Crosstalk America

We continuously hear of the atrocities happening in Central Asia. Then there's the devastation of Russia's war with Ukraine with thousands of lives lost. There's the Taliban's control of Afghanistan with those living there having to flee to other nations. As devastating as these issues are, what must not be ignored is the fact that the persecution of believers continues. In spite of this, the Gospel is flourishing. People are coming to Christ and churches are being planted. The burden of the laborers is heavy. They need help to take care of physical needs to grant relief to many who are hurting or suffering. That opens the door to Gospel ministry. Are you willing to help? Appearing on Crosstalk to tell us more was "Timlar Kovalchuk" (Koh-vul-chook) (a pseudonym used to protect him and others). Timlar has been actively involved as a missionary in evangelism for nearly 28 years, the last 15 in outreach to Muslims in Central Asia. Beginning with Ukraine, Timlar noted how it's getting increasingly worse around the Kiev area. In spite of that, he's seen military members coming to Christ while other individuals have come to Christ via camp ministry. Timlar also recounted plans for a youth camp in Turkmenistan. Somehow the secret police (KGB) found out about it, followed up on the youth contacts and began to threaten the parents with loss of work as well as jail time. This is just two examples of what Timlar and his co-laborers in the Lord are having to face, yet the Gospel is moving forward. In fact, as it pertains to the Gospel's impact in Ukraine he said "...it's been beautiful to watch." Listen in as Timlar recounts more!

Some days will forever live in infamy. In America, the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, and the Islamic attack on New York on September 11th of 2001, are two such instances. Another such day is October 7th, 2023, when Islamic terrorism struck America's greatest Mideast ally, Israel, in a horrendous and barbaric attack. Afterward, many nations, media sources and even politicians flipped their narrative and have actually blamed Israel, accusing them of genocide. Returning to Crosstalk to look back at this day in Israel's history was Dr. Richard Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt is pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church, and founder of Prophecy Focus Ministries. He is the speaker on the weekly TV program, Prophecy Focus and the radio broadcast, Prophecy Unfolding. He spent 32 years in law enforcement until his retirement in which he was acting sheriff of Milwaukee County. He has authored several books including: Are You Going to a Better Place?, Daniel's Gap Paul's Mystery, Tribulation to Triumph: The Olivet Discourse, Globalism: The Great World Consumption and Artificial Intelligence: Transhumanism & the De-Evolution of Democracy. Dr. Schmidt covers a lot of ground on this broadcast starting with his review detailing how the attack on Israel went down and the satanic nature of the abuse that the hostages had to endure. As the conversation moves along you'll find out what worldview was behind the attack, if Israel can accurately be accused of committing genocide, the latest on President Trump's 21 point peace plan and much more. Get a perspective on this subject you won't hear from the mainstream media when you listen to this edition of Crosstalk.

How old is the earth? According to The Planetary Society it's 4.54 billion years old and we're told that the evidence for that age is overwhelming. On the other hand, creationists that hold to the literal teachings of the Bible believe that the earth is roughly 6,000 years old. They, too, will say that the evidence is overwhelming for their position. What is the reason for this massive discrepancy and what exactly does the evidence show? Joining Jim to answer that question was Dr. Terry Mortenson. Dr. Mortenson has a PhD in history of geology from Coventry University in England. He is a speaker, writer, and researcher with Answers in Genesis. How could there be such a drastic difference in opinions regarding the age of the earth? Are both sides looking at the same evidence? Dr. Mortenson noted that both sides are looking at the same rocks and fossils, the same radioactive isotopes, the same erosional features and more. The problem is that each side is interpreting the evidence through two different sets of assumptions. Evolution stems from a uniformitarian worldview. This assumes that nature is all that exists and everything must be explained via time plus chance plus the laws of nature working on matter. Finally, they assume that the processes of geological change continue at the same rate, frequency and power as they always have. Evolutionists use this as their starting assumption. From there the program moves to discussion concerning the fossil evidence and how they form, the Grand Canyon, the gap theory, what the Bible's genealogies tell us about the age of the earth, why 2 Peter 3:8 is not proof of an old earth, and more.

