Category: Audio Episodes

IVF is getting a lot of attention this past week because of the Alabama Supreme Court ruling. For those who do not know, IVF refers to “in vitro fertilization”, and is a fertility procedure where multiple eggs are harvested from a woman, fertilized in a laboratory, and then one or more are selectively implanted back into her (or a surrogate’s) uterus. And all of this matters because the basic pro-life position is that life begins at conception meaning that each of those harvested eggs that are fertilized deserve the same protection and life-honoring treatment that any other image-bearer of God should be afforded under His law. And that’s really the heart of the discussion, because IVF is marketed as a this purely positive treatment for those who greatly desire to have a child, but not much attention is placed on the process itself, where in the Western world there are currently millions of frozen but fertilized embryos, many of which, no one has any plans to implant, and which will eventually, if nothing is done to prevent it, be destroyed.

So, in this episode, we want to talk through the issue. Our position is pretty straightforward. IVF has a lot of serious moral problems, and while a single IVF customer might be able to find a doctor and associated laboratory that is willing to limit its egg harvesting, fertilization, and implantation so that every egg harvested is implanted, there are still moral problems with that strictly controlled process, and there is no reason to believe that the doctor and laboratory are following this strict and limited protocol with their other patients.

In the end, this really does become an issue about God’s sovereignty. As we see in scripture, men and women have always wrestled with the issue of fertility and offspring. And it has always been an emotional and heart-wrenching topic. But God’s answer is always the same. He opens and closes the womb. Yes, there are things that man can do that do not fall outside of our obedience to God, but there are also paths that require us to sin and even kill our own children to get what we want. IVF is not special in this regard, but it is something that Christians should understand. Please join us as we discuss this very important topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

The Bible says a lot about debt and slavery and teaches that the two are tightly connected, going so far as to say “the borrower is a servant (slave) of the lender”. And as Christians, when we read God’s word, it is our duty to take God’s commands and instructions seriously. But if you asked the average Christian if slavery is bad and then examined the amount of debt they have, would you come away with the sense that their stated beliefs and actions were in alignment?

In this episode, we want to deal with what God’s word says about debt and slavery. In doing this, we discuss the purposes for which God created debt, how we should think about freedom vs bondage, and even how this is different for the individual Christian than for a local church body. We even want to push back on our view of slavery itself as Scripture uses slavery to demonstrate both positive and negative aspects of our physical and spiritual lives. This is important, because part of the Christian life is keeping our minds from being conformed to the world but allowing them to be transformed through the renewing that God’s word and spirit bring upon all who faithfully abide in Him.

Topics discussed:
What is debt? What is slavery?
Are mortgages good or bad?
Is it better to rent or be a homeowner?
How the United States has structured its laws and policies to favor debt
How God uses debt and slavery to accomplish his purposes.
Why not paying back debt is evil and is a sign of being unsaved
What debt and slavery shows us about man’s relationship to God (and sin)
How should we treat the poor?
How living beyond our means is a rejection of God’s sovereignty and being carnally minded and covetous
Why churches shouldn’t take out a loan to buy a building
What does it mean to be free to serve the Lord Jesus Christ?

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Tim Keller spent his life arguing that through winsomeness we can get people to accept the gospel. If the world sees Christians as good and kind, then the world would see the goodness of God and come to faith. He argued that if we are kind and thoughtful, then people will want to hear the gospel from us. And here’s the thing: if all you are talking about is what the life and conduct of a Christian should look like, there are lots of situations where we would agree with him. But that’s exactly why we take issue with the position. As we say early in the episode, there is no “balance” between being offensive and being pleasant. Our obedience to Christ requires different things of us at different times, and we aren’t responsible for how the world responds to that obedience.

And while Tim Keller died in 2023, this issue is something that the church has always struggled with and will continue to as long as there is sin in the world. In fact, in the last few weeks of January, Alistair Begg has been in the news for an issue that is fundamentally the same. In an interview from September 2023, Begg recounted how he was asked by a grandmother if she should attend the wedding of her grandson whose partner was transgender. Begg’s repsonse was that as long as her grandson understands that her belief in Jesus makes it such that she can’t countenance in any affirming way the choices that he has made in life that she should attend the wedding and buy him a wedding gift. His response was rightly criticized by many other pastors and Christian leaders. But the result has been a number of questions and discussions about where we should draw the line and how Christians should apply the principles and requirements of Christianity and the gospel to many different situations.

In this episode, we try to frame the topic in way that allows us to think about the issue more clearly. “Balance” and “kindness” can often be misleading, because “balance” suggests that we should be trying to find some middle ground that can only be determined by looking at the world’s response to our life and not to God’s expectations of us. And “kindness” causes us to misdefine what the word truly means as all kind actions aren’t necessarily pleasant and agreeable (like waking someone up in the middle of the night to tell them that their house is on fire.). Please join us as we discuss this important topic.


Note: In this episode we misattribute a quote to Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.” While the quote is frequently used to make the point we reference in the article, we were wrong about who said it.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

Our world is very confused about the roles of men and women and this is particularly true in the United States and even in our more conservative churches. And while there is a lot of complexity in this topic, there are some basic scriptural commands and decrees of God that help frame the issue.

In this episode we want to discuss how God created men and women to be different and how God is glorified through those differences. While both are created in God’s image and are equal in Christ, God made their roles to demonstrate the relationship between Christ and the church, to show the nature of the gospel, and to glorify his name and nature.
Men and woman are not the same and anyone who tries to pretend that they are is fighting against God. God says it in the beginning and again throughout scripture: “Man is not made from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man.” Scripture also declares plainly that man is the head of woman. These are true sayings and the fact that our society has labored so hard to make them offensive should confirm for us what Paul taught us: that we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.

The church of Jesus Christ must not be ashamed of the truth of God’s word. Our families, our churches, our communities, and our nations are suffering because we allow such awful lies to be spoken and celebrated while we fear to proclaim the truth. May the church repent and may God be glorified. Please join us as we discuss this topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson

You can’t go anywhere around Christmas without hearing the familiar sound of a Salvation Army volunteer ringing their bell beside the familiar red kettle asking for donations. But how many people know that the Salvation Army is a false church that teaches a falses gospel based on works righteousness and who believe that men can become perfect and completely without sin in this life?

In this episode we examine the origins of the Salvation Army and what they still believe today. We also talk about the nature of charity itself and how we’ve gotten used to the idea that a word that means and act of love has been reduced to giving someone else money to do good in our stead. Jesus had a lot to say about love, and he tied it to his law, and to the power of His Holy Spirit. The Salvation Army rejects this, and American culture has followed suit in so many ways. The church of Jesus Christ should be the ones who truly understand how to perform acts of charity. Please join us as we consider this important topic.

Production of Reformation Baptist Church of Youngsville, NC
Hosts – Dan Horn, Jonathan Sides, Charles Churchill and Joshua Horn
Technical Director – Timothy Kaiser
Theme Music – Gabriel Hudelson