My God and My Neighbor

There’s nothing new about this commonly asked question about God and religion. From prophets in the Old Testament to martyrs in the Revelation, saints of God have struggled to understand the answer to the simple question: “Why?” In this episode, we will delve into verses that provide a basis for understanding this puzzling dilemma of mankind—If God is all-powerful and if He is perfect in love, the...

This question ranks at the top of the list of the most commonly asked questions in internet searches. This episode is a simple approach to this issue. Sometimes we defend the existence of God with technical words and drawn-out reasoning. There is a place for these discussions, but the truth is the average person doesn’t understand those words and needs something more direct.  How would you say God...

Jesus said, “You shall know the truth” (John 8:32). That settles the matter. So why is it that many believers think we can never be sure about our faith until we get to heaven? Some call it a “leap of faith”— an expression that is not in the Bible. Others think certain verses in the Bible teach that we can’t know the truth; we can only hope that we do.  This thinking is becoming more common. Our a...

Left, right or straight ahead? How many times have you faced that decision on the road? This episode is about direction in life. Sometimes the course to take is clear because God’s Word tells you what to do. At other times it is not. For Christians, that is where trust in God comes into play.  Proverbs 3:6 tells us how to leverage the providential hand of God. It is about the simple recognition Je...

Christians will quickly tell you they believe God exists. But if you ask them if they trust God, they may hesitate. Trust can be a difficult concept to grasp, not because it’s hard to understand, but because it’s hard to do. God gives us the ability to stand on our own and make decisions for ourselves. Putting our trust in Him and letting Him have control of our hearts and lives can be a challenge...

When you face a really hard trial of life, it’s hard to see how anything good could come out of it. Your mind is so fixated on surviving the pain of the present that you don’t think about it. And if the hardship lasts for months or years, you get into such a habit of thinking negative thoughts that it’s difficult to have positive ones.  We don’t know how these tragic times in our Christian lives w...

People today have a personal interest in the Bible because they want to know if God has a personal interest in them. They want to know if God has a plan for their life, a plan for their future. Does God have a plan just for you? If He does, can we know what it is?  Jeremiah 29:11 is a popular verse today because in it God said He had “thought” or “plans” for His people. The real question is: What...

This episode kicks off a new series on Bible verses that are Googled most. At the top of the list is John 3:16. Millions know it by heart. Countless sermons have been preached on it. This one verse contains many of the most important themes in the Bible: God, Christ, salvation, love, faith, salvation and the hereafter.  Yet the “Golden Text” of the Bible is one of the least understood. Church trad...

The U.S. military bombs Islamic terrorist locations in Nigeria. New York City elects the first Muslim Mayor. A Congressional hearing is held to discuss whether sharia is compatible with the American system of government. These recent developments have called attention once more to the growing presence of Islam in America. This episode is not a primer about what Muslims believe and how they worship...

The wealthiest and wisest man who ever lived said the problem of mankind is that people are not satisfied. His name was Solomon. In the book of Ecclesiastes, he wrote about the emptiness inside us that can drive us to seek satisfaction through selfish pleasures. But he said that just will not work. The more we try to find fulfillment through pleasures, the more empty we will feel. He knew that by...

It’s no surprise that Philippians 4:6-8 is one of the top internet searches related to the Bible. Stress, anxiety and depression are worldwide problems. People are looking for peace with others and peace inside. This is a powerful passage on the subject that deserves special attention. Many Christians are like Martha who was “worried and troubled about many things” (Luke 10:41). People in Bible ti...

For hundreds of years before Jesus came, Greek philosophers debated all kinds of philosophical questions. They rarely agreed on anything. But there was one thing many of them were united on: the highest goal in life, the greatest good, is happiness. But the tragedy was that they couldn’t agree on what happiness is or how to get it. Today 2000 years later, the situation hasn't changed. People want...

Your past can be a friend or an enemy, a teacher or a tormentor. Memories can make you happy or sad. The apostle Paul had, as we would say, “a past.” But not everything in his life before he became a Christian was evil. Much of it was good, even impressive, in his time. He was a successful man in the Jewish community who was on the verge of becoming more successful. He also did something that stil...

