What Are Some of The Greatest Hymns? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Mike Clement and David Clement.

Mike Clement

We were asked if we'd be willing to put together a couple of programs where we talk about some of the great hymns of the faith and look at maybe their hymn stories and the content of the hymn, and some things like that. So when we really want to share something with you before we get started with this, I got 10 points. So if you've got a pencil and paper, you can write down 10 points. Can't preach that on a Sunday morning, it takes too long. Number one, music is a primary form of worship. Now different churches and different traditions have handled music in different ways. I read that some of the reformers banned music entirely in their worship services. Calvin, didn't think a whole lot of it, John Calvin, he kind of tolerated it, but he put it on a very low level. Actually the guy who was the president of the school that I graduated from, put it way below the preaching ministry. He didn't, and I heard of a pastor in Philadelphia, back the turn of the previous century. And he wouldn't allow a choir in his church. Yeah. He said, in fact, he said from the pulpit, when Satan was thrown out of heaven, he landed in the choir loft. And so he just wouldn't allow it. Martin Luther though, elevated music to the same level as teaching and doctrine. He thought it was really, really important. Scripture mentions music as a form of worship. Psalm 100:2 says, "Serve the Lord with gladness, come into his presence with singing." Dave. You've got a couple of verses there.

David Clement
Yeah. And Ephesians 5:19, it says, "Speaking to yourselves in Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your hearts to the Lord." And then over in Colossians is a similar verse. It says, "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing, one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your heart unto the Lord." And we could see pictures of this all throughout those scriptures. One that comes to mind vividly of me obviously, is David, David wrote many of the Psalms. He was very gifted in poetry if you would, and in songwriting. And he wrote many of the Psalms and many at times, how he went to singing his praises of the Lord, or, you know, some of them more prayers that he had to the Lord. I think of a Psalm 52 is a prayer that David wrote unto the Lord and talking about his own sin, his life, and just praying to the Lord through hymns, through songs, through spiritual song. I think it's very, I think it's great. And we see that in the scripture,

Mike Clement
We don't have a lot recorded in scripture as to what the early church services were like. And God probably did that so that we wouldn't be caught up in just imitating, the rituals and so forth. But there were some things, the preaching of the word was primary and there was also music early in the first century church.

David Clement
Actually in the first prison ministry, it started with--thrown into prison there at Philippi. They were at midnight, they opened their voices and they were singing praises unto the Lord at midnight. And then there was the first prison ministry, right.

Mike Clement
There you go. Third thing we have is two primary goals of music and worship are, first of all, to praise and glorify God. And secondly, to encourage and exhort other believers. I'm reading a book right now by A.W. Tozer. Tozer wrote that serious students of God's word should equip themselves with a good translation of the Bible and a hymn book. And he just emphasized that many of the doctrines of God's word are found in good Godly hymns that were written down through the ages. And so he said that was a great way to learn the truth of God's word is through the hymn book. Another thing, music is used in worship, but it must always reflect the person and character of God. Now there is secular music, there's cultural music, there's just all kinds of different forms of music. But when you talk about what's going to be in church, in worship or, an individual using it for worship, well, that's a whole different level. Mom, when she was a young teenager worked for, American Missionary Fellowship, which was the organization that had Camp Rock at that time. And she was a summer missionary and she was sent out to remote areas to do vacation Bible schools. And it was an all day vacation Bible school. And they did all kinds of things, but one of the things they did was they sang hymns. Well, some of these kids had never been in church, so they didn't know any of the hymns. And she told how with one group, she sang a hymn with them, or a camp song and then said, "Well, what would you like to sing?" And one of the little boys said, "Jimmy, Crack Corn," There's nothing wrong with secular music and things that are not sacred. But when you're talking about in the worship service, when you're worshiping the Lord, either in a service with other people or by yourself, then it ought to reflect the character of God.

And what we find in Isaiah 6, is Isaiah is caught up into the throne room of God. And he sees things that he can't even describe and he is struck with his own sinfulness. One of the things he says though, is he sees angels on either side of the throne of God, and they're calling to one another. Holy holy, holy. And there are a lot of hymns that talk about the holiness of God. Holiness, actually has the connotation of something that is different and something that is set aside from other things, and God is different from his creation. There is a view of God called pantheism, which says that God is in everything, He's in the rocks, He's in the trees, He's in the birds. And there are people that get all off on that kind of thing. You know, God is in nature. God is outside, he's in our world, but He's outside of our world. He is not part of creation. He created creation, he made the universe. And it also has the idea of being separate and separation is always separate from something and separated to something else. And this conference that I went to this weekend, Dave, one of the guys brought that up and he said, "You know," he said, "Sometimes in our circles, we get all hung up about separation. Oh, we need to be separate from this and separate for that." He said, "We got it backwards. We need to be separated unto God. And if we're separated under God, then some of these other things just need to fall by the wayside. They they need to be taken out of our life so that I'm more dedicated and more separated for the Lord. And I really like that music in worship is to always reflect the person of God, the character of God and the truth of God's word. I remember years ago there was a very popular song and, I like it. It's a Christian song, but some people had some problems with the theology in it. They didn't think that it was accurate theology, and they expressed that to the writer. And the writer's response was, well, this is the way that God gave it to me. Well, I don't have a problem with the song, but I really didn't like his answer. Seriously, he's kind of elevating his songwriting to the level of the inspiration of God's word. God's word is inspired, God's word is without error, God's word is God's truth. God may move us to do something and encourage us, and bring things to mind, but good music needs to always be in agreement with God's word. And if it's not, then it's not good music, right. There's a problem with it. Well, a couple of other things at the end, not all old music is good. We were, we were in a church in New Jersey and they had a choir, bless their hearts. They would just be up there just singing away. I couldn't understand what they were singing. It wasn't a real good choir. In fact, if I wanted to get anything out of their singing, I had to take my hymn book and find the hymn that they were singing and follow along so I knew what it was. We know a fellow who started a new church over in Wyoming, and he really started a church with a bunch of people that were totally unchurched. He had very little music. They would have one hymn in the worship service and they'd sing it three times cause they didn't know it. And he said he never had just instrumental music because people didn't know the hymns. It didn't mean anything to them. Anyway, not all old music is good. Not all new music is bad. There have been some more recent things, and I'm going to mention Majesty. And somebody's gonna say "gracious that is ancient." Not as ancient as I am now. When that came out, it just really touched my heart, and it focuses on God. And that's something that I didn't put in our little outline here, Dave, but in most hymn books, in the beginning of the hymn book, there is an index, and the index will point out sections that are dedicated. So there's a section for Christmas music. There's a section for the other music. The vast majority of our music written today and written in the past is testimonial, and testimonial hymns are not bad. This is what God means to me. This is what God did for me. But most hymn books have a very small section that's dedicated to worship and that focuses only on the Lord. And I think that's kind of significant anyway. Not all popular music is good, just because people like it doesn't mean that it's good now. They like, it means something to them, but the teaching behind that music and, and the presentation of it, may not be good at all. Music is different from one culture to another. In fact, it's even different in different parts of our own country, where you've got a local flavor. We live in the west and we get a lot more country western stuff. And I never used to listen to bluegrass music, but I've kind of developed a taste for it. I'm enjoying it, the Rochesters and some people that we know. Music is different from one culture to another. And another thing for us to keep in mind is that those who are musicians and singers in the Old Testament were priests. They were priests, they were called of God. Now in the New Testament, it says that all believers are priests. Were a holy people, were a peculiar people, were a royal priesthood. But the whole area of worship in the Old Testament, that was led by Godly people, people that were to know what God's word has to say and be familiar with it. I met a fellow one time who was a part of a music group. And they were a very popular music group, but he shared with me, "If the kids knew the lifestyle that I live off of the stage, they never would listen to what I have to say." And unfortunately that can be true of pastors and preachers as well. So all we're going to do is we're going to look at some hymns that have passed the test of time. They're found in most hymn books, been used by most churches. We intend to look at the stories behind them. And we also intend to look at some of the things that they teach. So that's the game plan. And we were right, Dave, all that we got through was the outline, right?

