Jimmy Swaggart, an All-American Prophet of Baal (Ep. 228 Audio)

While Jimmy Swaggart died in 2025 at the beginning of July, many people only know him because of his public scandals of being caught with prostitutes in 1988 and then again in 1991. But before those revelations that heralded the decline of his influence, he was an internationally known preacher on TV and radio, making around $150 million dollars per year, who had built his ministry over nearly 40 years.

In this episode, we want to look at Jimmy Swaggart’s message and the techniques he used in his ministry and ask some questions about his success. It’s so easy to dismiss false teachers and to think that we cannot be tricked by them. But in doing research for this episode, Charles went back and listened to some of Swaggart’s old sermons and was surprised to realize how much he sounded like an old-fashioned fire-and-brimstone preacher that would have preached in many churches he grew up in. Swaggart consistently refined his preaching techniques to the point that when he began his ministry, he sounded much like Billy Graham, and toward the end, he sounded much like Joel Osteen.

False prophets will always be a threat to the flock, but we can protect ourselves and others by being aware of how they lead men astray and by keeping our eyes fixed upon Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

The Eschatology of the Apostles: Psalm 110 (Ep. 227 Audio)

People turn to many different Scripture passages to build their eschatology, but which Old Testament passage did the Holy Spirit inspire the Apostles to use over and over again?

In this episode, we examine Psalm 110, one of, if not the most quoted and referenced scripture passages in the New Testament. It is a remarkable Psalm in that, among its poetic elements, it plainly and straightforwardly describes the order of future events relating to the establishment of Christ’s kingdom and his return. It is a beautiful Psalm in how it glorifies God as God and in the way it shows the plan of God to establish righteousness and to bring peace.

Often, when people attempt to understand eschatology, they look at the various historical views held by leaders in the early church or by prominent Christians at different points in history and then try to compose the correct view. But here is why that is a flawed approach: Scripture should be the primary influence that shapes our thinking. Scripture transforms our minds. It changes the way we think and when our thoughts flow through scripture, we are more likely to think correctly and to come to the correct conclusion. It is very believable that when the early church thought about eschatology through the lens of Psalm 110 (as well as other scripture) that they would come to different conclusions than we would come to today. It was hard for them to imagine 2000 years of history. They may have assumed that Christ would put his enemies under his feet quickly. After all, they may have seen Rome as the primary enemy that needed to be defeated. So this is why a proper view of scripture is important. It does not matter quite so much what conclusions Irenaeus came to regarding future events, what matters far more is that we look at the right scripture and that we give that scripture far more weight than we do to the minds of men. Psalm 110 says some very definite things about specific events. Christ and the apostles quote it in many places so that we know how to think about it correctly. Let us make sure we look to God’s word and not to the teaching of men. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

Avoiding Hero Worship: Examining John MacArthur’s Good & Bad (Ep. 225 Audio)

In the wake of John MacArthur’s death, how do we avoid falling into the trap of hero worship or idolatry? How can we examine his life so we keep the good things he taught and avoid carrying forward his mistakes?

Few American pastors have had a longer or more impactful ministry than John MacArthur. From his focus on sequential expository preaching to his emphasis of Lordship salvation, to his late-in-life transition from Arminian to Reformed soteriology, John MacArthur helped reform the American church in significant ways. But like any man, Pastor MacArthur was not perfect and made decisions and had practices that we should not emulate.

In this episode, we discuss John MacArthur’s life and attempt to unpack the aspects that should be emulated and those that should be discarded. We believe that this is a God-honoring practice that helps keep us from idolatry and worship of man. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

The Duties of Christians to Each Other (Ep. 225 Audio)

What does it mean to edify one another? We know that the word means to “build up”, but how should we think about that task as brothers and sisters in Christ? In this episode, as we continue to look at the duties of Christians, we come to edifying one another and supporting the ministry of the church, both of which are central to being Christians, both of which are often greatly misunderstood. Please join us as we discuss this oft-neglected topic.

Link to first video in series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1u5lvDuSDlI

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

Should Women be in the Military? What the Bible Says (Ep. 224 Audio)

Often until things become very extreme, people do not recognize the absurdity of things. People who have any credible profession to be Christians are usually quick to say that a man cannot be born in a woman’s body or that two men cannot marry, but often they ignore the precursors that brought our culture to the point where that would be considered moral. One of the things that the church does to make those things appear normal is to have women speak in church or be pastors, because once you have eliminated the idea that there is any difference in roles, how can you say two men cannot marry or that there is any real differences between men and women. If God did not make them different and it is just a social construct, then why cant someone change their gender. Another major component to the societal self-deception that men and women are the same is women in combat. For a long time, governments have used the military to transform the culture and that happened in the United States. They said that they are the same, but they had significantly lower fitness standards for women than for men. Pete Hegseth says that he has eliminated that, but are there things other than strength that theologically and practically make it unwise to have women in combat?

