Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Wine comes up in a wide variety of contexts in the Bible. This week we’ll discuss how the most famous Bible passage about wine may not really be talking about wine at all; how choosing to leave the drunken lifestyle doesn’t always yield the results you had hoped for; how being in love is like drinking wine, both for good and for ill – and how it’s worth it in at least one instance; and how you don’t have to make wine while playing a game just because the cards say so. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re talking beverages this month on the podcast. Last week was coffee; this week we’re going a bit highbrow – or maybe not; we’ll have to see. We’ll discuss whether civilization is all it’s cracked up to be; whether tea is merely a beverage or an entire lifestyle; what “the tea” really is (not “tea,” mind you – “THE tea”); and whether you should content yourself with growing “good enough” tea, both in your game room and in your walk with Christ. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I hope everyone else has enjoyed this week at the coffee shop as much as I have; let’s have one last cup before we leave. To conclude the discussion, Mark Roberts and BJ Sipe discuss the willpower you have to find sometimes to walk away from something that may not be dangerous or sinful in and of itself. Links to their respective work are included in the show notes. Thanks again, fellas, for the talk. I’m stepping away from the table with quite the buzz. Check out "Romans for Everyone" and "The Sermon on the Mount for Everyone" at http
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re back for a second cup with Mark Roberts of the West Side church of Christ in Irving, Texas, and BJ Sipe of the church in Danville, Kentucky. Links are included in the show notes. We’re talking here about mornings – how a cup of coffee can get you going physically, and what it might take to get you going on a daily basis spiritually. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, I think you’ll find something here to get you into gear for your work in the kingdom. Check out "Romans for Everyone" and "The Sermon on the Mount for E
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Mark Roberts’s Coffee and the Bible series was a big prompt for this episode. I was excited to sit down with him and BJ Sipe, another avid coffee drinker, to discuss a variety of coffee-adjacent topics. We start with the idea of combining coffee and Bible study. No one says you can’t study the Bible without a cup of coffee. But Mark and BJ clearly think it helps. So I just asked them how that worked. Links to Mark’s books as well as their other efforts in the kingdom can be found in the show notes. Find out more about Sacred Selections
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! These are the best books I've read in 2026 so far. See also my list of "most surprising" books." Lord willing, the lists for the entire year will be posted in December. (Honorable mention): Doubts About Darwin, by Thomas Woodward 10. Mr. Roberts, by Thomas Heggin 9. Under God, by Toby Mac and Michael Tait 8. Conquerors, by Roger Crowley 7. John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Aitken 6. The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, by Thom Hatch 5. What We See When We Read, by Peter M
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! These are the most surprising books I've read in the first half of 2026. 10. Where God Was Born, by Bruce Feiler 9. The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt, by Jim Nelson Black 8. The Grave of John Wesley Hardin: Three Essays on Grassroots History, by C.L. Sonnichsen 7. The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid: A Faithful and Interesting Narrative, by Pat F. Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln Co., N.M., By Whom He Was Finally Hunted Down & Captured By Killing Him 6. The Nazi and the Psychopath, by Jack El-Hai 5. The
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Jesus wanted to be about His Father’s business as soon as possible. Here’s hoping His attitude will rub off on us. This week we’ll cover the difference between a successful businessperson and a crooked one; the help the business world has offered over the years in the cause of Christ and why we’re better off without it; an expression from the movies that is both true and offensive; and the way to grow a business on your game table that gives you the biggest chance to cash in when the last round is over. Check out Hal on YouTube at http
