American Family Radio celebrates Founders Day with a pledge drive

 : M more than 45 years ago, brother Don Wildmon, with Linda by his side, heeded God's call and began this ministry on his dining room table. Since then, dedicated people and supporters have joined Don's efforts to bring godly values back to America. And the fight is far from over. All God asks of you is faithfulness. It's day two of Share a Thon, and it's Founders Day. You can help honor brother Don's legacy with the Founders day pledge. Call 877-616-2396 or give online@afr.net it's founders day on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis with Ed Vitagliano on Share A Thon

Jenna Ellis: Good morning. It is Wednesday, April 8th. I'm Jenna Ellis here with Ed Vitagliano for day two of Share A Thon. And it is Founders Day. And you know, Ed, I just woke up this morning so excited that we get to do the second day of Sharathon and that, you know, World War Three did not break out at 8:00pm last night. We were all kind of waiting for that and wondering, what exactly was going to happen. So, I'm just glad to be here with you this morning.

Ed Vitagliano: Well, amen to that. I am the same way I, you know, went to bed. And, the threats that were made, you know, the intransigence on one side, in Iran and, and, what President Trump was promising, to do, it was, war is not pleasant and it's horrifying and we dodged it last night. I'm just thankful to the Lord. Was walking down from my office to come down here to the studio, looked outside. It was a beautiful day. And we get to do Share a Thon. I get to talk to you, and we get to talk to our listeners. And, folks, we are so grateful that you have joined us. And, it is second day of Sharathan, as Jenna said. And we are, we're trying to keep up with, brother Bert and Fred Jackson, Brother Bert Harper and Fred Jackson. The previous hour, man, folks showed up to, to donate. And so folks, to call in and to give the sheriff on. And we're going to talk about some other things, Jenna and I, but here's the number to call 877-616-2396-877761-62396 or you can give online@afr.net and Jenna, you know, it is Founders Day, as you mentioned.

Beginnings, um, are important, aren't they

Beginnings, are important, aren't they? When, when, when, when God does something. Those foundational moments are critical to, to later success. And, and, you know, whether you're talking about redemptive history in Scripture or the founding of this nation, sometimes you got to go back to those founding principles. That's what we're doing today for Charathon. But it's true about a lot of things, isn't it?

Jenna Ellis: It is. And actually, as you were talking about that, the first two things that, popped into my mind were, Genesis and the founding, of the redemption story and understanding that we are all human beings made in the image of God, having inherent dignity and worth. And then, what happened to humanity and the fall of humanity that necessitated a savior in the person of Jesus Christ and seeing that, beginning. You know, we often call God the author of all things. He's also the creator of all things. And as an author, he told us in his book the Beginning and Also the End. And, you know, when we talk about beginnings, we also, look to, you know, the. The end as well. And, you know, speaking of, thankfully not having a, World War 3, start out, you know, eschatology and the End of All Things has been a big topic. And I'm personally of the belief that, that revelation is a literal and will be historical, event, and it's a recounting in a narrative. Because God is the author of all things, told us in the beginning how he created, and he tells us through prophecy, in not just in the book of Revelation, but throughout Scripture, how things will end and what eternity will look like, with him when this heaven and earth pass away and the new Jerusalem comes and the new heaven and the new earth. And we can look forward to having confidence in knowing those things. And, you know, another thing about beginnings is that that kind of direction of knowing, whether you, like you said, whether it's redemptive history, whether it's, the. The plan for our nation or whether it's a plan for a ministry like the American Family. You know, you set this off on a trajectory, and you have that strategic objective to then make your goals and to do those goals and, to know the history. And the founding of afa, I think, has been, for me, at least in the years that I've been here, has, been really incredible to see the rich, depth of history, the ministry that this organization has had that you and I get to be a part of. And, you know, just really the founding vision of Bradley Brother Don Wildmon.

Ed Vitagliano: Yeah. And, by the way, we'll continue this conversation because this is very edifying, it's encouraging.

