"LATE NIGHT LIVE WITH PASTOR AL" homepage for live, late-night radio program featuring Pastor Al Davis, Bible Baptist Church, Richfield, Ohio

Pastor Al's Comments

Several weeks ago, on the radio, I gave a number of reasons why I believe President Obama is a Muslim. I have a link here for that portion of the program available now.

      I talk about the threat of fundamentalist Islam on the radio program from time to time and fully support our military and security forces in their efforts to protect us. However, as I said Sunday night, our ultimate safety does not lie in the force of arms. We need to reach Muslims, fundamentalist and otherwise, with the Gospel. Remember, 2 Corinthians 10:4 says, "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds"!
      Thankfully, more Muslims are trusting in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior today than at any point in history. Where the number of known Christians in some of the Muslim nations was in the hundreds, or less, ten years ago, there are now tens of thousands. However, we need to remember what the Apostle Paul said in 1 Corinthians 16:9: "For a great door and effectual is opened unto me, and there are many adversaries."
      Yes, we need the force of arms to defend our country and protect our freedoms. We need to pray for our military and police. We need to be prepared to protect our homes and our loved ones. But we also need to heed the warning given to Judah in Jeremiah 17:5: "Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD."

On a final note, if you are a Muslim and searching for truth, let me challenge you to read the Bible online and ask the one true God to reveal Himself to you. After all, Jesus said in Matthew 7:7-11:

Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. Or what man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he give him a stone? Or if he ask a fish, will he give him a serpent? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him?

Please contact us if we can be of help.

30 Jun 10

Storms rolling through Northeast Ohio Sunday knocked out power to the WHKW Radio studios. They were running on backup power and having technical problems when we arrived for the program but we managed to have a good program, despite various people coming and going and working on equipment.

      We had a great interview with David Hall of Proclaim Liberty during the first half of our program. David, and his wife Phyllis, travel across the country with an exact replica of the Liberty Bell, flanked by the Ten Commandments. They visit schools, military bases, and community events tolling the bell in honor of the men and women who have died for the cause of freedom, reminding Americans of the great cost of protecting and preserving liberty. David dresses in a Revolutionary War uniform as he tolls the bell and speaks about how without the Law (Ten Commandments) we have no Liberty (Liberty Bell).
      The Halls were in North Royalton on Saturday, Jun 26, for the commemoration of a new historical marker in honor of Jonathan Sheppard, one of the co-founders of North Royalton. Sheppard served with George Washington in the French and Indian Wars and again in the Revolutionary War. He died at age 117 and is buried in the cemetery on top of the hill on State Route 82 between State and Ridge Roads. As a part of the dedication ceremony David tolled the bell in honor of Sheppard's service. All the participants got a chance to ring the bell as well (including Kim and I!).
      On the program we talked about how Judeo-Christian values shaped our country and the Biblical basis for our Constitution and laws. David even shared how some critics and malcontents have objected to and even sued him for portraying the Ten Commandments alongside the Liberty Bell. He illustrated the error of their criticisms by pointing out the quote from Leviticus 25:10, Proclaim Liberty Throughout All The Land Unto All The Inhabitants Thereof, written on the bell and how Moses and the Ten Commandments appear repeatedly throughout the building where the Supreme Court meets, including over the Chief Justice's chair.
      We had hoped to put a copy of the interview up on the website. Unfortunately, it was a casualty of the weather problems...

18 Jun 10

      During the second part of the program last week, I mentioned a story that I had heard on another program. It concerned President Barak Hussein Obama admitting to an Egyptian official that he is indeed a Muslim. I have since found an article online, Egypt official: U.S. president claims to be Muslim, which claims that the President admitted being a Muslim to Egyptian Foreigh Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, possibly when Gheit was in Washington,D.C., in early 2010. I then used the story as a springboard to explain why I believe President Obama is a Muslim.
      I sketched out several reasons for believing that President Obama is a Muslim. Some of which are the fact that both his biological father and stepfather were both Muslims, which, under Islamic law makes Obama a Muslim. Also, growing up in Indonesia, he went regularly to the mosque with his stepfather, was registered as a Muslim in school, and got in trouble in Koranic studies class (I didn't say he was a good Muslim!). In addition, he joined a church whose pastor apparently was a former Nation of Islam Member, as President he avoided the National Day of Prayer (twice), bowed before the Saudi King (the Protector of Mecca and Medina), and did not take his wife into any Muslim countries with him. Both the latter reasons are apparently in keeping with Islamic tradition. (I hope to have the audio file for that part of the program uploaded soon for you to listen to.)
      One thing is certain though, whether or not President Barak Hussein Obama is a Muslim today (and I believ he is), he most certainly was one in the past.

10 Jun 10

Isn't live radio wonderful? We had a series of technical glitches last night. Nevertheless, despite all the trouble getting our first caller on the air and an inability for us (my wife and I) in the studio to hear our engineer in the control room, we managed to get through the program without too many problems. I have to admit that it was a bit challenging to maintain focus and deal with our first caller's questions while trying to decipher our engineer's hand signals...

      Our first caller had several questions regarding the Abrahamic covenant. He was of the opinion that the covenant promises did not belong to the Jews only but also to the Arab peoples as they are also descendants of Abraham.
      Abraham's initial call is found in Genesis 12:1-3; Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. And, in Genesis 12:7, we see that the land God led Abraham to was to be inherited by Abraham's descendants: And the LORD appeared unto Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land: and there builded he an altar unto the LORD, who appeared unto him. God's promise to Abraham and his descendants was repeated several times, in Genesis 13:14-17; 15:7-21; 17:1-8; 22:15-18.
      Unfortunately, due to impatience and a lack of faith on the part of Abraham and Sara, Sara encouraged Abraham to father a child with her handmaid, Hagar. Even though it was an common, acceptable practice among the people around them, it was not acceptable with God. Now God did bless Abraham and Hagar's son, Ishmael. However, he also clearly communicated that Ishmael was not the promised heir to His covenant promise to Abraham.
      Genesis 17:18-22 tells us, And Abraham said unto God, O that Ishmael might live before thee! And God said, Sarah thy wife shall bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. And as for Ishmael, I have heard thee: Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly; twelve princes shall he beget, and I will make him a great nation. But my covenant will I establish with Isaac, which Sarah shall bear unto thee at this set time in the next year. And he left off talking with him, and God went up from Abraham. These promises were repeated later in Genesis 21:12-13.
      After the death of Sarah, Abraham took another wife, Keturah, in Genesis 25:1. Genesis 25 also records how God blessed the children of Abraham from Keturah, Sarah, and Hagar but, in chapter 26:2-4, 24, we see again that the covenant promise was reserved for Isaac alone.
      God's covenant promises to Abraham are further restricted to Isaac's son Jacob in Genesis 25:22-23, 27:29 (through the patriarchal blessing of Isaac); 28:13-15; 35:9-12. As in the case of Issac's brothers, God also blessed Jacob's brother, Esau, just not with the covenant blessing that was reserved for Jacob and his sons.
      Now, our caller was trying to establish that the Arab peoples, as descendants of Abraham, can and should posses the land that Israel occupies today. That is the view put forth in the Qur'an and perpetuated by the Muslims, who claim that the Jews rewrote the Bible to usurp the Arab's rightful claim to the land.