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Just Be You!

Optimisfits - With passion, purpose, a large dose of humor, and a wild sense of wonder, Optimisfits offers a road map for a better way to live. It’s calling you to seize your status as an outsider and wage a fierce rebellion against the hopelessness of the world by living out an intensely optimistic approach to every day. Ben Courson and a band of misfits invite you to join them on an epic adventure with God and with the Squad. 

Finding Rest - In today’s unsettling times, even those who have never before struggled with mental health can find themselves reeling. And for Christians, especially those who’ve despaired of help from a church that has stigmatized mental health challenges as a lack of faith, the way forward can be difficult to see. Jon Seidl is the guide you need. Having fought his way through crippling anxiety, life-altering OCD, and suicidal thoughts, he knows the value of practical advice grounded in strong biblical truth. And that’s just what he offers in Finding Rest. Filled with compelling stories and humor from someone still on his own journey, this book also provides a lifeline for friends and family who long for concrete ways to help relieve the suffering of their loved ones. And it lays out thoughtful, needed paths for the body of Christ to become a refuge of hope for the anxious. 

(Un)Qualified - Many of us are overwhelmed by the gap between our weaknesses and our dreams, between who we are and who God says we are meant to be. We feel unqualified to do God’s work or to live out the possibilities we imagine. But God has a way of using our weaknesses for good. In fact, God loves unqualified people. This is a book about understanding your identity in light of who God is. It’s a book about coming to terms with the good, the bad, and the unmentionable in your life and learning to let God use you. It’s about charging into the gap between your present circumstances and your future dreams and meeting God there. After all, God can’t bless who you pretend to be. Fortunately for us God is in the business of using broken people to do big things.  

One of the mistakes that I constantly make in life is worrying about what other people think about me. Always triple checking to see if my look or my personality reaches the expectations of those around me. But like it says in (Un)qualified, “God is far less intimidated by your failures and limits than you are.” So don’t try to fit the mold that you believe everyone wants you to squeeze into. Instead, fix your eyes on the person God wants you to be. The book, (Un)qualified is filled with so many things like that, speaking to anyone who feels like they are unqualified in life. Probably one of the best metaphors I saw in this book was, “Sometimes our image and identity have been treated and retreated and bleached and buried so many times that the original color is beyond recognition.” I generally like this analogy for two reasons. One, because I know my sister has changed the color of her hair countless times, and once I get used to one color, she changes it again. And two, when I read it for the first time, I realized that I feel the exact same way about my personality. For a large part of my life, I have been changing my personality for those around me so much that the unique personality that I started out with has nearly disappeared. But when it comes to that line of thinking, another one of our inspiring books, Optimisfits, has this to say: Quit worrying about what other people think and decide to live your own adventure. If any of the great heroes of the Bible were worried about what society thought of them, their stories would have ended quite differently. The other book that I found a lot of encouraging information in, was Finding Rest. I knew right away that this book was going to be relatable, because the author used the first chapter to explain that he wasn’t a professional on the subject of anxiety or OCD. He is just a normal person like you and me, who has dealt with both anxiety and OCD on a personal basis. And he even said, “Pain and suffering are being used by God for our good and His glory.” So if we are going through a mental or physical pain, we just need to remember that the end result in God’s plan for us will be for our good and His glory. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library and check out these amazing books. Never forget to let your light shine in the darkest moments!

There is a crack in everything. That’s how the light gets in. 

--Leonard Cohen

Will There Still Be Sinners In The New Earth? - Ask the Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Jeff Banks, Andy Griess, and Bruce Peterson.

Bruce Peterson
So here's the question, in Revelation 22:12-15, this is Jesus speaking, it says this, "Look, I'm coming soon. My reward is with me, and I will give to each person, according to what they have done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magical arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters, and everyone who loves him practices falsehood. So the question is, this is the last chapter of the Bible. And John has just told us all about this new city Jerusalem that comes down onto the new Earth. And there's no more death, no more sin, no more of the old things, all the old things are gone. And now at the close of the thing, it seems like maybe there's still dogs outside the city on the new Earth who are practicing magic. Maybe you shouldn't leave the city gates. You might get murdered.

