Citizen of Heaven

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What follows is the final installment of my conversation with Brent Moody and Steve Wolfgang; if you haven’t heard the first two yet, please do yourself a favor and fix that soon. In the meantime, we’re here talking about the bigger picture of the temple – the church of Jesus Christ as a whole. What kind of example are Christians setting for the world with our approach to God’s things? What does it mean to come out from the world and be separate? Let’s find out.<...

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Here is more from Brent Moody and Steve Wolfgang on the topic of temples. In this segment we branch off a bit from the discussion about temples at large and our own personal bodies as temples in particular, and we lean somewhat into the idea in 1 Corinthians 3 of the local church being a temple as well. Our devotion to God and the things of God has implications beyond our own personal bodies; it defines the way we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ as well.<...

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The temple is not just a building Solomon built 3,000 years ago. It’s one of the most important metaphors in the Bible. Here to discuss the topic are Steve Wolfgang from the Downers Grove church of Christ in suburban Chicago and Brent Moody from the Decker Prairie church of Christ in suburban Houston. Links to the good work these gentlemen do are in the show notes. We’ll start with what a temple is in the first place and the implications have for Christians today.

Chec...

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Maybe all this rain in Central Texas this year has got me in a good mood regarding the green stuff. In any case, this week we’ll be discussing the grass that fades, as compared to the word that doesn’t; the pros and cons of the most famous book of poetry in American history; the kids’ lingo and how I might actually understand and agree with some of it; and how some very specialized grass can be the key to providing balance both in gaming and in lif...

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I doubt you’ve spent much time this month thinking of reeds. My mission this week is to change all that. We’ll cover the broken reeds that Jesus tries to fix, and why; the reeds that are trying to save the world, if only the humans would let them; the reeds that help my wife and others like her make beautiful music – and maybe the occasional obnoxious screech; and the game we love that sorta-kinda helps us celebrate the greatest reeds of all.

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We’ll be discussing various forms of plant life this month, and we’ll start this week with one of the most controversial ones. You’ll see what I mean. We’ll talk about how God does or does not protect His people from harm; the barriers you can put up to protect your marriage; the hedge the Pharisees built around the law and how we can avoid the mistakes they made; and the path we mark off so people can find the same destination we’re seeking, b...

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Andy Cantrell preaches for the Northwest church of Christ in New Hope, Minnesota. Brandon Slater preaches for the Green Meadow church of Christ in in San Angelo, Texas. Links are included in the show notes. We’ve been talking growth this week. We finish by talking about the growth of our faith. Jesus clearly expected His disciples to progress in the time they spent with Him, and He was frustrated when they didn’t. Maybe He’s getting frustrated with us as well.

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We’re back with more from Andy Cantrell and Brandon Slater; check the show notes for their links. Here we discuss congregational growth. We think of numerical growth as being a good thing. But is it really? Do the problems that come with growth outweigh the benefits? And are numbers really a good way of measuring the strength of a congregation in the first place? Is bigger really better? Let’s find out.

Check out Andy Cantrell's work at https://www.nwcocmn.org/

Chec...

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Andy Cantrell from Champlin, Minnesota, and Brandon Slater from San Angelo, Texas, join me this week to talk about growth – a topic near and dear to all of us. We start by talking about the first growth any of us experience – the growth of children. When children do not grow, it’s a sign of something going terribly wrong. Andy, Brandon and I discuss here how it works exactly the same way with God’s children. And the consequences are even worse.

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We close out our month with the part of California that I have partaken of far more than any other – something I’m prepared to concede California does better than Texas. We’ll discuss how you can tell a good’un from a bad’un; the lessons learned while working with prunes (and no, not the one you’re hoping I’m not talking about); the place I went to find God and humans working in delicious harmony; and the best-tasting pies I ever made on a gaming table.<...

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I’ve been in California twice in the last 12 months. And I loved every minute of my time there. Let me tell you a few reasons why. I found what Paul said I should want more than anything in this life. I remembered how beautiful God’s world sounds when you don’t make any noise. I saw the edge of the earth and imagined what was on the other side. And I took delight in the process instead of waiting around for the result.

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It’s not all sunshine in California, unfortunately. The usually amazing weather can turn absolutely horrific. Do earthquakes represent God’s efforts to finally destroy California entirely? What do we do when a giant gap threatens to separate brethren permanently? Are natural disasters worse for Californians or for beach people? And what kind of quake could disrupt train travel over an entire continent? Let’s find out.

Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705

Hal Hammons serves as preacher and sh...

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This month’s tour of California starts where talk about California always starts, for better or for worse. We’ll talk about the nature of stardom and whether it’s worth the cost; our obsession with happy endings and the harsh realities that may land instead; the heroes Hollywood used to produce, how the modern-day versions measure up and whether it matters; and how a show about your colon might be the key to becoming the best TV executive in your gaming group.

