Podcasts about Good News Club

The pro-life religion we see today is a modern creation. It was created for political purposes." — Katherine StewartKatherine Stewart is an award-winning journalist and author, who has investigated the rise of religious nationalism and its impact on democracy for over 15 years. Her work appears in The New York Times and The New Republic. She is the author of The Good News Club, The Power Worshippers, and the new release Money, Lies, and God.Key Topics CoveredHow the "Good News Club" exposed the stealth strategies of religious nationalists.The roots of Christian nationalism and its alliance with billionaires.Why abortion became a political weapon, not a religious crusade.How authoritarian leaders use religion to shield power globally.What gives hope — and how to fight back against democratic erosion.Follow Katherine StewartWebsiteThe Power WorshippersThe Good News ClubMoney, Lies, and God (Pre-order now)Bluesky SocialTwitter/XResources MentionedChristians Against Christian NationalismVote Common GoodGod & Country documentary (based on The Power Worshippers)

Interview with Katherine Stewart.  She is the author of the new book "Money, Lies and God".  Here previous works are "The Power Worshippers" and "The Good News Club".Investing Skeptically Segment on Tariffs, taxes, economics, inflation etc.

We've got another powerful episode this week, breaking down President Trump's latest victories and exposing the deep corruption in Washington. First, Eric Bolling joins to discuss Trump's bold speech to Congress, the Golden Dome missile defense proposal, and why Democrats looked more uncomfortable than ever. Then, Dr. Carole Lieberman breaks down Trump Derangement Syndrome and the psychological warfare being waged against conservatives. Shane Winnings of Promise Keepers calls out the attack on Christianity, the dangers of woke ideology in schools, and the fight to protect women's sports. Finally, January 6 political prisoner Chris Worrell shares his firsthand account of injustice, wrongful imprisonment, and the ongoing battle for truth. [1:00] Trump's Congressional Speech & Democrat Meltdown Shemane begins by breaking down President Trump's recent speech to Congress, where he laid out major wins—from securing the border to energy independence—and exposed billions in government waste. Eric Bolling, host of Bolling! on Real America's Voice, joins to discuss Trump's Golden Dome missile defense proposal and the Democrats' stunned reactions. From keeping men out of women's sports to calling out shady climate slush funds, Trump made it clear that America is back. Eric also weighs in on Trump's fiery exchange with Zelensky and what Trudeau's trade war with the U.S. could mean for Canada. [13:55] Trump Derangement Syndrome & the Epstein Files Shemane welcomes Dr. Carole Lieberman, America's psychiatrist, to discuss Trump Derangement Syndrome—why the left can't accept Trump's success and how their obsession is driving them to sabotage America. Together, they unpack the media's distractions, including the sudden shift in focus away from the delayed Epstein files, which should have exposed the elite network behind child trafficking. Dr. Lieberman shares insights on corruption, media cover-ups, and why the left's meltdown is only getting worse. [25:01] Faith Under Attack & the War on Masculinity Shane Winnings, military veteran and CEO of Promise Keepers, returns to call out the left's relentless attacks on Christianity and traditional values. He discusses a California school district unlawfully banning an after-school Good News Club and how schools continue to push gender ideology without parental consent. Shane also addresses the Senate's shocking refusal to protect women's sports and what this means for the future of faith and freedom in America. [36:00] January 6 Prisoners & the Fight for Justice Chris Worrell, a January 6 political prisoner, shares his personal story of wrongful imprisonment, mistreatment, and the deep corruption within the justice system. He details the inhumane conditions, lack of medical care, and the government's refusal to acknowledge the truth. Chris speaks out on the need for accountability and justice while calling on patriots to stand up for those who have been unjustly persecuted. Resources   Eric Bolling –  Website: Bolling! on Real America's Voice Twitter/X: @EricBolling Instagram: @ericbolling   Dr. Carole Lieberman –  Website: DrCarole.com Twitter/X: @DrCaroleMD   Shane Winnings – Website: promisekeepers.org Instagram: @shane.winnings   Chris Worrell –  Support & Donations:  givesendgo.com/4PatriotSupport   Sponsors Get clean healthy water with SentryH2O Use the promo code: “HEALTHY10”   Get true American made products at  switchtoamericawithshemane.com   Protect yourself with EMP Shield  Use the promo code “SHEMANE”    Activate stem cells & reset your body's clock  at lifewave.com/shemane Please send product inquiries to: shemane.lifewave@gmail.com   Watch Faith & Freedom every Sunday,  10am est on America'sVoice.News   Organic natural products to help your family thrive with  Rowe Casa Organics & use promo code “FAITH”   Purchase “My Pillow” at  mypillow.com or call 800-933-6972 Use promo code “FAITH”   Use promo code “FREEDOM” to receive  20% off your first order at Field of Greens   Join Shemane's new programs Fit & Fabulous Start Pack Faith Fuel: 21 Day Devotion    Check out Shemane's books:  Purchase Shemane's New Book: ‘Abundantly Well' Shemane's new #1 Bestseller ‘Killer House' "4 Minutes to Happy" Kill It and Grill It Cookbook   Connect with Shemane: Send your questions, suggestions,  & funny pet videos to shemane.chat@gmail.com    Share your hunting photos & questions to shemane.chat@gmail.com    Watch Killer House Documentary: KillerHouse.org Get Wildly Well at shemanenugent.rocks Shemane's Social Media: Instagram: @shemanenugent Youtube: /shemane Truth Social @Shemane

We've got another powerful episode this week, breaking down President Trump's latest victories and exposing the deep corruption in Washington. First, Eric Bolling joins to discuss Trump's bold speech to Congress, the Golden Dome missile defense proposal, and why Democrats looked more uncomfortable than ever. Then, Dr. Carole Lieberman breaks down Trump Derangement Syndrome and the psychological warfare being waged against conservatives. Shane Winnings of Promise Keepers calls out the attack on Christianity, the dangers of woke ideology in schools, and the fight to protect women's sports. Finally, January 6 political prisoner Chris Worrell shares his firsthand account of injustice, wrongful imprisonment, and the ongoing battle for truth. [1:00] Trump's Congressional Speech & Democrat Meltdown Shemane begins by breaking down President Trump's recent speech to Congress, where he laid out major wins—from securing the border to energy independence—and exposed billions in government waste. Eric Bolling, host of Bolling! on Real America's Voice, joins to discuss Trump's Golden Dome missile defense proposal and the Democrats' stunned reactions. From keeping men out of women's sports to calling out shady climate slush funds, Trump made it clear that America is back. Eric also weighs in on Trump's fiery exchange with Zelensky and what Trudeau's trade war with the U.S. could mean for Canada. [13:55] Trump Derangement Syndrome & the Epstein Files Shemane welcomes Dr. Carole Lieberman, America's psychiatrist, to discuss Trump Derangement Syndrome—why the left can't accept Trump's success and how their obsession is driving them to sabotage America. Together, they unpack the media's distractions, including the sudden shift in focus away from the delayed Epstein files, which should have exposed the elite network behind child trafficking. Dr. Lieberman shares insights on corruption, media cover-ups, and why the left's meltdown is only getting worse. [25:01] Faith Under Attack & the War on Masculinity Shane Winnings, military veteran and CEO of Promise Keepers, returns to call out the left's relentless attacks on Christianity and traditional values. He discusses a California school district unlawfully banning an after-school Good News Club and how schools continue to push gender ideology without parental consent. Shane also addresses the Senate's shocking refusal to protect women's sports and what this means for the future of faith and freedom in America. [36:00] January 6 Prisoners & the Fight for Justice Chris Worrell, a January 6 political prisoner, shares his personal story of wrongful imprisonment, mistreatment, and the deep corruption within the justice system. He details the inhumane conditions, lack of medical care, and the government's refusal to acknowledge the truth. Chris speaks out on the need for accountability and justice while calling on patriots to stand up for those who have been unjustly persecuted. Resources   Eric Bolling –  Website: Bolling! on Real America's Voice Twitter/X: @EricBolling Instagram: @ericbolling   Dr. Carole Lieberman –  Website: DrCarole.com Twitter/X: @DrCaroleMD   Shane Winnings – Website: promisekeepers.org Instagram: @shane.winnings   Chris Worrell –  Support & Donations:  givesendgo.com/4PatriotSupport   Sponsors Get clean healthy water with SentryH2O Use the promo code: “HEALTHY10”   Get true American made products at  switchtoamericawithshemane.com   Protect yourself with EMP Shield  Use the promo code “SHEMANE”    Activate stem cells & reset your body's clock  at lifewave.com/shemane Please send product inquiries to: shemane.lifewave@gmail.com   Watch Faith & Freedom every Sunday,  10am est on America'sVoice.News   Organic natural products to help your family thrive with  Rowe Casa Organics & use promo code “FAITH”   Purchase “My Pillow” at  mypillow.com or call 800-933-6972 Use promo code “FAITH”   Use promo code “FREEDOM” to receive  20% off your first order at Field of Greens   Join Shemane's new programs Fit & Fabulous Start Pack Faith Fuel: 21 Day Devotion    Check out Shemane's books:  Purchase Shemane's New Book: ‘Abundantly Well' Shemane's new #1 Bestseller ‘Killer House' "4 Minutes to Happy" Kill It and Grill It Cookbook   Connect with Shemane: Send your questions, suggestions,  & funny pet videos to shemane.chat@gmail.com    Share your hunting photos & questions to shemane.chat@gmail.com    Watch Killer House Documentary: KillerHouse.org Get Wildly Well at shemanenugent.rocks Shemane's Social Media: Instagram: @shemanenugent Youtube: /shemane Truth Social @Shemane

Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism, the award-winning book upon which the documentary feature, God & Country, produced by Rob Reiner and Michele Reiner, is based. She has covered the intersection of faith and politics for over 15 years; her work appears in the New York Times, The Washington Post, the New Republic, the Guardian, and Religion News Service, and she has been featured on broadcast media outlets such as MSNBC, CNN, and NPR. Her 2012 book, The Good News Club, covered the religious right's effort to infiltrate and undermine public education. Her spectacular new book, MONEY, LIES, AND GOD: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy, came out this week.Greg Olear talks to Stewart about the rise of Christian nationalism in the United States, the impetus for writing the book, her research process, the rhetoric of the movement and the lies used to boost its popularity, reactionary nihilism, the various factions within the movement, and what we can do to take democracy back.Find her at @kathsstewart and katherinestewart.me. Subscribe to The Five 8:https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0BRnRwe7yDZXIaF-QZfvhACheck out ROUGH BEAST, Greg's new book:https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0D47CMX17ROUGH BEAST is now available as an audiobook:https://www.audible.com/pd/Rough-Beast-Audiobook/B0D8K41S3T Would you like to tell us more about you? http://survey.podtrac.com/start-survey.aspx?pubid=BffJOlI7qQcF&ver=short

Title: God's Quiet Power in a World Full of ChaosText: 1 Kings 18:41—19:18Originally delivered on 28 January 2025 at Good News Club, Inc., Northumberland, PAFor more content like this, visit www.graceupongrace.net Get full access to Grace Upon Grace at www.graceupongrace.net/subscribe

In this episode, we sit down with Andy Bunn and discuss Military Children's Ministry, a ministry where military children have the opportunity to attend Good News Club. Join us as we discuss the origins of the ministry and the impact it has had on military families and the community. Learn more about Military Children's Ministry here: https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/mcm/ Fellowship One:Seven™ is a biblical podcast from Child Evangelism Fellowship®. On the podcast, we discuss God's calling to share the Gospel with children around the world. We explore the biblical foundation of CEF®, discuss Scripture, and examine topics and truths found in those passages. We interview various individuals involved in the ministry and discuss how CEF has played a part in their lives in reaching children with the Gospel. 1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. To find more content from Fellowship One:Seven, visit https://www.cefonline.com/fellowshiponeseven/ For more help on evangelizing and disciplining children, see Articles, Ministries, and Store at https://www.cefonline.com/. For additional digital resources for kids, visit U-Nite at https://www.cefonline.com/unite Child Evangelism Fellowship is a Bible-centered organization whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.

In this Episode, Mary Compasio joins our podcast to talk about Good News Club, our flagship ministry. We discuss the general outline of a club, how you can get involved, and how God is using the ministry to reach children who are lost. Fellowship One:Seven™ is a biblical podcast from Child Evangelism Fellowship®. On the podcast, we discuss God's calling to share the Gospel with children around the world. We explore the biblical foundation of CEF®, discuss Scripture, and examine topics and truths found in those passages. We interview various individuals involved in the ministry and discuss how CEF has played a part in their lives in reaching children with the Gospel. 1 John 1:7 – But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. To find more content from Fellowship One:Seven, visit https://www.cefonline.com/fellowshiponeseven/ For more help on evangelizing and disciplining children, see Articles, Ministries, and Store at https://www.cefonline.com/. For additional digital resources for kids, visit U-Nite at https://www.cefonline.com/unite For more information about Good News Club, visit https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/goodnewsclub/ Child Evangelism Fellowship is a Bible-centered organization whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.