17 May 10

      Our favorite Bible skeptic called last night with questions regarding the first written alphabet and the first civilization. I think his purpose was to justify his rejection of the Bible on the grounds that mankind was too primitive to have written the older parts of Bible.
      Fortunately, I remembered something from my high school days that helped. Mr. Miller, my Bible as Literature teacher at Revere High School back in the 1970's, told us how critics of the Bible contended that Abraham couldn't have left any written records to be passed down from generation to generation for Moses to use in writing the Pentateuch 9the first five books of the Old Testament). The critics were forced to recant when a huge library of cuneiform records, dating back to Abraham's time, was found in Ur of the Chaldees. Since the clay tablets and cylinders included records of such mundane things as sales receipts, property transfers, and taxes, it was well documented that cuneiform writing was established and commonplace in Abraham's day.
      Presumably, writing would have developed among Adam and Eve's descendents prior to the flood. We know, for instance, from Genesis chapter 4 that agriculture, music, metalworking, and city building were all established within just a few generations prior to the flood. It is reasonable to assume that people intelligent enough to build a civilisation and produce technological advances were also intelligent enough to produce a written alphabet. And, since Abraham's life overlapped that of Noah's son Shem, Abraham could have received written records from Shem dating from before the flood.
      Of course, having an established civilization does not necessarily depend upon having a written alphabet. The Polynesians, for instance, developed a widespread civilization that spread across the vastness of the South Pacific while the Europeans were still afraid to venture out of sight of their shores. For a thousand years the Polynesians had no written alphabet; everything was passed from generation to generation orally. It wasn't until missionaries arrived in the 1800's and composed a written alphabet in order to provide Bibles in the various Polynesian languages that the Polynesians finally got written alphabets. (Our skeptical caller had trouble grasping that fact.)
      Although not having a written alphabet does not preclude developing a civilization, it does hinder technological development. Again, looking at the Polynesians, they developed a society based on intricate, complex social traditions yet they never developed the wheel or the compass or even methods of scientific research, development, and investigation. Lack of technology, however, doesn't mean lack of intelligence.

      Now the question arises, why spend time on the radio dealing with the development of written alphabets and civilizations? In fact, the very next caller took me to task for for wasting time dealing with foolish questions when I should have been just preaching hell-fire and brimstone at the caller.
      Well, the whole hell-fire and brimstone message is based on the what the Bible says. Now, if someone accepts that the Bible as the Word of God then they are much more likely to believe the hell-fire and brimstone message than someone who does not. Consequently, if we want someone who does not accept the Bible to believe that hell is real we have establish that the Bible is real. We cannot expect someone to heed the warnings of the Bible they do not believe in the validity of the Bible. And, in order to establish the validity of the Bible, sometimes you have to deal with the questions of the skeptics in order to reach the searchers.
      Remember, 1 Peter 3:15-16 says, "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ."

30 Apr 10

A listener recently wrote and asked a couple of questions regarding Cain. I finally got the answers written up and sent off. I thought they were worth including here as well:

Question #1: Who is the "every one" in Genesis 4:14?
      We know from the first three chapters of Genesis that Adam and Eve were the first two human beings that God created. God created them on the sixth day; Adam first and then Eve. There is no evidence in the Scripture that Adam and Eve had any children prior to the Fall in chapter three, nor is there any evidence that God created any other people. In fact, Genesis 3:20 states that Eve, whose name means "life-giver" in the Hebrew, "was the mother of all living." Interestingly enough, the study of genetics indicates that every human being is descended from one specific woman and one specific man as well.
      Genesis 4:1-2 introduces us to the first two children born to Adam and Eve, Cain and Able. We do not know how old Adam was when Cain and Able were born, but we do know, according to Genesis 5:3, that Adam was 130 when his son, Seth, was born. And, since Genesis 4:25 indicates that Seth was born as replacement for Able, who was murdered by Cain in Genesis 4:8, we can assume that Seth was most likely born within a year or so of his brother's death. That would mean that both Cain and Able could have been in their late 120's when Cain murdered Able (remember, Adam and Eve were created as mature adults and could have begun having children right away).
      Now, since Genesis 5:4 tells us that Adam lived for 800 years after Seth was born, producing sons and daughters, it is reasonable to assume that Cain and Able were not the only children born to Adam and Eve prior to the birth of Seth. In fact, figuring conservatively an average of only one child every two years and no multiple births, Adam and Eve could have produced 65 children during their first 130 years.
      But, we need to also figure that their children would have begun producing children as they grew and matured. If they started producing children around age 20, or a few years earlier, they would have added greatly to the world population themselves during the same 130 years. So, using the same conservative average of one child every two years, Cain could have had 55 children, Able could have had 54, and so on. With long lives and low death rates, by the time Cain murdered Able there would have been more than 1500 people living on the planet. And, considering that these early people were much more genetically pure than we are today, therefore much more apt to produce multiple births, the world population could have easily been two, three, four, or more times that amount.

Question #1: Who is the "every one" in Genesis 4:14?
The reason God forbids women from being pastors is found in two statements: "Adam was first formed, then Eve" and "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." These two statements, reflect the curse placed upon the woman in Genesis 3:16: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
Consequently, the "every one" mentioned in Genesis 4:14 would have been the potentially thousands of offspring and descendents of Adam and Eve born during the 130 years or so prior to the murder of Able. Cain would have been related to all of them, either as a sibling, an uncle, or a direct ancestor (father, grandfather, great-grandfather, etc.), but would not necessarily have known all of them personally.

