Shows
Citizen of HeavenOUR NEW HOUSE: I feel settled. I feel challenged. I feel achy. I feel joyful.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!After five years of waiting, working and praying, the Hammons family is actually living in a place worthy of the name Casa Hammons. Since I’ve been unable to think of anything else for the last two weeks, I thought I’d give in to the urge and just talk about what’s been going on with us – how we’re settling in, the challenges that lie in front of us, the pain the move is caused and whether it’s all worth it; and the increasingly numerous opp...
2025-04-2919 min
Citizen of HeavenMONTHLY REPORT, May 2024: Zero, faith, and Hal's Law.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!My plan this month was to start my halftime report on the books I’m reading this year, but that’s going to have to wait. The plan now is for a show on my most thought-provoking books, another for surprising books, and then one for my best books. I’ll be sharing those with you in June, Lord willing, instead of the regular monthly report. But I just finished “Zero: The Biography of a Dangerous Idea,” by Charles Seife, and I had too much to say to just le...
2024-05-3112 min
Citizen of HeavenONE, part 3: with Keith Stonehart and Paul HammonsRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!All month long you listen to me and me alone on this podcast. But early on I determined to let you listen in once a month as I sit at the feet of others. The results are some of my favorite episodes of all. That certainly includes my conversation with Keith Stonehart and Paul Hammons, which wraps up today. We wrap up by talking about the game of solitaire some of our brethren seem determined to play and why they should pay the price, however painful, to...
2024-05-0816 min
Citizen of HeavenONE, part 2: with Keith Stonehart and Paul HammonsRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We’re back with Keith Stonehart and Paul Hammons, talking about the number one. Keith works with the Fultondale church of Christ in the Birmingham, Alabama, area. Paul works with the Graham church of Christ in north Texas. In this segment, we’re discussing the benefits, and especially the dangers, of obsessing over a single thing. Is it possible to focus too much on a single thing — even if that thing is Jesus Christ? Let’s find out. Hal Hammons serves as preacher and shepherd for the L...
2024-05-0820 min
Citizen of HeavenONE, with Paul Hammons and Keith StonehartRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you! We’re talking about numbers this month on the podcast, and we’re starting with the number 1, which seems appropriate. Keith Stonehart joins from the Birmingham, Alabama, area. He preaches for the Fultondale church of Christ. I’ve never met Keith in the flesh, but he’s good friends with my other guest whom I’ve known for all his life and almost all of mine. Paul Hammons preaches for the church of Christ in Graham, Texas, and is widely considered “the smart one of the family.” Hal Hammons...
2024-05-0719 minCitizen of HeavenWEEKLY REPORT, March 31-April 5, 2024: "Helen of Troy," etc.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the Citizen of Heaven podcast, my report for the week of March 30-April 5, 2024. I am Hal Hammons, citizen of heaven. I’m here with a behind-the-scenes look at what’s going on in my life and the life of this podcast. This week’s livestream on Facebook was thwarted by the gremlins in my internet service; apologies for that. Most of my time this week will be focused on “Helen of Troy” by Margaret George, my first big book of the year. Before I start the show, l...
2024-04-0623 minCitizen of HeavenMEEKNESS: Jesus and Samson. Lou Gehrig: The Lost Memoir. The name you wear. Go Fish.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Meekness has come to mean weakness or passivity in our modern vernacular. But that’s not what it means in the Bible. And it’s not what it will mean here for the next 20 minutes.This week we will discuss the difference between the strongest man in human history and a muscle-bound oaf from the book of Judges; the frustratingly nice words from a Hall of Famer; the boastfulness of people who have done very little to boast of; and the friendliest competition in Hammons fami...
2023-07-1118 minCitizen of HeavenPHOTOGRAPHY: Snapshots vs. sketches. "The Kissing Sailor." Cameras. Picture Perfect.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!“But Hal,” you may be saying, “photography wasn’t invented until the 19th Century. What does it have to do with the gospel?” Well, that’s what you’re here to find out, right?This week we will discuss whether God is a photographer or a sketch artist; who the most famous anonymous couple in America actually was, and whether we should care; what exposure to Jesus can do if we take the lens cap off; and the perfect way to take the perfect picture of not-so-perf...
2023-06-2719 minCitizen of HeavenADOPTION, part 3: with Scott BeyerRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We brought someone new into the Hammons family recently; my daughter Taylor married a fine Christian man, and we are thrilled to put an extra chair at the game table for him. But his experience with gaming is very different from ours. We want him to be part of our lives, but we want him to feel comfortable in making the transition. Dice Town was a good choice for Jake. It’s not quite the same as playing poker with dice, but close enough for him to un...
2023-06-0833 minCitizen of HeavenTHE GOOD FUTURE: Smyrna. "The Sky is Not Falling." "Shahdaroba." Terraforming Mars.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I am Hal Hammons, citizen of heaven, your embedded correspondent in Satan’s world. Thanks for listening, rating and subscribing.I am an optimist by nature. When I talk about the future, sometimes I forget that. This episode helped remind me, for which I am grateful.This week we will cover the glorious future of the persecuted church, and when and how it might arrive; the future of church growth and why we are running from it; a guarantee of a brighter future fr...
2023-05-3018 minCitizen of HeavenPOVERTY: Jesus and the poor. Hillbilly Elegy. The Great Depression. QE.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Poverty is the rule, not the exception. We have become prosperous enough in modern-day America that “poor” people write Yelp reviews on their smart phones about how expensive their sushi was. Actual poor people do exist, though. They always have and always will.This week we will discuss Jesus’ apparent indifference to poverty; a young man’s trip from hopelessness to Congress; the origin story of Hal Hammons, Famous Tightwad; and how my wife stopped the Federal Reserve from invading our board game table.Hal...
2023-02-2120 minCitizen of HeavenSERVICE, part 2: with Tim Jennings and Edwin CrozierRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my discussion of the topic of service with Tim Jennings and Edwin Crozier. Tim is the preacher for the Castleberry church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas. Edwin preaches for the Livingston Avenue church of Christ in Lutz Florida. We pick up with a discussion of how being a friend of Jerry Seinfeld does not make you an expert in the art of dealing with support staff; and how inviting friends to game night may say more about your se...
2022-07-2743 minCitizen of HeavenSERVICE: with Tim Jennings and Edwin CrozierRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the first half of my discussion of the topic of service with two of the most qualified servants I know. Tim Jennings is the preacher for the Castleberry church of Christ in Fort Worth, Texas. Edwin Crozier preaches for the Livingston Avenue church of Christ in Lutz Florida. I had a lot of trouble trimming this week. Lots of great content. In this part we discuss how sincere our service in local churches is, and how we can check ourselves for insincerity. Both s...
