Truthspresso

Because my family has been battling some nasty seasonal virus, Chelsea and I have been busy taking care of very sick children. We weren't able to study and record "Christmas is Pro-Life (part 2)" as expected this week. As you keep our family in your prayers, I found a nearly 20-year-old gospel devotional recording I did right after graduating college. "Guilty As Charged" uses a script of a hypothe...

Chelsea and I begin a series about the deeply Pro-Life message of the Christmas story. Secular holidays focus on self and escapism. Christmas focuses on sacrifice and salvation. We begin analyzing the pro-Life message of Christmas by tracing the promise of Messiah and Satan's attack on children in Biblical history: The Garden of Eden The Pharoah of Egypt Haman King Herod Scriptures Cited: Genesis...

Originally aired December 21, 2020. In this episode we are going to unwrap the depths of Isaiah 9:6 as a present from God for the first Christmas. Isaiah 9:6: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace." We look at each phrase and...

Chelsea and I continue and conclude our chat about parenting. Parenting a commitment for the long haul. It matures us as we focus on the good of others--our children. We discuss four actions to guide fellow parents through this journey: Pray Confess Change Trust in God's healing Scriptures Cited: 2 Samuel 12:16 1 Chronicles 29:18-19 1 Samuel 1:27-28 Psalm 32:3-5 1 John 1:9 Galatians 6:1-2 Psalm 34...

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 6 I look at another of the socialist's prooftexts: the parable of the Good Samaritan. I observe five points from this story: The man doesn't have an et...

Chelsea and I continue our chat about parenting. Parents--even Christian ones--are ever too prone to treating their children reflexively. We need to be conscious of our motives when we interact with our children and the times we have to resort to discipline. We discuss five questions we can ask ourselves to evaluate our parenting: Are we putting our feelings first (and suppressing our children's)?...

Thanksgiving is coming up! Enjoy this light-hearted episode. We share with each other some Thanksgiving spirit with... Faith: Bible verses about giving thanks to God and why. Facts: interesting tidbits about Thanksgiving past and present. Fun: Thanksgiving jokes We value your feedback! Have questions for Truthspresso? Contact us!

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 5 I look at another of the socialist's prooftexts: the account of Zacchaeus. An article I read from a progressive Christian claims that Zacchaeus "got...

Chelsea and I continue our chat about parenting. Parents--even Christian ones--are ever too prone to treating their children reflexively. We need to be conscious of our motives when we interact with our children and the times we have to resort to discipline. We discuss five questions we can ask ourselves to evaluate our parenting: Are we providing our children with security or always scrutinizing?...

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 4 I look at one of the socialist's prooftexts: the account of the rich young ruler. We see that this story doesn't teach any forced redistribution of w...

Chelsea and I continue our chat about parenting. Society doesn't seem to place the value on children and the care that they truly need. We discuss four ways we can build up our children with our words and how we treat them: Cherish them Be calm toward them Be consistent with them Compliment them Scriptures Cited: John 16:21 1 Thessalonians 2:7-8 Isaiah 66:13 Deuteronomy 6:6-7 James 2:9 Proverbs 27...

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 3 I walk through the parable of the vineyard workers in Matthew chapter 20 that I have heard people claim teaches socialism. However, a closer look at...

I had the privilege to interview Anthony Russo about his new book Jesus Changed Everything: He Changed History, He Can Change Your Story . Anthony gives his testimony of being converted from Roman Catholicism but also later from nominal Christianity. He realized from the Bible just how central Jesus is to everything we believe--even our reason for living. We talk about how cultures try to worship...

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 2 I talk about how Jesus avoided being a leader of a political revolution. He taught voluntary charity. I also walked through two parables in Matthew c...

Chelsea and I continue our chat about parenting. Parenting is the most rewarding and the most challenging job in life. How we treat our children now can impact them for life. Here are four ways we can can tear down our children and not realize it: Be cold toward them Be critical of them Be condescending toward them Be controlling over them Scriptures Cited: Mark 18:10 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Ecclesia...

In this episode of Truthspresso Express I chat about Jesus and socialism while driving to work. A coworker recently made the claim to me that Jesus was a socialist. I have certainly heard this claim before, but I figured I would address it. In part 1 I talk about socialism's dependence on controlling "power structures." Nothing in Jesus' teachings or actions show that He was trying to gather a fol...

Spring boarding from our series on slander Chelsea and I talk about parenting. As important as how husband and wife treat each other is how they treat their children. We give three reasons parents can find themselves tearing down their own children: Power (abuse of) Impulse (anger) Deception (two parenting extremes that show lack of love) Scriptures Cited: 1 TImothy 5:21 James 3:17 Matthew 18:6 Co...

For this 200th episode of Truthspresso Andrew Rappaport joins me to talk about Christian podcasting and the Christian Podcast Community. Truthspresso is a member podcast of the Christian Podcast Community. Andrew Rappaport is the executive director of Striving For Eternity Ministries and the Christian Podcast Community. Andrew grew up in a Jewish home and converted to Christianity at the age of 16...

Chelsea and I conclude how we treat others with our words. Using the acronym GREATS we present six ways to build up others with our words. G raceful words R espectful words E ncouraging words A ffirming words T ruthful words S incere words Scriptures Referenced: Colossians 4:6 1 Peter 2:17 Romans 12:10 1 Peter 3:15 1 Thessalonians 5:11 Proverbs 25:11 Deuteronomy 1:38; 31:6 James 4:11 Ephesians 4:2...

Chelsea and I shift gears to how we can find ourselves talking bad about others outside our home: extended family, neighbors, friends, coworkers, or church members. Why do we speak negatively to or about others? Envy, grudges, and competition can all make us slander people who are not the closest in our lives. What are ways we tear down others? Say negative things about or to them Gossip Bear fals...

Chelsea and I finish our discussion of slander in marriage by giving positive alternatives to hurtful words. What are ways we can build up our spouse to avoid temptations to slander? Show kindness Allow for positive silence Display grace Use encouraging words Express a thankful attitude Forgive Intentionally make time together Scriptures Referenced: Isaiah 40:31 Ephesians 4:32 Psalm 46:10 Psalm 4:...

We can find ourselves slandering our spouse in different ways: even "silent" ways! Chelsea and I continue our discussion of slander in marriage to finish our answer to the question: What are ways we tear down our spouse? Absence Negative Silence Assuming motives. We fleshed out "Negative Silence" with how it shows up as... Avoidance/"peace at all costs" Bitterness Busyness/distractions Passive agg...

Slander finds its way into marriages way too easily and often. But slander doesn't belong in words toward our spouse! Chelsea and I first give an acrostic for S-L-A-N-D-E-R, then how we should E-D-I-F-Y. Then, we answer some questions: Why do we react, respond, or talk negatively about or to our spouse? Anger Bitterness Childhood experiences Expectations Life events Low self-esteem Need for attent...

How can I avoid slandering others? How do I handle when other people slander me? Chelsea and I look at some good verses from the Bible to help us answer these questions How do I avoid slandering others? Think before you speak (Jas 1:19; Pro 13:3; 21:23; 29:11) Let your motive for speaking be to edify (Eph 4:29,22-32) How do I handle when other people slander me? Diffuse it with a pleasant response...

After four months I finally did it! A new episode of Truthspresso Express! While driving to work on Thursday morning I outline some thoughts on President Biden's announcement of a program to "forgive" some student loan debts. When we clear away the politics and emotions, we see the problems with schemes like this. Particularly, the ideology of so-called student loan "forgiveness" is: Fantasy Theft...