26 Mar 10

Busy, busy, busy! What a busy month! Between regular church meetings, special church meetings, other meetings, taking my dad to doctor appointments, tea parties, special writing projects, etc., this last month has flown by. In fact, I did not realize until I sat down to update this blog tonight that I hadn't posted anything here lately, other than my latest article, Is It Wrong to Worship on Sundays? and my satirical parody, 1 Kings 21 (New American Patriot Version)

Can a Women Be a Pastor?
We've also had some busy radio programs over the past month or so. Last night, for example, we had at least five callers on air. During the first call the question of women pastors came up and I showed from the Bible why God does not call women to be pastors. The third caller, who is a woman prastor, took great offense at my position and tried to argue that I was taking the Scripture out of context; misinterpreting, misunderstanding, and misapplying it to reflect my own misogynistic male mindset. Our fourth caller then brought up a good follow up question, asking why people struggle accepting what the Scripture plainly teaches regarding women pastors.
Here's the passage that got me into trouble with our second caller (and who knows how many women listening!):

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. For Adam was first formed, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression. Notwithstanding she shall be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety. This is a true saying, If a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach...
(1 Timothy 2:11-3:2)

      Since pastoring involves teaching and taking authority over those in the church, both men and women, then a woman pastor would be in direct violation of God's Word which plainly says, "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence." A woman pastor would also run into problems being "the husband of one wife" (though in some denominations this, sadly, isn't as insurmountable a problem as it once was...).
      The reason God forbids women from being pastors is found in two statements: "Adam was first formed, then Eve" and "Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression." These two statements, reflect the curse placed upon the woman in Genesis 3:16: "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee."
      The curse of Genesis 3 places the woman under the headship of the man because of her role in the fall. Yet, from the begining, Adam was formed first and then Eve was formed to be his helpmeet. Being a helpmeet meant that Eve was to be under the authority of Adam.
      Lines of authority by no means mean inferiority and superiority. For instance, lines of authority in the military place senior NCO's (Noncommissioned Officers), such as Chief Master Sergeants, under the authority of junior officers, such as First Lieutenants. This by no means implies that a junior officer fresh out of Officer Candidate School is superior in knowledge, experience, and ability to a seasoned senior NCO. It merely reflects the lines of authority in the military.
      God's lines of authority are clearly given to us in 1 Corinthians 11:3: "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God."
      Unfortunately, there are always those who chafe under authority, in both military service and God's service.

26 Mar 10

      On Wednesday, 24 Mar 10, the Bible Baptist had a special service in honor of Marine GySgt Robert Gilber II who died as a result of injuries received in a sniper attack in Afghanistan. GySgt Gilbert is thought to be the first person from Richfield to die in action since World War II.
      The service had a patriotic theme and was led by Pastor Davis and Bro. John Tantanella of Christians Servicg Veterans. Over half of the adult men attending were veterans (as are over half the men in our church!) representing the Air Force, the Army, the Marine Corps, and the Navy.
      A special offering of $150.00 was collected in honor of GySgt Gilbert, to be given in his memory to the Brothers-in-Arms Foundation.

18 Mar 10

I was reading 1 Kings 21 today and was struck with some amazing parallels between King Ahab's desire for Nadab's vineyard and President Obama's desire to nationalize America's health care.

So, with profuse apologies to my King James only brethren and sistren, may I present The New American Patriot Version of 1 Kings 21...

1     And it came to pass after these things, that the American people had a system of healthcare, which was in jeopardy, hard by the palace of Obama the would-be-king of America.
2    And Obama spake unto the American people, saying, Give me your healthcare, that I may have it for a garden of socialism, because it is near unto my house: and I will give ye for it a better healthcare system than it; or, if it seem good to ye, I will give ye the worth of it in money.
3    And the American people said to Obama, The Constitution forbid it us, that we should give the inheritance of our fathers unto thee.
4    And Obama came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which the American people had spoken to him: for they had said, We will not give thee the inheritance of our fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and turned away his face, and would eat no bread.
5    But Pelosi his comrade came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread?
6    And he said unto her, Because I spake unto the American people, and said unto them, Give me your healthcare for money; or else, if it please ye, I will give ye another healthcare system for it: and they answered, we will not give thee our healthcare.
7    And Pelosi his comrade said unto him, Dost thou now govern the kingdom of America? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the healthcare system of the American people.
8    So she wrote letters in Obama's name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling apart from the American people.
9    And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a witch hunt, and villify the healthcare professionals on the Hill before the American people:
10    And set the news media, scions of the progressives, before them, to bear witness against them, saying, You didst profit from pain and suffering. And then carry them out, and over regulate them, that they may die.
11    And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Pilosi had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them.
12    They proclaimed a witch hunt, and villified the healthcare professionals on the Hill before the American people.
13    And there came in the news media, scions of the progressives, and sat before them: and the news media witnessed against them, even against the health care professionals, in the sight of the American people, saying, the health care professionals did profit from pain and suffering. Then they carried them forth out of the city, and legislated against them with bills, that they died.
14    Then they sent to Pelosi, saying, The American people are bamboozled, and are submissive.
15    And it came to pass, when Pelosi heard that the American people were bamboozled, and were submissive, that Pelosi said to Obama, Arise, take possession of the healthcare of the American people, which they refused to give thee for money: for the American people are not aware, but bamboozled.
16    And it came to pass, when Obama heard that the American people were bamboozled, that Obama rose up to nationalize the healthcare of the American people, to take possession of it.
17    And the word of the Constitution came to the American patriots, saying,
18    Arise, go down to meet Obama the would-be-king of America, which is in the Capitol: behold, he is in the Congress of the American people, whither he is gone down to possess it.
19    And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Constitution, Hast thou nationalized, and also taken possession? And you shall speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the Constitution, In the place where media licked the blood of the healthcare professionals shall media lick thy blood, even thine.
20    And Obama said to the American patriots, Hast thou found me, O mine enemies? And they answered, we have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight of the Constitution.
21    Behold, we will bring lawsuits upon thee, and will take away thy comrades, and will cut off from Obama him that voteth against the people, and him that is shut up and left in the Congress,
22    And will make thine presidency like the presidency of Jimmy the son of Carter, and like the presidency of Woodrow the son of Wilson, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked us to anger, and made America to sin.
23    And of Pelosi also spake the Constitution, saying, The country shall defeat Pelosi by the vote of the people.
24    Him that sideth with Obama in the city the voters shall defeat; and him that sideth in the states shall the voters of the America defeat.
25    But there was none like unto Obama, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Constitution, whom Pelosi his comrade stirred up.
26    And he did very abominably in following liberals, according to all things as did the Alinskyites, whom the Constitution cast out before the voters of America.
27    And it came to pass, when Obama heard those words, that he read his teleprompters, and pulled emails from his desk, and texted, and lied in briefings, and went loudly.
28    And the word of the Constitution came to the American patriots, saying,
29    Seest thou how Obama flaunteth himself before me? because he flaunteth himself before me, I will not allow the evil of his ways: but for his unconstitutional ways will I bring change upon this house.

