VCY America

Dr. David Saxon, professor of Church History at Maranatha Baptist University, tells the story of the Lone Star Revival to Randy Melchert. In 1853, a mission in India was marked by a very small congregation, marked on a map with just a lone star. Should it be disbanded?

The news of the day and how it affects you as a Christian. It's the Friday News Round-Up and Comment broadcast. Here's a sample of what host Jim Schneider presented for listeners: --The longest government shutdown in our history ended with the stroke of a pen by President Trump in the Oval Office on Wednesday evening. He signed a spending package into law that will fund the government through the end of January. --Members of Congress collected more than $20,000 apiece during the longest government shutdown in U.S. history, as millions of Americans went without pay and essential services. The White House estimates that the shutdown inflicted roughly 15 billion dollars in weekly economic damage with 60,000 private sector jobs lost. --Leftists, including some elected officials, reacted with rage Monday after 8 Senate Democrats caved to Senate Republicans by agreeing to vote to end the lengthy government shutdown. Despite voting against the deal, Chuck Schumer is emerging as the top target for not containing the defections. --Paychecks to federal workers reportedly will be going out tomorrow. --Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins said that the full SNAP benefits would be restored by Monday, November 17th. --Rollins said that SNAP benefits are ripe with fraud and abuse. --Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem handed out $10,000 bonus checks November 13th to thousands of frontline TSA officers who stayed on the job during the government shutdown. --Senator John Fetterman of Pennsylvania surprised CNN's Dana Bash as he explained how much crueler the political left has treated him compared to those on the right.

Our Christian Heritage goes "On Location" with Randy Melchert in Detroit, MI to learn the Hymn History of Stand Up, Stand Up For Jesus at the gravesite of Rev. George Duffield.

The Trump administration has done various things to protect our safety, one of which includes meaningful border control policies. Such policies are helping to stop the free-flow of illegal drugs in the U.S. and keep illegal immigrants from committing very egregious crimes. Returning to Crosstalk with an update on this subject was Mark Krikorian. Mark is a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues serving as the executive director of Center for Immigration Studies. They are an independent, non-partisan research organization examining and critiquing the impact of immigration on the United States. He has testified numerous times before Congress and has published articles in many outlets. We're 10 months into the Trump administration and according to Mark, by the end of the year we could see as many as 800,000 deportations. In addition, we are at the lowest levels of encounters at the border since the 1960's, and while some individuals may be released on bond by an immigration judge, no one is being released into the country at the border. That's the good news. However, there are still issues to be noted and watched. For example, Mark also reported on the following: What is the current status of the border wall? What's the latest concerning the drug cartel tunnels? California's admittance of issuing 17,000 CDL licenses to foreign nationals. Why are some cities fighting the use of federal help to protect such areas? What about the children that went missing under the Biden administration? How have illegal aliens affected our healthcare and the SNAP program? Should we get out of the U.N. refugee treaty?

Much of the government shutdown is due to the failures of Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act), which was supposed to lower the cost of healthcare. Instead, such costs are skyrocketing. You may remember the numerous promises made when Obamacare was being touted such as: You can keep your plan. Unfortunately, many people lost theirs. We were also told we could keep our doctor, yet over 200,000 doctors opted out of the Obamacare exchange plans. Then there was the promise that your premiums would go down by $2,500 dollars, yet it's being reported that premiums went up by about 60% in the first four years and they continue to go up. On Thursday, November 6th, Wisconsin Senator Ron Johnson, Chairman of the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, held a hearing titled: Assessing the Damage Done by Obamacare. This broadcast featured comments from both sides of the debate which included four witnesses. Senator Johnson led off the debate with opening remarks. Citing a number of comparative statistics, he noted that there's no reason why healthcare costs should be running so much higher than the rate of inflation. Next to speak was Connecticut Senator Richard Blumenthal who, in opposition to the comments from Senator Johnson, said: "Let's be very clear why we're here. It is a Republican effort to destroy the Affordable Care Act. We're seeking to extend the healthcare tax credits past the end of the year. They make healthcare insurance affordable for millions of Americans who are right now going through the exchanges and trying to determine whether they can afford insurance."

