Mailbag Friday: Why Is Accepting Help So Hard? + Strong-Willed Toddlers & Theological Debates

Summary

Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Episode: Mailbag Friday: Why Is Accepting Help So Hard? + Strong-Willed Toddlers & Theological Debates
Date: August 7, 2026

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Episode Overview

This "Mailbag Friday" episode of Wretched Radio, hosted by Todd Friel and Jimmy Hicks, dives into listener questions on challenging life and theological issues. The pair discuss why accepting help is difficult, biblical approaches to strong-willed toddlers, the nuances of theological debates, priorities in sermon application, and more—all while maintaining their signature blend of seriousness and wit. The episode is packed with practical advice for Christian living, scriptural insights, and candid reflections on personal struggles.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Why Is Accepting Help So Hard?

(Start ~00:39)

• Personal Struggles with Help: Jimmy admits he struggles to let others help him due to the feeling of being a burden, even acknowledging it's not about doubting others' abilities.
  • Quote:

    “I hate relying on other people. And it's not that I don't think people are capable. I just don't like making—I feel like I'm putting someone out.”
    — Anonymous/Caller (likely Jimmy, 02:05)

• Church Application: They discuss how this struggle extends into church life, where refusing help can “rob others of the blessing and the chance to use their spiritual gifts.”
  • Quote:

    “So you're content with robbing people of their blessing and using their spiritual gifts?”
    — Jimmy Hicks (02:41)

• Emotional and Spiritual Growth: Todd highlights that allowing oneself to be served can be an opportunity for spiritual growth.
  • Quote:

    “Learn to let people serve you...let people serve you.”
    — Jimmy Hicks (03:36)

• Counseling Humor:
  • Bob Newhart’s “Stop It” skit is humorously referenced as lighthearted advice—sometimes you just need to change your thinking (“Stop it!” at 04:01).

2. Parenting Challenges: Strong-Willed Toddlers

(05:10 – 11:22, further reflections at 14:56)

• Listener Question: Rachel, a mom, asks about dealing with a disobedient toddler and feeling discouraged in motherhood.
• Family Leadership: Jimmy stresses the importance of parental (especially fatherly) leadership in the home.
  • Quote:

    “If a child is being fussy and demanding and kind of making you nuts, it could be because they think they're running the house. And that needs to stop.”
    — Jimmy Hicks (05:39)

• Addressing Root Issues: Emphasis is placed on diagnosing the problem before applying solutions.
  • Quote:

    “It’s always unwise to fix a problem when you don’t have a correct diagnosis for the problem.”
    — Jimmy Hicks (06:44)

• Spouse's Role & Community Support:
  • Dads must play an active role in discipline (“Dad needs to get the daughter under control.” – 06:28).
  • Seek advice and support from mature believers in the church.
  • Books like Shepherding a Child’s Heart by Ted Tripp are recommended.
• Reflection and Apology: Todd issues a partial apology, clarifying that while he stands by his views on parental authority, he recognizes every family situation is unique (14:56).
  • Quote:

    “But I do stand by—a home that is being run by a toddler is a home that demands dad puts an end to it immediately.”
    — Todd Friel (15:52)

• Biblical Discipline:
  • The biblical role of spanking is discussed, recognizing its controversial nature.

    “If you do not spank your child, you do not love your child. You must drive the foolishness from them…”
    — Todd Friel (16:58)

3. Theological Debates: Universalism and the Anonymous Christian View

(17:32 – 19:16)

• Clarifying Terms: Todd reflects on a past comment about William Lane Craig’s theology, distinguishing between universalism and the “anonymous Christian” view (the belief that people can be saved without knowing Jesus’ name).
  • Quote:

    “What he believes is more rightly termed the anonymous Christian view, which by the way, the Roman Catholic Church holds to also.”
    — Todd Friel (18:14)

• Biblical Position:
  • Cites Romans 10 as a basis for the necessity of hearing and responding to the Gospel by name.

4. Family, Sensitivity, and Theological Prioritization

(19:26 – 26:01)

• Personal Reflections: The hosts joke about sensitivity, work ethic, and their own tendencies for control.
• Handling Theological Disagreements:
  • Advice: Don’t major on minor theological errors, especially with believing family members.
  • Weigh the importance of issues before engaging in correction.
  • Quote:

    “There are some people that I love. They believe in flat earth. I don't… I have zero desire to change their mind. Why? Because it just doesn't matter.”
    — Todd Friel (23:56)

• Essential vs. Secondary Doctrine:
  • Encouraged to focus on essentials and avoid unnecessary disputes that cause division.
• Maturity and Growth:
  • Recognizing how insistence on correctness develops from personality and, perhaps, education.

5. Resources & Ministry Announcements

(29:29 – 38:17)

• New Resources: "Out of the Shadows" (resource for women struggling with pornography) and "Exalt the King" (sermon podcast from Alpharetta Bible Church) are announced.
  • Quote:

    “Libby Glossin has put together a resource that is going to help women reframe the issue, understand why they are actually consuming it—and the reason will surprise you…”
    — Jimmy Hicks (30:23)

• Approaches to Theological Learning:
  • Warning against letting systematic theology puff up with knowledge that doesn’t reach the heart.
  • Systematic theology must affect emotions and behavior, not just intellect.

6. Sermon Application Teams: Pros & Cons

(38:31 – 46:07, continued to 53:40)

• Listener Question: Should churches have sermon application teams?
• Analysis:
  • Application teams can be helpful if they assist a pastor in relevant application, but there’s a risk of “too many cooks” or shifting sermon direction away from the pastor’s intent.
  • Illustration teams might be more acceptable as they help with relatable examples rather than the message’s core application.
  • Quote:

    “You got too many cooks in the kitchen and the head chef is supposed to be the pastor.”
    — Jimmy Hicks (39:10)

• Pastoral Preparation:
  • Each pastor's preaching is unique; learning from others is good, but authenticity is key—reference to John Piper’s advice.