The movie Culture Warrior is now available for free at Culture Warrior Movie

But folks, we do Want to let you know that it. The movie Culture Warrior is now available. It's subtitled Don Wildmon and the Battle for Decency. It is a full length feature documentary. It is outstanding. and if you haven't watched it yet, you should it really presents the untold story of Christian activism in America and the story of the American Family association and American, family Radio. And you can watch it for free. So part of what we're doing today on Founders Day is letting you know this film is is available for you to watch. You will be very encouraged by it, you'll be challenged by it. So you can go watch Culture Warrior for free today at Culture Warrior Movie. Culture Warrior. Warrior Movie. And Jenna, I love what you had to say.

Every successful endeavor has to have foundational principles, Ed says

And you know we were talking yesterday about Artemis 2. You talk about foundational principles and then the planning that goes into something and you, you know, every successful endeavor has to have. You start off, we talked about your book yesterday. You start off with an idea, a core idea. And then you begin to, in, in the case of you writing, or anyone, any Christian who, you know, we're not even talking about big ministries. This applies to the people who are listening. You get a core idea and you be. Bathe that in prayer and you begin to ask the Lord for wisdom in expanding that idea. And before you know it, you develop a mission, a purpose for bringing this idea into the real world, bringing it to fruition. And then if you can stay faithful to that core idea and the purpose that you were given, you can do something that becomes very fruitful. And that applies across all areas of life.

Jenna Ellis: It really does. And you know, it's about the Christian understanding, our calling and using our unique skills and talents that God has blessed each of us with individually because we know all human beings are made in God's image, have inherent dignity and worth. But we are also uniquely gifted and we're uniquely called to various ministries and we all do have a ministry. we all have the ministry of promoting the truth of the gospel of Christ and sharing our testimony, sharing the truth of Christ with others. that's a primary ministry. We have a ministry that we should be serving in our church, in our homes, with our families. those are ministries and we also each individually have a calling. And for some of us being in full time ministry, that's. It looks a little bit more obvious that it's full time when it's something like talking about the truth of God. Daily on national radio. Right. but then for others, you know, like the Artemis 2 pilot, I mean when they're sharing the truth of the gospel from the furthest away from earth any human being has ever been, that's actually an incredible ministry. And to go up and to do space exploration, to take these photos that, who knows how this has impacted people, Ed. And if people are, are looking at these photos and contemplating, you know, the vastness of the universe, the creator, it points to our Savior. And so everything that we do, every vocation we, we can do from a ministry minded focus and a biblical worldview perspective, or a selfish secular humanist perspective. And that's what I love encouraging people every day to think about things biblically. And that's what all of our listeners and our supporters are helping us get to do every day with your donations keeping us on the air. We're so grateful for you this Founders Day especially. And if you want to help keep our ministry thriving, you can call 877-616-2396. That's 877-616-2396. Or you can also give safely and securely online@afr.net well and folks we are

