It has been well documented that Christianity is the most persecuted religion in the world. Open Doors International has all the statistics showing how the lives of Christians in countries like North Korea, Nigeria and several Muslim majority nations are under constant threat. However, in Western countries like here in the United States, there's a different kind of persecution taking place. They're the same "spiritual forces of evil" at work, but under the guise of political, legal and cultural challenges. Dr. James Spencer, President of the D.L. Moody Center, warns that we are now living out George Orwell's 1984. That Christians in the West are being controlled not by external forces, but by being lulled into accepting ideas that are in fact counter to God, not by conscious choice but by the slow "reorientation of one's beliefs". Those that resist, like Jack Philips the cake baker, and the Mid-Vermont Christian School, or little Lydia Booth who just wanted to tell her classmates about Jesus, they've become the problem. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Spencer talks about his book "Christian Resistance: Learning to Defy the World and Follow Christ." He brings up Orwell's 1984 because a big part of the subversion of real Christianity in the culture is how Big Brother seeks to control language. And we certainly see this in the transgender movement's obsession with pronouns. It also helps explain why a politician who calls himself a devout Catholic could advocate for abortion on demand. Resistance takes effort. But more than that, it takes knowledge of what you're up against. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

When it comes to the issue of gender, how do you talk to your young children? How do you push back against the tide of wokeness and indoctrination going on in public schools? Bethany Bomberger asserts that, "We as Christians don't have the luxury of being silent." She and husband Ryan have made it easier for Christian parents to reinforce their beliefs about what it means to be male or female. Their new book, "She Is She", is an illustrated children's book tackling the difficult subject of gender, in a simple and direct way. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, the Bombergers talks about how the book shows what the culture has taught for centuries about gender, what the Bible says about gender, and also what science says about gender, as it constantly reinforces biblical truths. The Bombergers are the creators of the Radiance Foundation, a faith-based pro-life organization working to educate the culture on life shaping issues. The conflict over gender has become one of the most pressing they've had to address. They've spent a lot of time in School Board meetings in Loudoun Country, Virginia, one of countless school districts in the country that see it their duty to hide a student's gender status from parents. Bethany says, "We don't have the luxury of just being bulldozed by an industry that is targeting our kids at younger and younger ages." Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No matter what your professed faith is, it has to be lived out through relationships. It's unavoidable. Faith without interaction with other image bearers will inevitably be weak. But it's in our most intimate and close relationships that we are tested and tried to our very limits. And the most intimate bond we have here on earth is marriage. But what happens when the person you promised to be with till death, reneges on so many of the assurances he or she vowed on that altar? When is divorce the only alternative? Best-selling Chrisitan author Lysa TerKeurst has bared her soul in her books, that bring to light our greatest wants and our greatest needs. She's been frank and open about her divorce from the man who just a few years ago, she renewed vows with after the union of two decades went sour. TerKeurst learns from experience, which is why she is a valuable spiritual guide for both men and women. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, TerKeurst talks about her book, "Good Boundaries and Goodbyes: Loving Others Without Losing the Best of Who You Are". Love is complicated. It's the one lesson any spouse or parent learns, oftentimes, the hard way. And loving someone in a godly way is the most difficult. It's also potentially the most painful. But it can also bring us closer to understanding who we are, while strengthening and loving who we are meant to be. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

You may not like Mary Eberstadt's conclusions. You may even vehemently disagree with them. But the data is solid; you can't change facts. Her thesis, drawn from various scholarly studies, shows how the sexual revolution completely changed the world; like a Pandora's Box, unleashing so many of the ills we see today in our culture: increased crime, drug abuse, sexual abuse, divorce, wokeness, cancel culture, and also deepening depression among the younger generation. She also blames it for creating what she describes as a "secular religion" that is in fact challenging Christianity's moral foundations. It's no wonder it took the Holy Spirit to inspire the spiritual awakening we're now seeing in Asbury University and other schools. The so-called sexual liberation of the sixties and seventies brought catastrophic changes to the Western world, most of which were never foreseen except by a handful experts who no one listened to. Now, Eberstadt is sounding the alarm. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Eberstadt, Senior Research Fellow at the Faith and Reason Institute, talks about her book "Adam and Eve After the Pill Revisited." She explains how contraception, while accepted today as normal and good, was once quite controversial. But the point is, when everyone was debating the morality of artificial contraception, it was thought that giving women the opportunity to better time their pregnancies, would make abortion obsolete and out of wedlock births a thing of the past. Children would be brought into loving homes, ready to give them all the nurturing they needed. But it turns out the opposite happened. Contraception, abortion, and out of wedlock births all increased exponentially. Pandora is still on the move today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe the White House Press Secretary makes fun of aliens being in our midst, but the Bible gives clear evidence that they've been operating in our world since time began. They're called angels. For decades scientists have searched the cosmos looking for life on other planets. The SETI telescopes were created for that purpose. But what if those extraterrestrials were already here? Not launched in weather balloons or in UFO's, but in the world in which we live. Astronomer and physicist Dr. Hugh Ross makes for a convincing case that angels are beings that have existed throughout eternity, as God's messengers, and that they operate like any beings would who are not confined to our "space-time dimensions," since scientists know there are more dimensions than humans can access. Ross writes in Salvo magazine, "According to the Bible, these creatures differ from humans in that they are not constrained by either the known laws of physics or the known space-time dimensions. Rather, they exist in a realm distinct from the universe, yet have been granted power to enter the human realm for brief episodes—either in physical or nonphysical form." On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Ross, founder and director of "Reasons To Believe," explains not only his take on the presence of angels, but also on whether there could be life on other planets, why we have yet to discover life, and what impact there would be on Christianity if other there were other earth-like planets out there with sentient beings like us. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Passionate about defending the life of the unborn, Fr. Frank Pavone, who founded Priests For Life, is now the center of a controversy as the Vatican thought his actions were so heinous, he deserved to be treated like some serial sexual abuse priests. Laicizing a priest and stripping him of his clerical office is essentially like a forced divorce. These are his present circumstances. Is the Catholic Church now in favor of abortion that it would treat its most vocal opponent of it in the most seemingly merciless way? Or is jealousy and revenge at the heart of it? Both are considered options by Pavone who vows to fight back to be reinstated as a priest. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Pavone points fingers at Catholic bishops who are in bed with - figuratively speaking - high level democrats, the party that has no place in its platform for prolife politicians. Politicians like President Joe Biden and former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi are staunchly pro-abortion, even while Pope Francis, at least in his statements, is adamantly against abortion. Pavone may be a pawn in a much larger struggle between two warring factions in the Catholic Church: liberal and conservative. One is in power, the other is not. Listen to Pavone's take on the issue. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The word 'Synodality' may make Protestant's eyes glaze over, but inside the Catholic Church it is causing lots of controversy, as bishops around the globe spar over what Pope Francis expects from this new initiative. Is it a course correction for the Catholic Church? Is it a 21st Century version of Vatican II? Or is it Pope Francis creating the Church in his image? It's easier to explain what "The Synodal Way" is not, than what it is, and that's why Australia's George Cardinal Pell, who died a few weeks ago, was one of its most vocal critics. He called it a 'Toxic Nightmare'. Just before he died, he penned a scathing article in "The London Spectator" explaining why this move of 'listening, dialogue and discernment,' was more New Age metaphysics, than Church doctrine. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith, Cardinal Pell's good friend Fr. Robert Sirico of the Acton Institute, explains his take on what "The Synodal Way" is, why the bishops are up in arms about it, and why it could bring further divisions within the Catholic Church. He also talks about why he believes the phony abuse charges against Pell in Australia - for which he spent more than a year in prison - were likely connected to his work overseeing reforms of the Vatican Bank. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In Western North Carolina, a middle school's popular student group is called 'The Sad Club.' It's not about preventing drunk driving as in 'SADD.' It's about being sad. Young people today are facing rising incidents of depression, anxiety, and yes, suicide. Why? According to Dr. Alex McFarland, a lot of it is caused by breakdown in the family, a shunning of traditional values, and also a disparaging of the nuclear family by secular culture. He says, "Among the left, there is a real condescension and dismissive posture about mom, dad, husband, wife, family. And yet, uniformly, besides scripture, volumes of psychological literature and studies show that the best context for a young person to grow up in is in a stable, loving, two parent home with their biological mom and dad." McFarland speaks to thousands of young people across the country through his ministry, 'Truth for a New Generation.' He not only talks to young people, he listens to them as well. When he hears them talk about how sad they are and how much despair they're facing about the future, he knows the answer is a return to faith in the Living God. But instead of preaching to them, he walks beside them to better understand the pulse and heartbeat of their generation, and their search for identity. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, hear what McFarland has to say about Gen Z's and younger, and some solutions to helping them find hope in a hurting world. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

