Moody Podcast Network

Can the Bible be trusted? How can we trust the Bible in this secular age we live in? Social media influencers and websites and politicians quote Scripture out of context or wrestle with questions about seeming-contradictions about the Bible. Moody Bible Institute professor Dr. Mikel Del Rosario will tackle your questions about why we can trust the Bible and the historical Jesus. Don't miss this important conversation on Equipped.

Featured resource:
Did Jesus Really Say He Was God? Making Sense of His Historical Claims by Mikel Del Rosario

Mentioned Bible resources:
NET Bible
Logos Bible software
The Bible Experience dramatized audio Bible
Bible encyclopedia

October thank you gift:
The Rekindled Heart: 6 Essentials for Reviving Your Faith by Mark Yarbrough

Equipped with Chris Brooks is made possible through your support. To donate now, click here.

Become a Monthly Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/equipped/partners

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Today, on Karl and Crew, we continued our weekly theme, “The Church - Near and Far.” Nik Ripken, founder of Nik Ripken Ministries, shared powerful stories of persecuted believers worldwide and challenged Christians to live out their faith and share the gospel wherever God has placed them. Dr. Mike Fabarez, Pastor of Compass Bible Church and author of “The Bible: A Book like No Other,” discussed evidence for the Bible's reliability and how understanding it can strengthen our faith and answer difficult questions about Scripture. We then turned to our listeners and asked, “You were in the church but not in Christ. Tell us your story.”You can hear the highlights of today’s program on the Karl and Crew Showcast.

If you're looking to hear a particular segment from the show, look at the following timestamps:
Call Segment: [ 18:02 ]
Nik Ripken [ 28:09 ]
Dr. Mike Fabarez [ 41:23 ]

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When you think about leaving an inheritance, you probably picture children or grandchildren. But what if your next steward isn't a person at all?

For many Christians, leaving a gift to a church, ministry, or nonprofit organization can be a meaningful way to extend their generosity beyond their lifetime. But deciding where, when, and how to give deserves the same thoughtful preparation we would give to an individual heir.

Sharon Epps, President of Kingdom Advisors and a contributor to FaithFi's new field guide, How Do I Prepare the Next Steward?, joined us today to discuss how believers can make these decisions wisely.

Her central encouragement is simple: Choosing a ministry as your next steward is about more than deciding who receives your money. It's about considering what those resources might accomplish after you're gone.

Before deciding how much to leave a ministry, consider what you hope your gift will accomplish.

What needs are particularly meaningful to you? What kinds of ministry have shaped your life or strengthened your faith? How would you like the resources God has entrusted to you to continue serving others?

Sharon encourages believers to begin with these questions rather than immediately settling on a dollar amount.

Once you've identified your priorities, look for organizations whose missions align with them. Consider whom they serve, how they carry out their work, and whether their approach reflects the purposes behind your generosity.

For example, someone whose family has been blessed through adoption may feel a particular desire to support foster care and adoption ministries. Someone who has benefited from Christian financial discipleship might want to help make those resources available to future generations.

Your own experiences, including seasons of difficulty, may help you recognize opportunities to serve others in meaningful ways.

Finding an organization whose mission resonates with you is important, but it's only the beginning.

Just as you would consider an individual heir's character and readiness to manage an inheritance, it's wise to evaluate how a ministry currently handles the resources entrusted to it. Sharon recommends asking several important questions:

• Does the organization demonstrate integrity and accountability in its leadership?
• Is it transparent about its finances?
• Does it have a healthy governance structure and an engaged board?
• How does it measure and communicate the impact of its work?
• What happens when its current leadership changes?

These questions aren't intended to create suspicion. They're part of understanding the ministry well enough to support its work confidently.

Whenever possible, build relationships with its leadership, observe its work firsthand, and learn how it makes decisions.

Approach these conversations with a servant's heart. Rather than simply evaluating whether a ministry deserves your gift, seek to understand how you can help advance the work it's already doing.

A ministry can do wonderful work without being equipped to manage a substantial financial gift. This is especially true for smaller or local organizations with limited staff and administrative resources.

A contribution that dramatically increases a ministry's annual budget may sound like an extraordinary blessing. But if the organization lacks the systems, personnel, or infrastructure to manage that growth, the gift could unintentionally create new challenges.

A significant contribution could also affect existing fundraising

There’s a kind of identity theft far more serious than a hacked account.  Today on BOLD STEPS, Mark Jobe turns to Colossians chapter 3 to help us reclaim who we really are before God.  Mark reveals how to trade our narrow, earthly perspective for a heavenly one ... and why old-identity behaviors have to go.  Begin restoring your God-given ID ... listen to Bold Steps with Pastor Mark Jobe.

Bold Steps Gift: The Church In Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness - Erwin Lutzer and Ed Stetzer

Visit or watch Mark Jobe at New Life Community Church

Become a Bold Partner: https://www.moodyradio.org/donateto/boldsteps

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Is it possible to grow in our Christian faith without engaging the doubter or the skeptic? And if growing in our faith means growing closer to the doubter, how do we do that without compromising what we believe to be true? Join us as Preston Ulmer teaches us how to rebuild the impression the other person has of us as Christians; to rely on an invitation into real life (not a church service) and to redefine progress as imitation, not just immersion.

