Mission Focused Men for Christ

Summary: No man wants to fail at his mission to impact others for Christ. But we will, if we forget one of the commands of Peter that is a prerequisite for having such an impact—BE READY. Always be ready, writes Peter to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Pet 3:15).In other words, Peter commands every Christian to prepare ahead of time—that is what “ready” means. What are we to be prepare ourselves to do?  Make a logical defense of our faith. That is what the Greek word, “defense” means. It is APOLOGIA. APO means from or since, LOGIA is the word from which we get logic. This episode helps us be prepared and prepare our loved ones to give a logical answer to a very common accusation that Christians hear: YOU CAN’T TAKE THE BIBLE LITERALLY. For Further Prayerful Thought: 1. What would you say to someone who says, “I think it tells spiritual truth, but the events it records are not always real historical events”?2. How would you answer the objection, “We don’t even really know what the original writers of the Bible really said. Bible translations disagree”?3. What is your biggest doubt about whether the Bible is really God’s Word? For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here: 

Summary: Fighting words are words that arouse a visceral response in people, making their gut churn and their hands ball into fists. As the election draws near, fighting words have been flying all over twitter and Facebook in the political clash over our nation’s future. This episode looks beneath this political fight to a deeper, even more significant war, the battle by which Christians are to destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:5). Christian men as leaders of their homes and churches are to lead the way in this fight. That is the reason for this current series, “Surrounding Our Loved Ones With the Belt of Truth.” Today’s culture is marinated in the idea that tolerance is the highest virtue in the land. Therefore, Christ’s words, I am the way the truth and the life. No one comes to the father but by me are FIGHTING WORDS for many. Saying your religion is right and all the others are wrong is the epitome of intolerance. So, how do we help our loved ones survive this assault on their faith and winsomely challenge others to investigate the claims of Christ? That is today’s topic. For Further Prayerful Thought:1. Can you think of an instance when you heard the “Christianity is too narrow and intolerant argument?” What do you think are the hidden assumptions of those who say that?2. Which argument for Jesus claim to deity stood out most to you?3. Many in the culture believe Jesus was just a great moral teacher, even though a primary tenet of his teaching was his claim to be God. Why do you think Christians have not challenged them with Liar, Lunatic, Lord argument, when it is so logical? For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here: 

Summary: Historians tell us, Ideas have consequences.There is one idea that has invaded the human heart that is responsible for more human destruction than any other idea—the falsehood that God’s goodness can’t be trusted. When this wrong idea captured Eve’s heart, she rebelled, Adam rebelled with her, and humans have been rebelling against God and his law ever since. Satan’s chief strategy to inspire rebellion in Eve’s heart was to make her doubt God’s goodness. Our calling as men is to “Surround our loved ones with the belt of truth,” which is the title of this podcast series. This episode helps our kids build confidence in the GOODNESS of God and in their ability to answer those who assert that suffering proves there can’t be a good God.For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here: 

Every man wants to protect his loved ones from harm. But in today’s world providing that protection isn’t usually standing at the door of our home with a shotgun to protect our wife and children from being raped or kidnapped by a marauding band of thugs as it is protecting them from false ideas that have the power to take their thoughts captive and destroy their lives. Paul describes this everyday battle and the power of God’s truth to tear down the lies of the culture. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ (2 Cor 10:4-5). Today, we begin a new series, “Surrounding Our Loved Ones With the Belt of Truth.” Our goal is to know how to equip our kids with a confident response to the idea that science has disproved the existence of God.For the printed version of this message click here.For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here  

Toxic masculinity is a term recently made popular in academic and media circles to describe the male aggression that leads to sexual assault, domestic assault, and bullying. In my view, Christians today should be leading the way in the fight against toxic masculinity for the honor of Christ, because the world needs self-giving manhood, and because so many of the solutions to toxic masculinity being offered in our culture are destructive. This episode examines four solutions we need to reject and recognize as harmful to our loved ones. It then reviews the six aspects of heart driven masculinity that were covered earlier in this series. This week’s Resource Highlight is Episode #33 Responding to the Argument that the Bible Teaches Patriarchy (6/21/20) which helps you equip your loved ones to see five fallacies in the accusation that the Bible teaches patriarchy. For a list of podcast series by topic, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men's issues such as godly fatherhood, click here.

If Christian men are asked, What one prayer in your entire life do you most want God to answer,” nearly all of them with kids would say, “I most want God to work in the hearts of my children to bring them to faith and a strong walk with Christ.” That answer pleases God, because he wants Christian men to leave behind a godly heritage. This episode looks at how important this calling is to God, and how he wants us to build a godly legacy that impacts generations to come. This week’s Resource Highlight is the series is, “How Your Leadership Can Have Impact at Home and Elsewhere” Episodes # 37-39, July 19, 26, and August 2.  For a list of podcasts series by topic, click here.For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues, such as spiritual leadership at home, click here 

All Christian men fight inner battles with their sinful nature. Lust, anger, selfishness, resentment, impatience, discontent, idolatry are just some of the forces that seek to overpower us as men. Many times we lose these battles for a simple reason—we are trying to fight them alone. But how do you find a few close friends to help you in your spiritual battles? You may not be able to find them; you may need to forge them. This episode shows how. Resource used in this episode:Got Your Back: Helping Men Forge the Brotherhood Connections They NeedClick for information about the book and its impactClick to order print, virtual, or audio version on Amazon For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here: 

I don’t know any man who walked down the wedding aisle expecting his marriage to end in failure; but many marriages do, and most divorces are instigated by unhappy wives. This episode looks at what we can learn from God’s design of marriage that can help our current or future marriage thrive. For FREE downloadable studies on men’s issues click here Resources Used in This EpisodeFor COUPLES:  Intimacy; God's Design for Marriage--Three Conversational Dates to Recover Intimacy in Your Marriage (click here)For Men:  Loving Our Wives Well: Understanding Four Needs of a Wife That Only Her Husband Can Meet (click here)

One Bible scholar says, To be a man is to stand up and be counted when there is danger or other evil. This episode reveals that indeed, God did design Adam to be the protector/warrior of the garden. So Christian men are called by God to protect those around us, especially our families, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Understandably, most Christian men struggle to understand what it means to be a spiritual warrior. This episode examines two of the biggest obstacles to being a successful spiritual warrior and how to overcome them to protect those around us from harm, especially our families. 

Most men dream of greatness--of having a major impact on the world. Such dreams should not surprise us since men are created for impact; that is why God placed Adam in the Garden of Eden, to transform it, to enable it to reach its full potential, to cause the world and culture to flourish. This episode explains how sin has corrupted that calling to make an impact in the world and challenges men to impact the world around them in five ways. A great resource used for this podcast is Richard Phillips, book, The Masculine Mandate.