Jerry Leachman of Leachman Ministries joins us today with a message calling us to give our lives away. Jesus said people that give their life away will find their life. You know when you’re giving your life away because it’s impossible to be contentious toward anybody. You have become their servant. You don’t think you’re better than others, and you’re free from the bondage of consumerism. People that give their life away, Jesus said, shine like lights in the world. He even said in the midst of a crooked and a perverse generation you shall shine like lights in a dark place. Jerry 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.

What does it mean to be a human being?  Dr. Mark Gignilliat joins us with a message from the book of Exodus. I believe that we are seeing the erosion of the West, right in front of us. Shifts in our culture are accelerating very quickly. What we are seeing is going to require us to wrestle with the very basic questions of who we are: What does it mean to be a human being?  Do humans have a nature? Is there a nature that can be defined as a common nature of all humanity? What does sexuality actually mean in the givenness of the created order? The answer to all of these questions sits on top of the reality and the confession that "God is." God has given Himself to be known. He has spoken. He has given us His name, which allows us to identify Him and to relate to Him. And He is speaking to us through His Son Jesus in the Exodus of the Old Testament. And He has spoken to us in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus in the New Testament, so that we can know who our God is, relate to Him and worship Him more fully. 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.

Millions have read books and listened to sermons by Timothy Keller. But which people and what events shaped his own thinking and spiritual growth? Today I'm having a conversation with Collin Hansen, as we celebrate his latest book Timothy Keller: His Spiritual and Intellectual Formation. Timothy Keller takes readers behind the scenes to meet the people and understand the events that formed Keller's spiritual life and ministry priorities. With access to Keller's personal notes and sermons—as well as interviews with dozens of family members and longtime friends—Collin Hansen helps you understand one of the 21st century's most influential church leaders. Watch on YouTube Buy book on Amazon

The prophet Ezekiel in the Bible is a wild ride. I'm not sure how else to describe him. Ezekiel is a remarkable prophet of the Old Testament Exile. Dr. Mark Gignilliat joins us with a message from the first chapter of Ezekiel. Hebrews 7:25 tells us that Jesus, "...is also able to save forever those who come to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them." Ezekiel chapter 1 paints this incredible scene of Jesus praying for us. The scene moves from the ground up, as we see One like a man surrounded by a rainbow, Who is aflame and aglow with the mysteries of the universe. The cosmos is all around Him. What is He doing? He is overseeing His creation. He is seeing all things toward their ultimate Redemptive purposes. He is interceding for you and for me. John Calvin famously said our Lord Jesus does not sit idly in heaven. He is active in heaven. What is He actively doing? Praying for His people, interceding for them, lifting them up before the throne. Jesus intercedes with His Father with knowledge, having lived in the realm of human suffering Himself. Be encouraged with this today - Jesus is on His throne; He knows your name, He is praying for you to the Father by the Spirit, and He is reminding His Father that you are His. He has claimed you as His own. That is our only hope in life and in death. 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.

Think about these words - truth and evidence. How do we know what is true and valid? Is there real evidence for God? I believe that every single one of us should be asking these questions. The healthiest men I know adhere to Socrates' advice to “follow the truth wherever it leads.” So in order to discover what is true and valid we must take time to search it out for ourselves. Faith needs a foundation. God invites us to step into the light. Acts 17:31 tells us that God, "has set a day when He will judge the world with justice by the Man He has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising Him from the dead.” Today I will share 3 points of evidence for the resurrection. I contend that the resurrection of Jesus Christ is the greatest source of hope in the world. Ultimately there is power in the resurrection! Watch on YouTube

Are you looking for hope in your life today? In light of the recent, tragic school shooting in Nashville, I'd like to share this message of hope from a Good Friday talk I gave a few years ago. I believe it is pertinent today. Author and pastor Tim Keller says this, “Hope is the engine that drives your life. And the reason is because how you live your life today is so influenced by how you perceive your future.” In our vocabulary today, the word "hope" is generally spoken of as a synonym with wishing for something. I wish this would happen. I hope this would happen. Wishing is a vague longing for something we desire, but find unlikely to happen. The hope that I’m speaking of is a noun and it’s a life-shaping certainty of something that has not happened yet, but you know will happen. That word “hope” is used 85 times in the New Testament. What you’ll see stressed repeatedly is that our relationship with God is the ultimate ground of hope in this life, and that’s what I want to show you today. We are all hope-based creatures. We can’t live without hope. This is why people who see the future as being utterly hopeless, very sadly pull the plug on their lives. Because, when you look ahead at the future and you don’t like what you see and you see no change is coming, you find yourself feeling this sense of hopelessness. This naturally leads to despair in your present-day life. And so, the way you see the future has such an impact on the way you see your life and the way you live your life today.

