Podcasts about rosaria champagne butterfield

Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield challenges listeners to share God's love by opening their home to strangers, neighbors, and anyone in need, in a discussion based on her book The Gospel Comes With a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World.   Receive a copy of The Gospel Comes With a House Key for your donation of any amount!   .Listen to Jim Daly's new podcast ReFOCUS where he engages crucial cultural topics.   How Can Hospitality Help Share the Gospel?   From Hygge to Christian Hospitality   If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback.

Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield challenges listeners to share God's love by opening their home to strangers, neighbors, and anyone in need, in a discussion based on her book The Gospel Comes With a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World. (Part 2 of 2)   Receive Rosaria Butterfield's book The Gospel Comes With a House Key and an audio download of "Sharing the Gospel Through Hospitality" for your donation of any amount!   Get More Episode Resources   We'd love to hear from you! Visit our Homepage to leave us a voicemail.   If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback.

Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield challenges listeners to share God's love by opening their home to strangers, neighbors, and anyone in need, in a discussion based on her book The Gospel Comes With a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World. (Part 1 of 2)   Receive Rosaria Butterfield's book The Gospel Comes With a House Key and an audio download of "Sharing the Gospel Through Hospitality" for your donation of any amount!   Get More Episode Resources   We'd love to hear from you! Visit our Homepage to leave us a voicemail.   If you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback.

Please note: Due to technical difficulties, sermon starts abruptly (2-3 minutes into the sermon). We apologize for the inconvenience. QUOTES FOR REFLECTION“Sin is not a mistake. A mistake is taking the wrong exit on the highway. A sin is treason against a Holy God. A mistake is a logical misstep. Sin lurks in our hearts and grabs us by the throat to do its bidding.”~Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, English professor and author “Little sins often slide into the soul, and breed, and work secretly and undiscernibly in the soul, till they come to be so strong as to trample upon the soul, and to cut the throat of the soul. There is oftentimes greatest danger to our bodies in the least diseases that hang upon us, because we are apt to make light of them, and to neglect the timely use of means for removing of them, till they are grown so strong that they prove mortal to us. So there is most danger often in the least sins.” “Death is the heir of the least sin…. In a strict sense, there is no little sin, because no little God to sin against.”~Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) in Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices “…to set our will against the will of God is to dethrone God and make ourselves supreme in the little kingdom of [self]. This is sin at its evil root.”~A.W. Tozer (1897-1963) in Knowledge of the Holy “Unbelief doesn't see God as the ultimate good. So it can't see sin as the ultimate evil.”~Jackie Hill Perry, writer and hip-hop artist “Grace changes the nature of [a person], but nothing can change the nature of sin.”~John Owen (1616-1683), English theologian and Oxford academic “Before we can begin to see the cross as something done for us, we have to see it as something done by us.”~John Stott (1921-2011), English clergyman and theologian “Where sin multiplied, grace multiplied all the more.”~Romans 5:20SERMON PASSAGEJohn 19:28-42 (ESV)John 1928 After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said (to fulfill the Scripture), “I thirst.” 29 A jar full of sour wine stood there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. 30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.31 Since it was the day of Preparation, and so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first, and of the other who had been crucified with him. 33 But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. 35 He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe. 36 For these things took place that the Scripture might be fulfilled: “Not one of his bones will be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen cloths with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where he was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 So because of the Jewish day of Preparation, since the tomb was close at hand, they laid Jesus there. Zechariah 12-1310 “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn….1 “On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness….”

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield shares her dramatic testimony of coming to faith in Jesus Christ after living as a lesbian who was vehemently opposed to Christianity and the Bible. (Part 2 of 2)Receive a copy of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield's book "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert"for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive: https://donate.focusonthefamily.com/don-daily-broadcast-product-2023-03-08?refcd=1624506Get more episode resources: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/accepting-my-true-identity-in-christ-part-2-of-2/#featured-resource-ctaIf you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield shares her dramatic testimony of coming to faith in Jesus Christ after living as a lesbian who was vehemently opposed to Christianity and the Bible. (Part 1 of 2)Receive a copy of Rosaria Champagne Butterfield's book "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert"for your donation of any amount! Plus, receive member-exclusive benefits when you make a recurring gift today. Your monthly support helps families thrive: https://donate.focusonthefamily.com/don-daily-broadcast-product-2023-03-08?refcd=1624506Get more episode resources: http://www.focusonthefamily.com/episodes/broadcast/accepting-my-true-identity-in-christ-part-1-of-2/#featured-resource-ctaIf you've listened to any of our podcasts, please give us your feedback: https://focusonthefamily.com/podcastsurvey/See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Listen to Sarah and Erin reflect on their conversation with Jeannette Simba.    Jeannette Simba Reflection Show Notes  The Strong Women Podcast 66. Welcoming the Stranger with Rosaria Champagne Butterfield   The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield  The Strong Women Podcast 37. Curating Beauty with Ash Marsh  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc   Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/    The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/    Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women 