(If you like this parody, visit the Richfield Tea Party Page and read Obama's Train Wreck, sung to the tune of Petticoat Junction.)

15 Mar 10

Today was Buzzard Day in Hinckley. Kind of appropriate that President Obama swooped down into Strongsville today.

Anyway, Frank and I got there about 10:30 in the morning and stayed until after 3:00 PM. It was cloudy. It was cold. It was drizzly. It was exhilarating! Ralph King, of Cleveland Tea Party, said that they counted at least 650 protesters.

Toward the end we had one Obama supporter show up wearing a shirt that said, "Ban Republican Marriage." When asked what that meant he said, "So they don't reproduce." (Here's a thought: He apparently took for granted that most Republicans marry in order to reproducing. Does that mean most of those who reproduce without the benefit of marriage are not Republicans?)

We then started talking about what a blessing it is to live in a country where we have the right to protest no matter what side of the issue you're on and how many places where you can be thrown in jail and even killed for daring to dissent. One older lady then said to the youthful Obama supporter, "I hope you still have free speech when you get to be my age." To which the young man mumbled something along the lines of, "Not if you guys are in charge."

Of course, he didn't say "you guys," he used a profane term. And after we called him on his use of lewd, pronographic terminology to the lady he slunk off.

Did we make a difference? Probably not to the President. Probably not to the Congress. But, judging by the thumbs up, salutes, and honking horns of the cars and trucks driving by on Rt. 82, we made a difference to someone. And, maybe even to a certain young Obama supporter.

Salt and light.

12 Mar 10

Questions about how Christians should look at President Obama came up on our last program. It started with our first caller referencing what he considered inappropriate and even hateful discussion of the President on another talk show. Of course, not having heard the other program's discussion, I only had the caller's version of what was said.

Now, the purpose of Late Night Live with Pastor Al is not to discuss other talk shows, especially if I did not hear the other program. Our purpose is to answer and discuss callers' questions about the Bible and current events in light of God's Word. Nevertheless, there often is some overlap between what we talk about and what other programs talk about. In such cases I generally try to steer the discussion away from the other show to the issue in question.

Consequently, I told the caller that what we do at the Bible Baptist Church in Richfield is to pray for the President's safety and salvation. After all, Paul writes in 1 Timothy 2:1-4:

I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

We pray for his safety because he is, whether we like it or not, the President of the United States of America. If something happened to him this country would be thrown into turmoil, with the very real possibility of civil unrest and rioting in certain sectors of our society, not to mention our enemies who are poised to exploit any weakness. And, besides, he is the father of two young girls.

We also pray for his salvation because he shows no evidence of being saved. God loves him, Jesus shed His blood for him, and he is going to spend eternity in the Lake of Fire unless he repents and puts his faith and trust in Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. And, as I said to the caller, wouldn't it be a wonderful thing if the President of the United States of America got saved, publicly gave his testimony, and changed his lifestyle and leadership style to reflect his new found faith in Jesus Christ?

While talking about President Obama's need to get saved, I also discussed several reasons why I believe he is probably now a Muslim, even though religion wasn't a big part of his life from college on. First is the fact that he was born a Muslim since, according to Islamic law, anyone born to a Muslim father is a Muslim. Second, he spent his childhood as a Muslim in Indonesia going to the mosque with his Muslim stepfather. Third, when someone without a firm religious framework in their life is put in a position or situation where they are overwhelmed they often turn to the religion they grew up with, Islam in the case of the President. Fourth, Muslim leaders at home and abroad have said that President Obama is a Muslim. And, fifth, several little things make you wonder as well, such as ducking the National Day of Prayer, trying to not put up a White House Christmas tree, and not attending church since becoming President (o.k., he named the chapel at Camp David as his "church"--but how often does he go to Camp David, let alone attend the chapel services there?).

Of course, praying for the safety and salvation of President Obama does not mean that we are praying for the success of his liberal, socialistic, statist agenda. Quite the contrary! We are praying that God would raise up opposition to him and his cronies and defeat their liberal, socialistic, statist agenda.

2 Mar 10

We had an interesting question concerning where the source of knowledge about God and His will comes from. The caller's contention was that what the Church says is just as valid as what the Bible says. Although the caller did not identify what he meant by "the Church" previous experience with the caller tells me that he meant the Roman Catholic Church. What he was really trying to say is that the word of the Roman Catholic Church is as valid as the written Word of God. A point which I, as a Bible-believing, fundamental, independent Baptist preacher, could not assent to.

Here's why. The Bible tells us in Isaiah 8:20, To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. This statement appears in a passage instructing God's people on how to remain faithful to Him during times of trial, tribulation, and temptation.

Paul echoes the same thought in 2 Timothy chapter 3. Here is what he writes in verses 16-17: All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Even Peter, when commenting on the tremendous experience he had on the mount of transfiguration (Matthew 17:1-9) wrote in 2 Peter 1:19-21: We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your hearts: Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.

All these references are to the written Word of God. The Scriptures. These inspired Writings (which is what Scripture means) are what we are to search for Divine revelation and will. After all, Paul commended the Berean Believers in Acts 17:11 by saying that they were ...more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. And even Jesus said, Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me (John 5:39).

Contrast the statements of Jesus, Paul, Peter, and Isaiah recorded in the written Word of God with the writings of the Roman Catholic Church in the official Catechism of the Catholic Church, published in 1994 by Ignatius Press and containing the Imprimi Potest of Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger and an Apostolic Constitution Fidei Depositum of Pope John Paul, II, on page 26, under the heading The Transmission of Divine Revelation:

...two distinct modes of transmission
81     "Sacred Scripture is the speech of God as it is put down in writing under the breath of the Holy Spirit."
     "And [Holy] Tradition transmits in its entirety the Word of God which has been entrusted to the apostles by Christ the Lord and the Holy Spirit. It transmits it to the successors of the apostles so that, enlightened by the Spirit of truth, they may faithfully preserve, expound, and spread it abroad by their preaching."
82     As a result the Church, to whom the transmission and interpretation of Revelation is entrusted, "does not derive her certainty about all revealed truths from the holy Scriptures alone. Both the Scripture and Tradition must be accepted and honored with equal sentiments of devotion and reverence."
[bold emphasis added]

The Roman Catholic Church is not the only group to make something else equal to the Bible. The Mormons equate the Book of Mormon, the Charismatics and Pentecostals their latest revelations, and liberals the latest scholarly pronouncements. Unfortunately, when people make something equal to the Bible their something generally ends up being more equal.

To the law and to the testimony...

22 Feb 10

I had a good question regarding salvation on the program last night. The caller mentioned that he had heard someone teaching on the internet that Jesus is not obligated to save everyone who prays and asks to be saved. The caller asked me what I thought.

