The Christian Worldview

GUEST: COSTI HINN, pastor and author, Knowing the SpiritThe Holy Spirit is the “most used and abused member of the Trinity,” writes our guest Costi Hinn in his new book, Knowing the Spirit: Who He Is, What He Does, and How He Can Transform Your Christian Life. Costi would know, growing up in the extreme charismatic movement as the nephew of world-renown “faith healer” Benny Hinn.God graciously saved Costi out of that heresy and now he pastors Shepherd’s House Bible Church in Chandler, AZ. He joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to offer “Biblical Clarity on the Holy Spirit”—how to receive the Spirit and walk by Him, how the gifts of the Spirit operate today, and much more.We’ll also discuss popular pastor Andy Stanley’s recent sermon where he said his church draws “big circles, not lines” with those who are in homosexual “marriages”.----------------Knowing The Spirit - Costi’s latest book explains why a relationship with the Holy Spirit is the most important next step on your journey as a Christian. 272 pgs, softcover [retail $19.99]

GUEST: Scott Aniol, Editor in Chief G3 Ministries and Featured in CessationistIt’s a simple question with far-reaching ramifications: do Christians today possess the same miraculous “sign” gifts that God gave first century apostles, such as Peter and Paul, to…Perform miracles, like bringing a dead person back to life (Acts 9:36-42);Heal instantly and fully, making a blind man see or lame man walk (Acts 3:1-8);Speak instantly in a previously unknown foreign language (Acts 2:1-12);Prophesy, by foretelling the future with 100% accuracy (Acts 27:21-26)?Christians today are widely divided on the issue of cessationism (men ceased to have sign gifts after the first century) and continuationism (men and women continue to have sign gifts today).It’s more than just a perennial doctrinal debate. It’s ultimately about the sufficiency and authority of God’s Word, for if men and women today receive revelation from God beyond Scripture, we can’t trust Scripture alone as the final authority.Scott Aniol, executive vice president of G3 Ministries, an organization partnered in producing a documentary film called Cessationist, joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to discuss this compelling topic.--------------------------------Stream Cessationist, and other resources, FREE for one month on G3+Donate any amount to TCW and receive a FREE one-month G3+ streaming platform PROMO Code. This gives you access to Cessationist and other films, video series, audiobooks, and more from G3 Ministries.OR… a limited quantity of the Deluxe DVD Edition of Cessationist is available. This 2-disc bundle includes a booklet by Tom Pennington, timeline, bookmark, and more.

GUEST: Tom Buck, Senior Pastor, First Baptist Church (Lindale, TX)Back in 2022, we were interested to learn that a non-profit foundation, funded to the tune of $100M by mostly anonymous donors, had put together a marketing campaign called “He Gets Us” to, in their own words, “rediscover the life and teachings of Jesus, the world’s most radical love activist?”Hmm, the life and teaching of Jesus has never needed to be rediscovered, as it’s right there in the Bible for all to read. And Jesus as the “world’s most radical love activist” is not how Jesus described Himself. He called Himself the “Son of God” and the giver of eternal life.With these hints of the campaign’s view of Jesus, it wasn’t surprising that their “Brand Jesus” marketing ads appearing on television (including the Super Bowl), social media, Times Square billboards, and well, almost everywhere, portrayed Jesus as a social justice hero who gets us because He had a “teen mother” and was a “refugee” and was “cancelled” as three of the ads portray.But hey, “An ad for Jesus is being viewed by millions during the Super Bowl and how could that be anything but good? God can use anything!” so the refrain goes.The problem is, and it’s a problem of the greatest significance, that the real Jesus Christ of Scripture is being misrepresented in the He Gets Us campaign, along with His main message: “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10).The Biblical gospel of God’s holiness, man’s sinfulness, Jesus’ substitution and resurrection, and Christ’s command to “repent and believe the gospel” is either not clearly presented or is obfuscated by the heavy emphasis on Jesus as a role model who gets our problems and predicaments.The false Christ and gospel being presented by He Gets Us is all the more pernicious now that the organization is funded to the tune of $1B. Yes, you heard that correctly, one billion dollars to portray a skewed version of Jesus.Tom Buck, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Lindale, TX and Director of Expository Workshops for G3 Ministries, joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to discuss why Christians need to be aware of this wrong presentation of Jesus and the gospel and proclaim the truth about who Christ is and how sinners can be reconciled to God through Him.-------------------Upcoming Speaker Series with Alex Newman - April 12 at Beacon of Hope ChurchOvercomer Course for 18-25 year olds; June 21-22 at Stone House Farm

