One of our favorite Christmas interviews through the years was recorded in 2013 with Kenneth Bailey, titled, “Christmas Through Middle Eastern Eyes.” Dr. Bailey stepped into the Lord’s presence in 2016, and we replay this program in his honor to the glory of God. Kenneth E. Bailey was a prolific author, a pioneering professor in theology and an accomplished linguist. His book, “Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes,” along with the rest of his books and writings, has blessed the world with insights, unlocking a deeper understanding about God and His Word.

Do the holidays bring you joy or loneliness, purpose or emptiness? Alice Wisler, author of Getting Out of Bed in the Morning: Reflections on Comfort in Heartache, brings insight and practical tips on how we can make the most of the holidays, even if we are facing heartache. With God’s help, we can turn the days of Advent into special days to celebrate God, family, friends and our lives. Based on popular demand and in keeping with our holiday focus, this interview is being aired again from its original recording in December of 2013.

How does one survive the loss of a loved one? Is there a proper technique for handling the hard edge of grief? Douglas Groothuis, professor of philosophy at Denver Seminary asks himself such questions as his wife, Becky, has slipped into a debilitating form of dementia. As a philosopher, he has journeyed into a land of shadows that he never hoped to visit. And there, he found God along with help for the journey, and growth and insights that can help the rest of us when we too are called to walk through twilight.

Host Bill Campbell describes the Biblical call to prayer and discusses the peace and hope that arises when people gather to pray in unity. Join us on Wednesday, December 4, at 12 noon EST for an online prayer gathering for hope and restoration over Western NC and other parts of the country recovering from Hurricane Helene. For details go to ScriptureAwakening.com/prayer/

Doug Stringer, founder and president of “Somebody Cares” talks about the powerful impact love has to build hope in people’s lives, even for those going through difficult times. People facing crises are often most open to the help God and His people can bring. Doug encourages each of us to reach out with God's love to inspire hope in the world.

Has your world been turned upside down? Does it seem that you or someone you care about is living in a war zone? Tim Geoffrion, who helps people keep hope in war-torn sections of the world brings insights to help us reclaim and share hope in difficult times.

Why are so many leaving the church? For a significant number, it’s not because they don’t love God, but because they do. Josh Packard, a sociologist who studies religion at the University of Northern Colorado, brings a thoughtful analysis of the “Dones,” the people who have given up on the institutional church and how the church can reform itself.

Blaise Pascal, the seventeenth century philosopher, mathematician, and physicist, gave us more than the Pascal triangle and new understandings about hydraulics. He left us a wager: “If one bets that God does exist, and He does, you win ‘everything’, to lose — you lose nothing. Should one bet that God does not exist — and win, you win nothing, but to lose? You lose ‘everything.'” Michael Rota, philosophy teacher at the University of St. Thomas, aims to help us make a wise wager.