Sin, Grace & Forgiveness
780 conversations across 16 years of the show. Try a few, or go by subject.
A few to try
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Do accountability partners actually work?
- Do accountability partners actually do anything?
Mike raises his accountability-partners question: the standard dude-circle advice to get a buddy to hold you accountable for Bible reading, porn, church attendance, and drinking.
From No. 598 · Emphasis | Accountability, Worship and Praying with Strangers
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Forgiveness weaponized and the gospel's protection
- What does a person actually do when someone discloses sexual abuse to them?
The hosts continue with Denhollander's answers: forgiveness can be misapplied, Christian coverage focused only on her forgiveness while ignoring her pursuit of justice, and her…
From No. 340 · Rightfully Miffed
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Dear LFTP: the contentious father
- How do I protect the relationships I have with the rest of my family if my father keeps acting like a jerk?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a 30-year-old whose contentious father refuses counseling, involves extended family, and claims the writer cut off contact.
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Florida pastor scandal: forgiveness versus fitness for ministry
- A pastor was caught in adultery and refuses to resign, saying God has already forgiven him — can he stay in the pulpit?
A host sets the agenda: the presidential executive order discussion and an article about a Tallahassee pastor caught in adultery who refuses to resign, saying God has already forgiven him.
From No. 309 · Forgiveness vs. Fitness
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Does God affirm our struggles or call us to repent of them?
- Does God affirm our struggles or call us to repent of them?
Mike frames two camps: one that says God affirms our struggles as-is, another that says He calls us to repent of what is in our control.
From No. 534 · The Antagonistic Bison
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Saul's unauthorized sacrifice — isn't the Lord overreacting?
- Is the Lord overreacting when he judges Saul, Uzzah, and Nadab and Abihu?
- Can Jesus' approachable humanity coexist with God's prescribed, holy demands?
The hosts retell 1 Samuel 13: Samuel is late for the pre-battle sacrifice, Saul offers it himself, and Samuel declares he will lose the kingship.
All conversations
774 conversations
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Bear Grylls' church critique, prayer, and discipleship
- Is Bear Grylls right that Jesus would struggle with 99% of churches, and would you stay if the production were stripped away?
- How do you practice real one-on-one discipleship instead of relying on church programs?
The hosts discuss Bear Grylls' Christian Post interview: he is unabashedly open about his faith but says Jesus would struggle with 99% of churches today, urging people to stay…
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Dear LFTP: christening versus the ballgame
- How should I respond to my sister skipping the christening to go to a ballgame?
A Dear LFTP letter: a writer's oldest daughter had her first child and sent christening invitations a month early; the youngest daughter (two kids, not named godparent) declined to attend a ballgame with her family.
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Sinner or valued: how to lead the gospel; milk vs meat
- Should the gospel lead with God's love (milk) or with conviction of sin (meat)?
A long discussion on whether the world needs to be reminded they are sinners or that they are valuable to God — verdict: both, depending on motive.
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You cannot be the heavy in someone's life
- Can accountability work if you cannot be the enforcer?
The hosts discuss why accountability fails when you try to be the enforcer: one host's story of accountability with a much bigger man he could not intimidate, a parenting analogy…
From No. 455 · Don’t Spit On Folk, Among Other Wisdom
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Be careful about enjoying a takedown
- What makes someone a false teacher, and how forcefully should Christians call out false teaching?
The hosts warn against taking joy when a non-Christian world attacks a Christian figure, even one whose teaching they disagree with: the heart should break for Osteen's wasted influence, not celebrate his embarrassment.
From No. 452 · False Teachers and Freeloaders
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Dear LFTP: the affair, the revenge, and the younger man
- How do I purge my thoughts of my wife with another man after our mutual infidelity?
A letter writer confesses he cheated on his wife of 21 years, separated for a month 'evaluating his options,' reconciled — then his wife revealed a revenge affair with a much younger man, and now he can't purge the mental image or the fear he can't compete.
From No. 451 · Mississippi Don’t Push
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Dear LFTP: Brokenhearted in Buffalo — an affair and a pregnancy
- How should a pregnant wife respond when her husband remains attached to his affair partner?
A pregnant listener writes that her husband of eight years had an affair with a married old girlfriend and, nine months on, still emails her, visited her house, and stalks her blocked Facebook profile.
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Pope-style advice: true forgiveness vs letting go of emotions
- What is true forgiveness — and is it different from just letting go of the emotions?
A second Pope-style advice session argues society confuses emotional letting-go with biblical forgiveness: true forgiveness absolves the offender of guilt and punishment and never…
From No. 123 · November 19 2012
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How do you get the fear of God?
- How does a person get more awe, respect, or fear of the Lord?
The hosts wrestle with how anyone cultivates awe of God in a Western culture with no ultimate authority to respect.