Project 2025 and "divine intervention" are discussed, as well as state/church complaints and victories in Oklahoma, Louisiana, Illinois, New Jersey and Tennessee. FFRF Anne Nicol Gaylor Legal Fellow Sammi Lawrence joins us to talk about our legal victory allowing a nonreligious after-school group to meet on campus alongside the religious Good News Club in Memphis, Tennessee. Then we talk with evolutionary psychologist Will M. Gervais about his new book Disbelief: The Origins of Atheism in a Religious Species.

In Julie Harwick's last podcast for Women World Leaders (Episode 551 - A Warning from the Ancients), she talked about the dangers of succumbing to false teaching because of the way culture so easily infiltrates the Church. Join her today as she looks more closely at how the modern Church came to be and begins to ask some hard questions, finding further confirmation that it's very different from the Church described in the New Testament. **** Welcome to Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. In my very first podcast with Women World Leaders I shared how I came to faith. It's not very glamorous or exciting, but it is kind of different and I'll share some of it again because it's relevant to our topic.  I grew up in a very devout Catholic home. My dad had attended Catholic school and mass on every Sunday of his life.  My mom converted in order to marry him and they made sure I was baptized in the Church before I was even a week old. He was so devout that even on vacation, we would seek out the nearest Catholic parish and make sure we went to mass either Saturday night or Sunday morning.  And of course, that meant I had to go to catechism for five long years.  But in spite of his unwavering commitment to the Catholic faith, my dad was a seeker.  He read the bible and many other Christian books and listened voraciously to a variety of Christian radio programs. He encouraged me to go to an after-school bible club when I learned about it in the fall of first grade.  At my very first visit to the Good News Club, I heard a clear presentation of the gospel and responded without hesitation.   For the next six years, it was the highlight of my school week and I threw myself wholeheartedly into everything it had to offer:  bible stories, scripture memorization and songs.  So on Monday afternoons I got filled up on the bible and on Saturday mornings, I got filled up on Catholic teaching.  But the deeper I got into each one, the more discrepancies I discovered between them.   Full disclosure here: I wanted to go to Good News Club where I was rewarded for my efforts with lots of candy, interesting bible stories and a fun time with my friends.  I did not want to go to catechism which offered no candy and kept me from the finest tv viewing of the week – the one 4-hour block of programming designed just for me at a time when no one else in the household wanted to watch.  So, I may have been approaching catechism with a negative predisposition, but there was no denying the questions that began to pop up in my elementary school brain. Why do I have to memorize and repeat prayers?  I talk to God all the time about whatever pops into my head…in words that we both understand.  What in the world does “blessed is the fruit of thy womb” mean anyway? When I summoned the courage to ask a nun why I should pray to Mary, her answer mystified me.  “Mary will tell Jesus and Jesus will tell God,” she explained.  It immediately brought to mind the game of telephone that we often played when the class had to stay inside for recess.  Those messages always got completely messed up, so why wouldn't I just tell God directly?  When a nun asked me whether I believed that the fancy box with curtains all around it on the altar actually held the body of Jesus, I knew how I was supposed to answer, but I just couldn't.  First of all…gross.  Second of all, I knew there were Catholic churches in every city everywhere in the world, so how could there be enough of Jesus' body for all of them? In Good News Club I had learned the story of the Last Supper and even my 8-year-old mind could grasp that Jesus was saying that the bread was meant to represent His body.  I had many questions and I grew more and more skeptical of what I was learning on Saturday mornings.  I must've shared my questions with my parents.  I certainly let them know how much I hated going to catechism and frequently begged them to let me stop going.  At the same time, God was busy at work in my dad's life.  He brought a priest to our local parish who fully understood and preached what it meant to be saved by grace.  My father had heard that message for years from daily Christian radio broadcasts, but when he finally heard it confirmed by a Catholic priest, he was fully ready to receive it.  We continued to attend mass for about another year, but my catechism days were over. In retrospect, I'm kind of surprised at my younger self for not just taking everything I was told as gospel. I actually thought about everything I was taught and I believe that the Holy Spirit within me wouldn't allow me to accept anything that conflicted with what I knew of God's word. But somewhere along the way, I lost that questioning nature. I was confronted with that realization as I was doing research for my last podcast.  In trying to figure out how the church got so far away from its humble and simple beginnings, I read a book called “Pagan Christianity,” by Frank Viola and George Barna.  My husband had read it years ago and shared much of what he learned.  Although I was very intrigued by what he told me, I never bothered to read it for myself until now.  A part of me wishes I hadn't, because now I'm responsible for what I know and I'm really not sure what to do with my new-found knowledge. The book examines everything the New Testament tells us about the Church and how it functioned.  And that is very, very different from the Church we know today.  More than half of the book is footnotes detailing where the authors sourced the changing history of the Church as well as comments from modern Church leaders. I was immediately convicted that even though I frequently criticize the Church of Jesus Christ  which looks more and more like the world and less and less like Jesus, I have accepted the status quo for years with very little scrutinization. Even though I'm well aware that the building I drive to on a Sunday morning is not the Church, I have fallen into the habit of thinking that what takes place there, is.  The authors clearly point out that Church is not somewhere you go, it's something you are. The first followers of Christ understood this and were much more focused on being in fellowship with one another than having an order of business for their gatherings.  From what the New Testament tells us, they met together in individual homes where they could enjoy a meal together, learn from one another and encourage each other.  That's it. No church building, no professionally trained clergy, no piano, organ or band, no four-point sermon with an accompanying fill-in-the-blank program, no announcements about upcoming events…it was very simple and very personal. So how did we get from A to B?  The book lays out the origins of everything that's been added and most of it is rooted in paganism.  The culture of the first century was completely intertwined with paganism. Ruins that still remain from that time period are completely dominated by temples built for a large variety of gods and goddesses.  These magnificent buildings were filled with priests who served there, night and day.  They performed rituals, some seeming almost magical, while dressed in beautiful priestly robes. They received sacrifices and dispensed blessings, burned incense and led the people in chants or songs.  First and second century people were very accustomed to these practices and as the years went by, they slowly began to creep into the Church.  No one had a greater impact on this shift than the Emperor Constantine in the 300's. The first pagan emperor to embrace and even legalize Christianity felt that building large, ornate church buildings would be the best way to build acceptance among the population who had been used to all legitimate religions being propagated through temples. He also instituted the practice of having priests and bishops to lead and determine what activities should take place within the new church buildings. He encouraged them to develop special robes and garments that would set them apart from ordinary believers.  He began to view Jesus strictly as a conquering hero who had conquered death and would now enable him to conquer all of the empire's enemies. He then made the move from making Christianity legal to making it the official, required state religion.  Those who would not comply were seen as enemies of the cross.  Where following Christ had cost the early Christians everything, it was now, the path of least resistance. It makes you wonder if Satan didn't come to the realization that persecuting the Church only made it stronger and he would do much better to weaken it from within. Is it any wonder that the more mainstream and socially acceptable it became, the further it moved from Jesus' teaching.  Acts 3 describes the early Church this way.  “The congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them. And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and abundant grace was upon them all.” By the mid 300's the Church was state-supported, used to control the masses and justify war against the empire's enemies.  We also saw this new blending of government and religion lead to the Crusades and later, the  battle between Catholicism and the Reformation. It's been a long time since Christianity has been weaponized in such a  way, but there are other lasting ramifications.  Have you ever asked yourself why churches need to own property and erect large buildings? Many of them are only used for a few hours on Sunday and only sporadically throughout the rest of the week.  How many financial resources are required to maintain them, and how many congregations have been destroyed or seriously damaged through building campaigns?  Do good things also happen there?  Of course. But so many large churches provide the kind of anonymity that allows people to check a box each week- fulfilling an obligation without really having to interact with anyone or be accountable in any way for what's been preached. The early Church pooled their financial resources and used them to meet their own needs, the needs of the apostles and those who were suffering from famine or poverty. By meeting in homes, they necessarily kept their numbers small enough to develop true intimacy and hold one another accountable for what they claimed to believe. The other change that Constantine instituted and has now become a requirement in most churches is a division between clergy and non-clergy.  In most modern churches that I know of, the pastor, or leadership team is made up of full-time, professionally-trained people who have been ordained to minister in the church as a profession. Most have some sort of degree from a seminary or bible college and it's up to them to determine the church's mission, practices, order of worship and overall direction. Elders may play a role in some of these areas, but on a typical Sunday morning service, the only people you're likely to hear from are the preaching and worship pastors.  It's quite a different environment from the one described by Paul in 1 Corinthians.  In Chapter 12, he lays out all of the spiritual gifts and the importance of each one being used appropriately to complete the Body of Christ. In Chapter 14 he specifically mentions that, “when you assemble, each one has a psalm, has a teaching, has a revelation, has a tongue or an interpretation.” In Colossians 3:16 he encourages the Colossians to allow the word of Christ to dwell in them richly, with all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.”  Clearly, the members of the early Church were active participants in their meetings, not just spectators as we often are today.  Here's what most church services I've attended look like:  the worship team gets things started with an upbeat song.  The worship leader, who is likely to be a professional musician, welcomes everyone and may sporadically offer some bible verses, or commentary on what we're about to sing or a prayer before concluding the praise and worship part of the service and handing it over to the pastor.  Depending on the church's size, resources and the preferences of its' leaders, praise and worship can involve an organ and hymns or feel more like a rock concert  with special lighting, professional sound technicians and even fog machines.  The pastor is likely to speak from 20 to 50 minutes and in some cases, may invite a personal response with an invitation to come forward for prayer, or to raise a hand indicating a response or possibly to just silently repeat a prayer he leads. Ushers may pass a collection plate while more subtle churches may suggest that offerings be placed in an offering box on the way out. The worship team may return for a final song or the pastor may simply pronounce a benediction ending the approximately 1 hour and 15 minute service. If you so choose, it's entirely possible to get through the whole service without uttering a word or interacting with anyone. Most modern church services encourage us to be consumers – seeking out the best music and technology and the most engaging preachers.  As a result, most church attenders go home entertained, but unchanged. Church attendance and involvement has been an extremely high priority in my life…always.  The only times I haven't been very involved in a church is when we've moved from one to another and those periods haven't lasted long. I've been a choir director, worship leader, creative team member, small group leader, women's bible study leader, drama ministry director, children's church teacher and church spokesperson.  I only mention all that to let you know how invested my life has been in the modern church.  But for the first time, I'm asking myself why we do what we do. And if it's all really what God wants us to do. Honestly, I don't know how to feel about it or what God would have me do about it.  There's no question that it has morphed into something very different from what He described for us in the New Testament. There is a whole home church movement led by those who seek to return to something as close as possible to the early church.  Some function more like what many of us know as a small group, but others are successfully functioning just like the churches described by the Apostle Paul.  Many of you may be fully engaged in a church where you're growing and deepening your walk with Jesus and other members of your church.  I hope so.  I've come to realize from personal experience that the Church of Jesus Christ will never be perfect on this earth because it's filled with imperfect people…people like me.  But if we seek to make it better and more closely aligned with His purposes, should we just accept things as they are, or instead, boldly question everything? Change is difficult and frightening and uncomfortable.  Just ask the Pharisees how they felt about Jesus' teaching. If you'd like to learn more about how the Church has changed over the past two millenia and what possible alternatives there might be, I can personally recommend two books:  the one already mentioned, “Pagan Christianity” by Frank Viola and George Barna, and also “So You Don't Want to go to Church Anymore,” by Dave Coleman and Wayne Jacobsen. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each week as we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without written consent.  