Ed Vitagliano: until 8 o' clock central time so another 45 minutes just under that, we are in a $10,000 ready, set, go challenge. I don't know how our team comes up with these names but it's a challenge. So their $10,000 from previous gifts has been set aside as a challenge to our listeners. Let's try to match that during this hour. And folks, Tim's always saying, that you know, we do know there are solid members in the Procrastinators Club. You may be waiting until day of Sharathon tomorrow but we encourage you to maybe break the mold and, and come out of the Procrastinators Club and do it today and do it this hour. The number to call is 877-616-2396-6776-162396. You can give safely and securely online@afr.net I do want to mention that here during our spring share a thon, we do have a couple of premiums as a way of thanking those who give over a certain amount. So for a one time gift of $150 or more, you will receive a five pack of the 250th Anniversary Pocket Constitution. Most people know this is the nation's 250th birthday. and so this little pocket constitution is exactly what it sounds like. It is, small enough for you to fit in your back pocket, your front pocket, or ladies, your purse, or guys, if you carry a man bag, I'm not sure, that may be an oxymoron. But if you do, it's, it's handy and you can pull it out when you're sitting around in a doctor's office or waiting, for a meeting to start, you can open it up and read the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution to get a clearer understanding and become even more familiar with our founding documents. And it's a five pack. So you can give some of these away to people who might say, hey, that's, that's awesome. Where do you get that? Well, here's one for you. And by the way, support the ministry that put that out. AFA.net, our information is on the back. So that's for a one time gift of $150 or more or less if you become a great commission partner. And that means you give regularly on a monthly basis, with a credit card, debit card or bank draft. If you become a great commission partner with a monthly gift of $30 or more, you will not only receive the five pack of the pocket constitution, but you'll also receive a five pack for the 250th anniversary in God We Trust. Wristbands, same principle. You can wear one and you can share others with folks. So that would be just a little thank you if you give, ah, those amounts. So again the number to call is 877-616-2396. or you can go to afr.net to give. But we do have folks waiting, staff members and volunteers down in Sheriff on Central who would love to hear from you right now and take your information. If you have questions, you can ask them whatever you'd like. and, well, whatever you'd like if it's applicable to the Ministry of American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis: I mean they may not be able to answer questions about Artemis too, or, you know, some of those things.

Ed Vitagliano: So, you know, questions you could ask but you may not get answers. But anyway. 877-616-2396 and let's listen to one

Jenna Ellis: of our listener testimonies.

Ed Vitagliano: This is Jim from Tupelo, Mississippi. I've been listening to AFR since they began in the 80s. I've been blessed and I encourage all people who'd like to get closer to the Lord, listen to the praise and commentary on afr. And it is a news source that you can count on. God bless you all and keep up the good work.

Jenna Ellis: Amazing. And I just love listening to listener testimonies, Ed. Ah, and we've got to take a break here and we will come right back and we'll be listening to at least another listener testimony in the break. But you know it's, it's really incredible to see throughout the years and the decades that this ministry, has been active since its founding and with the goals that that Don Wildmon wanted to to continue to impact culture and American culture and policy, for Christ, how much of an impact this ministry has had and your ah, gift today will help continue making that impact. So during the break, call 877-616-2396. That's 877-616-2396 or you can go online to AFR and Ed Vitagliano, Jenna Ellis here with you this morning on day two of Share a Thon. We will be right back.

Ed Vitagliano: It's Founders Day on American Family Radio and we're honoring the legacy of Brother Don Wildmon. This is God's work. God did it. You can help us honor Brother Don's faithfulness and continue his ministry with your support. Call 877-616-2396 to make your pledge or give online@afr.net it's founders day on American Family Radio.

Ed Vitagliano: Hopefully this conflict comes to a close after ceasefire

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back to day two of Sherathon. I'm Jenna Ellis here with Ed Vitagliano. I'm in Florida, he's in the great state of Mississippi. And a little bit of breaking news really quickly, during the break. Pete Hegseth is the war Secretary is holding a press briefing after the Iran cease fire. And according to Fox News, he declared a quote, decisive military victory in Iran today after President Trump agreed to a two week truth. So Hegseth made the comments during a press conference at the Pentagon telling reporters that the War Department had succeeded in decimating Iran's military capabilities. So this is a developing story but Ed, you know, hopefully this is kind of signaling maybe this conflict coming to a close after this ceasefire and hopefully we can kind of wrap things up.