Chris Katulka is vice president of North American Ministries at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and host of The Friends of Israel Today radio program. He is a Bible teacher and writer for Israel My Glory magazine and is author of the book, Israel Always. Jim opened the program with news that unless 7 Democrats join Republicans, there's going to be a government shut-down at midnight tonight. Yesterday at the White House, President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed the multi-point Gaza peace plan. As you can imagine, there's mixed reaction. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt previously said that this plan would leave both sides unhappy. Israel National News reported that hundreds of wounded IDF soldiers wrote to Netanyahu and told him not to adopt any plan that would lead to ending the fighting without a decisive defeat of Hamas. Jim had Chris break down this peace plan, look at the reactions to it, find out what the next step is, discuss whether Israel will be allowed to annex the West Bank, and much more. Callers brought their opinions and questions to the broadcast as well.

This Crosstalk aired something many governments of the world don't want the public to hear. What we're referring to is the content of a speech given at the U.N. this past Friday by Israel's Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu. When the prime minister was to give his speech, many countries didn't show up. Then when his name was announced, representatives from other nations that were there, stood up and walked out in protest. In fact, Jim referenced a story from Ynetglobal indicating that according to Israeli officials, 77 delegations were either absent or walked out as Netanyahu was announced. Also, rather than talk about the content of his speech, the media instead focused on the delegations that left the room. That's why, via this edition of Crosstalk, you'll have an opportunity to hear what Benjamin Netanyahu had to say so you can form your own opinion.

News headlines from around the nation and around the globe. It's the Friday News Round-Up & Comment broadcast. Here's a sample of stories presented during the first quarter hour: --President Trump communicated that he will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank. --Delegates at the U.N General Assembly stormed out as Netanyahu took the stage to speak. --President Trump's 21 point plan is a framework envisioning a multi-week cease-fire during which all 48 remaining hostages would be released, followed by a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. --Iran has likely carried out an undeclared missile test at its Imam Khomeini Spaceport according to satellite photos analyzed by the Associated Press. --Israeli police arrested a man for threatening to assassinate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. --Israeli Defense Forces have completed the encirclement of Gaza City. --Hamas declared the UK's decision on Sunday to recognize a Palestinian state was a victory and justice for their cause. --The Egyptian government sympathizes with the people of Gaza and is determined to keep those who wish to leave that war zone bottled up in the strip. --Europe will pay for the reconstruction of Gaza--Ursula von der Leyen announced that the European Commission is creating a donor group for Palestine. --UNICEF admitted this week that armed men stole food meant for 2,700 children in Gaza. --The National Counterterrorism Center issued a sobering memo warning that the U.S. designated terrorist group al-Qaida and its Yemen-based affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, remain intent on striking America.

As the broadcast began, Jim brought listeners news concerning yet another tragedy. He quoted from a Fox News story indicating that at least three people were shot with two of them killed at an Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Dallas, Texas. Jim also provided information on the bullet casings and quotes from various officials concerning the rhetoric that appears to be contributing to such violence. In another story, prior to President Trump's Tuesday speech before the United Nations, word got out about the Secret Service dismantling an imminent threat from a network of electronic devices located throughout the New York tri-state area that were used to conduct multiple telecommunications related threats directed toward senior U.S. government officials. Then in yet another story related to the president's U.N. appearance, the White House was demanding an investigation amid reports that U.N staffers intentionally stopped the escalator as President Trump and his wife Melania were attempting to use it. Later, as the president was about to speak, his podium teleprompter failed to work. Were these elevator and teleprompter failures mere coincidence? Eight Western nations formally recognized a state of Palestine on Sunday and Monday as the U.N. General Assembly convened in New York. Jim provided multiple excerpts from President Trump as he described his offer to build the U.N. complex, he mentioned the U.S. fight against drugs, the migration problem across the world, what he called "the green energy scam" and more. Listeners wrapped up the program with their thoughts and opinions.