“A public school can be a good partnership for the local church, and Good News Club is a good way to do that.” Hannah Driggers Matthews describes how any church can start a Good News Club in their local public school, and how it has impacted both the students and those teaching in the club. Hannah also wrote about her experience in “Good News Goes to the Library” in the April-May issue of ONE Magazine: http://www.onemag.org/library.htm. #NAFWB #BetterTogether #GoodNewsClub #Children #Kids #Outreach

After David Barton's book The Jefferson Lies was pulled from publication in August, 2012, some Christian organizations wrote critical articles and publicly distanced themselves from Barton and Wallbuilders. Other groups some were caught off guard. The leaders of these groups knew they had false and misleading material being offered to their constituents, but they didn't make any moves to remove it. This episode examines how two of those organizations, Family Research Council and Focus on the Family, handled the situation. I wish I could say this episode has a happy ending. Ultimately, what began as a conspiracy of silence ended even quieter than it started. From the episode:"What is so important about those stories that the leadership of a Christian organization would decide that deception and gaslighting are good strategies? Where in the manual for running a Christian organization does it say to hide the truth when someone points out that you are spreading misinformation?"Guests today: , Fred W. Beuttler was Deputy Historian of the U. S. House of Representatives from 2005 to 2010.  He currently teaches history and government at The University of Chicago's Graham School for Continuing Liberal and Professional Studies. Jay Case is professor of history at Malone College in Akron Ohio, Jared Burkholder is professor of history at Grace College in Winona Lake, Indiana, Gregg Frazer is Dean of Humanities at The Master's University in Santa Clarita, CA and Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers and The Good News Club.SHOW NOTES:Hosted by: Michael Coulter and Warren ThrockmortonWritten and Produced by: Warren ThrockmortonTheme Song: "The World Awaits Us All" by Roman CandleRoman Candle on Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/artist/3V65gQpFTfYzIOqjOf18eSClosing Song: "Walking Backwards Down the Stairs" by Larry NormanUsed by permission of Charles Norman and the Larry Norman EstateBackground Music by: Dustin Blatnik, Jonus Fair, Jonathan Swaim, & Warren ThrockmortonHere is more on the Aitken Bible story, including a partial correction by Barton (although he doesn't ever say he was wrong). https://wthrockmorton.com/2013/05/24/david-barton-debunks-himself-regarding-the-aitken-bible/ My blog post on PA v. Chamber - Focus on the Family case. https://wthrockmorton.com/2013/09/09/what-focus-on-the-family-took-out-of-david-bartons-talk/

Recently I reached out to returning guest Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshipers and The Good News Club, for a chat about the new Rob Reiner film, "God and Country."   In the movie, Reiner takes a good hard look at Christian nationalism, and how elements of the more extreme side of the movement have affected not just America, but indeed the world.   It turns out that the film is essentially based on Stewart's work--so she is, once again, the perfect person to chat with about these concerning trends in American politics and religion.   Kyle Mantila has an excellent article on this on the Right Wing Watch website.    Join the MindShift Podcast Patreon Community!   Follow me on X @MindShift2018

State Representative Mark White joined Wake Up Memphis to talk about his legislative updates and how you can protect your children in the public schools from left-wing policies.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

School is back in session and for many schools in our area, children will have the opportunity to learn about God's love after school thanks to the ministry of Child Evangelism Fellowship! What is a Good News Club and how can you join God and what He's doing in our schools? Dawn Wassell from Child Evangelism Fellowship will be with us Wednesday morning to share about this ministry that takes place in our public schools and how she has seen God work through these clubs, changing hearts and families for Christ. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) is actively fighting to put Good News Clubs in public schools to teach children about the Bible, prayer, and Christianity, said Moises Esteves, CEF Executive Vice President, to Alex Newman on Conversations that Matter. When a Good News Club thrives in a school, Esteves explained, Satanist clubs founded by Lucien Greaves, ... The post Christian Organization Combating After-School Satanic Clubs with Bible Clubs appeared first on The New American.

Today's HeadlinesEuropeans evacuate Niger; Mali and Burkina Faso back rebellionChild Evangelism Fellowship victorious in lawsuit against Rhode Island school district for denying access to public schoolsSingle mother finds hope in Heart For Lebanon

Child Evangelism Fellowship brings the Bible -- and Biblical hope -- to 19 million children around the world.  There are new and expanding New York outreaches of CEF to Genesee, Wyoming, Monroe and Orleans counties. Mary Hooker and Beth Russell tells us about the Good News Club and the Five Day Clubs which reach out into local communities. They talk about the spiritual battle for the souls of young people. These leaders say that too many of today's children (even in this nation) do not have faith backgrounds, knowledge of Bible truths, or experience with church people.  Child Evangelism Fellowship needs volunteers to help with shaping the hearts of the next generation.

As a child in Sunday School and Good News Club, I sang: “The B-I-B-L-E, Yes that’s the book for me. I stand alone on the Word of God, the B-I-B-L-E!” Often it was my mother leading the song. She had a passion for teaching the Bible to the next generation. The end of the Book of Revelation tells us that the Bible is complete (vv. 18–19). We’re strictly warned not to add to it or take away from it. Technically, these verses refer to the Book of Revelation, but due to its placement as the last book in the canon, tradition often reads them as referring to Scripture as a whole. The Bible is complete in the sense that there will be no more Holy Spirit- inspired books added. This doesn’t mean God is silent. He speaks to us today through His Word, as well as through prayer and the Holy Spirit. Submitting to Scripture is a key mark of the true church. As we follow Christ through the ups and downs of our lives, we wait eagerly for His Second Coming. This is the heart behind the prayer “Maranatha,” or “Come, Lord Jesus” (v. 20). He is “the Root and the Offspring of David,” a Messianic title indicating kingship (v. 16; see Isa. 11:1–10). He’s also the “bright Morning Star,” an image signifying hope, light, and salvation (see Num. 24:17; 2 Peter 1:19). He invites all who will come to eternal life with Him. All those who are thirsty can “take the free gift of the water of life” (v. 17; see John 4:13–14). This is the gospel of Christ! >> Who do you know who needs to hear and believe in Jesus for salvation? Maybe you could gift them with a Bible or invite them to attend church or to study Today in the Word with you. Ask the Lord for an opportunity to share the gospel with them!

Liberty Counsel has never lost a case involving Good News Clubs. Constitutional expert, lawyer, author, pastor, and founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver discusses the important topics of the day with co-hosts and guests that impact life, liberty, and family. To stay informed and get involved, visit LC.org

God honors our honest prayers and meets us where our faith is. Join our newest host, Julie Harwick, as she shares wisdom for Celebrating God's Grace in prayer. *** Welcome to Celebrating God's Grace, a Women World Leaders podcast. I'm your host, Julie Harwick. Thank you for joining me today as we celebrate God's grace in our lives, in this ministry and around the world. I'm new to the Women World Leaders podcast and I am so thankful and excited to have an opportunity to share what God, in His grace, has been teaching me. I began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ at the tender age of six.  At my very first after school Good News Club meeting in the fall of first grade, I heard that God was offering me the free gift of salvation and heaven and all I had to do was tell Him I knew I needed it and I wanted it. That sounded like the best deal ever to me, so why wouldn't I take it? I repeated the words she told us to pray if we wanted to receive the gift of Jesus.  And that began a lifetime of communicating with God through prayer. Because I came to faith at such an early age, I developed a somewhat childish concept of prayer.  Subconsciously, God seemed a little like Santa Claus.  After all, He saw me when I was sleeping and when I was awake and He knew if I'd been bad or good…well, that's what the song said anyway. I made a list for Santa once a year, but I had a list for God every night before I went to sleep. That idea was sort of reinforced at church when we'd go around the table at Sunday School and the teacher would ask us if we had any prayer requests. We prayed for sick grandmas and pets who were missing and that we'd do well on tests we had at school.  The person who led the prayer would work through the list, asking God to intervene on our behalf and throwing at least a little bit of gratitude His way as well.   Although my method of praying may have been childish, I believe God honored it.  My faith was real and I wasn't just praying because I'd been taught to.  I knew that I needed God's help and direction and that only He had the power to meet all my needs.  As I grew older, I began to pray about more serious issues.  At 13 I began to pray about the boys I would date and the man I would one day marry. I am convinced that God absolutely honored that prayer because he took me through 4 reasonably long high school romances which all ended amicably and without drama and brought me my husband of 38 years in a miraculous way. I prayed about what college to attend, what to major in and what jobs to take and I firmly believe God led me through all of it. Just before I turned 16, God began to expand my concept of prayer.  I saw a presentation at church about a summer missions opportunity for teenagers. I couldn't stop thinking about it and began to believe God might be calling me to do it. Initially I didn't think I should because I already felt the pressure of college tuition looming before me.  The babysitting money I was able to earn didn't amount to much and I knew I needed to start working the day I turned 16 so that I would be able to afford a private Christian college. But for the first time, I felt God was speaking to me. I sensed He was saying, “you give Me this summer and I'll provide what you need when the time comes. So, in faith, I submitted my application and set about raising support. This experience turned out to be a pivotal time in my life in many ways. I had never been away from home for more than a week and I was going to spend the next 10 weeks surrounded by strangers and foreigners.    Boot camp turned out to be more than I had bargained for. It was quite like a military boot camp. We slept in tents in the Florida wetlands.  We literally had to wear high top hiking boots everywhere – including the swimming hole. We bathed and did laundry in a lake, ate all our meals sitting on logs outside and worst of all, we had to run an obstacle course every morning at dawn. That obstacle course lived up to its name because it was a major obstacle for me. Although I liked playing sports, I was never had the ability to go along with the interest. I was extremely slow, always among the last 3 or 4 to be chosen when the gym teachers opted to afflict us with this humiliating method of splitting into teams. The obstacle course involved a lot of running, swinging on ropes, agility and climbing. I began falling behind my teammates within the first 4 or 5 minutes and I was gasping for air as I approached the final obstacle. It was an 8-foot wall with absolutely nothing to grab onto but the hands of the two guys who sat on top of it.  How they got up there, I'll never know because they had been straddling the top for quite a while by the time I got there. They leaned down, each grabbed one of my hands and my job was to pull my legs up until they were perpendicular to the wall and walk up that wall until I could throw a leg over.  Sounds simple enough, right? Apparently, it was simple for the rest of my teammates, but my muddy, slimy boots paired with my near total exhaustion and general lack of athletic coordination made it nearly impossible. On maybe 2 occasions I defied the odds and was able to position myself correctly and scramble up as expected, every other time I would start to climb and have my boots just slide back down that wall. At first, the guys on top were encouraging, but as they struggled to pull my 105 lbs. up and over that blasted wall day after day, their encouragement turned to resentment. On the way to breakfast one day I overheard them talking about my lack of ability in frustrated, disparaging terms. At this point the loneliness and homesickness were almost more than I could take. During my quiet time after breakfast I cried out to God in a way I never had before. Bitter tears ran down my face as I reminded Him that this was His idea, not mine and that He had promised to never leave or forsake me, but I felt completely alone. As I opened my bible, my eyes fell on Psalm 20:7 “Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.” It may have been a stretch of interpretation, but God planted the idea in my mind that although my teammates had the natural ability to run that obstacle course like a horse, I didn't need to rely on my own strength or ability. As I trusted in Him, He would enable me to do what He wanted me to do and overcome any obstacle. It was the first time I remember God speaking to me directly through His word.  Out of desperation, I had freely admitted my own inability to do anything about my situation and I got brutally honest with God.  I might even dare to say I got mad.  But He didn't strike me dead.  He answered me directly. My take away from this encounter was God honors honest prayers and He's not afraid of emotion. There's an account in Mark chapter 9 where the father of a demon possessed boy asks Jesus to heal his son. It's obvious that the man is in a desperate situation and recognizes his own inability to help his son. He's only heard about Jesus' power though and doesn't really know if Jesus can help him or not. The disciples have already tried to help the boy and failed. Although Jesus has just expressed His frustration at the lack of faith among an unbelieving generation, the man asks, “if you can do anything, take pity and help us.”  “If you can,” Jesus replies. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”  I love the honesty of the man's response.  “I do believe,” he begins and then admits, “help me overcome my unbelief.” We can and should be honest in our prayers.  If you're struggling to believe, don't try to “fake it ‘til you make it.” God already knows your heart and would much prefer to hear, “help my unbelief.”  I think God delights to answer prayers like that.  We admit our lack of faith and dependence on Him to grow it and He does what only He can do and brings us to a whole new level of faith. God grew my faith in many ways during that summer.  I never did learn to climb that wall, but I got to know the two guys who sat on top. As they got to know me, they recognized that I was really trying and they learned that we all have different strengths and weaknesses.  I made many close friends and learned the value of hard, physical work and God did provide what I needed when it was time for college. Most importantly, I began a deeper, more honest type of communication with God. Another biblical account that has confirmed to me that God appreciates honest prayer is found in 2 Kings:19. Hezekiah, King of Judah trusted in the Lord. Chapter 18 says that there was no one like him among the kings of Judah because he held fast to the Lord. In Chapter 19 Judah is facing an attack from Assyrian troops that far outnumber their own troops in size and strength. The Assyrians had already conquered many of the surrounding countries including Israel. The Assyrian king sent a letter demanding Judah's surrender and reminding Hezekiah of all the other countries who had called on their gods to deliver them but could not stand against the Assyrians. From a human perspective, Judah didn't stand a chance and Hezekiah knew it.  And here's what I love about this story.  Hezekiah went straight to the temple and spread the threatening letter out before the Lord.  It's like he's laying all his cards on the table, saying here's the situation and I'm helpless to protect my people from our enemies. Humility was not a trait that came naturally to kings of his day, but he made no effort to disguise his fear or lack of confidence in his armies' capabilities. Instead, he openly recognized the only source of their deliverance by saying, “Now, Lord our God, deliver us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone, Lord are God.” The prophet Isaiah gave Hezekiah God's response, saying, “I have heard your prayer.” He prophesied against the king of Assyria and promised that he would not enter the city. That night, the angel of the Lord struck down 185,000 in the Assyrian camp causing them to withdraw and never threaten Hezekiah again.   In spite of all God has taught me about praying honestly and recognizing my own weakness, I still find it easy to lapse back into those immature wish list prayers. Don't get me wrong. He wants us to bring our concerns and desires to Him, but He is not Santa Claus. Prayer should be a conversation, not a recitation of everything I need Him to do on my behalf. That means taking time to listen and worship and just enjoy being in His presence. I find it easier to do this when I'm outdoors. I love nothing more than to sit outside in my yard overlooking beautiful live oaks and grassy fields. Sometimes I close my eyes and just focus on what I hear: the bird songs, the nearby rooster crowing and the sound of leaves rustling in the breeze.  It's the best way I've found to follow the command of Psalm 46:10 “Be still and know that I am God.” Stillness can be so difficult to achieve with so many demands on our time. That's why communicating with God is the first thing on my daily agenda.  If I don't make time for it early in the day, life will take over and it's doubtful that I'll be able to make the time to be still. Some people have an easier time getting quiet before Him at night when all the tasks of the day have been completed. The where and the when are not nearly as important as the how. You can probably tell when someone is in a hurry to wrap up a conversation with you, because you don't really feel like you have their full attention or that you're really very important to them in this moment.  How much more is the God who created us able to recognize when our hearts aren't really in our prayer. Rather than forcing ourselves to focus enough to get through a list of requests, I think He might prefer that we just say, “God, I feel so harried and distracted.  Would you just give me your peace and enable me to calm down and just sit here with you, even if I can't put two words together.”  He already knows the burdens that are on your heart whether you're able to verbalize them or not.  Just being with Him is often far more important than any words you may speak.  Beginning a conversation with Him from that perspective is quite different from working  through a wish list. Thanks for listening to Women World Leaders podcast!  Join us each Monday, Wednesday and Friday as we explore together God's extravagant love and your courageous purpose.  Visit our website at www.womenworldleaders.com to submit a prayer request, register for an upcoming event, and support the ministry.  From His heart to yours, we are Women World Leaders .  All content is copyrighted by Women World Leaders and cannot be used without express written consent.  

