The Don’t Knock It Podcast

Joshua 10 records one of the Bible’s most debated miracles: Joshua prays, “Sun, stand still,” and Scripture says the sun remained in place until Israel’s victory was complete. For skeptics, it’s often dismissed as scientifically impossible. For many Christians, it raises difficult questions about how to faithfully interpret the text.

In this episode, I examine one of the Old Testament’s most fascinating passages by slowing down to ask a better question: What was the biblical author actually claiming?

Rather than avoiding the difficult questions, this episode fairly presents the two primary Christian interpretations of Joshua 10—the historic view that God performed a literal cosmic miracle and the view that Joshua is using observational or poetic language to describe God’s supernatural intervention. Along the way, I explore how we as Christians should think about miracles, science, biblical interpretation, and why passages like this shouldn’t intimidate believers.

More importantly, this conversation argues that Joshua 10 isn’t ultimately about the movement of the sun—it’s about the God who fights for His covenant people, a theme that ultimately points us to Jesus Christ.

In this episode I’ll cover:

• ​The historical context behind Joshua’s battle against the five Amorite kings
• ​Why the miracle of the hailstones is often overlooked
• ​The strongest biblical case for a literal “sun standing still”
• ​The best arguments for a non-literal interpretation—and where they succeed and fall short
• ​How Christians should think about miracles and the laws of nature
• ​Why the resurrection of Jesus is the greatest miracle and the foundation for understanding every other miracle in Scripture
• ​What Joshua’s victory teaches us about Christ’s victory over sin, death, and Satan

Whether you’re skeptical of the Bible, wrestling with difficult passages, or simply wanting to deepen your understanding of Scripture, this episode is an invitation to slow down, read carefully, and consider the God who reveals Himself through His Word.

Links & Resources

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Support the show and unlock exclusive extended cuts and subscriber-only episodes by subscribing on Spotify:

https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this episode, I sit down with Jayden Faulkner — a recent graduate at Hillcrest Christian School to hear one of the most remarkable testimonies of redemption I've ever witnessed up close.

Jayden shares openly about a childhood marked by instability, absent parents, and an environment where love felt conditional and safety was never guaranteed. Placed with an aunt and uncle after years of upheaval, she arrived at Hillcrest guarded, angry, and fluent in all the right Christian language — while keeping God firmly at arm's length.

But God was already moving.

Through a mentoring relationship that started on a beach day, a prayer on a hallway floor, and a Wednesday morning she simply knew she wasn't going home — Jayden recounts how the Lord orchestrated every detail of her rescue. A seven-year season ended on the seventh year, to the day. A courtroom hearing lasted 15 minutes. A new family didn't just take her in — they chose her. And then she changed her last name.

This conversation explores:

• ​Growing up without a safe place to belong
• ​The connection between earthly parents and our image of God as Father
• ​What it looks like to "say all the right things" while keeping Christ at a distance
• ​Surviving versus living — and how the Lord moves us from one to the other
• ​Healing through adoption and what it means to be fully known and fully loved
• ​Writing a poem that changed everything
• ​Getting baptized the day before your 18th birthday and meaning every word of it

If you've ever felt like your story is too broken, your family too complicated, or your past too defining — Jayden's testimony is a living reminder that God thinks in legacies, not just moments, and that He is never not pursuing you.

Links & Resources: Follow The Don't Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple PodcastsSupport the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this powerful episode of The Don’t Knock It Podcast, I sit down with 74-year-old Craig Goff to trace a testimony decades in the making — a story that moves from spiritual curiosity to spiritual bondage, and ultimately to dramatic deliverance.

Craig recounts his early life, constant relocations, professional ambition, and eventual exposure to meditation circles and paranormal practices in late-1970s California. What began as intellectual exploration — parapsychology classes, a spiritual “medium,” and Ouija board sessions — slowly opened the door to something far darker than curiosity.

Messages from a supposed deceased relative seemed convincing with confirmed personal and guidance, but as Craig and his wife prepared for the birth of their first child, the tone shifted. What once felt warm became oppressive and what once seemed affirming grew manipulative.

Then, one night in April 1979 — ten days before Easter — everything changed.

After mounting conviction through a bold Christian midwife, an unanswered phone call, and a growing sense of spiritual unrest, Craig and his wife fell to their knees and cried out to God for rescue. What followed was an overwhelming encounter that shattered deception and replaced fear with the peace that surpasses all understanding in Christ Jesus.

Craig describes it as chains falling and a weight lifting, as darkness gave way to God’s undeniable presence of Light and New Life.

This episode explores:

• ​ The danger of spiritual curiosity without biblical grounding
• ​ How deception can appear benevolent before it becomes destructive
• ​ The reality of spiritual warfare in ordinary life
• ​ The mercy of God in pursuing those who don’t yet know Him

If you’ve ever wondered whether spiritual experiences are neutral… whether all paths lead to the same place… or whether God still intervenes — this conversation will challenge you.

May it bless you as it blessed us!

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this episode, I sit down with my good friend and fellow church servant John Yepremian to hear a powerful testimony of God’s grace, patience, and transforming work over a lifetime.

John shares honestly about his life before Christ—marked by insecurity, misplaced identity, destructive pursuits, and a traumatic night of violence that nearly took everything from him. From chasing validation and control to facing deep guilt and isolation, John’s story reflects the weight of living life firmly in the “driver’s seat.”

But God was not finished.

Through relationships, the faithful witness of his future wife, immersion in Scripture, baptism, and years of unseen service—setting up chairs, tearing them down, and praying through the process—John recounts how the Lord gently reshaped his heart through sanctification. What began as avoidance and anonymity became surrender, humility, and joyful obedience.

This conversation explores:

• ​Identity, shame, and the search for worth
• ​Trauma, responsibility, and God’s redeeming mercy
• ​Reading Scripture when it feels inaccessible
• ​Sanctification through ordinary faithfulness and service
• ​Letting go of control and trusting God with the “driver’s seat”
• ​Discerning when good things become distractions

If you’ve ever felt weary, unseen, or unsure whether God could meet you where you are, this episode is an invitation to trust that He still shapes lives with patience and purpose.

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this episode of The Don’t Knock It Podcast, I am joined by my sister in Christ, Marleya Shai, for a wonderful conversation about worship.

Before Marleya drew her first breath, her story was already confronting one of Christianity’s boldest claims: God intervenes, God heals, God saves. Her mother—unsaved, fearful, facing a Down Syndrome diagnosis for her unborn daughter—turned to Jesus as a last resort and the Lord answered in a way she couldn’t ignore.

This episode is about the biblical truth that God’s mercy precedes our understanding, invites repentance, and reorients a whole family’s future.

Marleya shares how God used early exposure to church, a miracle surrounding her birth, and years of worship ministry to plant seeds of faith long before she truly understood the gospel. But as she grew, the gap between appearing spiritually mature and actually knowing the Lord became undeniable — especially once she entered a youth ministry where her reputation no longer matched her reality.

What unfolds in this conversation is a testimony of conviction, humility, and rediscovery. Marleya describes the moment a youth pastor’s simple questions exposed years of superficial Christianity. That “never again” embarrassment initially drove her to pursue Bible knowledge for the wrong reasons — reputation, approval, self-confidence — until the Lord dismantled that pride and replaced it with genuine love for His Word.

She also shares how God formed her through discernment, trials, loss, fasting, worship, and community, slowly shifting her from “performing” ministry to delighting in the God she serves. Today, as a worship leader, she talks plainly about the temptations of spotlight, the dangers of pride, her battles with perfectionism, and why worship must always be a response to who God is, not a platform for who we want to be.

This is a conversation about:

• ​Growing up in church but not yet in Christ
• ​The danger of knowing all the right answers without a right heart
• ​How God uses embarrassment, challenge, and discipleship to expose false confidence
• ​Why worship is fundamentally a response to God’s character and creativity
• ​The ongoing fight against pride and platform in worship ministry
• ​How trials, community, and the peace of God awakened genuine faith
• ​The lifelong difference between knowing about God and knowing Him

If you’ve ever struggled with the gap between reputation and reality, head knowledge and heart transformation, ministry performance and personal devotion, this episode will hit close to home — and offer hope.

