In 1996 Bishop W.C. Martin and his wife Donna Martin, from the small town of Possum Trot, Texas, adopted four children out of foster care. They inspired their entire congregation of Bennett Chappell Missionary Baptist Church to adopt every available child in the county's foster care system. Twenty-two families adopted all 77 children. Many of those children were some of the hardest to place, victims of sexual and physical abuse, neglect, trauma, and unsafe living situations. Their story inspired the movie, "Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot." 

On this encore episode of Lighthouse Faith podcast, Lauren revisits her conversation with the Martins to discuss the film and how God's plans and purpose for our lives is far greater than we good ever imagine. The Martins highlight the role adoption and foster care played in their lives and ministry, affirming that answering the call of Jesus to look after the orphans, the least of these, is true religion.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Musician and Pastor Tauren Wells has a passion for teaching people about the joys of knowing and serving Jesus Christ. On this encore episode of Lighthouse Faith, Tauren highlights his new book Joy Bomb: Unleash Jesus's Explosive Joy for an Extraordinary Life, affirming that true joy is "rooted in God's unchanging character and boundless love for us." The book explores the Sermon on the Mount in the Gospel of Matthew, revealing how happiness comes not from external things but from a changed heart, a heart that's growing in closeness to Jesus. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today marks the beginning of the Advent season, the time leading up to Christmas and the joy of Jesus' birth. Christmas and the joy of Jesus' birth. Woven through the Bible's Old Testament are hundreds of prophecies that tell of a Messiah who will be born sometime in the future. Many of the prophecies, like those in Isaiah, were written centuries before the birth of Jesus. Cumulatively, they predict the conditions of the birth, the location of the birth, who he will be born to, what he is coming to do, and so much more. Jesus fulfills every one of those prophecies. On this episode of the Lighthouse Faith podcast, Lauren revisits her conversation with Evangelist Anne Graham Lotz and investigative filmmaker Tim Mahoney delve into the prophecies of the Old Testament and the archeological evidence that shows that the core tenets of Christianity are grounded in the historical record.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday, Lauren revisits her conversation with Author and Historian, Dr. Jerry Newcombe, on the faith-steeped history of the holiday and the Pilgrims who landed in the New World. Fleeing from Europe to the New World in search of religious freedom in 1620, the Pilgrims initially intended to settle in northern Virginia, near Jamestown, where an established community already existed. But their ship was blown off course and landed instead at Plymouth, Massachusetts. And because they were in unsettled territory, the Pilgrims (before disembarking the Mayflower) created a document that became the prototype for America's Declaration of Independence and Constitution. 

Lauren and Dr. Newcombe discuss the very first Thanksgiving, as the Pilgrims sat down with the Indians to share a meal, which was always about giving thanks to an Almighty God, through whose Providence they were brought to a new land. 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

With season two of the Martin Scorsese production of "The Saints" now streaming on Fox Nation, Lauren revisits her conversation with the series creator, Matti Leshem, on the inspiration behind the show and the delicate storytelling behind each episode.

Matt, who is Jewish, talks about working with Academy Award-winning director Martin Scorsese and how even people who aren't Catholic or Christian can be inspired by these stories of regular men and women, whose faith compelled them to unimaginable heights of bravery and courage.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Most politicians tend to write books about their accomplishments while in office. But Scott Morrison, a former Prime Minister of Australia, wanted to write about what God has done and continues to do for him. Morrison is candid about how God brought him through some of the most harrowing days of his leadership of Australia, a country not known for its religious fervor. And that's what makes Morrison's faith all the more interesting. 

On this encore episode of Lighthouse Faith, Lauren revisits her conversation with former Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison on his memoir "Plans For Your Good: A Prime Minister’s Testimony Of God’s Faithfulness." It's based on the Old Testament prophet Jeremiah's prescient words to the children of Israel, and to us, "' For I know the plans I have for you,' says the Lord. 'They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.'” 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's a hunger in this world for God. You may not know it; you may not feel it. But the insatiable need for a transcendent love that surpasses all understanding is at the root of all our angst and anguish. Just think about the 2024 Grammy Song of the Year, "What Was I Made For?" It may be the Billie Eilish tune for the movie Barbie, but it may as well be the soundtrack of this generation's burning question: What's the purpose of my life? Why am I here? People crave answers and direction, and the path is simple: look to God.

On this episode of the Lighthouse Faith podcast, I look back at a conversation with theologian, author, and Christian defender Dr. Alex McFarland to discuss my book "⁠Light For Today⁠: A 365 Day Devotional from the Lighthouse." I've rarely inserted myself as the subject of these podcasts, but I wanted to let listeners know that God is Love. And whatever needs we have, He can meet. It takes a daily walk with Him. Reading His word and listening to His voice. God works in the natural, everyday existence; in the simple, even in the seemingly mundane. God is with us. He is our refuge and strength.

Original Air Date: February 24, 2024

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Born without arms or legs, Christian author and ministry founder Nick Vujicic knows what it means to be brokenhearted. After nearly taking his own life as a child, God’s grace transformed his pain into purpose. Now, 20 years into his global ministry, Vujicic discusses his new book Champions for the Brokenhearted, a call for the Church to recognize the suffering in its own pews and truly become a hospital for the hurting.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Unbeknownst at the time, a little-known Supreme Court ruling from more than seventy years ago would ignite a growing movement of teaching the Bible during school hours called Lifewise Academy. The Bible-based education program has now partnered with over 1,000 schools across 35 states nationwide. When the federal government removed Bible education and prayer from public school curriculums, the Supreme Court ruled in 1952 on a compromise: Zorach vs Clauson.  It permits public schools to release students during school hours "for religious instruction or devotional exercises."  For years, the law went unnoticed and unfulfilled as secular forces in the public square banged the drumbeat of 'Separation of Church and State." But when former college football player Joel Penton discovered it, he took it and ran with it, creating Life Wise in 2019.

On this episode of the Lighthouse Faith podcast, Penton talks about the new documentary on Life Wise called "Off School Property" and how the program has evolved to restore faith education on school property. 

Off School Property will be released in theatres on October 23 in partnership with Fathom Entertainment.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

They say the 'devil is in the details', and while famed author C.S. Lewis' book "Screwtape Letters" illustrates that proverbial phrase, today's version is all about the digital; that modern-day technology is seemingly paving the road towards the demonic.

It's not that social media or the digital world is morally aberrant at their core, but it's the fast-paced entrance down a rabbit hole of TikTok videos, influencers, and political punditry, giving us quicker access to all that is wrong with us. Actor Max McLean is an expert on C.S. Lewis after studying and portraying him on stage and screen. McLean's newest venture is producing the film version of The Screwtape Letters. Even though the book was written in 1942, its premise still applies today and perhaps was meant for such a time as this.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

His high school's officials crossed out the name of Jesus Christ in his valedictorian speech, but eighteen-year-old Justin Aguilar was brave enough to put it back in, standing alone in his decision to face whatever consequences may arise. Justin would not be deterred from praising his Savior. That defiance won him the attention and admiration of President Donald Trump, who invited Aguilar to tell his story alongside the Religious Liberty Commission members at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., this past September.

On this episode of the Lighthouse Faith podcast, Justin tells the story of how he knew that this was a defining moment in his life. It is for such a time as this that real faith is strengthened, and weak faith is exposed. Justin Aguilar is part of the Charlie Kirk legacy; defying a woke culture that has cowered under the secular juggernaut of separation of Church and State, but no more!

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices