Have you ever read Pilgrim's Progress by John Bunyan? Neither has Wesley or TJ. But they are incredibly excited to see the movie. To help them talk about it, they brought in Steve Cleary, a producer of the new, animated film into the studio to talk about it.

Steve has a firm belief that good, Christian films should be appropriate and useable on the mission field. For what Steve means by that, and for what makes this movie so applicable to those on the front lines of mission work, listen in and check out how to support the movie on Kickstarter.

If you have an idea for a future show, you can always let us know at [email protected].

Wesley and TJ were serious for a longer period of time than either felt comfortable with. Now they get to have a little fun talking about Valentine's Day with speaker, author, and radio host Bill Federer.

Bill traces the roots of Valentine's Day to its beginning with Saint Valentine who was martyred for standing up to the Roman government. It took hundreds of years, a push of popularity from literature (something TJ gets excited talking about), and a declaration from a Pope, but we eventually got a day to buy overpriced flowers to show our affection.

But Valentine's Day goes much further than February 14. It explains why you sign letters with Xs and Os, and why you sign at the X on legal documents.

Listen in if you want to hear about the fascinating legacy of a man we celebrate every year but know little about.

Valentine's Day is approaching and we are going to talk about that, but first Wesley and TJ have some important business to address. Not joking, they are actually serious for once.

Religious freedom has become a buzzword in the Christian and conservative crowd. But it is an issue everyone should be concerned with. If people have the freedom to believe as they choose, then others have the freedom to not believe as they choose. If the government can force a group to stop believing, or acting on a belief, then the government can force a different group to believe something and act on that forced belief.

Right now you have an opportunity to defend the religious liberty that is supposed to be protected by the First Amendment. To help Wesley and TJ better understand the issue, Walker Wildmon joins them in studio. Alker is no stranger to constitutional issues. He has been a great resource for the Engage team on all things constitutional and political. He also has information about AFA's latest action and how you can get involved.

The last show focused on the film Unpopular. But in the movie is only as good as the content within it and that is what TJ and Wesley talk to pastor Emilio Ramos about in this episode.

Unpopular does not shy away from putting a blinding spotlight on the reality of man's sin. It is ugly, it is depraved. It is soul crushing. That is the bad news. The good news is that God can forgive our sin and has provided a means through which we can be cleansed of our sin. Emilio talks about the importance of the doctrine of sin and the doctrine of repentance, what happens if we get those doctrines and wrong, and how we can study to better understand them.

Were you popular in high school? TJ wasn't, but he has dealt with that.

TJ and Wesley talk to Emilio Ramos, pastor of Heritage Grace Community Church, and host of the movie Unpopular, a free video gospel presentation. It is made to help the lost understand their need for the gospel, but is incredibly beneficial for the believer to stand in humility of the supernatural act of their salvation.

Featuring Paul Washer and Dr. James White, the movie focuses on two ideas: sin and repentance. For more information, visit Red Grace Media.

In this episode, Wesley and Jordan continue to discuss the pro-life work of the Morning Center in Memphis with Les Riley and explore how the Church can help influence the culture for life.

In this episode, Wesley and Jordan interview Les Riley from the Morning Center in Memphis, TN. Les Riley discusses the mission of the Morning Center to help save unborn babies from abortion as well as ministering to the mothers – all for the glory of God.

In this episode, TJ and Wesley continue to explore the truth about our pro-life God. Does worshipping a pro-life God have any sort of impact on the way Christians should live?

In this episode, TJ and Wesley are joined by Pastor Joseph Parker to discuss whether or not God is pro-life and why. Drawing on the wisdom of scriptures, they explore the importance of the abortion issue and how it relates to the character of God Himself.

Wesley, Jeremy, and TJ, just wrapped up their discussion of how to make the case for life to believers who are prochoice. But only having talks and discussions keeps the issue abstract. The team wanted to give you something tangible and practical to do in helping save the lives of preborn children.

To accomplish this, they invited Dan Steiner, president of Pre-born. The ministry is seeking to put ultrasound machines in pregnancy resource centers across the country. Dan tells us that when a mother sees her infant inside her womb through an ultrasound, there is an 80% chance she will choose life.

Pre-born has broken down the cost of each ultrasound and it comes to $28. For that amount, you can sponsor a mother having the opportunity to hear a heartbeat, see a tiny body, and choose life for her child.

Since the ministry started a few years ago, over 33,000 babies have been saved. You can help save another 33,000.

Can a Christian support abortion? That is the question of discussion for Wesley, Jeremy, and TJ on today's program.

As January is Sanctity of Human Life Month, Engage will be focusing on the issue of life through the next several podcasts.

There are many, many great organizations that can teach how to present the case for life to those outside the faith. But Wesley, TJ, and Jeremy have all run into Christians who profess to be strong believers and support the supposed right of a woman to choose abortion.

The three discuss some of the most common arguments they hear from Christians in support of abortion and their responses to them.

Talking about abortion is never easy, nor should it be. It must be handled with firm grace. The firmness comes from standing resolutely on the value God places on each human life. The grace comes from acknowledging there are people who have been touched by abortion and are always in a place of shame and regret over it.

No discussion of abortion should take place without the inclusion of the grace God offers. He can make beauty from ashes, no matter how badly burned those ashes may be. Listen to today's program for challenges, answers, and prayerful grace.

Continuing our discussion on New Year's resolutions and how we utterly fail at them at the time, Wesley, Jordan, and TJ ask the question: are all resolutions doomed to failure?

The answer they come to is simple: Yes. That is if we are trying to better ourselves by our own might and our own strength.

The fact is that if we want to truly better ourselves, we have to understand a few things about ourselves and, more importantly, a few things about God.

