Claim OwnershipMission Focused Men for Christ
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This 20-minute weekly podcast is for Christian men who want to hear, “Well done,” from Jesus, after running the race marked out for them. Its goals are to: 1) EQUIP men to better understand from Scripture their mission, 2) ENCOURAGE men because we fail often, 3) ENERGIZE men because our spiritual tank is often on "empty," 4) EMPOWER men to stay focused on honoring Christ with their lives. The podcast presenter, Dr. Gary Yagel, is known for his practical biblical teaching and encouraging heart. A former church planter in the Presbyterian Church in America, Gary is the founder and Executive Director of Forging Bonds of Brotherhood. He is the author of Got Your Back, and Anchoring Your Child to God's Truth in a Gender-Confused Culture, (available on Amazon) and has taught Making Missional Disciples as a guest professor at Reformed Theological Seminary DC. For further information about Gary’s ministry, go to forgingbonds.org or gotyourback.info.
337 Episodes
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Episode Summary: Jesus commanded us not to be preoccupied with what we will eat or drink or distracted by what we are going to wear. Rather, we are to seek first the kingdom of God. But how do you seek something you can’t describe and don’t know how to define? Modern Christians are not the only ones confused about what this means. Dr. Luke tells us that Jesus spent his last forty days on earth explaining this concept to his disciples, and they still got it wrong, asking “Lord, will you at thi...
Episode Summary. Have you ever wondered, “Why is life so difficult? Why is it such a struggle? Why am I tired all the time? Why do so many things go wrong? Why is it that when I try to accomplish something for God it's never easy?” This episode is for those who are finding that pleasing Jesus with your life is hard, full of resistance, and sometimes generates so much discouragement that you feel like not even trying any more. For Further Prayerful Thought: What are the things that you find mo...
Episode Summary. There are few men portrayed in Scripture who had more lasting success leading than Nehemiah. In fact, the success of some, like Saul and Solomon, led to their demise, as power often does. In fact, a case could be made that the adversity Nehemiah had just come through in the last chapter is less of a threat to many leaders than success. As Scottish essayist and historian, Thomas Carlyle, once declared, “Adversity is hard on a man; but for every one man who can withstand prospe...
Episode Summary. Confrontation. It’s the least enjoyable part of leadership, but absolutely essential for effectiveness for any husband, father, coach, or team leader in business or the church. Today, we look into Nehemiah 5, where Nehemiah puts on a “clinic in wise confrontation” from which leaders can learn much. For Further Prayerful Thought: Why did Nehemiah get angry? Why don’t Christians get angrier at the exploitation of the weak, poor, and marginalized in our culture?What stood ...
Episode Summary. Today, in our study of Nehemiah we encounter a group of people whom the world has gotten down, who feel rotten, who were probably too doggone tired to pray, and were probably plenty mad. It is Nehemiah's ragtag band of Israelites who had taken on the huge task of rebuilding the city wall. They have successfully resisted opposition enough to get the wall to half its necessary height. But discouragement sets in. This episode shows how Nehemiah overcame the discouragement of his...
Episode Summary. One of the greatest Christians who ever lived was honest enough to admit how difficult life can sometimes be. In the most biographical of his writings, the apostle Paul wrote, “We are hard pressed on every side. We are perplexed and persecuted. We experience troubles, hardships, and distresses…. We are knocked down but we are not knocked out.” The fourth chapter of Nehemiah reports how he and the residents of Jerusalem faced this same level of opposition to rebuilding Jerusal...
Episode Summary. Few of us think we have the gifts to be a great leader; yet every married man has been assigned to the leadership role in his marriage. As Paul said “the head of a wife is her husband” (1 Cor 11:13). And of course we are assigned to lead our children as fathers. One of the biggest challenges for all leaders is motivating our followers to move in the direction we want them to go. Dwight Eisenhower, once said, “Leadership is the ability to get a person to do what you want...
Episode Summary. God wants husbands and wives to drink deeply and frequently of the refreshing waters of their partner’s sexuality. But most of us whose marriages have lasted beyond the honeymoon stage have found that sustaining romantic and sexual passion has been a lot harder than we ever thought it would be, especially because our wives are NOT wired the way WE are. This episode looks for biblical clues to understanding how and why a woman’s view of romance and sex is so different than her...
Episode Summary: There is no ambiguity about what Jesus told us was to consume our lives as our top priority. He says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness.” The Greek verb “to seek” means, to strive after, to desire. It is the opposite of being lackadaisical, indifferent, or nonchalant. It is pursuit that is self-motivated, intentional and passionate. The word “first” indicates that Jesus is telling us to make this pursuit the all-consuming top priority of our lives. In conte...
