The World and Everything in It: June 28, 2024

 NICK EICHER, HOST: WORLD’s June Giving Drive is almost at an end, and we’re so thankful for all of your support thus far. If you haven’t made your gift yet, a final reminder that we have today and this weekend before the clock runs out.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: There’s still time and I hope you’ll visit wng.org/donate and be as generous as you can. Ask yourself what’s it worth, and ask how much it matters to bring a strong Christian worldview to a journalism profession that’s grown cold.

EICHER: wng.org/donate, and let’s warm things up!

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Good morning! Today on Culture Friday, an influential church denomination puts down new theological stakes, even at the risk of a split, Louisiana approves a 10 Commandments law, even at the risk of litigation, and what’s next on the Supreme Court docket.

NICK EICHER, HOST: John Stonestreet is standing by to talk about it on Culture Friday.

Later: a movie on the plight of children stuck in foster care that doesn’t shy away from the Christian faith of those who care for them.

AUDIO: We’ve got over 20 families who want kids just like Terri.

And listener feedback.

BROWN: It’s Friday, June 28th. This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

EICHER: And I’m Nick Eicher. Good morning!

BROWN: Up next, Mark Mellinger with today’s news.

MARK MELLINGER, NEWS ANCHOR: Presidential debate » President Biden and former president Trump were face to face, in the same room… for the first time in almost four years. WORLD’s Travis Kircher walks us through some key moments of their primetime debate.

TRAVIS KIRCHER: President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump clashed on stage at CNN’s Atlanta headquarters. They answered questions on topics ranging from the high cost of groceries to immigration.

Biden defended his administration’s handling of the economy, despite inflation rising 20 percent since he took office. He said he inherited those rising prices from the former president.

BIDEN: And so what we had to do was try to put things back together again. And that’s exactly what we began to do. We created 15,000 new jobs, we brought out – in a position where we had 800,000 new manufacturing jobs. But there’s more to be done.

But Trump said it was his administration’s fiscally conservative policies that enabled the economy to recover after the COVID-19 pandemic.

TRUMP: I gave you the largest tax cut in history. I also gave you the largest regulation cut in history. That’s why we had all the jobs. And the jobs went down and then they bounced back up and he’s taking credit for bounce-back jobs and you can’t do that.

On the issue of abortion…Trump took credit for appointing conservative Supreme Court justices who ultimately overturned Roe v. Wade…but he also expressed his support for the availability of chemical abortions.

TRUMP: First of all, the Supreme Court just approved the abortion pill, and I agree with their decision to have done that, and I will not block it.

For his part, Biden expressed his support for a federal abortion mandate.

BIDEN: And if I’m elected, I’m gonna restore Roe v. Wade.

Russia’s war with Ukraine was also front and center…with Biden spotlighting criticisms by the former president…that allies weren’t paying their fair share of NATO defense spending.

BIDEN: I've never heard so much foolishness. This is a guy who wants to get out of NATO. Are you gonna stay in NATO? You're gonna pull out of NATO.

But Trump countered that Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would never have happened if he’d been in office..and he made a promise to end the war quickly.

TRUMP: Before I take office on January 20th, I'll have that war settled. People being killed so needlessly, so stupidly. And I will get it settled and I'll get it settled fast before I take office.

The next presidential debate is scheduled for September after both political conventions are over.

For WORLD, I’m Travis Kircher.

State schools in Oklahoma must teach the Bible » In other news, Oklahoma’s top education leader is mandating the state incorporate the Bible into lessons for 5th through 12th graders.

State Superintendent Ryan Walters says the Scriptures are essential for understanding the country’s foundation.

WALTERS: Every teacher, every classroom in the state, will have a Bible in the classroom and will be teaching from the Bible in the classroom to ensure that this historical understanding is there for every student in the state of Oklahoma.

Critics argue public schools shouldn’t promote specific religious beliefs. They say this move violates the U.S. Constitution’s establishment clause.

It’s also not clear if Walters has the authority to enforce the mandate. State law gives individual school districts control over instructional content.

DOJ charges 200 w/health care fraud » The Justice Department is charging close to 200 people in a nationwide crackdown on health care fraud.

The DOJ’s message, according to Attorney General Merrick Garland…

GARLAND: If you profit from the unlawful distribution of controlled substances, you will be held accountable.