It's tempting to think that secularized academics are too intellectual to ever come to the kind of “childlike faith” that Jesus described, or that, if they ever were to trust Christ, they'd have to abandon their academic pursuits. However, like once-liberal theologian Thomas Oden or once-radical feminist English professor Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, the case of Rodney Stark suggests otherwise. Dr. Stark's research and reading, specifically about the impact of Christianity in history, was part of what moved him to become a committed believer.  Stark was born in North Dakota in 1934. Oddly enough, he played high school football with Alvin Plantinga, the great Christian philosopher. After a stint in the army, he studied journalism in college, graduating in 1959. Once, during his early career as a reporter, he covered a meeting of the Oakland Spacecraft Club where the speaker claimed to have visited Mars, Venus, and the moon in a flying saucer. After Stark reported the story straight, with no sarcasm or snide comments, he was assigned all of the odd stories that came along.  Stark's ability to treat people's beliefs seriously and recognize that, at least for them, these beliefs are plausible, was a key element in his decision to shift from journalism to sociology. In 1972, after completing his graduate work at the University of California-Berkley, he was hired as a professor of sociology and comparative religion at the University of Washington.  Stark focused his research on why people were religious. How did they understand their faith? What did they get out of it? How did they live it out? From this focus, Stark developed a theory of conversion that emphasized social relationships, felt needs, and personal choice. In essence, Stark concluded that conversion was a rational choice, based on the expectation that one would receive more from the religion than it would cost to join it.   He was among the first sociologists to recognize that competition between religious groups increased the overall religiosity of a community. In other words, a religious group with a monopoly tends to get lazy and neglect meeting needs and conducting outreach. Stark was also critical of the standard academic view that secularization was an inevitable result of modernization. Instead, he argued this idea was wildly wrong because sociologists misunderstood religion and failed to account for religious revivals and innovation.  His book The Rise of Christianity was published in 1996. In it, Stark argued that the incredible growth and spread of Christianity were because it offered more to people than any of its competitors. In particular, Stark argued that the rapid growth of the Church was, in large part, due to how Christians treated women. This, especially compared to the pagan treatment of women, led to more conversions, which led to the faith being spread through social networks. Also, prohibitions of abortion and infanticide led to an organic growth of the Church, and how Christians responded to persecution and plague led to a growth in credibility. The Rise of Christianity was so groundbreaking that it was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.  After this, Stark focused his work on the history of Christianity. After writing two books on the historical impact of monotheism — first One True God in 2001 and then For the Glory of God: How Monotheism Led to Reformations, Science, Witch Hunts, and the End of Slavery in 2003, Stark wrote what may be his greatest book, The Victory of Reason: How Christianity Led to Freedom, Capitalism, and Western Success, in 2005.   In 2004, the year before The Victory of Reason was published, Stark commented, “I have trouble with faith. I'm not proud of this. I don't think it makes me an intellectual. I would believe if I could, and I may be able to before it's over.” The Victory of Reason first brought Dr. Stark to the attention of Chuck Colson, who was astounded that a self-professed agnostic sociologist was clear-eyed and honest enough to recognize and highlight the effects of Christianity on the world. Chuck featured The Victory of Reason on Breakpoint and included it in the Centurions Program (now known as the Colson Fellows).  After the commentary aired, Rodney Stark contacted Chuck Colson, and thanked him for the kind words. He also told Colson that he had come to faith in Christ, which he publicly announced in 2007.  In 2004, Stark became the distinguished professor of the social sciences at Baylor University, as well as the co-director of the Institute for Studies of Religion and founding editor of the Interdisciplinary Journal of Research on Religion. Although Baylor is a Baptist school, Stark preferred to call himself an “independent Christian” and continued to produce important and sometimes controversial books on Christianity, history, and culture.  Throughout his career, Stark was an irascible critic of political and religious biases in the academic world, especially in his own field of sociology. His intellectual brilliance is attested by his groundbreaking work, and his intellectual honesty and integrity by his faith, a faith he studied for many years. 

Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, a former professor of English and women's studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey. Rosaria is married to Kent Butterfield, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina, and is a home school mother, author, and speaker.   Official Site: https://www.freechurch.org/ Healthy Gospel Church Vision: https://freechurch.org/healthy-gospel-church/    

Lori Leander loves mentoring young women. After struggling with an eating disorder and post-partum anxiety, Lori reflects on how bringing those things to the Light and seeking counseling helped her. She is taking what she learned and is intentionally meeting with other women to share who God is.    Lori Leander Show Notes  Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis  True Spirituality by Francis Schaeffer  The Strong Women Podcast 66. Welcoming the Stranger with Rosaria Champagne Butterfield  Connecting by Larry Crabb  The Peacemaker by Ken Sande  A Young Girl After God's Own Heart by Elisabeth George  Hinds' Feet on High Places: An Engaging Visual Journey by Hannah Hurnard  CSLewisDoodles on YouTube  Union with Christ by Rankin Wilbourne  Breakpoint  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc   Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/    The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/    Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women   

The Main Thing: As adoptive and foster parents (or prospective ones!) we are "in the midst" of it all the time. It's on our hearts, in our minds, part of our physical routine, and most of our practical day-to-day. But, do we know and understand the theological roots of adoption? For Episode 043, we're going there with Pastor Luke Le Duc. He's giving us an overview of "adoption" in the Old and New Testaments and sketching a landscape of what it means for our lives today. We had so many questions, thoughts, and ideas, and all three of us did our best to pack it into a 40-minute episode that we believe will challenge and encourage every listener. We've said it before, and we'll say it again. We like the "deep dives" over here at Two Adoptive Mamas, and our conversation with Luke falls right in line with that purpose! Enjoy --- and be encouraged!Episode Resources: Luke shared a quote from The Gospel Comes with a House Key: Practicing Radically Ordinary Hospitality in Our Post-Christian World by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield - grab your copy HERE! 2 A.M. Connect: We need your questions! What do you want to know about us? About our stories? What have you been wondering about as a prospective or current adoptive/foster parent? Ask us and we are going to ANSWER all of your questions on an upcoming episode of the podcast!Send them our way - hello@twoadoptivemamas.com - we'll answer them anonymously and can't wait to hear what you're most curious about!

Your home can help transform lives! We'll hear from Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield about “radically ordinary hospitality” — where you open up your home and your life to neighbours, friends and strangers, and intentionally share your faith. This simple act of obedience will lead people to Jesus! Book by guest: The gospel comes with a house key.

Your home can help transform lives! We'll hear from Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield about “radically ordinary hospitality” — where you open up your home and your life to neighbours, friends and strangers, and intentionally share your faith. This simple act of obedience will lead people to Jesus! Book by guest: The gospel comes with a house key.

What should we know about the women in Afghanistan and how can we help? Mindy Belz is the Senior Editor for WORLD Magazine and author of the book They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run From ISIS With Persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Mindy shares with us her vast knowledge of the situation in the Middle East and what we can do to think about the current tragedy in Afghanistan through the lens of a Christian Worldview. Our conversation with Mindy is timely, informative, and very needed for this cultural moment.   Mindy Belz Show Notes:   Space for the book club is limited. Sign up here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/170186100207  The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gospel-comes-with-a-house-key-rosaria-butterfield/1127194499?ean=9781433557866  WORLD Magazine: https://wng.org/  They Say We Are Infidels by Mindy Belz: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they-say-we-are-infidels-mindy-belz/1122416448?ean=9781496425409  What Is Happening in Afghanistan - A Conversation with Mindy Belz on the BreakPoint Podcast: https://breakpoint.org/understanding-whats-happening-in-afghanistan-with-mindy-belz/  WORLD Magazines List of Organizations Giving Aid to Refugees and Afghans: https://wng.org/articles/helping-afghans-1629908611  Prison Fellowship: https://www.prisonfellowship.org/  The Places in Between by Rory Stewart: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/places-in-between-rory-stewart/1100302587?ean=9780156031561   Books about J. Christy Wilson, Jr: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/J.%20Christy%20Wilson,%20Jr  The 9/11 Commission Report: https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf  Books by Freya Stark: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/freya%20stark  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc  Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/   The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/   Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women 

What should we know about the women in Afghanistan and how can we help? Mindy Belz is the Senior Editor for WORLD Magazine and author of the book They Say We Are Infidels: On the Run From ISIS With Persecuted Christians in the Middle East. Mindy shares with us her vast knowledge of the situation in the Middle East and what we can do to think about the current tragedy in Afghanistan through the lens of a Christian Worldview. Our conversation with Mindy is timely, informative, and very needed for this cultural moment.   Mindy Belz Show Notes:   Space for the book club is limited. Sign up here! https://www.eventbrite.com/e/170186100207  The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gospel-comes-with-a-house-key-rosaria-butterfield/1127194499?ean=9781433557866  WORLD Magazine: https://wng.org/  They Say We Are Infidels by Mindy Belz: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/they-say-we-are-infidels-mindy-belz/1122416448?ean=9781496425409  What Is Happening in Afghanistan - A Conversation with Mindy Belz on the BreakPoint Podcast: https://breakpoint.org/understanding-whats-happening-in-afghanistan-with-mindy-belz/  WORLD Magazines List of Organizations Giving Aid to Refugees and Afghans: https://wng.org/articles/helping-afghans-1629908611  Prison Fellowship: https://www.prisonfellowship.org/  The Places in Between by Rory Stewart: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/places-in-between-rory-stewart/1100302587?ean=9780156031561   Books about J. Christy Wilson, Jr: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/J.%20Christy%20Wilson,%20Jr  The 9/11 Commission Report: https://www.9-11commission.gov/report/911Report.pdf  Books by Freya Stark: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/s/freya%20stark  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc  Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/   The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/   Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women 

David and TJ get into one of the most commonly controversial topics currently regarding the Side B conversation and Side B Christians – terminology! We talk through some common reason why contemporary queer Christians may use queer/lgbt+ terminology in their lives versus people who would eschew such terms and often focus on instead using same sex (sexually) attracted (SS(S)A) terminology or else encouraging Christians not to use any such terms at all. This conversation is of particular relevance to the differences that separate Side B and Side Y / X Christians in our contemporary times. Apologies to our listeners for some audio issues on TJ's end. _____________ Show Notes: Yarhouse's post providing commentary on the recent Anglican Church of North America's Pastoral Statement regarding same sex relationships, identity, language, etc.: Reflections on The ACNA Pastoral Statement – Mark Yarhouse (wordpress.com) Two side B Christians, Rachel Gilson and Greg Coles, have a dialogue on the use of “Gay” vs. “Same Sex Attraction”: “Gay” Vs. “Same Sex Attraction:” A Dialogue | The Center for Faith, Sexuality & Gender A post by Rosaria Butterfield who is typically labeled as Side Y where she calls into question using sexual orientation language: What is wrong with gay Christianity? What is Side A and Side B anyway? — Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (rosariabutterfield.com)

David and TJ describe the “Sides” terminology/heuristic device used among many Christians engaged in the conversation around sexuality and Christianity in the US. They describe the most common fourfold system - A, B, Y, X – including the key principles that animate the particular school of thought, key organizations and/or figures, and values or postures that seem to be embedded among people in each broad school. This conversation will be of use to listening to many future episodes as we are likely to use this system as a basic reference system when talking about the various schools of thought. _____________ Show Notes: Here is David's shorthand tool for remembering the 4 sides: Side Affirming homosexual practice #affirm Side contextualizing traditional Biblical sexuality #renew Side whY talk about sexual orientation #renounce Side eX-Gay therapy #rebuild _____________ A Summary Chart of ABYX [PNG Link] A thorough breakdown and history of the 4 sides [4 Sides - Life on Side B] _____________ The origination of the Side A and B distinction from the Gay Christian Network (note: the contemporary Side B perspective is more expansive than this) [Bridges-Across: The Sides of the Divide -archive] Mudblood Catholic's Definition and Origination of the Side Y Descriptor [Mudblood Catholic: Gay and Catholic, Part I: Gaystation Two] Bible Gender, and Sexuality by James V Brownson [Book link] Michael Hannon Article “Against Heterosexuality” [Against Heterosexuality by Michael W. Hannon | Articles | First Things] Rosaria Butterfield's What is wrong with gay Christianity? What is Side A and Side B anyway? [What is wrong with gay Christianity? What is Side A and Side B anyway? — Rosaria Champagne Butterfield (rosariabutterfield.com)] Strength of His Might's Definition System – Adding Sides C & O [Definition of Terms | Strength of His Might (wordpress.com)] Kevin DeYoung's Article “Four Approaches to Race, Politics, and Gender” [Four Approaches to Race, Politics, and Gender - Kevin DeYoung (thegospelcoalition.org)]

What does it look like to show radical, ordinary hospitality? Rosaria Champagne Butterfield is the author of the book, "The Gospel Comes with a House Key", and she shares her story of being an atheist, lesbian professor who came to know Jesus through the love and hospitality of a pastor and his family. The impact of hospitality is weaved throughout Rosaria's story of her past and her present, and this episode gives solid ideas of how to practice hospitality in your own life.    Rosaria Butterfield Show Notes:  Strong Women T-Shirt: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women/  Rosaria Butterfield's Website: https://rosariabutterfield.com/  The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gospel-comes-with-a-house-key-rosaria-butterfield/1127194499?ean=9781433557866  The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secret-thoughts-of-an-unlikely-convert-rosaria-champagne-butterfield/1121502478?ean=2940151346658  Openness Unhindered by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/openness-unhindered-rosaria-champagne-butterfield/1122293749?ean=2940151170062  Primal Screams by Mary Eberstadt: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/primal-screams-mary-eberstadt/1130071028?ean=9781599475851  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rise-and-triumph-of-the-modern-self-carl-r-trueman/1136017129?ean=9781433556333  The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/silver-chair-c-s-lewis/1100549367?ean=9780064471091  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frankenstein-shelley-mary/1126911566?ean=9781435159624  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc  Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/   The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/   Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women 

What does it look like to show radical, ordinary hospitality? Rosaria Champagne Butterfield is the author of the book, "The Gospel Comes with a House Key", and she shares her story of being an atheist, lesbian professor who came to know Jesus through the love and hospitality of a pastor and his family. The impact of hospitality is weaved throughout Rosaria's story of her past and her present, and this episode gives solid ideas of how to practice hospitality in your own life.    Rosaria Butterfield Show Notes:  Strong Women T-Shirt: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women/  Rosaria Butterfield's Website: https://rosariabutterfield.com/  The Gospel Comes with a House Key by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-gospel-comes-with-a-house-key-rosaria-butterfield/1127194499?ean=9781433557866  The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-secret-thoughts-of-an-unlikely-convert-rosaria-champagne-butterfield/1121502478?ean=2940151346658  Openness Unhindered by Rosaria Butterfield: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/openness-unhindered-rosaria-champagne-butterfield/1122293749?ean=2940151170062  Primal Screams by Mary Eberstadt: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/primal-screams-mary-eberstadt/1130071028?ean=9781599475851  The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self by Carl Trueman: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-rise-and-triumph-of-the-modern-self-carl-r-trueman/1136017129?ean=9781433556333  The Silver Chair by C.S. Lewis: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/silver-chair-c-s-lewis/1100549367?ean=9780064471091  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/frankenstein-shelley-mary/1126911566?ean=9781435159624  Join Strong Women on Social Media: https://linktr.ee/strongwomencc  Erin and her husband, Brett, run Maven which “exists to help the next generation know truth, pursue goodness, and create beauty, all for the cause of Christ.” Check out more about Maven here: https://maventruth.com/   The Strong Women Podcast is a product of the Colson Center which equips Christians to live out their faith with clarity, confidence, and courage in this cultural moment. Through commentaries, podcasts, videos, and more, we help Christians better understand what's happening in the world, and champion what is true and good wherever God has called them.  Learn more about the Colson Center here: https://www.colsoncenter.org/   Visit our website and sign up for our email list so that you can stay up to date on what we are doing here and also receive our monthly book list: https://www.colsoncenter.org/strong-women 