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Loss can change the way we see almost everything—including money. After being widowed twice, Rachel Faulkner Brown knows firsthand how grief can affect our emotions, our decisions, and even our finances. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rachel joins Rob West to share how financial mistakes and painful losses ultimately taught her a deeper lesson about stewardship, trust, and letting go of control. Then, it’s on to calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live—where biblical wisdom meets today’s financial decisions—weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.

Faith & Finance Live is a listener supported program on Moody Radio.  To join our team of supporters, click here.

To support the ministry of FaithFi, click here.

To learn more about Rob West, click here.

To learn more about Faith & Finance Live, click here.

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Are you afraid of difficult questions about your faith? Former atheist, now theologian, Oxford scholar, scientist and bestselling author Alister McGrath believes Christians don't need to fear difficult questions. In fact, asking honest questions can strengthen faith and create meaningful opportunities to share the hope of Christ. Don’t miss the encouragement on Chris Fabry Live.

Featured resources:
Rethinking Christianity: A Thoughtful Guide to Life-Changing Faith by Alister McGrath

October thank you gift:
Consider Jesus: Meditations on the Person and Work of Christ by Nancy DeMoss Wolgemuth

Chris Fabry Live is listener-supported. To support the program, click here.

Become a Back Fence Partner: https://moodyradio.org/donateto/chrisfabrylive/partners

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Friendship is one of God's greatest treasures. Facing joyful moments and hardships with a friend makes both easier to deal with. Becky Harling has examined the Proverbs to see what makes the foundation of a good friend. If you’re looking to form and strengthen your friendships, join us for the next edition of Equipped with Chris Brooks.

Featured resource:
Friend-Wise: Practical Ideas for Richer Relationships by Becky Harling

October thank you gift:
The Rekindled Heart: 6 Essentials for Reviving Your Faith by Mark Yarbrough

Equipped with Chris Brooks is made possible through your support. To donate now, click here.

Become a Monthly Partner: http://moodyradio.org/donateto/equipped/partners

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Losing a spouse changes almost everything. Beyond the emotional weight of grief, there are practical responsibilities that can suddenly feel overwhelming. Bills still need to be paid, accounts need attention, and financial decisions that once seemed routine may now feel impossible.

For widows, navigating those responsibilities can be especially difficult when grief affects their ability to think clearly, make decisions, and plan for the future.

Rachel Faulkner Brown understands this firsthand. Widowed twice by the age of 31, she has experienced profound loss, financial mistakes, and unexpected challenges. Today, as the Founder and Executive Director of Never Alone Widows, she helps women find hope, healing, and community after losing a spouse.

Rachel joined the show today to share what those experiences taught her about stewardship, financial vulnerability, and learning to trust God when life feels out of control.

"The day after Blair died, I threw away the Dave Ramsey envelopes."

That striking statement from Rachel's article in Faithful Steward magazine captures how dramatically grief can reshape a person's relationship with money.

Before losing her husband, Rachel had been committed to careful budgeting. At 21, she attended a Dave Ramsey conference, embraced its financial principles, and worked with her husband to manage their resources responsibly. But after his death, something changed.

"I knew that feeding my children was much more important than getting the envelopes right," she explained.

For Rachel, abandoning the envelope system wasn't necessarily about rejecting financial discipline. It was about recognizing that her circumstances had changed and the system she once relied on no longer served her immediate needs.

Grief can force us to reconsider our priorities. And sometimes, wise stewardship means adjusting our financial practices to reflect the realities of a new season.

One of the most important lessons Rachel learned was the value of patience when making major financial decisions after a loss.

She remembers meeting with a financial planner in Atlanta shortly after becoming a widow. Although she felt pressure to make investment decisions, something didn't seem right.

She ultimately chose not to move forward. The year was 2008, just before the financial crisis devastated investment portfolios across the country. Looking back, Rachel is grateful she resisted the pressure to act before she was ready.

Her experience highlights an important principle: Not every financial decision needs to be made immediately.

Grief can affect memory, concentration, and emotional well-being. Decisions that would ordinarily be straightforward may become much more difficult.

Some responsibilities, however, cannot wait. Household bills, insurance matters, and essential account management may require immediate attention. But major investments, significant purchases, and other long-term commitments can often wait until things are clearer.

Patience can be a form of wisdom, especially when circumstances make us vulnerable to pressure or manipulation.

When Blair died unexpectedly, Rachel discovered just how much of their financial life he had managed. She didn't have account passwords or ready access to important financial information. Even gathering the necessary documents felt overwhelming.

Fortunately, two close friends stepped in. They contacted financial institutions, organized investment information, and assembled a notebook containing the details Rach

Think your story is over?  God may just be getting started.  Today on BOLD STEPS, Mark Jobe concludes his message on the raising of Lazarus.  We’ll discover why a disappointing finish doesn’t mean the final chapter has been written, and how Jesus invites us to participate in the miraculous.  Trust God to bring resurrection power to your situation ... listen to Bold Steps with Pastor Mark Jobe.

Bold Steps Gift: The Church In Babylon: Heeding the Call to Be a Light in the Darkness - Erwin Lutzer and Ed Stetzer

Visit or watch Mark Jobe at New Life Community Church

Become a Bold Partner: https://www.moodyradio.org/donateto/boldsteps

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.