I answered the question from two perspectives. The first perspective was that of person who just prays a prayer. The second was that of a person who is genuinely under conviction.

In the case of the person who merely prays a prayer I do not believe that Jesus is obligated to answer their prayer, nor do I believe He will. A salvation prayer is not a magic formula. The words themselves are meaningless if they are just mouthed in a One, two, three, pray after me fashion.

Before I got saved I went forward in an invitation at a revival meeting three nights in a row when I was about 9. The first time I went forward I was brought into a back room with several others. We were read a few Scriptures and then asked to bow our heads and repeat a prayer (One, two, three...). I didn't get saved then because I was just repeating what I was told. The second night the same thing. The third night I was told I didn't need to do it again because I was already saved. Now, I knew I wasn't saved even though I had prayed a prayer twice already (and having grown up with some of the other kids who prayed prayers, I'm rather doubtful that all of them got saved by simply praying a prayer either!).

No, in order to get saved their must be genuine conviction, in which case Jesus Christ definitely will save the soul of the one who prays. In my own case, as mentioned above, I did not get saved repeating a prayer that I did not understand or mean. I got saved at home after going forward that third time and being told I was already saved because I had prayed a prayer. I lay in bed that night under conviction of my sin and knew not only that if I died I would go to hell but that I DESERVED to go to hell. I also knew that Jesus had payed for my sin on the cross and that He was the ONLY way of salvation. When I prayed that time, on my own, in bed, under conviction, Jesus answered my prayer and saved me.

After all, the Bible says in Romans 10:9-13:

That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

10 Feb 10

I don't normally follow football or watch the Super Bowl. However, I did watch the last quarter while getting ready for last Sunday's radio program. I wanted to see who would win because I had picked a winner earlier that afternoon based on the Bible.

Let me explain...even though I had chapter and verse to back me up, it was purely tongue-in-cheek. We had been talking about the tests of a prophet in our Friday night Bible study. We looked at three passages in particular:

If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he hath spoken to turn you away from the LORD your God, which brought you out of the land of Egypt, and redeemed you out of the house of bondage, to thrust thee out of the way which the LORD thy God commanded thee to walk in. So shalt thou put the evil away from the midst of thee. (Deuteronomy 13:1-5)
But the prophet, which shall presume to speak a word in my name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or that shall speak in the name of other gods, even that prophet shall die. And if thou say in thine heart, How shall we know the word which the LORD hath not spoken? When a prophet speaketh in the name of the LORD, if the thing follow not, nor come to pass, that is the thing which the LORD hath not spoken, but the prophet hath spoken it presumptuously: thou shalt not be afraid of him. (Deuteronomy 18:20-22)
And when they shall say unto you, Seek unto them that have familiar spirits, and unto wizards that peep, and that mutter: should not a people seek unto their God? for the living to the dead? To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them. (Isaiah 8:19-20)

Although the Indianapolis Colts were favored, I went with the New Orleans Saints. Here's why. Revelation 19:14, talking about the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, says:

And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.

Now, colts are horses and the armies in heaven that follow Jesus are the saints in heaven. Therefore, we have saints riding on horses, which clearly puts the Saints on top of the Colts. In other words, Revelation 19:14 put the Saints over the Colts nearly 2000 years before last Sunday's game!

Now I was actually prepared to make a point no matter which team won. Had the Colts won I would have used my "Biblical" pick to illustrate Deuteronomy 18:20-22. In the event of a Saints win I was prepared to illustrate Deuteronomy 13:1-5. Either way, I planned to use my pick to illustrate the foolishness of trying to read things into the Scriptures that don't belong there, the danger of twisting Scriptures to get what you want out of them.

Imagine my surprise when New Orleans actually won! One of our church members even called to say that they had called some unsaved family members who were watching the Super Bowl to tell them about learning who would win the game at church. That prompted a discussion about the Bible at their Super Bowl party and questions about our church.

Not such a bad thing, I guess.

21 Jan 10

      TV evangelist Pat Robinson has received a lot of criticism for his comments about the earthquake in Haiti being because they had sold their national soul to the devil. Keeping with our theme of current events in light of God's Word, I was asked if I thought God was punishing Haiti.
      Rather than trying to decide whether or not God sought to punish the people of Haiti by sending an earthquake, I took a different approach. I explained to the caller that it could very well be the natural result of a country that has rejected God.
      Here's what I mean. Psalms 33:12 says, Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD; and the people whom he hath chosen for his own inheritance. When a nation follows after God they experience the blessings of God. One of those blessings is Divine protection. Consequently, when a nation turns away from God they lose the blessings of God, including His protection. God is under no obligation to bless and protect a nation that has rejected Him.
      Think about it this way, if you stay inside your house during a storm the house will protect you from the wind and rain. If you refuse to stay inside then the house will no longer protect you. You are not suffering from the effects of the wind and rain because the house is punishing you. You are suffering because you choose to reject the shelter of the house. The house only protects you when you choose to remain in it. Likewise, you cannot blame God when you suffer because you choose to reject Him.
      Whatever deal Haiti may or may not have made in the past with the devil, Haiti today looks to the false gods of voodoo and Roman Catholicism rather than the one true God of the Bible. Haiti's false gods are really fronts for the god of this world (2 Corinthians 4:4) who is the devil. They have rejected the God of heaven and so He is under no obligation to bless and protect the nation of Haiti (that was evident even before the earthquake).
      Obviously we need to do what we can to help Haiti in the midst of this tragedy. After all, James 2:15-16 says, If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
      We also need to pray that God would ...deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage (Hebrews 2:15). Hopefully, in the midst of this tragedy the people of Haiti will reject their false gods and turn back to the God of the Bible.

4 Jan 10

I want to wish everyone a very happy and blessed New Year! As I said on the program last night, we are one year closer to the Lord's return than we were last year.

      In light of mega-church superstar Rick Warren's year end plea for $900,000, we thought about opening the program with our own plea for $900,000. After all, he's received nearly $2.5 MILLION so far. Not a bad return. Actually, it's about a 267% return.
      Now I have mentioned our financial needs from time to time on the program. Not too often, mind you, and generally only to ask for prayer. I can't remember ever asking for thousands of dollars to keep us on the air.       When financial needs have been mentioned our P.O. box hasn't exactly been flooded with donations. Well, I think I know why. I'm not asking for enough! I need to be asking for hundreds of thousands! Millions! Trillions! (Wait--scratch that last one. I'd have to be in Congress to do that.)
      Why, with that kind of money I could go on TV. Of course, I'd have to convince Kim to put on a big blond wig and trowel on a bucket of makeup, and join me on the TV show. She could sit there, smile, and nod her head a lot while I plead for cash--err, donations. I could even put a little pool of water on the set and use it as a holy wishing well like the late Rev. Ike. But then again, Kim would probably start wanting expensive jewelry and fancy clothes, the cat's would demand gourmet food and heated pet carriers, and I'd have to justify getting my own private 777.
      Maybe I'll just stick with radio...

