Christ 2r Culture Podcast

In 2003, in Texas, 19 people died after being left inside an airtight truck trailer. At the time, it was called the nation’s deadliest smuggling attempt. While the driver of the trailer truck was clearly at fault, the sin began years before with illegal immigration. In 2 Samuel 6, we learn that the harsh and surprising consequences of sin often begin long before with a pattern of lesser sin. Join us as we learn the blessings of consistent obedience to God’s Word.

On Sunday, December 4, 2016, a man with a rifle came into a northwestern Washington D.C. pizza shop and started shooting. Thankfully he was arrested, and nobody was hurt. It was the motive for his crime that was shocking. The pizza shop, Comet Ping Pong, was accused on Twitter of serving as the base for a pedophile sex ring involving presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and members of her campaign. The accusations of the pizza shop sex ring were re-tweeted and re-posted on social media so many times that many considered them true. Is the resurrection the same way for the Christian faith? Was the resurrection fake news that was repeated so many times that people believed it to be true? Join us as we learn why the resurrection of Jesus from the dead is a fact we can trust.

In Psalm 130:5, David writes, “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word, I hope.” David waited over a decade for God to keep his word and make him king. The double-digit years of waiting were filled with discouragement, near-death experiences, and difficulty keeping peace in a nation at war. The story of David’s rise to power is an encouragement for all of us who find ourselves waiting for God to answer our prayers.

Have you found yourself stuck in a situation where you do not know how to move forward? It may be a difficult marriage or job. The only options to find relief are ungodly choices? What should we do? Join us as we learn how David faced times when there was no god-honoring path forward.

In May of 2016, John Houser opened fire in a movie theatre. Teacher Allison Martin and her friend, Jena Beaux were credited with helping save lives after the gunman opened fire. They shielded others with their bodies. Both of them were shot. Allison managed to pull the fire alarm emptying the 300-person theatre complex before more were injured and killed. When police arrived, John Houser turned the gun on himself and took his life. When interviewed after recovering in the hospital, Allison talked about the importance of forgiving the man who shot her. Join us as we learn how to work for peace and forgive those who hurt us.

What kind of leader are you? What does a godly leader look like in our dog-eat-dog world? 2 Samuel 2 is a contrast between an egotistical leader who is eager for war and a godly leader who is eager for peace. Join us as we learn what godly leadership looks like and the futility of rebelling against Jesus, God’s chosen king.

Adoniram Judson was a student at Providence College in 1808. He grew up in a Christian home, but in college he was captivated by a group of students who embraced Enlightenment ideas from Europe. He was especially fond of an upperclassman named Jacob Eames, who persuaded Adoniram to abandon his Christian faith and adopt deism. Adoniram moved to New York to pursue a life of pleasure in the theatre. It was at that time when he stayed in an Inn. It just happened that the man in the next room was dying. All night long Adoniram heard his cries of anguish and pain. It shook him to his core. Without God, how would he face the end of his life? In the morning, he asked the innkeeper who was in the room next to him. It was Jacob Eames. He died that morning. That death changed Adoniram’s life. He returned to his faith and become a missionary. In 2 Samuel 1, we see another death that changed a life. The death of King Saul changed David’s life.

Adriana Kuch was a 14-year-old freshman viciously beaten by girls in the hall of her New Jersey high school. It was a planned beating, with other students recording the incident on their cell phones. The purpose was to upload the video to TikTok and become famous. Two days after the beating, after hundreds of hateful comments on the video from people she didn’t know, Adriana committed suicide. So far, there are three students charged as an accessory to her death. Many of the students involved in the beating video now wish they had made a wiser choice of friends. As we continue our series on Spiritual Health, we learn how healthy Christians pursue wise choices, not just avoid openly sinful ones.

John Patton was a missionary to the cannibals of the New Hebrides Islands. Shortly after arriving, his wife and his newborn son died. He was forced to guard their bodies to keep cannibals from eating them. Rather than leave, he pressed on staying for the next 35 years. In a remarkable transformation. over three decades, every native on the islands gave their heart to Christ. Do not underestimate the way God can use the power of our witness to change a life. In this message, we learn how a healthy Christian can be an effective witness for Jesus.

John Patton was a missionary to the cannibals of the New Hebrides Islands. Shortly after arriving, his wife and his newborn son died. He was forced to guard their bodies to keep cannibals from eating them. Rather than leave, he pressed on staying for the next 35 years. In a remarkable transformation. over three decades, every native on the islands gave their heart to Christ. Do not underestimate the way God can use the power of our witness to change a life. In this message, we learn how a healthy Christian can be an effective witness for Jesus.