No doubt you've heard of Critical Race Theory, that form of social philosophy that's become controversial in classrooms today because it tends to blame all society's problems on race. There's also Feminist Theory, Queer Theory and a whole host of what's known as 'high theories'. But Dr. Christopher Watkin, a professor of French studies and philosophy, wondered why there's never been a "Biblical Critical Theory". So, he took on the task of creating one. After all, the Bible is the most comprehensive book focused on the whole of humanity; body, mind and spirit, as well as the meaning and purpose of life. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Watkins explains more about his book, "Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture." He explains that the problem with CRT and all other critical theory subsets is that they're too narrow. They reduce humanity to one sliver of existence, while ignoring the panorama of life's journey. This is the 'So what?' of the Bible that we all crave to understand. Why should we care about what the Bible has to say? Because if the Bible is truly the Word of God, and His plan for redemption and consequences of hell and damnation are realities, then 'Biblical Critical Theory' is much more than an academic treatise. It is an ominous warning. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin is thankfully out of the hospital and on the road to a full recovery, hopefully. But the shock of seeing his 24-year-old, healthy body collapse on the field during a Monday Night Football game is still horrifying. And questions are still being asked, "how does a young athlete, in tip-top physical condition, go into cardiac arrest after a routine tackle?" While medical experts probe for answers, there's something else that happened in that moment that people are talking about; something that was spontaneous and instinctive: Prayer. On the field, in the stands, in the announcer booth. When the tragic unknowns of life strike us, there's a need to reach out to the One who is in control. That's what Focus on the Family president, Jim Daly, wrote about in an article for Fox News digital; how no one even questioned that prayer was needed. It was a collective instinct drawing players, fans and commentators together. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Daly expands on this innate need we have for prayer, and talks about the foundations of success by Hamlin's family background. How his father, a former drug dealer and inmate, stuck with the family and taught his son something no classroom or book could ever do. He taught his son the value of a father's love. For whatever reason, God allowed Damar Hamlin to experience this nearly fatal episode on a national stage. But like Scripture says, "All things work together for good, for those who love God and are called according to His purpose." Romans 8:28. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can be an existential question: What is truth? We’re not talking about facts like two plus two equals four. This is about objective reality that can be proven. But in the world today, a great many people believe there’s no such thing as truth, that each person determines what’s true or false for themselves. It sounds magnanimous, even virtuous. But in fact it’s intellectual laziness. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Jeff Myers, President of Summit Ministries, talks about his new book, "Truth Changes Everything", and how people of faith can transform the world when they understand that truth is not something we create, but instead it’s something we discover. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As we say goodbye to 2022 and hello to 2023, it's a good time to reflect on the whole of eternity and the Bible's clues as to when the end of the world will be. Saying farewell to a year gone by is nothing compared to looking at the entire world in the rearview mirror. It seems every generation reads Jesus' words about the end of time believing they're in the last days. But they weren't right two hundred years ago. So are our predictions any better? Are there more wars and rumors of wars? More nations rising against nations? We've certainly seen a lot of that lately, especially in the last century. But Dr. Michael Youssef focuses on Jesus's other words in the prophetic verse that say, these things are only birth pains. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Youssef, founder Of Leading The Way Ministry, explores his new book, "Is The End Near?" He looks at it from the perspective of what Jesus actually said, taking into account that even Jesus believed no one would know the exact day or time. Only God knows. The important thing to remember is how we are to be close to God, no matter the hour or the signs of the times. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

