Escaping Moral Adventure Mark & Fallon Sparks

Have you ever wondered about how you should celebrate Halloween? Should you completely skip the holiday, or should it be a free for all? We have been unsure how to navigate Halloween with our kiddos for some time now, so we decided it was time to figure out what to do with this holiday! After doing quite a bit of research and using what we know to be true in scripture, we developed some simple guardrails to help navigate Halloween and activities associated with it. We hope this episode is as helpful for you as it was for us!



During today’s episode, we referenced the following:

36. Don’t Judge Others?

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/36-dont-judge-others/id1544635214?i=1000533845418

YouTube: https://youtu.be/h5gVKUU6UrQ



We used the following resources to compile information for this episode:

https://www.history.com/topics/halloween/history-of-halloween

https://www.gotquestions.org/Halloween-origin.html

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Halloween

https://www.gotquestions.org/haunted-house.html

Something new is coming. We’re transitioning into Season 2 of Escaping Moral Adventure, and we’re excited! In the coming weeks, we’ll tell you more about what’s in store for this new season. Between now and the launch of the new season, we will still release new content, just not on a weekly basis. As we’re preparing for Season 2, this is a great time to get caught up on Season 1 (all 38 episodes)!

In today’s episode, we look at four individuals in the Bible who experienced suffering. As we examine their experiences, we find that sometimes there is a ‘clear’ reason for the suffering, but oftentimes there is not. It’s likely all of us can relate to that! Thankfully, scripture encourages us in our suffering, and we know that. As believers in and followers of Jesus Christ, we can (and should) think differently about our suffering. We know that our suffering is not in vain, that God has a purpose for our suffering, and that he is at work in the midst of it. We also have the hope of eternity with Christ Jesus in heaven!

We used the following resources for this episode:

1. Psalm 119 by Matt Chandler on RightNow Media: https://www.rightnowmedia.org/Search?q=psalm%20119

2. https://bibleproject.com/blog/gods-gives-job-tour-wise-world/

During today’s episode, we shared some of our experience with miscarriages. We talk about it a bit on another episode as well:

Episode 27: The Good News

Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/27-the-good-news/id1544635214?i=1000527223732

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vLC76tBIUwA

Now what? After you’ve made a mistake in life, what do you do next? Today, we discuss three ways people typically handle mess ups. Do you find someone or something to blame, try to justify your mistake, or do you own it? One of these choices can make you a better friend, family member, or even coworker, and the other two choices will cause you to lose integrity.

We used the following website to help us gather information for this episode:

https://www.vocabulary.com/dictionary/integrity

We referenced the following scriptures in today’s episode:

Proverbs 10:9 (ESV) Whoever walks in integrity walks securely, but he who makes his ways crooked will be found out.

Proverbs 28:6 (ESV) Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity than a rich man who is crooked in his ways.

Proverbs 11:3 (ESV) The integrity of the upright guides them, but the crookedness of the treacherous destroys them.

Proverbs 20:7 (ESV) The righteous who walks in his integrity— blessed are his children after him!

Psalm 84:11 (NASB) For the Lord God is a sun and shield; The Lord gives grace and glory; He withholds no good thing from those who walk with integrity.

1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV) 4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

In this week’s episode, we discuss whether or not we are to judge others. On the surface, it seems the Bible may contradict itself on this matter of judging others. However, after digging in a bit further we find a much deeper and consistent idea of what the Bible teaches about judging. We *should* discern/judge right from wrong. We should *not* judge the person - that is God’s job and his alone.



We used the following resources in this episode. Please take the time to read these articles to learn more about right and wrong judgments.

https://www.gotquestions.org/judge-not-lest-you-be-judged.html

https://www.gotquestions.org/do-not-judge.html

Having great friends is key for your physical, mental, and spiritual health, but building great friendships can seem daunting. Today we discuss the benefits and characteristics of great friendships and some practical ways to cultivate strong friendships in your own life.

We referenced the following articles and scripture during today’s episode:

The data and studies behind the benefits of friendships:

https://www.livescience.com/53315-how-friendships-are-good-for-your-health.html

John 15:12-15: “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.“

Proverbs 18:24: “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin,  but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”

Proverbs 27:17: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.”

Proverbs 22:24-25: “Do not make friends with a hot-tempered person, do not associate with one easily angered, or you may learn their ways and get yourself ensnared.”

1 Corinthians 15:33: “Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

Proverbs 13:20: “Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm.”

We also referenced the Fostering Faith-Shaping Friendships small group study in this episode.