Illegal Alien

Angela Jackson and I discuss honesty. There is so much manipulation of information. We no longer see truth for what it is. Everything has an angle. I would like to get back to transparency and truth.

Angela Jackson and I discuss people falling off pedestals. We admire others' achievements and give them too much credit. Everyone stumbles, everyone. When they do, we judge them. Or even worse, we defend the atrocities they commit.

Often bible verses like Hebrews 13:7 & 17 are used by leaders to instruct Christians to submit our "Leaders" leadership. Every member of a church's congregation is a leader in the work of Christ. Pastor Mark and I discuss the role we must each play in each other's lives as both leaders and followers.

It's difficult to watch masked agents terrorize communities. As a Christian, I understand that I need to love ICE agents. I am struggling to view these guys in God's image. Pastor Mark, Angela, and I discuss how to treat ICE agents as children of God.

Pastor Mark and I discuss chapter 2 of Francis Chan's book, Crazy Love. There is an audacity in allowing the stress of our daily lives take our sight away from God. We forget the Creator of the Universe is in control, and we allow our own worries to take away our joy of having a relationship with Christ.

Angela and I have a conversation about my most recent sermon. I talk about getting stuck on the idea of being God's Bride. As a man, how uncomfortable that analogy makes me. And as I developed a better understanding, I realized a relationship with God needs to be more intimate than a marriage. We discuss my further struggle to make myself vulnerable to God.

Angela and I discuss the brave women who came forward and spoke in Washington, DC on December 18th. These courageous women spoke out against the abuse they experienced as children by Jeffrey Epstein and others.

Throughout my life, I've always aspired to be a good person. I've never wanted to be powerful, rich, or famous. I've always desired to be a good man in God's eyes. But Jesus stated that no one is good. Mark and I discuss whether anyone can be good.

Angela and I discuss our place in the universe. Whether we are as insignificant as a grain of sand in the desert, or as precious as a solar system. There are billions of both, just like there are billions of us.

Angela and I discuss the current view of heaven. What is the perception of heaven versus what heaven is more likely to be? Angela believes in ghosts. We discuss the idea that heaven is commonly believed in, but ghosts are not. And how the two things can relate.

Angela Jackson and I discuss the perception of homosexuality in Christianity. We debate whether being gay is a sin.

Pastor Mark and Angela Jackson continue their discussion of why God doesn't stop terrible acts like child abuse and human trafficking from happening.

Pastor Mark Hamilton and Angela Jackson discuss why God allows terrible things to happen. Angela asks Pastor Mark why God doesn't stop child trafficking and other horrible incidents from happening.

Angela and I discuss divorce. The way Christians represent divorce as a sin. How are others affected by Christians' views on divorce? And if there is a way to get a divorce and be alright with God.

Pastor Mark and I pick up on the conversation I had with Angela about American Christianity and sex. We discuss how God wants us to use sex. How God is an integral part of our sex lives. And how we can misuse sex in our lives.

Angela and I discuss how non-believers perceive Christianity's view on sex in the world. We discuss how rigged the Christian perspective comes off. What differences and similarities do Christians and non-believers share in their view of sexual relationships. And we discuss are certain ideas outdated.

Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all believe in the same God. Pastor Mark and I discuss the relationship between the three religions. How they relate, how they differ, and how Christians should engage the people of the Book.

People who believe that everything happens for a reason recover more quickly and better in hospitals. Having a positive outlook on life literally improves the quality of our lives. Angela and I discussed this idea and how it has affected her life. Enjoy one of the best episodes we've ever had on the Illegal Alien podcast.

Jeremiah 29:13 "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Pastor Mark and I discuss seeking God with all our heart. My failures at achieving this promise, and what I can do to seek God with all my heart.

John 10:27 "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." 1 Samuel 3:9 Speak, Lord, for your servant is listening. God wants to communicate with us and is speaking to us. We just need to learn to drown out the noise and learn to hear Him. Mark I discuss learning to listen to God. Whether it is through the Word or another mode in which God chooses to communicate with each...

Pastor Mark and I conclude our discussion of anger with being angry at ourselves. We concluded that not only is it okay to be angry with God, but God also prefers that our anger be directed at Him. What God doesn't want is for us to be angry at each other. There is no scenario where anger towards our fellow man is acceptable to God. We can be angry in the moment, but we must forgive as God for...

Angela and I discuss sin. The commonly held belief that sin is doing evil or bad in the eyes of God. We contrast that belief with the literal translations of 'sin' in both Greek and Hebrew. In both languages, 'sin' means missing the mark in archery. We conclude with the notion that to God, missing the mark can be worse than doing evil.

Pastor Mark and I continue our discussion on anger. This week we discuss anger towards others. In part 1, we determined that being angry with God is alright, because God can take our anger. However, anger towards others, even justified anger, gives the devil a foothold in our lives. We discuss that no level of anger towards our fellow man is acceptable. Even justified anger is really an opportunit...

Pastor Mark and I discuss anger. We begin with the question: Is it okay to be angry with God? I try to keep the focus on anger towards God, rather than towards others, or just anger in general. We discuss God's reaction to our anger. And how God wants us to use or not use our anger.

Like many people, I used to think repentance meant sorrow and regret. I thought repentance was for confessing my evil actions and asking for forgiveness to God. Repentance is not about grief or shame. It is about transforming the way we think. Repentance is about growing in our Christ-like way of living. It is about becoming the person Jesus wants us to be.