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Ed Petrus, of the Lawrence County Historical Society, of New Castle, Pennsylvania, tells the story of the hometown hero hymnwriter Ira Sankey, and the inspiration for his song, "The Ninety and Nine." In addition Petrus plays the song on one of Sankey's organs! The interview recounts the life of Ira Sankey, a local figure from Lawrence County, Pennsylvania, who rose to international fame as a song leader and musician alongside Dwight Moody. Initially dismissed by his father, Sankey's passion for music and ministry led him to travel extensively, ultimately revolutionizing religious gatherings with his innovative use of music and his ability to connect with audiences. The narrative highlights Sankey's humble beginnings, his involvement in local institutions like the YMCA, and his enduring legacy, particularly his creation and popularization of hymns like "Ninety and Nine," demonstrating a commitment to spreading faith and inspiring devotion through accessible and emotionally resonant music.

Dr. Bob Shelton's message on Psalm 1 highlights the believer's call to be separated from the world, saturated with the Word, and situated by the water of the Spirit. He underscores the importance of rest, reflection, and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's daily walk.

Below is a selection of stories that were noted by Jim during the first quarter hour of the broadcast: --There's been a breakthrough in the tariff standoff between China and the U.S. as the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative are poised to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland over the weekend. --President Trump believes an 80% tariff seems right, setting a potential guidepost ahead of the weekend talks in Switzerland. --President Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to China was sworn in Wednesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio just days before the anticipated trade meeting. Former Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue was tapped by Trump last December. --On May 8th President Trump provided a broad overview of a prospective trade agreement with the U.K. --Yesterday the first U.S. Pope was named: Pope Leo XIV (Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago). --The new Pope shared articles on social media in the past that appeared critical of President Trump. --The IDF on Tuesday released footage showing two senior Hamas operatives surrendering in Rafah, including a commander directly involved in the October 7th attacks and the holding of Israeli hostages. --Since the launch of Operation Iron Wall January 21st, Israeli forces have killed more than 100 terrorists and arrested approximately 320 wanted individuals and seized around 450 weapons in Judea and Samaria. --President Trump announced earlier this week that the Houthis would stop attacking vessels off Yemen's coast in exchange for the U.S. ending the military campaign against them.

It may not be conventional in talk radio today to broadcast a tribute to mothers when there's so much on the political landscape to discuss, but let's face it, motherhood continues to get mocked. In response, each year Crosstalk gives listeners the opportunity to uphold motherhood by calling in with their words of love and appreciation. This time around Jim presented a piece from his father-in-law's file called, "The Meanest Mother." Hear what that's all about along with comments from the many listeners who make this annual Mother's Day tribute so special.

Reverend Jim Harden is president and CEO of CompassCare Pregnancy Services in New York. On May 2nd, 2022, an illegal leak took place from the Supreme Court indicating a forthcoming overturn of Roe v. Wade. 6 days later (Mother's Day), Jim Schneider received word that a firebomb had gone off targeting our friends at Wisconsin Family Action. There was significant damage to the offices but thankfully no lives were taken. Part of the damage included vandalism where the following words were spray-painted in black across the building: "If abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either." A group identifying itself as "Jane's Revenge" claimed responsibility for the act and the message. Then on June 7th, 2023, another target was hit. This time it was CompassCare Pregnancy Services in New York. The result was catastrophic damage and firefighters were reportedly injured in attempting to extinguish the blaze. Even though there were other related acts of violence across the nation, and even though the New York perpetrators were caught on video, the FBI claimed they had a difficult time apprehending anyone because the incidents happened at night. That was an interesting response given that they seemed to have no difficulty surrounding the homes of peaceful pro-lifers with guns drawn and taking them captive in front of their children. According to Reverend Harden, the battle continues. They're fighting against New York Attorney General Letitia James, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, big-tech censorship that wants to wipe them off Google Maps so women can't find them, death threats and more.