2022-07-2642 minCitizen of HeavenANGER, part 2: with Reagan McClenny and Scott TaylorRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my conversation with Reagan McClenny and Scott Taylor. Reagan preaches for the Timberland Drive church of Christ in Lufkin, Texas. Scott preaches for the West Mason church of Christ in suburban Cincinnati. In the second part of our conversation, we explore why God chooses to squeeze out the grapes of His wrath as slowly as He does, instead of taking care of things quickly like we tell Him to.Go to www.balancingthechristianlife.com to find out m...
2022-07-2019 minCitizen of HeavenANGER, part 1: with Reagan McClenny and Scott TaylorRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This week I have a special pair of guests for you. Reagan McClenny is a long-time friend of the show. He preaches for the Timberland Drive church of Christ in Lufkin, Texas. Scott Taylor is a first-timer. He preaches for the West Mason church of Christ in suburban Cincinnati. Reagan and Scott will help me deal with the topic of anger this week.In the first part of our conversation, we discuss the example of Elijah and the difference between righteous indignation and just plain...
2022-07-1936 minCitizen of HeavenTIME, part 2: with Jeff O'Rear and BJ SipeRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I’m back with the second part of my conversation with Jeff O’Rear and BJ Sipe. Again, Jeff is the evangelist for the Judson Road church of Christ in Longview, Texas, and co-host of the Working with the Word podcast; BJ is the evangelist for the church of Christ in Danville, Kentucky, and the host of the Set Your Mind Above podcast. BJ is another contributor to the Balancing the Christian Life Lectures; links are in the show notes. We finish by talking about the number of da...
2022-07-1327 minCitizen of HeavenTIME, with Jeff O'Rear and BJ SipeRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This week I spend some time with Jeff O’Rear, evangelist for the Judson Road church of Christ in Longview, Texas, and co-host of the Working with the Word podcast; and also BJ Sipe, evangelist for the church of Christ in Danville, Kentucky, and the host of the Set Your Mind Above podcast. BJ is another contributor to the Balancing the Christian Life Lectures; check it out if you have not already. In the first half of the conversation we discuss Solomon’s ideas about time in Eccl...
2022-07-1224 minCitizen of HeavenTRUTH, part 2: with Chris Kramer and Adam ShanksRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my conversation on the topic of truth with Adam Shanks and Chris Kramer, two of several participants in the Balancing the Christian Life Lectures who will be appearing in this space in coming weeks. In these two segments we discuss what we think of Ron Wyatt and his outrageous claims, as well as spurious Biblical arguments in general; and the “Telephone” game so popular at gatherings of young people that turns out to have been triggering to one of my guests. We’l...
2022-07-0642 minCitizen of HeavenTRUTH: with Adam Shanks and Chris KramerRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I’m joined this week by Adam Shanks and Chris Kramer, both first-time guests on the podcast. Adam is the preacher for the Edwards Lake church of Christ in Birmingham, Alabama, and the host of the Preach Impediments podcast. Chris is the preacher for the church of Christ Northside in Russellville, Kentucky, and a regular contributor to the Answering Religious Error stream on Facebook. Both will be contributors this month to the Balancing the Christian Life Lectures. In the first half of our conversation, we will discuss th...
2022-07-0521 minCitizen of HeavenSECRETS: God's secrets. "The Circle." Introverts. Rear Window.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Are secrets good or bad? It probably depends on whether it is others’ secrets under consideration or your own. Knowledge may be power, but too much power can overload our circuitry.This week we will discuss the secrets God is keeping from us, whatever they may be; whether privacy is an inherently bad thing (and I can make the case); whether introverts can get to heaven — and if so, how; and how Alfred Hitchcock made his way to my game table. Hal Hammons is th...
2022-06-2829 minCitizen of HeavenSILENCE: Authority. "The Autobiography of Charles Chaplin." Tinnitus. The Mind.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Is silence golden? Is it deadly? Is it nervous? Is it dramatic? As with everything else I seem to talk about, it depends on the context.This week we will discuss the role silence plays, if any, regarding authority; the greatest silent picture star of all time, and what he didn’t say; the thousand tiny triangles that play constantly between my ears; and your new favorite game that I’m here to make you hate. Hal Hammons is the preacher for t...
2022-06-2125 minCitizen of HeavenEVIL: Idolatry and sex. "Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde." Satan's world. Cthulhu.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!There is evil in the world. I remember President George W. Bush getting in a lot of trouble saying that 20 years ago. But he was right then, and he’s right now. This week we will discuss my theory on why the ones who knew God best rejected Him the most; how Dr. Jeckyl thought he could have his cake and eat it too; why I insist on saying Satan is ruling in the world today; and why we avoid one of the most beloved cha...
2022-06-1427 minCitizen of HeavenSPIES: Kadesh-Barnea. "Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy." Banana republics and banana pudding. Covert.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Spy stories have always fascinated me — the subterfuge, the twists and turns, the idea of being involved in something bigger than yourself. I’m largely over that, though, and this week I’ll tell you why.We will cover the challenges of getting too much information; the sacrifices that must be made for the cause; the moral dilemma of banana pudding; and the options available to us when we are in over our heads. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church...
2022-06-0725 minCitizen of HeavenTHE SKIES: Psalm 8 and telescopes. "Contact." Starlight. Clank! In Space.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!The Bible speaks of three “heavens” — the one with birds and clouds, the one with the sun, moon and stars; and the one where God dwells. We will touch them all this week.We will discuss Psalm 8 and how we may have our telescopes pointed in the wrong direction; Carl Sagan’s idea of God and how woefully short it falls; one of the best arguments against the six-day creation, and my argument against that; and how making the most of your time on earth can caus...
2022-05-3124 minCitizen of HeavenTHE SEA: Separation from God. "Raise the Titanic!" "There is a Sea." Oceanos.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!The sea represents the edge of the inhabited world. It’s deep, cold, mysterious, intimidating — not to be trifled with. This week we talk about the sea that separates us from God, and what God’s doing about it; Clive Cussler’s take on the Titanic story — better than James Cameron’s in my book; a pair of seas from the Bible and from our hymnbooks, one of which one may represent you; and the best scuba diving experience you will ever find that’s made out of cardboard. ...
