faith Archives

What a Circle and Oval Can Teach Us About Culture

Picture two shapes: a circle and an oval. Did you know these basic geometric designs can teach us a lot about our culture?

Remember the name Ivan Pavlov? He was the Nobel Prize-winning physiologist, best known for his experiments involving ringing bells and salivating dogs. Well, it may not surprise you to learn that he conducted other scientific tests as well. One in particular, I believe, illustrates a significant challenge facing our culture.

The project went like this: Pavlov trained his dogs to distinguish between circles and ovals.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, relationships October 13, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Three Ways to Succeed in Life

It’s Monday.

For a lot of us, that means a new week filled with possibilities for all that we can go out into the world and achieve.

But some people don’t see opportunity for what they can do. Their primary focus is all about what other people can do for them.

They live their lives with a sense of entitlement. They seem to think they deserve something for nothing from the people around them simply because they exist and live on this planet.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family October 12, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Did You Know This About the Christian Singer Plumb?

Have you ever had a shirt with a loose thread? It seems like such a small thing, doesn’t it? But all it takes is one quick tug for you to realize that thread is part of a much larger problem. The next thing you know, your clothing is unraveling right before your eyes.

A marriage can have loose threads, too. A husband and wife don’t see eye-to-eye, or they’re not communicating very well, or little resentments start to crop up here and there.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, husband, marriage, pop culture October 8, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Estimated 100,000 Students Prepare for “Bring Your Bible to School Day” Tomorrow

When we launched “Bring Your Bible to School Day” last year as a way to empower and encourage public school students from kindergarten to college to express their faith freely, we had no idea God was going to do so much with the event in such a little time.

An estimated 8,000 students celebrated their religious freedom and shared God’s hope in the program’s inaugural year. Tomorrow, we’re expecting an estimated 100,000 to participate!

Students all across the nation have already signed up to take part in “Bring Your Bible to School Day.” On our Facebook page, we’re reading story after story of excited students getting ready to stand unashamed for their faith.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, kids, promos, religious liberty October 7, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

How to Make Your Dreams Come True

Do you remember the dreams you had for your life when you were finishing up high school and about to step foot into adulthood?

Dan Miller had a list of them. He wanted to be a physical education teacher, a pilot, and he dreamed of playing guitar in a band.

But all of that was nearly stolen away from him in the summer of 1955 when his life changed overnight.

After Dan graduated from high school, he had one foot firmly planted in his future.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, faith October 6, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Hope in the Face of Violence

The stories and scenes from Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon, have become tragically familiar. Once again, a calm and peaceful setting is disrupted by violent gunfire, a massacre wrought by an individual targeting people of the Christian faith.

From Columbine High School and New Life Church here in Colorado, to churches in Charleston, South Carolina, and Fort Worth, Texas, and now, a school in Roseburg, Oregon, a chilling pattern has emerged. Innocent and unassuming people, many of them young students for whom their love of God frames everything else in life, are increasingly becoming the casualties of a red-hot abhorrence of Christianity.

Topics: Current Events Tags: events, faith, kids, news, religious liberty October 5, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Dr. John Trent’s Secret to Raising Great Kids

If you’ve just recently discovered our ministry, welcome to Focus on the Family.

As our longtime friends will agree, if you explore our websites, read our magazines, or listen to our radio programs, you’ll find a wealth of practical, everyday advice for parents – things like strategies for effective discipline and tips for helping kids thrive with their siblings or at school.

But there may be no more important wisdom we share with parents than the kind of topic we’ll be talking about on our broadcast today.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, family, kids, parenting October 2, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Oregon Community College Shooting

We’re deeply saddened by the tragic news of the shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. News reports indicate the shooter, who later committed suicide, was asking those he captured to state their religion. If they identified as Christians, they were shot in the head. All others were shot in the leg. In total, 12 people have been reported killed and eight others have been wounded. Today’s massacre, which appears to have been religiously motivated, is reminiscent of the Columbine High School shooting where several students were specifically targeted and murdered because of their Christian faith.

Topics: Current Events Tags: faith, news October 1, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Why Kevin Palau is Conservative in His Theology and Liberal in His Fellowship

Yesterday and today’s broadcast features an interview with Kevin Palau, president of the Luis Palau Association, and Sam Adams, the mayor of Portland from 2008 to 2012. As some of you may be aware, Sam was one of the first openly gay mayors in the United States.

Kevin and Sam’s unusual friendship began when the Palau organization went to city hall and said, “How can we help you address critical needs in the community that are going unaddressed right now?”

Sam and his administration were wary.

Topics: Focus Events Tags: broadcast, church, faith, friendship October 1, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura

Did You Know This About Darryl Strawberry?

The line that separates the heights of success from the depths of despair is often razor thin.

Take our guests on today’s and tomorrow’s programs, for example.

Darryl Strawberry was a power hitting, eight-time All-Star outfielder who earned four World Series rings. In 17 seasons, he played for a number of Major League baseball teams, including the New York Mets and the New York Yankees.

But his career, and his life, were derailed by substance abuse, prison time, and dysfunctional family relationships that cost him two marriages and estranged him from his children.

Topics: Family and Home Tags: broadcast, faith, marriage September 28, 2015 by Jim Daly with Paul Batura