GUEST: ALEX NEWMAN, Journalist and CEO, Liberty Sentinel MediaThe final book of God’s Word—Revelation—clearly describes that the world in the future before Christ’s return will be largely globalized and led by a leader called the antichrist or beast. Revelation 13 says as Antichrist appears on the scene, “the dragon [Satan] gave him [the beast] his power and his throne and great authority. I saw one of his heads as if it had been slain, and his fatal wound was healed. And the whole earth was amazed and followed after the beast.”It was early on in human history at Babel where man disobeyed God’s command to scatter across the earth and instead proudly determined, “Come, let us build for ourselves a city, and a tower whose top will reach into heaven, and let us make for ourselves a name, otherwise we will be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth” (Genesis 11:4).God foiled their man-centered plan at that time, but that hasn’t stopped man from tirelessly working toward creating, not just a city and tower, but an entire world that operates out from under the authority of God. This of course is impossible but it doesn’t keep unregenerate man from trying.The push for globalism and global governance is out in the open today, with organizations like the World Economic Forum, United Nations, and many more. And they utilize things like “climate change”, the educational system, economic and monetary policy, health care, corporations, and war to coerce the world to globalize.Alex Newman, international journalist and CEO of Liberty Sentinel Media, joins us this weekend to talk about the push for global governance, as we preview the upcoming Speaker Series event on Friday, April 12 at Beacon of Hope Church in St. Paul, MN where Alex will speak and take questions on the topic: How the Push for Global Governance Utilizes War, Environmentalism, Education, and Economics.--------------------Faith Bible Church - Feb 18 at 10am; Overcoming Like Daniel in an Oppositional World  from Daniel 1Upcoming Speaker Series with Alex Newman - April 12 at Beacon of Hope ChurchOvercomer Course for 18-25 year olds; June 21-22 at Stone House Farm

GUEST: DR. GEORGE BARNA, Director, Cultural Research Center, Arizona Christian UniversityChristian parents have their greatest call to discipleship right in their own homes. And it seems pretty straightforward. Scripture says, “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.” (Ephesians 6:4).In other words, don’t be overbearing with your kids, but bring them up (ongoing process), correcting what is wrong and teaching what is right according to God’s standard in His Word.Anyone who has been around children knows that raising children is one of the greatest challenges and greatest blessings in life. It’s a marathon, not a sprint. It’s hard and exhausting dealing with an unregenerate child or even a Christian child who gives in to their flesh. But there’s no greater joy than to have a child be born again and choose to love and follow the Lord.Dr. George Barna is the most well-known Christian researcher, perhaps in the world. He is the director of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University, which focuses on “worldview assessment and development, and cultural transformation.”In his latest book, Raising Spiritual Champions, Barna reveals extensive research when it comes to the worldview of parents, youth pastors, and children.Some of the headlines from the research:68% of parents think of themselves as Christian but only 2% have a biblical worldview64% of youth ministers believe there is no absolute moral truthLess than 1% of 13-14 year old Americans have a biblical worldview67% of all Americans who ever accept Jesus Christ as their Savior do so before the age of thirteenThese data partially explain why our nation is becoming more secular and more God-less generation after generation. But you and your children are much more than a statistic. God gives Christians the road map and the resources to be the exception to these troubling trends.Dr. George Barna joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to discuss “raising spiritual champions”.-----------------------------------Raising Spiritual Champions

GUEST: JUSTIN PETERS, preacher/evangelistIn case you haven’t heard the controversy that is being hotly debated in Christian circles, pastor Alistair Begg, who leads Parkside Church in Cleveland but who is even more well-known for his daily radio program Truth For Life, which features his preaching and is heard by millions around the world, said in an interview that he received a letter from a grandmother asking whether she should attend her grandson’s wedding to a transgender person.Here is the transcript of Begg’s advice to the grandmother:I asked the grandmother, “Does your grandson understand your belief in Jesus?”“Yes.” “Does your grandson understand that your belief in Jesus makes it such that you can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life?”“Yes.”I said, “Well then, okay. As long as he knows that, then I suggest that you do go to the ceremony. And I suggest that you buy them a gift.”“Oh,” she said, “what?” She was caught off guard.I said, “Well, here’s the thing: your love for them may catch them off guard, but your absence will simply reinforce the fact that they said, ‘These people are what I always thought: judgmental, critical, unprepared to countenance anything.’”Loving and engaging with non-believers is prescribed by Scripture but attending a ceremony that openly rejects God’s design for marriage? For the vast majority of theologically conservative Christians, this was a line that ought not be crossed.We reported last week that American Family Radio, after discussion with Truth for Life representatives, has removed the program from their network. And this week, it has been reported that Begg will no longer be speaking at Shepherds’ Conference, a worldwide event for pastors held at John MacArthur’s church in March.To his credit, Alistair Begg responded to the controversy in a full 40-minute message to his church this past Sunday night. We encourage you to watch it here.This weekend on The Christian Worldview, preacher and evangelist Justin Peters will again join us to discuss whether Alistair Begg’s response was faithful to Scripture.------------------------Register for The Overcomer Course

GUEST: JUSTIN PETERS, evangelist and preacherIt can be confusing and even destabilizing when a pastor or Christian leader who has been orthodox in his teaching for decades says something that seems to compromise God’s Word.Such occurred recently with revered pastor Alistair Begg. Begg, who is from Scotland but leads Parkside Church in Cleveland, is the Bible teacher on the popular radio ministry, Truth for Life. In an episode in September 2023, Truth for Life host Bob Lepine was interviewing pastor Begg about his new book, The Christian Manifesto, which seeks to help Christians live out Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6) in a 21st century brave new world context.Begg brought up the example of what he said to a grandmother who had contacted him about whether to attend her grandson’s “wedding” to a “transgender” person (the quotes being added because God defines a wedding as between one man and one woman and no one can “trans” their gender).We’ll play the audio of pastor Begg’s response, but in short, he suggested the grandmother attend the ceremony and buy the couple a gift with the purpose to keep the lines of engagement and gospel-witness open with her grandson.Those in theologically conservative circles collectively choked on his response while theological liberals said “this is the way”.The important question is: What is God’s will for Christians with an issue like this? It is a matter of right vs wrong or an issue of personal conscience?Preacher and evangelist Justin Peters will join us this weekend and point to key passages of Scripture that help us make wise, God-honoring decisions.---------------------------Registration Open for The Overcomer CourseJune 21-24, 2024