2022-05-2423 minCitizen of HeavenTHE EARTH: Stewardship. "State of Fear." The meek inherit. Habitats.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We follow up on last week’s “Creation” episode by talking about the land we inhabit and the role God gives us while we do so. We will discuss the nature of our stewardship, and its implications for our own bodies; the folly of thinking we can every really know what we’re doing; what it means for the meek to “inherit the earth,” and how we can act responsibly with an uncertain future ahead of us.Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods...
2022-05-1725 minCitizen of HeavenCREATION: Something from nothing. "The Lie." Theistic evolution. Cascadia.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This month is all about God’s power over the physical world — starting with our Evidence talk with the Appian Media guys last week, and continuing this week with the world we inhabit and how it came to be.We will discuss making something from nothing, both in the world and in our own lives; the great lie our enemies are telling, and how we can defeat it; the problems with squeezing the Bible into a model built by atheists; and why God’s ecosystems work s...
2022-05-1024 minCitizen of HeavenEVIDENCE, part 2: With Craig Dehut and Stuart Peck of Appian MediaRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the rest of my conversation with Craig Dehut and Stuart Peck, the founders of Appian Media. Appian Media provides free resources of extraordinary quality to help flesh out and fortify the faith of Bible believers. Check them out at AppianMedia.org. In this part we discuss the testimony of the resurrection and how it paves the way for faith in other areas of study; and what we should do if and when the answers we are getting to our questions are not giving u...
2022-05-0441 minCitizen of HeavenEVIDENCE: With Craig Dehut and Stuart Peck of Appian MediaRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!A few months ago I got to speak to Jeremy Dehut and Barry Britnell about some of the work being done by Appian Media. This week the founders of Appian Media are here, Craig Dehut and Stuart Peck. I got to pick their brains about the effective use of evidence from archaeology and history in efforts to build faith in ourselves and others.In the first part of our conversation we discuss the use of entertainment media, especially on behalf of our young people. Nothing...
2022-05-0333 minCitizen of HeavenLUCK: Karma. "The Kings of Big Spring." Origins. Yahtzee!Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Ironic, isn’t it? The man who never gets sick catches COVID the week he plans an episode on luck. You can’t make this stuff up. Anyway, I’m likely not at my best vocally, so your patience is appreciated.This week we will discuss the myth of Karma; our tendency to see bad luck crossing our path more often than good luck; the odds of humans evolving from non-living matter, if it’s even fair to calculate them; and how we can turn an unfor...
2022-04-2623 minCitizen of HeavenPRECONCEPTIONS: "Behold, I thought." "The Prince and the Pauper" (2). Grapes on pizza. Box covers.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We talked about standing up straight in the Posture episode last week. But stand where? For how long? Using our best judgment is critical; but sometimes what we call “best judgment” is simply what comes easiest. That may be simplistic and even counterproductive.This week we will discuss the dangers of thinking too much, the real difference (if any) between rich and poor, a new and perhaps horrifying vision of pizza, and the value of a good box cover.Hal Hammons is the prea...
2022-04-1826 minCitizen of HeavenPOSTURE: Gird up your loins. "The Prince and the Pauper." Jordan Peterson. Aggravation.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Take a stand for truth. Be a stand-up guy. Stand up and be counted. We instinctively connect good posture and good character. If you don’t buy into that, if you prefer to be a slouch, it’s probably going to affect your relationships — including your relationship with Jesus.This week we will discuss what our loins are and how we gird them up; what separates princes and paupers; Jordan Peterson’s first rule for life; and what motivates me to play games, including awful games.
2022-04-1227 minCitizen of HeavenRACISM, part 2 - with Benjamin Lee and Saif AlsafeerRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We pick up where we left off in my conversation about racism with Benjamin Lee and Saif Alsafeer. If you haven’t checked out part 1 yet, please do so. In this conversation we go back to Robinson Crusoe one last time to discuss how relevant the racism discussion is in today’s world and today’s church; and the hazards of stereotyping people based on a sliver of facts or surface appearances, especially in the era of social media. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the...
2022-04-0631 minCitizen of HeavenRACISM, part 1 -- with Benjamin Lee and Saif AlsafeerRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We begin Season 4 of the podcast this week with a very special conversation with Benjamin Lee and Saif Alsafeer on a very sensitive topic. I very much appreciated the perspective of these two men, and I enjoyed how we were able to approach the topic as brethren. This is the first part of our discussion. We spend it emphasizing our commonality and our need to live together in the body of Christ, as well as assessing the problem of racism in the church today and how we...
2022-04-0544 minCitizen of HeavenPODCASTING, part 2: with Jared Bollman, Edwin Crozier and Kenny EmbryRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my conversation with Kenny Embry, Edwin Crozier and Jared Bollman, three of my favorite people in this space. We will discuss the blessings and hazards of social media, what draws us to this space, the price we pay to participate, and the upcoming Balancing the Christian Life Lectures.Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of the Citizen of Heaven podcast. You are encouraged to seek him...
2022-03-3027 minCitizen of HeavenPODCASTING: with Jared Bollman, Edwin Crozier and Kenny EmbryRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!To cap the third season of Citizen of Heaven, I sat down over Zoom with three of my podcasting buddies to talk about the medium, how we are all using it, what potential pitfalls await us, and how we came to podcasting in the first place. I hope the conversation will be interesting and informative.Jared Bollman hosts the Man Up! podcast, as well as the Biblically Speaking channel on YouTube. Edwin Crozier teams up with Andrew Roberts to host the Text Talk podcast, an...
2022-03-2932 minCitizen of HeavenWORDS: Context. "Robinson Crusoe" (4). Profanity. Scrabble.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Words are the tools of my profession. Whether written or spoken, live or recorded, they are the weapons of my warfare, to borrow from 2 Corinthians 10:3. This week we will discuss a word used constantly by preachers like me — and if you ask me, we ought to use it more; the havoc that 300 years of usage can wreak on our vocabulary; the lie we tell ourselves about profanity and what it says about our view of God; and how the smallest of words can make the gre...
2022-03-2227 minCitizen of HeavenREPENTANCE: Kingdom prep. "Robinson Crusoe" (3). Fake apologies. Civilization.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!“Repentance” is a church word. We don’t hear it very often in our daily lives in the world. And maybe that’s the problem. We’re not doing it because no one is talking about it.This week we will discuss our utter unworthiness of the kingdom of God, our utter unwillingness to learn from our mistakes, our utter incompetence at simple apologies, and my own utter refusal to accept the consequences of my actions. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods D...