Also includes: 1 Corinthians 6:9-12 and 1 Timothy 1:8-9. What makes a person decide to be homosexual? Listen to this message to learn that all mankind is born with a sin nature and that when we follow our sinful inclinations we go through stages as outlined in the first chapter of the book of Romans in the New Testament. See that all sins are a matter of our choosing them and not something that is predetermined. Find out what it means when it says if we practice certain sins we will not inherit the kingdom of God. Remember, as believers we are to reflect the love of Christ and explain the good news that Christ died for all sins on the Cross. Click here to view the video, "Homosexuality and the Christian Faith" by former-lesbian Rosaria Champagne Butterfield.

Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Part 1) - Rosaria ButterfieldSecret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Part 2) - Rosaria ButterfieldSecret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Part 3) - Rosaria ButterfieldFamilyLife Today® Radio Transcript  References to conferences, resources, or other special promotions may be obsolete. A Train Wreck Conversion Guest:                         Rosaria ButterfieldFrom the series:       Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert (Day 1 of 3)  Bob: In 1997, Dr. Rosaria Champagne was a tenured professor at Syracuse University. She was a committed feminist who had no real belief in God. There was one other aspect to her story that made her an unlikely convert.  Rosaria: I, at the time that I started reading the Bible, and I, at the time that I started meeting with a Christian pastor, was in a lesbian relationship. It wasn't just my first lesbian relationship. I fully embraced the lesbian community.  Bob: This is FamilyLife Today for Monday, September 16th. Our host is the President of FamilyLife®, Dennis Rainey, and I'm Bob Lepine. Dr. Rosaria Champagne is now Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, a pastor's wife and a homeschooling mother of four adopted children. We'll hear her journey this week. Stay with us.  And welcome to FamilyLife Today. Thanks for joining us. You remember me coming to you a few months ago and going, “I have just read an amazing story;” right?  Dennis: Right. And Barbara had read it, as well.  Bob: Yes. And this is—in fact, I would say—I try to keep a running list of books that I read during the year. I would say this is still at the top of my 2013 list—this book—because it's just—it's a great story—but the greatness of the story is the transformation that takes place in what we're going to hear about today.  Dennis: Yes. It's not often you hear someone refer to their conversion to Christ as a train wreck; but our guest, [Laughter] on today's broadcast, describes it that way. Rosaria Butterfield joins us on FamilyLife Today. Rosaria—welcome to our broadcast.  Rosaria: Thank you so much. I'm delighted to be here with you.  Dennis: I remember when Bob walked in—and I was getting it from him, here at the office—and Barbara had read a review of your book. She said, “This is something you ought to do radio on.”  First of all, just to introduce you to our listeners, Rosaria has been married to her husband, Kent, since 2001. They have four children. She is a former English professor who was tenured at Syracuse University. That's kind of where we're going to go back to—to start this story.  Rosaria: Okay.  Dennis: And she has written a book called The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert, subtitled An English Professor's Journey into the Christian Faith.  Bob: And it's not unusual that English professors would come to Christ [Laughter]—but your particular interest and lifestyle, back in the 90's—that's what made your conversion unlikely; isn't it?  Rosaria: Yes, definitely. So, just a quick answer would be, “Definitely.” When I first started reading the Bible, I was reading the Bible because I was working on a post-tenure book. It was a lesbian, feminist critique of the Bible. I was concerned about the rise of the religious right. I was threatened by the rise of the religious right, and I wanted to read this book that got all these people into trouble. So, that's where I started.  But I guess, because my life just seemed sort of boring and normal to me, I find it sort of strange [Laughter] sometimes that my journey seems so odd; but I guess that's— Dennis: Well, let's just peel it back a little bit.  Rosaria: Okay, let's peel it back.  Dennis: Let's talk about—you were a feminist.  Rosaria: Oh, yes, absolutely.  Dennis: Yes.  Rosaria: Yes, committed.  Dennis: Explain what kind of feminist. I mean—there is a spectrum.  Rosaria: There's a spectrum, absolutely. I firmly believed that a feminist world and life view was a moral and ethical approach to living and, in fact, one that would get us out of so many of the problems that we were facing. When I looked at the world—and I saw racism, and homophobia, and violence of all kinds—you know, there was no way I could look at this world and say, “Oh, you know, obviously, a loving God is in control of it.”  So, I—like many, many other people—rolled up my sleeves and said, “Okay, how are you going to think our way of it?” So, feminism, to me, was a very broad umbrella that allowed for the pursuit of individual rights, within what I perceived to be a moral framework.  Dennis: And you viewed Christians as— Rosaria: Dangerous.  Dennis: Dangerous; okay.  Rosaria: Dangerous, anti-intellectual people.  Dennis: Yes. They weren't thinkers, and they weren't readers—you wrote about it in your book.  Rosaria: Right. And that was—that's not very nice; is it? [Laughter] I am a Christian right now and I could be in charge of the self-help group: “Over-Readers Anonymous”. So, it's not nice to say; but that was my perception. My perception was—as a university professor, I met a number of Christians—this is how these people came across. Now, whether they came across this way because I was deep in my sin or whether this is an accurate portrayal, I will let you all decide.  But folks who would tell me that Jesus is the answer—without caring to even hear about what some of my questions might be—you know, questions and answers go together. There is a logical relationship between the two. Or when the Bible was invoked, it was often invoked in the same way that I might invoke a punctuation mark—to end a conversation rather than deepen it. Well, that seemed pretty fear-driven to me. I didn't like it.  And then, finally, my biggest concern, though, was the fact that the Bible—many, many people knew what the Bible said, or believed they did—but nobody could tell me why it was true. So, it seemed, to me, just a strange mixture of superstition and patriarchy—where God, the Father, and—the god of patriarchy—came together to oppress people like me. As a university professor, one of my jobs was to be on a war against stupid. So, this is where my war took me, guys. [Laughter] Bob: Your presupposition in life was: “If we can liberate women and eliminate patriarchy”— Rosaria: Yes.  Bob: —“then, we will solve many of the evils that we are facing in our world today.”  Rosaria: Right; absolutely. Back it up, even further—my belief was that people were inherently good and that the right to individual choice-making was an inherent good. There were material structures that stood between good people making good choices. Feminism, combined with Marxism, offered a way of unlocking that potential. That is what I believed.  Bob: Somewhere, in your life, your feminist/Marxist presuppositions and your personal sexuality collided.  Rosaria: Yes, they did. That's right. So, the big story for some people—which is not a big story for me, but that's okay—the big story for some people was that I, at the time that I started reading the Bible, and I, at the time that I started meeting with a Christian pastor, was in a lesbian relationship. And it wasn't just my first lesbian relationship. I fully embraced the lesbian community. It sort of snuck up on me. I don't know how else to say it. I was not—I know people who would say when they were nine years old they remember feeling attracted to people of the same sex. I do not remember that. I don't remember feeling attracted to anything but books and horses. [Laughter] So, I went off to college; but when I went to college, I met my first boyfriend. That was a very heady experience. I defined myself as heterosexual and presumed that I would have a heterosexual life. Now, I was also a feminist. I was not keen on marriage. I did not think I would ever want to get married, or have children, or any of that.  But I had said to myself, at that point when I met my first lesbian lover, that: “I'm not going back. You know, this is a more moral choice. I am happier. I can be myself.” I loved being in a relationship with somebody who shares my—truly, my world and life view. So, I thought that I was there for life. That's part of why I wasn't a closeted lesbian. My research program went from 19th century feminist studies and it moved into Queer Theory—which is a post-modern, post-structural extension of gay and lesbian studies. So, I went on record as a queer theorist and published articles in that vein.  Dennis: You scooted past a statement that I want to stop— Rosaria: [Laughter] Okay, I didn't mean to.  Dennis: —and just have you unpack a bit.  Rosaria: Okay.  Dennis: You said, “It was a more moral”— Rosaria: I did.  Dennis: —“choice.”  Rosaria: I know.  Dennis: How can this be a more moral faith when someone has a post-modern view,— Rosaria: Right; right.  Dennis: —which doesn't believe in absolutes?  Rosaria: Right. That's right. Well, morality doesn't depend upon absolutes. Morality depends, especially within a post-modern context, on decency for the moment. There are a number of things that you do not have to worry about in the lesbian community. For the most part, you do not have to worry about sexually-transmitted diseases, and you do not have to worry about unplanned pregnancy. That cleans up a whole lot of things for women.  In fact, I remember being at a gay pride march once. There was a placard from the Christian community. After the Leviticus verse—that everybody has to quote, of course—the placard said: “AIDS is God's curse on homosexuality.” Then, there was another placard—a responsive placard, from the gay and lesbian community, that said: “If AIDS is God's curse on homosexuality, then, lesbians must be God's chosen people.”  Dennis: Because you can't get it?  Rosaria: Not in your vanilla forms of lesbian sexuality; no. No, you just can't.  Bob: You also just made the statement that some people kind of consider what we're talking about here to be at the crux of your story, but you don't.   Rosaria: Right. I don't. I don't, but I will entertain this. [Laughter] I'm also— Bob: You were a feminist, lesbian, queer theorist, tenured professor—and you don't see that as kind of integral to the whole idea of the transformation that's about to happen in your life.  Rosaria: Sure. Sure. Sure. It's integral; but see, the train wreck was about my heart. The train wreck was about starting out with this premise that this book—the Bible, here—was filled with contradictions. It was an oppressive treatise against women, and African Americans, and everybody else in between. It was sentimental in some places. It was mythological in some places; but it was hardly, hardly, hardly the backdrop of a world view that anybody could sustain.  I went from believing that firmly to many years later—after reading it through many, many times, meeting with a pastor, meeting with various other members of this church community—to seeing this book as an organic whole, whose canonicity was more solid than any other canonicity I had ever come up against—that had an organic revelation that started from Genesis, ended with Revelation—that offered an invitation to me—me?