The crackdown targeted fraud schemes around the country, with false claims totaling $2.7 billion dollars.

Among the cases: Owners of a company in Arizona accused of billing Medicare $900 million for unnecessary wound grafts, often used on dying patients.

A separate scheme in Florida involved reselling misbranded HIV drugs.

GARLAND: We allege that the defendants purchased these drugs at steep discounts from black market suppliers, and then resold them to pharmacies with falsified documentation designed to conceal the true source of the medication.

One patient lost consciousness after taking a mislabeled medication.

Buttigieg and congressman spar over EVs » Sparks flew during a House committee hearing Thursday between Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigeg and Pennsylvania Congressman Scott Perry. It was a sharp clash over electric vehicles.

Things got heated when Perry called the Biden Administration’s EV subsidy a mandate:

PERRY: What I’m not happy about is the mandate. The American people should be able to buy… 

BUTTIGIEG (interrupts): That brings me to the fourth and final thing that I need to challenge as being factually inaccurate, which is there is no mandate. You can purchase a gas car if you want to pay gas prices at the pump. But if you don’t, you can purchase an EV… with our help.

People who buy EVs are eligible for tax credits if the vehicles are made in the U.S.

Buttigieg was on Capitol Hill to answer lawmakers’ questions about his department’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

Supreme Court poll » 7 in 10 Americans believe Supreme Court justices are influenced more by ideology than by impartial application of the law.

That’s according to a new poll from the Associated Press.

Only 3 in 10 Americans think the justices act impartially.

Most of the country sees the High Court’s decision-making as politically motivated, a view that spans all political affiliations.

But the poll does show Democrats and Independents mistrust the court’s fairness by much larger margins than Republicans.

Purdue Pharma Supreme Court ruling » Speaking of the Supreme Court, it has rejected a nationwide settlement with Purdue Pharma, the now-bankrupt company behind the drug OxyContin.

The settlement would’ve provided billions of dollars to fight the opioid epidemic. But it also would’ve shielded Purdue Pharma’s owner, the Sackler family, from civil lawsuits.

Ed Bisch lost his son to an OxyContin overdose. He says the justices got this one right.

BISCH: For years, Purdue Pharma and the Sachlers have made a mockery of the U.S. justice system. And if this deal would’ve went through, they would’ve made a mockery of the U.S. bankruptcy system.

The court ruled bankruptcy as a legal shield cannot be used by the Sacklers, who haven’t declared bankruptcy themselves.

It’s not clear what happens next, though lawyers involved in the case expect negotiations to resume.

I’m Mark Mellinger.

Straight ahead: Culture Friday with John Stonestreet. Plus, your Listener Feedback.

This is The World and Everything in It.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: It’s Friday the 28th of June, 2024.

Glad to have you along for today’s edition of The World and Everything in It. Good morning, I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher.

Hey, before we get to Culture Friday, we are at the end of our June Giving Drive. We've been talking about that all month here, but I thought it'd be good to have a little bit of feedback on how all of that's going.

And so I'm here in Asheville, so I was able to just go across the street and see my friend Andrew Belz, who happens to be one of the development officers here at WORLD. And Andrew, you know, we're behind a microphone. We don't always get to see who we're talking to, but you do.

ANDREW BELZ: That's a wonderful thing, Nick, and there are four more people other than myself, that get to do this across the nation, and we are privileged to do it. We get to talk to people who are pretty well read, very earnest, godly, resourceful, even generous people. And that's our job. We get to talk to them about WORLD.

EICHER: And so how are we doing? How is the drive going?

BELZ: So last week was very inspiring, as you remember.

EICHER: We talked about that.

BELZ: So last week was very inspiring, as you remember, we talked about that, yeah, and glad to see the success of that, but that still left us one week to accomplish the rest of the goal. And the rest of the goal is about $400,000 before Sunday night, and we believe it can happen. And that's the management's goal that keeps us improving and always ahead of the game a little bit. We want WORLD journalists to be the very best that there are.

EICHER: So let me just say this. I'm adding up some numbers. That seems like a lot of money to operate a podcast, but that's not all we do here. I mean, as we were coming across the street, the way we get in here to this studio in Asheville, we've got to go through another studio, and it's TV studio for WORLD Watch. There's a lot that goes on at WORLD, not just a podcast.