Ed Vitagliano: Well, yeah, I think we all hoped that the regime, in Iran, led by the mullahs, would have collapsed. But it's really entrenched. I mean I didn't know how entrenched it was until, you know, you read the experts and you know, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Core, you know, numbers from 250,000 to 500,000 in terms of estimates, and they control large swaths of the economy. They're a brutally suppressive regime that, just willingly and almost happily slaughtered their own citizens who protested. So it's a bloody regime. It is a terrorist regime. I think we all hoped it would collapse. However, that has not happened yet. It might still at some point. We can all hope and pray that, that would happen for the sake of the Iranians, the Iranian people themselves, and especially the growing number of Christians that live in Iran. but if, if nothing else, we appear to have set back their nuclear ambitions. sometimes it's hard to, figure out exactly how much they have left or where enriched uranium is. All those kind. But, I'm looking at some of the, the news outlets that we have, live in our studio. The US destroyed more than 90% of Iran's navy, their missile capabilities severely hampered, a lot of military targets hit. So, and if we can get a ceasefire and some sort of a truce here so that the Strait of Hormuz is reopened and the world economy can get back on a solid footing, gas prices here can decline, that would be a very good thing, would be an accomplishment on the part of the president. like you, I did not want to see, as President Trump had promised a nation bombed back to the Stone Age, the, end of a civilization. the words I think he used just because of the collateral damage that would have entailed. especially, I saw a lot of videos of Iranians, whether they were forced to or not, on bridges and around power plants, basically daring the, the president to, to kill all these people. so anyway, at this point, it's, it's a good thing. I, I think we're, we're in a better spot than if, like you said, we had World War three start last night.

Jenna Ellis: Definitely. And, and I think that was a, ah, great encapsulation of, you know, the, the conservative perspective on this because, you know, like you, Ed, I personally was grateful at the, at the outset of this conflict. And, for those who are listening who regularly tune into this hour, which, is usually Jenna Ellis in the morning, and we cover political news of the day, cultural commentary, theology. we've been talking about the Iran conflict, of course, since its inception, and I've been of the opinion that at least at the out, of course it was justified because, we don't want Iran to get nuclear capabilities, obviously. and now, you know, almost 40 days into this conflict, we can begin to question, okay, what are the strategic objectives? What are the goals? I mean you talk about like we have this hour about beginnings. Okay, the conflict began, but is there justification for it to continue? So it seems like, this is finally winding down. And Politico, in my email this morning said it this way. What a difference a day makes. A big day for world peace. Trump posted on truth social at 12:01am, a mere 16 hours after threatening to erase an entire civilization off the face of the planet. I think we were all a little concerned about the tenor of that True Social post yesterday. but Trump predicted there will be lots of positive action, big money will be made, Iran can start the reconstruction process. This could be the golden age of the Middle East. And so a two week ceasefire or no, Trump seems to be moving on. And I think we can all appreciate that. And you know, that's, that's a good, a good day I think, for for the Middle east, but also for America.

Ed Vitagliano: Yeah, and I am glad that the President apparently decided not to insert the U.S. marines on Carg island or somewhere else or the 82nd Airborne. you know, everything. I'm not a foreign policy expert, you know, but so, but I do read, you know, people who are and why

Jenna Ellis: I have guests on that are.

Ed Vitagliano: Yes, exactly. That's, you ask the experts the questions. Iran would have been a totally different animal than Iraq. You know, it's mountainous, plenty of places to for young men and women, Americans to die. And you know, sometimes that is necessary for our own national security. But man, I am just thankful to the Lord that these young people did not have to go into that, that sort of terrain to fight. I mean Iran's 93 million people, it's three times the population of Texas, it is twice as large. It's military is no joke. And so maybe prayers were answered and hopefully we can get some kind of a resolution. Absolutely. That's. That that benefits everyone in the Middle east and around the world.

Jenna Ellis: Yes, absolutely.

