That's a Good Question — Live Q&A, Part 2

In this special live edition of That’s a Good Question, host Jon Delger, the Executive Pastor of the Peace Family of Churches, Ryan Kimmel, the Lead Pastor, and Nate Harney, the Middleville Campus Pastor, take real questions from the audience about some of today’s most pressing and challenging topics. From the conflict in Israel to how Christians should think about Halloween, God’s wrath, and life in an increasingly secular culture—our pastors dive deep into Scripture and a biblical worldview to help us navigate faith in the real world.

Episode Transcript

(00:08):
Welcome to That's a Good Question, a podcast where we
answer questions about the Christian faith in plain
language. If you or someone you know has
questions, please submit them toPeace Church dot CC slash
questions. All right.
We have been seeing a couple questions on politics coming up.

(00:33):
Should the church speak on political issues?
Should Christians be outspoken politically?
Couple questions that especiallyreferencing in light of Charlie
Kirk's assassination, should we should we be more vocal?
What do you guys think? And one more that just came in

(00:55):
is how would you address other churches that don't touch on any
political issues? Do you see that as a problem?
I'll take the first half of that.
Yeah, So sorry, go. It was a long question.
So should Christians speak into politics?
It's kind of going back to that.So actually.

(01:15):
And the church. And the church, Speaking of
politics, actually can we can weshare that coming out in just a
couple of months? We're actually going to have
something published on this in acouple of months.
So last fall I had the privilegeof teaching a class called
Christianity and politics here at Peace Church.
And we took the first or I took the first session of that class
and turn it into a very short little book that we're going to
make available starting in January ish going into midterm

(01:39):
elections, just to help Christians be able to think
through biblically what is our role in our nation and how can
we play a role in that whole thing.
So when I taught that class, oneof the passages that I talked a
lot about was Jeremiah 29. And when the nation of Israel in
the Old Testament was exiled into Babylon, God didn't tell
them to just, you know, retract and just be isolated and by

(01:59):
themselves. He actually asked them, told
them, commanded them to work forthe good of their city, the good
of their nation, even though it wasn't a Christian nation, even
though they were in exile in Babylon.
God called them to work for the good of their neighbors and the
people around them. And so, yeah, politics is really
just the affairs of the people. Apollos is an ancient word for

(02:21):
city. It's just the affairs of the
city or a group of people. And so for Christians to be
involved in public affairs, yeah, that's a good thing.
We want to take God's good design for the world, and we
want to speak from that positionand share that with the world.
So I think that's a good and beautiful thing for us to do.
Obviously, hopefully, obviously,much of the world does that very

(02:41):
poorly. If you watch the news,
especially political news, it's done very poorly, right?
People are just screaming at each other and, and calling
names and just terrible things, right?
So I'd say, should Christians beinvolved?
Absolutely. And we should also be a great
example of what it means, what it looks like to be a godly
person involved in the public sphere.

(03:04):
So as we talked about and as because I've seen the we worked
together to some extent on the publication coming out.
You were the chief architect of the writer behind it.
But we we're together. And one of things you rightly
notice is that politics is, as you were saying, it's just the
affairs of the people. And so when we the notion of
like to speak into politics, that's that's that's a pretty
broad term. Do we want to speak to the

(03:26):
events of what's happening in the world around us and
decisions that our our lawmakersare making, then?
Yeah. But I think the notion of
speaking into politics, that's anever ending endeavor.
That is something that some people, they just they I say

(03:49):
this because I'm in the crosshairs of this, right.
Yeah. As, as, as the preacher.
There are some people who, who really feels like all they want
to hear from the pulpit on Sunday morning is how bad the
Democrats are being, how wack they are and how we need to
stand against the their, their, their policies.
And for me, I feel like part of the reason that this is not a

(04:14):
scapegoat answer, I think this is this is very, very true.
I think part of the reason the culture is in the state that
it's in is because pulpits haven't been preaching the Bible
for the last two generations. People don't, people don't have
a biblically developed world view.
People don't know how to apply scripture to their lives.
And so they're looking for pastors to give them quick

(04:35):
answers on policies that are coming.
And, and I get 30 minutes, actually, I get 32 minutes on
Sunday mornings and to exegete atext into bright application.
And, and now I need to talk about the, the state of American
politics that are going on. And it's, it's, it's, it's to
the point where it's like I at the end of the day, Jesus calls