2022-03-1528 minCitizen of HeavenISLANDS: The gospel's spread. "Robinson Crusoe" (2). Jimmy Buffett. Isle of Skye.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!When I think of getting away from it all, I think of an island. Me here, problems way out there, it’s a comforting way of looking at the world. But island living is not as simple as that.This week we will discuss God’s plan to bridge the gap between the mainland and the islands; Robinson Crusoe conforming the island to meet his needs instead of the other way around; why “wasting away in Margaritaville” is not all it’s cracked up to be; and th...
2022-03-0824 minCitizen of HeavenCANNIBALS, part 2: with BJ SipeRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my conversation with BJ Sipe, the preacher at the church of Christ in Danville, Kentucky, and the host of the Set Your Mind Above podcast. Check out the first half if you have not already. True confession: the connection here to cannibalism is weak. But we have been personifying disease and death since long before Edgar Allen Poe picked up a pen or I picked up a game piece. We spend this segment discussing how to avoid being eaten up by...
2022-03-0224 minCitizen of HeavenCANNIBALS: with guest BJ SipeRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Do Christians actually eat other Christians? Yes they do, and my guest and I have the bite marks to prove it, as do countless other Christians. BJ Sipe, the preacher at the church of Christ in Danville, Kentucky, and the host of the Set Your Mind Above podcast, sat down with me to discuss the topic. This is the first half of our conversation. We discuss Galatians 5:13-16 and the eating habits of some brethren; and we’ll discuss how we maintain our love for bad...
2022-03-0142 minCitizen of HeavenSTUPIDITY: "Stupid" in the Bible. "The Laws of Human Stupidity." The "S" word. Aquasphere.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!For all the kindergarten teachers out there who are annoyed with me already, stick with me; I will get to you in a minute. The fact is, stupidity exists. And it’s not tough to prove it.This week we will discuss the things the Bible calls stupid; the behavior that makes you stupid, at least in the eyes of one author; the confusion over what is and is not a “cuss word”; and my weird obsession with playing games I don’t understand. ...
2022-02-2228 minCitizen of HeavenANARCHY: Under law to Christ. "The Power-House." Political protests. Monopoly.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Anarchy is society without government. If you’re not a big fan of government, and I’m not, that can sound pretty good. And in a perfect world, it would be. But in case you didn’t know, this isn’t a perfect world.This week we will discuss what it means to be under law to Christ; how conspiracy theories feed into our worst tendencies; whether political protests are part of the solution or part of the problem; and yet another reason not to play Mon...
2022-02-1526 minCitizen of HeavenADAPTATION: Adjustable vs. spineless. "The 39 Steps." The New World. Castles of Tuscany.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Fair warning: This week’s episode will sound more like a lesson for preachers than normal. But I’m confident that any child of God will find a way to adapt it for personal use. (See what I did there?)We will cover the difference between being adjustable and being spineless; the importance of good source material, for movie makers and for Christians; why my new bumper music should be reminding you of Swing Low Sweet Chariot; and why a designer would want to rip off...
2022-02-0827 minCitizen of HeavenFEELINGS, part 2: with Kris Emerson and Steve WolfgangRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second half of my conversation with Kris Emerson and Steve Wolfgang. Kris Emerson is host of the Excel Still More podcast and preacher for the Lindale church of Christ. Steve Wolfgang is the evangelist for the Downer’s Grove church of Christ in suburban Chicago. In the final part of our conversation, we discuss Jesus’ ideas about brotherly love, why the world isn’t generally interested, and how we should respond. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in...
2022-02-0227 minCitizen of HeavenFEELINGS, part 1: with Kris Emerson and Steve WolfgangRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I have two guests with me to share their insights — and if they choose, their feelings as well. Kris Emerson is host of the Excel Still More podcast and preacher for the Lindale church of Christ. Steve Wolfgang is the evangelist for the Downer’s Grove church of Christ in suburban Chicago. This is the first two segments of our discussion; we discuss the role conscience plays in spiritual decision-making; and whether we should care more about people’s feelings than Ben Shapiro seems to. Hal Hamm...
2022-02-0146 minCitizen of HeavenETERNITY: A time for everything. "Centennial." Mahler's 2nd. The Game of Life.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!In some ways this week’s installment is a follow-up to last week’s. We discussed the concept of “Big” last week. And there’s nothing bigger than eternity. This week we will discuss the secret to life, according to the wisest man to ever live; how Native American philosophy, as narrated by James Michener, strangely mirrors the Bible; how you can be resurrected and not go to heaven, at least according to one composer; and a game from my childhood that reminds me why I play....
2022-01-2527 minCitizen of HeavenBIG: Big faith. "Texas." Gustav Mahler. Ticket to Ride: Europe.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!They say everything is bigger in Texas. The bluster, the egos, the steaks, the belt buckles. You name it, we can supersize it. But bigger comes with its problems — big commitments, big disappointments, big failures and big consequences among them. This week we will discuss big faith and why you should be trying to find it; big dreams that have always characterized the Lone Star State; big work from the greatest composer you’ve never heard of; and the big version of an old favorite....
2022-01-1825 minCitizen of HeavenMURDER: Killer Christians. "Hunting Charles Manson." The Jennings Eight. H.H. Holmes' Murder Castle.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed. God told Noah that thousands of years ago. And the value of human life has not diminished since then. Unfortunately our valuation of it has in many cases. This week we will discuss whether Christians actually murder other Christians, and if so, how; the secrets to staying out of a sex-drug-murder cult; another reason not to stop for gas in Louisiana; and the only board game we own based on the work of a s...
2022-01-1127 minCitizen of HeavenGEOGRAPHY (part 2): With Jeremy Dehut and Barry Britnell of Appian MediaRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second part of my discussion with Jeremy Dehut and Barry Britnell.Check out www.appianmedia.com for the great work Jeremy, Barry and the rest of the crew put together.I absolutely loved Bruce Feiler’s book, American Prophet, which detailed the importance of the Moses story in American life. So when I heard he had written a book about charting the story of God through actual journeys through Bible lands, I grabbed it quickly. What a disappointment. It became ob...
2022-01-0527 minCitizen of HeavenGEOGRAPHY (part 1): With Jeremy Dehut and Barry Britnell of Appian MediaRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This week I have the privilege of sharing my discussion with Jeremy Dehut and Barry Britnell of Appian Media, a wonderful resource for professional and Biblical material. Check them out at www.appianmedia.org. This is the first half of our discussion. We will discuss the insights the crew found into the book of Revelation while filming their most recent project — “Trial and Triumph: Revelation’s Churches.”Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the host of...