Jenna: Ed, thanks for joining us on American Family Radio Network

So well said. And you know, what a difference a day makes as well for, our share a thon contributions and the donations that people have been making. You've mentioned, you know, there are some people who always wait till, you know, kind of the last hour of the last day of Sharathon. You don't have to be that procrastinator today. You, can call in with your pledge right now and you can do that on Founders Day while we're talking about not only the founding of this great ministry, the American Family association, the founding of our nation, and even the founding of the universe. I mean, it's an amazing thing to contemplate. And so, you can call in today. We have some wonderful Charathon Central volunteers that are standing by, ready to talk with you. Or if you would rather avoid that. You. You are on your way to work and, you know, just want to hurry up and get it done, you can go to afr.net that's afr.net but if you'd like to call our happy volunteers, that phone number is 877-616-2396. That's 877-616-2396. And Ed, you know, I. I have been so incredibly grateful to be here at the American Family Association. I'm in, I think, my fourth year of, this radio program, which is just incredibly amazing. And it doesn't like it's been that long because, as they say, you know, that time flies when you're having fun, and if you're doing something you love, you never feel like you're working a day in your life. And that has been so true for my time here at American Family Radio Network, because I love waking up every morning talking about the things that are pressing on people's mind. What's happening in the news, what's happening in the culture, answering theological questions, and having all of this come from specifically a biblical worldview. And, it really has. Has been a coming home for me and a, return to. And I think a. An advancement of the calling that God placed on my life, many years ago. I mean, I knew from the age of 14 that I wanted to be a lawyer. I had no idea how God would use that, to promote his truth and how I would be able to, you know, ultimately represent the President of the United States, ultimately, you know, comment on national media about, you know, critical issues in law, teach about, the founding of our nation. it's really incredible what, what God can do. And, and I will say, as a Christian, be careful. If you pray that prayer like I did when I was 14, like Isaiah 6, 8 says, where he's looking around at the culture and saying, you know, nobody here is serving God. And he's going, well, here I am. Lord, send me. You know, he's looking around at a. At a dying culture. And I prayed that prayer at 14. Beware. God will answer in incredibly mighty ways and sometimes not easy ways. You know, you. It's not all, hills. There are definitely valleys as well. but being here at the American Family association on American Family Radio, has been just a wonderful blessing for me to have the opportunity to exercise my calling and vocation. And how, how did this come about, for you, Ed, to you know, to be here at AFA and to fulfill your calling as well?

Ed Vitagliano: Well, first of all, let me just say we're blessed to have you, Jenna. And I know our listeners, especially the ones that tune in for your show, every morning, they're blessed as well. God has blessed this ministry with some, with some Jesus lovers and people who have talents and abilities and gifts that fit perfectly. And you're one of those. So we are all so blessed. But listen, I, I was I'm kind of a little bit of close, to your story, but a little bit different. I was planning on being a lawyer and was at Boston College minding my own business and my, my, some members of my family got saved and I wound up getting saved. And, and during my third year of college, I started feeling like God was calling me into the pastorate. And so I took that turn. In fact, I always joke, my mom used to when she would introduce me to people when I was in the ministry, she would say, my son was a lawyer and gave that up to go into the ministry. And I would say, ma, I'm from the Boston area. Ma, I was never a lawyer. Said, well you went to law school. No, I didn't go to law school either. I was a pre law student. That was it. But I, I knew I wanted to serve God and yet I was always interested in history and politics and culture. And so in, in the 80s I was in the ministry here in Tupelo, Mississippi where the headquarters are of American Family association and soon, American Family Radio. And so I was friends with Tim Wildmon and J.J. jasper and a couple of other guys. We were young guys that you know, were married and serving God and, and eventually in 1996, I was doing, I was ministering part time and doing some writing full time at a, at a newspaper. I got a call from Tim and said we have an opening on the magazine. And that's how I came to be here at American Family association. Back in 1996. I had zero radio experience and brother Don put me in the news department, for the, to do the little five minute news broadcasts. And I didn't particularly like radio, you know, and but, but he said, well, Your voice doesn't sound Southern. I don't want this, the radio network, to be a Southern. I want it to be national and I want to use your voice. And so that's. I did, I did it. And that's how I wound up being, you know, working with Tim, on today's issues. And that eventually turned into, Trivia Friday. So it's, it's, it's like a lot of things we do in life. If you serve God, you take a winding path. It's not usually a straight shot. but I wanted to serve God and I had no idea I would wind up here. And same thing like with you. And so my encouragement to people, is listen, you just have a heart to serve God and a willingness to take opportunities as they come. You have no idea where you'll wind up or what you'll do. So, like what you said, just stay faithful to Jesus and have an open heart and an open mind to the opportunities God puts in front of you. He will open doors. You may not wind up on the radio. You may not wind up behind a pulpit. You may not wind up on the Artemis too. You know, like the pilot there, you know, sharing the gospel. but wherever, I guess to be a little trite, you just bloom where you're planted. God will give you opportunities to be fruitful.

