CongreGate

Today we are talking about sports, something that we love to watch and play. We enjoy a good football game, but sometimes the love of athletic competition crosses the line into sports idolatry. Anything we are willing to sin to get or sin to keep becomes an idol, something we treasure more than the Lord. Let's examine our mindset toward sports to make sure our priorities are in the correct order.    How much do sports affect your relationships with other people, your mood, and your responsibilities in other areas of your life? What does your relationship with sports communicate to your children about what you value? We need to make sure that our children see us treasuring the Lord above sports.

More and more, young men are dropping out of the labor force and withdrawing from leadership at work and in their homes. Today we talk about working hard in our jobs and in our homes to model a strong work ethic and effective leadership to our children.   The work culture has shifted so that most of us can't take our children to work to learn alongside us. It's a challenge for dads to engage in training & discipling the children when they spend a large portion of the day away from the home. This means we have to work harder around the house to create these learning opportunities for our children.   We not only talk about encouraging our children to work hard physically, but also how to disciple and train them spiritually. As Christian men, we need to be able to delegate some of the training to our wives and other teachers, without becoming passive. It's challenging to find a balance between "ruling with an iron fist" and abdicating our responsibilities as fathers. We also talk about how important wives roles are in encouraging husbands to lead well.

This week we are talking about some issues going on in the world and in the church regarding race & politics. People of all viewpoints are provoking "the other side" out of fear and confusion. Though the reaction to this election has been polarizing, we know the racial & political tension can be overcome by the gospel. The blood of Jesus brings unity and tears down boundaries between races and political parties. We discuss how the gospel must be the driving force to overcoming racial and political tension in this country. We also discuss a book by Benjamin Watson, tight end for the Baltimore Ravens, about racial reconciliation, Under Our Skin. We briefly share our thoughts on the election recounts and Mark talks about finishing an ultra-marathon last week.

Today we discuss Thanksgiving and Black Friday shopping. How did Thanksgiving start? Why are so many Americans confused about who the Pilgrims were giving thanks to? We start off with a discussion of food—bacon stuffed turkeys and why submarine food ruined Thanksgiving dinner for Shawn—and move on to a discussion of extending hospitality and family Thanksgiving traditions. Then we discuss the craziness of Black Friday shopping.

Are you feeling the post election blues? A lot of the country is feeling insecure and unsettled about the election results. Today we talk about the election and share our thoughts about Mr. Trump's win and his actions so far. We chat about Mr. Trump's plans, his interview on 60 Minutes, and how we can pray for him and his family. Shawn shares how Psalm 146 can encourage us to put our hope in the Lord.

I (Mark Fox) team up with Shawn Curtis (the officer) and Micah Fox (the president) to talk about why we re-branded the podcast. We introduce ourselves to the listeners, and we share a “Bizarre in the Gate” story and a “Reading in the Gate” encouragement about a book for advent entitled, Prepare Him Room.