GUEST: COLLEEN TRONSON, Executive Director, Metro Women’s CenterAdvances in medical technology over the decades have saved countless lives whether through new types of surgeries, imaging, therapies, medications, etc. Of course it hasn’t all been positive—consider the harm caused by certain medications, including the Covid so-called “vaccine”.The advances in fertility and pre-natal technologies has been no less astounding. Procedures like artificial insemination and in vitro fertilization (IVF) have helped childless couples have children.But with these technologies come ethical questions: what about the extra human lives in embryo form created through IVF that are frozen and then not used? Or what about when a homosexual couple pays for a baby through artificial insemination, IVF, or surrogacy? Or what about pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD), which screens for genetic abnormalities and allows for sex selection?January is Sanctity of Life Month and so we will devote this weekend’s program to questions around fertility technologies and the greatest injustice in our country—the legal murder of around 65 million pre-born babies since 1973 when abortion was legalized.Colleen Tronson, executive director of Metro Woman’s Center in Minnesota, will be our guest. She will also give perspective on why pro-life candidates haven’t fared well recently in elections in light of the overturning of Roe vs. Wade by the U.S. Supreme Court in June 2022.NOTE: This program contains biological reproductive terms that some parents may want to keep from their children until an appropriate time. If this applies to you, we encourage you to listen to the program on your own first.------------------------------------>> Previous interviews with Colleen TronsonHear Colleen’s own testimony on a previous program: The Overturning of Roe v. Wade and Why Christian Leaders are Silent (starts at 35:35)How the Abortion Movement Has Become More Radical Post-Roe v. Wade>> Additional ResourcesMetro Women’s Center in Crystal, MNMarch for Life in MN - Monday, January 22, 2024Find a March for Life Near You180 Movie

GUEST: DARRELL HARRISON, pastoral staff, Redeemer Bible Church, Gilbert, AZThere are only two foundations for thinking and living: the perfect Word of God or the flawed word of man.In running further and further away from the truth of God’s Word, our leaders and people run headlong into the fallen and foolish reasonings of man that Paul warned Christians to avoid:“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ” (Colossians. 2:8).The empty deceptions of our day are seen and felt everywhere now. When one believes the lie that white, male, heterosexual Christians are responsible for victimizing everyone else, causing every conflict and ill, flawed and discriminatory solutions like Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) which actually codifies injustice and discrimination against the alleged oppressors.Christians live in this fallen world with all its ungodly philosophies and so we must informed and prepared when it confronts us in our workplace, school, church, or even with children in our home who have been taken captive.Darrell Harrison, host of the Just Thinking podcast and a member of the pastoral staff at Redeemer Bible Church in Gilbert, AZ, joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to provide deeper insight on ideologies like DEI and pejorative terms like “colonization” used toward Americans and Israelis. He will also explain how these deceptions need to be especially resisted at the door of the church.------------------------Darrell Harrison’s podcast: Just Thinking is a long-form, expository podcast that boldly confronts cultural, social, political and theological issues through an orthodox biblical worldview.

GUEST: GRANT CASTLEBERRY, Senior Pastor, Capital Community Church (Raleigh, NC)While no one but God knows and determines the events and timing of the future, 2024 portends to be a turbulent year. A presidential election looms in November which will impact to varying degrees whether the United States continues to run full-speed ahead on its God-rejecting, globalist course.Many other major fissures contribute to the uncertainty: aggressive deconstruction of the Biblical marital, moral and gender norms, unprecedented financial debt, massive illegal immigration, major wars in Israel and Europe, and much, much more.Before His crucifixion and ascension, Jesus timelessly declared, “in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).In other words, if one is “in Christ” (born again), one can have peace and take courage because our Redeemer has overcome the world (“to conquer, prevail”)…and therefore so can the believer with His help.Comparing with other passages, overcoming the world doesn’t mean that believers and the church literally conquer or take dominion over the world but rather can live faithful, sanctified, and joyful lives in the midst of it.Grant Castleberry, pastor of Capital Community Church in Raleigh, NC, joins us this weekend on The Christian Worldview to discuss how Christians, pastors, and churches can overcome the world rather than being aligned with and negatively impacted by it. Grant will also analyze how Christian leaders like Tim Keller and organizations like Christianity Today have influenced evangelicals under age 40 to support the political left (read this post by pastor Josh Howerton on “How Misapplying Keller Hijacked US Christianity”).------------------------------Thanks to many of you for your encouraging notes and support of The Christian Worldview. We strive to do this radio ministry in order for God to say, “Well done, good and faithful slave…” (Mt. 25:21) but to hear that you are praying for us, being impacted by the programs, and urging us to keep on keeping on, is a shot in the arm to be faithful week after week. We are sobered and grateful.