Archived Episodes

Refugees and immigrants from all over the world are coming to the U-S. Imagine if churches from across your city or community came together to pray for God to stir spiritual awakening in your hometown. And, maybe you struggle to get help. Pastors can be guilty of that.

Just a day after remembering the legacy of Martin Luther King, Jr., Americans are being called to reflect on the importance of religious freedom as they observed religious freedom day on Tuesday. And, in Luke 5, Jesus boarded Peter’s boat to teach the crowd gathered to hear Him speak. Peter had a front-row seat. As he listened, he heard about living by faith instead of religious observance.

Facing brutal cold across the country, many Americans took Monday to reflect on the civil rights work of Martin Luther King, Jr. The Evangelical Immigration Table and World Relief issued a letter Jan. 11 signed by more than 500 evangelical Christians to U.S. presidential candidates urging them to consider biblical principles when drafting solutions to the immigration crisis. And, while the Scriptures speak about many issues, they do not speak to all issues. A piece in the Baptist Press Toolbox offers some suggestions on how believers can understand what God thinks about an issue when there is no specific, related Scriptural reference.

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day…a federal holiday set aside to honor the life and legacy of the man who help guide the nation toward providing civil rights for all races. And, in the Baptist Press Toolbox, Kie Bowman writes, “Why does the amount of time we spend in prayer matter?”

Some of the most encouraging news we hear has roots in tragedy. This week, Carter McNeese and his wife, Audrey, were awaiting their possessions to be delivered to their new home in Shalimar, Florida when the phone rang. And, Williamstown, Missouri is a small town with a population of only 60 souls. There only one church left in the small community and on January 4, Pastor James Leezer of Providence Church received the call no one wants – the church and the parsonage are on fire.

College classmates stoned and torched Deborah Samuel to death in May 2022, in Abuja, Nigeria, accusing her of blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad. The Supreme Court will rule on a case involving an Idaho law which bans nearly all abortions in the state. And, Caleb Davis wants you to have a strong start to the new year but he believes it won’t happen accidentally. You must be intentional he writes in the Baptist Press Toolbox.

For most pastors, the start of a new calendar year also indicates the start of a new fiscal year for their churches. A large blank canvas sits on an easel as Richard Pope, senior pastor of Canvas Church in Salisbury, Maryland, begins his Sunday sermon. And, if you’re a preacher or a teacher…you know when the listeners is tuned in and when they’re tuned out.

A new searchable global database of violent religious persecution encompassing Christianity and other faiths is available free to the public, Global Christian Relief CEO David Curry announced Jan. 5. In a profound journey of faith, West Point cadet Austin Hemminger’s story is one of transformation amid the rigors of basic training. And, pastors can face significant challenges as they try to balance their family and their work. Sam Rainer offers some reasons in a Baptist Press article.

As 2024 dawns, more than 4,800 people in western Cuba are walking into the new year with new spiritual life found only in Jesus Christ. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken omitted Nigeria from the 2024 list of egregious religious freedom violators Jan. 4, disregarding widespread outcry from advocacy groups including the SBC’s Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission. And, Dan Darling believes you can read more and with pleasure in 2024.