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this solo sermon episode, I walk through one of the most foundational, and most misunderstood, doctrines in the Christian faith: the Image of God.

Not as an abstract theological concept, but as a truth spoken into real people, real suffering, and real identity confusion.

Before Israel ever heard the Ten Commandments, built the tabernacle, or stepped foot into the Promised Land, they heard God say something that shattered the worldview Egypt had drilled into them:

“You are My image. You belong to Me. Your worth isn’t in what you produce.”

This sermon episode explores that moment—how a nation of former slaves learned to see themselves not through Pharaoh’s eyes but through God’s, and how that same truth confronts the lies we still believe about ourselves today.

TAKEAWAYS FOR LISTENERS

You are not defined by productivity, performance, or comparison—your identity is bestowed by God.

Your daily work carries divine purpose because you are called to cultivate, steward, and create.

Your limits are gifts that remind you you’re human—and free you from pretending to be God.

Christ came not only to save sinners but to restore the fractured image within us.

The church is meant to be a living display of renewed humanity in a broken world.

Links & Resources

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this conversation, I welcome my former student and longtime podcast supporter Nico Ridino, whose story moves from atheism, isolation, and self-destruction into a hard-earned, faithful walk with Jesus.

Nico’s testimony isn’t a dramatic moment of supernatural intervention — it’s the slow, painful breaking of pride, a near-suicidal night at 14, and God’s quiet persistence in the middle of depression, family crisis, and identity confusion.

This episode explores what it means to grow up spiritually in an environment where expectations are high, support is inconsistent, and friendships feel shallow — and how God uses consequences, community, and His Word to shape young men into disciples.

Nico shares his move from confident middle-school atheism to the first honest prayer he ever prayed — in a hospital stairwell while fearing he might lose his brother.

At 14, alone in a kitchen at 3 AM with enough insulin to take his own life, Nico considered ending everything.

Instead, God met him through a dusty Bible opened “accidentally” to Psalm 23 — a moment that pushed him to begin seeking God for real.

Nico also reflects on the challenges of living as a young believer in a small Christian school with complex social dynamics, lukewarm faith, and limited friendships.

Towards the end of the conversation, I revisit a moment under the chapel tent with Nico when I hugged him, shared Matthew 11, and told him, “Set your burdens at the foot of the cross — they’re not yours to carry.”

This became one of the most formative spiritual moments in Nico’s life.

SCRIPTURE HIGHLIGHT

Psalm 23 — The turning point of Nico’s story.

Matthew 11:28–30 — The passage I spoke over Nico during our chapel moment.

TAKEAWAYS FOR LISTENERS

• ​God often works slowly, quietly, and painfully before He works visibly.
• ​Your darkest moment is not evidence that God has abandoned you — it may be the very place He meets you.
• ​Young believers need space to make mistakes, community to come back to, and older voices who know when to speak and when to stay silent.
• ​Bearing burdens is part of love, but giving them to Christ is part of faith.

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this powerful and deeply personal conversation, I sit down with my brother and co-laborer in Christ, Joshua Camper, to hear the story behind the name that’s been mentioned in several previous episodes. Both Dario and Jonathan shared how God used Joshua to shape their faith—and now it’s time to hear the story of the man behind those testimonies.

Joshua opens up about his early years—being raised by his grandmother while his parents battled addiction, growing up around both religion and brokenness, and even discovering Jesus for the first time in a Mormon church classroom. He talks about the tension of being told all his life that he’d one day be a pastor, while also wrestling with identity, sin, and shame.

We also unpack what Joshua calls being “saved but stuck”—the experience of knowing Jesus, feeling conviction, but still being caught in cycles of sin and shame. Josh shares how the Lord met him in that place, how hours spent weeping over Scripture transformed his heart, and how God used his pain to minister to others.