Jenna Ellis: M. And he'll open doors that you could never could have yourself and have opportunities that only he gives. And what a. What a wonderful story, Ed. And I love that you were, logic minded wanting to go to law school. I think that honestly made you a better pastor. I think. I think more pastors need to go to law school and more lawyers need to go to seminary.

Ed Vitagliano: I love that. I love that. That's a wonderful way of looking at it.

We are in the middle of a $10,000 culture warrior challenge

Hey, folks, listen, I make mistakes all the time, and I made one during the last segment. We're in the middle of. By the way, it is our spring share a thon. love God, love people is the theme of it. But I said we were in the middle of a challenge. That was the $10,000 ready, set, go challenge. That was yesterday's challenge. This today's challenge is a $10,000 culture warrior challenge. it's basically still the same thing. We're asking. We're challenging you to meet the $10,000 goal. We have money set aside, that had been given earlier. That, challenge lasts for another 20 minutes till 8:00am Central Time. it is our fall share a thon. The number to call if you want to give to this ministry, keep us on the air, keep Jenna doing what she does and all the other programs that we have. God has blessed us with. 877-616-239, 687-76-162396. Now we call this the Culture Warrior Challenge because ah, it is Founders Day and Brother Don Wildmon, the founder of this ministry, back in 1977. The radio network didn't come, didn't start until 1991. We have a, a a full length feature length documentary about Brother Don Wildmon and it's titled Culture Don Wildmon and the Battle for Decency. It explores the founding of AFA and many of the cultural and spiritual battles that mark the early years of the ministry. It's fascinating to see how this culture war we talk about, you know, it's a real thing. A lot of times back in the in the 70s, people thought, what does this mean, cultural war? Well this is going to tell the story of not only what God called Brother Don to do, but how this culture war kind of began. and you can watch it for free, this film. Okay, we're letting you know that if you want to watch Culture Warrior for free, you can. It is at CultureWarrior Movie. CultureWarrior Movie. It is absolutely well done by American, family Studios. We have a team that makes all sorts of shorter and longer films. the God who Speaks is one of the most popular in his image. There are films that you will be able to watch that are life changing, that are life affirming, that are gospel centric. And so it is kind of our Culture Warrior Day, Founders Day. Go to culturewarrior Movie and watch this film for free. And meanwhile we ask you to give, to support this ministry here during our spring share a thon today and tomorrow. That's will be over after tomorrow. 8776-162396-77616-2396 or you can give safely and securely online at afr.net amazing.

Jenna Ellis: Well we will go to our last break here on the second day of Sharathon. I'm Jenna Ellis here with Ed Vitagliano and we are so grateful for your support of this ministry and for keeping us on the air so that as we've been saying we can fulfill the calling of this ministry and other be culture warriors and to to always comment on news of the day, be engaged in policy and you know, in some of that policy making as well, here at American Family association, all of the gifts that you give, really do advance the truth of the gospel of Christ in a very real and tangible way. So you can call 877-616-2396 during our $10,000 challenge this morning at, 877-616-2396 or go to afr.net ed and I will be right back.

Ed Vitagliano: It's day two of Share a Thon and it's Founders Day. As far as our budget M. The way we run a budget is you spend less than you take you. We invite you to help honor the memory and legacy of brother don wildman. Call 877-616-2396 to make a pledge or give online@afr.net it's founders day on American Family Radio.

Jenna Ellis hosts Share A Thon on American Family Radio Network

Jenna Ellis: Welcome back to day two of, Share A Thon here on American Family Radio Network. I'm Jenna Ellis, host of Jenna Ellis in the Morning, which is normally this hour. And I'm so grateful for all of the listeners across the country, that tune in every morning to hear about news of the day, politics, legal, Supreme Court decisions, you know, all the things that we cover. Cultural topics, theology, everything that's going on, during the day and during the week. And also here with Ed Vitagliano, who is a co host of Today's Issues, right here on American Family Radio Network as well. And I'm, privileged about once a week or so to be a guest on, with them. So it's always, always fun to have that kind of cross collaboration. And, so we get to do the co hosting this morning, for the three days of Sharathan.