2022-01-0428 minCitizen of HeavenPERSPECTIVE: Circumspection. More "Mutiny on the Bounty," Mars Hill, Mystery House.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Looking at things from different perspectives is the fair way to approach a situation. But it’s more than that. It’s about compiling all the relevant information, including information that challenges our way of seeing the world.This week we discuss circumspection — the skill of viewing things from other points of view. And then we practice it on subjects from last week — poor, unappreciated Captain Bligh; the enablers of Mars Hill; and the true spirit of cooperation in search of truth. Hal Hammons i...
2021-12-2127 minCitizen of HeavenBULLIES: David and Bathsheba. "Mutiny on the Bounty." Mars Hill. Mystery House.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Bullies are people who take what they want at the expense of the weak. From the short kid on the playground to the minimum-wage worker to the next nation in the path of a warmonger, most of us have suffered bullying. And many of us have inflicted it.This week we discuss David’s failed and selfish leadership; the pros and cons of public whippings; the downfall of a mega-church and its mega-pastor; and the real bully at the Hammons game table (the name may sur...
2021-12-1429 minCitizen of HeavenJOCKS: Part 2, with BJ Sipe, Terry Francis and Peyton FrancisRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!In the western corner, representing the Oregon Ducks, we have BJ Sipe, host of the Set Your Mind Above Podcast and evangelist with the church of Christ in Danville, KY. In the eastern corner, representing the Tennessee Volunteers, we have Terry Francis, preacher for the church of Christ in Chelsea, Alabama, and his son Peyton. In the second half of our conversation, we debate the merits and demerits of football. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. H...
2021-12-0834 minCitizen of HeavenJOCKS: Part 1, with BJ Sipe, Terry Francis and Peyton FrancisRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Last month we discussed Nerds; this week we flip the coin over. Sitting in with me are the biggest sports fans and occasional participants I could find. BJ Sipe preaches for the church of Christ in Danville, KY. He also hosts the Set Your Mind Above podcast. Terry and Peyton Francis co-host the Pork and Son podcast, focusing on sports in general, Tennessee football in particular. Terry also preaches for the church of Christ in Chelsea, Alabama. In part 1, we discuss Samson, the greatest athlete i...
2021-12-0745 minCitizen of HeavenANGER: "Angry Words." "The Punch." Dash cam. Diplomacy.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Ephesians 4:26 reads, “Be angry, and yet do not sin.” I fear sometimes we effectively leave off the second half of that sentence. The fact is, giving in to anger is just as bad as giving in to lust or envy. God’s words to Cain ring true for us: “You must master it.”This week we will discuss choosing brotherly love over angry words; a single outburst that radically changed two lives; my unhealthy obsession with dash cam footage; and the board game most likely to lead to...
2021-11-3029 minCitizen of HeavenPUMPKINS: Death in the pot. Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin Spam. Montana.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I don’t know how it is in your house, but I’m seeing pumpkins everywhere these days. From the coffee shop to the craft store to my front porch, it’s all pumpkin all the time. And for me, that’s a good thing.This week we discuss extreme reactions to extreme hunger; the lie you have been told your entire life about pumpkin pie; the weirdest meat in a can you’ve ever seen; and how upgraded pieces do not a board game make.
2021-11-2328 minCitizen of HeavenLIONS: The sluggard. "Born Free." The roar. Lions of Lydia.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Lions run wild in the Bible, pardon the expression. Everyone knew about them. Everyone respected and feared them. That’s why they make such a great metaphor — make that a series of metaphors.This week we will discuss why the sluggard stays in bed, why our original state of freedom is preferable to luxury in captivity, a personal flashback to a day at the Tulsa Zoo, and the blessings and obligations of having lions in your pocket. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the L...
2021-11-1629 minCitizen of HeavenART: The Renaissance. Picasso and Mailer. Postmodernism. Atelier.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!More than a year ago, when I posted the Beauty episode, I said an episode on Art was on the way. Like I tell my wife, I always follow through with my promises; I don’t have to be reminded every six months.Today we discuss whether Renaissance artists actually accomplished anything for Jesus; whether Picasso was a brilliant master or a self-involved egomaniac (I vote for both); how postmodernists are lying to us about great art; and why simply collecting paint won’t make you...
2021-11-0929 minCitizen of HeavenNERDS: with guests Jared Bollman and Jared SaltzRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I hope no one considers “nerd” to be a pejorative term; my guests this week certainly do not. Jared Bollman is the preacher for the Fifth Street church of Christ in Beaverton, Oregon; The action figures in his office speak volumes. Jared also hosts the Biblically Speaking podcast on Facebook.Jared Saltz is a professor at Florida College and preaches for the Palmetto church of christ in Tampa. There is no Star Wars film, TV show or novel he has not consumed.We disc...
2021-11-0252 minCitizen of HeavenLOYALTY: Outside the camp. "Pirate Latitudes." "I swear to God." Maracaibo (2).Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Loyalty to an underachieving sports team can be noble. Loyalty to an abusive relationship can be destructive. It’s all about finding a worthy cause, group or individual.This week we will discuss whether you can be both a Jew and a Christian, and why you and I should care; the choice between patriotism and pragmatism in 17th Century Jamaica; whether “I swear to God” is a confession or a blasphemy; and how choosing a side early maximizes the upside and minimizes the downside. Hal...
2021-10-2628 minCitizen of HeavenSOLO: Musicians and groups. "Jack Reacher." Alison Balsom. Maracaibo.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!At some level we all want to be the lone wolf, to prove ourselves as individuals. That’s not all bad. But it’s not all good either.This week we will discuss the relationship between musical groups and their members who go solo, and what that has to do with the church; the ethos of Jack Reacher (who does not resemble Tom Cruise in the slightest); how an Englishwoman is changing the way I think about trumpeters; and why I continue to let a terr...
2021-10-1927 minCitizen of HeavenDINOSAURS: Behemoth, Leviathan and Ketos. "Jurassic Park." Denial. Zoo Tycoon.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!From T-Rexes to pterodactyls to triceratops, dinosaurs have fascinated humans since the early 1800s. When did they live? Where did they all go? And for Christians, how do they impact our faith? This week we will discuss dinosaurs in the Bible (I would argue there are at least three); Michael Crichton’s commentary on the hubris of humankind; our persistence in denying facts we don’t like; and how I destroyed an entire theme park just to amuse my nephew. Hal Hammons is the pr...