7. Effective Application in Preaching

(46:07 – 53:40)

• Advice to Pastors:
  • Application should be woven throughout the message, not tacked onto the end.
  • Use a recurring theme throughout the sermon to reinforce the central idea—example from Psalm 84 about longing for God’s presence in church.
  • Christ should always be central.
  • Quote:

    “It’s going to begin with a question about how much you long to be in church…that really should be the theme of the sermon.”
    — Todd Friel (47:01)

• Preview of Upcoming Ministry Focus:
  • The ministry plans to focus on equipping pastors for better application-driven, Christ-centered preaching.

8. Apologizing to Parents: The Power of Repentance

(53:40 – end)

• Listener Question: Should adult children apologize to parents for teenage wrongs?
• Emphatic Advice: Yes; repentance not only fulfills a biblical mandate but also powerfully strengthens relationships.
  • Quote:

    “If you repent to your parents… If your relationship with them is bad, it’ll become good. And if it is good, it will become great.”
    — Jimmy Hicks (54:07)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Accepting Help:

  “So you're content with robbing people of their blessing and using their spiritual gifts?”
  — Jimmy Hicks, 02:41

• On Toddler Leadership:

  “If a child is being fussy... it could be because they think they're running the house. And that needs to stop.”
  — Jimmy Hicks, 05:39

• On Pastoral Preparation:

  “You got too many cooks in the kitchen and the head chef is supposed to be the pastor.”
  — Jimmy Hicks, 39:10

• On Repentance:

  “If you repent to your parents… If your relationship with them is bad, it’ll become good. And if it is good, it will become great.”
  — Jimmy Hicks, 54:07

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:39 — Mailbag and introduction to help/independence issue
• 05:10 — Strong-willed toddler and motherhood struggle
• 14:56 — Todd’s clarifying apology and discipline reflection
• 17:32–19:16 — Universalism vs. Anonymous Christian view discussion
• 19:26 — Sensitivity, conflicts, and knowing when to let go in theological discussions
• 29:29 — Ministry resources and sermon emphasis
• 38:31–46:07 — Discussion on sermon application teams and sermon construction
• 46:07–53:40 — Effective application in preaching; practical sermon strategy
• 53:40–end — The impact of apologizing to parents

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Conclusion

This episode offers a blend of heartfelt pastoral wisdom and pointed biblical counsel, all laced with the dry humor and candor the Wretched Radio audience expects. Whether discussing challenges in accepting help, disciplining young children, or handling doctrinal disputes, Todd Friel and the team emphasize personal and spiritual growth, the importance of humility, and keeping Christ at the center of all things.

Transcript

[Todd Friel]

Wretched radio begins in 3, 2, 1.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Now, I am not reintroducing the idea of purgatory, but on the other hand, I do believe the baby was thrown

[Anonymous/Caller]

out with the bath water.

[Jimmy Hicks]

With that came a belief. When you die, you're instantaneously and magically made perfect. The soul of someone who dies immediately goes into eternity. There is no place where you make

[Anonymous/Caller]

up for your sins.

[Jimmy Hicks]

There is no purgatory. In the twinkling of an eye, we shall be changed.

[Todd Friel]

It's time for Wretched Radio with Todd

[Jimmy Hicks]

Friel, a message to the people of this country. You have 1200 messages.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That is a bit above average.

[Todd Friel]

Now, here's your host, Todd Freakishly Tall Friel.

[Jimmy Hicks]

The mail is here. Ooh. This is Wretched Radio. What's wretched in your world? Would you kindly send it to our wretched world via the email machine? Idearetched.org you see a sermon, a story, an article, it's wret. We covet it. Ideaetched.org if you have questions, comments, conundrums, snarks, or want to send another message to Jimmy telling him to cool it, pal.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Oh, yeah.

[Jimmy Hicks]

In Christian love.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I've got plenty to say about that today.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Is that right? You can text 877-282-2337. What kind of text did you get?

[Anonymous/Caller]

You know, I said this before when I was out. We've got the best listeners in the world.

[Jimmy Hicks]

No argument here.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I still believe that. But it's out of Christian love and care.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You just got scolded, didn't you?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I got in trouble.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, you did. Rightly so. I figured it would take an army to beat you down.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's what I.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You're just a bullhead. I understand you totally. I get your work ethic. You like to see things done exactly right, and when they're not, it drives you bonkers. I get that. But I haven't had major back surgery, so I can. You can't for a season.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Yeah. I just don't like not being able to do it myself. I hate relying on other people. And it's not that I don't think people are capable.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Then what is it?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I don't like making I feel like I'm putting someone out. No, that's the way I feel. That's the way I've always felt.

[Jimmy Hicks]

But what if it's their job?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I understand that.

[Jimmy Hicks]

What if they care about you?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I get that. But, you know, you don't want to put people out, do you?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay, so this brings up a church issue. Do you let people Want another?

[Anonymous/Caller]

You at church, it's hard.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So you're content with robbing people of their blessing and using their spiritual gifts?

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's the thing.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Look, that's fine.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I understand that it's so hard to wrap your mind around it. Like, I don't like going out to eat with friends and them offering to pay, but you rob them of their blessing.

[Jimmy Hicks]

I do think then that I really have one important question. When do you want to go out to eat anyt hungry? How many times have you been out to eat? And it's that dance. You don't know who's paying for it. And then when the other person grabs it, you immediately think, I should have had the dessert. I knew I should have gone for the steak that was the chicken and didn't know you were going to pay for it. Well, stop it. For a season. Learn to let people serve you. Now look at. Look at the spiritual growth that you could experience from back surgery. Let people serve you.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I've already. I've let my life.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Do you not feel comfortable being loved? Is there anything from your childhood you'd like to discuss? Wait a second. This isn't biblical counseling at all.