Recently the heat went out on our Spencer campus. People came to church in winter clothes, boots, and mittens. The good news is that they came. What brought people to church was the relational warmth of the people, not the temperature warmth of the building. Would you rather attend a church with a warm building but cold people or a church with a cold building but warm people? Join us as we look at the relational warmth of the church and how it reveals the true state of our spiritual health.

n 1977, Maria Rubio of Lake Arthur New Mexico was assembling a burrito when she noticed the skillet marks on one of her tortillas resembled what she thought was the face of Jesus. Excited, she showed it to her husband and neighbors, who also thought the burn mark on the tortillas looked like Jesus. She went to the priest to have her tortilla blessed. The priest, who was not accustomed to blessing tortillas, reluctantly agreed to its blessing. Mrs. Rubio took the tortilla home and put it in a box on a pile of cotton. Mr. Rubio built a special altar for it and put it in a wooden utility shed in the backyard. The shine of Jesus of the tortilla was open for visitors. Within months more than 8,000 people came to visit the shine. In two years, 35,000 people had visited the shrine in the wooden tool shed in the Rubio’s backyard, all to see Jesus on a tortilla. People kept coming for 28 years. Then in 2005, Mrs. Rubio’s granddaughter took Jesus the tortilla to school for show-and-tell, there, the tortilla was dropped

What is the most valuable object on the planet? Is it the Mona Lisa? Is it the gold in Fort Knox? If a man is starving and within hours of death, none of the most priceless objects on the planet mean a thing. What he longs for are the essentials that keep us alive, food and water. When it comes to the Bible, we should not let our familiarity with the book cause us to underestimate the importance of the book. The Bible is like food and water. God uses it to create and sustain spiritual life. In this series, we discover the essentials for a healthy Christian life. Join us as we learn the importance of regular Bible study for a healthy Christian life.

Schools have adopted a new system of writing for children. It is called Inventive Spelling. Children are allowed to write words in any way that feels right to them. This is intended to help children feel good about themselves and build self-esteem. Is allowing encouraging children to do whatever feels right to them the right way to raise our children? Join me as we look at God’s instructions on how to raise children.

Queen Elizabeth died on September 8, 2022. She was the longest-reigning British monarch. An estimated 250,000 people visited her casket, and representatives from 168 countries attended her funeral. The queen’s funeral was the most-watched television event in the twenty-first century. It is an understatement to say the queen’s death was a big deal. As we finish 1 Samuel, we come to the death of King Saul. After a 40-year reign, his death led to a national crisis. Join us as we look at King Saul’s death and what we can learn about living and dying well.

Robert Robinson is the author of the hymn “Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing.” After writing the hymn, he walked away from God. While traveling in his elderly years, he met a woman who was reading the hymn he wrote! When she asked him about the hymn, his eyes flooded with tears as he told her that he was the author but walked away from God. The young woman reassured him of God’s love for him, no matter what he had done. He turned his heart back to the Lord and was restored as a Christian. As we continue our study in 1 Samuel, we see how God’s grace restores backslidden David. God’s amazing grace is eager to restore any of us who have wandered away from Him.

We live in a world filled with fear. There is fear of war in Europe, fear of inflation, and fear of COVID. As we continue our study in 1 Samuel we see Saul lived his life and final days in fear. The good news is we do not need to be that way! Join us as we learn how to live life without fear.

In 2010, the journal of Cognitive Therapy and Research examined the way depression changes the decision-making process. The researchers concluded that the likelihood of someone making a poor decision increased with the number of depression symptoms one develops. As we return to 1 Samuel, we find David battling depression as he is exhausted after running from Saul for years. In desperation, he stops relying on God to protect him. He relies on himself and makes poor decisions. Join us as we learn what can happen in our life when we wander from God.

In 1914, Wrigley introduced Doublemint gum. The name came from chemists who realized a double distillation process improved the flavor. Just as doubling the flavoring process made gum better, in the Bible sometimes repeats similar stories to drive its point home. In 1 Samuel 26, David has another opportunity to take Saul’s life, but he again chooses to respect Saul instead of killing him. Join us as we find out why choosing not to take revenge a second time made things better.

The people we choose to surround ourselves with are some of the most significant decisions we make. “Show me your friends, and I’ll show you your future,” says motivational speaker Jim Rohn. A good Christian friend is better than a thousand followers on social media. As we continue our study in 1 Samuel, we find how God uses Christian friends that can speak candidly and lovingly to us when they see us making sinful or unwise choices.