The Life Challenges Podcast
Modern-day issues from a Biblical perspective.
Episodes
251 episodes
Faithful Politics with Rick Gundrum
We talk with former Wisconsin State Assembly member Rick Gundrum about what faithful civic engagement looks like when you have to represent a true melting pot of beliefs and still answer to your conscience. We trade stories about pressure, medi...
Faithfulness in Relationships
June’s Fidelity Month serves as a timely reminder of the importance of faithfulness in our relationships with God, family, friends, and community. In this episode, we explore the biblical meaning of fidelity, why it matters in a culture that of...
What’s Trending? Newborn Vitamin K Shots, AI Brain Implants, and Religious Illiteracy
Join us as we weigh the month’s biggest bioethics and culture headlines, from AI hype to IVF lab practices, and ask what responsible limits look like when money and power are involved. We connect technology, medicine, and education to a grounde...
Peace That Outlasts the Storm with Shelli Jo
We talk with Shelli Jo about peace that holds steady in a broken world, especially when anxiety, divorce, or relationship conflict makes it feel hard to breathe. We lean on Philippians 4 and practical prayer habits to trust God again when outco...
Healing and Protection: How Churches Can Respond to Abuse with Victor Vieth | Part Two
This episode continues an important conversation with former child abuse prosecutor Victor Vieth about how churches, schools, and Christian communities can better respond to abuse and trauma. Victor discusses the importance of education, person...
Healing and Protection: How Churches Can Respond to Abuse with Victor Vieth | Part One
Former child abuse prosecutor Victor Vieth joins the podcast for a sobering conversation about child abuse within churches and faith communities. Drawing from decades of experience, Victor explains the prevalence of abuse, how offenders weaponi...
What's Trending? Organ Transplant Laws, Death Doulas, Loneliness, and More
We move through a stack of headlines that force hard questions about death, dignity, and what modern medicine can get wrong when speed and demand take over. We also look at how loneliness and fertility research intersect with real-life choices,...
Putting Children First: The Consequences of Adult-Centered Choices
A parenting dilemma sparks a deeper conversation about family structure and what children truly need to thrive. In this episode, we examine how cultural shifts—especially around marriage, parenting, and identity—impact kids, often in ways that ...
Pro-Life Voting in a Complicated World
Is voting for the pro-life candidate always the right choice? In this episode, the conversation tackles one of the most challenging questions Christians face in the political arena. We explore the tension between single-issue voting and evaluat...
Living in Sodom: The Slow Drift of Faith and the Story of Lot
In this episode, we take a deeper look at the biblical account of Sodom and Gomorrah—not just its shocking wickedness, but the subtle spiritual drift seen in Lot and his family. Rather than using the story for comparison or self-righteousness, ...
What’s Trending? 50th Anniversary of Karen Ann Quinlan Case, Brewed Vaccine, and Hospice Fraud
Fifty years after the landmark case of Karen Ann Quinlan, this episode explores how one family’s decision reshaped modern bioethics, patient rights, and end-of-life care. Christa, Bob, and Jeff reflect on the lasting impact of the case—from the...
This Will Not End in Death: Finding Hope in the Raising of Lazarus
In this episode, Christa, Bob, and Jeff explore John 11 and the powerful account of Lazarus. They unpack why Jesus delayed, the significance of a four-day death, and the unmistakable evidence of His authority over death. Through the honest grie...
Reviving Twenty-Somethings in the Church with Pastor Clark Schultz and Stella Zarling
In this episode, Christa and Bob are joined by Pastor Clark Schultz and Stella Zarling from Shepherd of the Hills Lutheran Church in West Bend, Wisconsin, to explore the challenges and opportunities facing twenty-somethings in today’s church. S...
Children: Burden or Blessing? A Cultural Wake-Up Call
What happens when a man who never wanted children suddenly feels the pull toward fatherhood? In this episode, we unpack a powerful article exploring shifting cultural attitudes about family, purpose, and legacy. From the influence of upbringing...
Relational Evangelism: Building Trust Before Sharing Truth with Aaron Wakeman
How do meaningful relationships open doors for sharing the gospel? In this episode, Aaron Wakeman of Friends Network joins the conversation to discuss relational ministry and the power of trust in evangelism. Drawing from global mission ...
What’s Trending? Face Transplant, Transgender Bill of Rights, Fetus is a Human Being, and More
In this episode of the Life Challenges Podcast from Christian Life Resources, the team discusses a euthanasia-linked face transplant, a proposed transgender Bill of Rights in Congress, Puerto Rico’s recognition of unborn children as persons, de...
Grief Isn’t a Detour Back to “Normal” with Dr. Stacy Jensen
Grief isn’t a detour back to “normal.” It’s a turning toward something new—often unwanted, always hard, yet held by God. We sit down with Dr. Stacy Jensen to trace a deeply human story of loss, love, and quiet strength after her husband Nick’s ...
Outlawed or Unrestricted: What Really Changes
What happens when we imagine two impossible worlds—one where abortion is fully outlawed and another where it’s universally celebrated—and then ask what truly changes? We use this stark contrast to cut through the noise and get to the heart of p...
Vaccines, Your Body, and Loving Your Neighbor with Dr. Rob Balza
What if the story of vaccines is really a story about protecting what we value most? We sit down with biomedical researcher Dr. Rob Balza to chart the arc from smallpox variolation to today’s mRNA platforms, then push past headlines to the data...
What’s Trending? Abortion Numbers Are Up, Blood Test for Alzheimer’s, Cost of Youth Sports, and AI
Think Dobbs ended the abortion debate? The numbers say otherwise. We unpack why abortions have risen since the ruling, how chemical pills and telehealth shattered state borders, and why federal inaction leaves courts and clinics chasing the wro...
When Mental Illness Gets in the Way of the Gospel with Theresa Kramer
Pain doesn’t disappear because we can quote the right verse. Together with licensed counselor Theresa Kramer, we unpack how faith, psychology, and everyday community can meet mental illness with compassion and clarity. We talk about the differe...
The Sin of Abortion
Hard truths can heal or harm depending on how we carry them. We take a clear-eyed look at abortion as sin while refusing to flatten people into labels, and we explore how Christians can hold conviction and compassion in the same hand without co...
A Journey From Silence to Healing After Abortion
We sit with Sheila Luck to hear how a 1975 abortion, years of silence, and a risky prayer to “be God’s employee” turned regret into purpose, writing, and open‑handed service. The talk invites churches and families to become safe places where ho...
What's Trending? Marriage Trends, State Abortion Battles, AI Communication, and More
In this month’s What’s Trending episode, we trace why fewer girls expect to marry while boys’ expectations hold steady, then turn to 2026 state abortion ballots, AI “grandma” simulations that risk warping grief, and new research on how physics ...
Why Reasons and Rationalizations Don’t Replace Repentance
Ever notice how easy it is to defend yourself and how hard it is to say, “I was wrong”? From kitchen-table conflicts to headline-making controversies, we trace how self-justification sneaks into our words, our ethics, and even our prayers—and w...