[Anonymous/Caller]

No. Oh, no, no. You don't look like Greg.

[Jimmy Hicks]

When you get a gift, can you receive it happily?

[Anonymous/Caller]

No, that stuff is fine.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay, then what's the difference?

[Anonymous/Caller]

You know what? I don't really know.

[Jimmy Hicks]

All right, then, then just. Then stop it. Just stop it. There's the Bob Newhart counseling. Stop it. Stop it. Just stop it.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Okay.

[Jimmy Hicks]

There might be something though, worth exploring. Okay, so if it's genuinely that you think that people. They're not going to wreck stuff, they're gonna do a perfectly fine job. So if we're assuming that that box is checked, it's not because you think people are incompetent to let them help you, Correct?

[Anonymous/Caller]

Right. No, that's right.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So do you think that it somehow makes you look less able bodied? Weaker?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I don't care about that. It's just that when something is your responsibility, it's your responsibility. And I have problems putting that off on someone else. I don't know. I've always been like that.

[Jimmy Hicks]

We could hook you up with Greg. I know that he'd spend time with you.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I know we would.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Or you can just tell Jimmy what you think. 8, 7, 7, 2, 8, 2, 2, 3, 3, 7. That didn't go the way you were hoping.

[Anonymous/Caller]

No. No. Let's get the attention on someone else. This is from Rachel. Rachel says I have three children. Nine, seven and three And I've been a full time stay at home mom for the past year and a half. Recently, however, I went back to work part time to help have breaks from my toddler. My toddler has been so fussy and disobedient lately that if I find myself not wanting to be around her, it feels like we have no peace in our home. I become anxious when and so discouraged in my motherhood. What should I do?

[Jimmy Hicks]

There's a lot that you could be doing. One of my first questions among many would be, who's leading your home right now? I know that seems like it's pretty basic and intuitively I think we want to respond and say, well, we are. But oftentimes if a child is being fussy and demanding and kind of making you nuts, it could be because they think they're running the house. And that needs to stop. It needs to change. I would also be interested in having this conversation with your husband whose job it is to protect mom from toddlers. Not kidding. Moms need protection from toddlers. The child needs to know that dad is not to be trifled with. And if the child trifles with his beloved bride, there will be consequences that they'd probably not prefer to pay. In other words, dad needs to get the daughter under control. Going off to a job isn't the fix that is at best a band aid. In fact, I might even suggest it could even make it worse because it's not dealing with the actual issue. It's just kind of coming up with a fix to be able to get through something that's difficult that would be akin to what Ken Sandy calls peace. Faking that isn't bringing peace to the home. It's not bringing joy to your heart. It's just helping you to endure. Well, parenting shouldn't be an endurance race. It should be something that's joyful. This statement might strike you as hard as it did me the very first time that I read it. Perhaps 30 years ago, it was Ted Tripp's book Shepherding a Child's Heart. When Ted said, the first and most urgent business of the parent, this is priority number one, is to teach your child to submit. How did that feel? You probably go, well, my tender little cherub. Yikes. I don't want them to not like me. They intuitively love you. It's just baked into them. They've got to know that you're leading the home. They have to know that. Because if you think that it's hard now, it is going to get exponentially worse if they think that they're running the home and they're going to be more miserable, more demanding, more problematic. And that means you're going to be more miserable. And that means it's incumbent upon your husband, if this is what's happening in the home, to. To think through parenting, to talk to older men, to read books like Shepherding a Child's Heart, and to step into the driver's side of the car and start leading the family. I think I mixed up that metaphor, but you get the point. He needs to be the one who puts a stop to it. Now, how does he do that? You do need to try to figure out why your child is behaving that way. You do. You can't overlook that it's always unwise to fix a problem when you don't have to really have a correct diagnosis for the problem. Why is your child acting like that? Once you get that sorted, then you need to go to work on it. And it might be something as simple, and I'm not saying it is, but it could be that they just have not felt like there are consequences and that little terrorist is going to terrorize you because they can and because they don't see somebody else that's in charge of the family. So they take the wheel, and that always ends up in a car wreck, a daily, perpetual car wreck. So I would encourage you to spend some time talking to your husband about how that you can come up with a strategy to get the wheel back to help your child, whatever that looks like. Now, it could be something where the child needs some help with an issue. So I'm not saying that we're talking about 247 spankings here. Whatever the diagnosis is, dad needs to lead the charge in getting it fixed. Whatever that it fixes needs to be fixed. Now, it could be discipline. It could be that the child doesn't think that she. I believe it was a she needs to honor mother. That child needs to honor mother fast. That will happen, and it's dad's job to make that happen. Second, I might suggest that you spend some time with godly women in your church, preferably older, who have lived through this situation so that they can help you, minister to you, comfort you, encourage you, strengthen you, and give you all kinds of inside baseball tips that will help you to navigate this situation while it is being righted, and then how to carry on as a godly mom once your child is under submission. You need that. And that's exactly what the local church is for. And your husband should be Spending time with older godly men seeking their advice. Let the church surround you. Let the church support you. Let the church help you so that mom and dad you got the wheel. This is wretched radio.