Today's HeadlinesSuper Typhoon Mawar batters GuamThe grieving Uvalde community one year after school shootingNew program at The Lighthouse targets nicotine addictions

Did the dog eat the school district's homework assignment? Constitutional expert, lawyer, author, pastor, and founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver discusses the important topics of the day with co-hosts and guests that impact life, liberty, and family. To stay informed and get involved - visit LC.org

You can share the Gospel with children at your local public school through a Good News Club! Learn more as Jenny Burkhiser talks with Lydia Kaiser, Communications Specialist with Child Evangelism Fellowship, about effectively sharing your faith and values with children after school - especially those who are dealing with trauma.

The school district is hostile toward the Christian viewpoint while allowing other clubs on campuses. Constitutional expert, lawyer, author, pastor, and founder of Liberty Counsel Mat Staver discusses the important topics of the day with co-hosts and guests that impact life, liberty, and family. To stay informed and get involved - visit LC.org

Children are more open to learning about Jesus than adults. This is why My special guest Esther Bandy and I write for children, to teach them about Jesus through the art of storytelling. Be sure to have a notebook and your Bible handy as you listen to this conversation, because there are a lot of good, Holy Spirit filled nuggets that will bless your soul. When Esther Bandy was five, she heard the gospel in a Good News Club and received the Lord Jesus Christ as her Savior. That was the most important day of her life. Since then she's worked as a nurse, a missionary, a Spanish teacher, and a director with Child Evangelism Fellowship. She's been published in the anthology Treasures of a Woman's Heart and in the anthology Triumph from Tragedy. She also writes for the online devotional Faith on Every Corner. Under the Tangerine Tree is her debut novel. Esther is a widow now, but she's grateful that her beloved husband is with the Lord and he's no longer suffering from cancer. She's also very grateful for the wonderful son they were blessed with. Under the Tangerine Tree is an inspirational historical middle-grade novel set in 1963. Twelve-year-old Angie lives with her parents and her five-year-old brother, Joey, in New York City. After Papa is killed, Mama moves with Angie and Joey to Granny's house on a country lake in Florida. How can Angie cope with missing Papa, moving to Florida, being the new girl at school, and living with her angry teenage cousin at Granny's house? Will Angie and Joey survive the mysterious danger that lurks in the lake? With all the changes in Angie's life, will she ever be happy again? Purchase link: https://www.amazon.com/Under-Tangerine-Tree-Esther-Bandy/dp/B09Q967G6Q Connect with Esther at the following links: https://esthermbandy.com/ www.facebook.com/EstherMBandy www.goodreads.com/esthermbandy https://twitter.com/EstherMBandy Subscribe to my newsletter by filling out the form at the top of my homepage at: https://annwritesinspiration.com for a free copy of this template and some other freebies I have on my site for email list subscribers. Visit www.everyday-excellence.com and use promo code Inspirational Journeys to get 10% off any product on the site. Support this podcast with a monthly donation by visiting: https://anchor.fm/inspirational-journeys/support or you can give a one-time donation via PayPal at: https://paypal.me/annHarrisonBarnes?country.x=US&locale.x=en_US --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/inspirational-journeys/message

It is vital for children to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ. According to Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), once a young person turns 14, he or she is less likely to trust the Lord as their Savior. So, how are we reaching children who don't attend church?SBCV's Cindy Middaugh talks strategy with CEF's Robert Powers. He shares how the Good News Club is an incredible resource that reaches children whose families may never step into a church building.#Not Alone Podcast Episode #94

On today's episode, we chat with Jason Earls, who is a part of Kids Beach Club! KBC Founder Jack Terrell had been in full-time Christian children's ministry for over twenty years when he felt God tug his heart to launch something unique at his church. Jack created a groundbreaking ministry called Treasure Island using a fun “beach” theme packed with lively songs, adventure-themed messages, group teaching, and smaller one-on-one interactions between the children and volunteers. Jack dreamed of impacting even more children outside his church walls as the program thrived. Thanks to the Supreme Court ruling Good News Club v. Milford Middle School (2001), he knew schools could not exclude Bible clubs from meeting on school grounds. So, he set out to create a fun, after-school experience oriented around the Bible, partnering with volunteers from local churches to make Jesus cool in school. And thus KiDs Beach Club® was born. They've also expanded into KiDs Beach Club® TV, a television show that emphasizes character development for kids that is broadcasted and streamed around the globe. kidsbeachclub.org jasonearls.com @kidsbeachclub @jasonearls christianmusicguys.com @christianmusicguys --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/christianmusicguys/support

June Everett is Campaign Director for the After School Club, and an ordained minister of The Satanic Temple. In this conversation she shares her personal journey, discusses the After School Satan Clubs, and responds to our prior podcast with Lydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship and their Good News Clubs. After School Satan Club: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/after-school-satan Lydia Kaiser of Child Evangelism Fellowship on the Good News Club: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-jh7nd-13725eb Lucien Greaves on the After School Satan Club: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-zj835-11b1fe6 Stephen Bradford Long on The Satanic Temple: https://www.podbean.com/ew/pb-cv29w-fa8d1c For a good academic discussion of TST see Joseph Laycock's "Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion" (Oxford University Press, 2020). https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Devil-Satanic-Changing-Religion/dp/0190948493 Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org.  Support this work: One-time donation: https://multifaithmatters.org/donate  Become my patron: https://patron.podbean.com/johnwmorehead #AfterSchoolSatan #TheSatanicTemple #Satanism #ChildEvangelismFellowship

Lydia Kaiser, Corporate Communications Specialist for Child Evangelism Fellowship talks about the Good News Clubs in schools, and also responds to the controversy raised by the response of The Satanic Temple to the Clubs and their efforts at putting After School Satan Clubs in schools where the Clubs are present. Good News Club at Child Evangelism Fellowship: https://www.cefonline.com/ministries/goodnewsclub/ Podcast with Lucien Greaves on After School Satan Clubs: https://johnwmorehead.podbean.com/e/lucien-greaves-of-the-satanic-temple-on-after-school-satan-clubs/ For a further exploration of these topics: Stephen Bradford Long on The Satanic Temple: https://youtu.be/bg7TalPZ_Rs For a good academic discussion of TST see Joseph Laycock's Speak of the Devil: How The Satanic Temple is Changing the Way We Talk About Religion (Oxford University Press, 2020) https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Devil-Satanic-Changing-Religion/dp/0190948493 Learn more about our work at https://www.multifaithmatters.org.  Support this work: One-time donation: https://multifaithmatters.org/donate  Become my patron: https://patron.podbean.com/johnwmorehead #GoodNewsClub #ChildEvangelismFellowship #AfterSchoolSatanClub

Esther Beasley is a chapter director in Omaha Nebraska, with a special place in her heart for children growing up in difficult conditions. In this interview with Lydia Kaiser, Beasley discusses her calling to the ministry and how God is working through CEF in Omaha. Teach Kids is a short and powerful “HOW TO” for parents and children's ministry workers. Practical topics cover things we struggle with to things you might not have thought about. Our goal is to equip you with aspects of gospel parenting, evangelism, and discipleship – helping you teach the kids in your life, whether they are your own or those to whom you minister. Teach Kids is heard daily on 705 radio stations as of May 2021. Host, Lydia Kaiser, has raised three children and been involved in ministry to children and training teens and adults in children's ministry for decades. To review the content in today's episode, go to https://www.cefonline.com and search the title under Articles. If you like this podcast, please subscribe and share, to help others find it too! For more help on evangelizing and discipling children, see Articles, Ministries, and Shop at https://www.cefonline.com/. See the free and safe Christian app for kids, U-Nite TV, available on Android and iOS devices https://unite.cefonline.com/. Child Evangelism Fellowship is a Bible-centered organization whose purpose is to evangelize boys and girls with the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ and to establish (disciple) them in the Word of God and in a local church for Christian living.

Hosted by Andrew Keen, Keen On features conversations with some of the world's leading thinkers and writers about the economic, political, and technological issues being discussed in the news, right now. In this episode, Andrew is joined by Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. Katherine Stewart is the author of The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism. She writes about politics, policy, and religion for The New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, and The New Republic. Her previous book, The Good News Club, was an examination of the religious right and public education Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

At eight, I knew I needed Jesus. The Good News Club lady said I would miss out on heaven if I didn't get saved. I didn't want hell, and Jesus offered an escape plan. That's about all I remember about that day besides the cookies and punch and the stain on the carpet as I peeked while praying the sinner's prayer. It was our house. I knew where the spots were. I had probably made them. I knew I was a sinner. I needed Jesus at eight. I needed Jesus at eight, fifteen, twenty-four, thirty-five and at sixty-six (when this was first written) and now, of course, at 70; and all the years and months and moments in between. Neediness begets neediness, and as I surrender each day, I find it's a glory-thing. God delights in our dependence. Francis Roberts wrote these words of God's invitation: “Lay thyself upon My breast and lose thyself in Me." Through all these years, I've needed Jesus and he's celebrated my coming. He's intended from the beginning that I find my rest in him, at any age and every stage. Surrendering daily. It's a glory-thing. Today is a testimony of small landmarks of faith when I've run to God rather than run away. And he's there waiting every single time. Maybe you have similar landmarks you can point to: "Yes, I saw God reaching out to me here. And here. Oh, and here most of all." It does a faith good to recall and remember how we've been led, even when we go the long way around. Do you have a life-verse? Here's mine, found "randomly" at 15:   If you've met Jesus (at any age!) and want to review the basics, I made this for you: INVITED TO GOD'S TABLE: GROWING AS A NEW BELIEVER (MINI E- BOOK)     ______     Conversation Starters can make the difference in getting better acquainted with others. When we ask questions and listen to the answers, we show God's love. Three different ways: Shop HERE      