They weren’t related by blood, but they had the same heart. Both of them had an unselfish, giving spirit. Bible readers usually recognize one of their names, but they don’t know much about the second. Yet Paul paid to each of these men some of the highest compliments he ever gave anyone outside of the Lord Himself. They stand out in the New Testament among the saints, but not because they were sma...

Don’t let the title fool you. If you’ve read your Bible a lot, you’re probably thinking this is a lesson from Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount. But this is different. Jesus talked about letting your light shine by doing good . In this episode, Paul shows us that we let our light shine by what we don’t do. The book of Philippians is about how to face trials and tribulations. It is a book abo...

Today we look backward and forward at the same time. This episode will help you do both. We’ve pulled an episode from the archives that fits this time of the year perfectly. We’re going back 100 years to America in the 1920s. Why? To see how we arrived at this point in our beliefs and morals. To learn how to appreciate what we have. To understand verses like Ecclesiastes 1:9—“That which has been i...

We decided to air an episode from the archives this week. If there’s one thing everybody wrestles with, it’s anxiety. Holidays are wonderful—at least they should be. But the real world is full of heartaches and trials, and they hit at the worst possible time. In this episode you’ll hear from generations who lived through the struggles of life and made it through them. More importantly, you’ll hear...

Being a Christian is a group matter because you are part of a family of other Christians. But it’s an individual matter because there are things you must do yourself. That’s the lesson of this episode from Philippians 2:12. This discussion helps us avoid two common extremes: being so independent that we think we can do it without others and being so dependent on others that we blame them if someth...

You could say the verses we’ll look at today are the pinnacle of Christian sacrifice and service. This entire book teaches us to think of others and not be selfish. There is no greater example of this than Jesus. In this passage Paul tells us to have the same “mind” or frame of mind Jesus had. He left heaven and came to the earth to serve to die.  No other founder of any of the major world religio...

Does the Bible only say it’s wrong to get drunk—that it’s not wrong to drink? Many say this. In fact, the idea that “It’s okay to drink in moderation” is almost gospel to some Christians. In this episode, we will address this burning issue of our time. We will look at the question: Does the word ‘wine’ in the Bible always mean alcoholic wine? And, we will examine the famous story of Jesus turning...

In this special Thanksgiving episode of My God & My Neighbor , we pause our study of Philippians to reflect on the blessings God gives every day. Kerry Duke shares Scriptures on gratitude, reads from the original 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation, and reminds us why thankfulness is far more than a holiday tradition—it’s a Christian way of life. Whether this season brings joy or hardship, this epi...

Have you ever been in a good dilemma—one where both alternatives were good, and it was hard to say which one was best? That’s how Paul looked at living or dying! Most people would say that’s an easy call because living is good and dying is bad. But Paul said both are good to a Christian. Either way, the future is bright. The one thing that tips the scales is what is needed, not what we want. In th...

Paul was a prisoner. He was under house arrest in Rome. The Jews had tried to kill him but they failed. What could the great apostle to the Gentiles do? Why would God allow him to be kept from traveling so that he could convert lost souls and build up churches? We see so little. We look at troubles through thick lenses of pessimism and doubt that distort our thinking. Paul teaches us in this episo...

What does the word fellowship in the Bible mean? Most people think of getting together at a meal and maybe in worship. But it means much more. It comes from a Greek word which means sharing. What is shared depends on the verse you’re reading.  In the book of Philippians, Paul says the Christians in Philippi shared with him in some very important ways we need to imitate. And, one reward of this fel...

It only takes a few minutes to read it. You probably know by heart some of the verses in it. But when you read it as a whole and take time to absorb it, you’ll be amazed at how helpful it is. It’s a short book in the Bible that is packed with meaningful direction for our lives.  In this episode, we’ll look at three areas of our life we often struggle with. Then in the next episode we’ll begin to l...