Captivate & Conform

With the mid-terms tomorrow, we dusted off an episode from the archives on voting. Although this episode was recorded just before the 2024 presidential race, Dan and Jason offer Christian principles that apply to every election. Read the full article by Dan and Jason “Before You Vote: 6 Things to Consider.” --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Each generation encounters the world’s perversions at younger and younger ages. Parents must intentionally build a biblical worldview in their children, or the world will disciple them. What Do I Say When . . . ?: A Parent's Guide to Navigating Cultural Chaos for Children and Teens by Andrew and Christian Walker is a practical guide to navigating cultural issues like human dignity, sexuality, and technology. Each chapter offers biblical, age-appropriate answers and discussion questions for children of all ages. Pick up November’s #BookOfTheMonth at The Resource Center this Sunday! --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Nathan (Dir. of Outreach), Chris (Sr. Associate Pastor), and Pete (Elder) announce and discuss the latest outreach initiative: a Cedar Crest church plant in the Fogelsville/Northwestern area. To learn more, please visit our Church Planting and Revitalization page. Watch this episode. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Alex Kocman offers a different take on John Piper’s famous maxim, “Missions exists because worship doesn’t.” Although true, he challenges us to consider the fact that missions is also only possible because of worship. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Recent headlines claiming Noah’s Ark has been “100% confirmed” have captured the world’s attention. Without addressing this specific case, Pastor Chris explains how Christians should view extra-biblical evidence. While discoveries that corroborate Scripture are worth celebrating, they should never be the reason we trust the Bible. To do so, as we discuss on the show, diminishes the sufficiency of Scripture. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Our church has been faithfully trekking through the Book of Matthew for nearly four years. Our journey concludes this Sunday. In anticipation of his final sermon, Pastor Jason shares what he’s learned while studying and preaching through this text, along with some his favorite parts from the gospel. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Pastor Chris and Pastor Jules sift through some the biggest headlines. They discuss the passing of a cultural icon and how Christlike sympathy does not nullify the need for justice. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

The church has raised Christians who can rattle off facts about Jesus. But it has often failed to help believers see how the Bible’s grand story of redemption—from Genesis to Revelation—points to Him. That’s the premise of Pastor Chris’ and Dan Everett’s upcoming class “The Eternal and Incarnate Son of God.” Discipleship Institute offers 11-week courses on the Bible, theology, and Christian living. Classes begin September 20. Sign up here. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

On this Labor Day special episode, guest Rick Whitmire shares how Christians can strike a healthy work/life balance, starting with how we rest. Discipleship Institute offers 11-week courses on the Bible, theology, and Christian living. Classes begin September 20. Sign up here. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

On this episode we turn to what we listen to in private—in the car, on your morning jog, around the house. Pastor Chris then quizzes Luke and Loren on how well they can differentiate between secular love songs and CCM (Christian Contemporary Music) to prove a point: many modern Christian song lyrics are so vague and watered down that you can’t distinguish them from worldly music. Recommended Bands/Artists: Sovereign Grace Music The Gettys CityAlight Matt Boswell & Matt Papa Perimeter Worship Shane & Shane Emu Music Advent Birmingham Bryan Fowler Citizens Caroline Cobb Journey Worship John Van Deusen --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Song choice, both in corporate and private settings, matters. Luke Walters, Director of Worship Arts, joins the show to discuss the purpose of worship in song, his selection process for every Sunday setlist, and why Brandon Lake’s seeker-friendly approach is unbiblical. Cedar Crest BFC’s Philosophy of Worship --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Christians are fundamentally servants. We are called to serve just as Jesus Christ came into the world not to be served, but to serve. Yet, in this fallen world, serving comes with many challenges like burnout or bitterness. Scott Allen, an elder and counselor at Cedar Crest, shares how we can avoid these and other common pitfalls while serving. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

This recording is a session from Marriage: Faithfulness in a Fallen World. Dr. Jim Newheiser walks through seven principles of a godly marriage. Access all conference sessions here. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

“We are saved by faith alone, but the faith that saves is never alone.” - Martin Luther Luther struggled with the book of James at first, for he felt it taught a works-based gospel. But as Pastor Jason clarified during his first sermon preached at Cedar Crest five years ago, the saving faith that produces good works, which James posits, perfectly harmonizes with the rest of Scripture. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

While bodily training is only of “some value” (1 Tim. 4:8), Christians should not overlook it altogether. Josh and Victoria Parris, both former D1 athletes and current professional fitness coaches, help Christians navigate the vices of gym culture and slothfulness by viewing exercise as another way to honor and worship God. Much of the content discussed on this episode is inspired from A Little Theology of Exercise by David Mathis. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

The world encourages us to withhold no pleasure from our hearts. King Solomon, the wisest and wealthiest man up to that point in human history, did just this—and found it wanting. After conducting an in-depth study of Ecclesiastes, Pastor Jules walks through the main takeaways of this fascinating and often confusing book. Pastor Jules’ Sermon - “Consider” (Eccl. 7:13-18) --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Maybe you’ve heard the common refrains “once saved, always saved” or “eternal security.” Although technically true, these pithy sayings can muddy the theological waters regarding one’s salvation. The doctrine of “Perseverance of the Saints” goes by many names, but it essentially means that only true believers, those united with Christ, will ultimately persevere to the end unto salvation. Previous C&C episodes on TULIP: T - Total Depravity (Part 1, Part 2) U - Unconditional Election L - Limited Atonement I - Irresistible Grace P - Perseverance of the Saints --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

From the rigorous theological wrestling around separating from the crown to the “Indispensable Man” of George Washington who declared that the highest glory of a Patriot is the “character of Christian,” the soil that the American Experiment sprouted from is undeniably Christian. On this in-depth conversation with special guest Dan Waterman, he sets the historical record straight on the biblical justification for the American Revolution, the faith of our founders, and the Christian ideals set forth in our founding. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

In honor of Captivate and Conform’s 150th episode, we reflect on some of our favorite episodes. Degrees of Sin (Part 2), November 22, 2023 (Jess Miller) Ask Dr. Farnham, December 20, 2023 (Dr. Mark Farnham) Law-Keepers & Spirit-Walkers, March 6, 2024 (Cliff Boone) Biblical Counseling (Part 2), April 3, 2024 (Scott Allen) Karmic Christianity, May 26, 2025 (E.D. Burns) --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church

Bright Hope is a pregnancy support center in the Lehigh Valley that Cedar Crest partners with. Jen Davies (Interim CEO) and Dave Block (Communications and Development Manager) share the heart behind Bright Hope and current challenges the ministry faces in a pro-choice state like Pennsylvania. BABY BOTTLE CAMPAIGN Grab a bottle on Sunday mornings from one of the cribs, fill it with your donation, and return it by Father’s Day (June 21). Or give online here. Sign up to receive prayer requests. --- If you enjoyed this episode, please leave us a positive review and share it with a friend! If you have any questions for the show, email us at podcast@cedarcrest.church. Visit Captivate & Conform | cedarcrest.church/podcast Learn more about Cedar Crest Bible Fellowship Church | cedarcrest.church