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Shawn Highfill and Mike Wilson have joined me for an insightful talk about California this week. We conclude our conversation by considering the abundance of blessings God shares with us in this life – and that are visible in California arguably more than any other place in the world. Links to Shawn’s work in San Jose and Mike’s work in Santa Clara are supplied in the show notes. If you have a vacation coming up, you couldn’t do better than to spend it with these good bre...

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Christians are prisoners of local culture. Such has always been the case. What do we do when local culture interferes with the culture Jesus is trying to build in His body? And is the problem with California culture that much different than in other places? To help us find an answer, we have Shawn Highfill from San Jose and Mike Wilson from Santa Clara, deep in the heart of a region with a reputation of, to put it mildly, not prioritizing godly principles and behavior.

...

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California is now my second-favorite state. And as a birthday present to myself, we’re going to spend the whole month of September there. Here to help are Shawn Highfill from the Miller Avenue church of Christ in San Jose and his neighbor Mike Wilson from the church of Christ in Santa Clara. We start with the reason California was so low on my list for so long – stereotyping. I asked whether they had experienced stereotyping as Californians, and if so what should be done to set the...

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I turn 60 years old in two weeks. And I’m totally OK with it – so OK, in fact, that I want to talk about one of the greatest senior citizens in the Bible; a man who some thought was too old and stubborn to be president, and who then got elected and proved them right; the disadvantage of having older men as advisers and how it got a king killed; and a game that gets better and better the longer you leave it on the table, although it m...

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Those who know me are likely shocked that an “authority” episode has not appeared as of yet. Well, better late than never. This week we’ll talk about the authority model I’ve heard all my life and whether it deserves its reputation; a king who came up with a way to rule from a distance; an alternative to authority favored by children of all ages; and the authority that governs my gaming and how I deal with it when I don’t understand it. 

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OK, I’ve put this off long enough. It’s time to actually do an episode about delays. We’ll discuss Saul’s baptism and why it’s such a powerful lesson for us today; the delays in our speech patterns that may speak louder than our actual words; the delays Tracie and I faced in a place where delays are most unwelcome, and how delaying got us there in the first place; and the effect that pointless delays have on our playing partners, both in gaming and in the...

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It’s not soccer; it’s football. That’s how the world says it, and that’s the way Terry Francis, Nick Angel and I have been trying to say it. The things you say and the way you say them makes a big difference – including and particularly when you’re talking with brethren. And not always in a good way. So check your biases at the door; it’s time to decide which shibboleths are needful and which are needlessly divisive and destructive.

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Nick Angel preaches for the Loudon church of Christ in Louden, Tennessee; Terry Francis is with the church in Chelsea, Alabama. Links to their work are in the show notes. In the second part of our World Cup conversation, we discuss the anti-American propaganda and a German named Freddy has headed up the charge of rebutting it, and how we as Christians can be both victims and perpetrators ourselves while wearing the colors of Team Jesus Christ.

Check out Terry Francis's work with the Chelsea...

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Confession time: I did not watch the World Cup this summer. But I did keep up with it well enough to appreciate the cultural phenomenon that it is in the world and that it became here in America. To show proper respect for the game we’re trying to call “football” this week, I enlisted the help of true aficionados Terry Francis and Nick Angel to help me through some of the highlights, beginning here with the pros and cons of nationalism, especially as it impacts our heaven...

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In a month full of drinking one thing or another, we finish with the most basic liquid of all. We’ll cover whether water can actually save you or whether it just gets you wet; whether the depths of the ocean and all the terrors therein should be enough to make you change your vocation; why I’m not as excited about rain as I usually am this time of year; and how the water outside your habitat can sneak in and destroy both your game and your...

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Wine comes up in a wide variety of contexts in the Bible. This week we’ll discuss how the most famous Bible passage about wine may not really be talking about wine at all; how choosing to leave the drunken lifestyle doesn’t always yield the results you had hoped for; how being in love is like drinking wine, both for good and for ill – and how it’s worth it in at least one instance; and how you don’t have to make wine while playing a game jus...

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We’re talking beverages this month on the podcast. Last week was coffee; this week we’re going a bit highbrow – or maybe not; we’ll have to see. We’ll discuss whether civilization is all it’s cracked up to be; whether tea is merely a beverage or an entire lifestyle; what “the tea” really is (not “tea,” mind you – “THE tea”); and whether you should content yourself with growing “good enough” tea, both in your game room and in your walk with Christ.

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I hope everyone else has enjoyed this week at the coffee shop as much as I have; let’s have one last cup before we leave. To conclude the discussion, Mark Roberts and BJ Sipe discuss the willpower you have to find sometimes to walk away from something that may not be dangerous or sinful in and of itself. Links to their respective work are included in the show notes. Thanks again, fellas, for the talk. I’m stepping away from the table with quite the buzz.

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We’re back for a second cup with Mark Roberts of the West Side church of Christ in Irving, Texas, and BJ Sipe of the church in Danville, Kentucky. Links are included in the show notes. We’re talking here about mornings – how a cup of coffee can get you going physically, and what it might take to get you going on a daily basis spiritually. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, I think you’ll find something here to get you into gear for y...

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Mark Roberts’s Coffee and the Bible series was a big prompt for this episode. I was excited to sit down with him and BJ Sipe, another avid coffee drinker, to discuss a variety of coffee-adjacent topics. We start with the idea of combining coffee and Bible study. No one says you can’t study the Bible without a cup of coffee. But Mark and BJ clearly think it helps. So I just asked them how that worked. Links to Mark’s books as well as their other...

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These are the best books I've read in 2026 so far. See also my list of "most surprising" books." Lord willing, the lists for the entire year will be posted in December.

(Honorable mention): Doubts About Darwin, by Thomas Woodward

10. Mr. Roberts, by Thomas Heggin

9. Under God, by Toby Mac and Michael Tait

8. Conquerors, by Roger Crowley

7. John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Aitken

6. The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch...

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These are the most surprising books I've read in the first half of 2026. 

10. Where God Was Born, by Bruce Feiler

9. The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt, by Jim Nelson Black

8. The Grave of John Wesley Hardin: Three Essays on Grassroots History, by C.L. Sonnichsen

7. The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid: A Faithful and Interesting Narrative, by Pat F. Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln Co., N.M., By Whom He Was Finally H...

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Jesus wanted to be about His Father’s business as soon as possible. Here’s hoping His attitude will rub off on us. This week we’ll cover the difference between a successful businessperson and a crooked one; the help the business world has offered over the years in the cause of Christ and why we’re better off without it; an expression from the movies that is both true and offensive; and the way to grow a business on your game table that gives you the biggest...

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It’s my eternal struggle: balancing keeping things proper and keeping things interesting. This week we’ll cover whether efforts to sneak the gospel in the back door are ethical or even effective; the most interesting and perhaps least profitable sort of books I read; the inherently deceptive nature of modern news and what our response should be; and an entire category of games I avoid for no good reason whatsoever. 

Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705

Hal Hammo...

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This topic is near and dear to my heart; it’s worth acquiring and protecting, especially if you wear the name of Jesus. We’ll discuss apostles and how they were able to do their job so well and continue to do so; a storyteller who may or may not be insane and how you can tell which; a flashback to the mistakes I made in my career as a journalist as well as a preacher and the lessons I learned; and the sources we turn to for...

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I’m actually on the road this week; apologies in advance for any sound issues I may have being away from my normal microphone. We’ll be talking about one road God has prepared for us and the challenges we find walking in it; two roads that converge in the woods and why Robert Frost doesn’t care which one you take; another road the devil wants you to take and the rock band that’s urging you along; and the road leading back home  -- a home that...

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“All the blessings in the heavenly places” sounds like the greatest gift of all – and it is. But what exactly are the “heavenly places” to which Paul refers in Ephesians 1:3? And why does the devil seem to be there too? Thankfully we have the Bible Geeks, Ryan Joy and Bryan Schiele, here to answer the tough questions in the last part of our conversation. Links are provided in the show notes; make sure you check them out.

Check out the Bible Geeks Podcast at https://biblegeeks...

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My conversation with Ryan Joy and Bryan Schiele, the Bible Geeks, turns to Psalm 127 and the blessing of children. As each of us is a father, we each have a perspective on the subject. Hopefully we didn’t brag on our own children very much. However full or not full your own quiver may be at the moment, or may become in the future, I think you’ll be benefitted by what they have to say.

Check out the Bible Geeks Podcast at https://biblegeeks.fm/p...

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This month we welcome in, for the first time as a pair on the podcast, Ryan Joy and Bryan Schiele, the Bible Geeks, a couple of the best podcasters I know. Links to the show and to Ryan’s work with the North church in Fort Wayne, Indiana, are included in the show notes. We start the blessed ball rolling by talking about the nature of daily bread – what it is, what it isn’t, and whether praying for something beyond that is good initiative or just plain...

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We finish our world tour in a land considered a fertile field for the gospel until godless Communists took over. We’ll discuss the apostle who may have first brought Jesus to China and why; a radical new theory about world exploration (embrace or discard at your pleasure); the super-fancy products China used to be famous for making in earlier centuries; and the wall you and your fellow game players must defend at all costs, even the cost of your own ego.

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This is one of the last two stops in our trip around the world; I hope you’re enjoying it as much as I am. This week we’ll talk about one of the best men Germany ever gave the world; one of the worst, and how his biggest opponent was more like him than he realized; a city determined to make Germany well known for unity instead of starting wars; and a legacy you can build for yourself with nothing more than some plastic blocks and a vi...

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Egypt is the nation mentioned most in the Bible other than Israel and Judah. So naturally our trip around the world had to make a stop here. We’ll discuss the irresistible urge in God’s people to embrace the life God’s trying to get us out of; an alleged murder mystery and the dangers of presuppositions; a cultural phenomenon and what it doesn’t mean with regard to genuine interest; and the best way to secure your place in the afterlife with a simple deck of cards...