Our conversation then moves into fatherhood, marriage, and biblical manhood—how the gospel redefines what it means to lead, to love, and to live as redeemed men in our homes. From being a young college athlete with a surprise pregnancy to a husband and father now shepherding his family in faith, Josh’s story is a testimony of grace upon grace.

Themes Covered:

• ​How God can plant truth even in unexpected places
• ​Being saved but stuck — the tension between conviction and confession
• ​How shame isolates believers and how community heals
• ​Fatherhood as a reflection of God’s character
• ​Marriage as a living picture of the gospel
• ​Why redemption isn’t just a one-time event—it’s a lifelong transformation

Quote from the Episode:

“Shame recognizes shame. People don’t wake up wanting to walk in shackles—but they believe the lie that no one will receive them. That’s why I command people to be unashamed, because when you confess, healing begins.” — Joshua Camper

Listen if you’ve ever felt:

• ​Like you love Jesus but can’t break old patterns
• ​Ashamed of your past but unsure how to confess
• ​Called by God but unqualified
• ​Or just need a reminder that grace isn’t just for salvation—it’s for sanctification too.

Scripture Highlights:

John 8:32 — “You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

James 5:16 — “Confess your faults one to another, that you may be healed.”

1 John 1:9 — “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us…”

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

This episode contains discussion about a suicide attempt and the impact it had on a family. Listener discretion is advised. If this topic feels too heavy, we encourage you to pause or listen later with a parent or trusted adult. Remember, if you or someone you know is struggling, you can always reach out to a trusted adult or dial 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Today’s episode is ultimately about God’s hope and redemption—even in our darkest moments.

I’m joined by one of my former students, Harmoni Shelley, a current senior at Hillcrest Christian School, who courageously shares her family’s story of pain, healing, and faith. At just ten years old, Harmoni experienced one of the most traumatic moments imaginable—a suicide attempt by her father—and yet, through it, she discovered the living reality of God’s grace and presence.

What began as confusion and anger became a journey toward forgiveness, compassion, and deep faith. Harmoni walks us through how God used what once felt like a story of shame and despair to reveal Himself as Savior, Healer, and Father.

Together, we talk about:

• ​How God saved her father’s life in a miraculous way
• ​What forgiveness and emotional healing look like over time
• ​How her family has grown closer through transparency and grace
• ​The hope she now carries into her future as she prepares to graduate and step into adulthood

This conversation reminds us that even when life feels beyond repair, God is still writing stories of restoration.

🎧 Listen to the Extended Cut (Spotify Exclusive):

Subscribers get access to the full, uncut version of this conversation—where we go deeper into how Harmoni’s character has changed throughout high school, what it means to be a “pick me” girl, and how the Lord could transform young girls who are stuck in that particular identity.

Links & Resources:

Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts

Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/

In this solo episode, I open up about what it truly means to be a present father—and how one moment in the hospital recovery room changed everything for me. From the first day of my daughter’s life, God gave me a deep sense of calling and freedom: the freedom to be there, to show up, and to love consistently in a world that often celebrates absence.

This episode is personal, raw, and reflective—part story, part conviction. I talk about how fatherhood reshaped my priorities, exposed my pride, and taught me that real strength comes from presence, not perfection.

If you’ve ever wrestled with what it means to be a faithful dad, or you’re longing to break cycles of absence and lead your family with grace and conviction, this one’s for you.

What You’ll Hear in This Episode:

• ​The defining moment in the hospital recovery room that changed everything
• ​What it means to walk in the freedom of being a present father
• ​How fatherhood became a daily act of discipleship and surrender
• ​Why presence matters more than performance

Stay Tuned for the Extended Cut:

In the next exclusive extended episode, I’ll be diving into Christian nationalism, Charlie Kirk, and the importance of Christian testimony—and how all of it ties back to living faithfully as a believer in today’s culture.

Links & Resources:

• ​Follow The Don’t Knock It Podcast on Spotify and Apple Podcasts
• ​Support the show for exclusive extended cuts and bonus episodes: Subscribe on Spotify ➡️ https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/dontknockit/