[Anonymous/Caller]

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[Jimmy Hicks]

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[Anonymous/Caller]

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[Todd Friel]

Titles of Christ in the Bible, Jesus is given many titles that teaches us about who he is and what he is doing. Jesus is called the wisdom of God. The wisdom of man says we can earn God's favor through good works, but the wisdom of God is made known in Jesus Christ. God in human flesh put to death on the cross to grant us forgiveness we cannot earn this is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Permit me to offer two potential apologies. This is Wretched Radio Friel. It's either an apology or not. Well, in this instance it's potential an apology because I don't know for sure. This is in regard to the woman who wrote in the letter about her toddler because I didn't know the situation, I was trying to react to it, to the information that I had. When there is a toddler in the home that is so terroristic that the mom wants to escape and go get a job to be away from their toddler, now that's all the information that I had. Now I don't know anything about the child, I don't know anything about the marriage. I don't even know how hard. Dad, if I owe you an apology, I offer it to you wholeheartedly because I don't know the situation. I was simply trying to react to the information that I had, which hopefully to the individual who wrote in or to somebody there was something helpful. Children can't lead the home. Children must be submissive. Otherwise mom is if she's currently got a part time job, she's going to want a full time job and even then she's going to have to come home and then she's going to be miserable because the kid's only going to get worse. Children must learn, learn to be submissive and it can happen and you can do it. And yes, most likely it does involve spanking. I know that's a taboo subject, but it is biblically endorsed and the child who is not spanked is not loved by the parent. If you do not spank your child, you do not love your child. You must drive the foolishness from them and they must understand there's consequences for Violating the thou shalt honor thy father and mother commandment, because that is a commandment with a promise. If I was off the mark with your situation, my apologies for that. But I do stand by a home that is being run by a toddler is a home that demands dad puts an end to it immediately. My second potential sort of apology is because I was. I wasn't exactly 100% accurate, let's put it that way. Jimmy. You may recall a few weeks ago we were sharing some William Lane Craig sound of him explaining that he believes that there are people who do not know the name of Jesus Christ. They've not repented and put their trust in Jesus Christ, but nevertheless they can go to heaven.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Yeah, I remember.

[Jimmy Hicks]

And I said it's sort of. It's like universalism. I didn't say it is universalism. I'm pretty certain of that. I said it's akin to universalism because it would have been more accurate to say it's the anonymous Christian view. Somebody sent me an email that said you called it universalism, but it's actually not. Fair enough, I said it's like universalism because I still think it's related to. But it is technically not actual universalism. And I don't think that William Lane Craig believes that everybody on the planet is going to go to heaven. That is universalism proper. What he believes is more rightly termed the anonymous Christian view, which by the way, the Roman Catholic Church holds to also. You don't need to hear the name of Jesus. You need to respond to the inner light that you have. And if you're believing even though you don't know the name, then God and through Jesus Christ will still take you to heaven. I don't think that's biblical. I think that's wildly outside of biblical orthodoxy. We must present the name for people to hear it so that they can respond to it, so that they can be saved by it. Romans 10. So my apologies for not saying it was universal. The anonymous crit. It was sort of, but not. Thank you for writing ideaetched.org if you would like to correct me in any way, shape or form, you may do so ideaetched.org or text away to 877-282-2337.

[Anonymous/Caller]

So that's it. You done with the apology?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yes. Why do I feel like there's a cannon that is loaded and aimed right at me?

[Anonymous/Caller]

You don't have another one in your pocke?

[Jimmy Hicks]

What are you feeling a little beat up on?

[Anonymous/Caller]

Just a little.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Just a little. A little bit since when have you been sensitive?

[Anonymous/Caller]

Since now.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Hmm. Now I'm intrigued even further. You know what happens when you throw a rock into a pack of dogs? The one that yelps is the one that got hit. Okay. It's okay. Jimmy. Jimmy, we've all got issues. In fact, I can relate to that. See, my issue is that I always think, and believe me, I always think it doesn't mean it's accurate or true, that I can just do stuff faster. It's kind of just built into me. By the time I explain it to somebody, I could have just gotten it done.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Oh, yeah, yeah. That's part of my problem.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Say I got that too. I guess we were both scalded by my words.

[Anonymous/Caller]

So the other part, if you want me to.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Here it comes.

[Anonymous/Caller]

No, no, let's just move on.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Jimmy, what was your relationship like with your father?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I was beat joking, kinda

[Jimmy Hicks]

not that regularly.

[Anonymous/Caller]

No, Every once in a while. Twice a year, unless I need it or not. So this is from Adam. I'm moving on. Todd, how do you approach or Handel family members who in my opinion, focus too much on current news as prophecy, fulfillment, life, like the rebuilding of the temple.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, handle them. See, I would pull back on it just a little bit. Are these individuals that are saved? If they are, I see issues like that when it comes to relational issues, just not hot. It's like, okay, if that's the way that you want to read the newspaper with your Bible in one hand, trying to interpret the signs we have got. Nobody's taken the time to do that. I wish somebody would take the time to go back and take a look at all of the people who said, hey, see this in the news, that right there. And it didn't turn out and Jesus isn't here yet because that's just been a pattern. People love to try to think this is that and Russia did this and GOG is Magog and so it's moving down and now we're going to be within our lifetime, we're going to see Jesus Christ returning. People just dig it. I don't see it as honestly that important. If somebody is saved, I'm just not going to see it as like something I've got to correct. Now will I make some effort to do that and perhaps instruct them in how to read the Bible and how to understand biblical prophecy? Sure, I'll do that. But I wouldn't make it fisticuffs. I wouldn't make it a knockdown drag out. It's certainly not an essential issue if you want to live peacefully with people. There's just some stuff we can let go. Here's another one. Here's confession time, Jimmy. Instinctively, when I see something theologically not right, I want to arm up. That's just instinctively how I feel. Now, I don't know if that is because of how I was educated or I don't know if that was what I brought to my education. I'm not sure. But I like to correct stuff and let you know that you're not right about it. And I've had to learn that. It's just not necessary, nor is it wise. It's not smart to do that with everything. Weigh the issue. How important is it? Where are you at in your relationship with them? Where are they at in their relationship with the Lord? And some of these things you can let go. There's some people that I love. They believe in flat earth. I don't. And to have a. I'll listen to them talk about it only because I love them and I just want to listen. I'll listen to anybody say whatever it is they think about, whatever, if nothing else, to be polite. But I have zero desire to change their mind. Why? Because it just doesn't matter. Just doesn't matter. I know my inclination is. Oh, let me point you in Isaiah, when it talks, we just don't need to fix incorrect everything. There are tears. And I would say somebody who's reading eschatological statements with the current news in place. I'm trying to even think of something that. That might impact. That's of a higher level of doctrinal urgency. And I can't come up with it. I would even say this. Well, let's just talk about eschatology proper. I think eschatology is important. It is. We've been seeing that, haven't we, online about how the church is supposed to act, our relationship with the government. Do we win here? Do we lose here? And it can cause a fair amount of acrimony. I get it. It is important and it does impact things and it can cause you to go wonky if you don't have certain stuff right and you're not aware of it. I get that. But even so, if you're in Christ and you don't agree with my eschatology, I am not making it my priority in life to get you to become a pre trib dispensationalist, even though you should. It's just not something that I think is important or necessary. Now, I say that fully aware of where that sort of attitude can go where suddenly more important doctrines and even essential doctrines can be compromised. Well, they sort of have the Trinity, right? So I'm just not going to make it a big deal. Hold on. There are certain things that we continue to make it a big deal, but I think for many of us, especially when we're conservative, we find a home here or this home makes us that. I don't know which it is, that we don't need to fix every little misspoken sentence, every choice of theological word that I wouldn't approve of. If we can get better at that without throwing out the baby, the bathwater and the bathtub and becoming just completely liberal, I think that that would strengthen our churches a lot. This is Wretched radio,

