This is Part Two. To read Part One, click here. In order to get the full context of the Parable of the Great Banquet, it is important to read both Luke’s and Matthew’s version (Mt. 22:1–14). In Matthew, the great banquet is actually a wedding feast given on the occasion of the marriage of the king’s son. Matthew’s placement of this parable is interesting because it immediately follows Jesus’ telli [...]

After discussing an issue that caused his Facebook page to be eliminated, Gary discusses the craziness coming from leftist Democrats about Jesus and immigration. One of the most bizarre arguments for “Jesus was a socialist” comes from people who say, “Jesus healed and fed people for free; therefore, He was a socialist.” When governments can feed people for free by multiplying loaves and fishes, he [...]

When is a dinner invitation more than a meal? When it’s a kingdom banquet. In Luke 14:12–24, Jesus tells what modern Bibles refer to as “The Parable of the Great Banquet.” This familiar parable, which tells the tale of a man giving a great banquet is not simply a general story about morality. It is also not about who to invite to your dinner parties. This parable is about who will eat bread in the [...]

Does it matter if we live fearfully or hopefully? Very much so, as Gary points out in this important talk from several years ago. In applying all the Bible to all of life, those “dead in trespasses and sins” (Eph. 2:1) must have a “new heart” and a “new spirit” so they can rightly understand God’s Word and the world He created for our use (1 Cor. 1:18–25). The “heart of stone” must be removed and [...]

There has been considerable debate over the best way to interpret the three-days and three-nights language of Matthew 12:40, either as three 24-hour days of exactly 72 hours or parts of three days and three nights. Because you can’t get three full days if the count begins on Friday, some interpreters have argued for a two-Sabbath approach and a crucifixion on Wednesday and a resurrection on Saturd [...]

As a boy, I was fascinated with inventors and their inventions. Not just in the invention but the process. How did they do it? Why didn’t they give up after so many failures? Edison’s attempt to find the right filament for his incandescent light was exhausting. He reportedly said, “I have not failed 10,000 times. I have not failed once. I have succeeded in proving that those 10,000 ways will not w [...]

Gary brings back “Memes of the Week.” Meme creators find interesting ways to communicate complicated topics in (often) humorous ways. Gary highlights a few of his most recent favorites. The facts are not what’s really at stake, although it will sometimes seem like they are. Too often, we are made to believe that if we could just marshal better historical evidence, or better scientific [...]

Last day to donate to the $10K Matching Grant! Gary has a fascinating conversation with business owner and technology leader, Kevin Barber. The December 1996 issue of Popular Mechanics (PM) carried an article that claimed that “science” has solved a number of ancient Bible mysteries. Miracles are out, mechanical explanations are in. According to the people at PM there has to be a “scientific” expl [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant To understand the relationship between Church and State we need to go to the source, and that source is not the United States Constitution. Modern-day social theory is based on an evolutionary model. This means that there is no way to account for morality, governmental jurisdictions, or separation of powers since these principles are foun [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Gary discusses the film, Cool Hand Luke. While it is not a Christian movie in any sense, it uses a lot of Christian symbology to tell its tale. The Bible states, “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge” (Prov. 1:7). True knowledge does not take place unless one begins with the presupposition that God exists and His Word is sup [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant “What does a nation that has killed more than 60 million of their own children deserve? Every single day, the number of American children that are killed exceeds the number of Americans that were killed on 9/11. Every single year, the number of American children that are killed is nearly equal to the number of Americans that have been kil [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Charles Wesley Ewing, writing in 1983, describes a clear historical picture of how prophetic interpretation based on current events turns to confusion, uncertainty, and in some people unbelief when it comes to predicting an end that disappoints: In 1934, Benito Mussolini sent his black-shirted Fascists down into defenseless Ethiopia and p [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Gary discusses the work of American Vision and runs through some history of theological debates over the last half-century. Biblical heroes like Gideon, Jephthah, Samuel, Barak, and Samson had their moral failings, and yet they are in the biblical “Hall of Faith”: And what more shall I say? For time will fail me if I tell of Gideon [idola [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant There’s a former Christian who has written book about the best way to kill God. It seems if you don’t agree with him, you are brainwashed. I’ve seen this type of language. “My books are about killing God,” says Philip Pullman, the award-winning author of the fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials. For a critique of Pullman’s worldview, see To [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant William Goldman, not to be confused with William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies, sums up the problem of attempting to be certain about the success of a film this way: “Nobody knows anything.” Goldman should know. He was a successful novelist and screenwriter with several Academy Awards and big screen blockbusters to his credit. Gold [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Gary comments on some popular examples of internet wisdom in the forms of memes. The Enlightenment philosophers of the eighteenth century rejected special revelation (the Bible) as the ultimate standard of authority and declared reason to be supreme. Reason was elevated to god-like status. Reason, not revelation, ruled. While these philos [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Gary comments on a recent article by Pastor Kevin DeYoung about pastors becoming “political pundits.” The claim of neutrality by Christians is judged harshly in the Bible: “I know your deeds, that you are neither hot nor cold; I would that you were cold or hot. So because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Elon Musk, head of the “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE), described Social Security as a “Ponzi scheme” on “The Joe Rogan Experience” podcast. Democrats and other Leftists denounced the “Ponzi scheme” claim. Apparently, they don’t know what a Ponzi scheme is: A Ponzi scheme is a form of fraud that lures investors and pays profi [...]

Please help us reach $10K in donations for a matching grant Gary discusses several recent examples about people believing absurd things just because of something they saw online. For many religious seekers, belief in the supernatural is attractive, no matter what the source. “Human beings are spiritual creatures. We hunger for an encounter with the spiritual. We seem to know instinctively that the [...]

A video by Mitch Muller, “Is the Apostle/Disciple John STILL ALIVE?,” is making the rounds on Facebook. Muller begins by quoting John 21:20-23. Peter turned and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them. He was the one who had leaned back against Jesus at the supper to ask, “Lord, who is going to betray You?” When Peter saw him, he asked, “Lord, what about him?” Jesus answered, “If I want h [...]