Dalton began this tribute edition of Crosstalk, with the following from historian William Federer from his series, "How We Got Here": "On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, WWI ended. Though the ceasefire, called armistice, was signed at 5am in the morning, it specified that 11 am would be the time the actual fighting would cease. Tragically, in the intervening 6 hours of fighting, an additional 11,000 more were killed. Following WWI (the war to end all wars), President Warren Harding, in 1921, had the remains of an unknown soldier killed in France brought to Arlington Cemetery to be buried in the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. Inscribed on the tomb are the words: 'Here rests in honored glory an American soldier known but to God.'" "In 1926, President Coolidge began issuing proclamations honoring veterans every year and in 1938, the day became a legal holiday. In 1954, the name Armistice Day was changed to Veterans Day to honor all soldiers of all American wars. 4 million Americans served in WWI. 16 million served in WWII. Nearly 7 million served in the Korean War. Nearly 9 million served in the Vietnam War. From the first Gulf War till the present, 7.4 million men and women served in the military." Memorial Day honors those who died while serving, while Veterans Day honors living soldiers. This broadcast served to allow listeners to honor the latter for their efforts.

Some people claim that the Bible is full of errors. Such comments center on things as the origin of man, the age of the earth or the idea of a worldwide flood. Then we have those folks who see the Bible as nothing more than a "good book." They claim that it has good moral teachings but they certainly can't take it seriously as a book of facts! How can Christians respond to those who believe such lies? Are we ourselves as grounded as we should be so we can stand for biblical truth? What evidence should we be aware of that will allow us to make such a stand for truth? Joining Dalton to help you answer these questions was Dr. Tim Chaffey. Dr. Chaffey is content manager of the attractions division at Answers in Genesis. He's responsible for overseeing the development of content for the exhibits at the Ark Encounter and the Creation Museum. He writes articles for the Answers in Genesis website and Answers Magazine. He holds a BS in biblical studies and theology, an MA in biblical and theological studies, a MDiv with an emphasis in apologetics and theology and a ThM in church history. He's also earned a doctor of ministry degree, specializing in advanced biblical and theological studies. He's been an author or co-author on more than 2 dozen books. From the mountain of archaeological evidence, the more than 200 flood legends from various civilizations, the biological evidence, the virgin birth...all that and more is discussed which shows the Bible to be God's truth. Also included is an update on what's happening at the Creation Museum and Ark Encounter!

Matthew 24:40 refers not to the rapture, but Christ's return after the Great Tribulation. Believers are caught up in the rapture, while unbelievers remain on earth. At Armageddon, the armies of Satan will be destroyed and cast into hell, fulfilling Jesus' warning: "two in the field, one taken, one left."

Dalton manned the controls as he stepped in for Jim Schneider on this edition of the "Round-Up." Here's a selection of stories he looked at from the past week: --Republicans lost every major contest in Tuesday night's election as it was a "clean sweep" for Democrats in Virginia and New Jersey while Zohran Mamdani became the next mayor of New York City. --California voters approve Proposition 50, allowing the state to circumvent the independent redistricting process. --Senate Majority Leader John Thune expects Republicans to be laser-focused on affordability issues ahead of the 2026 mid-term elections. --The election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor of New York is not necessarily bad news if you're a real estate agent in states like Florida, as interest in new homes in that state is already exploding due to his election win. --In the Senate, bipartisan negotiations to reopen the government appear to be making limited progress. --A federal judge in Rhode Island says that the Trump administration must fully cover food stamp benefits for tens of millions of Americans in November. --More than 1,000 flights across the nation were canceled as the Federal Aviation Administration and airlines looked to deal with staffing shortages exacerbated by the ongoing shutdown. --According to a new report, American military planners have drawn up a list of targets to be attacked in Venezuela as soon as the president gives the order. --Russia wants to provide hypersonic missiles to Venezuela amid their frayed relations with the U.S.

Robert Knight is a former Los Angeles Times news editor and a columnist for the Washington Times as well as other publications. Robert has had senior positions in a number of pro-family organizations. He has written several books including, The Coming Communist Wave: What Happens if the Left Captures All Three Branches of Government, Liberty on the Brink, Crooked: What Really Happened in the 2020 Election and How to Stop the Fraud. He's with us today discussing his newest book, The Battle for America's Soul, in which he provides "10 Steps to Restore Freedom." America was once the hope of the world because of the freedoms we hold dear. Now, not only are those freedoms under attack, but also we are losing the moral authority that backed them up. If we are to restore our freedoms, we must regain our moral authority. That can only come about if Christians are fully engaged as active citizens, unafraid to evangelize and to be salt and light in their communities. For too long the Christian community in America has been on the defensive and slowly adapting to a hostile culture. But, according to our guest today, "We are admonished to go on the offense against the darkness, not cower in church buildings and homes, hoping it all goes away." How do we change this?