[Anonymous/Caller]

And it's now time for your daily Fortis news break production of Fortis Institute. Democrats in Michigan picked their Senate nominee this week, and the story is how badly everyone misread it. A Democratic socialist beat Congresswoman Haley Stevens by about one point after weeks of polling that had him running away with it by 10, and one survey after put him up by 15. Four of those polls were paid for by a super PAC backing him, and a Democratic strategist admitted his side had flooded the state with friendly numbers to make the race feel finished before anyone even voted. That skepticism runs inside the party as well. Texas Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett was asked whether the Democrat running for Senate down there can beat Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton, and she would not say yes.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yes.

[Anonymous/Caller]

She's talking about James Talarico, and three polls last week showed him narrowly ahead in a seat Republicans haven't lost in decades. Crockett says she watches money instead, and neither national party is spending in Texas, which tells her the private numbers look nothing like the public ones. She's also refused to campaign for Talarico, and black Democratic officials in the state say he never courted their votes and is going to lose because of it. Then there's the campaign nobody needs to poll. A Hawaii Democrat running for Congress is in jail on a million dollars bail after someone at the beach asked him to turn his music down. Police say he threatened the people around him, told one woman he would put her in the ground, and then shoved a local man trained in martial arts who put him over a row of beach chairs and then out cold. He allegedly came back with a knife police later pulled from the water. He's charged with two felony counts of terroristic threatening, and it's his third run in with police since May. From one island to another, the Trump administration has expanded its intelligence presence in Cuba in what one source called a significant buildup of the CIA's footprint there. Nobody is forecasting military actions since that work also supports sanctions and recruiting sources inside the regime. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whose family fled the island after Castro took power, has made confronting Havana a defining piece of his foreign policy. In July, the State State Department accused that government of 60 years of espionage and influence operations and of hosting Russian, Chinese and Iranian intelligence 90 miles off the coast of Florida. And one more from overseas. And this one deserves your prayers. More than 140 doctors and nurses in Yorkshire have signed a letter asking Parliament to reject Britain's new assisted suicide bill when it comes up for vote in September. Their objection isn't philosophical. They say the National Health Service service is stretched thin, end of life care is inadequate, and rural patients, dementia patients and minority patients struggle most to get any of it. A country that can't manage to care for its dying has no business offering to kill them. And that wraps up today's Fortis news break. I'm Jimmy X. If you want more, you can download Fortis plus or sign up to become a Fortis insider for exclusive daily content. Both of those things can be [e-mail] and don't forget, you can subscribe to for dis news on your favorite podcast app in order to get these updates daily. And until tomorrow, go serve your king.

[Todd Friel]

Important dates In Christian history 1962 Second Vatican Council begins. The most significant council since Trent. It will promote new attitudes and practices in Catholicism as Rome seeks to address the modern age. After Vatican ii, priests perform the mass in the local language whilst facing the congregation. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Two two two Resources in one ministry. This is Wretched Radio. What was that? Two two two two. That was a commercial. Two was a shampoo and conditioner. Two in one.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Oh, yeah, probably.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You sound disgusted by it. Or was it a food? There was two. Two, two and one. What is the part of it? This is the type of stuff that just Now I gotta go Google. Here are two new resources from one ministry. The first resource which we will be releasing I think next week is out of the shadows. Is that correct?

[Anonymous/Caller]

I believe they're both next week.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It could be. What were we thinking? Why didn't we spread this out? The truth is we're creating too much st. And I'm not even being flip. We're just creating too much stuff here. We can't roll out one thing at a time because we've just got so many things that we've been doing and producing. So the first thing that we're gonna be releasing apparently next week is out of the Shadows. Libby Glossin, she is one of our Fordas fellows, finally is going to be addressed. Well, not like she's been delaying. Finally somebody is gonna be addressing the issue of women and pornography. I looked up the statistics, the number of looking at it on the regs. It's frightening. It's really concerning and troubling. And Libby Glossin has put together a resource that is going to help women reframe the issue, understand why it is that they are actually consuming it. And the reason will surprise you and it will give them a better alternative and the tools to stop turning their eyes onto filthy images. It's called out of the Shadows. Can't wait for that to be released next week along with a new podcast that we're producing called Exalt the King. Jimmy, could you do this announcement because it's awkward for me.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Exalt the King.