BELZ: It's a great point. It's the point I love to make with WORLD Movers. Got to pass through the WORLD Watch studio, on the way into this little audio studio. Got to pass Mary Muncy's desk. Mary's a favorite on The World and Everything in It. Got to pass the marketing people and everybody knows about WORLD Magazine, its history, the kids news that we put out, the World from A to Z, WORLD Opinions, the list goes on.

EICHER: Indeed, I have to tell you, Andrew, it is just great to sit across from you, but to listen to you in headphones, you sound so much like your brother, Joel, whom we both miss dearly, but you're just as passionate as he is about this work, but you do it in a different way. You've got a different role here. I just want you to interact with that a little bit. Why you do what you do?

BELZ: I love to be an advocate for this cause. I believe in this cause. I believe Joel had a great vision, and I want to sustain it, and I want to advocate for the sustaining of it over as many years as I can.

EICHER: Amen. You do a great job. Thank you so much.

BELZ: You're welcome.

EICHER: Time now for Culture Friday. Joining us is John Stonestreet. John is President of the Colson Center, and he's host of the Breakpoint Podcast. And John this week is in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. He's with his denomination, the Anglican Church of North America in a beautiful part of the country, and so nice that we can hear the birds singing to us so close to where you are. John, good morning.

JOHN STONESTREET: Right outside the window. And I am in a beautiful place. I had never been here before, St Vincent's College, known, by the way, for a memorial and museum in honor of Fred Rogers, who was born, apparently, in this area, and Arnold Palmer was born near here. So yeah, really interesting kind of collision of different cultural realities for us here this week.

BROWN:  Well, John, in addition to your denomination, this month lots of Christian denominations have their annual meetings, and so much of what they have to deal with are cultural issues. But this week, the Christian Reformed Church voted to draw a line on member churches and the approval of members who identify as LGBTQ.

Now we've seen other church bodies either not address this or make peace with it, but here the CRC got to a decision point. Some were saying, you risk tearing the church apart by forcing congregations out, and others saying you can't make peace with grave error. And in the end, the CRC chose to draw a line, and so be it. Whatever happens, happens.

John, I'd like for you to imagine yourself as a member of the CRC. How would you vote?

STONESTREET: Well, you know, listen, there is a good bit of encouragement in this story, mainly because it seemed like the CRC was almost destined to go the direction of the mainline denominations towards the full embrace of the homosexual error, and then, you know, whatever follows that. And boy, it would have been something.

We saw just how far that can go in the closing ceremony, or whatever they called it, of the United Methodist this year, when all the delegates got up and announced their pronouns and their closing worship service was a conga line singing “Love Train.” You know, this is stuff you can't make up. If somebody made a movie, you know, mocking Christianity this way, I may not have believed it. And yet, and yet, there it was.

The CRC has been working really hard, I think, to try to make these lines clear, and it's created conflict, certainly, with its main college partner, Calvin College. At least the faculty there have made their wishes clear, by and large, not every single one, but many of them, that they don't want to now be aligned with the CRC because of the decisions made about these things.

And you know, one could certainly say that this is an attempt to correct things that should have been clear years ago, and so that's why this is so hard. Maybe that's the case, but I am always going to root for those who are trying to return to faithfulness and realizing just what's at stake in these creational issues. These really aren't issues, at the end of the day, fundamentally about what should count as sinful. These are issues about whether God created the world and the nature of God's created design, and whether we're going to align with that or misalign with that. So I appreciate what they're trying to do here.

EICHER: Well, John, there's been a flurry of activity around the Supreme Court, lots of decisions coming down in these final days, but I'd like to focus on just one decision that the court made that may have gotten lost in all of the activity. It got a lot less emphasis than it otherwise would, and that's the court's decision to hear a case next term that poses the question: does a state have the authority to regulate transgender medical interventions for children? From a cultural standpoint, this has got to be on a par with the decision to give states authority to regulate abortion, wouldn't you say?

STONESTREET: Well, sure, I mean, the state steps in on the rights of children when those rights aren't protected by those who are closest to them. This is the principle of subsidiarity, a Catholic idea that comes out of understanding the various authorities that God has put in place over his created order. Abraham Kuyper had a version of this called "sphere sovereignty." It's a little bit different than that, but basically, subsidiarity, actually to really understand this, you can put these two ideas together: Subsidiarity is the idea that, all things considered equal, those closest to the problem should take care of the problem, right?

