Jeremy Treat, pastor at Reality LA in Los Angeles, discusses how our longing for God reappears in different forms in a secular society. Exploring topics like sports, politics, witchcraft, wellness, and mindfulness apps, Treat shows how people seek power, purity, and peace. However, he emphasizes that our deepest longings can ultimately be found in Jesus Christ.

Michael Horton explains why there is no such thing, in the new covenant, as a “Christian nation” apart from the worldwide body of Christ. “The problem with Christian nationalism is not that some Christians are taking a biblical idea too seriously,” says Horton, professor of systematic theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California, “but that they are confusing America with Israel under the old covenant. From a biblical perspective, it’s actually heretical. It confuses the law with the gospel.”

Irwyn Ince—pastor and author of The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best—explains why beauty compels us to pursue justice. The harmony and goodness of beauty reflect God’s creation as it was meant to be. Redeemed by Christ’s death and resurrection, his followers should pursue justice because it foreshadows the coming perfection of beauty in the new creation.Check out Irwyn Ince’s book, The Beautiful Community (InterVarsity Press, 2020).

Sarah Eekhoff Zylstra discusses how Christians can find peace in an anxious world by thinking big and thinking small. They explore the decline of belief in America and the anxiety it causes, as well as strategies to find peace. Rachelle Starr's mission to help girls in the sex industry is also highlighted. They emphasize the importance of finding God's work and trusting His promises.

Pastor and apologist, Sam Allberry, addresses the reasons Christian pastors have become less trustworthy in society, and how they might become trusted again. Pastors need to appreciate why trust has been lost, Allberry says, and they should prioritize compassion, honesty, pointing people to Jesus, and striving to become more like Jesus themselves. The more like Jesus pastors are, the more trustworthy they'll become.

Justin Giboney—co-founder and president of the AND Campaign—addresses the self-serving lies conservative and progressives tell themselves about issues like justice, identity politics, and critical race theory. Many of us would prefer to be lied to rather than confronted with a truth that complicates our preferred narrative. Yet if we are going to address the race issue faithfully, Giboney argues, “We must not only confront the lies that offend us, but also the lies that serve us.”

At TGC Chicago's 2022 Regional Conference, Colin Smith moderates a panel discussion with Kevin DeYoung, H. B. Charles, and Juan Sánchez on on ways to enhance your prayer life.Kevin DeYoung defines prayer as, “a lifting of conversation in our hearts Godward.” They consider different practical ways to deepen personal prayer—like prayer cards, walking while praying, praying as a family, using devotionals, and the use of Scripture in prayer.H. B. Charles emphasizes the importance of motivation for prayer over technique and outlines three reasons why we should pray: 1) obedience, 2) effectiveness, and 3) dependence on God.The group also addresses the need to increase corporate prayer in church services, suggesting various resources like books, websites, and articles for further reading on enriching prayer and devotion. Ultimately, prayer offers us an opportunity to encounter God intimately and transform our own hearts as we commune with him. 

In his message at TGCW22, Michael Kruger addresses the issue of doubt in Christianity, both in individual spiritual lives and within the larger culture.Kruger critiques two ineffective approaches to doubt: doubting shaming and intellectual superficiality. He argues that doubt should be approached with the compassion of God, and not seen as a virtue or as something to be shamed. Kruger also highlights various causes of doubt, including unanswered questions, suffering, church corruption, and unrepentant sin. He offers advice on how to battle doubts in one's faith by seeking help from fellow believers, studying theology and biblical truths, and recognizing the importance of creating a safe space for doubt within the church community. Ultimately, Kruger calls on the Christian community to provide more compassion towards individuals facing doubts while providing them with a secure space to navigate their faith questions.

In his message from TGC Chicago's 2022 Regional Conference, Colin Smith teaches us how to pray the Lord’s prayer through five specific categories, drawing from Luke 11 when Jesus’s disciples actually requested that Jesus teach them topray, not how to pray. Smith highlights five things on which to focus while praying:God’s name should be honored in prayer. We ought to pray that God would raise up people who know him in the midst of a world that despises him.As we pray that God’s kingdom comes, we should ask that our lives be more fully submitted to Christ and that Jesus would defeat his enemies on earth.Pray for others whose needs are greater than our own—this stirs up Christlike compassion in our hearts as we fully depend on God at every step of his provision.Pray for forgiveness, not because we haven’t already been forgiven, but to restore fellowship with God. As Christians, we should want to walk as closely as possible with God.Pray to be watchful and prayerful so as to not be overwhelmed by temptation. As we more fully know the love of the Father, we will desire to earnestly seek him in prayer.

During a panel discussion led by Collin Hansen at TGCW22, Jackie Hill Perry, Preston Perry, Melissa Kruger, and Michael Kruger discuss what it looks like to have healthy, godly marriages. Both couples emphasize the need for respect, listening, authenticity, and confession. The panel also talks about the importance of focusing on the positive aspects of your spouse and being for your spouse in every situation, never trying simply to win an argument.Hansen asks questions like “How do you protect your marriage?” and “What does it mean to honor your spouse’s family?” The couples talk about the importance of pursuing healthy friendships, having fun together, and praying for one another daily. They say marriage is a reflection of the individual's relationship with God and that as you both look to Christ together, more unity in marriage inevitably follows.