Andy Griess
When she posed it to me on Thursday, I thought, man, what a great question. And then I realized kind of just looking at it more carefully, what appears to me is happening is, John has led us through this whole thing all the way to the end. And then just here at the very end, he's just going to take a big snapshot of the nuts and bolts of here's the final piece of this. And it is this, the final judgment has happened, and now that the new Heaven and new Earth is here and all those who are in Christ get to participate in it, it's a wonderful thing. Everybody's exciting, everybody's rejoicing, and then he just slips in at the end; but not everybody's going to be part of this. There's a group of people that are on the outside. I don't think literally outside the gates of the city, but they're not going to be participating in this. And so we've got at the end of all of human history, it all comes down to there's two very different groups.

Bruce Peterson
Yeah. I would agree with that. Right at the end, the headings in your Bible, even there, it says, this is the eulogy, like this is the wrap-up. And so here's the big story. The big story is, there's a place where there is no more sin and you get to be with God, and there's outside of that. You don't want to be on the outside. But here's what I think is interesting. Like this, in my Bible is all in red. This is a quote from Jesus, right? So John has broken it down, he's gotten lots of more information, and he's given us details. We don't really know when Jesus told this to John. John might have saved this quote. He might've got this quote in chapter one when he was talking to Jesus, when Jesus said, look, I'm the one who was dead and I'm now alive. I got the keys, here's the deal; there's the city, and this is where the righteous are. And you better get in the city because outside the city, is the dogs, now, John, go talk to the angels. They're going to explain all this stuff to you. And you're going to get all this detail about a city and a new Earth, cause there's not a new Earth. This chunk that Jesus is talking about, he doesn't even bring up the new Earth really. So I think John saved this quote for the end, because he's saying, listen, don't take my word for it. Jesus even said, listen, the righteous are in, the unrighteous are out.

Jeff Banks
Yeah, absolutely. I completely agree with that. And the fact that you brought up that this is red letter. This is the authority of Jesus, the assurance, everything that's been spoken about up to this point, that's going to be fulfilled the victory that's in Jesus. He's driving it home saying that, this is all true, and it's by the authority of Jesus. We do get reminded in the very end here that, there will be those who are going to enjoy life in the kingdom, in this new heaven and earth. And there's a reason why, and we want to get to that, and there's going to be some who are not going to experience it. These are those who are unredeemed or lost. These are the people that are going to be cast out of God's presence. And so now we wrestle with, what's the basis, who's it in? In verse14, blessed are those who washed their robes. Those who have been cleansed in the blood of the lamb and have the heart of the gospel, we've been talking about is that, those who have that through faith in Jesus, that Jesus pays for our sin and full through his blood. We get his righteousness credited to us. Those are the people that are in, and those who are not, are out.

Andy Griess
This is the last chapter of the Bible, I'd go to the very beginning of the story, where God creates everything and the idea is, you can have me as your king, this can be yours, but you've got to let me be the king. Will you allow me to be the one who's God? And at the beginning we reject God, sin comes into the world and sin is something that affects us all. And so when we look at this list of all the people that are outside, it's the dogs, it's those who practice magic, sexual immorality, murderers, idolaters, everyone who loves and practices falsehood, oh, that one gets us all right. I think that the beginning of the whole story is we all have rejected God. And so the whole story of the Bible is, is God gonna allow mankind to be separated from him forever? Or does he have a plan to fix what's been broken, to make us what he created us to be. And so the whole story is, you've given mankind chance. They can't, they can't, they can't. So we need a savior and then Jesus comes in. The whole thing of it is, there was all of mankind should have been in this category of outsiders outside. And we would have been, if it was up to us, if we had to contribute to ourselves, if we have to fix ourselves, we would forever be outsiders, which is why the entire Bible clearly points directly to the cross of Jesus and the resurrection and what he did.

Bruce Peterson
As you were talking, my brain went to just two chapters earlier in the great white throne of judgment, right? So this great white throne judgment that, all human kind is, kind of afraid of because there's books that are being kept and everything you do wrong that violates the law of God, including what you even think, including motives. So even if you do the right thing with the wrong motive, it gets written in this book. And then how do you not end up in the lake of fire in that chapter? The answer is, if your name is also written in the book of life; Well, what's the book of life about? 2 Corinthians 5:21 right? "He who knew no sin became sin so that we could become righteousness." Like I sin, you still sin. Any list God would comprise that would say, this is sin, we'd all be on that list. And the difference is, are we washed in the blood, right? We've been forgiven by the plan of God, which is Jesus. The one sacrifice that can make us alive, clean, and well.

Jeff Banks
Isn't that the heart of this, chapter 15, this isn't an exhaustive list. It's not like we're chatting on good or bad. It's pointing out, uncleansed sinners and their sin is still on them, that's the difference.

Bruce Peterson
They don't have a payment for it, so they still wear their labels. The first group, they might do those things, but they don't wear the labels. Their robes have been washed, not by them, in the blood of Christ. Some people are washed and some are not for a million different reasons, but you have to be washed.

Andy Griess
That's something that if you're listening today, you should understand, if you read that list and you go, oh, that's me. That does not have to be you forever. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us. Jesus' sacrifice was a full and complete payment for every sin. Those who trust in him are forgiven fully and freely. And in Him, we become the righteousness of God. The people in that first group who have been washed, it's not that they behave better. It's not that they did something differently. It's that they recognize their sin. They recognize, "I don't want to be this anymore Jesus.

If you can change me, if you can make me new, if you can give me your righteousness, I will have whatever you can give. I'm trusting you to do what you say you can do." And simply by that choice to put your trust in Jesus, everything changes, you are made new. You're forgiven completely. And so even today, if you've never, ever, ever recognized your sin, turned in faith to Jesus, you would be in the one category this moment. And the moment you put your faith in Jesus guaranteed, 100% that you are with Christ forever because you're washed in his blood. And it's an awesome thing. I'm so glad that at one point in my life, my grandmother shared that message with me. And from that day on, I've never been perfect, but I've known that in God's eyes. I'm perfect, and my place is secure. That first part of that is talking about me. Not because of anything I did.

Jeff Banks
And you can add to that, Andy, the other side of that, if you look at the list and say, I'm not any of those, and you think that you're righteous, your righteousness is not good enough, even if you don't think, I'm good, I'm not any of those things. And you're clinging to some righteousness that you think is enough. I mean, that's the whole book of Romans, right?

Bruce Peterson
Like there's the comparison is not--there's no righteousness. People who don't do these things and people who do, don't, that's not the comparison. Right? There's washed people and people who are still dirty. Why were the people washed in the first place? They were dirty. You don't wash clean things. Exactly. They're washed.

Jeff Banks
But yeah, I think that's the requirement of we need--there's righteousness, right? That's his perfect righteousness. That's his gift. That's Romans and it's credited to our account. And so that's the hope of the gospel that, you can have the assurance that you're going to enjoy this life because you've been washed.

Bruce Peterson
So, to sum up, so all that is super important. The big idea, and this is though this is a wrap up. So, it's not redefining the details of the city on the new planet, no sinners on the new planet. Yeah. No sinners anywhere in this whole category, the details are here. This is a broad story wrap up, insiders, outsiders, washed people, and people who haven't been washed yet. And that's the big story, right? Is that right?

Jeff Banks
That's the big story. And to Andy's point, if you find yourself, whether it's, because of you recognizing your own sin or thinking you're too righteous, the offer to be washed is there.

Bruce Peterson
The last verses? So let's just do it right. Then go to the very end of the book. And what's it say? Well you have got come? All who are thirsty, come. The one who wishes to take the free gift of the water of life, come that's right. There's the offer, right? This is for you. Are you thirsty? Can we get a drink?

Andy Griess
Ah love it.

Bruce Peterson
Dirty? Yeah? Jesus categorically washes feet. Jesus is the cleanser.

What's New at Cross Reference Library? Double Cousins and Double Friends

The Double Cousins Series - When double cousins Max Rawson and Carly Johnson with their siblings Dorie, Chad, and Molly, arrive at their grandparents’ ranch for an annual visit, they are delighted with a surprise request that changes everything. Grandpa asks them to uncover what happened to his grandfather’s twin brother Zachary, who left home to seek adventure and fortune in the West over 100 years before and was never heard from again. The only clue is a pocket watch Grandpa has that matches the one Zachary carried. Added to this real-life mystery is the sudden arrival of a new hired man, Slim, a quiet stranger with an unusual background. Will they be able to discover what happened to Zach and his watch? Who is Slim? Can he be trusted? What is he hiding? As the cousins seek answers to these questions they learn valuable lessons about forgiveness and acceptance. Over the course of seven books, the double cousins continue to solve the mystery of their long lost Great Grandfather. 

A Legacy for Life - Miriam Bradley likes to say her childhood was nearly perfect, marred only by the death of her mother. This book is a celebration of the gift the author received from God, wrapped up in her parents and grandparents. Through stories about the common sense wisdom of the adults in her life, the author shares how God gave her everything she needed, even in the face of such loss. These stories are also a challenge. Can you identify your own God-given legacy? What kind of legacy are you leaving? Will those who follow be able to say, like the author, all I have needed has been provided?

Smells Like Bacon - Tommy Woodard and Eddie James, the men who form the widely popular comedy duo The Skit Guys, have been best friends since high school. With encouragement and guidance from their youth pastor, the guys started to write and perform skits for their youth group. Since their high school days, they’ve been writing and performing hilarious and poignant skits live on stages around the world and on camera, leading to SkitGuys.com which provides content for thousands of churches and ministries. Now, this offbeat duo is coming together to present Smells Like Bacon: The Skit Guys Guide to Lifelong Friendships, about the power of having and being a good friend, one that lasts a lifetime. Written in the signature hilarity of a Skit Guys dialogue--with well-placed banter sprinkled in for good measure.

Recently, we received signed copies of Miriam Bradley’s autobiography, A Legacy for Life and her children’s book series, Double Cousins. Miriam Bradley writes heavily on the importance of family and how a family that works together, loves together. That is especially shown in Double Cousins when the cousins use teamwork to snuff out the clues of their mysterious heritage. And over the span of seven books, the cousins grow closer and gain bonds that can only be found in family. I know that when I was growing up, I was always looking forward to spending time with my cousins. Whether it was at a family reunion or at school, I was always excited to go on another adventure with them. For most of my life my “double cousins” also doubled as my best friends. This foundation for Miriam’s love for family is explained in her autobiography as she tells about the impact her grandmothers had made in her life. Another concept that was emphasized in this week’s books was friendship. This book was co-written by the Skit Guys, Tommy Woodard and Eddie James who have been friends since high school. The wisdom that they placed in this book seemed to hit some pretty good points. One of my favorite quotes that were placed there was, “Before we can be honest with others, we need to be honest with ourselves.” They even give us advice on how to be good friends and how to react when bad friends come around. Family and friends are very important in my life, and that is exactly why I enjoyed these books so much. So come on down to the Cross Reference Library, and discover these fun new books.

New Music Monday - New Artists Mitch Langley & Steph Alessi Muina + more

new to our rotation

Who My God Is - Mitch Langley

“Sure footed on the waves of the ocean
Stepping out on the words You spoken
I know who my God is
I know who my God is
Every mountain climbed
Every victory
All belong to the One who’s with me
I know who my God is
I know who my God is”

Wouldn’t Change a Thing - Steph Alessi Muina

“Cause You made everything better
Just like You promised You would
And You turned my mourning to dancing
Jesus, Your love is so good”

the top 25 contemporary Christian Countdown - saturdays at 6:00pm

Relate - For King & Country

“I don't know what it's like to be you
You don't know what it's like to be me
What if we're all the same
In different kinds of ways
Can you, can you relate?”

How Can God Be A Trinity? - Ask The Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Brad Kilthau, Gary Hashley, and Tim Hebbert.

Tim Hebbert

So we're gonna talk a little bit about this - what does it mean that God is a Trinity? And you know, I tell my young teenagers in classes, the first rule when we start talking about God is that He's not human. We can't place any human attributes on Him, because if we do that the concept of the Trinity is almost impossible to fathom. And in truth, it really is kind of hard to wrap our minds around it. Anyway, let's just dig into this and see where the Lord takes us this morning. What is the Trinity? How do we find that? That's the one true God who lives eternally in three persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. I listened to a pastor talk about it and I love the statement he made. He said, "God has been in relationship with Himself for all of eternity." And I guess that's maybe the best way that we can really describe that. What is that relationship? Well, it's a loving relationship that binds and fuses them together as one God existing within three separate persons. So it's hard to understand, but the foundation of everything we believe and who we are as followers of Jesus Christ starts with that foundation of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit and His word. God doesn't waste any time in sharing with us who He is.

One of the things I love about studying the Old Testament is He reveals Himself through His names. But He makes a statement in Genesis 1:26 where He begins to share, as I like to put it, that "one of a kind nature" because it can't be duplicated, it can't be imitated. Only God can be existing as Father, Son and Holy Spirit. But He says in verse 26, "Then God said, 'Let us make man in Our image, after Our likeness'." So He immediately goes into a plurality of who He is as one person. And throughout the Old Testament, each one of them is found and revealed in different scriptures here and there, but in that moment He doesn't define Himself as a triune God. But He does say "I have more attributes than you can fathom in one person." Numbers 23:19 says, "God is not human that He should lie, not a human being that He should change his mind. Does He speak and then not act, does He promise and not fulfill?" We're defining early on in scripture who God the Father is. Isaiah 7 tells us this, it's one of those iconic passages that reveals who Jesus is before He comes into the world. Verse 14 says, "Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the Virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Emmanuel," which we know means God with us. And in the second verse of Genesis 1, we're already introduced to the holy spirit, it says, "The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep and the spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters."

Then when we get into the New Testament, Jesus begins to teach us about the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. And then Paul really lays out the doctrine of how each one of these separate persons in the Godhead. But Jesus has revealed in His baptism, as the atmosphere parts you can see the glory of heaven, the Holy Spirit. And then the father says, "That's my son, the One that I am well pleased in." Later on at His transfiguration, we see the Holy Spirit come in the form of a cloud as Moses and Elijah nestled down into that transfiguration of who Jesus is. And then again, we hear the voice of the Father say to Peter James and John, paraphrasing a little bit, "That's my Son, listen to him." But I love this scripture. And in Romans 8, when Paul is defining the Holy Spirit He gives us that Trinity, starting with verse nine He says, "You however are not in the flesh but in the spirit, if in fact the spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the spirit of Christ does not belong to Him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is life because of righteousness. If the spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His spirit that dwells in you." So Paul in those three verses gives us an image of the working agreement, so to speak, between the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. Now Gary, there's a lot of error out there when we try to apply human conditions to that, so why don't you speak to that.

Gary Hashley

Well in Mark 12, Jesus quotes from Deuteronomy and says, "Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord Your God, with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. There are groups out there that say we are monotheists, we believe in one God. And I say, "Well, I'm a monotheist too, but I'm a monotheist who realizes scripture teaches that we have one God but we have three persons who make up that God. And each one, the Father is God, Jesus is God, the Holy Spirit is God. Jesus is just as much God as the Father, the Spirit is just as much God as Jesus and the Father, and Jesus isn't the Father, and the Father isn't the Spirit, the Spirit isn't Jesus. Some of those errors come because we try and wrap our heads around a concept too big for our brains. Some people believe we must have three gods. And that's what other religions would say, "We're monotheists and you're plural theists. You believe in three gods." No, we don't, but even though we say we don't believe in three gods, there are those who really struggle with that. They go round and round and round with that. And one of the problems is that if you've got three gods, someone's going to want to be king of the hill. And yet we don't find that, we find unity and we find cooperation. You look through the scriptures and you don't find that the members of the Godhead, God the Father, God the Son, God the Holy Spirit, are arguing over who gets top billing.

Another error that comes up - I had a guy in the first church I pastored come to me, he had a friend who had some interesting ideas about the Bible and about God. He came to me one day and he says, "I was talking to my friend and my friend told me that Jesus is less than the Father, that the Father is the big God. And Jesus is sort of a lesser God." And I said to Jack, "Well that's interesting, because Jesus said, " I and my father are One." Jack said, "I can't wait to go tell my friend because he missed that somewhere." How could they be one if Jesus was the less than the Father?

Another error that can come up, and I heard this from an adult Sunday school class in a church in southern Michigan where one of the deacons of the church was teaching the class. And he said, "Let me explain the Trinity to all of you. The trinity is like this - God gets up in the morning, and some days He puts on His God the Father suit, and He does God the father stuff. And then another day He might get up, assuming God sleeps, He might get up and put on His Jesus outfit, and He goes and does Jesus things. And then there are times where it's more appropriate when God gets up and puts on His Holy Spirit costume." And so He pictured this as God having three different outfits, and whatever day the One God had on either His God the Father suit or His God the Son suit or His Holy Spirit suit. There are a lot of errors out there, and some of it is because we really want to understand it. And I don't fault people for wanting to understand, because I want to understand. People trying to explain the Trinity, like it's like an egg, with the shell and the white part of the egg and the yolk being part of the egg. And that sort of helps us think through it a little, but the shell isn't the yolk and the yolk isn't the white and they're not coequal or coeternal. So, you know, any explanation that I've heard people come up with always comes up a little short of the perfections of the Trinity. But Pastor Brad, tell us why it matters.

Brad Kilthau

I think something you brought earlier is that anytime we do any teaching, especially on the doctrine of scripture, we have to ask why does that matter? How does it help me out? And the truth that God has triune is of utmost importance because it impacts our lives in several ways. One of those ways is through authentic worship. Since God has revealed Himself to us as triune, the Bible says in John 4:23 that we are to worship God in spirit and truth. And we cannot truly worship Him apart from regarding who he really is. And so it is good that when we worship Him, we comprehend what that means when we talked about our God is a triune God. I think even more importantly, the Trinity is vital for salvation. For our salvation to be possible, there needed to be a perfect sacrifice of infinite value to pay for the sins of the world, and if Jesus is anything less than fully and eternally God and He had limitations, that would prevent Him from accomplishing the work that we needed for Him to do on the cross and the resurrection. And when you think about our salvation, in scriptures the Father initiated salvational work, the Son completed the salvation to work in the cross, and it's the Holy Spirit who opens up our understanding and even gives us the ability to believe in the work of Christ. So all persons in the One God are vital in our salvation. And then there's also the thought about a healthy and personal relationship with the Father and the Son and the Spirit. We need to accept and embrace the fullness of God as it's been revealed to us in the scriptures. You can't ignore that, just as you were saying, it's all throughout the scriptures that he is a triune God. You can't throw that away and then have a intimate relationship with Him.

