Mission Focused Men for Christ

Episode Summary . On October 7, 2023, more than 3000 members of the radical Muslin extremist group Hamas surged across the Israeli border crying “Allahu Akbar” “God is good” raping women, beheading children, torturing, mutilating and murdering more than a thousand people, most of them civilians conducting the greatest massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. How would you respond to the trembling wor...

Episode Summary . Unlike adherents to multi-culturalism, Christians realize that God chose to reveal his moral law to one nation, Israel, in a rather spectacular manner. God himself wrote his summary of his moral law on two stone tablets using his own finger (Dt 5:22) telling his people how they can most please him. There is no other text of the Bible written directly by the finger of God. The two...

Episode Summary :  One of the bad ideas causing massive victimhood today is egalitarianism , the denial of creation role distinctions between moms and dads, and the heretical denial within the church that “the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church.” The first egalitarian was Satan, who demanded the right to be equal with God. As the father of lies, who masquerades as...

Episode Summary . This episode seeks to examine what the church’s commitment to the poor of our cities should look like. We examine 5 serious flaws in the progressive view of social justice, an ideology which is captivating many young adults leading them to abandon Christianity. Finally, we examine how only the church can bring about the restoration require to solve the problems of our urban poor...

Episode Summary . The intent of this episode is to strengthen, not weaken, our concern for the plight of the poor. But deeply rooted in our commitment to love the poor must be a commitment to helping the poor and doing so in the right, God-ordained way . This episode seeks to call us to care for the poor, to shun passivity, but to understand the biblical guidance God gives for HOW to help, and not...

Episode Summary . We look carefully at the claim made by many social justice advocates that Christians are hypocrites for not standing up for the poor and embracing ECONOMIC EQUALITY for everyone as Jesus would have. Is this claim true? How do we respond to our kids returning from college who are “deconverting” from Christianity because of the failure of today’s church to embrace such equality? Sh...

Episode Summary :  In the coming months, secularists and progressives will be seeking to undermine the celebration of America’s spiritual and biblical roots. For us and our families to respond winsomely and persuasively, we must know the facts and not just react with Christian spin, that we are a Christian nation. This episode seeks to equip us to think truthfully, i.e. with historic accuracy and...

Episode Summary  Perseverance is a requirement for reaching any worthwhile goal and a quality that God constantly seeks to build into his children. As we come to the closing chapter in our study of Nehemiah, we continue to see an inspiring leader at work, in this case a leader who persevered, a leader who confronted sin when it needed to be dealt with, and a leader who finished his race well. For...

Summary : Our hearts were designed to find satisfaction by delighting in God. In fact, satisfying our heart in this way is the foundational starting point for our mission. God has designed life so that our heart loves must be ordered properly. The first commandment and Great Commandment are about giving God first place in our affections—“Have no gods before me.” “Love me with all of your heart, mi...

Episode Summary :  In this episode we examine Nehemiah 10 to see what it can teach us about false and true repentance. For Further Prayerful Thought .   Why is saying “I’m sorry” easier than true repentance? How would you summarize these words of John? And by this we know that we have come to know him (Christ), if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandmen...

Episode Summary : One of the great paradoxes of the Christian faith is that fruitfulness comes not from strength but from brokenness. Jesus said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies it remains by itself alone. But if it dies it bears much fruit.” Peter was the arrogant leader of the disciples who boasted “Lord even if all the other disciples forsake you, I never will.”  Before t...

Episode Summary :  One of the films making its rounds the past two weeks in movie theaters is “A Great Awakening” produced by Sight and Sound. The film tells the story of the First Great Awakening in America through the lens of Benjamin Franklin, the friend of George Whitefield the great preacher who was largely responsible, along with Jonathan Edwards, for the awakening which historians say had a...

Summary : As we pick up our study of the Book of Nehemiah, we come to the eight chapter where a national revival takes place in Judah. Before studying that next week, we need to think carefully about some issues—issues that happen to be very much in the news today, which surround America’s war with Iran, Israel our ally, and the war itself. Is God on our side? Is this a just war? Are Christians ri...

Summary :   The resurrection reminds us that the gospel is not just about our personal, private salvation and growth in holiness (which is called the two-chapter gospel.) Such a gospel leads to separating from the lost, forgetting their inherent value as those created in God’s image, and devaluing the (common grace) contributions they make to our culture. In contrast, the resurrection of Christ’s...

Episode Summary : Jesus commanded us not to be preoccupied with what we will eat or drink or distracted by what we are going to wear. Rather, we are to seek first the kingdom of God . But how do you seek something you can’t describe and don’t know how to define? Modern Christians are not the only ones confused about what this means. Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus spent his last forty days on earth e...

Episode Summary . Have you ever wondered, “Why is life so difficult? Why is it such a struggle? Why am I tired all the time? Why do so many things go wrong? Why is it that when I try to accomplish something for God it's never easy?” This episode is for those who are finding that pleasing Jesus with your life is hard, full of resistance, and sometimes generates so much discouragement that you...

Episode Summary . There are few men portrayed in Scripture who had more lasting success leading than Nehemiah. In fact, the success of some, like Saul and Solomon, led to their demise, as power often does. In fact, a case could be made that the adversity Nehemiah had just come through in the last chapter is less of a threat to many leaders than success . As Scottish essayist and historian, Thomas...

Episode Summary . Confrontation . It’s the least enjoyable part of leadership, but absolutely essential for effectiveness for any husband, father, coach, or team leader in business or the church. Today, we look into Nehemiah 5, where Nehemiah puts on a “clinic in wise confrontation” from which leaders can learn much.  For Further Prayerful Thought : Why did Nehemiah get angry? Why don’t Christians...

Episode Summary . Today, in our study of Nehemiah we encounter a group of people whom the world has gotten down, who feel rotten, who were probably too doggone tired to pray, and were probably plenty mad. It is Nehemiah's ragtag band of Israelites who had taken on the huge task of rebuilding the city wall. They have successfully resisted opposition enough to get the wall to half its necessary...

Episode Summary . One of the greatest Christians who ever lived was honest enough to admit how difficult life can sometimes be. In the most biographical of his writings, the apostle Paul wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side. We are perplexed and persecuted. We experience troubles, hardships, and distresses…. We are knocked down but we are not knocked out.” The fourth chapter of Nehemiah repor...

Episode Summary . Few of us think we have the gifts to be a great leader; yet every married man has been assigned to the leadership role in his marriage. As Paul said “the head of a wife is her husband” (1 Cor 11:13). And of course we are assigned to lead our children as fathers.  One of the biggest challenges for all leaders is motivating our followers to move in the direction we want them to go....

Episode Summary . God wants husbands and wives to drink deeply and frequently of the refreshing waters of their partner’s sexuality. But most of us whose marriages have lasted beyond the honeymoon stage have found that sustaining romantic and sexual passion has been a lot harder than we ever thought it would be, especially because our wives are NOT wired the way WE are. This episode looks for bibl...

Episode Summary   How would you like to receive a letter that began, "As I met with God this morning, I was moved to tell God how deeply grateful I am to him for your influence in my life. As I look back over the years, I realized that it has been your life that has most influenced me to follow Christ. You always seemed to be available when I needed you. You understood my problems. You had ju...

Episode Summary: There is no ambiguity about what Jesus told us was to consume our lives as our top priority. He says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” The Greek verb “to seek” means, to strive after , to desire . It is the opposite of being lackadaisical, indifferent, or nonchalant. It is pursuit that is self-motivated, intentional and passionate. The word “first” indicates...

Episode Summary Teddy Roosevelt, our nation's 26th president was a hard charging leader. An ardent admirer once exclaimed to him, “Mr. Roosevelt, you are a great man.” In characteristic honesty he replied, “No. Teddy Roosevelt is simply a plain, ordinary man— highly motivated .” It is safe to say that his answer describes most great leaders, plain and ordinary, yet whose hearts had been captu...