In ourselves we lack the ability to truly better ourselves. Even if we were to master some skill or quit some habit, we would take undue pride in the fact we were able to do it in ourselves and thus create a new weakness in our hearts. We may also fall into legalism and not discern the difference between legalism (something that grieves the Spirit of God) and discipline (something He commands).

No matter how many resolutions you have failed in, there is hope. If Jesus Himself was fully dependent on the Holy Spirit, why would we ever think we don't have to?

In this thought, the team discusses Romans 8:5-8 in an attempt to understand our greatest resolution, focusing more on and understanding better, the person of the Holy Spirit.

So what about you? How are you going to be more reliant on the Holy Spirit this year? What plans do you have in place to practice more spiritual discipline? How do you avoid legalism in pursuing the spiritual disciplines? Let us know in the comments or on our Facebook page.

Do you do New Year’s resolutions? Have you ever failed at one? Ok, let’s be honest, we all fail at them, that’s why it is a constant joke this time of year. But what does that say about us and what hope do we have to truly better ourselves? That is the topic of discussion on today’s episode of Engage Magazine Podcast.

Wesley, Jordan, and TJ talk about some of their New Year’s resolutions from 2016. They give the good, the bad, and the epic fails.

Wesley read a book. TJ wants to write a book. Jordan didn’t want to get better in 2016 (he succeeded by the way).

But the team looks ahead to 2017 with areas they want to strengthen or build up. You can listen in to find out what they have planned for the next 12 months, or watch Jordan talk it in his latest vlog.

Engage also has a few resolutions, one of the biggest being our first annual conference. If you don’t know anything about it, click here to learn more. If you do know about it, make a resolution to join us in March. Click here to register and get the early-bird discount.

Discussion continues for Engage's Created to Reflect Worldview Conference with Wil Addison. Wil and his wife Meeke are speaking at the conference along with Sean McDonald, Alex MacFarland, Kendra White, Scooter Noland, and Teddy James (TJ).

Wil talks about why the Created to Reflect theme was chosen, why it matters in today's world, and he introduces BSAC, a coalition of biblically-sound Christians artists.

If you are into hip hop or anything close to genre, visit BSAC. You will be sure to find something you like, and everything there is coming from hearts that share Engage's vision of sharing truth and applying Scripture.

Engage has had one desire from the very beginning: help you build a biblical worldview. To that end, we write articles, record videos, and produce this podcast. The next logical step for us is to do a one-weekend conference. The 2017 conference is Created to Reflect.

Part of putting together a great conference is having great speakers, but another aspect is hosting great music. That is why Wesley and TJ have Cam on to talk about his music, his ministry, and what you can expect when you see him at the Engage Worldview Conference. You haven't registered for the conference yet? You can do so here.

It is always a struggle to keep Christmas celebrations focused on Christ instead of the gifts, food, movies, and all the other fixings that come during this season.

As Jordan and TJ were talking about how they planned to keep Christ in the center, Jordan said, "The best person I know who does this consistently is my dad, Jeff Chamblee."

So the natural response was to bring Jeff, director of American Family Studios, onto the program and ask him how he keeps his heart and the heart of his family focused on Christ during Christmas. His best advice: Don't wait for Christmas. Keep Christ the focus for the other 11 months as well. He gives some practical wisdom for families with young and grown children.

Have you let Christmas celebrations stress you out? Are you trying to make everyone in your family and your spouse's family happy by trying to be everywhere at once? You aren't alone.

There is a conflict that comes when trying to start new traditions in your family while honoring the traditions your family had while you grew up. But there are things you can do, decisions you can make, and purpose you can consider that will help remove some of the stress from celebrating Christmas. Jordan and TJ discuss how they have tried out new Christmas traditions for them and their wives while honoring the traditions of other family members at the same time.

We are still in the midst of our Orange Letter Campaign. But Christians cannot speak of persecution without some really serious questions coming to our minds. If God is for us, why does He allow persecution to happen? Why doesn't He just have justice now by slaying those who slaughter His children?

Why do Christians have to suffer in this world at the hands of evil? And what does the existence of this suffering reveal about the heart of God?

Wesley, Jordan, and TJ freely admit they do not hold all the answers to these questions, but not having the answers doesn't mean we shy away from talking about them. Listen to the episode and chime in with you thoughts in the comments below.

Last year Engage partnered with e3 Partners with 8Thirty8 to send letters to family members of Christian martyrs in Egypt. Our supporters sent over 2,000 letters to these families.

This year we are doing the Orange Letter Campaign again, but with a new focus.

Syria has been embroiled in a civil war since 2011. It is difficult for us to understand what is happening and we could quickly get into the weeds of who is doing what and who is on what side. But one thing that is not debatable is the persecution Christians are suffering across the war-torn nation.

To help us talk about what Christians are experiencing, why we chose Syria, and what is going to happen when you write your letter to Christians in Syria, Jordan and TJ talk with Tom Doyle, vice president of e3 Partners and founder of 8Thirty9.

Have you ever wondered what must go on in the mind of an artist? Have you ever wanted to think like an architect and be able to look at an empty plot of dirt and picture a skyscraper in its place? Have you ever wondered how an apologist thinks?

Alex McFarland joins Wesley and TJ in studio again to talk about this idea. He goes into what resources are trustworthy and worth investing your time in reading and studying.

Alex also boils down the vast majority of questions apologists face into six different categories. According to him, apologists present, defend, and explain the gospel of Jesus Christ. Every interaction is boiled down to those three actions.

In the second half of the segment, Alex tackles some of the hardest questions people routinely ask, specifically how a good God could call for the genocide of an entire people group in the Old Testament.