What is your strategy for dealing with your mortality? Years ago, a friend of mine came to me, concerned about his father, who was a very wealthy self-made man. He was concerned because his father had no spiritual life, so he talked to his dad about it and his father said, "You know, I just don’t have any need for God in my life. I don’t have any real need for Christ in my life." In other words, he was saying, "I have a strategy for contending with life, and it’s a financial strategy. I’ll throw money and influence at life’s problems." I have no idea if this man ever changed his mind, but he died recently and I’m not sure that his strategy took into account the fragileness of life. What's your strategy? Read more about this in my newly updated book Safe Passage - Thinking Clearly About Life and Death. *This week get 40% off with promo code DAD40 for Father's Day*

As we lead up to Father's Day, I'd like to share a message that my good friend Jerry Leachman gave at one of our Mens Breakfasts a few years ago. One of the most important things that could happen in a man’s life is to become reconciled with his father or reconciled with his son. Forgive and be forgiven. Then cultivate that relationship, and pass on what you are learning to the next generation. In Deuteronomy 6, God exhorts us to be like an on-field coach: "These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life... These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." Jerry Leachman of ⁠Leachman Ministries⁠ is a favorite speaker at The Center's events. Along with being an associate Chaplain in The NFL for many years, Jerry has done ministry in Guatemala, Scotland, Russia, Europe and Africa as well as all over the U.S. He and his wife Holly have been on Young Life Staff and continue to be involved with Young Life here and also internationally.

When Jesus raises from the dead and ascends to the right hand of the Father, what is He doing? What is Jesus doing now? He does not sit idly in heaven. As our raised and ascended Lord, Jesus lives right now, praying and interceding for us, His people. Hebrews 7:25 tells us: "Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them." Watch on YouTube Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew, and also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

What is the role of understanding in our lives? I remember years ago, driving back from a vacation with our kids, who at the time were about 4 and 5 years old. They were happily watching a cartoon. We happened upon a really bad storm, like nothing I had ever run into before. I finally had to pull over to wait it out. It really shook me up. Well, I looked back at my kids, and they were totally engrossed in their show - literally unfazed by the dangerous storm. They weren't concerned about it at all. Many people are in grave danger of being eternally lost; maybe a heartbeat away from eternity, and they're not concerned at all. It's like they're sitting back watching their favorite show, living with a false sense of security. In Matthew 7:21, Jesus declares, "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." Do you know of anyone in your life that is living with a false sense of security? As believers, we have a responsibility to speak up. Today we're discussing just how to do that.

What is the purpose of planting? Of course, the purpose of planting is to yield something more than just the seeds that one plants. The purpose of planting is to yield something of value, like forests, food, shade or beauty. Jesus tells us in John 15:8, "By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be my disciples." Yet, we cannot make the fruit ourselves. Only God can bring life. Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 3:6 that, "I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth." Bearing fruit is not optional. As His people, God designed and expects us to be fruitful in some way or another. But the beautiful part of planting is to rest in knowing that the results are up to God. Yes, strive to plant and do your work well in the Lord, using the gifts He has given you, but He is the one that causes the growth and brings others to Himself.

How much would it take to satisfy my heart? How much is enough? Interestingly, there are people who don't have much that want more, understandably, and then there are people that have a whole lot, and they still want more. And neither group stops to ask the question: Do I have enough?

Are you passing wisdom on to the next generation? Do you have young men in your family or life? The book of Proverbs is an extremely important book for finding practical truths and principles to help us in wise living. As we are gaining wisdom, it is a worthy endeavor to look for ways to share it with others, particularly to those younger than us. Proverbs 25:2 tells us that, "It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings is to search out a matter." What a blessing it can be to us to search out the mysteries of God that He is inviting us to discover! Then in Psalm 78:4, the Psalmist declares, "We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about His power and His mighty wonders." >>Watch on YouTube Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew, and also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

The doctrine of election can be a matter of division among a lot of Christians. Today's Richard's guest, Dr. Mark Gignilliat, discusses some overlapping and important theological concerns that the Bible itself raises, in terms of what we are as human beings and the necessity of God's grace to enter into our lives and to raise us into new life in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:3 that "no one can say Jesus is Lord" without the animating work of the Holy Spirit. We cannot say with true sincerity that Jesus is Lord without the work of the Holy Spirit to take that which is dead and to make it alive again. Watch on YouTube Dr. Mark Gignilliat is professor of divinity at Beeson Divinity School, where he teaches courses in Old Testament and Hebrew, and also serves as theologian in residence at St. Peter's Anglican Church in Birmingham. Dr. Gignilliat is married to Naomi, and they have four children.

What is the quality of your work? Would you like to get understanding on how to live a more fruitful life? In today's message, we continue looking at the metaphor of the different types of soil that the Word of God fell on. We'll look at three things that keep us from being fruitful: worry, deceit and the desire for other things.

The podcast discusses the importance of sharing who Christ is with others through personal connections and friendships. It explores creative ways to bear fruit for the Lord and emphasizes the significance of inviting others to encounter Christ. Tim Keller shares the principle of finding Jesus through a friend, highlighting the effectiveness of personal relationships in leading others to a personal relationship with Christ.