I originally shared this message on Halloween.  So there’s a short talk on that subject.  How do you think a Christian ought to handle Halloween?

It was also right before the 2010 elections.  So the rest of the talk is about some of the hot button issues then.  It’s primary time for Republicans, and not far down the road it will be election time again.  How do you decide who to vote for?  Do you use morality, popularity, random selection?  How much does the conduct of your elected leaders matter to you?

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So we’ve got this amazing new idea that we formed our government on called freedom–at least it’s a new idea compared to the history of government on our planet.  The only problem is that a government run by the consent of the governed really depends on the governed being willing to govern themselves–in other words practicing self control so that the official government simply has to provide a safe environment for private contracts.  But when people stop taking responsibility for their government and themselves, then the government naturally tends towards tyranny.  Fortunately we’ve got a long way to go before we have that kind of government, but at the same time we have a lot less personal freedom than we did even 100 years ago.  So the question is will we the people allow our freedoms to erode completely over the next decades or will we wrestle back control from the “ruling class”?

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To be independent is the opposite of being dependent.  So when it comes to your own life, do you have independence or are you in dependence?  Do you work to provide for yourself and your family or do you depend on government to provide for you?

The only way to have real freedom and liberty, is to live a life that is self-controlled, self-reliant, and self governed so that nobody else has to control you.

Are you truly free?

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When you ask someone how much money they’d like to have, the most common answer is ‘just a little more.’ Whether they’re making minimum wage or have billions, everybody wants more money. The funny thing about that is we don’t equate that desire with the addiction people have for drugs or alcohol or porn or whatever. Greed is looked at as a good thing in our country. Anybody who is actually content with what they have is seen as abnormal. And this national greed has not only put almost everybody into debt of one kind or another, this idea has infected our government. So now our nation is in debt–huge debt! And like a lot of other things, the church, for the most part, has completely ignored the instructions that God gives in the Bible for how to best manage money. It’s really a sad situation to think about how many people in this country have sold themselves into slavery to the bank. So how are we supposed to live? Well, this talk touches on a few basic ideas. Check it our and see what you think.

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It’s been a year since the last presidential election. Remember all the commotion and excitement around the race for president? And now people are already upset about the government again. And once again politicians promised change, and delivered a lot of the same, old thing. They’re writing checks that the country can’t cash, quibbling over partisan nonsense, and ignoring all the things they said during their campaigns. Yet, every time there’s another race people get excited again. It’s like they think there’s going to be some amazing difference this time. But the truth is that real changes come when the American people stand up and take responsibility for their own nation. The government is not only supposed to work for us–it’s supposed to be us. And if we really want to see change, it’s going to mean changing ourselves and forcing our political leaders to do what we tell them to do or get out of the way and let us do it ourselves.
Anyway, this is a short talk I gave during the last presidential campaign. Enjoy!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:31 — 16.7MB)