(04:57):
me to feed the sheep. Like that's the base thing that
I try to do when we preach a text.
It's how can the church be nourished by God's word this
week? And I also think so I, and we've
talked about this before, like Ithink about peace church.
I'm not trying to grow my influence, but beyond this local
church because this is who God'scalled me to pastor.
I don't think about the world atlarge like in terms of I'm, I'm,

(05:19):
I, I want to speak to the world.I need to speak to this
congregation. I need to make sure this
congregation is equipped and fed.
And, and with that, I also think, what if Jesus was in the
audience or what if Jesus was among the congregation?
And am I saying things that thatare ultimately going to be
pleasing to him? Or am I going to be saying
things that he's going to want me to be saying to these people

(05:40):
that he's entrusted to me to care for?
And if, if, if my preaching is so defined by my political
stances, I just, I just, I wonder what my Lord thinks of
that. And so the other notion of like,
what do I think of? So, and here's the thing, like,
I like, like I've said this before, you guys know this, like

(06:01):
I prayed at the JD Vance rally and I didn't pray, Lord, if it's
your will, I, I prayed for JD Vance to be elected the vice
president. Like I took a stance and I took
a lot of crap for it because I wanted to, I don't want, I, I
want to have my stance known, but I want my stance first and
foremost to be tied to the king and his name is Jesus, not the
guy who's going to be in the office for the next 4 to 8

(06:23):
years. And so I, I take it seriously
and I, and I do want to speak toevents, but as we said before,
we're not going to chase headlines because that's a never
ending endeavor. And the notion of speaking into
politics, that that is also a spectrum.
There are people who don't want to hear anything.
There's people who want to hear some and there's some who,
that's all they want me to say. And so at the end of the day,

(06:43):
it's like I'm accountable to theelders and to the Lord.
And I need to feed this people with the knowledge of word, of
God's word and how to rightly apply it and interpret it and
rightly apply it to our lives. And So what I think about
churches that don't speak ever into politics, it's I, I really
don't want to judge. I really don't want to judge.

(07:04):
But I also think that the churchdoes need to speak into the, the
day and age that we are in. And so to, to never speak on it
or to never address it. Yeah, I, I think that that it,
there's probably better ways that you can serve your
community. And so the notion, the other
thing I would say about this, and I know I'm kind of rambling,
but it's, it's, it's, it's important to my heart is what,

(07:27):
what do you mean by speaking into politics?
Like, are you saying on the, from the pulpit on Sunday
morning? Are you saying my social media
platform? Are you saying adult education
classes? Like what, what do you I'd say
this to people who are asking what are you saying and where do
you want to hear this from? Because that that also can be
answered in many different ways.So.
Yeah, the word politics kind of gets used as a label, kind of

(07:49):
like we've been talking about with a few other things tonight
as either in a positive light ora negative light.
You know, historically it's beenused as a negative thing while
pastors getting involved in politics and shouldn't do that.
More recently, some conservatives are using it more
on the other side saying, well, pastor should be more involved
in politics. It's really kind of a label.
What we're trying to do is preach the whole of Scripture

(08:12):
and talk about how it applies tolife.
So one aspect of our lives is that we're involved beyond our
family and our local church. We're involved in our community.
And so should we talk about how the Bible applies to all of
life? Absolutely.
But we can't just talk about I think what what you're referring
to specifically is the hot button issues of the day.

(08:32):
We can't spend all of our time talking about that.
We need to talk about the gospel.
We need to talk about how God's Word applies to you.
Know your family life, your church life, your personal life.
You know we need to talk about all aspects of how God's Word
applies for you. Yeah, I mean, I talked to so
many people who aren't obsessed with politics, who are just
trying to get through life, right.
And and I think what's what's going back to what I said in the

(08:55):
very beginning, because we have access to 24 hour news all the
time from multiple sources. There are some people who just
have an unhealthy obsession and and almost to the point where
they're a slave to the news and what's going on.
They need to know what's going on all the time.
And it's like we're called to love God and love our neighbor.
And I'm not saying we don't speak into the issues we do, but

(09:17):
it needs to be from first and foremost the, the lens of
scripture. And I don't want people to not
know where I stand on issues. I, I don't want to be like a
mushy guy. Where does he actually believe?
I want to be clear on that. And I would hope that is clear
in, in preaching, but I also don't want to take Sunday

(09:37):
morning to tell you what I thinkabout all this stuff either.
Like it's, it's about exegeting the text from scripture where
we're fed and nursed by the word.
And so I could, I could go on about this.
So I I. You know, Speaking of Sunday
mornings, we are in a sermon series at Peace Church
Middleville. That's on the book of Naam.