From No. 387 · Renewing Deuces and Fearing God
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Dear LFTP: recovering mother whose support system walked away
- Am I justified to feel insulted by my support system's lack of support, or should I accept that I messed up and be grateful for the help I got?
Mike reads a Dear LFTP letter from a single mother of two: after gastric bypass surgery she became a full-blown alcoholic, got inpatient treatment with friends' and family's help,…
From No. 365 · Opportunity By Association
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Changed mind, part 1: the idealized family
- In your walk with Jesus, is there anything you have changed your mind on over time?
Answering the night's question, one host describes changing his view of family: raised with an idealized picture of husband, wife, and kids that never breaks, he now sees…
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Dear LFTP: the cheating brother
- Should I let my cheating brother and his girlfriend move in with me?
- Is grace harder when someone's suffering is caused by their own choices?
A listener asks whether she should house her brother Nick, who cheated on his wife of 17 years with her 20-year-old niece and now wants to move in with his new girlfriend.
From No. 348 · Africa, AI and Advice
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Reading the Denhollander interview
- Can God's call to forgive be misapplied or weaponized against abuse survivors?
- How should the church respond when sexual abuse happens inside its own community rather than outside it?
A host reads through the Christianity Today Q&A with Rachel Denhollander. She describes wrestling with God's perspective on abuse, her conviction that Christians gloss over the…
From No. 340 · Rightfully Miffed
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Andy Savage allegations and whether he should stay in ministry
- Should Andy Savage remain in ministry after the twenty-year-old sexual misconduct allegation, and was the applauding church right?
The hosts cover the allegations against Andy Savage, teaching pastor at High Point Church in Memphis: that twenty years earlier, as a 22-year-old youth pastor in Texas, he coerced…
From No. 338 · Following the News
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Dear LFTP: the $4,200 loan that never came back
- How do I get past the sadness over the $4,200 loan my friend never repaid — do I just let it go?
The final Dear LFTP letter: a year ago a supposed friend asked to borrow money — her husband had left the country to renew his visa, her car was repossessed, she had no way to get to work.
From No. 603 · Found Out
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The New Testament case for human shaping
- What does the New Testament actually say about spiritual authority and submission?
Ben walks the New Testament texts: Hebrews 13:17 ('obey your leaders and submit to them, for they keep watch over your souls') presumes a soul-watching laborer, not a rule-maker;…
From No. 600 · Rage The Elephant
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Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
- Should following Jesus feel more comfortable as time goes on?
A host asks whether following Jesus should feel more comfortable as time goes on — noting the low-level tension many feel around am-I-doing-enough and the stigma that contentment equals laziness.
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How to tell your voice from God's: the Bible test and leniency
- How can you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking?
Ella distills the question: how do you tell the difference between you speaking and God speaking? Her first answer: we have a Bible — what God is telling you is probably already in it ('Ben's gonna have a proud papa moment').
From No. 597 · Maybe A Word From God
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Evaluating the event: Elijah, Josiah, the sign of Jonah, the donuts test
- How do we tell whether a church element has become the thing itself rather than pointing to Jesus?
The hosts work through evaluation tools for curated experiences: Elijah didn't ask God to repeat the fire, and Jesus refused to repeat signs for the Pharisees ('you get the sign…
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Dear LFTP: the friend group's new wife
- How do we tell the husband that they are not invited, and who should deliver the message?
A host reads a second Dear LFTP letter: ten college-friend couples are planning a once-in-a-lifetime cruise, and nobody wants the remarried friend's demanding new wife on the ship.
From No. 592 · Because I Got High
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Dear LFTP: the untidy grandchildren's home
- How can I tell my son's family that visiting their untidy home increases my anxiety without offending them?
Mike reads a letter from a grandmother anxious about her son's untidy home; the hosts diagnose persnickety-vs-oblivious wiring (Ben's sock-on-the-floor example, Martha), advise…
From No. 589 · There Must Be A Reason
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Dear LFTP: the sister, the dinner party, and "gaslighting"
- Is there any way to make my sister see the truth about what happened at the dinner party?
Mike reads a letter about a sister who believes her brother-in-law orchestrated a dinner-party snub and sent hateful texts, then cited a "men gaslighting women" article.
From No. 589 · There Must Be A Reason
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Disciples of the brand and situational humility
- How do you practically keep the main thing the main thing and reintroduce humility?
Mike warns against churches making disciples of their brand first, so that when the church fails the fall is even bigger, and notes how easily community can posture as God in the relationship.
From No. 588 · hypokritēs
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Dear LFTP 2: the wedding-weekend dinner gap
- Was it appropriate for wedding hosts to leave out-of-town guests on their own for Saturday dinner, and should we say something to the groom's family?
Ben reads a letter about an out-of-town wedding running Friday to Sunday where the bride's family told some invitees they were on their own for Saturday dinner.
From No. 588 · hypokritēs