Love God First

How much does God control the circumstances of our lives? And why does it even matter to us? We are delving into this huge topic based on our last episode with Cain and Abel, so listen in on the discussion with our guest Marc Hagman as he explains the difference between God's sovereignty and God's control and why we should care about it!

Cain has just murdered his brother Abel. Have you ever wondered why God didn't stop that from happening? After all, Abel was a good guy! We are talking today about where God is in the midst of circumstances that seem really unfair, even evil, on planet Earth. How do I as a Christian explain and deal with the evil I may see or hear about? And what's my response going to be when it comes into my own...

We all have moments where we struggle with temptation. We really want to give in to doing something even though we know it is wrong. So how do we overcome those strong desires? In this episode, we watch Cain murder his brother, but he could have chosen not to. Learn some practical steps to overcome temptation that really work!

All of us at one time or another have done something wrong. And all of us will do more wrong things in the future too! So how do we deal with that? And where is God when we sin? Does he leave us? Is He disappointed and angry with us, or does He have another response? Today we are looking at God's actions after Adam and Eve have sinned as they get ready to leave the Garden of Eden.

Our attitude is really the only thing we have control over in life. In this episode, we are going to watch Adam as he deals with the pronouncement God makes to him after Adam and Eve have sinned. What will Adam's attitude be as he deals with the consequences of his wrong choices? And what will our attitude be when we encounter our own hardships in life? Let's learn from Adam's response and figure...

We are looking at Eve's consequences in the garden of Eden and what it reveals about God's character. How will the Lord respond to Eve now that she has sinned? Watching His interaction with Eve gives us a glimpse into how God deals with His children. What kind of a father is He truly? Listen to find out!

What can we learn about God from His interaction with Adam, Eve and the serpent after the forbidden fruit has been eaten? In the moment where the Lord is pronouncing judgment over the serpent, we get a glimpse into God's character, and we can see a little bit more of what He is truly like, and what He is willing to do to bring us back to Him.

We are talking today about the best ways to go about praying and building our prayer life with God. Nancy Hill, Prayer Ministry Leader at Dayspring Community Church in Oklahoma, will give us insight into her own struggles and breakthroughs in prayer and will give some practical tips for those who want to step it up in their prayer times! And make sure to listen all the way to the end when she pray...

Listen in on a conversation with Nancy Hill, Prayer Ministry Leader at Dayspring Community Church in Oklahoma, as we talk about why we pray and what the Lord does in us through prayer. And hear some remarkable stories and prayer answers! If you are a person who struggles with prayer or think God doesn't want to hear from you, please listen to this episode!

Does prayer really accomplish anything? To answer that question, we have to understand what happened with the temptation of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, and we have to understand how God designed humanity's role on earth. As we look closer, we will discover not only that our prayers matter, but that they are crucial to stopping the devil's plans (and yes, the devil is real and does have pla...

How does a person get right with God? Is it by feeling really sorry for something I did? Is it going to church? Or is it something else entirely? Thankfully, Adam and Eve reveal the answer in the garden of Eden. 

Have you ever wondered how in the world to choose a future spouse? Where do you find a good candidate? What qualities are you looking for? And how do you know if a person is THE ONE? Join me as we continue our conversation with Shari Kiffe where we discuss the answers to these very important questions! 

Have you ever thought... if only there were someone I knew who had read numerous books on marriage, had lots of experience counseling couples, taught classes on marriage and had a great marriage themselves that I could talk to about my own marriage. Wouldn't that be helpful? Well that's exactly what we have today on this episode! Join me as I learn from Shari Kiffe, a really wise and kind mentor w...

No one wants to be lonely. So if living together cures loneliness and makes people feel less isolated, what is the big deal? That is the line of thinking that is very common today in our society. So in today's podcast we are going to talk about what the Bible says about marriage vs living together, about having sex before marriage, and about our sex lives as Christians. Prepare for a candid talk!

So many people are lonely and isolated today, yet the idea of people getting married is at an all time low! Why is that?! Could there be a connection there? We begin a two-part podcast today looking at Eve's creation and Adam and Eve's marriage. What can we learn for ourselves from this account whether we are married or not? Tune in to find out. 

Some see the situation in the Garden of Eden as a big set up of God testing Adam and Eve. The testing part is true, but it's not a bad thing. He does the same with us today too, and it is for our good! Find out in this episode how God's testing of our hearts actually benefits us.

When I look around at the condition of the world and the evil that exists, I have to ask why the evil is so horrible. There is an answer, and we will talk about it on this episode! We will also look at the concept of free will: its effects, its necessity and our own decision-making options.    References:  D'Souza, Dinesh. God Forsaken. Tyndale House Publishers, 2012. pp. 77-102. Duffield, Guy and...

We get to enjoy a conversation today with a college student who is trying to figure out just like the rest of us how to have a Sabbath with God. Listen in on our conversation as we discuss the benefits, the struggles and the realizations of setting aside a day to focus on the Lord. And get some practical tips on how to implement a Sabbath day in your home!

It is so easy to stay busy and distracted in life because there is so much to take care of each day! How do I slow down enough to spend quality time with God where I am hearing His voice and direction, receiving new strength of purpose from Him, and being encouraged and healed from the hits I take in life? How about taking a Sabbath?! In this episode I make a case for why a Sabbath is something th...

When God finished working, He rested. With the story of creation, the Lord models for us the importance of working well and resting well. So how does a person work for God, especially if they don't work at a church? And what does it mean to work "well"? In this episode we will look at where work originally came from and how to perform the jobs we have with purpose, satisfaction and excellence, no...

Everyone agrees that our society has embraced a new way of thinking about gender, and the nation and much of the world is moving fast to catch up. But what does the Bible say about gender? Is it possible that there is a better way to understand gender that is more life-giving than the current perception accepted by our culture? Find out on this episode!

What does it mean to be made in God's image? We can't know all of what that means, but we can know some! Being made in God's image has to do with the very inside of who we are as human beings. We have a mind, will and emotions just like Him. We are a spirit just like Him. And we are valuable because God has made us so. He gave us the capacity to converse with Him, love Him, worship Him and obey Hi...

When I become a Christian, a miracle happens. God creates a born-again daughter or son from nothing, just like He created the world from nothing. In Genesis we see God's vast creation of the physical world. But through salvation we see God's miraculous inner creation of a born-again believer. And in the process we know the Creator of the Universe has just become our own Heavenly Father. Listen to...

Here's one of the occasional episodes where we spend time discussing some deep truths from the Bible with a guest. On this show we are trying to grasp more deeply what goodness is and how it impacts our daily life. Goodness is rooted in the very nature of God. He is good, and He created a good world in the beginning. Fast forward to today, and we see moral goodness on a steep decline and everyone...

The creation story has one theme that runs through it: everything was good. And how do we know it was good? Because God said it was. He gets to set the standard of what good is then and now. This episode will explain some of the hard to understand points in the creation story, and then we'll take a moment to check our own consciences about what we think is good and what God says is good, especiall...