Christ 2r Culture Podcast

After seven months of sobriety, while dealing with a stressful time in the office, she rinsed her mouth with Scope after brushing her teeth. Instead of spitting it out, the sudden rush of alcohol was so exhilarating that she swallowed it. That began Vicki's relapse into alcoholism that continued for months, not with traditional booze but by swallowing her mouthwash after brushing her teeth. The triggers that can lapse us into our old sinful habits come from the most unexpected places and are hard to avoid. As we follow the story of Abraham, we find he struggled with relapsing into persistent sin when he ran across his sin trigger. In this message we learn where to find hope when we struggle with relapsing into persistent sin.

Pennsylvania police say John Forehand signed up for Facebook to track a daughter he hadn’t seen in ten years. They say he was interested in a different kind of touching reunion as he sexually propositioned his 13-year-old girl. Police say he arrived fully prepared for what he thought would be a sexual encounter but what turned out to be his arrest by police. In Genesis 19, we find a similar demented scenario. Lot was incestuously raped by his own daughters so they would become pregnant and bear his children. What led Lot to such parental failure that he fathered his own grandchildren? In this study we will look at questions every father should be asking to raise their daughters to love Jesus and marry well.

Jessa Duggar, the 22 year old reality star of the TLC series 19 Kids & Counting, took to social media with an unpopular post. She warned her fans about God’s judgment. She warned that many justify their lifestyle by believing in a loving God who doesn’t judge. She cautioned that God will not hold back judgment forever. The hours of our time on earth are ticking away. She especially warned those living in fornication, adultery and sexual sin that those who practice these sins are the very kind of people that will face hell. While her post was shocking and unpopular, it was true. In Genesis 19, we find a sample of God’s judgment for sexual sin plus his undeserved kindness to one man and his family in spite of their sin.

John and Francis Canning had an unexpected guest at their wedding in England at Manchester Town Hall. As they stood in disbelief, Queen Elizabeth appeared, shook their hands and congratulated them on their marriage. You never know who will show up for dinner. In Genesis 18, Jesus—a guest more infamous than the Queen mother, shows up to have lunch with Abraham and Sarah. Like an encouraging meal with an old friend, Jesus encourages Abraham, Sarah and us that no matter the obstacles we face, he is more than capable of overcoming them.

The wife of Robert McQuilken, the former President of Columbia college and seminary, was diagnosed with early onset Alzheimers. At the time, his career as a college and seminary president and sought after speaker was thriving. What should he do? How could he balance the two loves of his life? For a while he tried to maintain two commitments. By 1990 he knew a choice must to be made. He made a choice that few man have the courage to do. He walked away from his thriving public career to be the care taker of his wife until she passed into the hands of Jesus in 2003. What empowered Dr. McQuilken to make such a bold decision? Covenant. He made a covenant promise in his wedding to take care of her for better or worse, richer or for poorer, sickness and in health until death do they part. Robert understood that the covenant love God has for him is the same covenant love he promised to have for her. Join us as we learn about God's rock solid covenant of love and how it enables us to have that same kind of covenant lo

The driver of a Porsche 911 in San Francisco's Marina district found his impatience leading to one of life's most embarrassing moments. Tired of waiting in traffic in a construction zone, he attempted to take a short cut over what turned out to be wet cement. Construction workers spent hours trying to gently extract him and his ruined car from their cement cocoon. To make matters worse, the consequences of his impatience were put on YouTube. Worse than foolish impatience in traffic that ruins a car is impatience with God that can ruin a life. Join us as we learn the danger of impatience with God.

Martin Luther is famous as a reformer and church leader. He is also remembered for a less flattering trait—doubt. At times doubts over God's character led Luther to intense times of depression where he wrote, "For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy of God." It is comforting to know that even a man of Martin Luther's stature can experience times of doubt over how God can keep his word. In Genesis 15 Abram struggled with doubt when God appeared to have forgotten to keep his promises. In our study we learn how to face times of doubt in God's plans for our life.

Macaulay Culkin became famous as Kevin Mcallister in the widely popular “Home Alone” movie of 1990. His amazing success as an actor led to disaster in his personal life. In 1995, just as Macauley was hitting adolescence, allegations surfaced that his father was mismanaging his fortune. A nasty custody battle ensued as his greedy parents fought for control of the child and his future. If that won’t destroy a kid, what will? What followed were a series of drug arrests, escape from society and a fall from stardom. Success is hard to handle. It can ruin anyone. In Genesis 14 we learn how to handle success and let it make God bigger instead of ourselves.