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

What It Means to Be a Christian: Loving God and One Another (Ep. 223 Audio)

What does it mean to be a Christian? Not what you believe or how you become one. But what happens after that? What does the Christian life look like? What are the duties that we have to one another? How do we live and labor as a part of the body of Christ? In this episode, using our church’s covenant as a framework, we walk through the many different duties that make up the Christian life. Love for God, love for our spiritual brothers and sisters, love for our families, love for our neighbors, love for the world. It’s so easy to overlook many of these and yet we believe that each is a part of the Christian life. Please join us as we discuss this important topic.

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

Was the Revolutionary War Rebellion or Righteousness? (Ep. 223 Audio)

Was the American War of Independence an unrighteous act of rebellion against God-appointed authority or a legitimate effort at seeking peace that generally followed Biblical principles?
What conclusion should we come to if we look at the American Revolution through the lens of a passage like Romans 13?

In this episode, we try to do exactly that. Romans 13 is often used as the go-to passage for understanding submitting to authority, but often it is discussed very shallowly if not completely incorrectly. Early on in the discussion, we note that this passage does not say to submit yourself to the higher power (singular), but to the higher powers. And in every circumstance, there is always more than one authority that God has appointed. This is undeniably true of the American Revolution.

In many ways, the signing of the Declaration of Independence, and the entire American Revolution serve as an ideal case study for this type of discussion. One reason for this is because, at least for those of us in the US, it is our own history and is not so far in the past that the details have been lost to time. Another reason is that fallen man has a natural desire to be rebellious, and even in Christian circles, American independence is often associated with rebellion and this association is often used to justify rebellion.

But it’s also worth pointing out that no effort of man is without sin. Some people go so far as to whitewash the actions of the founders, casting them in a light that makes them appear to be without fault. This is also not true.

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

Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth: Dispensationalism’s Favorite Verse (Ep. 222 Audio)

One of the most common objections we get from dispensationalists is that we do not know how to “rightly divide the Word of Truth”, which is taken from II Timothy 2:15. Based on the dispensational view popularized by Scofield, Larkin, Ryrie, and others, this verse is a foundational hermeneutical passage instructing the church that God’s word must be broken into divisions so that it can be properly understood. But not only is the dispensational view of this verse incorrect, it also goes against the hermeneutical and doctrinal thrust of all of Scripture, which instead of teaching division, teaches that Christ’s purpose was to bring unity.

In this episode, we examine II Timothy 2:15 in light of a broader view of God’s Word. We look at many passages where scripture teaches that Christ came to reconcile man to God, to unify the Jews and the Gentiles, and to restore God’s creation. We look at the dispensational insistence that the church and Israel must be forever separated from one another, and explain why Scripture teaches this is not true. God did divorce the physical nation of Israel, and to the extent that it continues in the world, it is an example of what happens to those who reject Him. But the Israel that is made up of those Old and New Testament saints that are the children of Abraham by faith, is reckoned in the Son of David, the risen Christ, the True Israel, and regardless of their earthly heritage, all those who believer are made one in Christ and are partakers of the promises. Please join us as we discuss this often mishandled verse of scripture.

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

Why Poor Countries Stay Poor: How Righteousness Exalts a Nation (Ep. 221 Audio)

What makes a rich country rich or a poor country rich? What causes them to stay that way? Often, when people think of countries that are wealthy versus those that are poor, they discuss factors like natural resources, but that isn’t really the case. If you look at North America vs. South America, there were more resources in South America, but yet North America is far wealthier than South America. Doctrine really matters and the North America continent was far more Protestant than the South American continent and it has real and substantial long term effects. So how does that work itself out in the world and what are the ways that righteousness exalts a nation?

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

America the Fearful: Raising Brave Children in a Generation of Cowards (Ep. 220 Audio)

People used to have their children walk long distances to school and would assume that they would be safe. Now there are cases where that has been treated as child abuse. Children are afraid to ride a bike without a helmet, but with less bike riding, there are more bike head injuries. We are a society that is filled with fear

In this episode, we want to look at risk from a Reformed perspective. We start with the fear of death, which scripture teaches is central to the lives of the unsaved. As it says in Hebrews 2:14-15 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage.

From fear of death, we look at the damage that has been done to the family: to men’s abdication of responsibility and leadership and to the rise of feminism and women-led households and communities. We have talked in other episode about how men and women prioritize safety differently, but in this episode we look at how this difference plays out when the home and therefore society becomes fundamentally disordered.

Lastly we also talk about the ways that changes in technology, the news industry, and government also impact our view of risk and fear. These issues matter greatly and affect how we live our lives, how we train our children, and even how we promote and preach the gospel. Please join is as we discuss the subject of risk.

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

Recent Comments