Like, if my kid disobeys me, my seven-year-old, you know, son, I don't call the police. I need to take care of it myself. But if I don't do the job, and my child is in danger, or he's posing a danger to others, now the next layer has to get involved. Kuyper talked well about the ordering of society around these spheres, and that each of these spheres has the authority within their own sphere to exercise that authority and and if they fail to do so, another sphere has to step in. But that's a note that something has broken down.

So when the state has to step in and take care of a child who's been abandoned, that means the sphere of the family has broken down. The fact that children are at risk from being targeted with terrible ideas that make them hate their bodies, question who they are, and actually seek out harm to themselves in order to try to figure it out, if parents are encouraging that, and schools are encouraging that, and leaving parents powerless to step in, then the state absolutely needs to regulate this.

Now, I think what the state could do is to give parents the power, and I think that would be the next best step is to give parents the power on this. But no doctor should be doing this stuff. No counselor should be telling kids they were born into the wrong body and that it's actually justifiable for them to hate themselves. We have to understand that when we're talking about this kind of transgender ideology that is aimed at children, this is a group of adults perpetrating harm on minors who actually are not able to defend themselves.

So that's what we're talking about, fundamentally. And in any other scenario then, of course, we would say, yeah, the police have to step in. The state has to step in. We shouldn't have, we shouldn't have to have a law against doctors performing unnecessary surgeries to amputate or mutilate perfectly healthy body parts on children, because it seems unthinkable, and it was unthinkable 50 years ago, and so here we are. So yeah, the state has to step in on this.

BROWN: Well, last question, John. Louisiana Governor Jeff Landry signed into law a bill that requires Ten Commandments posted in all public school classrooms in the state. It took a New York minute for the lawsuits to commence. But would you like to weigh in on the Ten Commandments law in Louisiana?

STONESTREET: Well, look, I think that there's a lot to this issue, and you know, whether or not this should be kind of the priority right now is, I think, a valid question in terms of, you know, conservative lawmaking.

But look, a culture that's lost its religious symbols is a culture that is losing its religious identity. A culture that's shamefully backing away from religious symbols is one that's backing away from its religious identity and seeking to replace it with something else. So this is going to be a really tough sell right now, because we have backed away from these symbols. I mean, we certainly have seen it on university campuses. We've seen it in academia. We've seen it certainly in the state and, you know, strange understandings of the First Amendment, keeping anything religious out of the state.

So it's pretty far down the line to turn around and push on displaying the Ten Commandments. But look, you can't understand Western Civ without understanding the Bible. You can't understand Shakespeare. You can't understand American history. You can't you can't walk around Washington D.C. and look at all the monuments and see these phrases that were, you know, appealed to in the memorials, to soldiers and to great leaders without understanding the Bible. You can't understand the idea of written law that outweighs the fiat word of a ruler if you don't understand the Ten Commandments and the history of the Ten Commandments.

You certainly don't understand the idea of a limited state without the Ten Commandments that begins, "You shall have no other gods before me." So suddenly there's something higher than the state. There's something higher than ethnic identity. There's something higher than nationalism, and that is an appeal to God. You know, historically, that's the role it's played, even if you don't believe that the Bible is the Word of God, and the Ten Commandments actually came down written by the finger of God on stone tablets, like I do. It still is something that is part of our history, and we're a people untethered from our history.

So it is a good idea to post them again, absolutely and to start introducing them again, but it's going to be a tough sell.

EICHER: Alright. John Stonestreet is president of the Colson Center, and he's host of the Breakpoint Podcast. John, thanks so much.

STONESTREET: Thank you both.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Today is Friday, June 28th. Thank you for turning to WORLD Radio to help start your day. Good morning. I’m Nick Eicher.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: And I’m Myrna Brown. Coming next on The World and Everything in It: a new movie from Angel Studios.

EICHER: Last summer’s Sound of Freedom exposed the problem of child trafficking. This summer, the studio’s hoping to call attention to the thousands of children stuck in foster care. The film is Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot.

Here’s arts and culture editor Collin Garbarino.

REV MARTIN: We got churches on every corner. Every single one. And each and every one of them peoples they done heard the same thing. There shouldn’t be a child without a home.

COLLIN GARBARINO: About 400,000 kids are in the foster care system in America—that’s 400,000 kids without a permanent home or family. Many couples prefer to adopt infants, so finding a place for foster children can be difficult. The new film Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot is hoping to inspire audiences to meet the needs of these kids.

