Calvary Chapel Chattanooga: Recent Episodes
Calvary Chapel Chattanooga
:: The audio podcast for Calvary Chapel Chattanooga with Pastor Frank Ramseur :: We're a church on the R.I.S.E. Reading, Investing, Surrounding, and Engaging
This is all 4 of the Easter weekend services, posted in order of the 4PM, 6PM, 9AM and 11AM.
Pastor Frank Ramseur leads our church in processing a heavy week with the loss of Charlie Kirk as well as other dear saints within our body.
1 Samuel 15
We go astray when faith is no longer a contributing factor in decision-making.
We go astray when our views are compromised, because we are compromising.
We go astray when we know better. (Or at least think we do!)
We go astray when we’d rather give reasons and justifications rather than repent.
We go astray when we’d rather decide to answer evil with evil.
1 Samuel 14:24-52
1.Saul took his eyes off of God.
2.Saul allowed pride to take root and failed to live a repentant life.
3.Saul was no longer sought after for advice.
4.Saul started hanging out with losers.
5.Saul wasn’t present in moments when people needed him most.
6.Saul was impulsive in making promises and commitments without forethought, planning, or
knowledge.
7.Saul was self-focused, not others-focused.
8.Saul became destructive and toxic.
9.Saul led others into sin.
10.Saul became a Pharisee.
11.Saul was willing to harm another in order to save himself.
1 Samuel 13:16-14:23
Be consumed by the opportunity, not the odds.
Choose zeal over comfort and complacency.
Surround yourself with like-minded, passionate lovers of God.
Be proactive, not reactive.
Get confirmation from God.
Climb and fight!
Pray for the faith to believe and do what the Lord calls you to!
Fear is a tool in the enemy’s hand.
There is safety in the waiting.
When we choose disobedience, we invite consequences.
Pray to recognize the Lord’s 6ming for big decisions and the willingness to wait!
1 Samuel 12
The reliability of God’s man, Samuel, was established
A reminder of the righteous acts of God establishes His faithfulness.
A riveting warning against demands we might make.
A regrettable indictment (confirmed by divine signs).
A righteous exhortation: Obey God!
Thank God for His faithfulness and leadership!
Pray for the power and desire from The Holy Spirit to obey the Lord in every way!
The enemy loves to bring shame to the children of God.
Righteous anger can be appropriate and necessary.
We should frequently return to our ‘Gilgal’ moments: Salvation, consecration, repentance
Corporately: Pray for a firm resolve to live out God’s truth, regardless of the circumstances.
Personally: Reflect on the moments of salvation & repentance. Thank Him and remember.
1 Samuel 9-10
The person of God who wishes to see things clearly must go low…and stay there.
We must cultivate the right character and call up the right leaders.
Great moments do not equal godly consistency…God desires continued faithfulness.
The best of men are, at best, just men.
1 Samuel 8:1-22
Our role as parents is critical. We must prioritize godly parenting! (See vs. 1-3)
Take ownership - Don’t blame God for your failures. (See vs. 4-8)
Be very certain about what you seek – God may give it to you and all of the consequences
that go along with it. (See vs. 9-20)
Our calling is to be light in the world, not to be like the world. (See Vs. 21-22)
1 Samuel 6-7
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Put yourself in God’s presence and watch Him handle your idols for you.
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Pray for good and godly leadership!
Pray through Psalm 139:23-24, and that you’d be made aware of the idolatry in your heart.
Pray for our upcoming election, and that hearts of our elected leaders would be God-seeking.
1.If your beliefs keep falling down, maybe you’ve believed a lie.
2.When you believe a lie long enough the truth becomes a pain in the buttocks!
3.The ultimate lie of the devil is that God does not love you.
4.The Ark: The highest physical representation of God’s presence (before Christ).
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Sometimes things will get worse before they get better!
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Some things cannot be redeemed, they can only be rebuilt!
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Religion cannot save a nation, nor can men, but God can!
Pray for revival in our nation!
Pray our nation would return and adhere to our nation motto: “In GOD we trust!”
During our study of 1 Samuel 3 this week, Pastor Frank highlighted an essential step for
leading a nation back to God: recommitting to His Word. In his message titled “When Revival
Comes,” we learned that young Samuel not only became acquainted with the Word of the
Lord but also wholeheartedly embraced and shared its truth.
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God can revive a nation.
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God’s Word isn’t just about His love and mercy. His justice and correction are there too!
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Samuel was a young man fully committed to God, yet fearful to speak what he was told.
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Eli recognized his shortcomings and accepted God's judgment.