2021-10-1229 minCitizen of HeavenSEX (part 2): with Matt and Jenn Schmidt of the Intimate Covenant podcastRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is the second part of my conversation with Matt and Jenn Schmidt, the co-hosts of the Intimate Covenant podcast. Find out more about their work at intimatecovenant.com. Check out the first segment if you have not done so already. Here we will discuss lessons in marriage preparation from the Shulammite, and what might be gained from teaching some new tricks to old dogs like me. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgetown, Texas. He is the h...
2021-10-0635 minCitizen of HeavenSEX: with guests Matt and Jenn Schmidt, hosts of the Intimate Covenant podcastRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is part 1 of my conversation with Matt and Jenn Schmidt. My guests this month are Matt and Jenn Schmidt, the cohosts of the Intimate Covenant podcast. Matt and Jenn are all about having more and better sex in a covenant relationship between one man and one woman, joined by God, defined by the Bible. Find out more at intimatecovenant.comIn the first segment we discuss the marriage bed and how to keep it clean. The conversation is candid, but still appropriate f...
2021-10-0529 minCitizen of HeavenLEGACY: Elijah's mantle. "Destiny of the Republic" (3). Dee Bowman. Sagrada.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!A legacy of children. A legacy of debt. A legacy of work. For good or ill, we all leave something behind. Christians inherit the legacy of brethren, and ultimately of Jesus Himself. May God help us be worthy of them.This week we will discuss Elijah’s mantle and what it meant for Elisha; the worst vice president ever, and how he paid the price for personal growth; my own memories of a recently departed mentor; and the trail of games the Hammons family leaves in...
2021-09-2828 minCitizen of HeavenTOOLS: Tools in the Bible. "Destiny of the Republic" (2). Noise reduction. Concordia.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I love me a good tool. Tools give us the ability to alter the world around us. But we need to actually use them. Better yet, we need to use them well, and for the right purpose. Otherwise we just make a mess out of our garage and our life.Men love tools. We admire them. We collect them. We want to have the right tool for the job. But if are not well acquainted with the tool, or if we never start the that...
2021-09-2128 minCitizen of HeavenCHARACTER: The new self. "Destiny of the Republic." Simone Biles. Lords of Waterdeep.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Character is more than what you do. It is who you are on the inside—your true identity. It’s a tough concept. We struggle to judge others. We struggle to judge ourselves. In the end for Christians, it all boils down to the same thing: Adopt the character of Jesus.This week we will discuss the person Jesus is trying to turn us into, the blind eye the world turns to Jesus’ impact, yet another ready-fire-aim moment from the world of sports, and the blessi...
2021-09-1428 minCitizen of HeavenSUFFERING (part 2): with guests Matt Bassford and Keith StonehartRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!If you missed the first part of my conversation with Matt Bassford and Keith Stonehart, please do yourself a favor and check it out. We covered the role suffering has played in their own lives and the lessons they have drawn from it. We begin the second part by discussing the (mostly) well-intentioned doctors who killed my favorite president. We close with advice for how we can exercise reasonable preparation without living in fear. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of C...
2021-09-0829 minCitizen of HeavenSUFFERING (part 1): with guests Matt Bassford and Keith StonehartRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Life in Christ is still life on earth. And that means hardship — sometimes beyond what we think ourselves capable of bearing. And in that moment, we can lean into God or run away from God. My guests this week have chosen the former, and we are all the richer for it. Matt Bassford, well-known hymnist, is the preacher for the Jackson Heights church of Christ in Columbia, Tennessee. Keith Stonehart preaches for the Fultondale church of Christ in Fultondale Alabama. Their perspective on suffering will inspire you to...
2021-09-0731 minCitizen of HeavenMORE BEARS: David the shepherd. "Daniel Boone" (2). The man-eater myth. Sierra West.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I don’t typically do sequels. But the Bears episode was well received, and I still have Daniel Boone on the brain, so I decided to revisit one of my favorite mammals this week. We will discuss whether children should take on big game, how Boone’s name got on all those trees, the story of the giant maneater that wouldn’t die (either the story or the bear), and how meeting a bear changes your daily routine. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the...
2021-08-3127 minCitizen of HeavenBURIED: Baptized in Moses. "Daniel Boone." Haynie Flat Cemetery. At the Gates of Loyang.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Something that is buried is assumed to be gone forever, of no more relevance. Jesus teaches us to think of it in a more nuanced way. It’s not just about what was; it’s about what will come afterward, and what we will do with what remains. This week we will discuss Israel’s baptism in the Red Sea and the implications it carries for us; the furor over the true location of Daniel Boone’s remains; A six-foot piece of property with my name on i...
2021-08-2428 minCitizen of HeavenBRIDGES: The rich man and Lazarus. "Engineers of Dreams." The Judds. Whistle Stop.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!The word “bridge” does not occur in the Bible — not in any translation I checked, anyway. But the idea of bringing two sides together, for better or worse, is a constant theme in the text. This week we will discuss the bridge God refuses to build in eternal realms, the bridges He has built for us now and how we can best use them, the real-life soap opera that topped the country music charts for years, and the futile quest for the shortest distance between two points. ...
2021-08-1729 minCitizen of HeavenCOMMITMENT: Jesus' requirements. A Newer World (2). The Olympics. Charterstone.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!They say commitment is necessary to find success at the highest level — athletics, business, playing an instrument, whatever. And serving Jesus may be the best example of all. It’s all or nothing; the more we push back against that, the more we doom ourselves to failure.This week we will discuss Jesus’ remarkably candid approach to discipleship, John C. Fremont’s disastrous ego trip through the Rockies, the series of political debacles at the Olympics, and the best game we ever threw in the garbage...
2021-08-0928 minCitizen of HeavenPARTNERSHIP: with guests Emerson Brown and Jeff O'RearRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!My guests this week are brothers in Christ, brothers in labor, and brothers-in-law. Emerson Brown is the preacher for the Westfield church of Christ in Westfield, Indiana. Jeff O’Rear preaches for the Judson Road church of Christ in Longview, Texas. Together they host the Working in the Word podcast, an excellent resource for Christians who want to learn how to study the Bible better. We discuss being unequally yoked, cooperation in disagreement, and the possibility and/or desirability of reading one another’s minds. I’ve...
2021-08-0359 minCitizen of HeavenBLENDING: Jews and Gentiles. "The Impeachment of Abraham Lincoln." Singing. Between Two Castles of Mad King Ludwig.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!If you noticed that we discussed men and women, respectively, over the last two episodes, you may already have an incorrect idea of what the Blending episode is all about. So let me be clear. Things God made to be distinct will remain distinct, despite our best efforts. But sometimes the whole becomes more than merely the sum of its parts. That’s true with Jews and Gentiles in the church, fact and fiction in books, different singing parts in a chorus, and even the occasional board ga...