23 Dec 09

A few years ago I wrote a parody of Twas the Night Before Christmas in protest of the ACLU's war against Christmas. Here is...

Twas the Night Before Winter Fest
Twas the night before Winter Fest, when all through the land,
Not a Christian was stirring, nor lending a hand.
Their Christmas was hung by the attorneys with care,
In the hope that their pastors soon would not care.

The Christians were nestled all snug in their pews,
While visions of Winter Fest gave them the blues.
And Deacon in his suit coat and I with my tote,
Had just wracked our brains for a Winter Fest float.

When out in the hall there arose such a clatter,
I sprang from the room to see what was the matter.
Away to the foyer I flew like a flash,
Tore into the lobby and fell with a crash.

The moon on the crest of the holiday tree
Gave the luster of Earth Day to all I did see.
When what to my wondering eyes should appear,
But a rumpled old man, with eight charges to fear.

Twas a little old lawyer, so snidely and slick,
I knew in a moment it must be Ole Nick.
More rapid than eagles his charges they came,
And he hooted and hollered and charged us with blame!

"No Bibles! No witness! No Commandments in here!
No meetin'! Nor preachin'! And no teachin' ya hear!
To the stop of your sort! I'm the plaintiff to all!
I'll dash away! Trash away! Bash away all!"

As weak knees before the ACLU did knock,
When met with a subpoena, though it was a crock.
So up to the courthouse the lawyers they flew,
With a case full of briefs, and Ole Nicholas too.

And then, in a twinkling, I heard out the door,
Their protests and outcries and a li'l bit more.
As I stuck out my head, and was looking around,
Down the pathway Ole Nicholas came with a bound.

He was stressed and a'fire, from the look of his eyes,
And his cases were all tarnished with falsehoods and lies.
A bundle of griefs he had flung in his pack,
And he looked like a swindler, a bit of a quack.

His eyes-how they smoldered! His grimace so scary!
His lawyers were flustered, his attorneys harried!
His stern little mouth was drawn down in a frown,
For the base of his case the judge had shot down

The stub of a pencil held tight in his fist,
And the note he had circled stood out on his list.
He had a broad claim that the judge had found smelly ,
That shook when he sued, like a case full of jelly.

He was grumpy and sore, a right angry old hob,
And I laughed when I saw him, in spite of his mob!
A look at his case and a peak at the note,
Soon gave me to know what the judge he had wrote.

He spoke not a word, for his case was a joke,
And filed at the courthouse, to harry the folk.
By laying his lawsuit astride of the court
And giving a threat, to end Christmas by tort!

I sprang in the pulpit, to the church gave the news
Of what the judge wrote of Ole Nicholas' views.
"God's great gift of His Son, on that one blessed night,
Sent a Savior for all, that's a case you can't fight!"

-Pastor Al

Merry Christmas!

1 Dec 09

      Over the years I've developed a few regular callers. The most frequent caller, by far, is "John." "John" has extreemly liberal theological, social, and political positions and views. He seems determined to find faults, errors, and inconsistencies with the Bible and my exposition thereof. Personally, I believe that he is looking for reasons (excuses!) for his unbelief and rejection of the Gospel.
      Now some have wondered why I allow "John" on the program so often. There are actually several reasons. One is that people run into so-called enlightened intellectuals and Bible critics like "John" all the time and don't know how to answer them. Hopefully by dealing with "John" it helps others see that it is possible to "...be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15)".
      Another reason is that I genuinely want to see "John" get saved. I believe there must be some conviction of his sinful, lost condition and a fear that the Bible just might be true that that makes him desperate to justify his rejection of the Bible and its message. Likewise, I believe he tries to make me and others on the radio look bad by trying to stump or trip us up or goad those who claim to be "born again" into getting angry and hanging up on him so that he can justify his rejection of the messengers as well as the message.
      Also, another reason why "John" gets on a lot is that he calls nearly every week or so. Sometimes he is the only caller on the board. It is hard to do a call-in radio program and not take a call or dump a call when there are no other calls to go to.
      So, if you do not like hearing from "John" so much, or you think that I am spending too much time with him, give me a call! Or have someone else give me a call! But whatever you do, pray for "John's" salvation.

By the way, here are the verses that mention Jesus raising Himself from the dead that our caller was sure didn't exist. Strange how he didn't want to talk about them after I read them...

--Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of the temple of his body. When therefore he was risen from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said. (John 2:19-22)
--Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father. (John 10:17-18)

23 Nov 09

Busy, busy show last night! We talked about everything from the relative importance of crucifixion compared to the resurrection, the difference between a cross and a crucifix, who the Holy Spirit is, the creation of man and the doctrine of the Trinity, the rise of false prophets, and how to know if you are truly saved.
I also spent some time discussing our source of authority in spiritual matters. I discussed four categories based on a list that I read recently in the book, Why Baptist?. Following is a list of the four positions (with some representational groups in the parenthesis) and their source of spiritual authority:

1. Traditional Christians (Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, Mainline Protestant): Written Word & Tradition
2. Pentecostal/Charismatic Christians (Pentecostals, Charismatics): Written Word & Experience
3. Evangelical Christians (Nondenominationals, Some Protestants, Some Baptists): Written Word & Scholarship
4. Bible-believing Christians (Fundamental Baptists): Written Word only

Unfortunately, in the first three groups what is on the right side of the "&" is more important than what is on the left side...
Ironically, I had the perfect example in the woman who called shortly after I went through the above list. She claimed to be a former Southern Baptist, a former Independent Baptist, and a current Pentecostal pastor and wanted to challenge me to a debate on who the Holy Spirit is. She professed that the Bible was her final authority but it was clear that her experience is much more important to her than the written Word, especially when I read passages that went contrary to what she believed! For a more detailed discussion of the Divine Godhead or Trinity, please click on the following link to read my article Grasping the Trinity.

18 Nov 09

      I went to Cleveland Baptist Church last night for the Why Baptist Conference. It was a wonderful service both nights and I am glad I went. I'm glad several people from our church were able to go as well. I even picked up a great book, Why Baptist? (described at left) which was co-authored by the two speakers, James A. Atler and Dolton W. Robertson II.
      Alter and Robertson are co-founders of The Ancient Baptist Press and sit on the advisory board for the Baptist History Preservation Society.
      I also picked up a several copies of Alter's booklet Baptism: The Significance of Believer's Baptism In an Ecumenical Age. We will be making them available to listeners who write us at P.O. Box 452, Richfield, OH 44286.

