Mailbag Friday: Parenting a Rebellious Teen + Recovering From Church Hurt + Does the Bible Forbid Cussing?

It’s Mailbag Friday! You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Segment 1 • How does a single mom handle a 17-year-old son who continually lies, resists her authority, and seems headed in a bad direction? — Melissa Segment 2 • After leaving a church because of failed church discipline and spiritual abuse, how do we keep from becoming bitter and hypercritical of our next church? — Caitlin Segment 3 • If Christians should help immature believers grow, how does that fit with Paul becoming “all things to all people” in 1 Corinthians 9? — Edwin Segment 4 • My professing-Christian husband regularly uses foul language, often with anger, and says the Bible doesn’t forbid it. Does it? — Beth ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Todd sits down with Brad Bigney to tackle some of the marriage advice that sounds completely backward to our culture—and maybe even to you. What if the things you’re holding onto are the very things keeping your marriage from thriving? Segment 1 • What if your expectations of your spouse are actually hurting your marriage? • The surprisingly ordinary things that can make—or break—a marriage. • Some popular Christian marriage advice may be reinforcing the problem. Segment 2 • What are you afraid will happen if you really give yourself to your spouse? • Brad reveals the seemingly good thing that nearly wrecked his own marriage. • There’s a line struggling couples have to cross. Have you crossed it? Segment 3 • You moved out years ago—but have you actually left Mom and Dad? • When does honoring your parents start interfering with your marriage? • Your kids can become too important. Here’s how to know if they have. Segment 4 • Why do some couples divorce after 30 years together? • Staying married and building a marriage aren’t necessarily the same thing. • What do you do when you keep giving—and your spouse doesn’t give back? ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Witness Wednesday! Todd is at Georgia Tech showing how simple it can be to start a Gospel conversation—and how to respond when someone thinks they’re a good person or that all religions might ultimately be true. Segment 1 • Want to share the Gospel but never know how to start the conversation? • Todd tries something remarkably simple: skip the segue and just ask. • What do you say when someone doesn’t believe in hell—or doesn’t even know what the Gospel is? Segment 2 • Can someone be “born a Christian” simply because his parents are Christians? • What if religion is useful to someone—but he isn’t convinced it’s actually true? • Todd shows how to move from “I’m a good person” to the real problem every sinner faces. Segment 3 • Paul thinks the answers to life’s biggest questions are somewhere inside himself. How would you respond? • What matters more: your standard of goodness or God’s? • Todd takes Paul from “make yourself better” to the heart of the Gospel. Segment 4 • Todd approaches Daniel with no segue whatsoever. Does it work? • Daniel thinks different religions may be saying basically the same thing. How would you respond? • If two religions contradict each other, can they somehow both be true? ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

You can be completely convinced you’re right—and still be wrong. Todd and Dr. Adam Tyson tackle what happens when personal convictions become biblical mandates, Christian liberty starts dividing the church, and obeying the government conflicts with obeying God. Segment 1 • Being completely convinced about something doesn’t make it a biblical conviction. • How do you know when Scripture gives a command—and when you’re turning a preference into one? • Could your “convictions” actually be hurting unity in your church? Segment 2 • Vaccines, masks, homeschooling, vacations—what happens when your thing becomes everyone else’s thing? • If the Bible doesn’t make a law, are you allowed to? • You’ll never find the perfect church if everyone has to make the same decisions you do. Segment 3 • When should Christians submit to the government—and when should they refuse? • What if obeying the government means disobeying something Scripture commands? • Where does the government’s authority end and the church’s authority begin? Segment 4 • Should Christians try to influence government—or try to Christianize it? • What happens when political priorities begin competing with the church’s actual mission? • Your view of the end times may shape your politics more than you realize. ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

You can know your Bible, go to church, and genuinely love Christ—and still have spiritual problems you don’t recognize. Todd diagnoses four subtle issues that may be affecting your walk with God more than you realize. Segment 1 • Is there a disconnect between what you believe and how you actually live? • You know God loves you. But have you learned to actually enjoy His love? • One of these problems may explain why your Christian life feels more detached than it should. Segment 2 • How does truth about God actually get from your head to your heart? • One question could completely change the way you read your Bible. • There may be a theological reason you struggle to believe God really loves you. Segment 3 • Do you enjoy watching people you disagree with get absolutely torched? • There’s a difference between necessary confrontation and loving the fight. • Your motive for confronting someone may reveal more about you than you realize. Segment 4 • Is online gambling really just harmless entertainment? • The massive growth of sports betting should make Christians ask some uncomfortable questions. • If gambling gives you a rush, what does that reveal about your heart? ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Mailbag Friday! You’ve got questions, we’ve got answers. Segment 1 • What questions should I be asking if I’m interested in dating a girl who’s a Messianic Jew? — Jonathan • My church’s music is showy and the preaching isn’t very exegetical. Is that enough reason to leave? — Ryan Segment 2 • How does a wife biblically submit to a husband who has proven himself foolish with finances? — Anonymous • When should the men and elders of a church step in to protect and care for a woman struggling in her marriage? Segment 3 • I suffer from a debilitating condition that makes it nearly impossible to work or keep up with things around the house. Am I the sluggard Scripture warns about? — Tom • When you physically can’t do what you want to do, how should the church come alongside you? Segment 4 • My epilepsy medication keeps me from feeling joy. If I can’t experience the joy of Christ, am I still saved? — Joe • Is it wrong to turn the Bible into a sport through Bible quizzing? — Anonymous • Should churches ask someone with disruptive Tourette’s to leave the sanctuary during the service? — Anonymous Preorder Todd Friel’s new book, Go Serve Your King: The Key to Extraordinary Purpose in Everyday Life, available December 1. Preorder your copy at https://FortisInstitute.org/King ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Is Christian nationalism the biblical answer to a culture moving further from God? Todd works through Phil Johnson’s case against Christian nationalism, examining Scripture, church history, political power, and what Jesus actually commissioned His church to do. Segment 1 • What did John MacArthur really mean when he said there is “no such thing” as Christian nationalism? • How can you distinguish ordinary Christian patriotism from Christian nationalism? • The movement has some troubling voices, but Todd says there’s an even bigger problem: Is it biblical? Segment 2 • What happens when the church gains the political power to enforce Christian values? • Christian nationalism isn’t new. What can its track record teach us? • Before embracing a “Christian nation,” consider what happened when Christians actually tried to build one. Segment 3 • Who is supposed to establish Christ’s kingdom on earth: the church or Christ Himself? • Are Christians fighting a political war or a spiritual one? • Laws can restrain evil, but can political power actually change the people you’re trying to change? Segment 4 • Was Jesus a Christian nationalist? His response to Peter’s sword offers an important clue. • Want a more moral country? Changing behavior without changing hearts won’t get you there. • Todd offers a different strategy for creating a more Christian nation: go make disciples. Preorder Todd Friel’s new book, Go Serve Your King: The Key to Extraordinary Purpose in Everyday Life, available December 1. Preorder your copy at https://FortisInstitute.org/King ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