When you think of God, what is the first thing that comes to your mind? In other words, when you think of the attributes of God, what do you think of? Here in the south, many of us might describe God as a loving God, a merciful God, that He is a forgiving God and He is an all-powerful God. You see those descriptions in the Bible of who God is. These are descriptions that make us feel good about God and who He is. The problem is when Easter rolls around we hear a lot of different words. We hear words like sin and the cross and the crucifixion, God’s wrath, and God’s judgment, the sacrifice He made and the spilling of the blood of His Son, Jesus. And for many people, this isn’t really pleasant. It’s kind of like a lot of people feel about Good Friday, they say, I’d just as soon forget about Good Friday and move on to Easter. But the heart of the Christian faith starts at the cross. In fact, without the cross, the Biblical story of redemption makes no sense. Today I'd like to share with you a Good Friday message I gave a few years ago, to briefly walk you through the events of Good Friday, and make four important points that I think will be very helpful to you, particularly as you prepare your heart for Easter.

Today's message might possibly be the most important message I could ever share with Christian men. Proverbs 16:5 says, "The Lord detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: they will not go unpunished." Think about those words. Then James 4:6 tells us, "God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble." The Greek word for opposed there means "to be at war with." Now who in the world wants to be at war with God? There are two types of pride. The first is what you would call good, like taking pride in your work and striving for excellence in your life. The Bible is talking about the second type of pride, which is arrogance. We can easily see arrogance in the lives of others, but it's so difficult to spot it in our own lives. I have to stop, step back and ask myself, could this be true in my life? Tim Keller says that pride is the carbon monoxide of sin. Pride silently and slowly kills you without you even knowing it. If arrogant pride is the utmost evil, and yet we have a hard time seeing it in our own lives, should this concern us? I think the answer is yes. I'd like to share several good applications that you can apply to your own life, starting today. I believe we should be praying every day, "Lord, show me the pride in my life. Help me to see it. Help me to see what is true of my own heart."

Today Richard joins Jeff Pinkleton on the Pinkleton Pull-Aside Podcast to discuss Biblical manhood, the existence of God, Alabama football and much more. Special thanks to our brother in the Lord, Bob "Coach Schue" Schuemann, for connecting Richard with Jeff and the good folks at The Gathering! Jeff Pinkleton is Executive Director of the Gathering of the Miami Valley, where their mission is to connect men to men, and men to God. You can reach Jeff at GatheringMV.org or find him on Facebook at The Gathering of the Miami Valley. This episode originally aired on the Pinkleton Pull-Aside Podcast. Click here to listen.

We live in an age of constant distraction. We have to be intentional to find space for reflection, for prayer - to crowd out the noise of existence. Many people are marked by angst, depression and even suicidal thoughts. Where are you looking for hope in your life? Dr. Mark Gignilliat joins us with a message about Lent and the book of Psalms. Psalm 121:1-2 tells us, "I lift up my eyes to the hills—where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth." The season of Lent is a gift to us, especially in an age that's marked by distraction. Lent is a gift for reflection, a gift for prayer, and a gift for renewal. It's also a time for us to think about basic questions of our existence: Why am I here?  For what purpose have I been made?  Is life worth living?  What are we heading toward?  What's the purpose for our existence?  I believe that the Bible is extremely interested in all of those questions. The Lord has promised that He will not lose us, that He's not going to fall asleep on us. He will keep our souls with that very thing that animates our being and gives us life. He will hold it and he will keep it. In the midst of the busyness and distractions of our lives. I pray that we will remember that our help comes from the Lord. That we will believe that this promise is true, and that it is true for each one of us.  Watch on YouTube Recommended devotional for Lent: A Long Obedience in the Same Direction by Eugene Peterson 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.