2021-07-2728 minCitizen of HeavenWOMEN: An understanding way. "Fates and Traitors." The differences. Rococo.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Well, I haven’t gotten in too much trouble lately, so I thought I would spend a week talking about women. I will be using the Bible as my guide, though, so I am confident I have the truth. I pray it comes out in a respectful way. This week we will discuss how “understanding” women is not only possible but mandatory; how “Chick Lit” feeds stereotypes, and the result is John Wilkes Booth; how God shows women how to excel — and it’s not by imitating me...
2021-07-2028 minCitizen of HeavenMEN: "Gird up your loins." "Atlantis Found." Barbershop quartets. Castles of Mad King Ludwig.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!What does it take to be a man in today’s society. It depends on who you ask. Some may say, get in touch with your feelings. Others might prefer kick-boxing classes. But when we ask God, we get a very consistent message — one that focuses on the heart more than emotions or physical strength.This week we will discuss how the proper use of a belt can make all the difference; the best example of a “man’s man” from modern fiction; the curious closet cul...
2021-07-1328 minCitizen of HeavenORIGINALITY: with guests Terry Francis and Mark RobertsRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I wanted two true originals to be my guests this week, and I think I found them. Mark Roberts preaches for the West Side church of Christ in Irving, Texas; he is the author of numerous books, including “Understanding Apocalyptic Literature” and “Seeking God’s Way.” Terry Francis returns to the podcast this week. He preaches for the Chelsea church of Christ in the Birmingham area and is the cohost of the Do the Work podcast.We discuss the original Son of God, the most remarkable...
2021-07-0653 minCitizen of HeavenREASON: Where it comes up short. "Atlas Shrugged" (2). A right to your own life. Monopoly (2).Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!We revisit Ayn Rand’s philosophy of objectivism this week. Solomon said wisdom excels foolishness as light excels darkness. But he never intended reason to exclude God, and that is specifically what Objectivists do mean.This week we discuss the ways reason fails to properly explain the world or our part in it; the things about rationality that Ayn Rand actually got right; the question of whether we actually own our own lives; and how good Monopoly players often make for bad Christians Hal...
2021-06-2929 minCitizen of HeavenAYN RAND: Selfishness. "Atlas Shrugged." Existence exists. Monopoly.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Ayn Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism has either inspired or infuriated her readers for more than a half-century now. That’s fine. But many Christians see Objectivism as a way to rationalize rampant materialism. That’s a problem.This week we will ask whether selfishness is, in fact, a sin; whether Atlas has a right, or even an obligation, to shrug off his duties to society; what is implied by the mantra, “Existence exists”; and why playing Monopoly makes you a bad person — maybe. Hal Hammo...
2021-06-2229 minCitizen of HeavenIDEALISM: The "perfect" paradox. "A Hobbit, ..." (3). Church splits. Secret Hitler.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Idealism is a two-edged sword. We need something perfect or near-perfect to use as a target. But continually aiming for and missing an ideal mark can leave us discouraged and cause us to quit entirely. Balance is key.This week we will discuss Philippians 3 and the paradox of perfection; what war taught C.S. Lewis about Germans and about humans; where churches go to die and who is killing them; and how an imperfect villain may work Satan’s purposes better than a perfect one....
2021-06-1529 minCitizen of HeavenPROGRESS: Ebenezer. "A Hobbit, A Wardrobe, and a Great War" (2). Progressive Christianity. Crystal Palace.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Progress is forward movement. We have a tendency to think of it as inherently good and more or less inevitable. In truth, neither of those is true — especially when we are considering matters of the Spirit.This week we will discuss one of the greatest lines in our hymnals, and what it actually means; one way in which J.R.R. Tolkien and C.S. Lewis were just plain wrong; the rebellion inherent in “progressive” Christianity; and how to properly celebrate the progress we should be pro...
2021-06-0829 minCitizen of HeavenTOLKIEN (part 3): with Josh Everett and Edwin CrozierRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This episode represents the final section of my conversation with Josh Everett, professor of British literature at Central Texas College, and Edwin Crozier, preacher and co-host of the Text Talk podcast. If you have not checked out the first two installments, please do so. Here we discuss the literary legacy J.R.R. Tolkien has left for us, and the legacy of faith we inherit from those who came before and leave to those who come up afterward. “Generic fantasy” is a term board...
2021-06-0328 minCitizen of HeavenTOLKIEN (part 2): with Josh Everett and Edwin CrozierRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This week I am sharing my conversation with two Christians who know Tolkien far better than I. Josh Everett is a professor of English literature at Central Texas College in Killeen; Edwin Crozier is an evangelist with the Livingston church of Christ in Lutz, Florida, and the co-host of the popular Text Talk podcast. Thank you for coming back for part two of my conversation with Josh Everett and Edwin Crozier. We discussed the existence of evil in the first segment; please check that out if...
2021-06-0230 minCitizen of HeavenTOLKIEN (part 1): with Josh Everett and Edwin CrozierRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!J.R.R. Tolkien has to be considered one of the most influential authors of the 20th Century — especially by Christians. His stories speak directly to great spiritual and moral truths for those inclined to listen.This week I am sharing my conversation with two Christians who know Tolkien far better than I. Josh Everett is a professor of English literature at Central Texas College in Killeen; Edwin Crozier is an evangelist with the Livingston church of Christ in Lutz, Florida, and the co-host of th...
2021-06-0129 minCitizen of HeavenIDENTITY: Transfiguration. C.S. Lewis. Identity politics. Spyfall.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Who am I? That’s the most basic question there is. We spend our entire lives trying to find the answer. And Jesus gives it to us by telling us who we were in sin and who we are capable of becoming by His grace.This week we will discuss Jesus’ true identity and the implications it has for us; what a true Christian is, according to C.S. Lewis; what being a Christian means with regard to our other relationships; and how, despite our best...
2021-05-2530 minCitizen of HeavenCONTENTMENT: The secret. "Happiness is a Serious Problem." Whiny Christians. 300 games.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!It seems the more we are blessed by God, the more discontented we get. Why is that? The problem is, we have fallen into the trap of building our house on the world’s sand instead of Jesus’ rock-solid promises. The quicker we realize that, the sooner we can find the joy He has promised us. This week we will discuss the secret to contentment, which isn’t much of a secret at all; Dennis Prager’s version of “Mo’ money mo’ problems”; The odd phenomenon of whiny Christians...