American Family Radio Share a Thon focuses on love God and love your neighbor

And we're so grateful for your participation and our scripture verse, for this Share a Thon, as our theme is love God, love people, is from Matthew 22:37 through 40. Jesus replied. And of course, he was replying to the Pharisees, about the answering to the question which is the greatest commandment. Jesus replied, love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is, like it, love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets hang on these two commandments. And what a great verse, Ed, for this Share a Thon, absolutely.

Ed Vitagliano: And, some people may say, you may think or wonder. Well, you guys, do have preaching programs, but you're not always preaching, on today's issues, we cover, as you mentioned, like you do, a Lot of the topics of the day, well, you know, God's truth can be expressed and is expressed in the gospel explicitly. But the Bible is filled with teaching from God's perspective how people ought to live. And so that truth can be applied even in a modern culture where we have challenges regarding life. For example, example, should, should unborn children be aborted? Should we, put old people to death, euthanize old people or people who, you know, we don't think are, are important enough to, you know, be the recipients of medical care? All these kinds of questions may have very technical, circumstances, but they still are at their core basic, concepts and basic arguments that the Bible speaks to. So, when we talk about loving God and loving our neighbor, we ask ourselves, biblically speaking, how do we best love our neighbor? And so when we talk about issues like pro life issues, how do we demonstrate the love of God to unborn children? How do we demonstrate the love of God or the truth of God when it comes to issues like marriage and human sexuality? So it may seem like a lot of times we're talking about issues that aren't explicitly biblical. And, you know, that may be technically true, but they are implicitly biblical because the truth of God speaks to so many areas of life. How do we spend our money? We're asking you to donate here during Share a Thon. And so you have to answer the question, how do I, how do I spend my money? Every, every month, all Christians have to answer those kinds of questions. And so, life, Jenna does provide those kinds of challenges. And the question of how we love God and how we love our neighbor, those are questions that are answered to a large degree in the Scripture. What does it look like to love our neighbor? What does it look like to love God? You can't worship idols, for example. But in some of these areas that are a little trickier, at American Family Radio, we try to bring, we try to shed the light of scripture on those areas to try to help people with, the cultural and, religious and political challenges they're facing.

Jenna Ellis: Yeah, so well said.

American Family Radio is celebrating its third annual Share a Thon

And, you know, as we talk about on, on my program all the time, and regular listeners know this, hopefully, through just repetition by now that, you know, God ordained three institutions of government, the civil government, the church government, and the family government. And he has ordered liberty through his divine authority that he has told us, how to live within those three spheres of government. And there are ways to do that biblically and there are ways to do that unbiblically. And so when we talk about, things that are, you know, theology based and when we talk about things that are specifically preaching, like those shows, you know, that fits very neatly within that, kind of, you know, the church sphere of government. And we think about that very readily as being the things of God. But the things of God are everything. Everything is God's. It's not just what we do in the four walls of the church or on Sunday mornings, it's also what we do daily in our families. As Abe Hamilton, who, who hosts, the Hamilton Corner here on American Family Radio, network in the evenings, as he always says, you know, you're coming home, from your part time job to your full time job, which is your family. And I love how he expresses that. And so how we live in our family, there's a biblical way to do that. And the Bible has teaching for that. And then in our civil government there is a way to have ordered liberty and justice and truth and righteousness. a legitimate government promotes good, restrains evil, and how we exercise, our civil government sphere, how we are good citizens and then how we also hold our government accountable. There are principles in scripture and how that delineates out to policy. All of those things should be under ordered liberty because that is a sphere and institution that God has ordained. So when we talk about politics and policy and world events and foreign policy and all of this, we're talking about things that are just as important to God's authority and design as we are when we have preaching shows. So you know, all of this is incredibly important.