[Jimmy Hicks]

It's my sermons.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Basically. It's the sermon ministry of Alpharetta Bible Church.

[Jimmy Hicks]

There you go.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's it.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Keep going.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Yeah, no, it's.

[Jimmy Hicks]

This will give you practice for your talking points.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Well, no, it's produced by the world famous Jimmy Hicks. That's the selling point.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Wow, it's going to really tight.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's right.

[Jimmy Hicks]

The sound will be incredible.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's exactly right.

[Jimmy Hicks]

So more it's basically sermons is what it is.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Yeah, but I think people are interested in hearing the sermons of Alpharetta Bible Church.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Well, I hope that they're a blessing in some way. Actually we do have an engine that drives the preaching at ABC and the teaching at abc. Super excited about this that starting in the fall at Alpharetta Bible Church. We're actually just working on this right now. We wanted to do systematic for Sunday school, but I know what can happen with systematic theology. Stick out your chest now cause you gonna get puffed up. Yep. Learning lots of stuff. Learning big concepts here and finding all the Bible verses that support my systematic theology, there's a danger in learning. The danger is that you become puffed up. And that's a problem. Furthermore, for those of us who like theolog learning, we can learn for the sake of learning, but not for the sake of being affected by it. We can learn because we just dig it so much and it fills our heads, but it never makes its way to our hearts. So we're going to do systematic theology and your emotions or systematic theology and your affections we are going to study systematic theology. We're going to do it. There's going to be I just a bombarding of Bible verses because that's how you build your systematic theology, teaching on that particular ology. But now that we know that truth about God, how should that impact me? How should that affect my affections? How does that help me deal with terrible toddlers, bad in laws, a pink slip, a really frightening diagnosis? Our theology must make its way from head to heart. So we're going to be doing systematic theology in your emotions. The sermons we're going to be starting out with one Peter. It's called Exalt the King because we try to do that in our preaching. We want Jesus to always look good and we want Jesus to always be in the spotlight. And this is one of the. We talked about this, I think yesterday here on wretched radio, how it's just not hard to have have a central theme in your service. Whatever the theme of the sermon is, then all of the elements inside of your service can support that and undergird that and be directly related to that. It's not that hard. And the same thing is true in preaching different texts, I grant you, can be more challenging on occasion. But overall it's just not that difficult to find Jesus shining in a text. Shining meaning in the text. We just sometimes forget it because we just teach on it. So for instance, on Sunday, I'm preaching on Psalm 84. It's our summer Psalm series. Psalm 84, about how wonderful it is to go to church. That's what it's about, how wonderful it is to go to church. How lovely are your dwelling places that my heart longs, it yearns to be in that place so that I can joyfully worship the Lord. All right, so obviously the subject is ecclesiology. Jesus, he can be forgotten about. Where's Jesus? So I could preach a sermon very easily on nothing but church theology and what the temple foreshadowed in the church and what the church foreshadows in heaven. Yep. Where's Jesus? If the sermon forgets that, then I don't think it's going to be Christ exalting preaching. And it should always be Christ exalting preaching. And I admit I fail believing, believe me, I fail. But I try to be so mindful of that because a sermon can be just rich and lavish with theology. Oh, that's so cool. Okay, so for instance, I think it's. Yeah, it's the word long. My heart longs and yearns for you. It's Two different words. And there's a reason it's built poetically. But the word longing from the Hebrew word, it's a deep aching for something. And then I think it's the word yearning. Sorry, I'd have to look at my notes. The word yearning is that you are turning white from your desire for something. So what the psalmist is saying is my yearning is basically, it's making me, like, yearn so deeply and so profoundly that I'm turning white from it. Ooh, cool. What does that have to do with Jesus? Nedo? Cool Hebrew word study. Sometimes the pictures are really. They're fun to share those things and those things should be shared. But what's the point of sharing it? What's the point of talking about the temple. Temple if it doesn't involve Jesus? If I could preach that sermon on Sunday with a Jewish rabbi sitting in the congregation. Yes, yes, that is very good. That was supposed to be a Jewish rabbi. Yes, that is a very good sermon on the temple. I agree with you.

[Anonymous/Caller]

That's better.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Thank you. You could have also discussed the tabernacle because we love the Moses and they would have been completely content with it. Then I have totally failed. So that new resource will be out next week. It' Exalt the King. I don't think you can subscribe to it yet. And look for Libby Glossin's new resource, out of the Shadows. All going to [e-mail].

[Anonymous/Caller]

so I want to make a correction here so people don't have to email and say that we gave wrong information. So Monday the 10th Exalt the King is released. Monday the 17th is when out of the Shadows is released.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Okay, so now here's what I would normally do and I will do this for out of the Shadows. Anytime we release a new resource, I love playing clips from it here on Wretched rip. Love it. Exalt the King.

[Anonymous/Caller]

It's gonna be hard for you.

[Jimmy Hicks]

You'll just have to imagine because I can't do it. I just. I can't do it.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I understand.

[Jimmy Hicks]

8, 7, 7, 2822337.