Dawn Meikle of Florida was charged with assault and battery after she attacked her husband because he kept "passing gas" in bed. She eventually kicked him out of bed because he wouldn't stop. When she let him back in the bed, he continued fluttering the sheets. A family fight followed which ended up with her locking herself in the bathroom and pepper spraying her husband to keep him away. Dawn was arrested for assault and taken to jail. In Genesis 13 we learn a better way to solve those tough family fights.

This year 100 million American's will travel to be with family over the Christmas holiday. Countless trees will be lit and cookies made. When you strip away the tinsel, trees and toys, why is it important to celebrate Christmas? In this Christmas Eve message we learn why we can celebrate the birth of Christ with even more joy and enthusiasm than the shepherds on that first Christmas night.

Are you in debt? Americans carry more debt for daily living today than 12 years ago. The average American household in 2015 has $129,579 in total debt with $15,355 of that on credit card. This debt doesn't just come from uncontrolled spending. The cost of daily life is rising faster than salaries. In the last 12 years the average income rose 21 percent while medical costs increased 51 percent and the cost of food 37 percent. it is hard to stay out of debt! While Leviticus doesn't teach us how to eliminate the debt on our credit card, it tell us how to face a much more important debt; the debt of our sin to God. In our study of the guilt offering we learn how to find freedom from the debt of sin.

Is there any way to avoid the common cold? Doctors tell us there is only one fool-proof way to not get sick. We have to die. Cold viruses are everywhere. There is nothing we can do to avoid them. In the same way, no matter how much we desire to live a holy life, sin is everywhere and we can't avoid it. In this study we learn how they took care of unavoidable sin in the Old Testament and why we are so thankful to Christ for coming and dealing with sin in a completely different way.

When was the last time you went to a party? When was the last time you ate steak, chips, dip, salsa, hot wings and Doritos with friends because you had something to celebrate? In Leviticus 3 we learn the importance of taking the time to celebrate God's goodness.

Thanksgiving is one of the best times of the year. It is always good to remember why we are thankful. In the Old Testament, the grain offering was a regular time for Israel to remember who provided their daily bread. God doesn't just provide what we need to survive physically, at Christmas he gave us what we need to survive spiritually. Jesus.

The book of Leviticus talks about sacrifices we no longer offer, a priesthood that no longer exists and practices that we can't relate. What good is it for Christians and what does it mean for Christmas? In this exciting series we examine the five offerings in the first seven chapters of Leviticus and see how they are point to Christ and what he was born to accomplish. In the first sacrifice, the burnt offering, we find the importance of a costly perfect substitute to die in our place to bring us into a relationship with God.

What should you do after you made a serious mistake? What steps should you take after you have blown it big time? In Genesis 12:10 we meet Abraham as he faces his first trial in life and he makes a royal mess. Join us as we learn about repentance, forgiveness, second chances and going back to where it all began.

life. Why do nations have different languages? Why don't we have one world government, language and leader? Genesis has the answer to these questions. Join us as we discover why there is cultural diversity.

The best part of playground kickball happens when you kick the ball out of bounds. You had a chance for a do-over, another chance to kick the ball. All of us wish life was a little more like kickball. We wish we had a second chance to do some things over. After destroying the earth God graciously gave Noah and his family a do-over on life. Unfortunately, they went right back into the sin. Join us as we learn about God's grace that gives us do-overs and what to so when we fail again.

Most children learned this story growing up. Some of us even played with the Fisher Price toy set when we were kids. It is Noah and the Ark. It was a story we learned as children but it isn't a story for children. It is a true story of the most global cataclysmic disaster to hit the planet. As a result millions of people died a gruesome death…. all because of sin. Join us as we learn the story of God's awesome judgment is not just thing of the past but each of us will face it in the future. The only way to escape that judgment is through the ark of Jesus.

A 1991 article in the Chicago Tribune told how a Texas mother was so intent on her 13 year old daughter making the cheerleading squad that she hired a hitman to kill the mother of her daughters competition. Detectives discovered she originally planned a double murder of the daughter and the mother but the double murder turned out to be too expensive so she opted for a single murder of the mother for a cheap $2,500. All this to secure her 13 year old daughter's spot on the cheerleading squad. How to people become so evil and cold-hearted? As we continue our way through Genesis we learn how sin slowly takes control of each of our lives and drags us into a descent of increasing levels of wickedness. Jesus is our line of hope from God to break free.