I think about this too - we need to get into the throne room of the Father. We want to go to the throne room to speak to the Father, well who makes that possible? Well Jesus opens the door and allows us there. And then it's the Holy Spirit that gives us the ability to even speak because we don't even know what to say and how to say it in the presence of the Father. So in order to have a healthy relationship we need this triune God of ours. And here's a fourth one that I was thinking about as I was contemplating this question - without the belief that our God is triune, there's a personal relationship problem for us as believers, because Christian relationships are to be modeled after and reflect the perfect unity and love that exists between the three Persons of the Trinity. Just as Jesus said as he was praying for the church in John 17, he said, "that all my followers may be one, Father, just as You are in Me and I in You, and that they may be one (speaking of the church) as We are One, I in them and You in me." And so when we think about our God who is love, there's this eternal active love that's always gone on among the Trinity Persons, infinite love, even before we were created. And so we're to reflect that kind of love for one another, and we're commanded to do that in Philippians 2:2, it says, "Being like-minded having the same love, being in one spirit and of one mind." And so it even affects our relationship as we look at our God and understand who He is and how we can relate to one another.

And so really the doctrine of the Trinity is a precious truth. And I know it blows our minds when we think about it, we have to sit back and go, "How can that be? I can't understand it." I think as you were saying Gary, we make a big mistake if we try to bring it down to some analogy that we can all comprehend - we can't comprehend all of our God. He's above who we are, but it is good to sit back and think about our triune God, because again it shows us how amazing He is and how wonderful and magnificent He is. And so it's a practical truth that should impact the lives of us Christians in a lot of different ways. So this is a good question, a good one to think about and constantly thinking about as believers in Jesus Christ.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Reading People - If the viral personality quizzes strewn about our social media accounts are any indication, we are collectively obsessed with the idea of defining and knowing ourselves and our unique places in the world. But what we’re finding is this: knowing which famous movie character you are is easy, but actually knowing yourself isn’t as simple as just checking a few boxes on an online quiz. Backed by extensive research and illustrated with engaging stories. Reading People explains what makes you uniquely you, what makes the people in your life uniquely them, and why it all matters. Popular blogger Anne Bogel makes it easy. In this fascinating book, she collects, explores, and explains the most popular personality frameworks, such as the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, StrengthsFinder, Enneagram, and others. She shares the life-changing insights that can be gained from each, along with practical applications across all facets of life, including love and marriage, productivity, parenting, the workplace, and spiritual life. 

No More Dragons - Becoming a dragon is a dangerously subtle process. It never happens all at once. You make a long chain of bad choices. The chain gradually wraps around you. Layer by layer, it begins to take on the aspect of scales. One day you glance at yourself in the mirror and a monster is staring back at you. You aren’t who you used to be. Instead, you’re a dragon. Jim Burgen was raised believing in Jesus, but by the time he was a college student he was very disappointed and disillusioned by “church.” As Pastor Jim Burgen narrates the remarkable process of Jesus reaching into his life and reclaiming him from himself, he implores modern church folks to shake off the trivial, sometimes weirdness, of religious churchiness in favor of the more important questions that make spiritual transformation and “undragoning” even possible to those who are looking for truth and grace. 

Half the Battle - Do you ever feel the pressure to hide your struggles in order to look like a “good Christian”? The truth is, we all face battles and hurts in our lives. Scripture is full of God-fearing men and women who tried to cover up their problems. For Mary and Martha, the death of their brother, Lazarus, was the ultimate devastation. They put his body in a dark place and rolled a stone in front of it. But God knew where they buried their pain, and He knows where you bury yours too. Jon Chasteen explores Old and New Testament examples of people whom God invited to begin the healing process by confronting their secret pain.

In the three books that I chose to write about this week, the authors all seemed to be wrestling with the same questions at one point in their lives. Is God truly there when I fight my battles? Who does God want me to be? Honestly, I can think of a few times in years past that I even asked myself those exact questions. Wondering if and when the struggles would end? And trying to figure out if who I was, was ever going to be enough. That is exactly why I found these books so interesting. In Reading People, Anne Bogel breaks down all the different personality indicators and what insights they can give you on who you truly are. But also, she reminds us that, no matter the personality type you may have, God still loves you. Next, in No More Dragons, Pastor Jim Burgen starts out by explaining how he became a “dragon” and how he slipped out of his monstrous form. But then he goes on to tell how to avoid becoming a dragon like he did. What I loved the most about his testimony was the example the pastor used when Jim came back to Christ. He recalled the story from The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader where Eustace was turned into a dragon after discovering the cave of dragon’s treasure. As the story went on, Aslan the Lion helped Eustace remove the dragon scales, and he was transformed back into a boy. When we find ourselves covered in dragon scales and doing the destructive things that dragons do, we can only shed that all away with the help of Jesus Christ. The final book that I chose from our selection of new items, was Half the Battle. This book was filled with so many amazing quotes. One of my favorites was, “You can never tear down the walls of Jericho unless you first let God tear down the walls of your heart.” In the beginning of Jon Chasteen’s book, he uses the example of the Battle of Jericho when we think about battles that occur in the Bible. And that quote is the perfect representation of what must’ve been going through the Israelites’ heads as they were walking around the wall. Come on down to the Cross Reference Library, where advice on personality and spiritual battles can be found in these three remarkable books.