1 (2s): Good morning 2 (3s): Everyone. We're so happy to see you here this morning and seeing the kids in here is Family Sunday. What a joy it's gonna be to worship together as a whole body of Christ. Just invite you to stand with us as we sing. 1 (24s): Who am I that the highest? Oh 0 (2m 4s): You. 0 (3m 2s): Yes. 1 (3m 10s): There's a 0 (3m 11s): Place for 1 (3m 18s): God. 1 (3m 60s): All these pieces broken and scattered in mercy. Gathered I've, I can see yourself. 0 (5m 20s): Oh, 1 (5m 42s): You said your, So take this Lord, I'll be oh. 1 (6m 35s): Oh. I can see the love your eyes laying yourself. 0 (7m 25s): Amazing. 1 (8m 25s): I The 3 (8m 51s): We praise you, Jesus, We praise you in this place this morning. 0 (9m 8s): Come 1 (9m 9s): On. We sing together. If faith can s lets move. We come with the expectation waiting here. You're the Lord of our creation. Still know my found from, We're waiting here. 1 (10m 42s): You everything promised your, 0 (11m 3s): We're 1 (11m 4s): Waiting 0 (11m 4s): Here. 0 (12m 32s): We're 4 (13m 15s): Lord, we love you so much. We can't do anything without you, Jesus. And we don't want to. We love you. And we just want to glorify your name this morning. We're waiting here for you. Holy Spirit. You are the one that we are waiting for because we can't do anything without you. Jesus, we just want to honor you this morning. We just ask that each heart and each mind would be open to you this morning, that we would be sensitive to your spirit this morning. That, that we would have soft hearts to hear the message that you have for us this morning. Jesus. 4 (13m 55s): It's a challenging one. It's, but it's one that we want to absorb. It's one that we want to live up to Jesus. And so we're, we're here for you. We're waiting here for you. Jesus, we love you so much. Jesus name. Amen. Amen. All right, you can go ahead and take your seats. My name is Curtis and we've got 5 (14m 16s): My name's Greger Wade 4 (14m 17s): Greger, we're glad to be here with you this morning. If you're new here, we just wanna welcome you and let you know that we've got coffee and donuts out on the patio. So check those out. We've also got bathrooms behind the stage. While you can head down these hallways here and find those. Yeah, I think 5 (14m 38s): One second before we get into the announcements, if we have a seat next to us, could we squeeze in a little bit? We're all part of the body of Christ. We should all be comfortable next to each other, right? 4 (14m 48s): Yeah, yeah, exactly. Yeah. Jump squeeze in, you know, move to the middle if you need. Is anybody at the back looking for a spot? 5 (14m 56s): We got a few seats in the middle up here. 4 (14m 59s): Yeah, we got some 5 (14m 60s): On 4 (15m 0s): That row. Yeah, yeah. Come on, come on up. Got a couple people coming down if you wanna raise your hand, if you've got an open seat by, Yeah. Cool. 5 (15m 14s): Well welcome. Today is Family Sunday. Everyone first grade and up will be in the sanctuary here today with our family. This happens one every four Sunday, four Sunday of every month actually. So it's really special to just have the youth come in and be able to hear a message from Steve and just learn with their parents what their parents are learning. It's really nice and it's just a great way to grow in the faith. So, 4 (15m 44s): Yeah. Yeah, exactly. And learn from your parents and they can set an example for your kids and it's just an amazing thing. We really value that around here. If you need anything, if you're new here, we've got an info center at the back and two lovely people there who would love to help you. So yeah, Jo, head back there if you need anything at all. And then also we've got a worship and prayer night coming up. So that's not this, or not night, it's a morning. I did the same thing Jeremy did. Usually worship and prayer happens in the evenings, right? Am I just is it just comes out as a night. It's a morning. Okay. 8:00 AM is not the nighttime. That's the morning. So worship and prayer next Tuesday, not this coming Tuesday, but it's October 4th. 4 (16m 29s): Come check that out. It's gonna be really sweet. Just a great way to, you know, kick off the week, the second day of the week and it'll be really good. Yeah. 5 (16m 37s): And then on October 9th we have Pastor Appreciation Day. I messed this up. Last service. So glad I got it right this time. So we are going to be celebrating our pastors here and everything they've done for us, we thank you for Steve and Jeremy. So just give them some love in a few weeks on the ninth. Just appreciate them. Yeah, 4 (16m 59s): It's gonna be good. Yeah, bring a gift, you know, if you feel so led or a card or something, they're great. They've, they've been amazing. So also, the last thing is that we're gonna have Darren from Child Evangelism Fellowship come up and he's gonna share a little bit about what they're doing in their ministry and it's gonna be great. So let's, let's give Darren a warm welcome here. 7 (17m 26s): Hey, thank you so much. I just wanted to start out by just thanking you for all your, your support and partnership and reaching the children of the central coast for Jesus Christ. And that's what we're all about and helping people do that. I wanted just to share a little story with you this morning, and it really just starts with a couple who loved the Lord very much. They had a son and they tried to point him to Jesus. They tried to raise him up the way they thought God wanted him to do, but he made some decisions in his own life to, to not let God be a part of it. And that was just a heartbroken thing, you know, as a parent, that's the, the hardest thing you can have happen is to have your child reject the one that you love so much. 7 (18m 9s): And so he grew up, he got married, he had two wonderful girls of his own. And those parents, now, grandparents' hearts went out again because they're seeing these two precious girls be raised up, not even necessarily being pointed to the Lord at all. And so they started having some conversations with their son just asking, Is there any way we can bring the girls to church with us? And every time they brought it up, it was a point of contention and every time they brought it up, he said, No, but more time passed. The girls got a little bit older and they brought it up again. They said, You know, there's this, this program that's going on, it's called Good News Club. 7 (18m 52s): And would it be okay if the kids went to that? They will learn about the Bible and they will learn about God, but would it be okay if we picked him up each week, took him to that program and brought him home and they gave the green light. They said, Yep, you know what? We're okay with that. You can take him to the Good News Club. And those girls came, an older one in particular was just super eager to learn. Every week in Good News Club we're sharing a Bible story, something right out of God's word, that the stories turn into lessons. And because God's word is meant to instruct us, and there's a little memory verse that they'd learn every single week where they actually hide God's word in their heart. And there's, there's songs that, that are based in biblical truth that the kids get to learn. 7 (19m 34s): And so why I'm sharing you with this this morning is I got a little snippet into something I wouldn't normally get to see, but it's so exciting and encouraging to know that God's working in ways that we can't plan or make happen on our own. And the, the grandparents were invited over to dinner one night and they're there at the, the dinner table with their son, his wife, and two daughters. And they've been coming to Good News Club for a little while. And the interesting thing was, this wasn't even a song that I normally even teach in Good News Club. So I know God was doing something, I, I don't think I was just feeling nostalgic. I think God just said, Hey, let's do this. This week. 7 (20m 15s): And out of nowhere this little girl turns to her dad and looks at him and she sings, Oh friend, you love Jesus. This is his little girl. He loves her. He cares about her. He doesn't want her to feel rejected and he knows the song cuz he was raised learning it. And he got kind of red according to the grandparents. And then he kind of muffled out, Oh yes, I love Jesus. And his daughter jumped right on it. She says, Are you sure you love Jesus? 7 (20m 55s): And, and there's dad and it's a awkward, but he is like, Unfer, I love Jesus. And then the song goes on and she didn't miss a beat. Why do you love Jesus? And here he goes, because he first love me, right? And then there's a whole chorus and they sing it all together as a family at this table. Half of them believing what was sung and half of them not. But that was still God at work in a way that I could never plan for or make happen. But the Holy Spirit could do mighty and incredible things. And so that girl put her trust in Jesus Christ in Good News Club. 7 (21m 36s): And a couple years later, her younger sister did the same thing. And we kept in contact for years and they came back and would visit the club even as teenagers and came back and asked for tools and resources on how to share their faith with their peers when they got older too. And so there was just a a really cool ongoing thing. I got to see them grow up and and embrace God with their whole hearts and lives. And so that's why we do this. That's why we were out there because you know, those two girls and so many others don't get to decide whether or not they're brought to a wonderful place like this on Sunday morning. They don't get to make the choice on whether they go to Sunday school or sit out in a congregation with their parents. 7 (22m 18s): Like so many kids are here today, they're, they're stuck at home, not because they want to be there because they're not allowed to come. And so that's why we're taking the good news to them. That's why we're trying to take Sunday school to the public school and have a little Bible class right there where they are because so many parents are willing to let their kids go to that club, but they're not willing to bring them here on Sunday morning. But the good news is God's not finished when they receive Christ. They go home and they start bugging them to come to a place like this on Sunday morning. And we've seen that happen. Our whole families end up in church because of one child receiving Christ and God working through that child's life and the lives of their families and the lives of their parents. 7 (23m 0s): But on those school grounds, we, we want take the gospel to kids, but we also want to give the kids that are there that know Jesus an opportunity to share their faith with their unsafe friends and invite him to a club that they'll be more likely to attend. And so we appreciate your prayers and support. If that's something you'd like to actively get involved with, I'll be back there at the table in the back. If you feel God's calling you to help make that happen and move that forward, let us know. You don't have to be like this incredibly skilled Bible teacher. We need people that can walk kids to the bathroom and serve snacks and hand out prizes. So we come alongside you, we equip you, we give you everything you need because God's given all of us, everything we need. 7 (23m 41s): He's given us himself. So we thank you for helping us to share him with others and for being a part of it in whatever way God has called to. 8 (23m 49s): Thank you. 4 (23m 51s): Thank you Darren. Appreciate it. Appreciate you. All right. Yeah, if you wanna get more information from Darren, yeah, he'll be at the table at the back like you said. And now we're gonna be dismissed to get up and mingle with people around you. And we'll be back in just a minute. Thanks. 0 (25m 9s): The in Jesus the you 9 (28m 7s): Come on back. Come on back. Hey, welcome. It is Family Sunday. You know what that means, don't you? That means young people share with me their jokes and I have the privilege of sharing with you the jokes. And so this is from Olivia Harvey and she says, What has nobody and no knows, nobody knows. Nobody knows. So I owe Olivia five, but I actually gave, where is she here? 9 (28m 47s): Somewhere I gave, there she is. I gave $10 away already today. Cuz the deal is I pay for jokes for little guys, you know, little kids. I gave 'em five bucks per joke. So I, I owe Olivia. So come see me next week. And there might even be interest involved. There might be, I don't know, I can't make any promises, but I got another joke that I actually paid 10 bucks for cuz now he owes me a joke. I only had a $10 bill. He said, why was the diver embarrassed? Because he saw the oceans bottom. That'd be embarrassing. There's just no question. It's be embarrassing. 9 (29m 27s): It'd be embarrassing. Hey, I just wanna say thank you to a few people. I wanna say thank you to Jeremy who's just been doing a great job last couple Sundays. I don't know where he is, but yeah, you provide you some great messages. Wanna say thank you, say thank you to so many Harvest Church people who, like dozens of people volunteered for the Lifeline Bank. We had filled up three tables and then dozens of volunteers helping to serve and kinda make that night possible. And I'm so just in a humble way, so proud of you all and so thankful that Harvest Church. You're just people that just want to serve and take care of business and I'm so just so thankful and so grateful to be a part of who we are and what we're doing. 9 (30m 7s): Yeah, Paul 10 (30m 8s): Set the banquet. 9 (30m 9s): Yeah. 10 (30m 10s): Not only did Leslie and Carson set it all up for all the volunteers, it was on volunteer-wise it was probably 80% Harbor's church. Wow. And 20% the rest. Yeah. So big, big thank you to all of 9 (30m 27s): Them. Wow. Yeah. Thank you. 80% of the people. Yeah. Kathy, go ahead. I guess we're sharing. Go ahead. Kathy. What's this for? This for? For Olivia? Yes. What about the interest? I did very interested. No, no, no. I said that I would give her interest. Who else has got a $5 bill? Olivia, come on up here. Your 10 (30m 48s): Mother. 9 (30m 49s): Who else has got a five? This I promised interest. Anybody else got fives? Nobody's got five bucks. There it is, Olivia. Thanks Amanda. Best for you. Thanks for the joke. You're amazing. Thank you Olivia. I love giving kids money. It just makes their whole day, they're so happy about it. They can go to in and out and buy a hamburger. They can go buy whatever they want. It's just so much fun. Hey, also, thanks to everyone who came out yesterday for the Harvest Festival. We haven't had the Harvest Parade, the festival for a couple years and so things are kind of back to normal. 9 (31m 32s): And I, as I walked around the parade route, talking with people, everybody was so happy. Everybody was like so grateful to be back outside and nobody was wearing masks, everybody was just enjoying each other. And so thanks to everyone, we had dozens of people coming out for that, gave out hundreds of bottles of water and hundreds of balloons and, and we were just, just engaging the community and just loving on people and so much fun. So thanks to everyone who is just a part of what we do around here, you're having an impact in wonderful and supernatural ways, ways that we won't even be fully understanding until we get to the other side and, and, and have experienced an encounter and conversation with people who've been touched by what you've done. 9 (32m 15s): So thank you very, very much. Hey, we're taking a little break from our study and first Peter today taking a break from that and it just makes sense. Jeremy took a break from it for the last couple weeks. And so we're in what is called the Identity series. Our identity series. And so in this identity series we're gonna be talking about our core values. We're gonna be talking about our mission statement, our purpose statement. We're gonna be unpacking a little bit, not all of it, but our statement of faith. And the idea is just to kind of remind us, the last time I talked about these things were back, it was back in 2014. So it's important that we kind of revisit these core values from time to time. We're actually working on getting the core values posted in here. 9 (32m 56s): We just haven't done it since we've opened this space. We've got our mission statement on the window out there that says, impacting our community and our world with life changing message of Jesus Christ. That's just what we're all about. And so as we talk about our core values over these next four weeks, the core values are kind of what they act as the wheels on which we move forward as a church. And so who knew, who remembers the first core value? Mike Ferris We're committed to the lordship of Jesus Christ, right? We, what's the next one? Confident in the word of God. This is gonna be like rote here pretty quick. 9 (33m 37s): Confident in the word of God. What was number three called? Love All people. And number four created to serve God and others. And so they're all sea words in the beginning. So it just kind of helps us to understand what got us called us to. And the, again, these are kind of the wheels that we move forward on. We've got an old trailer at the house and we've had this trailer for years and it's just a small trailer, but we used it for making dump runs and just moving stuff. And we realized just in the last, I don't know, couple month or so that the wheels are really getting bad, the tires are just pretty worn out. And so we're actually gonna be loaning it out to a guy who's gonna take it down to Southern California. 9 (34m 17s): And we're like, we gotta get new wheels on this thing. If we don't, if you don't put new wheels on the trailer's gonna become pretty worthless, right? And then what happens with the trailer kind gets put to the side of the property and it becomes kind of a catch, it becomes worthless. It's not really being used for what it has been created for. And so we have to be careful as the church that we're doing what God has created us to do, that we're, that we're completing the work that God has called us to complete. And so if we don't keep focused by moving forward on truth, that truth helps us to make wise choices about how to move forward in ministry. Because as you know, there's probably a thousand different things that we could be doing in the ministry, but these core values help us to decide is this the right thing? 9 (35m 3s): Does this align with our core values? Does this keep us moving forward with our purpose and our mission and what God has created us to do some 20 years ago, almost 20 years ago? And so we're gonna be talking about core values for the next four weeks, again taking a break from the series, and I think it's just gonna be really, really good. And so we're gonna be in Roman chapter 10. I plan first service to get through all of the message. I just could not, I got 28 minutes and I just will, I will get through one point if it's turned out to be like first service. So that's all right, then we'll make the point and God will have his way. So with that, let's take a moment, pray and then we'll jump in. Thank you Lord, thank you that you are faithful to speak truth to us. 9 (35m 43s): God, we want to be faithful, to have ears to hear and eyes to see God. We wanna listen, we want to hear, we want to see, we wanna respond in Jesus name. So Lord, teach us, Lord help us to honor you with our attitude, with our response, and with our lives. Lord, we love you. We bless you Lord. In Jesus name, Amen. Committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Romans chapter 10, genuine Christianity begins. It actually begins and ends with the simple and sincere acknowledgement of the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. This is where it all begins and ends. 9 (36m 25s): Where is Jesus in our lives? Does he hold the place of authority? The position of authority in our lives is Jesus the Lord of our lives. This seems like a small thing. This attitude though represents the greatest of all miracles. It's a supernatural thing for us to realize that we have a desperate need for the Lordship of Jesus Christ. While it cost, while it cost God nothing to become Lord of creation over creation, it cost him greatly to become your Lord. He died on the cross so that he might become your Lord. 9 (37m 7s): He sacrificed himself so that he might become your Lord. And so it cost him greatly to become your Lord. And he's challenging us today in the scriptures really of in the old and the New Testament. It's all the same message. It's all the message of Lordship and leadership as God in charge of our lives. And are we allowing him to be in charge of our lives? I was talking to a guy, young guy, 22, 23 years old after first service. And he said, You know, I've heard this message about Lordship a lot, but I don't, I don't understand it. What does it mean? 9 (37m 47s): You know? And that's a great question. I thought, Well, where in your life do you think that Jesus is not the Lord? And so he began to think and he's like, Oh yeah, I can think of some areas. I said, Well, so what are you gonna do about that? I, I said, You know, life is about deciding that Jesus is, you know, the Christian life is about deciding that Jesus is Lord and then getting up every day and doing something about it. So in your life where you are pretty sure that you're not following the Lord, you just make a course correction. 9 (38m 27s): You open up the scripture, the word of God, and you allow the spirit of God to direct you. And you say, Yeah, this is not actually, as I read the word, it's not properly reflecting my actions, my words, thoughts, deeds, I, there's actually some things in my life where I'm not following Lord. So I challenge this you man, I said, Well, so if there are things in your life, Lordship means that you're saying yes to the change. It's just that simple. It's not, yes, I said, You don't have to get up and pray about what socks you're going to wear. I said, You can do that. But that's not what we're talking about, right? We're not talking about that. We're just saying, Hey, in the arena of your life, does God get to direct you? 9 (39m 7s): Does he get to lead you? Is he the Lord of your life? And he said, Okay, I'm starting to get it. I said, Well, what are you gonna do about it? It's like, well, I guess I'm just gonna begin to let the Lord lead in every area of my life. And that's all we're talking about. We sometimes compartmentalize God and we say, Well, God can be Lord leader over this area, but not the other areas. Is is Jesus. Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Is Jesus the Lord of your life? Does Jesus have first place and first priority in your life? 9 (39m 51s): In a scene from CS Lewis's spiritual allegory, the Chronicles of Narnia, a young girl named Lucy is sent on a great mission by the Christ figure, Aslan the lion. As she travels by night, she notices this great beast sitting on a hill illuminated by a full moon excitedly Lucy runs to him and throws herself into his soft and silky Maine. Aslan rolls over and Lucy finds herself flying between his past looking up into his large face. 9 (40m 34s): Aslan, your bigger, bigger. Lucy says, In close proximity, you're really, really big. The me majestic creature answers that is, well that's because you're older. Little one Lucy confused by this remark asks, Not because you are not, because you aren't bigger. As Lynn assures her, I am, I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger. Isn't that interesting? 9 (41m 14s): And that is just a powerful reality. It so the part of the process in our lives as followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is this process of sanctification where we become more and more like God and less and less like our old selves. And so in that process of sanctification, we realized, recognize evaluating your lives that hey, God's not got Lordship in this area of my life. And so as we grow in faith, trusting Jesus over the course of our lives, believing God over the course of our lives, we have a greater capacity to see the bigness of God. And so in seeing the bigness of God, we have the capacity to trust him and allow him to be the Lord of our lives in a more significant way. 9 (42m 0s): And so every time we're made aware, an area of our lives where he's not the Lord, we're able to say, Hey, I think maybe in days or weeks or months past, you didn't have the grace or the faith for it. But now you see the bigness and the capacity and the strength and the power of God. And you're saying, You know what? I know that I can trust Jesus with this area of my life as well. And in that area of your life, you're able to grow in, in maturity. And the lordship of Jesus Christ becomes more obvious and more evident in your life. You may be struggling to believe that God is big enough to be Lord. 9 (42m 44s): Maybe in some areas he's big enough in your mind and understanding, but in other areas he's not big enough. You don't think highly, you don't have a great, a clear perspective on about who he is. I, I would just encourage us, and it's all part of the process for every single one of us that we would grow into a place of maturity whereby we're able year after year to trust him more and more too. Allow him to be Lord, maybe it's Lord of your marriage, finances, time, hobbies, relationships. 9 (43m 28s): You pick, there's probably thousands of things that we can kind of evaluate in our lives and ask this question Is, is Jesus Lord? Is he Lord of this area of my life? Is he Lord of that area of my life? Is he Lord of every area of my life? And so when Jesus is the Lord of your life, there's an amazing piece that follows that decision. You know, the world's trying to sell us all kinds of ways, you know, to find peace or joy, contentment, happiness, and it's all dead end roads. It's all a distraction to keep us from really trusting the lordship of Jesus Christ. 