The tour revealed enduring lessons: the church's imperfection, the power of economics and law, the danger of ideology, and above all, the necessity of personal repentance and transformation through Christ.

The Crosstalk news desk had much to offer this week, taking listeners across the nation and around the world as Jim reported on these and other stories: --Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Trump met Wednesday evening at the White House. Instead of a post meeting press conference, President Trump posted on social media his hopes that a deal can still be consummated with Iran. --Some residents of Tehran chanted slogans on Tuesday against the Islamic republic and its supreme leader on the eve of the most significant annual commemoration of the 1979 Islamic revolution. --The Pentagon is sending the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford from the Caribbean to the Middle East. --Italy and Poland are among the latest European allies to snub President Trump's newly formed "Board of Peace," joining a list of growing nations refusing or hesitating to participate. --The Trump administration smuggled roughly 6,000 Starlink satellite internet terminals into Iran after the regime's crackdown on protests last month as reported by the Wall Street Journal on Thursday. --Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has received a 70 page draft, "Interim Constitution" aimed at laying the legal groundwork for a future Palestinian state. --U.S. military forces have completed their mission in Syria to transfer Islamic state detainees to Iraq according to U.S. Central Command. --Venezuela has sent its first crude oil shipment in years to Israel. --As of this past Monday, Cuba's government says international airlines cannot refuel on the island nation.

Pastor Lutzer reflects in Berlin's book-burning square, warning how censorship and misuse of freedom can destroy liberty. From Nazi Germany to today, he urges Christians to learn from history and guard freedom wisely.

Peter LaBarbera is founder and president of Center for Morality Americans for Truth. He's a former reporter for the Washington Times, LifeSiteNews.com, WND.com and a former contributing editor for Human Events. It was during the Biden administration that we saw severe pressure placed upon businesses, schools, local governments, the entertainment industry, sports and others to advance the LGBTQ+ agenda. Some of this has to do with the efforts of an activist organization known as the Human Rights Campaign (HRC). This program is highlighted by an audio clip from Tyler O'Neil, the senior editor at the Daily Signal. While he correctly notes that most people who identify as transgender don't pose a threat, he asks what drives the hatred of those who do? He believes the rhetoric of the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) is at least partly to blame. He noted how the HRC suggests that data on transgender deaths reveals a higher homicide rate than the general population. Tyler uses the HRC's own statistics to prove conclusively that their assertion is false. As this program moves along, you'll hear Peter comment on various news stories such as: The tragic mass shooting in Canada by a person who identified as transgender. What exactly is the HRC and how does their Corporate Equality Index work? The canceling of the 35th annual "Gay Days" in Orlando. Is this a one year pause or a permanent move? A Wyoming library was sued by a library director who was fired for refusing to follow a new book collection policy regarding sexually offensive books. The insurance company decided to pay out rather than fight it.

Shahram Hadian is the founder of Truth in Love Ministry. He is a Christian pastor and a former Muslim. Shahram was born in Iran and came to America in 1978 to escape an oppressive Islamic regime and committed his life to Jesus Christ in 1999. He has an extensive background not only as a pastor, but also as a former police officer, teacher, coach and servant leader in his community. Did you know that New York City has had a shocking rise in antisemitic hate crimes since Muslim Mayor Zohran Mamdani took office? Did you know reports are coming out of Texas of a small-town takeover by Islamic immigrants? Speaking of Texas, did you know it's reported that a Muslim outreach group with ties to anti-Christian ideology distributed Qurans and hijabs on campus? Did you know the Attorney General of Texas recently filed a lawsuit against the Muslim Brotherhood and the Council on American-Islamic Relations from operating in Texas? Did you know a Senate panel in Arizona has voted to ban the use of Sharia in Arizona? And did you know that a Muslim state senator in Virginia has introduced legislation defining and criminalizing Islamophobia? This and more is discussed on today's program.

Mark Krikorian is a nationally recognized expert on immigration issues serving as the Executive Director of Center for Immigration Studies. When it comes to our nation's borders, the last 12 months have been quite remarkable. The last administration repeatedly told us that Congress would have to act to reform our immigration policies and laws before the borders could be secured. That turned out to be a falsehood because under Trump 2.0, the U.S. borders are more secure than ever, and with that aspect of immigration taken care of, his administration has moved on to purge what they term, "The worst of the worst." In the meantime, as we've seen in Minnesota, there are those who don't like what's taking place. They're responding by causing extreme chaos, disruption, violence, vandalism, as well as assaults. So don't miss this program as Jim interviewed Mark to have him comment on the following points related to our nation's immigration and border security: In a major legal win, the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Trump administration does, in fact, have the authority and requirement to detain all illegal entrants to the U.S., even if they're caught inside the country. Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court gave a win to the Trump administration regarding temporary protected status to nations like Nepal, Honduras and Nicaragua. According to the Department of Homeland Security, January numbers (of border encounters) ranked 93% below the historic average, the lowest number of encounters ever for the month of January. 9 straight months of zero releases. Record drug seizures.