A steamroller levels most anything that gets in its way. This is a good analogy for big government and the deep-state as it doesn't care about private property, individual freedom or independence. It only cares about forging ahead to get rid of anything that might get in its way. This has been the case for many landowners that have been in the way of the carbon capture pipeline steamroller. Returning to Crosstalk to discuss this issue was Tom DeWeese. Tom is president of American Policy Center. He is one of the nation's leading advocates of individual liberty, free enterprise, private property rights, personal privacy, back-to-basics education and American sovereignty and independence and protecting our Constitutionally-guaranteed rights. Tom has written that the carbon capture pipeline is one of the worst environmental scams ever. The idea is to take carbon dioxide (which is basically plant food) out of the atmosphere and bury it underground. He believes this doesn't help the environment, it's damaging to it but that shouldn't surprise anyone when you realize that this is about controlling farmers and private property. Which states are seeing efforts to place a carbon capture pipeline? What problems are associated with this process for both landowners and the environment? Tom answers these and other important questions for you to consider, on this edition of Crosstalk.

Dr. Bob Shelton explores Psalm 1, urging believers to live separated from the world's ungodliness and saturated with God's Word. He highlights the importance of avoiding sin's path, delighting in Scripture, and staying spiritually rooted. This traditional call to holiness remains vital for Christians seeking to honor the Lord in daily life.

Get caught up on news from around the world as you head into the weekend. Crosstalk helps you do that with our News Round-Up & comment broadcast. Here's a sample of what Jim presented. --The U.S. delegation to the U.N. has denounced the U.N.'s so-called, "master plan for humanity," better known as the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals. --Wildfires that began Wednesday morning and have burned more than 5,000 acres in Israel have "miraculously" left homes untouched according to Israeli firefighting authorities. --Israeli police arrested 18 arson suspects following the spread of wildfires near Jerusalem. --After more than 24 hours of firefighting, the massive blaze that engulfed the hills west of Jerusalem had been brought under control. --2 Israelis were found murdered in Los Angeles in just over a 12 hour period, though it's unclear if the two are related. --6 people were arrested after anti-Israel protesters clashed with Hasidic Jews outside a prominent Brooklyn Synagogue. --U.S. Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth delivered a stern warning Wednesday to Iran over its ongoing support for Yemen's Houthi rebels. --Indirect U.S.-Iran nuclear talks have hit a roadblock as a fourth round of negotiations initially set for this weekend in Rome was postponed. --President Trump issued a scathing threat to any nation that might consider purchasing oil from Iran amid efforts to pressure the regime into abandoning its nuclear program. --Harvard University, in the midst of it's funding fight with the Trump administration, released its long awaited anti-Semitism report on Tuesday.

It was by a joint resolution of Congress, signed into law by President Harry Truman, that the National Day of Prayer was established to be observed on the first Thursday of May. While having national recognition of prayer is important, what about at the personal level? After all, each of us has the privilege of coming before God in His grace and in the name of His son Jesus Christ, to intercede for our nation, its leaders, churches and families. Unfortunately, such prayer is often relegated to a single day when it should be a vital part of every day. No one knows this better than Evangelist Harold Vaughan. He is founder and president of Christ Life Ministries, Inc. Harold trusted Christ as Savior in his teen years. While in Bible College the Lord called him to enter the ministry as an evangelist. He has a passion for reaching the lost and to encourage the local church. Harold noted that prayer starts in the hearts of people, yet he sees faith-based effective prayer as being at a low ebb in the church at this time. Should we be surprised it's this way when as Harold also pointed out, many churches were not founded as churches of prayer, but rather as houses of preaching, programs, politics or personality. So listen to this broadcast and learn why prayer is such a passion for Harold, what's keeping so many believers from having a regular and effective prayer life, as well as guidance for personal prayer, family prayer, corporate church prayer and showing how this is all to be scripturally driven.

Chris Katulka is assistant director of North American Ministries at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and host of The Friends of Israel Today radio program. He is a Bible teacher, and writer for Israel My Glory magazine and is author of the book, Israel Always. Chris explained how the design of Israel's calendar is very intentional. It's designed to walk the Israeli from remembering the Holocaust to Yom HaZikaron (Day of Remembrance for Israel's fallen soldiers) to this very day as soldiers are losing their lives in the battle with Hamas and Hezbollah. It's all designed as a time of remembrance, laying the foundation for remembering Israel's independence. Review this broadcast and realize that as a modern nation, Israel is only 77 years old yet it's history goes back millennia to the time of Abraham. You'll also hear Chris detail the U.S. role in the formation of modern Israel, the modern advances that have come about because of Israel, the upcoming Great Tribulation and much more.