In the latest teaching of our One Na'on Under God series, Eric DiCicco examined 1 Samuel
2:12-36 in his message, “As the Family Goes, So Goes the Nation.” He highlighted the
profound influence that family life has on society, underlining that the attack on family values
is a deliberate strategy of the enemy. He gave us three practical things to fight back!
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Faith must be demonstrated, not just discussed.
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Correction without consequence rarely leads to change.
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The Lord honors those who honor Him. (And sometimes it’s uncomfortable!)
As part of our Under God One Nation series, Adam Calabrese delivered a compelling teaching
on 1 Samuel 1:19-2:11 titled “The Power of Prayer.” He wove together the historical
context of Israel with the personal story of Hannah, emphasizing how prayer was the key
element that reshaped the nation’s fate and Hannah’s journey.
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GOD CARES ABOUT HISTORY
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THE SOVEREIGN RULER OF ALL THE EARTH; ISRAEL'S GOD USES MEN
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WHEN A NATION DRIFTS FROM AND FORGETS THE GOD OF HEAVEN...THINGS BEGIN TO GO HORRIFICALLY WRONG ON
The chief danger that confronts the coming century, will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, Forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, Politics without God and Heaven without Hell.
- William Booth
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Don't make the mistake of judging the past by today's available light! God didn't!
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The gospel is more than a message to be preached; it's a lifestyle to be lived!
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The gospel comes to all people no matter where they are and transforms not only individual by the environment they are in!
Our spiritual health check up:
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Our relationship with others!
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Our relationship with authority!
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Our relationship with liberty!
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Our relationship with our bodies!
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Our relationship with God's sovereignty!
EQUITY: justice according to natural law or right specifically: freedom from bias or favoritism. IT’S THE QUALITY OF BEING FAIR & IMPARTIAL!
What is Equity? The term “equity” refers to fairness and justice and is distinguished from equality: Whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances.
PROVERBS 20:23
Diverse weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And dishonest scales are not good. NKJV
Differing weights are an abomination to the Lord,
And a false scale is not good. NASB
The Lord loathes all cheating and dishonesty. TLB
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Make sure you're helping and not enabling.
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Help in a way that maintains the dignity of those you help.
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Help because the Lord has led you to and not because your guilt has forced you to.
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The nuclear family!
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The new testament church!
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Respect for elders and authority!
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Appropriate care for those truly in need!
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Hard work and generosity!
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Biblical Masculinity: Men who'll accept responsibility, reject passivity, and lead courageously!
What are we left with:
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See sonship through God's eyes!
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See sonship through this lens!
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Make sonship your main priority!
Even zeal’s not good without knowledge…
Proverbs 19:2 HCSB
How can a young man cleanse his way?
By taking heed according to Your word.
Psalms 119:9
Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
2 Timothy 3:12
“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way."
Matthew 5:11-12
Big Idea 1 - The truth is without controversy, not contention.
Big Idea 2 - Listening to wrong ideas will lead you off-course.
Big Idea 3 - God’s ways, works, and word are only good.
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The Bible was given to give every part of our life guidance.
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The Church is here to champion and contend for truth.
Follow the Lead
Follow the Led
Follow the Fella
Lead the Follower
Follow the Leader
"A Worthy Leader is Repulsed by Mindless Compliance”
while in contrast
“A Worldly Leader is Repulsed by Mindful Resistance”
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There is a way God wants it in the home and in the church.
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You've a role to play in the home and in the church.
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When we play the part God designed for both the home and the church; we flourish!
Christ has liberated us to be free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.
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Galatians 5:1 HCSB
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Prayer is the first, most critical part every child of God can and should play in the political space!
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(That) is God's will for government = Limited!
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Freedom:
a. is God's idea!
b. is never free!
c. is priceless!
d. must be passed on!
To win, we need to know we are on the team and winning is expected.
Winning is much harder than losing.
There is a cost to losing.
The finish line is close.
Product #1: Thanksgiving
Product #2: Strength
Product #3: Calling
Product #4: Mercy
Product #5: Grace
Product #6: Salvation
Product #7: Patience
Our Story should make more of Christ than it does of us!
His patience may exist for you today.
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There are some things love will not tolerate! False Doctrine!
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Our doctrine matters because it impacts our destiny and our duty.
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Lawful living is awful living!
He did not use "mercy" as to the churches, because "mercy" in all its fulness already existed towards them; but in the case of an individual minister, fresh measures of it were continually needed. "Grace" has reference to the sins of men; "mercy" to their misery. God extends His grace to men as they are guilty; His "mercy" to them as they are miserable [TRENCH].
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What are you commanded by God to be?
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Doctrine matters to God, how about you?