(09:59):
And a couple questions have comein on Naam.
Not a lot of specific ones aboutthe text.
I think because we're going through that verse by verse a
lot of those questions are answered.
But here's one that I thought was interesting.
This series on the book of Naam doesn't seem like something I
would invite a non Christian to.Would you agree with that?

(10:21):
Is that what church is for? And how would you respond to
someone who doesn't want to invite a non believer to church
during these weeks? Yeah.
So I think, OK, so now we're getting into the theology of
Sunday morning gathering. And so the Sunday morning
gathering is for the church to come and to glorify Jesus and

(10:42):
lift up praises to our God and be nourished by the preaching of
the Word Foundationally. That's what we think Sunday
morning is about. Now, I think the term seeker
sensitive has been hijacked and emphasized in the wrong
directions. I think we should be seeker
sensitive in the sense that we're sensitive to people who
come into these doors on Sunday morning and are seeking the Lord
and have questions. I want to be sensitive to that.

(11:03):
I think in the in in the term seeker sensitive really means
seeker driven that Sunday morning is only about an
environment that's the most conducive to people who are
searching. I have a little bit different
approach. That is, I think that we are to
gather, glorify the name of our Lord, worship him, enjoy the

(11:25):
fellowship of one another, be fed by the preaching of God's
word so that we are nourished togo out and do the work of the
gospel. And so I just pragmatically,
practically speaking, sure, there are sermon series that
probably lend themselves to be more conducive to inviting non
believers. But I, I just happen to think

(11:46):
that people generally are probably interested in what the
Bible says. And I would leave it up to every
individual and what they think of me and my preaching and what
they know of the the the person if they think it's right.
But here's what I'd say though, at the end of the day, it is the
work of the Holy Spirit. Don't ever underestimate what

(12:10):
the spirit can do through the preaching of the word, even if
it's a text that you don't thinka non believer would be
attracted to. If, if I'm, if I'm doing my job
rightly, then the Spirit can work mightily through even a
text like Naom where we, I mean,next week is God uses some
pretty graphic language in his judgment on, on Nineveh.

(12:33):
I still think that the Spirit can use even a text like name
chapter 3 to show people the light of the gospel, to show
people the depravity of their sin and how glorious of a savior
we have. And so again, this goes back to
the notion of I trust the, I trust the Bible believing
Christians of the church to invite people and do what they
think is best in, in, in regardsto that.

(12:54):
Yeah, I'm surprised to hear somebody say that.
Actually, I, I wasn't here this morning 'cause I was preaching
it at peace Wayland. So I haven't gotten to hear
every sermon in this series, butfrom the ones that I have heard,
I just, I, I'm surprised to hearthat.
I think, even though, so I thinkmaybe somebody's saying that
because it's been a series that the book of Naam talks about
some of the tough parts of God'swrath, right?

(13:16):
So I get that. But I also think I think maybe
now more than ever, people are asking questions, unbelievers
are even asking questions about justice and what's right and
what's wrong and is there actually justice going to come
in this life or the next. And questions.
I think people want to hear actual true things, not just
fluff. So I, I think I think it's a

(13:37):
series would be great to bring your friends to.
Absolutely. Great, this one came in and I
just find this to be really exciting and neat.
But someone wrote that I'm starting a new chapter in my
life and I've never really read the Bible.
Where would you suggest I start?I always point people to the

(13:58):
Gospel of Mark for what's that? Well, a mark is the shortest of
the gospels. It it is very action oriented.
In the book of Mark, the word immediately shows up more than
any other gospels. Immediately Jesus did this,
immediately Jesus did that, it hits and all the essential
elements of the gospel. And again, it's, it's, it's the