[Anonymous/Caller]

All right, here's one for Merrick. Real quick, Todd, how do you feel about a sermon application team? Our elder team has faithful and strong gospel focused preachers. However, some Mondays we meet to discuss sermon application points and the elder preaching that particular Sunday will guide the discussion.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Hmm. Never heard of such a thing. I think it would depend on how that's run, what the motivation is and why it's being done. Because that's the pastor's responsibility. But. But the pastor can go to resources to help with exegesis, with word studies, concordances, Bible dictionaries, encyclopedias, commentaries. So this could be acceptable in that realm if you're just looking for ideas. Okay, everybody, here's the three points of the sermon. How could you see this being applied to your life? So that I can make this really, really relevant for people. Okay. Okay. I guess that that could happen if the motivation is right and the pastor is just trying to be diligent. And it could be that it's a weak area of the pastor. He's just not good at it and he needs people's help. I say fine. But if it turns into one of those things where it's like a sermon writing team, hey, I think you should. Why don't you talk about. Ooh, then I think that you got a problem. You got too many cooks in the kitchen and the head chef is supposed to be the pastor. So it can be done. It just needs to be done. Vowi vewi kalphoe. And if I might just toss in one more note about sermons and application. Pastor, we have to do better with our sermon applications. Then there's our 45 minute sermon. Here's our two minute application. Goodbye, everybody. That is not applicable application preaching. This is wretched radio.

[Anonymous/Caller]

You've tried everything. You've sent articles, you've had the conversations, you've probably argued more than you wanted to, but you have a loved one who is still neck deep in the Prosperity Gospel or the new Apostolic Reformation, and nothing you seem to say gets through. It's exhausting, I know, and it's also heartbreaking. Snatch Them from the Flames was made for exactly this reason. Todd Friel and Justin Peters sit down and they tackle why your loved one is attracted to these movements in the first place. Because until you actually understand that, you're just going to be swinging in the dark, then they walk through the things that you can actually say and do to help pull them toward Christianity. This isn't about winning an argument. It's about understanding someone you love and pointing them to someone. Something real. If you've got a family member or friend caught up in a false gospel and you don't know what else to try, Snatch Them from the Flames is for you. It's streaming for free right now on Fortis Plus. Download the app on your smartphone, your smart TV, or simply go to fortisplus.org thanks for listening to Wretched Radio today. Look, here's something that I've noticed and maybe you have too. But it's really easy for us to treat our faith sometimes like a category, as Sunday is Sunday, work is work, parenting is parenting, and somewhere in there you try to be a Christian. But it doesn't always always feel like it's all connected. That's why Dr. Jon Krotz and his podcast Integrated is so incredibly important. Dr. Kratz is a pastor, he's an author, he's a biblical counselor, and he's a Fortis Institute Fellow and the host of Integrated. And he is helping people see how Scripture speaks to every part of their life. Not just the spiritual stuff, but the practical, everyday how do I actually live this stuff out stuff. And if what we're doing at Fortis Institute has been been a source of encouragement for you, I want to ask you to consider joining us as an ongoing monthly gospel partner. Help us continue producing content just like Integrated that connects the dots. Go to portisinstitute.org right now and find out how to join us. Wretched Amazing Grace Amazing Gospel have you ever wanted to take a tour of Europe but you couldn't swing the airfare? Good news, Todd Friel's already gone for you. Our resource on the the Shoulders of Giants takes you across six countries to meet your Christian ancestors, the reformers, the men who were strangled, quartered and burned alive so you could hold a Bible in your own language and understand the Gospel of Grace. You'll see the stake where Jan Hus was burned to death, the prison where William Tyndale translated scripture, the very courtroom where John Wycliffe was called monstrously wicked. You'll visit Martin Luther's home, the field where George Williams Whitfield preached to 30,000 people without a microphone, and the outdoor pulpit of the Thundering Scott himself, John Knox. These people were too good for this world and their lives will challenge you to be bolder than ever before. On the Shoulders of Giants. It is streaming for free right now on Fortis. Download the app where you download apps on your smartphone, on your smart TV, or simply visit fortisplus.org.

[Todd Friel]

Attributes of God God is a person. He is not a detached, impersonal force. He is a conscious, self aware being with a mind and a will. He has made himself known through scripture and most of all, he wants you to know him personally. This is Wretched Radio with Todd Friel.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Somebody's gonna have to apologize here. This is Wretched Radio. You don't like that sermon application team idea?

[Anonymous/Caller]

Well, I mean, not necessarily. No, no.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Like you said, that's not what you said during the break, I don't like that at all. Thanks. It was a fist pounding. Definitive.

[Anonymous/Caller]

No, thanks for saying that.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Well, you didn't like it.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Well, I don't. I don't. I think I agree with exactly what you said. It's the responsibility of the pastor. And. And I get. You've got other resources and your pastor team, those that work on your staff can be a resource. I would be more okay with a. Instead of a sermon application team, I would be more okay with a sermon illustration team. If you wanted to use illustrations in a sermon to bounce that off the pastors on your staff.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah, but what's the difference, though?

[Anonymous/Caller]

Illustrations are a little bit different than applications.

[Jimmy Hicks]

They are. I understand that. But what makes one a disqualifier and the other not?

[Anonymous/Caller]

No, I don't think it's a disqualifier. I was agreeing with the fact that you have to be very careful about it if you're the pastor. If you're the preacher, you gotta be very careful about that kind of thing.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Giving the reins potentially. Well, that's why I said I think it depends on how it's done and what the motivation is. It would be interesting. I would like to know from the pastor why he's done that. And if he says, hey, it just makes the sermon better because I understand what I prepared is impacting people. Okay, I can get that. But it would be very easy in a setting like that for that team to start directing the sermon and to start changing the sermon.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Well, and I could see a place for it when you've got a whole team of pastors on your staff and you're all engaged with the body and they can kind of help. This is what our body's dealing with right now.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Right.

[Anonymous/Caller]

I can see a place for it in that kind of sense.