16 Nov 09

      I had a special guest on our program last night -- my wife, Kim. I have been wanting to address the swine flu issue and needed a medical professional who would be willing to come on the program and discuss it. As I noted last night, I looked across the desk and saw Kim. She's a registered nurse and has been privy to some of the information being passed around to medical professionals. She's also been following reports about the swine flu in the media since early this year.
      Essentially, our view is that the dangers of the swine flu have been grossly exaggerated, causing people to panic and overreact. In reality, the swine flu has proven less lethal than the regular seasonal flu (which kills 30,000 - 40,000 annually in the United States alone). Inn fact, in Australia where the flu season has already peaked, swine flu mostly displaced the seasonal flu and they actually had a milder flue season with fewer fatalities.
      One big difference between the swine flu and the seasonal flu is that children and young adults are generally more susceptible to it than middle-aged and older adults. That is because flue viruses similar to the present swine flu virus made the rounds during out breaks in the 1950's and 1970's, giving those who live through those swine flu outbreaks a measure of resistance to the current H1N1 swine flu virus. The other groups most at risk are, as with all strains of flu, those with compromised immune systems.
      So, what's a Christian to do? Well, take care of the temple (your body); exercise, eat right, get plenty of rest, and trust the Lord to take care of you. If you get the flu, swine or otherwise, stay away from people until you get better! And use some common sense. Why, for instance, would you want to stand out in the cold, packed sardine-like, with a hundred other lemmings waiting to get a flu shot if you're afraid of getting the flu?

6 Nov 09

Computers are wonderful things but you have to remember to back up your work in case of a crash or hard drive failure. Part of my back up involves duplicating files on both my laptop and desktop. I also have a number of files stored on flash drives and an external hard drive.
I always considered the odds of both computers going down at the same time were slim so I felt safe. Until it happened. The boot section of my desktop's hard drive went bad and the power supply for my laptop stopped charging all about the same time. Now, several weeks later, I am slowly getting back up and running.

About the same time my computers started giving me fits my dad began chemo therapy so I have been busy taking him back and forth to treatments and doctor visits every week. He did very well for the first three treatments but started having trouble after the fourth. He spent a few days in the hospital after the fifth and his treatments are now on hold to give him a chance to build up his strength. Please pray for him!

Our Patriot Day Tea Party in Richfield on September 11 was a tremendous success. We had about 250 attend and a variety of speakers. I spoke on how we got our Constitution and the Bill of Rights due to the active political involvement John Leland, a Baptist preacher, and the Bible believing Baptists of Orange County, Virginia. My wife, Kim, read a time line of the events of September 11, 2001. We also recognized all active and former military, police, fire, and rescue personnel present. We were able to pass out a number of tracts and church flyers as well.

Please continue to pray for our radio outreach, Late Night Live with Pastor Al. We would like to expand our broadcast hours and also possibly add other stations in the future. Unfortunately, it takes money that we don't have. We figure that God will give us the funds to expand our outreach in His time. In the meanwhile, we are trusting Him to provide the funds necessary to keep us on the air an hour a week on WHKW 1220 AM.

29 Aug 09

      My wife and I were talking about the program earlier today and the various advantages and disadvantages of being on late at night. If we were on during the day we would potentially have more listeners in the immediate area but the cost would be a bit more and the signal would not cover as large an area as it does at night. One of the advantages of AM signals is that after the sun goes down their coverage area increases considerably. We probably pick up quite a number of listeners as a consequence.
      In addition to the costs being a bit less at night, we probably have less competition as we are one of the few late night talk programs on the air live. Being night owls ourselves we know what it's like to be scanning the radio dial trying to find something to listen to while traveling or working late at night, especially on a Sunday night.
      All in all, we thank God for giving us the opportunity and ability to be on the radio late each Sunday night. Admittedly, we would like to move up to the 10:00 PM hour if it should ever become available. It would give us a few more listeners and get us home before midnight. However, we do not foresee moving up any earlier than that due to the difficulties it would involve time-wise with getting out of church, getting something to eat, and getting to the station.

A couple of months ago we got involved with planning a tea party in Richfield for September 11. We have a variety of speakers lined up and I will be speaking there as well. I plan to speak on how we got our Constitution and the Bill of Rights due to the active political involvement of a group of Bible believing Baptists in Virginia.
The tea party will be 5-7 PM at the Richfield Town Hall Pavilion, located behind the Richfield Town Hall at 4410 Streetsboro Road in Richfield. You can find out more about that by going to our Richfield Patriot Day Tea Party web site. We hope to see you there!

18 Aug 09

It is hard to believe that we have been on the air for 3 years now! We started on the third Sunday in August, 2006, at midnight (I know, technically that would be Monday...) with just my wife, Kim, and me, two Bibles, a concordance, a bag of books, and the Lord. Three years later we've moved to 11 PM, added a laptop, and subtracted a few books.
When God opened the door for us to go on the radio it was definitely a step of faith. As a small church (less than 20 people at the time) struggling to keep up with our other bills, it just did not seem possible. However, the Bible says in Matthew 19:26, "...With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible." Well, praise the Lord, He has not only kept us on the air and supplied our need but blessed us in so many ways through the program.

From time to time people ask about our live, call-in, question and answer format. There are two main reasons for the format. One is that the radio program is an outgrowth of our Friday evening Bible study. From 7-9 each Friday night we have an informal Bible study without a set course of study. Instead, those who come bring questions about the Bible and current events in light of God's Word.
The second reason is that we wanted to do something different than the usual sermon or Bible study format. We remembered doing a lot of late night driving as missionaries, scanning the radio dial trying to find something to listen to that might help us stay alert and awake on the road. Talk programs, especially those with live callers, seemed to keep our attention late at night better than other formats so we decided to give it a try. Three years later it appears to be working.

Another question I often get is, "How do you prepare for a live, call-in program?" Well, since I generally have no clue what the caller will ask about until I take the call live on-air, the answer is prayer, Bible study, more prayer, lots of reading, and still more prayer. And, in case we don't get too many callers on a particular night, I generally have a several news items on hand to discuss.
Mostly though, I just have to trust the Lord to give me a clear mind and help bring things to my remembrance. (That calls to mind my college test prayer: "Lord, I'm not asking you to give me anything I haven't studied; just help me to remember that which I have studied.")