Episode Summary Teddy Roosevelt, our nation's 26th president was a hard charging leader. An ardent admirer once exclaimed to him, “Mr. Roosevelt, you are a great man.” In characteristic honesty he replied, “No. Teddy Roosevelt is simply a plain, ordinary man—highly motivated.” It is safe to say that his answer describes most great leaders, plain and ordinary, yet whose hearts had been captured by a compelling mission. Certainly, Nehemiah, the subject of our new series, would say that about hi...
Episode Summary: Both Solomon, and later the author of the book of Hebrews appeal to the obvious creation principle that they assume everyone knew in their era, loving fathers don’t allow their children to persist in selfish, wrong behavior; they discipline their children out of love for them. In our own day, a weird time in history when cultural voices are denying what every other culture in history has affirmed—that there are differences between fathers and mothers—it seems necessary examin...
Summary: As we return to our pre-Christmas study of I Timothy, we come to chapter three, where Paul lays out the qualifications to serve as an elder in the church. In doing so, he gives us a portrait of not only the character required for spiritual leadership, but of leadership that even the secular world acknowledges attracts followers. For Further Prayerful Thought: How does Paul’s insistence that fulfilling a spiritual leadership position is a “noble task” affect your perspect...
Episode Summary: One of the habits of Jesus that is often overlooked, but extremely powerful is his habit of regularly withdrawing to a secluded place to intercede for his loved ones. This episode investigates the biblical evidence for believing Satan cannot stand against prayer made in Jesus’ name for the growth of kingdom righteousness in our own hearts and over the earth. For the printed version of this message click here. For a summary of topics addressed by podcast series, click h...
Episode Summary. If you are disheartened, battered, discouraged or weary from fighting the good fight because of all the heartache and spiritual bruising my hope is that this episode will give such a clear picture of the colossal triumph of Messiah Jesus—and our part in that victory, that in some small way the pain is lessened, because we GRASP the ENORMITY of our WIN. For Further Prayerful Thought How does Jesus’ title Prince of Peace reinforce the truth that the gospel has four chapte...
Episode Summary. In producing this episode we inadvertently uploaded a Dec 14th episode from a past December 14th, not 2025. This is the corrected version recorded two days ago. Sometimes a single word can be loaded with meaning: Mom, Dad, Darling, Champion, Failure. Single words can be so important that Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” As we continue our series on the titles of Messiah Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, both of word...
Episode Summary. Sometimes a single word can be loaded with meaning: Mom, Dad, Darling, Champion, Failure. Single words can be so important that Jesus said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.” As we continue our series on the titles of Messiah Jesus in Isaiah 9:6, both of words that make up this title are loaded with a wealth of meaning, encouragement, and hope. The title is EVERLASTING FATHER. For Further Prayerful Thought What are the dif...
Episode Summary. Why did the long-awaited Messiah of Israel have to be the MIGHTY GOD—and what does that title mean for our everyday walk with Jesus today? That is the topic of today’s episode. For Further Prayerful Thought How would you support the idea that the overall teaching of the OT is that the real oppression of Israel was done by foreign military powers but by SIN? Why might this point to the fact that the deliverer would have to be God, himself?Paul commanded Christ-followers to abh...
Episode Summary. For the next four weeks, our focus is on the first and most foundational part of our mission—deepening our love relationship with Christ. We will do this by zooming the camera in on four titles of Jesus given in the Isaiah 9 prophecy of the coming Messiah Jesus—Wonderful Counselor, Almighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. What do these titles tell us about Jesus and what difference these descriptions of our Commander in Chief make in our everyday lives? This episode...
Episode Summary: Ideas have consequences. Bad ideas have victims. This episode examines the impact of critical theory aka cultural Marxism, upon some Christians' thinking today in their view of ICE, law-enforcement, and gender roles. For Further Prayerful Thought: How does “cultural Marxism” sound like what you’ve heard about (economic), i.e. regular Marxism?If justice means there must be no disparities of money, ability, or power in society, why does it logically follow that the “have ...
Episode Summary: As the Apostle Paul issues a direct charge to his young protégé, Timothy, the charge is not, “preach the Word,” “preach grace and not the law,” “care for those under your care,” or even “be faithful to your call.” His charge is to fight the good fight. This episode explains what Paul means by this and practically speaking how Christian men today can answer this call to fight for those under their care. For Further Prayerful Thought: If I am called to fight the good fig...
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Great podcast! I have learned alot and enjoyed every episode!