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yeah. If you would like to learn how to do application preaching, I do commend Mike Fabarez's book. It's about 20 some years old now, maybe, maybe even more at this point. Preaching that changes lives. And you may not agree with everything that Mike writes in it. In fact, I don't think any pastor would agree with everything he says. And here's why. It's not because Mike is wrong or dumb. He's definitely not dumb. It's because every pastor's sermon and preparation and presentation should be different. Why? Because every pastor is different. It just is. I was listening to some. Anytime a sermon, it's like, how do somebody prepare a sermon? Video come up. I'm like, ooh I want to watch that. And it was John Piper. And John Piper said, look, I'll tell you how I prepare a sermon, but don't do it my way. Do it your way. You got to figure out your thing. And that is so true. And so not everybody's application style preaching is going to be identical. Nevertheless, Mike's book is super helpful because it really does. It elevates application more than most of us are inclined to give. We typically. It's like, all right, now that we've learned everything that I've studied this week, here's what you do with it. Let's go to Cracker Barrel. That's not enough. I think application should be woven throughout. It's definitely not the star. The teaching must be the centerpiece of it. And inside of that teaching centerpiece is definitely Jesus Christ. But it should be reminded at least throughout and shown how this. So if you've got three points, let's say, and you give one application at the end, why couldn't you give application for each of those three points at least? And if your main application is thought about in the beginning of the sermon, in the middle of the sermon, at the end of the sermon, well, guess what you're going to do? You're going to reinforce it a lot more. Please forgive me for this. I'm just thinking as I'm even speaking about my Sunday sermon, it's like, okay, am I doing these things in this? And I think the answer is, yes, I probably could do it. No, I definitely could do it better. But it's going to begin with a question about how much you long to be in church. How much do you long to be in church? Now, if that's my opening salvo, that really should be the theme of the sermon. You should be longing to be in church. Just like the psalmist longed to be in the temple. You should be longing to be in the church. Furthermore, you should be longing for heaven, where the shadow of the temple will be reality. The actual will be there as God dwells among his people. That desiring to be in the temple then is going to guide the points that I make inside of the sermon. So, for instance, if, and please forgive me, you just start preachers talking about sermons and look out, you're in big trouble. Just, we can't help it because we live and breathe, basically. So if my desire is. My hope is that people would desire to be in church more as I'm preaching through these different points, how does that help them desire to be in church more? How does it do that? And even if necessary, it needs to explain. This is why this particular point. Point. This is why you should long to be in church. This is why you should race to church on Sunday morning. Because, for instance, one of the points that the psalmist makes in Psalm 84, he appears to take a little bit of a diversion. He starts talking about pilgrims on the road through the valley of Baca, which is an arid land being moved from strength to strength as even the arid desert land becomes joyous for the pilgrim. Why? Because that pilgrim is longing for church. He's longing to be in the temple and it gives him strength. Are you lacking the strength to get to church? Think about what you're missing if you're not there. Think about all of the delights that await you, the word that was prepared for you, the Jesus that is going to have the spotlight thrown on him, the fellowship that you'll be having with other believers, the reminder of the sacrifice, the once for all sacrifice that Jesus Christ made for sinners. Think about those things and it will give you strength and it'll get you out of bed. And you're going to come run into church because you are going to experience the most beautiful place on earth. Why? Because the most beautiful place on the earth in the Old Testament was the temple. The most beautiful place on the earth in the New Testament is the church. Why? And if you're from Alpharetta Bible Church at the moment, please do not listen to this. Here's why. It is found in the first verse. How lovely are your dwelling places. What makes the temple so lovely? It's not the furniture. It's not the decoration, it's not the jewels, it's not the gold plating. God is there. God is there, there. And God is in your church. Because God dwells inside of each one of those temples that is attending church. And when all of those little temples get together, they make up a glorious temple. And it's the most beautiful place on earth. Why? Because God is in our midst. What is this God like? What is this God done for us? You think on those things because that is what makes the church that you attend the most beautiful place on earth. And you know what it's going to do? It's going to give you the strength, it's going to give you the energy, it's going to give you the desire to get there, to get those kids wrangled, throw them in the minivan, get them cleaned up, give them a spit bath on the way. Because we're going to church. Kids, because I got to be there because it's the most beautiful place on earth. That is application preaching that makes its way throughout a sermon. So I've got 12 points on Sunday, and each one of those points should reveal the application, which is this teaching about the temple church heaven should cause us to long to be in the most beautiful place on earth. Shouldn't be mentioning this, but next year. This is what I was just discussing. It's not going to be something that we talk about on the radio perpetually, but it is going to be a focus of this ministry because it's our desire to help as many pastors as we possibly can to be delivering the best sermons that they can. And those sermons should be laden with application. They should be not just filling the head, but stirring the heart. And they should be shining the spotlight on Jesus Christ. More details on that later. Thank you very much for allowing me to talk about one of my favorite subjects. 877-282-2337 from Anonymous.

[Anonymous/Caller]

Todd, as a young adult, should I apologize to my parents for the things I did wrong as a teenager?

[Jimmy Hicks]

Yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. You know what? Challenge you to do that if you're an adult child, which you are, because I mean, you can't be an adult if you're not a child and you've never apologized to your parents. Do it. Do it. First of all, you should. You should. Because if you've sinned against somebody, what should you do? You should want to repent to that person. And I'm telling you, if you will do that, you watch your relationship change. Now you say my relationship with my parents is pretty much pretty good. Cool. It'll be better. I promise you. I'm not kidding. The power of repentance is massive. For years I've been encouraging parents, do that with your kids. And it can be really hard because the kids are maybe being bratty, they're ghosting them. You repent to your kids, you watch the relationship change on a dime. And I'm saying that also to the kids. If you repent to your parents, if your relationship with them is bad, it'll become good. And if it is good, it will become great. Why? You're cleaning the carpet. You're getting sin out of the way. You're restoring the relationship, and it will be deeper, richer, and better than ever. So glad you asked that question. Until tomorrow, go serve your king.