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What should we make of a drug that helps us battle temptation? Free Will is an important part of covenant and salvation in the Jewish and Christian traditions, but is it ok to give that freedom to choose a medical boost towards choosing the good? And if it is true retatrutide is turning gay people straight, how long until people start saying weight loss peptides are homophobic? Referenced in the Episode: Peptide Confessions

Are the ephemeral, temporary, arbitrary, transient nature of your feelings more important than God, family, church? And are they ever an excuse for sin? As women age, their hormones change, which affects our emotional state. Men also experience hormonal shifts with age. Is that ever an excuse for sin? Referenced in the Episode: Christianity and Perimenopause: Staying Faithful When Your Hormones Crash Out - Alisa Childers Podcast Misreading Scripture with Western Eyes by Brandon J. O'Brien E. Randolph RichardsMisreading Scripture with Individualist Eyes: Patronage, Honor, and Shame in the Biblical World by Brandon J. O'Brien E. Randolph Richards

My health journey started with a spiritual discipline. I discuss that and my experience taking a GLP-1 agonist weight loss drug.

Is it Commander in Chief? Or Pastor in Chief? Is purity and perfection in our leaders realistic? Should we let those who don't share our faith and values determine our perspective? Do we need to recognize God is in control, even when flawed sinful humans like ourselves are in charge?

Rosh Hashanah is seen as the birthday of creation: a time to reflect on the past and look forward to the future. The crisp, bright anticipation of autumn is a beautiful time to reflect, be accountable, repent, re-commit, and look forward to the renewal we are always experiencing in Christ.

When you are looking for heroes, do you call evil good and good evil? Are you being inspired by peaceful people who build, collaborate, listen, share, and inspire? Or are you buying into a cult of glorifying death, violence, illness, and hate?

Treating childlessness as righteousness is nothing new. It existed in pagan times, it existed in the early church, and Steinem was just the latest example of this old heresy. Referenced in this episode: How We Taught Women To Fear Motherhood

Why can we forgive the Apostle Paul, but not Mark Driscoll? Both are difficult men, but only one stoned Stephen. Is it because masculine virtue has been declared evil by our church and culture? And the feminine vices of gossip and slander have been elevated as a virtue? For most of us Mark Driscoll has no impact on our daily lives, so why do we feel virtuous about hating him? And why did the Rise and Fall of Mars Hill only present one side of the story? Referenced in the episode: Scandal, Forgiveness and the War for Young Men's Souls

Beauty is important in our faith, because the inward beauty of the heart should be reflected in our lives. Not the fake beauty of white-washed tombs, or the ugliness of hostility and neglect, but the beauty that reflects Christ's love for us.

Sin is crouching at your door, but you don't have to let it in. Sin only rules your life if you make room for it. Addiction is slavery, and that addiction doesn't have to be drugs or alcohol: it could be gossip, validation, the pride that comes from that "secret knowledge" of investing in conspiracy theories. Referenced in the episode: Psychosis vs Depression & the Lindsay Clancy Case - Jeremy Boreing SSRI's at 7 Years Old - Culture Apothecary The Pastor: A Memoir - Eugene Peterson

God sees us and knows us better than we know ourselves, our good and our bad. Hagar recognized that in the depths of her despair, and God provided for her. When we are in a Jonah or Job season it's comforting to know that even when we feel unseen or misunderstood by the world, God sees us. In His eyes we are beloved children, never strangers, and even in our seasons of stubborn disobedience He loves and provides for us.

The world will lie to you about who you are, what you can do, and what is the the value of your soul. Resisting those lies is hard, but it builds faith and reminds you that your identity, future, and happiness are only found in Christ.

Galatians 5:1 isn't just a patriotic verse for America's 250th anniversary. What does freedom really mean? Your have rights, but are you free to use them? You have a voice, but are you free to speak? Are you bound by worldly desire? Are you bound by fear? Do you have freedom to move and act because you know you supported by a mighty and merciful God? Are you free because you make the choice to follow God, and that clarifies and focuses your life's priorities?

Is the opposite of kind, compassionate and loving actually nice, polite and inoffensive? We need stouthearted men (and women) who are unashamed of the Gospel of Christ. Referenced in the Episode: Allie Beth Stuckey interviews David French

Is 95% agreement on an issue enough to belong? Or is that 5% always a dealbreaker? Can you engage with differences with curiosity, constructive debate, and genuine respect? Do we even take the time? Is a lot of tribalism and cancel culture directly related to simply not taking the time to sit and talk with each other, slowly, organically?