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Remain in Ephesus! There's grace to stay!
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You are chosen.
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Your sins are forgiven.
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You are an heir to an inheritance.
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You are sealed with the Holy Spirit.
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When unmet expectations exhaust us, God is waiting to meet us with rest & grace.
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When we get frustrated & off-course He brings us back to rock solid reality.
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When we are uncertain God has perfect clarity.
The moment may lose momentum, don’t you!
When the path is unclear, turn to the One who is thinking clearly!
If the current investment plan isn’t working, diversify!
EKKLESIA: a gathering of citizens called out from their homes into some public place, an assembly
an assembly of the people convened at the public place of the council for the purpose of deliberating…
POLITIKE (the earliest meaning): pertaining to public affairs, concerning the governance of a country or people
Matthew 16:18
John 1:12-13
Romans 1:7; 12:1-2, 4
2 Corinthians 6:14-18; 11:2
Ephesians 1:1; 5:31
Philippians 1:1
Colossians 1:1-2
1 Peter 2:4-5
Paul’s Guidelines for giving:
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Regular, Routine.
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Worshipful!
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Proportionate.
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Accountable.
Practical guidelines for giving:
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Priority.
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Percentage.
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Progressive.
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Prompted.
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God speaks specifically and has a unique and personal plan for your life!
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If God can do this much with just 60 families - How much more can He do with 1000?
Love:
· Bears all things (To protect by covering, to roof over in silence)
· Believes all things (Believes the best)
· Hopes all things (Hope in the finished work of Jesus)
· Endures all things (No escape clause)
All things = unconditional
· Real love makes less of self and more of others!
· God only humbles those who make Him!
· Humility, without which we cannot be loving, is an act of the will - Choose humility!
ENVY: a feeling of discontented or resentful longing aroused by someone else's possessions, qualities, or luck.
Envy & love are incompatible!
There's more to what we envy than we understand!
Envy doesn't deliver!
Why envy what another has when it may be God's plan to specifically bless you through it?
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Love, which is kind, seeks to do good to others.
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Love, which is kind, possesses a reciprocal hope!
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Love, which is kind, responds to the kindness shown us!
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Love, which is kind, can bring some of the best things to us: humility & gratitude.
· Patient Love maintains composure.
· Patient Love stays on the porch.
· Patient Love waits with hope.
· Patient Love runs towards repentant hearts.
The Almighty: This word 'Almighty' translates from the ancient Greek word 'pantokrater,' which literally means, "The one who has his hand on everything." It speak of the great sovereign control of Jesus over everything - past, present, and future. - Guzik
God's will in 6 words: ALWAYS JOYFUL, ALWAYS PRAYERFUL, ALWAYS GRATEFUL!
What can we learn?
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God's will in 6 words: Always joyful, always prayerful, always grateful!
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Prayer is at the heart of God's will for us!
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Assess whether you're in God's will by the presence of these 3: Joy, Prayer, Gratitude!
Real freedom is not found in what I am now free to do, but in what I am free to do and… CAN STILL CHOOSE NOT TO!!!
Our fight for freedom will only be won if we understand it can be lost.
Unlike any other religion or faith in the entire world, ours is the only one where God became like us so we could become like Him.
This class takes an exciting and encouraging look into what spiritual warfare is and how to win it.
About an advancing church:
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Is guided by God, while opposed by Hell!
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Is in partnership with God!
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Will never take the place of God!
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Will make family a priority!
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Will be like Jesus when afflicted!
Wonderful – Marvelous, to evoke wonder, miraculous
· Wonder in His Creation (Psalm 8:1-4)
· Prayer Awakens the Wonder of God
· Wonder of His Holiness (Isaiah 6:5)
· Wonder in the Presence of Jesus Alone!
· Wonder Eternally
Worry feels justified because it’s tied to legitimate needs.
Worry is not synonymous with concern.
Worry is unproductive.
Worry is a faith-issue. (Matthew 6:32 NLT)
Worry is worldly.
Step 1 - Prioritize your life around God’s kingdom. (Philippians 4:6-8 NKJV)
Step 2 - Focus on today. (Philippians 4:9 NKJV)
What We Must Learn:
· Spiritual warfare is real!
· Spiritual power is required!
· Spiritual victory is possible!
What can we learn or consider from this history lesson?
· God uses imperfect people!
· What obstacles do you face today?
· Take heart, no matter how dark it looks, God is at work behind the scenes of men's mess!
God knows what we can handle!
Sometimes God leads us to impossible places to face impossible things!
When you're where God called you, He's got your back!
God knows when to move!
Go Forward - Turn your back on fear and step out in faith toward a better future!
