It’s important to learn to think and discern for yourself, especially for young people. Jim Wallace, Cold Case Detective does that.
I grew up in the church. My family attended several times a week plus we attended all the special services which our congregation offered throughout the year.
By the time I got in my teens, I had questions. I’d seen the imperfections in the people around me and naturally, I became skeptical
How can we know for sure what we believe is true? What if someone has just tricked us? I believe those sorts of doubts are normal.
About that time, the Francis Shaffer movies came out. He compared Ch to the little stone bridges the Romans built. He said those bridges could handle the weight of the horse and buggies of their day, and even the wagons, but they couldn’t hold the weight of the semi. Well, unlike those bridges, Christianity is strong. It can withstand our doubts because it’s true.
I became interested in apologetics.
Of course, I read Josh McDowell, Gary Habermas, C.S. Lewis, Lee Strobel. And my husband and I are particularly fond of William Lane Craig. But I still had a few questions about the gospels. Until one day I came across a book called Cold Case Christianity. I loved it. I understand that a book is coming out for kids also. Author Jim Wallace will soon even be offering an online course for kids to earn badges as a detective.
Today I have the author, J Warner Wallace.
1:55 How did you come to faith in Christ?
3:30 How does a detective look at eyewitness testimony?
4:20 The book of John was different because he came later. Can you explain how that works?
6:25 The three synoptic gospels are similar yet they have differences. Can you explain how you reconcile that?
8:20 Reconciling different stories about the same event.
13:05 What did you see in the Gospels that made you come to faith in Christ?
Learn more here about the book for adults. Click here for the book for kids.
[tweetthis]Christianity is strong and can stand up under our questions[/tweetthis]
I take a regular exercise class several times a week. On Fridays, the teacher dismisses with “Come back on Monday and we’ll start this process all over again.”
She always laughs when she says it, but it makes me feel like a gerbil on those round exercise balls that spin over and over. You can get in a routine, even a good routine and a sense of boredom sets in.
Get up in the morning, head off to work, or maybe you’re a mom with little ones. You feed them, change diapers and you do it all over again the next day. When my children were little, one would come and ask when I’d fix dinner. I’d get a little silly and say. “I fed you yesterday. You want to eat again.”
But you know what I mean. Ecclesiastes a time for everything under heaven: a time to bake, and a time to discard what was baked;
Have you ever wanted to live an extraordinary life? What makes life have pizzazz? I believe having a purpose does that. You live for something bigger than yourself. The apostle Paul said he longed to know Jesus Christ and to become holy like he would be after he was raised from the dead.
An indescribable life? An un-explainable life?
My guest today is Erica Wiggenhorn, who just completed a Bible study on Acts, An Unexplainable Life.
2:10 What is one of your favorite lessons from Acts?
3:45 Give us examples of how the Holy Spirit worked differently in each life?
5:45 God’s exciting creativity.
6:30 Similarities in the OT stories and the tongues of fire spoken of in Acts
9:20 How did the disciples change after the Holy Spirit came? Especially Peter?
13:00 Explain the importance of the clouds in the ascension of Christ?
15:13 Share the role prayer played in the book of Acts. How is it important today?
16:55 How was Stephen’s life unexpected?
19:25 How can the book of Acts encourage us today?
Critical Conversations – Chat with your children on topics that matter
When I was a young mother, I had a deep longing to share my faith with my children. My husband and I made a deliberate choice to spend time with our children and talk about things, all kinds of topics. That’s why we homeschooled. In fact, my husband even taught my kids to argue. He didn’t want that ‘yes it is’ and ‘no it’s not’ nonsense. Instead, he wanted them to engage in sharing facts. The Bible says to give reasons for the hope that is within you and that sort of conversation is what he wanted.
Today as a person with grown kids, my convictions are even stronger. I’ve seen God change people and impossible situations. I’ve seen him at work, and I know people need the Lord. I love that verse in the Psalms where David said, “I have been young, and now am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his children begging for bread.”
The world is broken and we see evidence of that every day. Proverbs 4:19 says “The way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know over what they stumble.” In contrast, see what God says about knowing him: Psalm 119:165 Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.
As parents, it’s so important to chat with your children. The kitchen table is a wonderful place to do that. Share what God says and interact with them. If they absorb the world’s ideas, they will suffer the consequences. “Be not deceived, God is not mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap.”
