Should I Use AI in Sermon Prep?

Editor’s note: The original audio file for this episode somehow ballooned to 34 minutes, mostly of silence. Our apologies. We have corrected the audio and are replacing the original post with this one.Last week, I was finishing a message on Matthew 19 regarding marriage, divorce, and remarriage. It’s a subject I dislike preaching on because the biblical data on divorce and remarriage seems unclear to me, and many Bible scholars disagree on the topic.To illustrate my point, I wanted to reference an article in the Fundamentalist Journal from the 1980s. It was part of their Point/Counterpoint series, where Charles Ryrie and Jay Adams debated when biblical divorce is allowed. Ryrie took the no-divorce position, while Adams allowed it in cases of immorality.When I searched for the article, an AI-generated summary of the debate popped up:Jay Adams vs. Charles Ryrie on Divorce and PornographyThe debate between Jay Adams and Charles Ryrie on divorce and pornography reflects differing interpretations of biblical texts. Adams argued that viewing pornography is equivalent to committing adultery, which would justify divorce. In contrast, Ryrie maintained that divorce and remarriage are never permissible under biblical law. This debate highlights the complexity of applying biblical teachings to modern issues of morality and ethics.Wait a minute! They debated divorce in cases of immorality—not whether viewing pornography justified divorce. That’s a different question. I’m fairly certain Adams did not take the position stated.What knucklehead drew that conclusion?So, I clicked on the AI reference link—the only link provided—only to discover that the article AI used to draw this conclusion was one I WROTE on Proclaimanddefend.org! …Read the rest of the post here, or just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

Last week, I was finishing a message on Matthew 19 regarding marriage, divorce, and remarriage. It’s a subject I dislike preaching on because the biblical data on divorce and remarriage seems unclear to me, and many Bible scholars disagree on the topic.To illustrate my point, I wanted to reference an article in the Fundamentalist Journal from the 1980s. It was part of their Point/Counterpoint series, where Charles Ryrie and Jay Adams debated when biblical divorce is allowed. Ryrie took the no-divorce position, while Adams allowed it in cases of immorality.When I searched for the article, an AI-generated summary of the debate popped up:Jay Adams vs. Charles Ryrie on Divorce and PornographyThe debate between Jay Adams and Charles Ryrie on divorce and pornography reflects differing interpretations of biblical texts. Adams argued that viewing pornography is equivalent to committing adultery, which would justify divorce. In contrast, Ryrie maintained that divorce and remarriage are never permissible under biblical law. This debate highlights the complexity of applying biblical teachings to modern issues of morality and ethics.Wait a minute! They debated divorce in cases of immorality—not whether viewing pornography justified divorce. That’s a different question. I’m fairly certain Adams did not take the position stated.What knucklehead drew that conclusion?So, I clicked on the AI reference link—the only link provided—only to discover that the article AI used to draw this conclusion was one I WROTE on Proclaimanddefend.org! …Read the rest of the post here, or just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

We are talking to authors from our November/December FrontLine magazine, which had the topic “Raising Children to be Adults in an Adolescent World.”Our author this time is my friend David Potter who wrote an article called, “Teach Them Diligently.” He is drawing from Deuteronomy 6 in reminding us of the importance of passing on the faith to our succeeding generations.Both David and I are grandfathers, we’ve seen our children grow up in our homes and come to the Lord. We are now watching our grandchildren grow up and are doing what we can to influence them for the Lord. We hope that you find our conversation and our stories helpful to you in the great task of raising your own children or grandchildren for the Lord.Before we get to the interview with David Potter, let me remind you that his article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.The Contents & Editorial for the November/December FrontLine:Raising Children to be Adults in an Adolescent World [FrontLine Nov/Dec 2025] – Proclaim & DefendThe Article:Teach Them Diligently - the Proclaim & Defend Podcast Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