New Music Monday - MercyMe, Matt Maher, Crowder and Mac Powell

new to our rotation

In The House (Acoustic Version) - Crowder

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

Joyful Noise - Matt Maher

“This is the start
We're singin' a brand new song
Lift up your heart
Worship the Lord, our God
He is the champion of Heaven
Healer of the broken
Stand up, rejoice
Make a joyful noise
If you know His voice
Make a joyful noise”

River of Life - Mac Powell

“Brothers, sisters, c'mon down to that river
Guaranteed you'll never be the same, oh-oh
Brothers, sisters, c'mon down to that river
Guaranteed you'll never be the same
There's a fountain flowing from the heart of the Savior
Bring your sins and all your guilty stains
By the blood of Jesus everything will change
Let that river of life wash it all away, yeah!”

the weekly worship countdown - fridays at 2:00pm

In The House - Crowder

Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.

the top 25 contemporary christian countdown - saturdays at 6:00pm

On Our Way - MercyMe ft. Sam Wesley

“We're on our way
We're on our way to breaking through
'Cause we were made for something new
Yeah, we're on our way
We're on our way
We're on our way to chase our dreams
'Cause we were made for greater things
Yeah, we're on our way”

Why Will There Be No Marriage in Heaven? - Ask The Pastor

You can listen to Ask The Pastor every weekday at 9:00am MST on 97.1FM Hope Radio KCMI! You can also listen and subscribe to Ask The Pastor in your favorite podcast feed. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher, Amazon Music and most other podcast services.

This edition of Ask the Pastor features Pastors Ben Poole and Gary Schick.

Ben Poole

So our question this morning comes from a listener who says, "I heard a guy once share how angry he was that he would not be married to his wife in heaven. He was so angry that he did not want to go to heaven if he could not be married to his wife. Why will there be no marriage in heaven? What will be our relationship with family members when we get to heaven?" So Gary, if you want to go ahead and kick us off on this.

Gary Schick

Well I'm glad it wasn't specifically our listener who was angry about this. I think it kind of reflects culturally where we're at, Christian and non-Christian alike. Heaven isn't a place we've been, we haven't been to the other side, and so we tend to imagine it on our own terms. I think so many don't even think of God when they think of the next life to come, they just sort of think of it as an extension of this life, only better, and it's very self-centered - you know, here's what I want and it's going to be me and whatever. That's not exactly the picture that's painted for us. I can tell you, regardless of what it's like, you don't not want to be in heaven. This scriptural picture of not being in heaven is outer darkness, weeping, gnashing of teeth, eternal fire, separation from God. If you don't want to be with God, well, you won't be, but you won't be with anyone else either.

There was an old country song years back about hell being some kind of a drunken party or something, and it ain't going to be, there's no fellowship there. But the question, "Why won't there be marriage? What will our relation to others be?" The question really is coming from Matthew 22:30, and this is Jesus talking, he is answering the question of the Sadducees who didn't believe in an afterlife. So they were kind of mocking him and saying, "So suppose there was this guy who was married and he died?" And in those days in order to carry on the family line, if your brother died you were supposed to marry his wife and carry on the family line. And so they just came up sort of with this mocking idea where there's seven brothers and each one is married to this woman and nobody has children with her in the resurrection. Who is whose wife, whose husband will be hers, right? And by the way, the Sadducees didn't even believe in the whole Old Testament. They only took the first five books, the books of Moses, his scripture. And so Jesus just narrows his focus to what they understand and what they believe. And He says, "God said not 'I was the God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob' but 'I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob'," and in the very books that the Sadducees called scripture, it's indicating they are still very much alive and in God's presence, and yes, there is an afterlife.

But He even answers their question, ridiculous as it is, and says, "At the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage. They will be like the angels in heaven." Well, this has led to some confusion. You often hear people talking about heaven, talking about getting our wings like we're going to become angels, like that's sort of the next evolution or something, right? That is not a scriptural picture either. We don't become angels, there's no reference in scripture that would identify that we're going to sprout wings. We are going to be what we are in a glorified state, but we will have a similarity in the sense that angels do not marry. They're not given in marriage. They don't procreate, and neither will we - we will go into heaven in a fixed form. That said, are we going to? From scripture's perspective, as a believer in Jesus, we're going on to something pretty wonderful. 1 John 3:2 says, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is." The first goal of heaven is to be with the Savior, to be in Jesus' presence, the One who died for our sins and loved us. There can be nothing more glorious than that. But it is natural to ask the question, "What about my loved ones who are saved? Will I see them again? Will we know each other?"

Here's some things that scripture says, going way back to Father Abraham in the Old Testament, the death of Abraham is described in this way. "Then Abraham breathed his last and died at a good old age, an old man and full of years, and he was gathered to his people." Genesis 25:8, "He was gathered to his people." Other people whose death is described as "gathered to his people" include Ishmael in Genesis 25:17, Isaac in Genesis 35:29, Jacob in Genesis 49:33, Moses' brother Aaron in Numbers 20:24, and even Moses in Numbers 27:13. And so related to this is the idiom found in Genesis 15:15, where God tells Abraham, "You shall go to your fathers in peace, you shall be buried in a good old age." So is He just talking about kind of a way of speaking about death, or is He actually saying something more about rejoining those who have gone before? There are several ways that the scripture describes it - lie down or rest with your fathers, go to your ancestors, go to your people, and rest with your fathers.

Similarly in 2 Samuel 12:23, King David lost a son, and you can go back and read the story behind that, it was very tragic. This child, this first child between him and Bathsheba dies in infancy. And as the child was sick and dying David mourned, he fasted, he prayed. He pled with God for the child's life so much so that when the child died his servants were afraid that he might take his own life. So finally David says, "Is the child dead?" "Yes," they respond. And he goes and washes himself, and he sits down and he eats, and they're confused. And David says, "Well now that he is dead, why should I go on fasting? Can I bring him back again? I will go to him, but he will not return to me." David had a sense of peace that he would go to that child, and David also in the Psalms speaks about God bringing him himself back. Job said, "I will see my Redeemer in my flesh, see Him with my own eyes." So there was a confidence in an afterlife, and there was a confidence not only of going to be with God, but going to be with those who've gone before.

So can we trust that believing family, parents, children, spouses, even though we're not in a married state, that we're going to have relationships and be together with the Lord? Absolutely. In fact, what does it say about the rapture? We, not individually, but we together will meet the Lord in the air. And then finally for my part, one of my favorite passages kind of talking about the heaven to come, Hebrews 12:23 talks about how "Through faith, we have been brought together with the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven. To God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect." All of this is in the new Jerusalem, which apparently already awaits us. "The souls of righteous individuals already made complete, made perfect in Christ." That's what's waiting for us on the other side. So first and foremost, I am looking forward to meeting the Lord. But do I anticipate seeing my dad who's gone before me, my grandparents, other loved ones, cousins who've gone on in Christ? Absolutely. And do I kind of look forward on the streets of gold to brushing shoulders with the apostle Paul and asking him some questions, and asking Adam and Eve, "By the way, did you have belly buttons?" and all those weird questions? Yeah, I can't wait.