(14:21):
shortest. And so if someone's just getting
into the Bible, I want to point them to something that they can
get through that, that I think they'll find intriguing.
So I I usually, I know John is typically the blockbuster of the
gospels that people want to point people to John.
But I I've found that Mark is one that works well pointing non

(14:43):
believers to or people who are just wanting to read the Bible.
Yeah, I agree. One of the gospels, John is
typically what I've said, yeah, Mark, Mark of John, one of the
gospels, story of Jesus to start.
But then obviously I would rightaway after that recommend.
The Bible is a, is a book and weusually read books front to
back, right? So I think starting with the

(15:03):
story of Jesus is really important 'cause he's the
central character of the entire Bible.
And so understanding him and hisstory, what he said, what he did
is crucial. But then you don't just read the
New Testament, jump back and just, you know, I don't sound
might sound crazy, but read the Bible start to finish.
Get a picture of the whole the whole storyline.
I was going to say like in, I know in our world, American
world is, is very fast-paced life.

(15:24):
And so we kind of want to cut tothe chase.
But I do love when when missionaries go into these third
world places and they're meetingwith a group of people and they
bring them back. They start in the Old Testament
and they talk about God forming a nation and they talk about the
prophecies of, of the coming Messiah.
And it just massive build up. And then Jesus comes on the
scene and then he's crucified. And so after months of hearing

(15:46):
the Old Testament story and, andJesus being crucified and rising
again, it's really powerful to see these like these, these lost
people groups see see it unfold as it did through history.
That's really powerful too. But I know that in our American
context, we don't necessarily have the time to spend months
and months leading up to that. And plus, in our Christianized
culture, people typically know Jesus, and there's a cross

(16:09):
involved in that. Yeah, it's amazing how much more
sense it makes when you read thestory of Jesus after you've read
God created the world, then Adamand Eve sinned and the world got
broken and messed up, and you read the whole, you know, if you
have the whole thing in context,it does.
It does tend to make more sense.Should Christians have?
Is there a specific biblical position on immigration?

(16:32):
With all the deportation in the news and the arguments about the
border, how would you guys address the quit the question of
American immigration as it pertains to the scriptures?
Let me make both sides mad because I stand before the Lord

(16:54):
and he's my judge. One of the things that one of
the things that disheartens me from, from what I see from the
right is it it almost feels likewe speak about these people as
as pests and less than human andthey're labeled illegals and
they're not viewed as humans. And that that's very troubling

(17:17):
to me that any believer in Jesuswould look at another human
being and not first recognize them as a fellow image bearer.
And I think if, if we've truly had that in our heart, I think
our approach would be a little bit differently.
And so I, I really pushed back when, when I hear that people
are called illegals and no, they're humans, They're humans.

(17:41):
And some of them are terrible people who deserve to be locked
away and, and they're in the keythrown away.
And there's, I want to believe that there's some who see the
chance at a better life in America for their family.
And they're, they're desperate to see that happen, even if that

(18:02):
means breaking international law.
And I say that because I'll justspeak just from my own
experience. But I truly think this because I
truly felt this at one time when, when we are adopting my
son Will from Ethiopia, it was a, it was a horrendously
gruesome process. Nothing went right at any turn.
It was very, very heartbreaking.And we were, we were finally

(18:26):
given placement and we're, we'refinally like, we, we got his
profile, we got his picture, we got his medical information, we
got little videos of him. And our hearts were tied to this
kid like immediately. And we got to go visit him.
And then there was, there was a,there was a few days where it
got to be really, really scary that this actually might not go

(18:48):
through. And so when, when people come to
America, why wouldn't they? This is the best place in the
world. Why wouldn't they do everything
they could to come and start and, and build a new life for
their family? I say that and also you can't
break the law and not have consequences.
And, and, and that's where I'm labeled as having no heart that

(19:10):
I'm sorry if you, you cross the border illegally, you've broken
law that should come with a consequence.
We cannot have. We don't have the resources to
bring the entire world here. I mean, everything that makes
America good and beautiful will will crumble in a generation.
And so we have to have healthy borders that are maintained

(19:32):
lawfully. And those who violate that have
to be held to the standard of the law.
We can We can still see people as true human beings and still
uphold the law. It doesn't have to be either or.
And the world is a desperately broken place and America is a
beacon of hope. And if you look at some of the
videos that coming out of these places, like people are crying

