Reliable Truth

Dr. Mark Gignilliat from Beeson Divinity School joins us again, this time with a message from the book of Psalms. If you were stranded on a deserted island and could only take one book of the Bible with you, which one would you choose? For me, I think it would be the Psalms. They are rich. There’s a treasure trove here of insight into what it means to live all of life In God’s presence. Now, let m...

How do we find the true riches of life? In this series of talks we've discussed many fears and pitfalls that men experience - the fear of failure, battling the pressure to perform and 'act like a man.' We compare and compete constantly. This leaves men feeling isolated and alone. If you think about it, a man's greatest fear should never be the fear of failure, but the fear of actually succeeding a...

Fear is a very interesting emotion. It's created by one thing: uncertainty over the future, and it operates in the realm of our imagination. It's amazing how we play things out in our minds, and most people don't know what to do with it. Fears end up running wild in their imaginations, particularly when they wake up at two or three o'clock in the morning and their minds start whirling. That's when...

How do you cope when you experience hardship or failure in your life? Going through difficult times or failure exposes our true selves, which leads to more questions:  How do you define and measure your worth as a person?  What are the motivations that drive you?  Where do you get your worth as an individual?  Our culture tells us that our worth is all about performance and success. We've somehow...

If there were only room for one thing in your life, what would it be?  You know, when we're dead and gone, I can promise you this, people will not remember us for the houses we lived in, the cars we drove or what we accomplished in our business or personal lives. They will primarily remember us for the kind of people we were. Character, wisdom, love, and compassion. And if these qualities are what...

What is the desire of your heart for this new year?  Jerry Leachman of Leachman Ministries joins us today with a message to fuel your passions for 2023. How to cultivate an inner circle of wise people that can strengthen you and give clarity to your life. Most men don't even have an inner circle. They just have acquaintances. You need a wing man. If you don't have one, then pray for one. I...

Happy New Year! What are your goals for 2023? Are there areas in your life that you want to change? Let's say you play golf, and you decide to go take a golf lesson. The first thing they will do is to film your golf swing. And they do it for one primary reason: to determine what are the flaws in your swing . The only way you're going to get better, the only way you're going to transform your golf...

*RE-AIR EPISODE* Merry Christmas! Today’s podcast is taken a Christmas blog that I originally wrote several years ago. I share one of my favorite stories that illustrates the ultimate reason Jesus came into the world. I hope that as we enter this Christmas season, and get caught up in the pageantry and celebration of His birth, that we would not forget that God sent His Son into the world to rescu...

How does wisdom impact our lives? Well, it impacts the decisions and the choices we make in life.  Wisdom changes people. It impacts not only what we see, but what we choose. This is of critical importance because our lives end up being the sum of the choices we make as we walk down the path of life. Your life today is the sum of the choices that you've made over a lifetime. The way of wisdom is a...

Dr. Mark Gignilliat from Beeson Divinity School, joins us today with a special Advent message from the book of Isaiah. Do you feel overwhelmed by the busyness of the Christmas season? And what about all the chaos of the world?   Just like the story of Charlie Brown's Christmas, things don't seem to be right in terms of what this season is all about. But let me just encourage you to find, by God's...

How do we make wise decisions? It is learned through making mistakes, or is it more than that? ​ I believe that the more clearly we see the reality of the world, the better equipped we are to deal with the complexities of life. But the more our minds are clouded by falsehood, misperceptions, and illusions, the harder it will be for us to determine correct courses of action and make wise decisions....

Imagine that you're at work and, and things aren't going well in your marriage, or you and your wife are going through a dry season. You're invited to go to lunch with an attractive single woman. And you reason to yourself, there's nothing wrong with going to lunch. There's nothing morally wrong with making that decision.  Several weeks later you're working late on a special project and you're fin...

In your eyes, what is a good man? To be caring? Honest? To put others' needs ahead of your own?  Now, what does it mean to be a real man? Many men would eagerly answer: "a real man takes charge, takes risks." Some might say "a real man walks like a man, talks like a man, and never cries." There's a real disconnect between the description of a good man and of a real man....