We are just shy of two weeks since Charlie Kirk was assassinated. Charlie sought to dialogue with those who disagreed to prove him wrong. Those who hated him, hated him fiercely for his beliefs, both his conservative political beliefs, which flowed from his spiritual beliefs, but also his belief in Christianity and Jesus Christ. However, Charlie was not about riots and uprisings; he believed in dialogue. This was the very matter as you'll hear in an audio clip of Van Jones as he sat with Anderson Cooper to describe his relationship with Charlie Kirk last week on CNN. Next, Jim referenced a New York Post article that noted how some 200,000 people turned out to honor Charlie Kirk on Sunday, including President Trump, who called Charlie a "patriot who's heart still had so much to give." State Farm stadium had a capacity of 73,000 yet filled up within hours. Next up were members of President Trump's Administration who were not shy when talking about the spiritual impact of Charlie. This included audio clips from Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, Vice President J.D. Vance and Secretary of State Marco Rubio. While many Crosstalk listeners may have heard Erika Kirk's address, there are many who have not. Jim shared it in its entirety courtesy of TPUSA.com along with final comments from Christian apologist Frank Turek and Charlie's pastor, Rob McCoy.

Marilyn Boyer is a descendant of a Revolutionary War soldier and daughter of a World War II veteran. She is deeply patriotic and passionate about our Christian history. As the wife of an Air Force veteran, mother and home educator of 14 children, and grandmother of 31, Marilyn's dedication to family and country is unparalleled. She is an author. Earlier this year we spoke with her regarding her set of books, What a Character: Notable Lives from History. In that series she captures the remarkable stories of historical figures who shaped our nation. In the early 1980s, Marilyn and her husband were pioneers of the modern home education movement. Together, they founded The Learning Parent ministry and Character Concepts, authored dozens of books, and traveled extensively to speak at homeschool and Christian parenting conferences. Their mission is to encourage, inspire, and challenge parents who are training the next generation of Americans. She appeared on Crosstalk to discuss the Legends of Faith set including Early Church Fathers and Famous Preachers and Evangelists. Beginning with discussion on the book, Early Church Fathers, you'll learn a bit about Polycarp (Bishop of Smyrna and an apostle of John), Irenaeus (a disciple of Polycarp), William Tyndale (the Bible smuggler), English Puritan John Owen and Scottish minister John Knox. Discussion then moves to the book, Famous Preachers and Evangelists where you'll hear about Scottish/Baptist preacher John Harper (who witnessed to those perishing on the Titanic), George Mueller (the beloved father of orphans), Peter Cartwright and Francis Asbury.

Can't keep up with the news cycle? We're here to help. It's the Friday News Round-Up & Comment! Here's a sample of what Jim passed along: --Jim presented audio of a Christian author who gave an eye-witness account of what happened immediately after Charlie Kirk was shot as he was in the SUV with Charlie. --The Secret Service has been designated to provide security for Sunday's memorial service for Charlie Kirk at State Farm Stadium near Phoenix, Arizona. --A teenager has been arrested after she said she'd open fire at a vigil for Charlie Kirk. --The Turning Point USA board unanimously elected Erika Kirk, Charlie's widow, to serve as the new CEO and chair of the board for the organization. --The Senate yesterday afternoon unanimously approved a resolution designating October 14th as the national day of remembrance for Charlie Kirk (His birthday). --The House of Representatives adopted a resolution to honor the life and legacy of Charlie Kirk. The measure received bipartisan support. --Two individuals close to Charlie Kirk have rejected speculation that he was threatened by the Israel lobby. --Dozens of Christians and Jews gathered on the Temple Mount Wednesday to honor the late Charlie Kirk. --Jim presented audio of an Imam preaching that Charlie Kirk was a racist. --Texas Republican Governor Greg Abbott and the Texas Education Agency have announced that more than 100 educators are under investigation and could face suspension of their teaching certifications for social media posts related to the assassination of Charlie Kirk.