This film has a bit of an unwieldy title. After acquiring the rights to distribute it, Angel Studios added the “Sound of Hope” bit, hoping to capitalize on the success of last summer’s Sound of Freedom. But the movie is based on a true story. And I actually think I like The Story of Possum Trot more than Sound of Freedom.

REV MARTIN: This is something that we must do. You understand?

SUSAN: Religious guilt can’t fix a broken child’s heart.

DONNA: Love can.

The story takes place in the 1990s in Possum Trot, an unincorporated, predominantly African-American community in East Texas. Rev. W.C. Martin leads a small church, along with his wife Donna. The couple thinks they have their hands full with two children, including one with special needs. But through the pain of personal tragedy, Donna feels that God is telling her to adopt more children. W.C. proves more hesitant, but his heart softens once he sees the need.

SUSAN: So, this is a seven-year-old boy. We found him in a crack house.

Following their pastor’s example, the members of the small church in Possum Trot start adopting children, and eventually, 22 families rescue 77 kids from foster care.

Much of the movie focuses on the Martins’ decision to adopt Terri, one of the toughest cases in the foster care system. The teenager has emotional problems and refuses to let anyone love her. The Martins know if they want their church’s newfound adoption ministry to continue, they can’t fail Terri, no matter the cost.

SUSAN: When people say that they want to adopt, they don’t usually mean kids like Terri.

REV MARTIN: They’re just afraid. That’s all.

Terri’s storyline gives the film its PG-13 rating. Some of the themes aren’t suitable for small children, but the film avoids anything graphic. The language is fairly mild, despite some intense shouting and name calling.

TYLER: No! No, no, no! Leave me alone! No, I don’t want to!

DONNA: Nobody’s going to hurt you, OK?

TYLER: No.

DONNA: OK. What’s the matter?

Possum Trot doesn’t sugarcoat the adoption process. Audiences witness financial and spiritual crises, while some well-meaning Christians warn the Martins against pouring their lives out for these children.

REV MARTIN: You know what it says in James.

MARK: I do know. I’ve got a Bible. You also need to use wisdom.

The writing and directing are solid. The actors’ performances match the weightiness of the subject matter, especially leads Demetrius Grosse and Nika King. There’s a lived-in realism to the community of Possum Trot, with its piney woods, beat-up cars, and black accents. Part of that realism is an unapologetic depiction of Christian faith that manages to avoid sentimentality.

We see characters joyfully worship God at church. We see them discuss what they think God has planned for their lives. We hear God ask His people to care for widows and orphans. And we hear church members cry out in pain, asking God to provide the grace necessary to complete the task. Moreover, Possum Trot doesn’t shy away from mentioning the name of Jesus, reminding viewers that these good deeds aren’t motivated by faith in some generic God.

AUDIO: [Congregational singing]

In all this, the movie portrays authentic faith, and it never feels “preachy.” Other faith-based filmmakers should take note.

Possum Trot resembles the kind of drama that used to be a staple of American cinema before studios started pinning all their hopes on action-packed blockbusters. The characters struggle and grow in the midst of family turmoil, and the story is all the more poignant since it’s based in fact.

The stakes might seem small in this movie that focuses on family drama rather than earth-shattering special effects, but the opposite is true. Our world isn’t in danger of imminent destruction from intergalactic threats, but hundreds of thousands of children really are stuck in foster care. Possum Trot says God’s grace is sufficient for the task.

REV MARTIN: We can turn this whole thing around.

I’m Collin Garbarino.

BROWN: Sound of Hope: The Story of Possum Trot arrives in theaters on July 3rd.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Today is Friday, June 28, 2024. Good morning! This is The World and Everything in It from listener-supported WORLD Radio. I’m Myrna Brown.

NICK EICHER, HOST: And I’m Nick Eicher. Time now for Listener Feedback.

EICHER: Let’s begin with a few corrections from the month. On June 7th we misspoke during a report on the 80th commemoration of D-Day. We misidentified the grandfather of Britain’s current monarch: Charles’s grandfather is King George VI.

BROWN: Also from June 7th, a mispronunciation: We referred to “Lan-caster” Pennsylvania when we should’ve said Lank-uh-ster.