(19:53):
out to America for help. And as I, as I go outside of our
borders and I talk with people in Africa and, and Europe and,
and people are desperate to get here.
And I understand it like this place is amazing.
Not perfect, but best there is. And I, on the one hand, I'm
sympathetic to people who want to get here and, and have a new

(20:14):
chance at Lyford for a new family legacy.
I, I, I want to be compassionatetowards that.
But also we have an obligation to maintain a lawful society and
that includes maintaining borders.
And so, OK, so here's where it gets to be the next level.
And I know I'm a little bit rambling here, but what about

(20:35):
when a Christian Christian family comes to your doorstep?
Who's here illegally? Are they first and foremost
brothers and sisters in Christ who you are called to help out?
Or do you see them as lawbreakers who need to be held
to account? And that for me is where there
meets the road because we speak about these things like, you
know, philosophically. But when it comes to the notion

(20:57):
of actually having a live, live people before you, honestly,
that's a moment I'd have to experience.
Yeah, I mean, Jesus calls us to do 2 things at the same time
that are difficult, truth and love.
And I think this is a situation like so many others, where we
have to do both of those things.Or another way we could say it

(21:18):
in this situation is justice andlove.
We love those people. They're human beings made in
God's image. And yet we also have laws and we
have to enforce them. So it's it's hard to hold on to
both those things at the same time, but that's what we have to
do. Yeah.
Couple coming in on this shared topic.

(21:39):
Can I, can I just go back to onething real quick?
Because I, I, I, there's, there's parts of my heart that
can play both sides of this. I, I'm sure that some who, who
are, I could see, I could see some people thinking, what about
the Old Testament laws about loving the foreigner?
And what I would say is, of course, we're meant to love the
foreigner, but that was a radically different context.

(22:00):
And if you want to talk about applying Old Testament law to
modern day America, is that really a road that we want to go
down? Or should we understand through
the lens of the gospel and what it means to uphold the civil
society? This is getting at the Old
Testament as well. A couple questions coming in on
asking what's the biblical view of tattoos and body piercings?

(22:24):
Or one how does this church viewtattoos and body piercings?
And one along the lines of how we parent kids to handle those
things. Well, I think all three of us up
here have. Sorry, Nate, I'm going to throw

(22:45):
you. I'm going to throw you under.
You get to be in the, in this case, you know, the count.
Oh yeah. I don't like wearing jewelry, so
I did get this on. My dad is not happy about it.
You know the parenting question,My dad, I'll just say if, if
you're asking this and you go, hey, regardless of the view, I

(23:06):
don't want it for my kids. You can borrow what my dad did.
He he just told us, he said, hey, just so you guys know, he
goes, you're free to once you're18, you're free to do whatever
you want. But he said, I just want to let
you know personally that if you did get a tattoo or a piercing,
he was pretty. He said I would just, I would

(23:27):
then know that you spend your money poorly and I'd never give
you another dime for the rest ofyour life, even if you were
really desperate. And so I, I had to make a phone
call because I really don't likewearing jewelry.
And I said, dad, one black band and he gave me one exception to

(23:49):
the rules that. So I don't really have it.
You guys are the ones with the actual art.
What do you guys think? I do have a number of tattoos
and I, I, if I could go back, I wouldn't have gotten any.
And I that that's because of my personal choice.
I think that's another area of Christian liberty.

(24:11):
I think the prohibition that we see from the Old Testament was
in relation to being distinct from the cultures around you in
the ways that other cultures would mark themselves
specifically in recognition of the dead or in honor of the
dead. And it for me like that, that
falls into the category of like not 22 separate fabrics woven
together, right? That was a, that was a law for,
for God's Old Testament. Keep people to keep them

(24:33):
distinct as a, as a society. I think this fells into the
realm of Christian liberty. And when it comes to your kids,
you own them and they got to do what you say.
And I know it's unpopular but you do.
And if you don't want them getting tattoos then don't allow
them to get tattoos. And when they grow up to be

(24:55):
adults, if they choose to do that, then then they do.
Yeah, In terms of the tax, I say, yeah, the Levitical laws,
like you said, they were in specific reference to cultic
practices or to the the nations around along with many of the
other laws like you said, like you mentioned in in those parts
of Scripture. So I don't feel, I don't think
those who have tattoos are violating those biblical laws.