Is there more than one path to God?  You see, all of the world's religions make certain objective truth claims about the nature of God, about spirituality, and most significantly about what happens to you when you die. Either only one of them is true or none of them are true. To say that two or three of them are true or that all of them are true is absurd. It's logically impossible. In today's epi...

Who is caring for the caregivers? Today Richard's guest is Phil Reddick, along with a panel of speakers, each giving their perspective on decision making, coping with these issues, grieving, and how to prepare for your loved ones during this critical time. This special seminar was hosted by The Center and YBL 2nd Half. Here is our panel of speakers: Robert Atherton - Sales Executive with Temen...

The most important thing that you bring to your marriage relationship, and really to any relationship, is yourself . And the healthier you are individually, the healthier your marriage will be, the healthier your relationships will be. Your character, your humility, your willingness to be transparent, to be honest, to be vulnerable, your ability to love, the wisdom that you attain, will all ultima...

What is love? Dr. Mark Gignilliat from Beeson Divinity School, joins us today teaching on the book of Song of Solomon, also called Song of Songs. This book of lyrical poetry is a collection of 10 simple poems, where the couple speaking are freely describing their marital intimacy with joy and freedom. Song of Songs gives us a biblical example of God's beautiful gift of physical intimacy in marriag...

What would you say to Jesus if He asked you, "What do you really want?" Jerry Leachman of Leachman Ministries joins us today with a message to inspire you to get creative - to get off the sidelines and get onto the field. With the time you've got left, when you're around people - build them up. Give them a lift. Be a blessing. Point them towards Jesus Christ. Every great coach will tell their team...

Do you find yourself in a game of comparison?  Dr. Tim Keller says that we are the first culture in history where men get their sense of worth and significance based on how well they perform and achieve in life.  It’s not that you want to be the greatest coach in America. What you find is that you just want to be a better coach than you, and you, and you, and you, and you. It’s a comparison thing....

In the work that I do, I have noticed a frustration in people’s lives. It usually starts in their 30’s and continues on for the rest of their lives. This is the frustration they express, ”Why is there such a gap between the life I’ve aspired to and dreamed of, and the life I’m actually living?” In evaluating my own life, I have asked myself, "Have I come, even partially close, to doing my very bes...

Today my guest is champion golfer Bubba Watson, who candidly shared about his victories and struggles over the course of his life at our recent Men's Breakfast.  Watson is a multiple major champion, with victories at the Masters Tournament in 2012 and 2014. In February 2015, Watson reached a career-high 2nd place in the Official World Golf Ranking.  Growing up in the small-town of Bagdad...

Does it really matter what we put our faith in? If you’re going to really put your faith in something, it has to have a strong foundation to undergird it - otherwise it’s just blind speculation. Think about it this way: you can have very little faith in thick ice and it will hold you up just fine when you walk out onto it. On the other hand, you can have enormous faith in thin ice, and you can dro...

We live in a time where the ideology of religious pluralism is becoming more and more dominant in our culture. A religious pluralist is one who believes that all religions are different paths that lead to the divine, and therefore, all religions are valid. In other words, it’s like there’s this one God out there but He just wears many faces when you look at the landscape of all the world’s religio...

How do we know the Bible is a divine book? What makes it different from any other ancient history book or book on philosophy? The answer to it is quite simple. Christians believe the Bible is the Word of God for one main reason. Because Jesus says it is.  Think about that for a minute. Jesus puts His stamp of approval on the Old Testament. In fact, on 92 occasions, Jesus and His apostles supported...

How can we know that the Bible is the inspired word of God? Amos 4:13 tells us, "Behold, He who forms mountains and creates the wind, and declares to a person what are His thoughts, He who makes dawn into darkness and treads on the high places of the earth, the Lord God of armies is His name." You see, human speech that can be clearly understood, documented through the written word, is the model t...