Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Segment 1 • Todd addresses Kirk Cameron’s recent comments on hell and annihilationism. Segment 2 • Is there such a thing as idolizing knowledge about God? Can I spend too much time trying to learn about God? – Anonymous • Who do you think died first: Jesus, or the thief on the cross next to him? – Steve • I disagree with your take on AI worship music. I think praise is always good, no matter who sings it. Thoughts? – Anonymous • Bonus: Phil Johnson just dropped a note… Segment 3 • How can Christians turn the other cheek in the workplace without being a doormat? – Anonymous • Should pastors know how much money each congregant individually gives to the church? – Pat • When unbelievers pray, is anyone actually listening? – Anonymous Segment 4 • How should Christians rightly think about feeling proud about accomplishments? – Anonymous • What do you think about certain denominations that don’t require church membership? – Anonymous • Are all sins equal in the eyes of God? – Anonymous ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • Christian Nationalism is rising… but no one agrees on what it means. • It’s not the same old “separation of church and state”—it’s something new. • Neil Shenvi suggests this movement is already on the decline. Segment 2 • Some Christian Nationalist rhetoric is undeniably racist and dehumanizing. • Not everyone in the movement is extreme, but the toxic voices are there. • Christians should be leading on justice, not just picking sides. Segment 3 • Outreach events often confuse food and fun with actual evangelism. • No gospel, no follow-up, no impact – that’s not evangelism. • Churches that highlight family and follow-through could change lives and save souls. Segment 4 • University of Colorado pays $10M over the COVID jab. • 1 in 5 Americans believe the Bible was written to control people. • Most evangelicals don’t hold to a literal reading of the Bible. Where do we go from here? ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Witness Wednesday! Today, Todd ventures on campus at Georgia Tech to have conversations about Christ, truth, and the afterlife. He meets students Ryan and Dallas and encourages them to trust in the reality and truth of the gospel of Christ. Segment 1 • Todd uses Ryan’s Chick-fil-A sandwich to argue for intelligent design. • Ryan, an agnostic-leaning student, wrestles with the idea of creation vs. the Big Bang. • Todd gently calls out Ryan’s reluctance to accept a Creator, and the possible motive behind it. Segment 2 • Todd probes deeper into Ryan’s conscience. • Ryan admits he’d be found guilty if judged by God, but still doubts the justice or existence of such a being. • Ryan doubts Todd’s ability to know this truth, but affirms his logic. Segment 3 • Todd meets Dallas, a witty nuclear engineering student who might say he is spiritual but not religious. • Dallas admits to moral failings but assumes God will be “understanding.” • Todd points Dallas towards Christ taking his punishment for him. Segment 4 • Todd outlines the gospel — forgiveness through Jesus, not good works — but Dallas hesitates, hung up on religion and the name “Jesus.” • Dallas responds to the gospel with sarcasm and dismissal. • Todd encourages you: respond to the gospel in faith – don’t dismiss it. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • Jury trials scrapped in Britain for offenses under 3 years—what’s next? • Canadian pastor jailed for protesting drag story hour; euthanasia stats in Canada shock the world. • Nigeria: over 200 school kids kidnapped as Christian persecution runs rampant. Segment 2 • 61% of pastors now using AI weekly—how should congregants think about this? • Ridiculous complaints raised by cheater website Ashley Madison about AI chatbots. • 90% of college students think “words = violence.” Segment 3 • Christians face two dangerous extremes: being consumed by bad news vs. living in ignorance. • “Wise as serpents, infuriated at evil” — we’re called to be informed, not indifferent. • A United Methodist preacher announces he’s “transitioning” — and claims it’s part of his ministry. Segment 4 • UMC pastor tells kids they don’t need to obey their parents if feelings are hurt. • Claims he’s not “becoming a woman,” just stopping the charade of acting like a man. • This isn’t deep thinking — it’s moral sophistry being fed to children. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • How can Christians balance all aspects of truth about God? • We can’t reduce God to JUST wrath or love. • What does it mean to have an “eternal inheritance”? Segment 2 • Culture is crushing young men. Does the church have an answer? • Nick Freitas shares hard truths about the struggles of young men. • Does your church, counterculturally, point towards marriage and family? Segment 3 • 43% of evangelicals believe good deeds get you into heaven. • If Christians don’t even understand the gospel, how can they share it? • The law must be presented before the gospel can be received in faith. Segment 4 • Shocking percentages of both Catholics and Christians believe there are many ways to heaven. • There is a correct way, biblically, that we are to respond to the gospel. • There may be movement in the Trump family towards accepting the gospel by faith. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Mailbag Friday! You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. SEGMENT 1 • Is it wrong for me to take back a gaming console I got my son as a gift? – David • How should we feel about non-Christians singing Christian songs? – Anonymous SEGMENT 2 • Is it sinful to pray for the chance to adopt instead of having children of my own? – Mercy SEGMENT 3 • Is wearing makeup a sin? – Anna • How do I submit to my church when I disagree on secondary issues? – Anonymous • How can I tell the difference between God’s discipline and ordinary hardship? – Gabe SEGMENT 4 • Can I truly trust someone who claims Christ but has a track record of lying? – Josiah • How can I rightly think about marriage when I didn’t see a healthy examples of it growing up? – Anonymous ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • You can sit under “expository preaching” and still starve spiritually if it never aims for your heart. • Teaching the text without any application turns sermons into lectures. • Some preachers have settled for mere information over true transformation. Segment 2 • Paul Washer calls out sermons that inform the mind but leave eternity untouched. • If your pastor doesn’t plead with you about heaven and hell, souls are in danger—including yours. • True preaching doesn’t just explain verses—it confronts sin and stirs obedience. Segment 3 • “Cleverneutics” makes Scripture say theological novelties. • If a teacher always sounds innovative, you should be on your guard. • Word games and cleverness oftentimes obscure straightforward, biblical truth. Segment 4 • Some pastors distort Scripture with “creative” theology instead of submitting to it. • Answers in Genesis reminds us: Christianity isn’t about novelty—it’s about time-worn truths that save. • The danger isn’t just bad sermons, but loss of confidence in the truth of Scripture. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Witness Wednesday! Todd engages two Georgia Tech students on issues like sin, morality, and the afterlife. Listen along as real, street-level evangelism is done to God’s glory. Segment 1 • Philip admits the Christian God makes the most sense but refuses to submit because he doesn’t want his lifestyle to change. • He confesses he knows God’s rules, knows they’re real, and still chooses to live how he wants and “take his chances with death.” • Todd uses God’s law (lying, lust, blasphemy) to show Philip he’s not “basically good,” but a willful rebel against a God he knows exists. Segment 2 • Philip clearly says he understands hell, believes he’d go there, and is still content to keep enjoying sin “for a season.” • He admits he’s weighing Jesus versus his current pleasures and, for now, deliberately chooses sin, thinking he can always reconsider later. • Todd warns that greater knowledge brings greater judgment, prays that Philip’s conscience will torment him in his sin, and pleads with him to see Jesus as better than “fun” and temporary pleasure. Segment 3 • Scott, sporting royal blue hair and loving the attention, says he’ll only conform to laws he personally deems just—rejecting God’s laws as unfair. • He argues that if God created people with their flaws, God is responsible for their sins and has no right to punish them. • Scott calls the God of the Bible evil, citing genocides and hell as proof, and leans on Dawkins-style thinking while insisting humans aren’t basically bad. Segment 4 • Todd shares the tribal-king story where the ruler takes the lashes his guilty son deserves, using it as a picture of Jesus taking God’s wrath in our place. • He explains that sin against an infinitely holy God deserves infinite punishment, and that the cross is how God remains both just and merciful. • Scott still rejects eternal punishment and substitution as unjust, while Todd urges listeners to see the cross as the greatest act of kindness ever offered to a guilty sinner. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • The #1 song on the charts is AI-generated. • Can something that a machine created truly be considered worship? • Worship isn’t simply content… it’s communion with a personal God. Segment 2 • AI music might seem slick— but it lacks true soul. • You wouldn’t watch robots play football… so why let them lead worship? • AI sermons may soon multiply, but authentic worship can’t be automated. Segment 3 • Praising God with stuff your computer wrote is laziness, not worship. • “AI worship” exposes how shallow modern Christianity and the western church is becoming. • Our secular culture is trying to tell us that “climate change denial” is a spiritual issue. Segment 4 • Government handouts are not the fruits of the Spirit. • If generosity is required by the government, it’s no longer truly generous or charitable. • True giving flows from a renewed heart, not from legislation. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Segment 1 • America gives thanks… but to whom? • Christmas without Christ becomes consumer therapy, not worship. • When God is removed, holidays keep the name but lose the meaning. Segment 2 • Forcing companies to say “Merry Christmas” won’t save anyone. • Secular businesses aren’t the mission field — people are. • Shaming culture won’t convert souls; the gospel will. Segment 3 • Marijuana has become America’s coping mechanism for family holidays. • If you need to be high to survive Thanksgiving, something’s broken. • God offers peace that doesn’t fade, fog, or numb. Segment 4 • Anger, bitterness, fear—truth defeats what therapy slogans can’t. • Memorized Scripture is emergency ammunition for the soul. • Assurance doesn’t come from feeling strong — it comes from knowing Christ saves and keeps. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!