Christians are converting to paganism in the UK in record numbers.This is according to a Times article. They are not going to Islam, Buddhism, or Judaism, but rather to atheism, agnosticism, and Wicca.It’s not true and let me explain why.When I was in high school, I kept bees as a hobby. One hot Arizona summer, I purchased 5 beehives from a friend of my father’s who was getting out of the business. Getting those five hives to their new location was a harrowing experience. When we arrived, the hives were stacked high with supers (boxes) of comb filled with honey. The night included driving thousands of bees back into the hive with smokers, nailing the openings shut, hauling hives weighing hundreds of pounds to a trailer, dropping one on the way, and getting stung many, many times.What I did not know at the time was that two of the five queen bees had died in the process of moving. This happened before the bees had the possibility of nurturing a new queen.For several months, those two beehives appeared to function normally. From the outside, the dead hives and the living hives looked exactly the same. Bees flew in and out carrying honey and pollen. They had the appearance of life, but they had actually been dead for a long time.When you read articles like this who say people are leaving Christianity, they are not really leaving at all. What is happening is that fake Christians are leaving long dead churches that have the appearance of life. …Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

We are getting back into our podcasting schedule here, just a few weeks before Christmas, and then we will take another break.Today we begin talking to some of our authors from the November/December issue of FrontLine on the theme “Raising Children to be Adults in an Adolescent World.”Our first author is Steve Love, who currently teaches at Maranatha Baptist University. I’ve only met Steve through these P&D podcasts, but I always come away from a conversation with him stimulated to greater service with some new insights into God’s Word. I hope you find the same as we talk in today’s podcast.Steve’s article is called “Noah: A Parent Who Found Grace,” Noah isn’t the usual example we turn to in Scripture for this topic, so I found Steve’s article quite interesting as I read and then as we discussed it.At the bottom, we are acknowledging that none of us are adequate for any task God gives us, including parenting. We need grace, and the Bible tells us Noah is one who received grace from God. We gain some confidence as we consider the things we know about his life.Before we get to the interview with Steve, let me remind you that his article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.Programming note: We plan to issue the interview podcasts over the next three weekends. We will take a break for Christmas, then be back again in the New Year.The Contents & Editorial for the November/December FrontLine:Raising Children to be Adults in an Adolescent World [FrontLine Nov/Dec 2025] – Proclaim & DefendThe Article:Noah: A Parent Who Found Grace Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

Our culture has a despotic ruler that is unwilling to submit to any of the firm laws of faith or reason. He has been allowed free run by virtually everyone, and not only has not been tamed, but has been deemed untamable by almost everyone. We have submitted to his whims without critique or question, and it is destroying us.The untamable ruler is our feelings or more technically, our emotions.In a culture where the inconsistent philosophy of post-modernism rules, feelings become the only dependable sort of reality. Post-modernism teaches that there is no such thing as truth, truth is relative, or if there is such thing as truth, it is unknowable with certainty. In that context, our feelings rule. After all, I might not be able to trust what I think, but I do know how I feel in the moment. Therefore, we let our feelings rule our reality, and we make that surrender to our own destruction. …Read the rest of this post here, or just listen to the podcast Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

The question of whether Christians should celebrate Christmas has been debated for centuries. Some believers embrace the holiday as a time to honor the birth of Christ, while others reject it due to its historical associations with paganism and Roman Catholic traditions. Scripture provides guidance on matters of conscience:One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes it to the Lord; [a]and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe it. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. 7 For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself. 8 For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died [b]and rose and lived again, that He might be Lord of both the dead and the living. 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. (Romans 14:5-10)Arguments Against Celebrating Christmas* Pagans celebrate the winter solstice around this time of year. December 25 is not Jesus’ birthday.* Christmas is a Roman Catholic Holiday and Catholicism is evil.* The term Christmas is a Roman Catholic term.* Christmas celebrations are the result of Roman Catholic syncretism.* Mother/Child worship is at the heart of the Satanic counterfeit religion. …Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