It’s Witness Wednesday at Georgia Tech! Todd talks with students about faith and politics, whether science could eventually disprove Christianity, and why an emotional response to the gospel isn’t necessarily conversion. Segment 1 • Should your faith shape your politics, or should the two stay separate? • What does your everyday life reveal about what you actually believe? • Being sorry for your sin isn’t the same as being saved. So what is? Segment 2 • If science explained what ancient religions attributed to gods, could Christianity be next? • How would you answer someone who asks, “Why is your religion right and everyone else’s wrong?” • What makes Christianity radically different from every works-based religion? Segment 3 • Can you actually prove to someone that God exists? • Your conscience tells you something about yourself you may not want to admit. • If everyone deserves judgment, how can God forgive anyone and still be just? Segment 4 • Wearing a cross doesn’t mean you understand what happened on it. • Think you’re good enough for heaven? Here’s the problem with that. • Why Todd won’t lead someone in a sinner’s prayer, even when they appear ready to respond. Preorder Todd Friel’s new book, Go Serve Your King: The Key to Extraordinary Purpose in Everyday Life, available December 1. Preorder your copy at https://FortisInstitute.org/King ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

Today’s headlines raise some big questions. What happens when uncomfortable facts become off-limits, men increasingly struggle to find work, and Christianity’s exclusive claims collide with “all roads lead to God”? Segment 1 • How can AI be genuinely useful without becoming something you rely on too heavily? • If God ordains everything, does that make Him responsible for evil? • How do ultimate, proximate, and efficient causes help explain God’s sovereignty over a world where evil exists? Segment 2 • A church plays Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5” on a pipe organ. What belongs in a worship service? • Do archaeological discoveries and holy sites strengthen our faith, or has God already given us something more certain? • Why has LGBT identification risen so dramatically in America, and how much does cultural affirmation play a role? Segment 3 • Nearly all recent U.S. job growth reportedly went to women. What happens to a society when men increasingly struggle to find work? • A Virginia school district tells teachers not to associate 9/11 with Islam. Can you teach what happened without addressing the attackers’ religious motivation? • When does legitimate criticism of a religion get wrongly dismissed as “Islamophobia”? Segment 4 • Jane Fonda challenged the Archbishop of Canterbury with a question that sounds like it could have been asked today: aren’t there many valid ways to God? • Why wasn’t “Jesus is the only way” the Archbishop’s immediate response? • Fifty years later, what can this exchange teach Christians about responding clearly to religious pluralism? Preorder Todd Friel’s new book, Go Serve Your King: The Key to Extraordinary Purpose in Everyday Life, available December 1. Preorder your copy at https://FortisInstitute.org/King ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!

What makes a sermon truly powerful? Todd reflects on Tim Challies’ preaching, explains where he differs with John Mark Comer on spiritual disciplines, and shares an important lesson from Challies about trusting God when suffering doesn’t make sense. Segment 1 • What gives a sermon real “oomph”—powerful delivery, great writing, or something more? • Tim Challies shows how a soft-spoken preacher can still deliver a sermon with serious impact. • The goal of preaching isn’t impressive oratory—it’s to help you see Christ more clearly and love Him more. Segment 2 • Todd compares Go Serve Your King with John Mark Comer’s Practicing the Way. Where do their approaches differ? • Should spiritual disciplines produce an integrated Christian life—or should knowing and loving Christ drive those disciplines? • What’s the difference between systematic, biblical, and historical theology, and how should theology actually change you? Segment 3 • When someone is suffering, even good theology can be delivered at the wrong time. • Tim Challies shares lessons learned through the devastating loss of his son about grief, comfort, and simply being present. • You may never see the good God brings from your suffering in this life—do you still have reason to trust Him? Segment 4 • Do you constantly wonder, “Am I really saved?” or “Have I repented enough?” • Your feelings aren’t a reliable measure of your salvation—so what biblical signs should you look for? • How trusting Christ and leaning on your local church can help break the cycle of constantly questioning your salvation. Preorder Todd Friel’s new book, Go Serve Your King: The Key to Extraordinary Purpose in Everyday Life, available December 1. Preorder your copy at https://FortisInstitute.org/King ___ Thanks for listening! Wretched Radio would not be possible without the financial support of our Gospel Partners. If you would like to support Wretched Radio we would be extremely grateful. VISIT https://fortisinstitute.org/donate/ If you are already a Gospel Partner we couldn’t be more thankful for you if we tried!