DEFIANCE:
open resistance; bold disobedience.
Faith: It's essence is trust in God's Word!
Faith: It's essence is to act! For faith to be real it must do something!
Defiance is not exclusively a dirty word!
The defiance of a godly few can break the yoke of the ungodly many!
THERE’S ONE JUDGE OVER ALL THE EARTH - GOD!
GOD’S PATTERN WITH MEN IS MERCY!
GOD’S KINGDOM PLAN IS NATION-CENTRIC!
MEN, CREATED IN GOD'S IMAGE HAVE AN OBLIGATION TO THEIR DIVINE NATURE!
PERSONAL APPLICATION
The only way to have eternal life is to know the eternal God!
Are you living in divine community?
What is the net of my life?
Am I building, developing, creating anything or am I destroying and tearing down?
Are those around me built up or torn down?
Presently, are you sensing any creativity in your life? New ideas, fresh vision, new approaches?
What are the words we use with/for/or about others?
Surprise #1 - Unexpected People
Surprise #2 - Unexpected Perspective
Surprise #3 - Unexpected Response
Surprise #4 - Unexpected Impact
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Don’t Worry About Them
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Keep Going
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Focus On The Fight
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Assess And Adjust
THE DIVINE SPARK THAT IS: LIFE!
THE DIVINE SPARK THAT IS: COURAGEOUS PARENTS!
THE DIVINE SPARK THAT IS: PRAYER!
THE DIVINE SPARK THAT IS: YOUR PRAYER!
THE DIVINE SPARK THAT IS: GOD’S VINDICATION!
Take away the dross from the silver, and the smith has material for a vessel; take away the wicked from the presence of the king and his throne will be established in righteousness.
Proverbs 25:4-5
A lying tongue hates those it hurts, and a flattering mouth works ruin.
Proverbs 26:28
See the enemy is puffed up; his desires are not upright – but the righteous person will live by his faithfulness
Habakkuk 2:4
Shadow #1 - Like Jesus, David was faithful with the “small things” while being prepared for great things.
Shadow #2 - Like Jesus, David was obedient to his father’s command.
Shadow #3 - Like Jesus, David was confident in God’s power!
Shadow #4 - Like Jesus, David was victorious over the enemy.
· Just give me Jesus because He restores us from our greatest failures. · Just give me Jesus because He prepares us for the impossible. · Just give me Jesus because He focuses our busy minds on what matters. · Just give me Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life.
This year has proven that "We the People" are no longer living in a country whose government stands for freedom. We have been forced to make decisions that none of us, as Americans, thought we would ever have to make.
In this class, we unpack this year globally, nationally, across our state, and within our city. We look at everything from events that made it to the headlines and policies that were passed that are now affecting us locally.
Heidi St. John, an author and speaker has been speaking on marriage, family, and cultural issues for over 15 years. Heidi is currently running for Congress in Washington State, spreading the idea that America is worth sacrificing for, and the American dream must be preserved and safeguarded for the sake of our children and grandchildren.
Heidi taught two sessions focused on educating our children and how to practically "get in the game" to fight for our freedom!
Coming all the way from Washington State, Heidi St. John had a timely message of courage that is contagious! Listen to worship, followed by two sessions with Heidi & time together to consider how these ideas impact our lives personally.
For the last several decades, schools have shifted from teaching students how to think to focusing on what to think. In this class, we look at how the left has slowly indoctrinated our society through schools, resulting in the chaos we're living in today. Whether you are a parent or not, you will walk away from this class empowered to help others, children or not, discern when they are being propagandized and what to do about it. We discuss the importance of parents educating themselves, regardless of where their children learn, in public, private or at home.
In this Civics + Culture class, we unpack Intersectionality, its implications, its uses, and, its consequences. The intent of this class is to understand the ideology of group division through race, social class, sexuality, and gender, define what academics mean, how activists have interpreted the term, and how to respond biblically through meaningful conversations centered on Christ.
In this Civics + Culture class, we unpack Intersectionality, its implications, its uses, and, its consequences. The intent of this class is to understand the ideology of group division through race, social class, sexuality, and gender, define what academics mean, how activists have interpreted the term, and how to respond biblically through meaningful conversations centered on Christ.
In this teaching, we take a deep dive into the history of propaganda, both across the globe and within our own nation. We will look at how it has been used to shape our culture and ways it continues to do so.
In this episode, we discuss the sexual revolution of the 1960's and the impact it has on today. We help define common terms that are being used all across main stream media and often, in our daily conversations. We also go to the Word and learn the foundations of sexuality in God's design and how to effectively communicate it.