June 10th:  just one word makes a big difference: We said Calvin Coolidge was elected by 54% of the popular vote. We do not misunderstand the role of the electoral college of course. We know that President Coolidge amassed 382 electoral votes which is what gave him the election and that his victory came with 54% of the popular vote—which is nice but not decisive.

On June 11th we covered Hong Kong’s continued crack-down on dissidents. We mistakenly used the phrase “Pro-democracy rallies” when we should have said “Pro-Beijing rallies.” Two totally different things.

Now on to your feedback. Dale Fenwick, Sky Valley, Georgia. His thoughts on Washington Wednesday this week…

FENWICK: Great story on the 5th District of Virginia Republican primary. Great job, but I have one suggestion. He never mentioned where the fifth district is. It is west of Richmond and includes the cities of, I think, Charlottesville and Lynchburg – just to give the listeners who have geography in mind a benchmark to understand where it’s all coming from. Otherwise great job. Keep it up. God bless you.

Another listener offered the possibility that Congressman Good’s opposition to an aid package for Israel might’ve cost him crucial votes, and that might’ve had more to do with Good’s disappointing showing than Trump’s endorsement of his opponent.

Next, we received quite a bit of mail after our June 6th interview with Gabriel Seguero on President Biden’s executive order on illegal immigration. Most thought we didn’t push back hard enough on Pastor Seguero’s position, some even thought we were endorsing his view, and some found the pushback sufficient. Here’s listener Mary Stella of Midlothian, Virginia.

STELLA: I listened to the program this morning, and I want to thank Mary Reichard for doing her best to push back on Pastor Gabriel and his idealistic vision for America that everyone who claims Asylum should be allowed to come in…and I just wanted to thank her and and thank you for the program, which is always outstanding. I appreciate it.

Next, Katie Nelson of St. Louis … nice place to live.

NELSON: I wanted to extend my appreciation for Chelsea Bose's review of the Japanese film, My neighbor Totoro…appreciated her perspective on the delicacy of sharing hard topics with children, while at the same time preparing them—like CS Lewis said—to engage with courage as we lead them in Christ. Thanks for informing WORLD families of quality entertainment that can spark those discussions.

And our last piece of listener feedback this month comes from Duncan Holmes of Fredericksburg, Texas. He left us this message about a story from last week that we’re sorry to say we missed …

HOLMES: This week we lost a great baseball Legend: Willie Mays “the Say Hey Kid.” [He was] 93 years old…I’m not a sports fan nowadays. I’m not even as much a fan of baseball as I was, but I have to admire a guy like him. He’s one of the greats of the past.

MUSIC: [“SAY HEY WILLIE”]

There was a song from 1954 when the Giants won the World Series. It’s called “Say Hey” and it’s a really fun song. Thank you very much. And you all keep up the good work. Do put in a little word for “Say Hey Willie.” Bye-bye.

NICK EICHER, HOST: Well, it’s time to say thanks to the team members who helped put the program together this week:

Mary Reichard, David Bahnsen, Emma Perley, Kim Henderson, Leo Briceno, Onize Ohikere, Janie B. Cheaney, Anna Johansen Brown, Cal Thomas, John Stonestreet, and Collin Garbarino

And three new voices on the program this week: WORLD Opinions commentator Nathan Finn, and WORLD Journalism Institute graduates Juliana Undseth and Jessica Eturralde.

Thanks also to our breaking news team: Kent Covington, Lynde Langdon, Mark Mellinger, Travis Kircher, Lauren Canterberry, Christina Grube, and Josh Schumacher.

And thanks to the guys who stay up late to get the program to you early: Johnny Franklin and Carl Peetz.

MYRNA BROWN, HOST: Our producer is Harrison Watters.

Our Senior producer is Kristen Flavin and Paul Butler is Executive producer with additional production assistance from Benj Eicher.

The World and Everything in It comes to you from WORLD Radio.

WORLD’s mission is biblically objective journalism that informs, educates, and inspires.

The Psalmist writes, “Praise the Lord! For it is good to sing praises to our God. For it is pleasant, and a song of praise is fitting.” —Psalm 147:1

Let’s give praise and worship to our Father with brothers and sisters in Christ in church this weekend. And Lord willing, we’ll meet you right back here on Monday.

Go now in grace and peace.

WORLD Radio transcripts are created on a rush deadline. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of WORLD Radio programming is the audio record.