(25:18):
Yeah, I have. I have two tattoos.
Yeah, the the one is, is Hebrew.It's from Isaiah 48.
For the sake of my name. God causes people to suffer for
his glory for the sake of his name.
So yeah, I I think it's a Christian liberty matter.
I, I mean, going back to what wesaid though, like I think what
happens is pastors say it's Christian liberty and kids say,

(25:38):
see, the pastor said that we canget a tattoo.
And I think what I want to emphasize is you need to honor
your mother and father, especially while you're living
in the house. And if if that's if that's a,
that's something that I think that kids should kids should
look to honor now, I guess when they grew up and move out,
that's something family can can talk about.
But. Here's one Does Satan know our
thoughts? Say again.

(25:59):
Does Satan know our thoughts? No, wait, wait, wait.
I let me. The question I was actually
answering is can Satan read our mind?
And I would say no, but I would say that we are being studied
and the actions, especially whatwe do when no one's looking, it

(26:22):
probably wouldn't take the demons high level intelligence
to guess what we're thinking. I personally I would say I don't
think there's a specific text I can say in scripture that points
to one way or the other. John, maybe you think of 1, but
I tend to think that only God knows our thoughts and Satan is
not omniscient. But I would say that the way we

(26:47):
behave shows a lot about what we're thinking.
I had a person who said I don't want to keep a journal because I
don't want the devil to know what I'm thinking.
And I said the devil doesn't need to read your diary to know
what you're thinking. If if journaling is a good
discipline and practice for you,and if you're writing out
prayers, I don't think you need to worry about that.

(27:10):
Yeah, agreed. Yeah, I, I, that's one of the
things, like you said, we don't have a, we don't have a verse
that explicitly answers that question.
So I think it makes sense to saywe don't have any reason to say
that. Yeah, we, that Satan can read
our minds. So I think it makes sense.
A lot of people say that he probably can't or that he can't.
I'd say, yeah, that makes sense that he probably can't.

(27:31):
But because we don't have a verse that explicitly says that,
I guess I go I, I don't know, maybe he can, maybe he can't.
The verses that I've heard people reference are talk about
that God is the only one who knows the heart and things like
that. I don't think that that's really
specifically trying to speak to that question.
So. So I guess I kind of go, I don't
know, I could see it either way.But I think the practical point
is, just like you said, that Satan doesn't need to read our

(27:53):
minds or our Diaries to know he's been watching humanity
since the beginning. Yeah.
He. Knows.
Yeah, he knows human behavior better than we do.
I would say this, so last thing we can move on is CS Lewis in
the screw tape letters, his demonology, it gives credence
the devil that demons know our thoughts.

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When you read the screw tape letters that the demons when
they're talking about people, they'll talk about.
I saw this train of thought and they try to lead it away from
from holy things all. Right.
I don't know if we're going to be able to call this the
lightning round, kind of slow Rolling Thunder.
Let's try this. Should we pray in preparatory

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prayers post new covenant? Who wants to explain that and
who wants to answer it? I'll explain it.
I'll. Explain it.
Oh yeah. Imprecatory.
To choose. I'll explain it.
Psalms. What are the imprecatory Psalms?
Yeah, the imprecatory Psalms arewhen we're calling down God's
justice against our enemies, praying for God's wrath to be

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poured out on our enemies. Do Christians pray those prayers
today? Wait a minute, I said.
I was going to explain it. Brian was.
Going to call why, why, why is it?
Is it? Are you seeking vengeance or
justice? And vengeance is the Lord's.
And so if we're praying for God to bring justice in his way and

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that comes through violence, then that's up to the Lord.
I think the Psalms are there forus to pray and sing and if we
want to use those to think abouthow we, how we engage modern day
things, of course we want God todo away with the evildoer.
We want God to, to stop injustice and, and harm and the

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wickedness. I I want to see God eradicate
that. And Naem is obviously a book
where God does that in extreme, extreme.
I'll use the term brutality, especially what we're seeing
next, next, next Sunday. So I would say what's, what's
your heart behind it? Is it that you hate these people
or that you hate what they've done?

