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Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 brethren in the Bay Area. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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. Learn more about Shawn's work with the Miller Avenue church at https://milleravechurch.com/ Learn more about Mike's work with the Santa Clara church at https://santaclarachurchofchrist.com/ Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 record straight. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 may start to smell worse. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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.  Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 church. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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. Check out Terry Francis's work with the Chelsea church at https://www.youtube.com/@ChelseaChurch Check out Nick Angel's work with the Louden church of Christ in Loudon, Tennessee, at  loudoncoc.org and his daily Bible reading plan at https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpcMwM7Ew/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://youtube.com/@dbrwnickangel?si=lhjqltGUHCCki61q Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 church at https://www.youtube.com/@ChelseaChurch Check out Nick Angel's work with the Louden church of Christ in Loudon, Tennessee, at  loudoncoc.org and his daily Bible reading plan at https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpcMwM7Ew/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://youtube.com/@dbrwnickangel?si=lhjqltGUHCCki61q Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 citizenship. Check out Terry Francis's work with the Chelsea church at https://www.youtube.com/@ChelseaChurch Check out Nick Angel's work with the Louden church of Christ in Loudon, Tennessee, at  loudoncoc.org and his daily Bible reading plan at https://www.facebook.com/share/1GpcMwM7Ew/?mibextid=wwXIfr https://youtube.com/@dbrwnickangel?si=lhjqltGUHCCki61q Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 soul. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.

Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! 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 just because the cards say so.  Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him and the Lakewoods Drive church through Facebook and other social media. Lakewoods Drive is an autonomous group of Christians dedicated to praising God, teaching the gospel to all who will hear, training Christians in righteousness, and serving our God and one another faithfully. We believe the Bible is God's word, that Jesus died on the cross for our sins, that heaven is our home, and that we have work to do here while we wait. Regular topics of discussion and conversation include: Christians, Jesus, obedience, faith, grace, baptism, New Testament, Old Testament, authority, gospel, fellowship, justice, mercy, faithfulness, forgiveness, Twenty Pages a Week, Bible reading, heaven, hell, virtues, character, denominations, submission, service, character, COVID-19, assembly, Lord's Supper, online, social media, YouTube, Facebook.