—me of all people?! Right?—that one!—to enter into a covenant with a holy God, Who would reveal His will for my life and to Whom I could share prayers, that He would hear. That is the story.  Dennis: Okay. Let's go back, then, to a little men's group that came to Syracuse University. Promise Keepers— Rosaria: Yes, they did.  Dennis: —came to town— Rosaria: They came to town.  Dennis: —and held a giant rally on the university.  Rosaria: Right.  Dennis: And you, being the proud feminist that you were, did what?  Rosaria: Well, you know—I don't know that—being the proud feminist. I was on a war against stupid. So, what I did is—I spent ten minutes of my precious time, and I knocked out an editorial to the newspaper. I presumed it would be a little dinky editorial and that nobody would ever see it. Well, they gave me a full page. It generated a great deal of rejoinders.  Bob: Your editorial said: “Syracuse should have nothing to do with these patriarchs coming to our campus.”  Rosaria: It did, and it even called them a cult. It—you know, I was just being myself, gentlemen! [Laughter] I don't know what else to say! Yet, I got all kinds of responses and— Dennis: And you had two boxes— Rosaria: I did.  Dennis: —or two sections on your desk.  Rosaria: Right—no boxes because I don't like a messy desk—right. You've got to keep it on the ground. This was back in the days when you had Xerox boxes—I was using that expression; and someone said, “What's a Xerox box?” [Laughter] That dates me so much, but I did! I had two Xerox boxes. One, I kept for hate mail. One, I kept for fan mail. Then, this one letter came in. It wasn't hate mail, and it wasn't fan mail. I had to figure out what to do with it.  Bob: And the first thing you did with it was wad it up and throw it in the trash?  Rosaria: Yes, absolutely; absolutely. Well, I don't think I wadded it up because it was going to go in the recycling bin—because I was a good feminist! It was not going to go in the trash! Come on, gentlemen! [Laughter]  Bob: So, you put it in the recycle bin.  Rosaria: Work with me. Work with me.  Bob: Well, what did this letter, that didn't fit either box, say?  Rosaria: Well, it was kind; and it was gentle. Yet, it was also clearly written from a Christian world and life view. It was from Ken Smith, who is my dear friend and became my first pastor. But at that time, he was just this dude who wrote me a letter. It asked me some basic questions that were genuine questions, and he wasn't answering those questions for me. I admired that. I really liked that.  I was also a good user, at the time. I admired the fact that here was somebody who knew a lot about the Bible. I was going to need to read the Bible for my new research project; and I thought, “Well, you know, I'll bet this is somebody who could help me with my research.” At the bottom of the letter, Ken asked me to call him back; and so, I did. I thought these were questions that needed to be aired on the phone. We had such a lively conversation on the phone—that he invited me to come to his house for dinner.  Sometimes, people don't know this—but the gay and lesbian community is also a community quite given to hospitality. I tell people this—that I'm a pastor's wife now. I believe, strongly, that hospitality is just the ground zero of the Christian life, and of evangelism, and of everything else that we do, apart from the formal worship of God. But I tell people that I honed my hospitality gifts in my former queer community. So, when Ken invited me to have dinner with him—that seemed really like a great idea. He already seemed like my kind of people.  Bob: But you came with a little bit of a chip on your shoulder—a bottle of wine under your arm; right?  Rosaria: Well, but that was normal! I didn't realize—see, now, I'm a teetotaler; but then, I wasn't! [Laughter]  Dennis: But describe your haircut. You said— Rosaria: I did. I had a butch haircut. Yes, yes. And yes—and I had the bumper stickers. I mean, I did realize, that when I pulled my car into his driveway, you know—“What was the— Bob: “What were the neighbors going to think?” You were kind of proud of the fact that the neighbors might be a little bit— Rosaria: Well, you know what? Here's what I discovered in Ken's house. That door was always opening and closing. People, from all walks of life—I met them at that table. I did not meet Christians who shared a narrowly-bounded, priggish world view. That is not what I met. I met people who could talk openly about sexuality and politics and did not drop down dead in the process.  Bob: You know what? When I first read your book, one of the things I got most excited about was the model of Ken Smith.  Rosaria: Oh, yes, absolutely.  Bob: I just—I was high-fiving and going, “We need to read this, all of us, to understand: ‘Here's how you do this.'”  Dennis: “Here's how you engage somebody who doesn't think and believe like you do.”  Rosaria: That's right.  Bob: Yes.  Rosaria: But you have to understand that was normal for Ken. Ken didn't say: “Oh great! We're going to have the lesbian over for dinner. Let's be sure to share the Gospel as soon as she walks through the door!” or, “Let's….” He—this was normal for Ken. Ken cares about the heart. In fact, I found Ken's business card in one of the books I was looking at for some writing that I'm doing. The business card said: “When you're ready to talk about God, give me a call.” That's what the business card says. It's just—that's how Ken was. It is how Ken is.  There's a book out, right now—that many people are reading. I love it. I'm reading it. I'm getting some of my neighbors to read it. It's called The Art of Neighboring. Before that book, there was Ken Smith—he and Floy, his wife—his beautiful, wonderful wife, who is my first spiritual mother—that's what they did. So, I became a regular at Ken's house; and Ken and Floy became a regular at my house.  They did two startling things the first time I had dinner at their house—two things that were against the rule book that I believed all Christians followed. They did not share the Gospel with me, and they did not invite me to church. But, at the end of our dinner, when Ken extended his hands, and I closed mine in it, he said: “We're neighbors. Neighbors should be friends.” I found myself being in complete agreement with Ken.  Also, Ken had a way of asking questions; and he had an authority—you know, I had been in a queer community. I had been in a feminist community. In my community, women ran the show. I had not encountered a man like Ken in my whole life.  I found that his gentle authority—that when he asked me a question—in fact, I left his house that night and I thought: “I cannot believe you said those things, Rosaria! Why did you give him all that material?!” I found myself actually answering his questions honestly instead of answering with the programmed— Bob: The party line.  Rosaria: The party line, exactly.  Dennis: Your defenses were down because he had done a good job of loving you.  Rosaria: That's right. And you know what? It started with the prayer. I had heard plenty of prayers before—Planned Parenthood, gay pride marches—you know the prayers that the crumbs are there for the heathen, like me, to hear. I had heard—I could have written—you know those are hermeneutic; right? I'm an English professor. I love to study different art forms: “There is an art form to that prayer.”  That was not Ken's prayer. It was vulnerable and honest. He prayed to a God Who is not a god I had ever been introduced to. One of the things Ken asked me that night—and I still cannot believe I actually answered him honestly!—I mean, it was just so—it was so out of character for me—but he asked me—he said: “Well, what do you really believe? I mean, do you really—you know, you just really don't believe in anything? What do you really believe?” I said: “I don't know what I believe. I was raised Catholic, and I'm now a Unitarian. I don't really know what I believe,” which was true but not anything I had said out loud.  Dennis: You know, your story is a great reminder, I think, to each of us, who are followers of Jesus Christ—that we need to be using our homes— Rosaria: Yes, that's right.  Dennis: —to be more hospitable and to reach out with kindness; but as we do that—maybe, instead of providing the answers to people—instead, as he did with you, ask a few questions to find out where the other person really is— Rosaria: Right.  Dennis: —and what do they believe and not believe. I think, sometimes, we are so zealous, on behalf of the truth, we want to get to the bottom line— Rosaria: That's right.  Dennis: —and if you're going to do that in an effective way, you first of all have to find out where you deliver the bottom line. The best way to do that is by asking some great questions.  Rosaria: That's right.  Bob: Well, and the story is not over yet. In fact, this week, we're going to hear more of this conversation; but you've really shared your journey in the book you've written called The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. We've got copies of the book in our FamilyLife Today Resource Center. Go online, at FamilyLifeToday.com, for more information about how to get a copy of the book, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert. Again, the website is FamilyLifeToday.com. You can also order by calling 1-800-FL-TODAY, 1-800-358-6329. That's 1-800- “F” as in family, “L” as in life, and then, the word, “TODAY”.  Now, I know this time of year tends to be a time when families get really busy. There's a lot going on. School is back in. There are activities for the kids. The calendar is crowded; and you start to think, “We just can't do it all!” We talked with a mom, a number of months ago, who decided to call a moratorium on extracurricular activities for the family for a year. They took a one-year sabbatical from those kinds of extra activities. She shared with us that strategy and how it impacted her family.  If you can help us with a donation at FamilyLife Today, this month, we'd like to say, “Thank you,” by sending you a copy of that conversation that we had with Joanne Kraft about life being just too busy; and we'd also like to send a copy of Dr. Tim Kimmel's book, Little House on the Freeway. Again, this is for a donation to help support the ministry of FamilyLife Today. We're asking you to donate $25 or more; and we'll be happy to send you these two gifts as our way of saying, “Thank you for your support of this ministry.” Go to FamilyLifeToday.com and click the button that says, “I CARE”, to make an online donation; or call 1-800-FL-TODAY and make your donation over the phone. When you do, just mention that you'd like to receive the bundle on busyness. We'll be happy to send that to you. We do appreciate your support of this ministry, and we're thankful that you're a partner with us.  And we hope you can join us back again tomorrow when we'll continue our conversation with Rosaria Butterfield. We're going to hear how she wound up in a local church, hearing the Gospel and responding to what she heard. I hope you can tune in for that.  I want to thank our engineer today, Keith Lynch, and our entire broadcast production team. On behalf of our host, Dennis Rainey, I'm Bob Lepine. We will see you back next time for another edition of FamilyLife Today.  FamilyLife Today is a production of FamilyLife of Little Rock, Arkansas. Help for today. Hope for tomorrow. We are so happy to provide these transcripts to you. However, there is a cost to produce them for our website. If you've benefited from the broadcast transcripts, would you consider donating today to help defray the costs?   Copyright © 2013 FamilyLife. All rights reserved. www.FamilyLife.com    