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Is it that you want vengeance ordo you want justice?
Yeah, yeah, I don't I, I would say that even on Sundays here,
we we haven't been afraid to pray for justice in different
situations. I mean, I, I, I want Hamas to be
done away with and never, ever. Right.
That's what I was thinking of right away.
I was thinking of October 7th, 2023.
We prayed for justice. Yeah, I want a swift retribution

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on those evil doers. Yeah, Speaking of that, someone
did ask, do you think there willever be peace in the Middle
East? When Christ returns Yep.
Before that. No.
Well, OK, the the shroud of a ofa false temporary peace is where

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we can start talking about some end time type stuff.
But the the true everlasting peace will come when the King
returns and brings the great renewal of all things.
This one's loaded. Let me let me say I pray for an
ending of conflict. I do want to see that happen.

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Do you think the baby boomers owe the next generations
anything for their fiscal irresponsibility?
That comes with a lot of presuppositions there.
Whoa. Ryan, as a baby boomer, what do
you think about that? Born in the 70s, what are your

(31:34):
thoughts? I think the next generation owes
the baby boomers an apology for the ways that they have just
warped this culture. Oh, this?
Just became a generational war. All right, moving on.
OK, I'll, I'll, sorry, I, I'm not great with economics and

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economic policy, especially how it's developed over time to try
to give a sincere answer. I don't know enough about that.
That's not my area of expertise.I think there's probably ways
that we have learned throughout the generations of what works
and what doesn't work. And so I'll just say I don't
know enough to give an an actualanswer.

(32:16):
Obviously, like you said, the the way the question is where it
is loaded, I'll say I think the policies that led to this
question are not great. And so I think that was that was
a mistake. And yeah, I forget how it was
worded, but I I wouldn't say that that's the answer.
Let's see, someone just shout out an idea.

(32:38):
Oh, John, it's your the young. Lady's up front.
Live question What do you got Bailey?
Why do people talk to demons? When they can pray to God.
Why would people talk to demons if they can pray to God?
It's a poor decision, isn't it, to talk to demons instead of
praying to God? Yeah, well, I think here's

(33:02):
here's my 1 shouted answer. I think probably for some people
it's because demons don't ask for moral goodness like God
does, right? God asks us to follow his good
moral laws. The demons love to see us go
into sin, which is what our sinful nature wants to do
anyways, and so I think they'd rather go that route than follow

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the Lord and ask Him their questions.
I think the other reason is is demons tell us what we want to
hear and God tells us what we need to hear.
Yeah. And I think they give people the
feeling of having power in and of themselves.
And that's a trick. And it's so clear when you're
working through God's Spirit that it's not of yourself, but

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it's the power of God. Hannah.
Do you have a question? Yeah, Hannah, did you want to
ask something? Does.
Satan, make it the snake. Talk it to Adam and Eve.
Or. Can all, could all the.
Animals talk to Adam, Eve by. This is a great question.
We have a. Really good question, So.
So she asked, you know, the withthe reports of the snake talking

(34:09):
in the first chapters of Genesis, is that reflecting that
all animals could communicate with Adam and Eve?
Or is that just the? Serpent the yeah.
So this is a great question because this gets into like CS
Lewis mythology and the nation and the notion that that that
part of the curse was that the animals could no longer
communicate. And I know this seems really
fantastic, but Adam and Eve do not seem surprised that a snake

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is talking to them there. That is the least of their
worries in the midst of that conversation.
And so I think that's a really great question.
And I think it's one of those ways that that the Bible begins
to open up in ways that our Western mind often wants to
close it. And clearly the clearly the

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serpent is speaking, Satan is speaking in the serpent through
the serpent is the serpent however you want to frame it.
But the notion was the was the question actually why the
serpent or just was did all the animals talk?
We don't know, but like you said, Adam and Eve don't seem

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surprised that the snake is talking to them.
So I think that's that's kind ofour only clue.
They're also fairly young, Adam and Eve.
That's a good point. They're just learning about
everything. I would say if I had to answer,
I'd probably say my answer. I wouldn't be surprised, but I'd
probably say no because I think it has to do with bearing the

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image of God in. One of the communicable
attributes is the ability to communicate coherently.
I don't think that is something that would be applied to to the
fauna so. All right, well, there you have
it. Thank you for your questions.
Thank you for being here and Godbless you and go in His peace.