Ed Vitagliano: Amen. And folks, this is the kind of conversations we have on a regular basis throughout the day on American Family Radio. And it is our fall, our spring Share a thon. We do this three days in the spring, three days in the fall, where we set forth before our listeners our financial needs. As Tim likes to say, we pass the virtual offering plate. And so today and tomorrow are the final days of our three day Share a thon. It is the love God, love people. Share a thon. Here's the number to call if you want to give is 877-6-16-2396. That's 877-616-2396. Or you can give online.

You know, Jenna, you mentioned the word justice and uh, this is perfect

You know, Jenna, you were talking, you mentioned the word justice and this is a perfect way to kind of illustrate what we're talking about in terms of how the Bible speaks to the issues of the day. We hear the Word justice thrown around all the time. And it is in fact a word that is frequently mentioned in the Bible. Justice. So you can ask the question, well, does every claim that people make, they demand justice? They may say, well, the Bible talks about it, but the word justice in the Bible is the word righteousness. the word righteousness I think most people would understand. This is the way a person, a Christian, rightly walks before God. Conduct that is right in the eyes of God. The word justice means, as far as I can tell, righteousness as applied corporately, that a people are to behave in a way that is, in accordance with God's will. And that when people act in a manner that is pleasing to God, you have biblical justice. That's one of the ways in which our conversations about Scripture and about the light of God's truth can impact our discussions on a daily basis. So Christians who are at work or talking to neighbors or friends or family members, the subject of justice comes up, you say, yeah, I believe in justice too. And it is a concept that is in the Bible. And it means how do we live as a people? Are, we living in accordance with God's will and his commandments? And if we are, we will be more likely to be a blessed and successful and fruitful people.

Jenna Ellis: And the Bible is very clear on that, that you know, that when you have, good leaders, you know, just leaders, those who are, have a moral and upright view and, and they're are enacting justice in society, then, then the people are, are impacted for good. And that we can, you know, exercise our liberty, but under unjust rulers, the people grown. And I'm paraphrasing that verse a little bit, but but the, the whole idea of understanding the difference between just and unjust rulers, it's not about social justice. It's not about, you know, our emotions or our perspectives of you know, kind of this standpoint, epistemology kind of perspective. It's about the objective truth that comes from the person of truth, Jesus Christ, and his authority, his morality, his truth that then is facilitated corporately in a civil society as much as it's facilitated corporately in a family as well. And you know, the justice that parents enact when they have just and appropriate and righteous standards that aren't too harsh, for their families, but aren't too lax so that their kids, you know, don't have any sort of boundaries that are good. So establishing justice in a family and also a civil society needs to come from God himself. So, you know, these are just, these conversations.

Ed: Let's talk about biblical legitimacy of government

I wish we had another hour, Ed, because we could be talking about justice, but we're almost to the end of our time, on this hour. So help us, push through for the end of this pledge, this $10,000, culture warrior challenge, so that you can help us fight in the civil arena. Talk about the legitimate legitimacy of government, the founding of this great nation. We're so blessed to live in a country that, the founding, it was actually on biblical truth. And, you know, we could talk about biblical truth in any time era, in any, civil society. But here in America, we're so blessed that our founders gave us the tools we need to be able to have that moral order and continue a moral and upright society. So join with us. give us your best pledge at 877-616-2396. That's 877-616-2396. Or you can go to afr.net and, closing thoughts, Ed, and thanks so much for co hosting. It's been fun the last couple days. And we get one more tomorrow.

Ed Vitagliano: We get one more. Looking forward to it. listen, folks, it is, it is a blessing and an honor for Jenna and I to serve God in serving you and speaking for, for the truth of God's word. and we ask you to come alongside us and help us do that, during our spring share a thon. 877-616-2396. Hey, Jenna and I will see you tomorrow.

Jenna Ellis: Have a great day.

Ed Vitagliano: It.

American Family Radio celebrates Founders Day