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Wine comes up in a wide variety of contexts in the Bible. This week we’ll discuss how the most famous Bible passage about wine may not really be talking about wine at all; how choosing to leave the drunken lifestyle doesn’t always yield the results you had hoped for; how being in love is like drinking wine, both for good and for ill – and how it’s worth it in at least one instance; and how you don’t have to make wine while playing a game just because the cards say so. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re talking beverages this month on the podcast. Last week was coffee; this week we’re going a bit highbrow – or maybe not; we’ll have to see. We’ll discuss whether civilization is all it’s cracked up to be; whether tea is merely a beverage or an entire lifestyle; what “the tea” really is (not “tea,” mind you – “THE tea”); and whether you should content yourself with growing “good enough” tea, both in your game room and in your walk with Christ. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! I hope everyone else has enjoyed this week at the coffee shop as much as I have; let’s have one last cup before we leave. To conclude the discussion, Mark Roberts and BJ Sipe discuss the willpower you have to find sometimes to walk away from something that may not be dangerous or sinful in and of itself. Links to their respective work are included in the show notes. Thanks again, fellas, for the talk. I’m stepping away from the table with quite the buzz. Check out "Romans for Everyone" and "The Sermon on the Mount for Everyone" at http
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re back for a second cup with Mark Roberts of the West Side church of Christ in Irving, Texas, and BJ Sipe of the church in Danville, Kentucky. Links are included in the show notes. We’re talking here about mornings – how a cup of coffee can get you going physically, and what it might take to get you going on a daily basis spiritually. Whether you’re a morning person or a night owl, I think you’ll find something here to get you into gear for your work in the kingdom. Check out "Romans for Everyone" and "The Sermon on the Mount for E
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Mark Roberts’s Coffee and the Bible series was a big prompt for this episode. I was excited to sit down with him and BJ Sipe, another avid coffee drinker, to discuss a variety of coffee-adjacent topics. We start with the idea of combining coffee and Bible study. No one says you can’t study the Bible without a cup of coffee. But Mark and BJ clearly think it helps. So I just asked them how that worked. Links to Mark’s books as well as their other efforts in the kingdom can be found in the show notes. Find out more about Sacred Selections
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! These are the best books I've read in 2026 so far. See also my list of "most surprising" books." Lord willing, the lists for the entire year will be posted in December. (Honorable mention): Doubts About Darwin, by Thomas Woodward 10. Mr. Roberts, by Thomas Heggin 9. Under God, by Toby Mac and Michael Tait 8. Conquerors, by Roger Crowley 7. John Newton: From Disgrace to Amazing Grace, by Jonathan Aitken 6. The Last Outlaws: The Lives and Legends of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, by Thom Hatch 5. What We See When We Read, by Peter M
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! These are the most surprising books I've read in the first half of 2026. 10. Where God Was Born, by Bruce Feiler 9. The Death of Evolution: Restoring Faith and Wonder in a World of Doubt, by Jim Nelson Black 8. The Grave of John Wesley Hardin: Three Essays on Grassroots History, by C.L. Sonnichsen 7. The Authentic Life of Billy the Kid: A Faithful and Interesting Narrative, by Pat F. Garrett, Sheriff of Lincoln Co., N.M., By Whom He Was Finally Hunted Down & Captured By Killing Him 6. The Nazi and the Psychopath, by Jack El-Hai 5. The
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! Jesus wanted to be about His Father’s business as soon as possible. Here’s hoping His attitude will rub off on us. This week we’ll cover the difference between a successful businessperson and a crooked one; the help the business world has offered over the years in the cause of Christ and why we’re better off without it; an expression from the movies that is both true and offensive; and the way to grow a business on your game table that gives you the biggest chance to cash in when the last round is over. Check out Hal on YouTube at http
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! It’s my eternal struggle: balancing keeping things proper and keeping things interesting. This week we’ll cover whether efforts to sneak the gospel in the back door are ethical or even effective; the most interesting and perhaps least profitable sort of books I read; the inherently deceptive nature of modern news and what our response should be; and an entire category of games I avoid for no good reason whatsoever. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/@halhammons9705 Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the La
Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! This topic is near and dear to my heart; it’s worth acquiring and protecting, especially if you wear the name of Jesus. We’ll discuss apostles and how they were able to do their job so well and continue to do so; a storyteller who may or may not be insane and how you can tell which; a flashback to the mistakes I made in my career as a journalist as well as a preacher and the lessons I learned; and the sources we turn to for guidance and why they matter – both in gaming and in Christ. Check out Hal on YouTube at https://www.youtube.com/