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**As you may be able to tell...Malcolm's mic wasn't on for today's episode. You'll still hear him through Slim's mic, but its noticeably worse.  

All Apologies** Now, for the Episode...

When the Empire Demands Your Gaze, Fix Your Eyes on Christ.  We start with the killing of Minnesota nurse Alex Pretti by ICE agents and the rush to label, excuse, and move on. From media spin to the refusal to apologize even after video surfaces, we trace how propaganda thrives on the rightness of your side and how that rightness corrodes the social order and our humanity. Then we pivot to a harder task: learning to resist the outrage economy without going numb. Attention is formation. If we stare at empire all day, it will shape us.

That tension carries into our deep dive on discipleship and effort. Michael Horton argues: Disciplines don't Save. Christ Does. First we ask... who is making this argument?  He assigns the blame at the feet of John Mark Comer, but we wonder if this is just his own allergic reaction to any striving on the Christian's' part.  

With Lent on the horizon, we make a practical case for a season that trains love: prayer that reshapes attention, fasting that clears space for a greater good, and almsgiving that breaks greed’s grip. Ash Wednesday’s “remember you are dust” is not punishment; it’s clarity. When mortality is set against resurrection, repentance becomes hopeful, not heavy. Along the way we share listener mail on art and hypocrisy, talk through pastoral judgment on addressing current events, and laugh about our own cringey “stop trying so hard” era.

Let us know what you think!  

Video or no-video?

JD VANCE - no apologies 

Garret Bearanger - eyes back on Christ

https://www.christianitytoday.com/2026/01/disciplines-dont-save-christ-does/

Larry Norman - Fallen Angel

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