Episode 280: Allah claims to be the same God as the God of the Old & New Testaments. However, when we do a side-by-side comparison…well, really is no comparison. In fact, there is only a sharp contrast. How is the God of the Koran different than the God of the Bible? Tune in as I explore the fundamental differences between the God of Islam and the God of Christianity.
Question of the Day: Are Muslims Christians?
Episode 279: So for the last week the People’s Climate March has been going on around the nation. Of course Leonardo DiCaprio and Al Gore made appearances…before flying off in a jet or driving away in great big Chevy Suburban (true story). Tune in as I air a sermon I preached earlier this year about the truth concerning climate change and what real global warming looks like according to the Bible.
Episode 276: You hear it on various news media outlets. Typically, they have some cleric or imam on from CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations) who says it. “Islam is a religion of peace.” Is Islam really a religion of peace, though? Tune in as I allow the Noble Quran to speak for itself and unveil the historical roots of Islam’s “history of violence.”
Question of the Day: How is Christianity different than Islam?
Episode 274: I reach back into archives for an episode I recorded in 2011 on the 10th anniversary of the attack on the World Trade Center on September 11th, 2001. Tune in for my thoughts.
Episode 273: Who is worship for? Ask Victoria Osteen and she is liable to say, “When you come to church, when you worship Him, you’re not doing it for God really. You’re doing it for yourself, because that’s what makes God happy.” Well, not liable to…she did! So who is worship for? Tune in as I breakdown what God thinks when we disconnect worship from Him. P.S. “Man’s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully enjoy Him forever” (Westminster Larger Catechism).
Plus, we reach back into the archives for my interview with Joel Osteen! You won’t want to miss it!
Question of the Day: What must I do to be saved?
Episode 271: Have you heard about the mess happening in Seattle? Seattle-based Mars Hill Church is having some serious issues with their lead pastor Mark Driscoll. While we do not know all the details (a point I iterate several times), it is a sad situation playing out for all the world to watch. But how does it apply to your situation, right where you live? Tune in as I show how some of the things happening in Washington are probably eerily similar to what you are struggling with in your life.
Question of the Day: Does God Exist?
Episode 265: Comedian Robin Williams took his own life last week. His frenetic style could be rather blue at times. However, I knew him from his kid-friendly movies like Aladdin and Mrs. Doubtfire. He was brilliant, but tortured by depression. It was ultimately depression which lead to his suicide.
Depression is a serious mental condition which is not to be taken lightly. The church historically has been a haven for the mentally ill. In fact, early church writers considered conditions like depression as primarily a spiritual issue which must be handled with devotion to certain spiritual disciplines (i.e. fasting, prayers, etc.). While there may be a tendency on the part of some to scoff at this idea, we must remember that Christianity is a religion of the mind. We are to love the Lord our God with all our mind (Mark 12.30). Our minds are to be renewed so that we become transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 12.2).
Tragically, many who suffer from depression unfortunately turn to suicide and Robin Williams is a most recent example. Suicide is murder of self and murder is categorically condemned in Scripture (Genesis 9.6; Exodus 20.13; Leviticus 24.21; Deuteronomy 5.17; Luke 18.20; Romans 13.9). Murder is an affront to God because it strikes right at the crown jewel of His creation: His image in man. Suicide is smashing to pieces God’s image in one’s self.
Suicide is a sin. It is not the unforgiveable sin, but a sin nevertheless. Like all sin, it is selfish, focused on the gratification of the irrational thought (there’s the mind again) that the world would be better without me. However, doing yourself in is not doing your loved ones a favor. The grim truth is that family members and loved ones are left heartbroken and grief stricken as they attempt to pick up the pieces of their shattered lives and move forward without this person.
Episode 260: Atheists like to argue that we can be moral animals without a god. But can we be good without God? If God does not exist, moral values are merely subjective human inventions. If God does exist, moral values are objective and real. Tune in as I discuss this subject which has far reaching implications.
Episode 258: The Supreme Court ruled on Hobby Lobby’s case. It has been interesting to hear the dissent from secular progressives on this ruling, especially the claim that now a boss is imposing their religious convictions on employees. Really? What does it REALLY look when a boss imposes their religious beliefs on employees? Tune in as I discuss this, plus…
Is it just me or does anyone else find it coincidental that the same week gay pride events are being held in America, parts of Iraq and Syria are declared an Islamic state? If that is not a contrast in countries I do not know what is. Here in the states, freedom has been hijacked to such a degree that immoral behavior is literally paraded down Main Street. There in the Middle East, a self-proclaimed religion of peace rapes and murders women for not paying a tax. The world over evil abounds.
The Bible says, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people” (Proverbs 14.34). When a nation or people put into practice and keep the word of God, it is a blessing. As the Psalmist says, “Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord” (33.12). However, whether that nation of people be Hebrew, American, or Islamic, sin is a black stain on any people. So we see two very different yet equally sinful situations on opposite sides of the planet. “‘There is no peace,’ says the Lord, ‘for the wicked’” (Isaiah 48.22).
What leads to this? The abandonment of God’s word. In America, secular progressives have sought to legislate God’s word out of schools, buildings, and monuments. In the Middle East, the Koran is the religious book of choice and any other alternatives are ruthlessly eradicated. In both nations there is famine in the land, “not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord” (Amos 8.11). “O earth, earth, earth, hear the word of the Lord” (Jeremiah 22.29, ASV). “For when your judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness” (Isaiah 26.9). And with righteousness comes exaltation.
Episode 254: If I don’t cover it, who will? The growing influence of pro-homosexual pastors has a new face: Frank Schafer, defrocked Methodist pastor. But while he was punished for performing his son’s wedding to another man, there are those who say that there is coming a “witch hunt” for those who are advocates of traditional marriage. Tune in as I explain the “heart” of the matter.
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