Today Tom Gilson tells us how to tackle a ticklish topic. He’s just written a book called Critical Conversations.
Healthy Grief Processing – Carol McLeod is my guest today. She’s an expert on grief processing after losing five babies.
Nobody wants grief. Truly! Like many of you, I grew up in America. All my life I expected good things. WE had the freedom to pursue whatever career we wanted, and I had dreams of being gloriously happy. On the other hand, the church taught we would face heartache. I heard that, but I’m not sure I really believed. My husband was the same way. He even commented how he was tired of singing about the ‘Sweet Bye and Bye’ while ignoring the ‘nasty now and now.’
However, the longer you life, you see heartache and sorrow. I can say now the Lord has walked me through some grueling times, things we never dreamed we’d face. Now I sense the brokenness of our world. It’s shocking the intensity of the pain we see. God designed us to live in a perfect work, and we ache when we see tragedy.
My husband calls Romans chapter eight ‘Groaning 101.’ “For we know what they whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth until now. Woe! you talk about childbirth, and we ladies can relate. That’s serious pain. And yes, that’s our world.
But the Apostle Paul wasn’t finished. “For I consider the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed.” (Romans 8:18) That’s a pretty huge contrast. The sufferings, however hefty they may be, can’t outweigh the glory we will have. What a statement. We all need that hope.
Here’s a guide to topics you might enjoy in the interview:
The Real Easter Story is about hope, and with the world in upheaval, we need lots of hope.
Easter stands alone as the most important holiday we celebrate.
Jesus predicted his death and resurrection, and according to his own words, it proved the validity of his claims to be the son of God, who came to die for our sins. Note:
Matthew 12:40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.
John 2:19 Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”
If Christ has not been risen “…our preaching is in vain and your faith is in vain. We are even found to be misrepresenting God, because we testified about God that he raised Christ, whom he did not raise if it is true that the dead are not raised.” I Corinthians 15
Jesus”…was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,
I remember during the time of the Reformation, they worshipped bits of the cross and even the nails. In fact, at one point Martin Luther joked about the number of nails that must have been used because at that time people claimed to have far too many bits of nails and fragments of the cross. While I’m not ready to say the Shroud of Turin is the burial garment of Christ, there are interesting bits of evidence that drop us back into the first century when we study the microscopic evidence.
The shroud is a long narrow piece of cloth. At that time, they folded a long piece of cloth over a body and tied at the feet, waist and head prior to burial. On this piece of cloth is a faint image of a crucified man. However, if you take a photograph, you have an incredible image of a man with details that wow the scholars and PhDs.
Crucifixion stopped in about 326 A.D. The shroud was dated with carbon 14 to be about the 1500s, but at that time, they would not know the details that appear to ring true regarding this burial cloth.
These details surrounding the shroud are worth studying because they give a picture of the historical events of the crucifixion and help us understand the suffering Christ endured.
Marriage. That word brings all sorts of thoughts and images to mind. Some are bad and others wonderful. However, since God created it, let’s go to the beginning of time and look at the original plan. God created Adam and asked him to name all the animals. After fulfilling that assignment all day, Adam realized he didn’t have a mate. (What a great teaching technique.) No one corresponded to him. Imagine his delight when God showed up with Eve. She was taken from him. Amazing! I bet she was pretty, and I wonder if she wore a flower in her hair. Either way, Adam probably felt overwhelmed.
Right away God performed the first marriage and then blessed the new couple with a job. He gave them dominion over the earth and the power to have children. Adam understood. He called his wife Eve because she would be the mother of all living. The children they had formed the first family.
God’s purposes for mankind still centers around the family. It’s no wonder Satan targets marriage. If he destroys that, so many other things tumble down. The families of the next generation suffer as well as businesses, churches, and nations because people get hurt. Just think, how many people tell stories of their dysfunctional home or difficult childhood. These people have a multitude of issues to overcome because of the damage in their formative years. Yes, the Lord can heal, but it’s a good idea to work at building our marriages.
How can we strengthen our marriage so it truly bestows life to our spouse and our children? Sue Detweiler is my guest. She has written a book on this topic, and she’s going to give us some clues by sharing a few of her own struggles.