Dr. Titus Kennedy is a professional archaeologist and a research fellow at Discovery Institute. He is a consultant, writer and guide for history and archaeology documentaries and curricula and has directed archaeological projects in Bible lands. He's researched and photographed archaeological sites and artifacts around the world with involvement in projects at 18 sites spanning 6 countries and has conducted artifact research at museums and collections around the world. He is the author of several books including: Unearthing the Bible: 101 Archaeological Discoveries that Bring the Bible to Life, Excavating the Evidence for Jesus, The Essential Archaeological Guide to Bible Lands: Uncovering Biblical Sites of the Ancient Near East and Mediterranean World and the newly released, Archaeology and the People of the Bible: Exploring the Evidence for the Historical Existence of Bible Characters. People are sometimes skeptical about the Bible's historical accuracy. While they may begrudgingly admit that the Bible is correct about certain cities or other locations, they have a harder time believing that the characters were real. So are the examples that Dr. Kennedy points to firm, probable, tentative or speculative? Also, how does he know that his discoveries are related to that exact name in the Bible? These questions are answered showing the historic and scientific honesty that Dr. Kennedy brings to his research and that's therefore displayed in his book. So join Jim and Dr. Kennedy on this audio journey as they discuss the archaeological evidence for various Bible characters such as Danel from Ezekiel, King David, King Ahab, Jezebel, Sanballat and Herod the 1st.

Crosstalk is your aggregator for news stories that need to be viewed from a Christian perspective. So review this program that's highlighted by news concerning Iran, immigration, abortion, fake meat and much more. For example: --Iran's leadership is increasingly worried that a strike by the U.S. would break its grip on power by driving an already enraged public back into the streets following a bloody crackdown on anti-government protests, according to six current and former officials. --On Monday, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth asserted that the U.S. military was prepared to pursue aggressive action against Iran if the Islamic republic refused to negotiate with Washington on its nuclear program. --The U.S. military shot down an unmanned Iranian drone Tuesday after it aggressively approached a U.S. Navy aircraft carrier with unclear intent. --Iran has laid out a vision for a potential war with the U.S., detailing how it believes it could strike U.S. military bases across the Middle East, cripple global energy markets and pressure Washington into backing down. --Iran seized two foreign oil tankers in the Persian Gulf yesterday, accusing them of smuggling fuel and detaining about 15 foreign crew members ahead of talks taking place with U.S. officials. --Senior U.S. and Iranian officials held negotiations today in Oman. They came against the backdrop of a significant U.S. military build-up and escalating tensions. --President Trump signed a spending bill Tuesday ending the four-day partial government shutdown. --Democrats have spent years insisting that illegal immigrants do not vote.

Dr. Erwin Lutzer is pastor emeritus of The Moody Church where he served as the senior pastor for 36 years. He's the speaker on the Running to Win radio broadcast. Dr. Lutzer is also an award-winning author. Some of his titles include, We Will Not Be Silenced, The Eclipse of God, When a Nation Forgets God, One Minute After You Die and numerous other titles. He returned to Crosstalk to discuss his new book, Why Doesn't God Answer My Prayers? Perhaps you've been in life situations in which you've prayed again and again over days, weeks, months or even years. You've claimed all the right Bible verses, yet it seems like your prayers are just hitting the ceiling or that God's simply not there, indifferent or does not care. If you've ever been in that situation, this Crosstalk is for you. Listen in as Dr. Lutzer explains how his latest book will point you back to Scripture so you can see how the heart of the reader can be turned from despair and despondency to hope and to trust. Points of discussion include: Does prayer really make a difference? What does Dr. Lutzer mean when he says that sometimes we claim promises that God did not make? Are we sometimes deceitful by offering prayers to avoid having to make changes in our lives concerning things that got us into our mess in the first place? What can we learn from Habakkuk, Abraham and Lot regarding prayer? Is an unanswered prayer an unheard prayer? How should we deal with the disappointment of unanswered prayer? Why does God give us so many needs and challenges?

"Timlar Kovalchuk" (Koh-vul-chook) (A pseudonym used to protect him and others.) has been actively involved as a missionary in evangelism for many years to Muslims in Central Asia. Jim began by mentioning a sobering text he recently received from Timlar. It began with Hebrews 13:3: "Remember them that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body." The text also talked about a contact in Central Asia and how 11 brothers in Christ had been martyred. Government forces are raping women and children, especially targeting Christians. Additionally, the main market in Iran was torched to teach a lesson to the merchants whom the Ayatollah blames the uprising on. Timlar brought more details for listeners, noting that believers are always target number one due to the fact that with faith in Christ also comes a love for God's people and Israel. Many are killed, with most being men. The women are violated and their bodies burned to dispose of the evidence. What's going on appears to be at Stalin, Hitler or Mao levels, or as Timlar indicated, it's at least at the beginning stages. So listen to this program and get the on-the-ground information you won't get elsewhere, including Timlar's update on Ukraine.

When something bizarre occurs, it's not unusual to hear someone say, "What in the world?" This is another program in this series that looks at "head scratcher" news stories that may make you say the same thing. Here's a brief selection of examples from the broadcast, some of which also include audio. --Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said that the recent violent confrontations taking place against federal ICE agents are not just resistance, but they're actually about love! --Former CNN host Don Lemon walked free (no bond required) after a judge ordered his release. Keep in mind, as Jim noted, he entered the church, disrupted the service and took issue with the pastor and different worshipers. --On a recent podcast, Don Lemon mentioned that Jesus Christ (admittedly) was not perfect when he was on earth. --Leaked signal chats suggest that American ICE agents may be targeted for assassination with bullseyes appearing on images as Target stores are accused of cooperating with federal immigration officials. --Staff at the Portland Montessori School led very young children in an anti-ICE protest triggering widespread calls for the revocation of any licenses that the school holds. --Chloe Day School, a progressive public pre-school in New York City, staged an anti-ICE protest and held anti-Trump signs in the classroom. --An Islamic scholar in California had a message for Americans. He claimed that no one can stop Islam in America; that this is not your country, this is our country.