REFLECTION QUOTES “If churches are to be healthy, then pastors and teachers must be committed to discovering the meaning of Scripture and allowing that meaning to drive the agenda with their congregations.” ~Thabiti M. Anyabwile in his book What Is a Healthy Church Member? “We don't need a Church that moves with the world; we need a Church that moves the world.” “The spirit of the age is very often the worst enemy of the age.” ~G.K. Chesterton (1874-1936), English writer and journalist “‘Fools despise wisdom and instruction' (Prov. 1:7), but it is the nature of true godliness, maturity, and health in church members to accept the loving instruction and rebuke of others.” “Churches become unsafe places if its leaders fail to be honest, transparent, and reliable. Sincerity may not be the final basis of truth, but there is no deep truth communicated where sincerity is lacking.” ~Thabiti M. Anyabwile, pastor of Anacostia Baptist Church in metro DC “I think that churches would be places of greater intimacy and growth in Christ if people stopped lying about what we need, what we fear, where we fail, and how we sin.” ~Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, former professor of English at Syracuse “Take heed to yourselves, lest your example contradict your doctrine… lest you unsay with your lives what you say with your tongues; and be the greatest hinderers of the success of your own labors.” ~Richard Baxter (1615-1691), English pastor and writer SERMON PASSAGE Titus 1:1-16 (NASB) 1 Paul, a bond-servant of God and an apostle of Jesus Christ, for the faith of those chosen of God and the knowledge of the truth which is according to godliness, 2 in the hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised long ages ago, 3 but at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation with which I was entrusted according to the commandment of God our Savior, 4 To Titus, my true child in a common faith: Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior. 5 For this reason I left you in Crete, that you would set in order what remains and appoint elders in every city as I directed you, 6 namely, if any man is above reproach, the husband of one wife, having children who believe, not accused of dissipation or rebellion. 7 For the overseer must be above reproach as God's steward, not self-willed, not quick-tempered, not addicted to wine, not pugnacious, not fond of sordid gain, 8 but hospitable, loving what is good, sensible, just, devout, self-controlled, 9 holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, so that he will be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict. 10 For there are many rebellious men, empty talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, 11 who must be silenced because they are upsetting whole families, teaching things they should not teach for the sake of sordid gain. 12 One of themselves, a prophet of their own, said, “Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons.” 13 This testimony is true. For this reason reprove them severely so that they may be sound in the faith, 14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth. 15 To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled. 16 They profess to know God, but by their deeds they deny Him, being detestable and disobedient and worthless for any good deed.

REFLECTION QUOTES “A powerful physical metaphor is intimated by the story of wrestling: Jacob, whose name can be construed as ‘he who acts crookedly,' is bent, permanently lamed, by his nameless adversary in order to be made straight before his reunion with Esau.” ~Robert Alter (1935-present), professor of Hebrew and comparative literature at the University of California, Berkeley on Genesis 32 “A perfect faith is nowhere to be found, so it follows that all of us are partly unbelievers.” ~John Calvin (1509-1564), French-Swiss reformer and theologian “I learned the first rule of repentance: that repentance requires greater intimacy with God than with our sin…. Repentance requires that we draw near to Jesus, no matter what. And sometimes we all have to crawl there on our hands and knees. Repentance is an intimate affair. And…intimacy with anything is a terrifying prospect.” “I think that churches would be places of greater intimacy and growth in Christ if people stopped lying about what we need, what we fear, where we fail, and how we sin.” ~Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, former professor of English at Syracuse “When fear rules your theology, God is nowhere to be found in your paradigm, no matter how many Bible verses you tack onto it.” ~Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert “Man is not at peace with his fellow man because he is not at peace with himself; he is not at peace with himself, because he is not at peace with God.” ~Thomas Merton (1915-1968), American monk, writer and social activist “There is tremendous relief in knowing His love to me is utterly realistic, based at every point on prior knowledge of the worst about me….” ~J.I. Packer, British-born theologian SERMON PASSAGE Genesis 32:24-31, 33:1-20 (ESV) Genesis 32 24 And Jacob was left alone. And a man wrestled with him until the breaking of the day. 25 When the man saw that he did not prevail against Jacob, he touched his hip socket, and Jacob's hip was put out of joint as he wrestled with him. 26 Then he said, “Let me go, for the day has broken.” But Jacob said, “I will not let you go unless you bless me.” 27 And he said to him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Jacob.” 28 Then he said, “Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel, for you have striven with God and with men, and have prevailed.” 29 Then Jacob asked him, “Please tell me your name.” But he said, “Why is it that you ask my name?” And there he blessed him. 30 So Jacob called the name of the place Peniel, saying, “For I have seen God face to face, and yet my life has been delivered.” 31 The sun rose upon him as he passed Penuel, limping because of his hip. Genesis 33 1 And Jacob lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, Esau was coming, and four hundred men with him. So he divided the children among Leah and Rachel and the two female servants. 2 And he put the servants with their children in front, then Leah with her children, and Rachel and Joseph last of all. 3 He himself went on before them, bowing himself to the ground seven times, until he came near to his brother. 4 But Esau ran to meet him and embraced him and fell on his neck and kissed him, and they wept. 5 And when Esau lifted up his eyes and saw the women and children, he said, “Who are these with you?” Jacob said, “The children whom God has graciously given your servant.” 6 Then the servants drew near, they and their children, and bowed down. 7 Leah likewise and her children drew near and bowed down. And last Joseph and Rachel drew near, and they bowed down. 8 Esau said, “What do you mean by all this companythat I met?” Jacob answered, “To find favor in the sight of my lord.” 9 But Esau said, “I have enough, my brother; keep what you have for yourself.” 10 Jacob said, “No, please, if I have found favor in your sight, then accept my present from my hand. For I have seen your face, which is like seeing the face of God, and you have accepted me. 11 Please accept my blessing that is brought to you, because God has dealt graciously with me, and because I have enough.” Thus he urged him, and he took it. 12 Then Esau said, “Let us journey on our way, and I will go ahead ofyou.” 13 But Jacob said to him, “My lord knows that the children are frail, and that the nursing flocks and herds are a care to me. If they are driven hard for one day, all the flocks will die. 14 Let my lord pass on ahead of his servant, and I will lead on slowly, at the pace of the livestock that are ahead of me and at the pace of the children, until I come to my lord in Seir.” 15 So Esau said, “Let me leave with you some of the people who are with me.” But he said, “What need is there? Let me find favor in the sight of my lord.” 16 So Esau returned that day on his way to Seir. 17 But Jacob journeyed to Succoth, and built himself a house and made booths for his livestock. Therefore the name of the place is called Succoth. 18 And Jacob came safelyto the city of Shechem, which is in the land of Canaan, on his way from Paddan-aram, and he camped before the city. 19 And from the sons of Hamor, Shechem's father, he bought for a hundred pieces of moneythe piece of land on which he had pitched his tent. 20 There he erected an altar and called it El-Elohe-Israel.

