLC, contractors, and staff expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, special, etc. damages and expressly disclaims any and all liability or responsibility for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or other damages arising out of any individual's use of, reference to, reliance on, or inability to use, the podcast or the information presented in this podcast.  

 This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the birthday of our Church on Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is still here, guiding the Church and active, but this is a special time to renew our own commitment to going out and converting the world. To get you ready for this work, we are reviewing the seven steps to conversion on the podcast this week. They are: Hearing the Gospel, Believing, Repenting of Sins, Confessing Christ, Baptism (or Confession for those already baptized), Living in Trust and Living in Compassion. Our new book, CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH is on sale now! Get your copy here: https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/catholic-social-teaching-for-youth  Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

 This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the birthday of our Church on Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is still here, guiding the Church and active, but this is a special time to renew our own commitment to going out and converting the world. To get you ready for this work, we are reviewing the seven steps to conversion on the podcast this week. They are: Hearing the Gospel, Believing, Repenting of Sins, Confessing Christ, Baptism (or Confession for those already baptized), Living in Trust and Living in Compassion. Our new book, CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH is on sale now! Get your copy here: https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/catholic-social-teaching-for-youth  Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

 This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the birthday of our Church on Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is still here, guiding the Church and active, but this is a special time to renew our own commitment to going out and converting the world. To get you ready for this work, we are reviewing the seven steps to conversion on the podcast this week. They are: Hearing the Gospel, Believing, Repenting of Sins, Confessing Christ, Baptism (or Confession for those already baptized), Living in Trust and Living in Compassion. Our new book, CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH is on sale now! Get your copy here: https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/catholic-social-teaching-for-youth  Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

 This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the birthday of our Church on Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is still here, guiding the Church and active, but this is a special time to renew our own commitment to going out and converting the world. To get you ready for this work, we are reviewing the seven steps to conversion on the podcast this week. They are: Hearing the Gospel, Believing, Repenting of Sins, Confessing Christ, Baptism (or Confession for those already baptized), Living in Trust and Living in Compassion. Our new book, CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH is on sale now! Get your copy here: https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/catholic-social-teaching-for-youth  Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

 This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the birthday of our Church on Pentecost! The Holy Spirit is still here, guiding the Church and active, but this is a special time to renew our own commitment to going out and converting the world. To get you ready for this work, we are reviewing the seven steps to conversion on the podcast this week. They are: Hearing the Gospel, Believing, Repenting of Sins, Confessing Christ, Baptism (or Confession for those already baptized), Living in Trust and Living in Compassion. Our new book, CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING FOR YOUTH is on sale now! Get your copy here: https://shop.catholicsprouts.com/products/catholic-social-teaching-for-youth  Check out the Catholic Sprouts Podcast ARCHIVES! https://catholicsprouts.com/podcast-archives/    Find fun, meaningful, faith-filled projects for your own family in the Catholic Family Resource Library. https://catholicsprouts.com/catholic-family-resource-library-signup/    Catholic Sprouts is a production of Spoke Street Media. For more great Catholic podcasts, check out spokestreet.com 

A verse-by-verse study of Matthew 8-10, Mark 5, and Luke 9 (covering the raising of the daughter of Jairus, the healing of the woman with the issue of blood, and the calling and instructing of the Twelve Apostles). This lesson focuses on glad tidings, certain women, a 911 call, an issue of blood, the hem of His garment, emotional roller coasters, touching Christ, making the impossible possible, blind eyes & a dumb mouth, calling and qualifying, wise as serpents & harmless as doves, taking no thought, preparing for persecution, perceptions of prophets, don't look back, and more. 0:00 Introduction 6:40 Glad Tidings of the Kingdom 10:09 Certain Women 14:50 Jairus's 911 Call 22:38 The Woman with the Issue of Blood 31:40 Nothing Bettered, Only Worse 35:19 The Hem of His Garment 40:30 The Emotional Roller Coaster 47:59 Who Touched Me? 57:36 Thy Faith Hath Made Thee Whole 1:03:58 Be Not Afraid, Only Believe 1:11:35 Raising the Daughter of Jairus 1:18:59 Faith to Make the Impossible Possible 1:29:35 Blind Eyes & a Dumb Mouth 1:38:06 Sheep without a Shepherd 1:41:33 Context for the Call 1:55:03 The Original Twelve Apostles 2:03:01 Instructions to the Twelve 2:13:01 Wise as Serpents, Harmless as Doves 2:17:09 Take No Thought Beforehand 2:21:25 Prepare for Persecution 2:33:05 Confessing Christ at All Costs 2:38:59 Perceiving Prophets as Prophets 2:45:41 Don't Look Back 2:50:27 Conclusion