Ben Poole

Yeah, and I think that's a good perspective he gave on discussing what it's going to be like. Are we going to know people when we see him? I agree, I think we will, there's enough scripture to back it up. Even if we didn't, I'm not sure we would care once we're there.

Gary Schick

It's going to be pretty great.

Ben Poole

But I think it's something to understand that there's a difference between what takes place in this life and the next. As the church and as Christians become the bridegroom of Christ, that is a marriage that takes place in Christ. And I was thinking about what heaven would be like, because I can understand, I love my wife more than any other person on earth, and it's hard to think about not being married to her at some point. But if our focus is on that, I think we're missing something beautiful. Regarding the book of Revelation, I know a lot of people live in fear over it and they really dive in to find secret hidden messages. And I don't think that's ever necessary because I've never believed that God desires to confuse us people. I think He wants to point us to Himself. And I think He does that really well in Revelation.

As John sees this revelation, this message, what are the people doing in heaven? Or the beasts or the creatures that God has created, what are they doing? One of them in Revelation 4:8, "Each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around, even under His wings. Day and night they never stopped saying, 'Holy holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. Whenever the living creatures give glory honor and thanks to Him who sit on the throne and who lives forever, and ever. The twenty four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne, and they worship Him who lives forever and ever. They lay their crowns before the throne and say, 'You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power'." Another passage from chapter 7 in Revelation, this great multitude comes before God. They have branches in their hands, "And they cry out, 'Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne and to the Lamb.' And all the angels are standing around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, they fell down on their faces before the throne, and they worshiped God saying, 'Amen, praise and glory and wisdom, and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever, amen'." And it goes on and on and on throughout the whole book of Revelation that there's going to be a time when we go to see God. And I think you nailed it really well right off the bat. We often think of heaven - not about God, but about us, right? Heaven is the glory of God, I'm not sure we're going to care about anything else.

Gary Schick

There's going to be tons of praise, and it's going to be heartfelt. It's not going to be, "Oh, we've got to praise the Lord some more."

Ben Poole

We're going to fully understand salvation at that point, because we're saved now but we're still in the midst of sin and suffering. Just like we see on the news in Afghanistan and the suffering that's taking place at the hands of other people, and Haiti, the total destruction and death, it's everywhere right? And this is going to be the perfect absence of all darkness. There is no darkness, there is only light, there's only God, there are only God's people. And I remember as a kid thinking, 'Man, just sitting there singing to God sounds like a really long eternal church service.' It is so much more powerful and better there. Your desire will be to praise God forever because of what He has done.

Gary Schick

It'll be like when you're climbing a mountain and it just gets more glorious as you go on, you know?

Ben Poole

It'll never get old. It'll never die down. It's going to be one heck of a party.

Gary Schick

And the new Jerusalem is described as an incredibly spacious place, but it is a city where we will be together with our God. Our God is a God of relationship, He's the father, Son, and Spirit, He's created us for relationship. So if there's a fear that we will be lonely or something, no, there will be that relationship. We will reach a level of connectedness and depth and intimacy that you can't even in any way achieve in this life. But it will be different, but that's okay. One caution: Listeners, never say 'I don't want to be in heaven'. That is really a wish you don't want to follow through on.

Ben Poole

You may not want to be in heaven because you won't be married, but you're not going to be any more married in hell either. You are alone and suffering forever.

Gary Schick

God's not gonna suffer if we reject Him. We're the only ones that stand to lose. The gates are open, Jesus has paid a horrific price to welcome you home.

Ben Poole

It's going to be worth it.

Gary Schick

Let Him love you. Let Him embrace you.

What's New at Cross Reference Library?

Hope in the Dark - Have you ever found yourself in a difficult time and felt like you had no one to turn to, no answers, no help? You may even start to wonder if the God you’ve always trusted is even there. And if he is, does he care about you, about what you are enduring? With real-life compassion, Pastor Craig Groeschel offers you Hope in the Dark, a book that reveals experiences of everyday people who have felt alone, as well as the little-known biblical story of Habakkuk and how he struggled with trust and doubt. Through these stories and insights, you’ll discover how God can meet you even in life’s most difficult moments. You’ll find how you really can know and discover a good and loving God, but the key is in wrestling with the pain, struggling through doubts, and even living with unanswered questions. Hope in the Dark is for those who are hurting and for those who are afraid that their faith may be failing. It offers the great and glorious knowledge that God is right there with you, especially when you need him most. 

Before Amen - We pray to stay sober, centered, or solvent. When the lump is deemed malignant. When the money runs out before the month does. When the marriage is falling apart. We pray. But wouldn’t we like to pray...More? Better? Stronger? With more fire, faith, and fervency? Yet we have kids to feed, bills to pay, deadlines to meet. The calendar pounces on our good intentions like a tiger on a rabbit. And what about our checkered history with prayer? Uncertain words. Unmet expectations. Unanswered requests. We aren’t the first to struggle with prayer. The first followers of Jesus needed prayer guidance too. In fact, prayer is the only tutorial they ever requested. Jesus gave them a prayer. Not a lecture on prayer. He gave them a quotable, repeatable, portable prayer. Couldn’t we use the same? Join Max Lucado on a journey to the very heart of biblical prayer and the power unleashed with six simple lines: Father, you are good. I need help. They need help. Thank you. In Jesus’ name, amen. 

Overload - Stress is a universal issue and must be faced on a daily basis, whether it’s from work, family challenges, relationship conflicts, or keeping up with the constant stream of information in a social media society. The demands of modern life can be all-consuming, making it hard to mute the distractions around you and receive God’s peace. Joyce Meyer calls the problem Overload--when the burdens of everyday life are overwhelming. She has experienced overload and overcome it herself. And with this book she’ll help you identify the catalysts of worry in your life, as well as offer you the practical, effective advice and scriptural wisdom you need to manage stress. Nobody is immune to stress. But through exploring the inspiring insights of the Bible, and calling on God’s strength to help you triumph over stress, you can achieve the joyful, peaceful life that is intended for you.