On this episode, Tyler sits down with a dear friend, Kevin Dykstra. Kevin served as a pastor in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod for about two years after graduating from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis. He has preached multiple times at Family of God in the past and has a huge heart for ministry. Today, we talk about unspoken suffering. Suffering that many pastors encounter while in the seminary and while in their congregations. Suffering that ultimately led to Kevin resigning from his call and the ministry as a whole. There is a lot to learn within the Church. Continue to pray for Kevin and for pastors around the world that suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ.

**DISCLAIMER**
Everyone knows that there are two sides to every story. One person says this, one person says that. This is certainly one of those cases. This episode highlights events from Kevin's perspective. If you would like to be connected to another perspective, you can reach out to Pastor Cronkright at [email protected] and he will connect you.

We're back from a Holy Week break and we're diving into Herman Hoeksema's book called The Royal Sufferer. We're going to be talking about the crucifixion of Christ and the sufferings of Jesus that were necessary...NECESSARY...in order for us to be saved from our sin. Jesus chose to go to battle without an army...and He wins.

Follies this week include Anne Frank being pulled from a library, but not for the reasons you think, and the Hebrew-Israelites make their debut!

1517 Easter is Overrated - by Rev. Tyler Cronkright
https://www.1517.org/articles/easter-is-overrated

Jesus Dietrich and Me Podcast - Easter is Overrated
https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/tyler-cronkright/episodes/Easter-Is-Overrated-Ep--79-e1h688u

Hebrew Israelites article
https://www.newsbreak.com/news/2980638815492-was-esau-edom-white-demolishing-hebrew-israelite-lies-part-1?_f=app_share&s=a3&share_destination_id=MTM5ODg1OTY4LTE2ODA2NTAwMTY3MzA%3D&pd=09SwjIlo&hl=en_US&send_time=1680650016&actBtn=floatShareButton&trans_data=%7B%22platform%22%3A1%2C%22cv%22%3A%2223.13.1%22%2C%22languages%22%3A%22en%22%7D

On today's episode we spend a few minutes talking about the tragic shooting in Nashville and what can the Church do in response. We also revisit one of Dietrich Bonhoeffer's most known works, The Cost of Discipleship. We focus in on Chapter 4, Discipleship and the Cross, specifically the line that Dietrich writes about how the call of Christ is to detach from the world. Do we do this? Can we do this? What kind of suffering comes with this? The comfort for the Christian is that Christ is carrying that cross WITH us. Have a listen!

Follies of the week include CNN and March Madness emotions.

On this episode, Tyler sits down with Pastor Randy Duncan, the campus pastor at Concordia University Ann Arbor. In this conversation, they talk about the struggles of college students and the importance of campus ministry. They also take some time to talk about Randy's suffering in his own life, including divorce, and how God has delivered him from this. 

What is the best "Christian" movie? We break down a list of the top 64 Christian movies. Who is number 1? It might shock you...or maybe not.

We also make some awesome recommendations of movies that you maybe haven't seen, such as Keys to the Kingdom (a must watch!), Flywheel, and The Ultimate Gift.

So get to watching!

On this episode, we take a look at Erwin Lutzer's "When a Nation Forgets God." We talk about the description of a Christian that can withstand persecution and opposition and ordinary heroes that God used over the course of time to grow His Kingdom. Some of these ordinary heroes include Corrie ten Boom, Charles Colson, and Zakaria Botros. Have a listen!

Follies of the week include: Canceling church, more virtue signaling, and PETA!

Tyler sits down with Chad Bird of 1517 and talks about all kinds of suffering. As an Old Testament scholar, Chad shares about how God uses suffering in the Bible and how that is applied to us today.

He then talks about suffering he inflicted upon himself as he pursued his own goals and achievements. How did God bring him back to Himself in this suffering?

And lastly, we take some time to discuss the recent tragedy in Chad's life as he and his family mourn the death of Chad's son Luke, who died last summer in a hiking accident. Where is God in our grief? What promises can we cling to?

Check Chad out on 1517.org and on the 40 Minutes in the Old Testament podcast

We react to the polarizing Super Bowl ad, "He gets us." What does this mean? Is Jesus "getting us" the same as Jesus "dying for us"? 

We also take some time to talk about St. Valentine! Have a listen.

Tyler sits down with Pastor Gabe Kasper, Lead Pastor at University Lutheran Chapel in Ann Arbor, Michigan. It's a very real conversation about ministry leaders suffering with depression. We try to describe the feelings of inadequacy and the day-to-day fears when you are in the middle of it. Ultimately, we talk about Christ Jesus who sits with us in the suffering and gives us hope and promise that this all will end.

Side note, if you would like to talk about mental health and struggles you may be going through, please feel free to reach out to us. We are here for you.