Citizen of Heaven

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! If 1 and 2 are the most important spiritual numbers in the Bible, and I think they are, then 3 may be the most interesting. Everywhere it pops up in the Bible, fascinating things are happening. This week we will discuss the “third day” – and the other third day, and the other third day; a friendship that transformed an entire genre of lite...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! It’s all numbers this month. If “One” is the right place to start, “Two” seems like an obvious follow-up. Feel free to guess what the next two weeks may bring. Here we’ll discuss the “in or out” attitude of Jesus and what we should do if we disagree with Him; a classic novel about how “the best of times” can possibly also be “the worst of...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! All month long you listen to me and me alone on this podcast. But early on I determined to let you listen in once a month as I sit at the feet of others. The results are some of my favorite episodes of all. That certainly includes my conversation with Keith Stonehart and Paul Hammons, which wraps up today. We wrap up by talking about the g...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re back with Keith Stonehart and Paul Hammons, talking about the number one. Keith works with the Fultondale church of Christ in the Birmingham, Alabama, area. Paul works with the Graham church of Christ in north Texas. In this segment, we’re discussing the benefits, and especially the dangers, of obsessing over a single thing. Is it po...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!  We’re talking about numbers this month on the podcast, and we’re starting with the number 1, which seems appropriate. Keith Stonehart joins from the Birmingham, Alabama, area. He preaches for the Fultondale church of Christ. I’ve never met Keith in the flesh, but he’s good friends with my other guest whom I’ve known for all his life and a...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! As I mentioned regarding salt a couple of weeks ago, the Bible says honey is good. Proverbs 24:13-14 compares it to God’s wisdom. Count your calories if you want, but don’t argue with God.  This week we’ll discuss the best honey coming from the worst places; the most adorable honey-eater in literary history; the best honey in the world and...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I'm switching to a monthly report. Here you will find updates on what's going on behind the scenes with the podcast, particularly my reading schedule. Today I want to talk about American Wolf by Nate Blakeslee.  https://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=31825422035&searchurl=ds%3D20%26kn%3Damerican%2Bwolf%2Bnate%2Bbla...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I said last week fish is one of my favorite proteins. Eggs may be my very favorite. If your chicken will lay it, I will eat it. This week we’ll discuss the goodness of eggs, and of everything else God gives us; the discovery of dinosaur eggs and the hypocrisy it revealed; a new word I invented to connect the price of eggs and the gradual (...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Food month continues with one of my favorite sources of protein. I don’t think it stinks – but you be the judge. This week we’ll discuss the best fish dinner ever, and why it wasn’t good enough; two different looks at fish eggs – one relating to evangelism, one relating to egotism, neither relating to that weird goo that foodies eat on toa...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Today I want to tell you about romance novels — why I tend to avoid them, one that fell across my path this week, why I read all 500 pages of it, and the general problems I have with the genre.  Books I mention:  Cod, by Mark Kurlansky The Shadow of the Wind, by Carlos Ruis Zafon Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewood...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Salt is good. That’s not my opinion; that’s the word of the Lord Jesus. So far be it from me to have a month devoted to food without adding a sprinkle or two.  This week we’ll discuss the worst salt there is and how it can be a blessing; the way salt built the Roman empire, from its roads to its army; the impact for ill the navy has had on...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This is the Citizen of Heaven podcast, my report for the week of March 30-April 5, 2024. I am Hal Hammons, citizen of heaven. I’m here with a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on in my life and the life of this podcast. This week’s livestream on Facebook was thwarted by the gremlins in my internet service; apologies for that. Most of...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This is the third and final part of my talk with Ryan Joy and Jeff O’Rear. Check the show notes for links to the work they do. What kind of bread should we be serving up to the world?  Whole grain loaves? Cinnamon buns? Is there a point in giving them something they don’t want? Is a fat-filled half loaf better than no bread at all? We will...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re back for more of the first episode of Season 6 — my conversation with Ryan Joy and Jeff O’Rear. Check the show notes for links to the  work they do. We’re talking bread. Or more broadly, we’re talking food. Real food. What does God provide for us? And what kind of substitutes do we convince ourselves will do just as well? Why do cupc...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! The first month of Season 6 is all food, all the time. And we’re starting with a discussion of Biblical bread with Ryan Joy and Jeff O’Rear. Ryan co-hosts the Bible Geeks podcast and preaches for the North church in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Jeff preaches for the Judson Road church in Longview, Texas, and was the one who brought the Bible Geeks...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This week I’m reporting on the books I’ve read, as shared with the Heaven Citizens group on Facebook — please seek us out if you have not already. I characterized this as the books I read this week. In hindsight, “the last couple of weeks” would have been more accurate. Hey, I’m new at this. I’m making this up as I go. Before I start the s...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This is the last episode of Season 5 – thanks to everyone for coming along for the ride. Getting ready for Season 6 has gotten me in the mood to talk about planning. This week we’ll discuss how our plans bring out God’s sense of humor; how God’s planning process and ours don’t always coincide; why we say “Lord willing” when we pray, and wh...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! If money, time, self-discipline, and my wife’s fear of drowning were non-factors, sailing would be the hobby for me. And so, I remain landlocked. Today we’ll discuss how to sail with Jesus instead of going with the prevailing winds; how a quest doomed to failure cost Henry Hudson his life; how the king of yacht rock still calms my spirit;...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! As God’s child, you have the obligation and the privilege of praising Him. Do it well, or do it poorly. As always, you get to choose. Today we’ll discuss actual “rock music” that is in the Bible (please forgive the play on words); a careful venture into the Hebrew language to learn what praise really is; the idea of worship as a competitio...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This is part 3 of my discussion with the ladies of the Book Fare podcast — links and book suggestions are included in the show notes. We close with a short but exciting game of Bring Your Own Book — a game I figured would click with them. Turns out, I was right. Everyone brought their own book to the game, just like we all bring our own pr...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We continue our discussion with Tricia Culp, Amanda Payne and Elizabeth Nowlin, co-hosts of the Book Fare podcast. That’s F-A-R-E, by the way. Find them wherever you get your podcasts. If you want fun, casual, and, yes, inspiring discussion about books, these are your girls. In this segment we discuss inspiration on a more general level —...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! What inspires you? And what exactly is “inspiration” anyway? To help me find the answer, I brought on some ladies who have been inspiring me of late — the hosts of the Book Fare Podcast — Tricia Culp, Amanda Payne, and Elizabeth Nowlin. A link is in the show notes. In the first part of our conversation we discuss the Bible as the epitome o...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! The piano, perhaps more than any other instrument, changed the way music is played. As with a lot of things I tried as a child, I’d be a better person now if I had worked harder at it. Today we’ll discuss where the piano got its name and what it has in common with God; the challenge for an American trying to buy a piano in Paris; the press...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is one of those great ones, like Ludwig von Beethoven, where the last name is all you need to identify him. Like Einstein, or Shakespeare, or Washington. This week we’ll discuss childhood genius and the good and bad things that come with it; Mozart’s less than ideal marriage and its lessons for us; the precise numbe...

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Ludwig von Beethoven is one of two names that come up more than any other when the topic of “history’s greatest composer” is discussed. Herr Mozart gets his day next week, Lord willing. This week we’ll discuss Beethoven’s battle with deafness and how losing it helped him win the war; the heroic nature of his work and how it can help you be...