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When you were a kid, maybe you wanted to be like Luke Skywalker, or your favorite athlete, or ... Who do you want to be like now? Today, Ricky Kennedy coaches us to be like Jesus!

As a token of our appreciation, we’re excited to send you a copy of Romans: Daily Scriptures to Receive, Reflect, and Respond by Harold J. Berry. This powerful verse-by-verse study offers a solid spiritual fitness plan—one that will challenge your thinking, grow your faith, and help you share God’s love, mercy, and grace.

Yours with a gift of any amount.

Thank you for supporting the mission of Christ.

It's easy to focus on everything wrong with the church, but Paul chose a different approach when writing to the struggling Corinthians. In this episode, Dr. John Neufeld explores Paul's strategy of beginning with what's right about the church—emphasizing that believers are recipients of grace, enriched by Christ in speech and knowledge, and secured with an eternal destiny. This timeless reminder challenges us to see the church through Christ's eyes rather than through our disappointments.

The Power of Christ in a Pagan World: Join Dr. John Neufeld for this 20-message series as he focuses on the book of 1 Corinthians. Covering chapters 1-4, The Power of Christ in a Pagan World looks at the many issues that confronted the church in Corinth; Problems that seemed to find their place within the church at every turn! This series helps us unpack the different conflicts and struggles of this early church in a relevant and practical way. Even though the church in Corinth existed a long time ago, they went through trials that might sound familiar to us in the 21st Century!

A Christian radio ministry founded by Lester Roloff in 1944. Visit roloff.org for more resources from Roloff Evangelistic Enterprises.

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’” - Hebrews 13:5

Sports betting is more popular—and more accepted—than ever, even among Christians. But is it just harmless fun, or something more? Dr. David W. Jones returns to our financial ethics series to help us examine what Scripture says about gambling and how believers should approach it.

Dr. David W. Jones is Senior Professor of Christian Ethics at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. in Christian Financial Ethics and is the author of Every Good Thing: An Introduction to the Material World and the Common Good for Christians.

Proverbs 13:11 reminds us that:

“Wealth gained hastily will dwindle, but whoever gathers little by little will increase it.”

Gambling, which includes sports betting, bypasses God’s designed rhythm of work and reward. 1 Timothy 6:9 warns that the desire to get rich quickly leads people into “ruin and destruction.” These verses challenge the notion that a fast win is simply a blessing—it may erode character.

Is it always wrong to bet on a game with friends? Not necessarily. A one-time bracket pool during March Madness may not signal a deep moral compromise. But we must ask: Is this behavior occasional and harmless, or has it become habitual and idolatrous?

The difference lies in the heart. It’s not that gambling created the idolatry of money or sports—it revealed it. And perhaps in God’s grace, it’s giving us an opportunity to examine what we truly worship.

Every financial decision we make is a stewardship decision. Psalm 24:1 reminds us:

“The earth is the Lord’s and everything in it.”

So before we spend God’s money—even on entertainment—we must ask: Is this wise? Does this reflect my faith? Does it honor the Lord?

We must start to think through whether our spending on gambling—even recreationally—glorifies God. That doesn’t mean all entertainment is wrong. But we are called to be faithful managers of what belongs to God, and some forms of entertainment carry higher risks than others.

Beyond personal stewardship, Christians must consider what they're supporting. The gambling industry is responsible for significant harm. Studies show that 1 in 5 gambling addicts attempt suicide, and addiction is rising fastest among young adults, according to the American Psychological Association.

For those in the church, we must acknowledge this cultural shift and lovingly walk alongside people through it, offering them truth, grace, and accountability.

Sports betting may be legal, but legality is not the same as morality, and morality isn’t always wisdom. If your habits reflect discontentment or a misplaced trust in money, that’s a red flag.

But there's hope. These things are not the unpardonable sin. 1 John 1:9 reminds us: 

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us... God is always ready to receive us.”

Isaiah 26:3 also says:

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.”

If you're struggling

In this program, Chip explains four principles and four related practices that will increase our peace and provide absolute assurance that our needs are provided for, even in the midst of life's most difficult circumstances.

Introduction: What would it take for you to be content?

Content: Happy enough with what one has or is; not desiring something more or different; satisfied. -Webster’s Dictionary

The Problem: The horizon is always moving.

Two Historical Solutions:

1. Conquer, achieve, and acquire until satisfied.
2. Desire less and less until it doesn’t matter.

The Question: How can we be satisfied…today?

• The Answer: Philippians 4:10-13
• The Occasion: A “Thank You” Note -Philippians 4:10-13
• The Conclusion: Contentment is not a thing to be achieved, but a secret to be discovered.
• How?

Four Principles – Four Practices:

Principle #1 - Our contentment is not dependent on our circumstances.

• Practice = BE THANKFUL/GRATEFUL -Philippians 4:10

Principle #2 - Contentment is an attitude we learn not a thing we achieve.

• Practice = BE TEACHABLE -Philippians 4:11

Principle #3 - Prosperity does not have the power to give us contentment; nor poverty the power to take it away.

• Practice = BE FLEXIBLE / CHANGEABLE -Philippians 4:12

Principle #4 - Only Christ has the power to give us a contentment that transcends all life’s variables.

• Practice = BE CONTENT / TRUSTING -Philippians 4:13

Conclusion: Contentment is not passive acceptance of the status quo, but the positive assurance that God has supplied one’s needs, and the consequent release from unnecessary desires.

Broadcast Resource

• Download Free MP3
• Message Notes

Additional Resource Mentions

• "I Choose Peace" Book

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