7 Aug 09

What a busy week this has been. After the show, Kim and I hopped in the car and drove down to Kentucky to visit her family. It was our first visit since her grandmother went to be with the Lord last January. We literally left the radio station, got on the highway, and drove south all night. We got there about 6 AM slept till noon, had lunch, and then went out to a shooting range with my brother-in-law. We got to soot a variety of guns including a .38 special revolver, 9mm and .40 semiauto, and a 12 gauge shotgun. Fortunately we went Monday because it was an outdoor range and it poured all day Tuesday.

Now that we're back it's back to work. Plans for the September 11 Richfield Patriot Day Tea Party are coming along. I hope to be speaking on how we got the Bill of Rights added to the Constitution (Hint: It wasn't due to the efforts of the Episcopalians, Catholics, Congregationists, Presbyterians, Deists, or secularists!)

We had 4-5 calls last Sunday. Much of our questions revolved around the Book of Revelation and a discussion of the rapture. All in all a good show.

27 Jul 09

I always hate to have to drop a call. I try to be fair and willing to entertain questions that some might think are dumb, so long as they are legitimate. Unfortunately it sometimes has to be done.
The caller just wanted to waste our time with a foolish question concerning 2 Kings 2:11 where Elisha watches as Elijah is caught up in a chariot of fire drawn by horses of fire. Rather than discuss what the passage meant or why it is recorded in the Bible he just fixated on asking what kind of horses they were. After failing to be able to draw the caller into a more intellectual, theological discussion I finally gave up and ended the call when he asked "Are they palominos?" The intellectual and theological caliber of the program improved markedly with the next caller...

Just to let you know, I am working on lining up a special guest. He has extensive knowledge and contacts in Israel and in the Israeli Defense Forces. I am hoping to have him scheduled to be on the program in a few weeks to discuss what is happening in Israel and the Middle East from a Biblical perspective. As soon as I am able to confirm when I will let you know.

25 Jul 09

Just wanted to let everyone know that we will be co-sponsoring a tea party in Richfield on September 11. The theme for the Richfild tea party is America's Freedoms are Under Attack.
On September 11, 2001, America was attacked. On September 11, 2009, we will be talking about how America's freedoms are under attack. We are planning to have a variety of speakers dealing with the increasing assaults on our Constitutional rights and what we can do about it. If you would like to know more or find out how you can help, please visit our tea party website at http://teaparty.mapleknoll.us!

15 Jul 09

On last Sunday night's program I was challenged as to whether or not I would like to have the whole world think like me. I responded that I might think it would be nice but I don't think it will ever happen. Besides, I don't think God necessarily wants a world cast in the image of Pastor Al. If He did, He would have created a world full of Pastor Als.
The caller then asked what I thought the world would be like if it were dominated by Islamic fundamentalists. I said it would be just like Afghanistan under the Taliban.

That reminds me a discussion I had with a friend about the four basic personality types; melancholy, choleric, sanguine, and phlegmatic. We were debating what the world would be like if everyone was of just one personality type. It really has nothing to do with the previous point but here's how I broke it down:

      If everyone were melancholy, the world would just mope along until someone dies an accidental death. Everyone else would be overcome with grief and commit suicide. There would be nobody left.
      If everyone were choleric, the world be a series of battles and fights until only one person was left alive. The lone survivor would then be so upset that there was no one left to dominate that he would kill himself. There would be nobody left.
      If everyone were sanguine, the world would be a wonderful, happy place until some chance event caused one person to crash and burn. Wallowing in the depths of despair he would accidentally take his own life. Immediately everyone else would follow suit. There would be nobody left.
      If everyone were phlegmatic, the world would hum along on an even keel with everyone mostly minding their own business. If for for some reason somebody might die, the others would take note, shake their head, and then move on with their lives. The world would survive.
      In other words, phlegmatics are the glue that holds the world together!

11 Jul 09

One of the problems with pastoring a small church, hosting a radio program, trying to maintain several websites, publishing a church newsletter, and trying to finish my second Wildwood novel is that I don't seem to be able to keep up with everything that I want to do. Why, sometimes I even like to get a few hours our sleep every now and then.
Be that as it may, I took on yet another project that I will be mentioning on the radio program in the future. We are planning a Patriot Day Tea Party to be held on Patriot Day, September 11, in Richfield, Ohio. Our tentative time and location is on the green at the southeast corner of state routes 303 and 176 from 5-7 PM.

I want to thank and praise the Lord for the recent gifts that we have received to help with air time costs. In the last two weeks we have received gifts totaling $300.00. At $150.00 a show, that is enough for two shows. Thank you to those who gave. May God bless you for it.

      On last week's program I was asked by a caller about submitting to the government versus resisting the government. He wanted to know what position a Bible-believing Christian should take. I pointed out that the government is a divinely appointed authority over us (Romans 13:1-6). However, as Ephesians 6:1 points out, we are not to be blindly obedient. After all, the verse says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right."
      Obedience to the commands of those in authority over us (our parents) is enjoined so long as it does not entail disobedience or violation of God's commands. An example can be seen Acts 5:29 when, despite having been ordered to cease preaching and teaching in the name of Jesus, "Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men."
      We are not to blindly obey those in authority, fearing the wrath of God if we don't. We should use a little common sense. After all, when I joined the Air Force I took an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. In doing so I was responsible to obey all lawful orders given to me and to resist all unlawful orders. I think God expects the same.

1 Jul 09

We've been getting a good number of calls to the program lately. The last several weeks in a row we have had around three calls each night. Now that might not seem like all that many but we are not a program that only allows callers on for a minute or two and then quickly moves on. Instead, we try to focus on the questions that are callers have and hopefully answer them in a way that both our callers and our listeners can understand.
When we began this program (3 years ago next month!) we wanted to provide a format that was different from the typical sermon/Bible study. Knowing that we would be on late at night we wanted to something that might be a little more engaging. Hopefully we have done that and it is a blessing and a help to our listeners.

Speaking of listeners, I received an e-mail last week asking if it was true that it costs $150.00 per program. A couple of weeks ago I was explaining why our church believes in and is willing to spend $150.00 a week to put Late Night Live with Pastor Al on the air each week. We consider it a part of our outreach ministry and trust that the Lord will continue to enable us to do it for as long as He wants us to.
Being a small church we were concerned when our church was forced to relocate earlier this year. One of our prayers was that we would find a place that we could afford without having to give up the radio program. God supplied but it still remains a faith-based ministry, so please keep us in your prayers!

As a side note, if you are having trouble receiving Late Night Live with Pastor Al over the air, you can always listen online each Sunday night at 11:00 PM. WHKW streams AM 1220 live. So, click here to listen live Sunday night at 11:00 PM!