Today we begin interviews with authors for the November/December issue of FrontLine, though today’s guest, Mark Love, was writing for a section of the magazine that is not part of the theme.I like to have authors of our regular feature pieces come on from time to time to promote those aspects of the magazine.Every issue, in the middle of the magazine, we publish a section we call the Pastor’s Insert. There is an idea here that it is for the benefit of pastors, but really, our own church people have sometimes told me it’s the first place they turn when they get their copy of the magazine.Mark Love wrote an article for the “Windows” feature called “Promises God Gives Us to Face Our Trials.” Mark will explain what the Windows feature is all about, but as you will note from the title, Mark is dealing with the subject of trials and suffering.None of us are going to make it through life without suffering one way or another. You might be going through a trial right now, and if not, you know that one of these days you will be. As believers, we need to remind ourselves of the promises of God when we are in trials. Mark’s article does just that. I hope our conversation is a blessing to you.Before we get to the interview with Mark, let me remind you that his article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.One other thing I’d like to say, it was a blessing to talk to Mark once again. We’ve had various family connections through the years, though we’ve been separated most of the time by thousands of miles. You will hear us mention some of those connections in the conversation. It really was a blessing to me, and a ministry to my heart to talk with Mark again and talk about the many promises of God we have in our trials.The Contents & Editorial for the November/December FrontLine:Raising Children to be Adults in an Adolescent World [FrontLine Nov/Dec 2025] – Proclaim & DefendThe Article:Promises God Gives Us to Face Our Trials Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

And yes, there continue to remain HUGE problems with Roman Catholic theology.Just recently I heard of a conservative Baptist pastor leaving his church and turning to Catholicism. This type of move is not isolated. Many in the conservative political world are doing so with the rise of prominent cultural figures like Candace Owens, Michael Knowles, and Erika Kirk, who remain Catholic or deeply connected to the Catholic Church. While we might admire public figures for standing up for biblical morality, what a person believes about biblical salvation matters deeply as well.But is the Catholic Church changing?It’s all over the religious news, but the United Conference of Catholic Bishops said it best.“While praising devotion to Mary, the Dicastery for the Doctrine of the Faith firmly rejected moves to formally proclaim Mary as “co-redemptrix” or “co-mediatrix.”This is a change, or at least a clarification of a debate within Catholicism and I believe it is intended to satisfy the angst of those with an evangelical background who have converted to Catholicism. …Read the rest of the article here, or just listen to the podcast. Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe

Our November/December issue of FrontLine just came out. I’ve been busy interviewing many of our authors. We plan to start airing those interviews next week.Today I am going back to the July/August issue to a conversation with Jaime Flack, the author of our Heart to Heart column. Jaime will describe what she does in her ministry as we begin the conversation. You will see that she has a full schedule and I thank her for taking time to talk to us.Her article was called “You Don’t Need to Know Yourself,” which comes out of her own experience. She is a young mom and very busy in the work of her church. There is a lot of pressure in our culture for young mom’s especially to be able to “be the best” and to measure up to social expectations. Jaimie talks about some of the things that contribute to this sense in our online world and how she came to realize that more than trying to fully understand herself and be a “super-mom” she needed most of all to know the Lord and to please him.She will do a better job of saying all that than I am, so I will just say that I very much enjoy getting to meet so many of our FrontLine authors in the podcasts, and Jaimie was no exception. I think you will enjoy hearing from her.Before we get to the interview with Jaimie, let me remind you that her article is available on our substack right away for paying subscribers. We have previews for everyone else. I hope you will join with us and support the ministry of the FBFI by becoming a paying subscriber.Now, for my interview with Jaimie Flack.The Contents & Editorial for the July/August FrontLine:Growing Fathers (FrontLine July/August 2025) – Proclaim & DefendThe Article:You Don’t Need to Know YourselfPhoto by Leon Brooks on Pixnio Get full access to the Proclaim & Defend Podcast at proclaimdefend.substack.com/subscribe