2021-05-1828 minCitizen of HeavenFUNDAMENTALS: Returning to base. "The Ten Commandments." Basic. Checkers.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!I talk a lot on this podcast about achieving, about striving for improvement, about not settling the achievements of the past. But sometimes you need to go back to square one and remember why we are here in the first place. This week we will talk about how we reorient ourselves in times of stress; how the most important of the Ten Commandments may not even be one of the ten; how the word “Basic” has taken on brand new meaning; and why we still need to play...
2021-05-1129 minCitizen of HeavenSPORTS (part 2) - with guests Brent Moody and David OsteenRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Get three preachers to comment on a combination of the gospel and sports, you’re bound to go long. And we did. So here is the second half of my conversation with Brent Moody, preacher at the Decker Prairie church of Christ in Houston, and David Osteen, preacher for the O’Connor Road church of Christ in San Antonio. In this final segment, we start with Bocce and move on to topics including Tom Brady, Nick Saban, and a certain podcaster of mutual acquaintance whose name must rema...
2021-05-0533 minCitizen of HeavenSPORTS - with guests Brent Moody and David Osteen (part 1)Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Running, boxing, wrestling—sports metaphors are all over the Bible. If you’re a sports fan, the Bible speaks to you in your own language. I’m joined this week by Brent Moody, who preaches for the Decker Prairie church of Christ in suburban Houston, and David Osteen, who preaches for the O’Connor Road church of Christ in San Antonio. We discuss giving ourselves a chance to win God’s race; taking lessons from Bible underdogs; and maximizing our scoring opportunities instead of settling for mediocrity. Hal...
2021-05-0444 minCitizen of HeavenTEXAS: Stereotypes. "Big, Hot, Cheap and Right." Secession. 42.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Somehow I made it through more than 100 episodes without talking about my home state. But I’ve been back in my ancestral homeland for close to a year now, and that’s long enough. So saddle up.This week we will discuss stereotypes and whether we truly deserve them; the strange bedfellows that Texas politics makes; the pros and cons of secession; and the Texas domino game we can’t get anyone else to play. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive c...
2021-04-2733 minCitizen of HeavenLEARNING: Tree-men. "Case Closed." Online discussions. Praga Caput Regni.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Every day is a learning experience — or at least it should be. When we position ourselves to learn, we grow; when we don’t, we stagnate. And when the subject is our walk with Christ, that can be tragic.This week we will discuss Jesus’ frustrations with His own apostles, the simple answer to the JFK assassination, some suggestions for carrying on conversations via social media, and the excellent game I almost quit on before I even started playing. Hal Hammons is the preache...
2021-04-1931 minCitizen of HeavenBEARS: Elisha's baldness. "The Winter's Tale." Habitat loss. Barenpark.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!“How is ‘bears’ a topic for a Bible-based podcast?” some of you are already asking. I’ll admit, it’s a bit of a hodgepodge this week. But I kept seeing things I wanted to address that had to do with bears one way or another, and finally I decided to just go with it. So here we are.This week we will discuss the dangers that come with laughing at bald people, the weirdest moment in all of Shakespeare’s plays, the perils of “Florida man,” an...
2021-04-1329 minCitizen of HeavenPARENTING (uncut): with Rickie Jenkins and Phil RobertsonRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!This is Season 3 of the Citizen of Heaven podcast — episode 106a, Parenting (uncut).I am Hal Hammons, and I am a citizen of heaven, and your embedded correspondent in Satan’s world. Thanks for checking in.Is it possible to rear godly children in an ungodly world? Absolutely. God’s people have been doing it for centuries. But we have to do it God’s way, no matter what the world may tell us. I am joined today by Rickie Jenkins, preacher and shepherd...
2021-04-071h 32Citizen of HeavenPARENTING: with guests Rickie Jenkins and Phil RobertsonRegister your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Is it possible to rear godly children in an ungodly world? Absolutely. God’s people have been doing it for centuries. But we have to do it God’s way, no matter what the world may tell us. I am joined today by Rickie Jenkins, preacher and shepherd for the Campbell Road church of Christ in Garland, Texas — also by Phil Robertson, the preacher for the Glen Springs church of Christ in Gainesville, Florida. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ...
2021-04-0659 minCitizen of HeavenFOOLISHNESS: The rich farmer. Psalm 14. Lawnmower parents. Machi Koro.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Foolishness is running wild in the world today, and Jesus is here to help. The problem is, we often define “foolishness” and “help” very differently than He doesThis week we will discuss Jesus’ commentary on financial planning; who the “fool” of Psalm 14 truly is; how “lawnmower parenting” is cutting our children off at the knees; and how my family conspires to keep me from winning a game I’m actually good at. Hal Hammons is the preacher for the Lakewoods Drive church of Christ in Georgeto...
2021-03-3028 minCitizen of HeavenWARFARE: The real enemy. "The Long War Against God." "The 1812 Overture." Stratego.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!If you are a Christian, that means you have volunteered to serve in the army of Jesus Christ. Like many volunteers, you may not have known the full scope of the war that is going on. But believe me, it is terrible. But it is worth the fight.This week we will discuss who is our true enemy (and it’s not your neighbor), the philosophy that under-girds the enemy’s every effort, inspiration for the fight from the music of Peter Tchaikovsky, and a game...
2021-03-2328 minCitizen of HeavenPAIN: Why suffering? "Tried by Fire." "Hurt." Galaxy Trucker.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!The existence of suffering is one of the oldest arguments against the existence of God. But God has always wanted different things for us than we wanted for ourselves. People of faith accept and embrace that — even when it hurts.This week we will discuss the purposes pain plays in our lives; the historical connection between the absence of pain and the presence of problems; the last and perhaps greatest message from Johnny Cash; and how you can build a spaceship that will make it to...
2021-03-1628 minCitizen of HeavenPaul Hammons visits: Receiving sight. Gulliver's Travels. Abortion. MMOs.Register your feedback here. Always good to hear from you!Paul has been preaching … about the blind man in John 9. Just like Jesus brought light to the eyes of this man, so also He brings light to the world — if the world will open its eyes to Him.Paul has been reading … Gulliver’s Travels, by Jonathan Swift. Exactly how advanced is human society? It depends on how honest we are willing to be with ourselves.Paul has been hearing … Alabama has criminalized abortion — but that doesn’t mean the culture war has been won, even...
2019-05-2836 min