This week on Theology on the Go we are replaying an old conversation between our host, Dr. Jonathan Master and Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. Dr. Butterfield is a former tenured professor of English and women's studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey. Rosaria's second book, Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ, addresses questions of sin, identity, and repentance that she often encounters during speaking engagements. Her heart's desire is for people to put the hands of the hurting into the hands of the Savior, who equips us to walk and grow in humility. Rosaria is married to Kent, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina, and is a homeschool mother, author, and speaker. Rosaria is also zealous for hospitality, loves her family, cherishes dogs, and enjoys coffee. This week on Theology on the Go the topic will be on sexual identity, the first in a series focusing on sexual identity and the public square. In light of recent cultural events, Theology on the Go believes that a series like this is an important service to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So, grab that cup of coffee and meet us at the table! Just for listening, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to give you a free resource. An MP3 of Rosaria Butterfield's message, "The Testimony of an Unlikely Convert" is yours free as our gift to you.  Go to ReformedResources.org to download your free MPS!

Talkfest Episode 9: Is This A Time To Retreat? Why are some people withdrawing from mainstream society into “intentional communities”? Is that a good thing? Also, what are the hands and feet of Christian hospitality? Bruderhof members Norann Voll, Peter Mommsen, and Bernard Hibbs discuss. Here are some of the links and references from this episode: -Emma Green's article “Seeking an Escape From Trump's America” was published in The Atlantic: http://theatln.tc/2jzahSP -For an interesting perspective on Christian hospitality check out "The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert" by Rosaria Champagne Butterfield: http://amzn.to/2jSueVb -Bernard was intrigued by "The Strange Death of Moral Britain" by Christie Davies: http://amzn.to/2j5VG4R Rate us and leave us a comment on iTunes or wherever you get your podcasts. Check out the Bruderhof's website at www.bruderhof.com Twitter: www.twitter.com/TheBruderhof Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheBruderhof Instagram: www.instagram.com/BruderhofCommunities Email: contact@bruderhof.com

This week on Theology on the Go, our host, Dr. Jonathan Master is joined by Dr. Rosaria Champagne Butterfield. Dr. Butterfield is a former tenured professor of English and women's studies at Syracuse University, converted to Christ in 1999 in what she describes as a train wreck. Her memoir The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert chronicles that difficult journey. Rosaria's second book, Openness Unhindered: Further Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert on Sexual Identity and Union with Christ, addresses questions of sin, identity, and repentance that she often encounters during speaking engagements. Her heart's desire is for people to put the hands of the hurting into the hands of the Savior, who equips us to walk and grow in humility. Rosaria is married to Kent, a Reformed Presbyterian pastor in North Carolina, and is a homeschool mother, author, and speaker. Rosaria is also zealous for hospitality, loves her family, cherishes dogs, and enjoys coffee. This week on Theology on the Go the topic will be on sexual identity, the first in a series focusing on sexual identity and the public square. In light of recent cultural events, Theology on the Go believes that a series like this is an important service to the Church of our Lord Jesus Christ.  So, grab that cup of coffee and meet us at the table! Just for listening, the Alliance of Confessing Evangelicals would like to give you a free resource. An MP3 of Rosaria Butterfield's message, "The Testimony of an Unlikely Convert" is yours free as our gift to you.  Go to ReformedResources.org to download your free MPS!  

Mollie Hemingway, senior editor at the Federalist, was a guest of Eric Metaxas to discuss why the Planned Parenthood story has received so little attention from major news outlets (1:20). Albert Mohler says that the Planned Parenthood videos now mean that all of us bear some moral culpability for their odious atrocities (8:40). Dakota Wood of the Heritage Foundation talked with Georgene Rice about Turkey's attack against ISIS and Kurds (13:00). Greg Yoder of Mission Network News joined Mark Elfstrand to explain how the gospel is spreading in the Middle East (18:30). Joseph Loconte shares thoughts from his book, "A Hobbit, a Wardrobe, and a Great War." (22:00). On the Frank Sontag Show, former professor of feminist studies Rosaria Champagne Butterfield talks about how Christians can lovingly reach gay people (28:00).See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

REFLECTION QUOTES “The gospel is not a doctrine of the tongue, but of life. It cannot be grasped by reason and memory only, but it is fully understood when it possesses the whole soul and penetrates to the inner recesses of the heart.” ~John Calvin, French theologian and pastor, 1509-1564 “Throughout history, humankind has told two stories: the story of a lost ship sailing the Mediterranean seas in quest of a beloved isle, and the story of a god who allows himself to be crucified on Golgotha.” ~Jorge Luis Borges, Argentinian author, 1899-1986 “God creates out of nothing. Wonderful you say. Yes, to be sure, but he does what is still more wonderful: he makes saints out of sinners.” ~Søren Kierkegaard, Danish philosopher and theologian, 1813-1855 “There is a core difference between sharing the gospel with the lost and imposing a specific moral standard on the unconverted.” ~Rosaria Champagne Butterfield, contemporary American author, from her book The Secret Thoughts of an Unlikely Convert: An English Professor's Journey into Christian Faith “The goal of life is living in agreement with nature.” ~Zeno of Citium, ancient Greek philosopher and founder of Stoicism, 334-262 BC “Death is a release from the impressions of the senses, and from desires that make us their puppets, and from the vagaries of the mind, and from the hard service of the flesh.” ~ Marcus Aurelius, Stoic Philosopher and Roman Emperor, 161-180 AD “Death does not concern us because as long as we exist, death is not here. And when it does come, we no longer exist.” ~ Epicurus, ancient Greek Philosopher, 341-270 BC SERMON PASSAGE Acts 17:15-34 16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new. 22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription, ‘To the unknown god.' What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for ‘In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring.' 29 “Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.” 32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.