For Christians who staunchly believe in traditional marriage and that gender is an immutable biological reality, a case now before the Supreme Court will be of great interest. And if you don't believe in traditional marriage or that gender is a biological reality, the case is still of great importance. For the battle over religious freedom verses LGBTQ rights is the cultural civil war of our time. And so many other freedoms hang in the balance because of it. Attorney Kristen Waggoner on December 5th argued before the high court Justices on behalf of Lorie Smith, a Colorado-based web design artist, fighting for the right to create wedding websites, but only for opposite sex couples, because she believes that marriage is between one man and one woman. Many people thought the Supreme Court settled this dispute when they ruled in favor of Jack Phillips, the Colorado cake baker whose beliefs made him unable to create custom wedding cakes for same-sex couples. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Waggoner, CEO and General Consul of Alliance Defending Freedom, talks about why Lorie Smith's case is so vital to the future of religious freedom, and why Jack Phillips' battle with the state of Colorado wages on. She will also explain that while these two cases are most well-known, there are a plethora of people going through similar struggles, who've lost jobs and livelihoods because they stood by their faith. As we celebrate the birth of Jesus, it's a reminder that Christmas brought us a Savior that is about more than love and warmth and joy. He's also a God of justice and law. And while a secular world says to be on the right side of history, the God who created the world calls us to be on the right side of eternity. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story surrounding the Jewish Festival of Lights, is filled with intrigue, fear, war, and then of course, victory. The celebration of that victory gives us the miracle now known as Hanukkah, when a one-day supply of sacred oil to light the Temple Menorah lasted eight days. And eight is significant number in the Jewish heritage because it is, as Moses directed, also the number of days old an infant must be for circumcision. It's one of many signs that nothing happens without God's knowledge or Divine direction. But Hanukkah has a lesson for us all: that God is working even when it seems He is not. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith Podcast, Rabbi Motti Seligson, with Chabad Lubavitch, explains how the leader of the Chabad Lubavitch, named the Rebbe, began a campaign in 1973 to elevate the celebration of Hanukkah, to educate not only Jews but the whole of America and the world about the Feast of Dedication. This conversation was recorded in 2021, when Hanukkah began extremely early, on November 28. This year it begins three weeks later on Sunday, December 18th. Rabbi Seligson's explanation about why there are different dates still holds true today.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This time of year is always brings plenty of joy and hope. But it is also when the needs of those less fortunate are more keenly felt. Josiah Haken, CEO of City Relief in New York City, has a heart for the homeless... And a heart for those who have homes. Haken helps people like you and me understand that there's nothing to fear about the homeless, that they are people, made in God's image. People, who he describes as our "Neighbors With No Doors", the title of his book. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith Podcast, Haken joyfully explains what a privilege it is to help people like Detra Thomas, who never ever expected to be homeless. But as Haken says, her story is more typical. Married for 32 years to a man she says was abusive. When she finally had the strength to leave, she found herself without a permanent home, grown children who had moved away, and a part-time job that didn't pay the rent. Forced to seek a bed in one of the city's shelters, she later found permanent housing thanks to City Relief. She is a face of homelessness that most people never see. Haken says most people think of the homeless as the panhandlers on the street, drug addicts or alcoholics sleeping on benches, but that the bulk of the homeless, who number about 40-60 thousand in New York alone, are families, working parents and children. Haken is hoping during this season of good will, peace and light, that people perform small acts of kindness to help their "neighbors with no doors," to be the "Good Samaritan" that Jesus told of in His parable about the man helping the downtrodden stranger on the road. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

How much do you know about the Christmas story? There's the baby born in a manger in Bethlehem to a virgin named Mary, betrothed to a man named Joseph. There were shepherds in a field visited by angels heralding the child's birth. There's the star which led the Wisemen to the child. These are all part of the Christmas story, but there's so much more to tell. For instance, who were the wisemen? Theologian Rick Renner in his book, "Christmas: The Rest of the Story", explains that the Magi were "an elite, powerful and staggeringly wealthy group of high-ranking priests devoted to interpreting dreams and studying the constellations." It's likely that Daniel in the Old Testament was thought to be one of the first. And those Magi likely traveled with a large entourage of servants when they saw that star that led them to the baby Jesus. And the shepherds. They were no ordinary shepherds. They were tasked with keeping watch over the lambs used for Temple sacrifice to atone of sins. The angels tell the shepherd of the birth of the Lamb of God, who'll be the final sacrifice. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith, Renner talks about many other parts of the Christmas story that lend credence to the entire biblical redemptive narrative. The birth of Christ is not an isolated story, but the climax of God's plan of salvation. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Maybe you've seen the cozy Christmas TV commercial featuring two young girls and their competing hot cocoa stands. It's a feel-good moment when they learn to work together, and the message from Hobby Lobby is about the joy of Christmas. What you may not know is that David Green, founder and CEO of Hobby Lobby, began the business some 50 years ago with a $600 bank loan and one principle: "God owns the business." That principle and prayer helped build the arts and crafts mom-and-pop operation into a national chain with 50,000 employees, nearly a thousand stores, and an annual gross income of eight billion dollars. Oh, and one other principle that would make a business executive faint... Hobby Lobby gives away 50 percent of its profits. This is a "Made in America" story you rarely hear. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, David Green (not related to the host), and his co-author Bill High, founder and executive chairman of The Signatry, talk about their book, "Leadership NOT by the Book," explaining how a business can be based on faith and still be successful. Green is living proof. Hear how he also stood his ground in a culture war that went all the way to the United States Supreme Court. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The story of Daisy Strongin's journey from normal 15-year-old to transgender male and then back to female, is a cautionary tale for Bible believing parents who hold that God created us to be male and female. The documentary "Dysconnected" tells Daisy's heart-wrenching story of gender dysphoria and how the people around her - friends, medical experts and school officials - told her the solution was to alter her body permanently through surgery. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, filmmaker Don Johnson talks about Daisy's journey, the transgender movement, and why it's taken off like wildfire in the culture. Johnson's film though, is part of a growing push back by people of faith and some medical professionals about the dangers of puberty blockers, hormone therapy and sex change surgeries. Although Diasy was a healthy teenager, she had an elective double-mastectomy that she regretted soon after. The testosterone she took permanently changed her voice. But Daisy's story in the end is hopeful and triumphant. Johnson includes in this documentary the belief that all people of faith should first present compassion and love to young people experiencing gender dysphoria. And that loving them doesn't always mean giving them what they think they want or believe they need.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The horrific fire that almost completely destroyed Notre Dame Cathedral in 2019 became for some, almost a symbol of the state of Catholicism in the world, fighting for its life in a culture uncommitted to religion. But the students of Architecture at Catholic University of America have something much more uplifting and powerful to add to this equation. They are not only becoming part of the famed Paris Cathedral's 'resurrection' from the ashes but have also become a symbol of a new generation of Catholics, intent on strengthening their faith. The students hand built a life-size replica of one of truss number 6 in Notre Dame's choir loft, using medieval techniques as would have been used on the original construction. Using the design of the architects that are in charge of the restoration of Notre Dame, the students raised the truss in Washington D.C a few weeks ago and talked with the French architects who checked out their work. On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Tonya Ohnstad, Associate Dean for graduate studies in the Catholic University of America's School of Architecture and Planning, talks about the tremendous opportunity these students had in being a part of Notre Dame's restoration, and how they hope to travel to Paris to be hands on, for the work now being done to bring the French national symbol back to its former grandeur. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ted Talks are 18-minute videos of influential speakers. So here's a question: What would Jesus say if he gave a Ted Talk? Turns out, He already did some two-thousand years ago, and it's probably one of the most, if not thee most influential and profound speeches of all time. It's called the Sermon on the Mount, found in the book of Matthew. Many people may not know its name, but they know many of the golden nuggets of Jesus's core teachings that come from it, like The Lord's Prayer, "Our Father who art in heaven..." and the Beatitudes like, "Blessed are those who mourn for they shall be comforted." Dr. Robert Jeffress, Senior Pastor at First Baptist Dallas, explores the philosophies and Divine guidance of the Sermon on the Mount in his book, "Eighteen Minutes with Jesus: Straight Talk from the Savior about the Things that Matter Most." On this episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Dr. Jeffress does a deep dive into what is considered Jesus's longest sermon in the Bible. Ironically, it's short by today's sermon standards. But Jesus addresses everything we need to know about the purpose of life. He talks about money, your sex life, how to deal with enemies, how should we treat people. It's all there. And what's even more profound, Jesus wasn't speaking to a group of believers. His audience was a variety of people possessing a wide variety of religious beliefs or no beliefs. Sound familiar? Which is why the Ted Talk from two thousand years ago, still applies today. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices