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We continue our “Fall Features” Series with another special guest interview…and it’s a topic with which our “Deeper in the Word” audience should be VERY familiar! Because this episode, we are joined by renown author, speaker and Bible teacher, Ms. Ava Pennington of Bible Study Fellowship International, who will discuss her new book, entitled Flourish: Grace-Centered Practices to Protect and Grow a Fruitful Life in Christ, which is designed to help readers grow in their Christian walk, specifically through fostering a greater understanding and applicability of the Fruit of the Spirit in their lives (as those nine attributes are outlined in the Book of Galatians 5:22-23). Join us as we learn how to cultivate these spiritual characteristics and disciplines in our lives so that we are effectively “Bearing Fruit” for the Lord!

Join us as we kick off our special "Fall Features" Series - where we will feature a special guest interview every week - with our first installment of the series, a discussion with award-winning Gospel recording artist Darius Paulk and a show we've entitled, "Must Be the Music!"

Yunno…if you’ve ever been involved in a custody battle – or know someone who has – you know they can be long and protracted…AND, they can get extremely ugly at times. Truly, custody battles often can and do get VERY bitter and bring out the very worst in people. Well, friends…..did you know that YOU AND as Believers I are engaged in a battle that goes on DAILY for our very souls? EVERY DAY there is a REAL custody battle going on for the soul of every Believer, where good and evil are LITERALLY fighting within EACH of us, for CONTROL over us So the REAL question becomes…….which one will you allow PARENTAGE to? Which one will YOU assign full parental rights, full custodial rights? Come fellowship with us and see how we can learn to pick the RIGHT custodial parent to assign our care and control over to, so that we don’t end up unnecessarily engaged in a “Custody Battle”!

When we speak about the “fruit of our labors”, we’re talking about the outcome or rewards of our efforts in doing something…..that is, you see that the work you put into doing something starts to pay off. Well, when we talk about following Christ and trying to live a Christlike existence, there are certain markers or qualities which prove whether or not you will see the fruit of your labors; that is, whether you’ll be able to tell if your efforts are paying off. They are known as the fruit of the Spirit, and these nine characteristics demonstrate that the Holy Spirit is present in your life. So how do you go about manifesting them, and how can you tell if you truly embody them? Come fellowship with us during this week’s episode of “Deeper in the Word”, as we explore the nine fruit of the Spirit in order to allow us to examine our lives and see if our efforts to live Christlike are proving the “Fruit of Our Labors”!

Question: do YOU think you’re going to Heaven when you die? Well, I guess the first question should be whether or not you first BELIEVE that Heaven is a real place. If so, then the issue of you going or not going becomes paramount. But perhaps what’s even MORE paramount is WHY you think you’re going to Heaven when you die…like, what’s your BASIS for thinking that? And are you SURE you’re correct in your reasoning? Because here’s the shocking truth: many Christians who THINK they’re going to Heaven when they die are going to be utterly dismayed and heartbroken when they discover that THEY AIN’T GOIN’. And that’s not me making a judgement about them, that comes STRAIGHT from the mouth of Jesus Himself! Come fellowship with us during this episode of “Deeper in the Word” as we challenge YOUR notion about whether or not you’re going to Heaven by giving you the FACTS associated with that invitation….because “Heaven Forbid” you meet Jesus and He ends up REJECTING you and DENYING your access to the Kingdom of God!

It’s Holy Week! A time when we celebrate the sacrifice which Christ made for us when he went to the cross and died for our sins for all time., and what our RESPONSE to that sacrifice should look like. In fact, there’s a particular posture we should ALWAYS take when it comes to the reverence and adoration we show to the Lord….one of continual and true WORSHIP. But what does TRUE worship even look like? How do we go about demonstrating it? So goes this Holy Week episode of “Deeper in the Word”, where we examine this important aspect of glorifying God, highlighting it in particular as we contemplate the coming of Easter. Come celebrate “The Super Bowl Week of Christianity” with us as we explore the foundations of true worship, WHERE that worship should originate, and the precise elements necessary to effectuate that worship!

As many of you know, “Deeper in the Word” and Benevolent Faith Ministries take very seriously our commitment to our international listeners, particularly those in countries where believing in the Gospel of Jesus Christ is prohibited or even illegal. The Bible tells us that we are ALL brothers and sisters in Christ, no matter what our geographic locations may be. That’s why what has been going on in Iran is of such importance to us…Christianity is spreading like wildfire in that country, and so of course the OPPOSITION to that spread has been just as intense. Fortunately, there are folks who are trying to highlight the atrocities occurring in that country, and sometimes through unorthodox means. That’s where this episode’s guest comes in….as an Iranian-American who is deeply entrenched within the entertainment industry, he’s using his platform to bring attention to the plight of Christian Iranians through a very unique manner. Come fellowship with us for this important episode and see how his efforts to improve Persian/Jewish relations are making an impact around the world. Topics include what the Bible says about Persian/Jewish relations, how the use of artwork in the form of murals (get it? Start of the ART?) is highlighting the struggles of Iranian Christians…AND, how a FIRE almost broke out during this very interview!

Whether singing in your car or singing praise and worship, sometimes we get so caught up in the music and in the moment, that we can’t help but to let loose in total joy. It may look weird to some, and it MIGHT be downright offensive to others…because some in the church are more concerned about what OTHERS think or what OTHERS will say if they let themselves go and freely praise God. This is the situation that King David faced in our text today, where the king’s wife, Michal, accused David of being undignified in public worship. But as David is going to show us, biblical worship involves AN AUDIENCE OF ONE, and God encourages His worshipers NOT to be ashamed or reluctant to display their faith publicly. Check out this latest episode of "Deeper in the Word" and learn HOW and WHY you should always come to a place where you’re giving God your BEST “Undignified Praise”!

Christianity is under attack! Listen, that’s not hyperbole, that’s FACT. Not only do people OUTSIDE of the community of God denigrate and disrespect it, but worse still, what we’re seeing today are people INSIDE the community of God causing havoc, as well, through false teaching and spreading heresies. So how do we RECTIFY this? How can such behavior be addressed? Well, fortunately for us, the Bible is very clear about the courses of action we should take with respect to defending our faith, including WHAT we need to defend, WHY we need to defend it and HOW we go about defending it. So join us for this episode of Deeper in the Word”, where we explore these issues and more, including discussions related to the letter written by Jesus’s half-brother (and we ain’t talkin’ about James, either) which outlines the way we should approach defending what we believe in!

You ever been cussed out by someone? You ever cussed someone ELSE out YOURSELF? In either instance, saying angry, offensive and profane words to another person isn’t exactly a pleasant experience. That’s why God’s Word instructs His children to AVOID using foul language at all costs….because there IS a cost to be paid for such disobedience in our speech. The Bible says that we WILL be accountable for every word which proceeds from our mouths, because the words you say will either (Matt. 12:36-37). So join us this episode as we explore the importance of monitoring our speech such that we watch what we say and aren’t speaking in ways that belie the faith we claim to have. Discussion topics include what we can learn from Turkish cranes (what?); how primetime TV has seemingly crashed out when it comes to censoring vulgar speech; and how cussin’/swearing dishonors your witness for Christ!

Sometimes life can truly throw some drama our way which makes us feel like we’re trapped….like we’ve been thrown into a lion’s den. Whether it’s the den of despair, the den of injustice or the den of hardship, we all can find ourselves in a space where the danger is very real and potentially life-threatening. Fortunately for us, there’s a guy in the Bible who went through this very thing and made it out unscathed, and what we can learn from his story will teach us how to deal with our own lion’s dens. Of course I’m talkin’ about the prophet Daniel and the famous biblical story where he gets thrown into a LITERAL lion’s den because of a specific group of haters who didn’t want to see him shine and who were jealous that the King favored him and not them. …..and we can ALL relate to that, right? Many of us have been thrown into some den of persecution due to being hated on, for whatever reason. That’s why the way which Daniel dealt with HIS haters in his situation is so valuable for us in terms of the lessons which we can glean from it. Come fellowship with us and see why this well-known story from the Bible offers plenty of valuable “Lessons From the Lion’s Den”!

We live in a society where people are more prone than EVER to do or say whatever they want. In fact, it’s almost considered “abnormal” when you exhibit any sense of righteousness in the world today. But even though the world is sinful, Christians still have to live IN it. We still have to interact with the lost (some of which may be in our own families) and we still have to deal with these world systems which represent “spiritual wickedness in high places” (Eph. 6:12) But just because we have to live AMONG unbelievers doesn’t mean that we have to live LIKE unbelievers. Come fellowship with us as we discuss how followers of Christ need to be DIFFERENT from the people around us, from the WORLD around us, how we have to act in a manner that SEPARATES us from the world so that people don’t have to ask “What’s the Difference?” between us and unbelievers!

If you love sports, you know what it’s like to be a fan of something….but there’s a difference between being a casual fan and being a diehard fan. It’s the same thing with being a Believer: there’s a difference between being a casual fan of Christ and being an avid follower of Him. Because fans can be fickle, right? One minute they love you, the next they hate you. Well, Jesus doesn’t need Believers like that, He only requires TRUE, dedicated Believers, ones who will stick with Him through thick and thin. Join us for this episode of Deeper in the Word, which finds RevRob discussing the importance of knowing the difference between this two ideologies – fandom vs. follower – when it comes to being honest about where you are in your walk with the Lord. Because Jesus needs true followers to serve as workers in His Kingdom….He’s not simply interested in adding more people to “The Fan Club”!

What makes Christians distinguishable from the rest of society? That is, how can people TELL that we’re God’s saved people and NOT amongst the unsaved peoples of the world? So goes this episode of “Deeper in the Word”, which finds RevRob exploring the biblical theme of SEPARATION. The Bible tells Christians to be “in the world, not of it”….that means even though we live on this planet, we don’t have to act like all the unsaved people who live AROUND us. So how DO we show the distinction between us and them? According to the bible, we do it by drawing a clear BOUNDARY – that is, a line of demarcation – between us and them which is manifested in the way we act and treat others. With that clear line of demarcation being drawn in our lives, however, we can sometimes blur the line between belonging to Christ and belonging to Satan, the ruler of this wicked realm. Come fellowship with us and learn how YOU can distinguish yourself as a follower of Christ and NOT as simply another worldly resident based upon your efforts to draw a “Line of Demarcation” between how YOU live and how the world WANTS you to live!

Anytime you build a house or other structure, you need a blueprint plan, which gives you the proper parameters for building or constructing something. And when we look at the state of the church today – God’s house – it becomes apparent that there is MUCH that needs rebuilding. Whether it’s the attitudes INSIDE the building or the attitudes OUTSIDE the building, the entire concept of what it means to BE the church needs a rebuilding and a rebranding. So goes this episode of "Deeper In The Word" which finds RevRob discussing the content and context of the Book of Acts 2:42​-47, where we find the ORIGINAL blueprint for what it truly means to BE THE CHURCH....and how the modern church needs to look to the EARLY church for the right example to follow! Come fellowship with us to hear a Word from God about how we go about recreating “The Blueprint" for the House That Christ Built!