9 (44m 9s): The Bible says there's a way which seems right to a man, but the in there of is the way of death, right? So if we're not careful, we're following the wrong path, the wrong way. And it's gonna take us down a path of destruction. So when Jesus is Lord of our lives, we begin to experience all of the things that the world is trying to cram down our throats, convince us that will make us happy and satisfied and content. We have peace, we have direction, we have joy, joy, unspeakable, and full of glory. I've been talking with a few people this week who have lost a loved ones in their lives and yet they still have the joy of the Lord and the peace of God and the confidence in God. 9 (44m 57s): There's a sadness for sure. But the Bible says we don't weep as the world weeps without hope. We have, we have hope. And so there's problems that will come. There are circumstances that are gonna be unfavorable in our lives, but when Jesus is Lord, we can trust him because we're not in a bad place, because we made a bad choice. We're in a bad place just because it's life and bad things happen. If I'm in a bad place because I made a bad choice, then I'm just beating myself up. I'm like, ah, whatever. But if I'm in a bad place just trying to follow Jesus and I'm like, Lord, this is your deal. I'm gonna trust you. I believe you. You're the Lord of my life. And so what do you want to do with this? What do you want to do with this? 9 (45m 37s): There's just a great confidence that a company's not arrogance. There's no place in the kingdom for arrogance, but there's plenty of space in the kingdom for confidence. Confidence in who God is and what he's all about. When Jesus is the Lord of our lives, we can have a great deal of confidence. So without Lordship, we, we kind of act as a a maverick. We're kind of on our own. Last night, Joel and I were watching this Alaska. I love these outdoor shows. You know, these guys, all these people there, they're trying to create like a community in, you know, deep in Alaska, 200 miles from civilization. And it's all of these people trying to come together and they're all trying to work together for a common good to create a place where they can live. 9 (46m 23s): And so they've got a hundred days before the winter sets in. And when winter sets in in Alaska, you can't be like in a pub tent, right? You have to be like prepared. Like you don't want to be in a lightweight little bag and a pub tent because you will, you will freeze to death, right? And so they're trying to work together, but there's this one maverick guy who's just, just irresponsible and he's only working for his own gain and for his own purposes. And, and it's so frustrating to watch because you know, winter's coming. You got a hundred days to get ready for winter. And if you're a maverick separated from the Lordship of Jesus Christ separated from the body of Christ, when winter comes, you're gonna be all alone. 9 (47m 4s): So we were watching this, frustrated this guy, we're like, Dude, get a clue. Right? But we do the same thing in the church. We're like, act as mavericks independent spirits. We want to do our own thing. We don't want submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. We don't want, we don't wanna be a part of the body of Christ because we kind of gotta figure it out until we wanna do our own thing and we don't want somebody else to tell us what to do, right? That's just humanism. Human natures the root of all sin, right? Don't tell me what I gotta do. Jesus asked in Luke 6 46 appointed question, He said, Why do you call me Lord, Lord and not do what I tell you to do? 9 (47m 54s): Right? Jesus can ask those hard questions, right? Why do you call me Lord if you're not gonna do what I tell you to do? It's the fundamental essentials of our faith. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God has raised him from the dead, if we shall be safe. So the the gateway to our faith, to our understanding is followers of the Lord Jesus Christ is lordship. We can't move forward as believers without lordship. We will stagnate and we will backslide and we will get Luke warm and we will follow away. If Jesus is not the Lord of our lives, this is the only way forward. Now we can look religious and do all kinds of things that look pious, but if Jesus is not the Lord of our lives, it's, it's, it's a pointless journey. 9 (48m 40s): It's an empty pursuit. Without lordship, we are left with a system with without salvation. And this is what Jesus was up against in the first centuries. We read Romans 10, we see that Jesus was immersed in a system where religious activity was happening all around him. But the salvation that came through Christ, the Lord was, was not being experienced by the religious people of his day. Paul Wrotten, Romans 10, one, Dear brothers and sisters, the longing of my heart and my prayer to goddess for the people of Israel to be saved. 9 (49m 22s): I know what enthusiasm they have for God, but it's misdirected zeal. So if you travel anywhere in the Middle East and go to Israel, it's just a very religious part of the world. And so you walk around, you see religious activity happening all over the place. People have religious hats and clothes and beards and sideburns and and decorations on their bodies there. There's religious activity happening all throughout the Middle East. Lots of praying, lots of religious activity, lots of is of enthusiasm and zeal. 9 (50m 3s): But as Jesus confronted the religious leaders of the day who were much like the people in the 21st entry in Israel in the Middle East, there was a lot of enthusiasm in ze. But enthusiasm and zeal don't lead to salvation. Enthusiasm is zeal it. It leads to dutiful religious activity due to full religious activity. Like I'm just wanting to kind of be looking religious, but I don't want my life changed because in order to get my life changed, I need to submit to the lordship of Jesus Christ. And that seems like a big leap. 9 (50m 44s): And so we fall into this trap of dutiful religious activity and we measure our spirituality by church attendance and by giving and serving. And those things are all okay as long as they're put in their proper order. So if we're going to church and giving and serving because our lives have been transformed because we've been born again because Jesus is changed us and saved us and redeemed us, then, then that's the right path. But if we're trying to put the cart before the horse and try to go to church and give and serve because we're trying to get the favor of God within, we've just got it all backwards. We've got a system of religion without salvation. 9 (51m 25s): None of these things apart from Christ lead to salvation. They may be good, but they can't save you. In fact, some of these religious things that we end up doing can actually keep us from a right relationship, the Lordship of Jesus Christ in our lives. Because we're looking at things backwards. We're like, Wow, I'm, look at all the good things I'm doing. Look at all the activity, look at all my busyness. We say, Well that's good enough. And so we miss like the first century Jews, we miss what Jesus was trying to communicate. The good news says, My grace is efficient. You can't actually earn your salvation. 9 (52m 7s): We'll see that here in just a moment. So the truth is, salvation comes to those who recognize their inability to impress God or gain his favor through their own works and then come to God through the finished work of Christ. And even as I think about that and communicate that any burden to perform is lifted, right? Because we're not here to perform. We're here to live in relationship with Jesus where he gets to lead and be Lord of our lives. 9 (52m 52s): So God has prescribed a way of welcoming people into his kingdom. And his name is Jesus. It's just Jesus. Jesus told Thomas and John 14, six, I am the way. I am the truth. I am the alive. No one comes to the Father except through me. Back to Romans 10, Verse three says, Were they the Jews? They don't understand God's way of making people right with themself, refusing to accept God's way. They clinging to their own way of getting right with God by trying to keep the law refusing to accept God's way. 9 (53m 37s): They come up with their own way trying to get right with God. There's only one way to be right with God. And that's through the person, the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. James two 10 reminds us, for whoever shall keep the whole law and yet stumble at one point is guilty of it. Also, if you keep one through nine but don't get 10, you're guilty of breaking the whole law. So the law was given so that we would recognize our desperate need for grace. Romans 10, four, For Christ has already accomplished the purpose for which the law was given. As a result, all who believe in him are made right with God. So what's the purpose of the law? 9 (54m 17s): Romans three 19. Obviously the law applies to those to whom it was given. It's purpose is to keep people from having excuses and to show that the entire world, the entire world, the entire world is guilty before God. For no one can ever be made right with God. By doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. So take the 10 commandments off your wall and get it in your heart. The greatest commandment, love God and love others. It's all of the commandments, the law and the prophets. 9 (55m 1s): Hang on these love God and love others. So God first and out of your love for God, you will love others. Really, really so much, so much, so much better for the wages of sin is death. But the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. So without Lordship, we are left with a system without salvation. So Jesus came that we might have the fullness of abundant life. A religious system apart from Lordship is a broken system. And brokenness always begets brokenness. 9 (55m 43s): So we can't rely on a broken system to bring healing and wholeness to our lives. A broken system will always spring brokenness into our lives. So where in your life is Jesus not Lord? Where is Jesus in your life? Not honored as first and priority king leader, The one who can declare to us the way forward. Where in our lives sometimes we compartmentalize God and say in this area, God, I trust you, but not in this area. So what are you gonna do about that revelation when you realize it's in this area that I haven't been trusting him to be? 9 (56m 25s): Lord. Well I'll tell you to do what this young man, I told this young man to do after first serve. I said, just, just get up in the morning. Open up the Bible, right? Like open up. I said, because you'll get the same message in the old, in the New Testament, 66 books of the Bible with one message. And that one message is pointing us to Jesus. Same God in the Old Testament as it is in the New Testament, not two separate Gods, one God, eternally existing in three persons of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. His truth is immutable, God is immutable. 9 (57m 5s): He changes, not he is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So what is the Old Testament telling us about Lordship? Well, we can look at Moses life and say, well, Moses was a stutterer. Yeah, God called him to go to Pharaoh and to deliver the people of God out of Egypt. That just doesn't make any sense, right? Moses was adopted into Pharaoh's household. He had the riches and the wealth and the power and esteem, prestige of, of royalty. And yet he chose to honor God and to be a, an instrument in the hands of God. 9 (57m 52s): So what do we, what can we glean from that? Well, God uses broken people. Huh? Good. All right. Is that today? Is that true? Today? You better be. I'm not up here because I got something going on. I'm broken all together. What else can we learn about that? He equips What else? Go ahead. I'll just let somebody else speak up. Go ahead Neil. He equips. He equips. So who equips? Oh God, He equips, right? So Moses is a stuttering guy and shepherd. So what happened? God equipped and released into the work of ministry. What about Joseph? When he is in prison falsely accused, right? 9 (58m 33s): Falsely ac accused of inappropriate behavior. And so he's in jail because he's been falsely accused. So where's the, how do we see Lordship in that scenario? What did Joseph do when he was falsely accused sitting in a jail sale for no fault of his own? What did he do? Well, we know that he honored the Lord and, and every responsibility that he was given, he like cream rises to the top. He did it with excellence. And he was given authority over the jail. Jail. And he just kept a tender heart, right? When things were unfair, he kept a tender heart could have gotten hardened up. So what can we learn in the Old Testament? 9 (59m 15s): Lordship tender heart keeps us usable. Applyable heart makes us capable of being used. My God, what about the fishermen? The on the sea, on the shores of the Sea of Galilee, They're fishermen. These guys are blue collar fishermen. They're untrained, uneducated. And Jesus walked by and said, Come and follow me and I'll make you fishers of men. What do they do? Why did it make any sense? Often we're trying to make sense of what God's calling us to do. We're making our decisions out of here instead of out of here. We're deciding on what will do for God based on what we can calculate or understand or make sense of in our brains. 9 (1h 0m 2s): Instead of asking this question, Lord, is this what you're calling me to do? And out of that awareness and out of that clarity, Because when Jesus is Lord of our lives, we get clarity about things that we've never had clarity about. And so when we sense it calling and an urging in our soul, we, we can press in and say, Lord, is this what you're calling me to do? Is this what you're asking me to do? It makes no sense. He didn't make any sense for Jesus to call the 12 that he called. He just made no sense. Who did he call though? He called those that were willing and he equipped and he sent them out. 9 (1h 0m 43s): And we're still talking about them. 2000 years later. Some 6,000 years. We're still talking about 'em. Why? Because they didn't, they didn't decide to make a what about Abraham? Abram? God said, Hey, I'm gonna take you somewhere you've never been before and you're gonna become a great nation. FM said, Well, I don't have any kids. I'm getting old. I don't really want to leave because I'm pretty comfortable here how things would've been different here in the 21st century. 9 (1h 1m 24s): We gotta get out of what we can't do and our limitations about what we're capable of doing. And just in our soul and our guts do what God has asked us to do. It's called Lordship. It's called Lordship. There are plenty people who told me I couldn't plant the church cuz I didn't know how and I didn't. And they were absolutely right. But I said, Well, if God's doing something, we might just try it, right? We might just, why not just try it? Why not? What is call God calling you to, to right now that you're calculating in your head? 9 (1h 2m 6s): Get outta your head, right? Like get, get outta your head. It will trip you up and stumble you all the days of your life. Cuz you'll read the scripture and you're like, Yeah, I, I don't think I can do that. And you're right, you can do it. And that's the whole idea. Lordship declares that he will do it through you and in spite of you, that's lordship. That's, that's the gospel. That's, that's what we see in the old and the New Testament. God using regular people, some very smart, The Apostle Paul was brilliant but broken, Incredibly smart, but on the wrong path. 9 (1h 2m 48s): Knew more than anybody else in the room but knew nothing about God. So he takes smart people and he takes dumb people. So I'll be on the dumb end and Paul will be on the smart end. And then everybody in between God will take dumb people and make 'em pretty, pretty brilliant. Others, not me. He will take. But this is the reality of who God is. So what, what are you not doing with your time, talents and treasure that you know that God has called you to step out and to do? What are you, what are you not doing? 9 (1h 3m 28s): And then why not? So get up. I'll tell you what, I told that 22 year old and I'm outta time in 10 seconds. Get up tomorrow. Now don't start tomorrow cuz you might forget it. Like do it right now. You say, Well does it make sense? I've got a plan for my time. I've got a plan for my talent and I've got a plan for my treasure and I like my plan better than God's plan. If that's your perspective, then just acknowledge Jesus is not the Lord of my life. Right? But don't lie about lordship and betray yourself and betray the don't, don't say just be intellectually and spiritually honest. 9 (1h 4m 21s): Think God's got, you know, he's got something to work with. But don't say, I'm a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. He's my Lord and savior. But there's no such thing as a butt except for in my joke where the diver was embarrassed because he saw the bottom ocean's bottom. Is that what it was? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Jojo's the man. He got the 10 bucks today by the way. So what have, what have we learned? We're kind of wrapping up here. What have, what have we learned and what are we gonna do about it? So it's a twofold question and maybe you're like, I've heard this before, but I've like never done anything about it. So what are you gonna do about it? 9 (1h 5m 2s): How, how is this challenge your perspective? Who wants to go first? I can pick somebody. I mean, it's not hard. I actually don't mind putting somebody on the spot. 11 (1h 5m 15s): Just kind not 12 (1h 5m 18s): Fill my calendar with all these things I have to do and then make room. 9 (1h 5m 23s): Yeah. You 12 (1h 5m 23s): Know, to do what I should do. 9 (1h 5m 26s): Yeah, just let God fill your calendar. I mean, there's things we gotta do. You gotta buy groceries, you gotta do whatever. You gotta get your car serviced. And so you're not saying, Lord, should I get my car service? You're, you know, like I, maybe you're saying, Lord, is this a good day or whatever. But you know, there's just regular response. We're not, it's not mystical. It's like, you know, you gotta take a shower, you know, you gotta eat. You know, you gotta, you know, do all of those things. So, Lord, what, what is it that you want to do with my day? And so if you've got people in your calendar that you've gotta connect with, connect with them, but then say, Lord, I don't wanna just operate outta my own understanding or wisdom. Lord, if there's something that is life giving that you want me to speak to this person, would you just show me what to speak? 9 (1h 6m 7s): And then by faith I'm gonna step out and say that, or pray for that or whatever. But Lord I you're leading. So I just wanna follow, See you doing it. I want to do it. Hear you saying it. I wanna say it. So it's not mystical, it's not hard, it's just, but it does require that we submit that we submit. Who else? Jolene, what have you my beloved. Just putting her on the spot again. Second service. What have you learned and what will you do about it? 12 (1h 6m 40s): Yeah, well I think for me, like the default is always fear. You know? Cause I like to be how I know they're gonna be and be predictable and be prepared for what's coming. And so I think just laying down that, that fear the lie that that God's plan is something for, to be feared when all he's ever done is be faithful to me. When I step out. He always shows up. It's the most exciting and awesome and powerful, amazing place to be. And yet I think the enemy just turns it around. Oh no, it's scary, it's different. It's gonna be, you know, it's not the same as it was last time. And so, you know, I'm stepping out of this different way in faith. 12 (1h 7m 21s): And so I think just acknowledging, I don't want agree with the enemy. He's lying to me and saying, this is a scary thing when God has never been anything but someone I can trust someone who has the best plan. I'm gonna miss out if I don't step out and walk in with this plan has, 9 (1h 7m 40s): You know, who the most godly person in our household is, is Jolene. She's the reason, that's the reason I fell in love with her right there. The fear in our culture dominates our decision making and our process. We, we are fearful about everything. And so we allow that fear to dictate to us what we will and will not do. So remembering that God has always been good, he will always continue to be good. And when things are hard, because things always get hard in different seasons, He will be faithful. 9 (1h 8m 25s): He will be faithful. 13 (1h 8m 31s): Just being obedient to when the Lord is putting on your heart, just step out in faith is what I found the biggest. And I've seen opportunities when I felt the timing of my from the Lord and I missed out because of fear. And then I see how what came to pass a bit. And the Lord could have used me for that, but yet I didn't. So the biggest thing is when the Lord, and if you step out in faith and it doesn't, you don't see anything but you, you are obedient to the Lord. And that's just what he wants from you. The but wants. 9 (1h 8m 60s): Yeah. Yeah. We walk by faith and not by sight. Heather, 10 (1h 9m 7s): I can second what she's saying. Okay. I think you're called something and you do it. There's blessing Yeah. Out. 9 (1h 9m 17s): Hmm. Yeah. There's blessing in it, right? Yeah. So when you're called to do something and you step into it, there's blessing. Yeah. Jim Kessler, you Oh, 10 (1h 9m 31s): I was trying to hide behind 9 (1h 9m 33s): You got a bald guy hiding out of all guys. It's not good. 10 (1h 9m 40s): Oh gosh. You know what? I sitting next to my wife, but I, I gotta let the Lord be in control of my attitude towards my in-laws. 9 (1h 9m 54s): That's rubber meets the road reality, right? Yeah. Yeah. 10 (1h 9m 60s): I, I don't, I can't go in detail right now, but we don't 9 (1h 10m 5s): All like resonate, right? 10 (1h 10m 7s): I just daily. Yeah. So, 9 (1h 10m 11s): So lordship doesn't give you permission to harbor a bad attitude towards your in-laws, right? Yeah. Nailed it. Okay. Steven? 10 (1h 10m 37s): No, I think the first come 9 (1h 10m 39s): Up here does, Do we have a microphone? Yeah. Get get a microphone from your wife there. There we go. This is my MiniMe here, but he's actually bigger than me. You're a little whiter. I'm a little whiter. Yeah. Whiter. Yeah. Like w h I t Yeah, yeah, yeah. That one. Just call me fat in his own loving way. All right, go ahead. Tell us what you've learned and what you're gonna do about it. 14 (1h 11m 6s): I think it's weird being up here. I think, I think the first thing that you talked about when you talked about Aslan in, you know, the Narnia books and CS Lewis, I was thinking about how Lucy went up to Aslan and that, what I remember about Lucy in, in those books is that she was very, she was like the most committed to Aslan and the most believing in the strong, Her faith was the strongest in Aslan as that symbol of Christ in the books and the movies. And I think, you know, when ASN was like, Oh yes, I'm, I'm bigger because you're older, But she was older and and wiser and she had grown in her faith. 14 (1h 11m 46s): And so I think that that growth in her faith had allowed Aslan to grow in her life. So God was bigger in her life because her faith had increased. And, and so I think, and inverse of that would be, you know, like letting that fear take hold and not, and then I guess submitting to the fear rather than submitting to God. And, and, and then that, you know, as land within shrink and become smaller and, and so I think, and then it can be harder and harder to hear the Lord and to feel that conviction of, hey, this is what, this is what God's calling me to do. 14 (1h 12m 26s): And so I think just even those little things like you were saying over here about, you know, whether if you feel like God's calling you to do something, you'll be fearful of it and, and step out in faith because you could use it and you could see the, the rewards down the road and, and not doing it in, in seeking that blessing or seeking that reward, but doing it out of, out of that love for the Lord in that, you know, faith without actions. Is that 9 (1h 12m 52s): So, Yeah, that's, I'm enjoying this. What, what else in this season of your life, being married for the last seven, eight months, this wonderful lady over here and in transition a little bit with your, what, where's the Lord, Lord of your life and all of this decision making? 14 (1h 13m 11s): Yeah, It's been, as, as many of you who have been married and on an outside of marriage, we know the communication aspect has been very difficult. What's 9 (1h 13m 22s): Been, what's been difficult? Marriage, Sorry, go. I'm not, 14 (1h 13m 27s): Yeah, the communication aspect has been really tough cuz we're, we're very different people. We're like, we're pretty much exact opposites and so, and the way that we just communicate in daily life, so it can be like the simplest thing, but it's just, we, we see it in complete opposite ways. So getting to that conclusion of like, oh, this is how I see it. So then it's just like, Lord, we need your help. And, and just the simple day to day stuff, like how, like even what time to do the dishes, you know, it's like just all the little things like every, every, every little part of life. And so that's what, and then, you know, moving students, finding a new, new place to live. Just, just every little bit of our life, we're just having to continually over and over again be reminded. 14 (1h 14m 10s): It's like we need the Lord in this, this part of life is, all of life is difficult all of life. There's decisions to be made that affect the rest of your life every day. So have being able to submit those things to the Lord and, and, and say, hey, this is, you know, this may seem small, but it's going to affect us down the line. And so in that communication thing, being able to, you know, not let anything slide by or ignore things and, and just be on top. 15 (1h 14m 39s): Do it alone. Do it alone. Go ahead. 14 (1h 14m 40s): Yeah. Okay. So I'm gonna invite the worship team up. 15 (1h 14m 50s): Gonna 14 (1h 14m 50s): Go ahead and pray this out for the day, 15 (1h 14m 54s): Otherwise 14 (1h 14m 54s): My dad will just keep asking me questions. So thank you Lord, for this day, for this time, this awesome message that Pastor Steve has brought today. We're so grateful to be able to listen and learn and just take away all the little nuggets of wisdom and all the literal alliteration in the, in the, you know, circling back to the jokes about the ocean's bottom and just all, all the little things. They, they, they seem literal, but they, they keep our attention and they keep us focused on the message and focused on what, what we're learning through it. And so we just pray that throughout this week we just, our focus would remain on you, Lord, that that would be the first and foremost most important thing. 14 (1h 15m 40s): In that way we encounter those people that need to hear about you and you are telling us and urging us to communicate with them and to reach out to them. We pray that we would respond and be faithful and, And to, and just remember to love you. And then when we get that voice in our ear that's telling us, Hey, this is weird, or this is awkward, or this is, you know, this isn't what society does today. Like why, why would you do that? You're gonna be judged and they're not gonna appreciate it Cuz the reality is people love being loved and people need to be loved and we need to be love and light for the Lord, for Jesus cuz he sacrificed it all so that we could be that for him. 14 (1h 16m 27s): So I pray that we be that this week, Lord and Jesus, thank 0 (1h 16m 38s): You. Stand as we worship. 1 (1h 18m 34s): The song is. 3 (1h 19m 34s): Thank you Father, that this is just the beginning. This is just the beginning of saying your name, of praising you and lifting you high. Thank you for the authority we have in you. You never leave us and you never forsake us. 0 (1h 19m 55s): Would 3 (1h 19m 56s): You go before us this week? Would we remind ourselves to call on you at any moment, at any time? 0 (1h 20m 6s): It's 3 (1h 20m 7s): In your precious and holy name we pray. Amen.

This week we talk to journalist and author Katherine Stewart about her books The Good News Club and The Power Worshippers, and the dangerous rise of Christian Nationalism.

Helping Our Children See Jesus with Tom Luttmann Helping children see Jesus is what our partner, Bible Visuals International, is all about!  We're going to hear from Tom Luttmann, Bible Visuals International's Executive Director, about how they support the efforts of ministries who evangelize and disciple children, and how we can apply the lessons they have learned from ministry partners in our own homes. Ready to be inspired by this dynamic ministry? Let's go.... TOM LUTTMANN has served as Executive Director of Bible Visuals International since 2010. He is originally from Nova Scotia, Canada and maintains a love of the history and culture of the Maritimes. Before coming to BVI, Tom served in Christian education as a teacher and textbook author. Besides serving with BVI, Tom is a Good News Club teacher with CEF and serves on the board of Manheim Township Bible2School. He and his wife Betsy have five children and reside in Neffsville, Pennsylvania. Resources For You: Bible Visuals International Genesis 18:19 Bible Visuals Family Worship - the Gospel of Mark Depths of Grace - the Life of John Newton Beautiful Feet Upon the Mountains Next Steps: Share this podcast with a friend Subscribe to You CAN Tell the Children Leave a review on Apple Podcasts Connect with us on Facebook and Instagram Explore Bible2School!

Guest speaker, Pastor Colin Mattoon joins us to teach Matt 28:18-20 and tell about the Good News Club.

The Religious Right has acted as a social movement preoccupied with a number of cultural issues, such as abortion and same-sex marriage. In her deeply reported investigation, Katherine Stewart believes they are a political movement that seeks to gain power and to impose its vision on all of society. Her new book is: "The Power Worshippers: Inside the Dangerous Rise of Religious Nationalism." Katherine Stewart writes about politics, policy, and religion for The New York Times, Washington Post, NBC, and The New Republic. Her previous book, "The Good News Club," was an examination of the religious right and public education.

Sean and June talk about how an experience with the Good News Club led to her becoming a part of the After School Satan Club (0:00), After School Satan Club's curriculum and current locations, Atheists sense of right and wrong, 7 Tenants of the Satanic Temple  (37:10), how a school would get, A Pennsylvania School Board allowing the Joy El Christian Club but not the After School Satan Club access (1:29:03)   Get 2 Know more about June and the After School Satan Club: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/after-school-satan https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/find-a-congregation https://www.facebook.com/thesatanictemple https://twitter.com/LucienGreaves   Follow the Getting 2 Know U Pod on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook  Help the Getting 2 Know U Pod upgrade our recording and sound equipment through our Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/getting2knowupod Support the Getting 2 Know U Pod by SUBSCRIBING, RATING, AND REVIEWING when you listen: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/getting-2-know-u-pod/id1502868247 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/686ov3pdhcVVaN4PXZeMHA?si=hE_tJlSkRii-kaSGcJgLUw&nd=1 Podbean: https://getting2knowupod.podbean.com/  

Today we had a special celebration for 25 years of Peggy Nordin doing Good News Club.  Join with us in the celebration! For more messages or to find out what we’re all about, check us out on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.  You can visit our website at lancastercovenant.com or join us financially by giving online.

Today we had a special celebration for 25 years of Peggy Nordin doing Good News Club.  Join with us in the celebration! For more messages or to find out what we’re all about, check us out on iTunes, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, or wherever you listen to podcasts.  You can visit our website at lancastercovenant.com or join us financially by giving online.

A public high school football coach is claiming a right to pray with students on the 50-yard-line immediately after the game while still on duty. What's the best way to protect religious freedom for everyone in this situation? Amanda and Holly talk about the Supreme Court case of Kennedy v. Bremerton, what's at stake, and how various groups are portraying what really happened. They go over BJC's brief, which works to find a solution for everyone that protects the rights of students to be free to make their own choices about what religious practices they want to do and when to do so. Amanda and Holly also discuss the lines between private practice and government speech, and the different rights of students – who are compelled to be at school – and government employees, who represent the government.    SHOW NOTES: Segment 1: What is going on in this case? Outlining the facts and setting the record straight (starting at 00:50) In episode 10, Amanda and Holly discussed Shurtleff v. Boston, the flag-raising case at Boston City Hall. BJC filed a brief in the Kennedy v. Bremerton case, defending students' rights to religious liberty. You can read the brief here, and read more about it on our website in this article: BJC urges Supreme Court to reject high school coach's defense of on-field prayers with students. BJC's brief was led by Holly and BJC Associate General Counsel Jennifer Hawks, and it was written by church-state scholars Douglas Laycock and Christopher Lund.   Segment 2: Previewing the oral arguments (starting at 16:30) Amanda and Holly mentioned several cases involving case law about the rights of government employees and the rights of the government as an employer: Pickering v. Board of Education (1968) Garcetti v. Ceballos (2006) They also mentioned cases about religion and public schools and speech that are relevant to this case: Good News Club v. Milford Central School (2001) Santa Fe v. Doe (2000) (another case involving prayer at public school football games) Tinker v. Des Moines (1969) You can read BJC's guidance on religion in the public schools – including consensus guidelines put together by diverse groups in decades past – by visiting BJConline.org/religion-public-schools-resources/.   Segment 3: Religion and sports in our lives today  (starting at 33:56) Amanda and Holly discussed this article by Kelsey Dallas, published by Deseret News: Trying to raise successful kids? Experts say you shouldn't forget about faith Respecting Religion is made possible by BJC's generous donors. You can support these conversations with a gift to BJC. 

This week's episode features an alarming conversation with returning guest Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshipers and The Good News Club, as well as numerous articles in a variety of online sources. In this chat, we discussed a January 2022 article Katherine wrote in The New Republic in which she not only identified some of the funding behind several Christian Right organizations in America, but also a more alarming trend: the support for Trump's "Big Lie" by these same outfits.  Not only are they pushing it, they are weaponizing this conspiracy theory to motivate both pastors and evangelicals alike to get out and vote in 2022 and 2024 in an effort to "reclaim America for God"--as in the allegedly Christian nation that America both was, and should be again. Join the MindShift Patreon Community! Contact Information Follow Katherine on Twitter @kathsstewart Follow me on Twitter @MIndShift2018

This week's episode features an alarming conversation with returning guest Katherine Stewart, author of The Power Worshipers and The Good News Club, as well as numerous articles in a variety of online sources. In this chat, we discussed a January ... Read More »

I have a vivid childhood memory of attending Good News Club. The teacher held up a candy bar and offered it to whomever would receive it. I sprinted to the front and grabbed my gift! Then she told us salvation was like that candy bar—a free gift from God to whomever receives it. The Good News Club teacher used the candy bar as a spiritual object lesson, one that I still remember to this day. Object lessons can be powerful teaching tools, which is why we see them throughout the book of Jeremiah. In today’s reading, God instructed Jeremiah to purchase a linen belt and use it as an object lesson (vv. 1–7). First, he was told to buy a linen belt and to wear it but not wash it. Priestly garments were made of linen, so the belt was probably a symbolic reminder of Judah’s identity as God’s chosen people. Jeremiah was then told to bury it, then to dig it up. By this time it was filthy and “completely useless” (vv. 7, 10). After this, God interpreted the object lesson (vv. 8–11). The linen belt represented His love, with which He’d bound the people of Israel and Judah to Himself. Why? For His glory and honor, the purpose of all things. What Jeremiah had done with the belt is a symbol of what God would do with Judah—ruin them. Why? They were proud. They didn’t listen. They thought they could sin and get away with it. They stubbornly persisted in their idolatry. Just as Jeremiah’s linen belt had utterly failed to serve its intended purpose, so also had Judah. As a result of their unfaithfulness (see Deut. 26:16–19), the “treasured possession” would become a filthy rag. >> How about us? Are we living “a life worthy of the calling [we] have received” (Eph. 4:1)? Or are we living as if we’ve “exchanged the truth about God for a lie” (Rom. 1:25)? Extended reading: Jeremiah 13

Nancy Thomason loves kids. And she will go wherever they are to tell them the Good News of Jesus. Nancy worked with Child Evangelism Fellowship for 47 years and she loves talking about what God did through those years because the "searchlight is on God." At 84, Nancy's smile hasn't dimmed nor has her open heart and home for everyone who needs to know that God loved them enough to die for them.  Nancy with the Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship at their conference. If you want to serve God and you love kids, hosting a Good News Club may be the very best way to get started. Contact Child Evangelism Fellowship in your area to find out more. I loved hearing Nancy's stories of faith and trust in God as He led her to begin Good News Clubs in her neighborhood, then to Whittier, the San Fernando Valley and South Central LA. She made sure she was ready with a flannel graph story in the trunk of her car and a welcoming smile on her face.   Some Nancy-ism's: "If we are unplugged from God, where will we get our power?" "When God tells you to go, you know He's got you in His hand." "If you don't come to the edge of the cliff and jump, you'll never know that God can hold you." "You don't have an adventure with God without obstacles because that's when God shows up."   Nancy's Acorn Squash Poke some holes in the top of squash Cook in microwave for 10 minutes. Voila! Add butter and brown sugar. Yum!

This week's show features returning guest: journalist and author Katherine Stewart, who wrote the recent book The Power Worshippers. In this episode, we'll be talking about Katherine's 2012 book, The Good News Club: The Christian Right's Stealth Assault on America's Children. She uncovers  not only the agenda behind the sectarian, fundamentalist organization known as "The Good News Club"--which targets kids with their gospel message as young as 4 years old and uses public schools to do it--she also demonstrates how a crucial 2001 Supreme Court ruling has literally kicked the doors open for a whole host of other "missional" ministries to make use of public school buildings. Ultimately, not only is the Christian Right targeting vulnerable schoolchildren in the "4-14 window," they are essentially declaring war on public schools, viewing them as "mission fields" filled with students to be proselytized. Help Support MindShift Podcast on Patreon! Contact Information Follow Katherine on Twitter @kathsstewart Follow me on Twitter @MindShift2018