The Shield ONLINE
Teachings, messages, vital life learning, irrelevances, and other musings about the Bible from The Salvation Army's Captain Roger McCort. Life has few guarantees, but here's one: You will find something new or interesting in every message or you can reach out to me and I will provide you with additional new and interesting facts, free of charge. Guaranteed.
- Update frequency
- every 6 days
- Average duration
- 32 minutes
- Episodes
- 356
- Years Active
- 2018 - 2025
Rescue Story
Today, we're going to hear a rescue story. Which is great and all and I can't wait for you to hear it. But what I really want is for you to understand that you're going to have a chance this week to …
The Church Takes a Radical Turn
Is the church making a wild, radical turn to gain members and importance? Isn't that why it started letting THOSE people in? You know, the ones we shouldn't be associating with? The sinners, the uncl…
A Discriminating Faith
Obviously there are those who are INSIDE our circle and those who are OUTSIDE, right? And those who are OUTSIDE are wrong, horrible, unholy, evil people who should be rejected and shunned, right?
Well…
God Accepts THEM???
I'm sure that Peter NEVER thought that God would accept THOSE people unless THOSE people changed first. It had taken heavenly convincing for him to lower himself to even speak to people so far outsid…
Not Your Call
Two men have strange visions that lead them to become something they are not. Can they avoid profaning the things of God in the process? Or is this all some kind of cosmic test that they are failing?…
Radical Inclusion
RADICAL INCLUSION
Not words you expect to hear about the people in the early church? Today we look at two examples from the book of Acts - examples which are small steps towards a much larger change i…
You Can't Name the Disciples of Jesus
How many disciples does Jesus have? Can you name them? And what is a disciple anyway? What drives someone like that?
Today we are taking a break from our walk through the book of Acts to spend a few m…
Overwhelmed by the Storm (rebroadcast)
Grace and peace, all!
Captain Roger is gone to a Men's Retreat this weekend and none of the workshops he was teaching got recorded. Which was sad, BUT it does mean you have the opportunity to hear thi…
Double Vision
Hey, remember that guy who had so many of our friends beaten and killed that most everyone had to flee the city? And he said he'd do the same to us, if he could find us? He's going to be in town and …
Blind
Even the devout never really expect to hear God's voice. Not really. Not in the same way they hear the voice of the person standing next to them.
So what happens when they do? And what happens when wh…
When the Church Welcomed the Unwelcome
Luke wrote the subversive book detailing the Acts of the Apostles in such a way that he slowly took his patron on a journey from the resurrection of Jesus to the church as a place of radical acceptan…
The Magician Like God
That group of people you KNOW are misguided heathens who will never be able to find their way to salvation because of their evil ways is now claiming to be followers of Jesus. Do you:
a) Call down fir…
A Forgiven Murder
We're back in the book of Acts today, examining the story of the life and death of Stephen, one of the Seven who ran the first Christian food pantry. What did he do or say that inspired a large mob o…
What's Up With the Bible?
What's up with the Bible anyway? Is it a dusty old book full of rules and outdated lifestyle advice? Why are there so many different translations? Is there any reason for us to bother with it today?
W…
The Golden Screw and Other Stories of Easter
It's Resurrection Sunday! Join us for the unusual story of a man who had a golden screw in his navel. And then an even more unusual story, told from the perspective of those who knew Jesus was dead.
G…
Holy Week Exposed
Holy Week begins today with Palm Sunday! Does that matter? Do the little ritual meanings we assign to the days of this week come from the Bible or are they made up? Or both?
Is it okay to drag Judas t…
The Consequences of Breathing
Breathing is easy, right? We all do it unconsciously. Well, what happens when you breathe mindfully instead?
That's what is happening in the lives of the early followers of Jesus. They are learning wh…
I'm Here for the Party
It turns out that God doesn't need you to fight.
God seems to want us to believe we should OBEY God instead.
The Apostles and other members of the early church seem to have got a handle on this, at lea…
Signs and Wonders
My favorite pieces of scripture are the little ones that get lost in between the bigger stories - the ones that you might read past without noticing. Today we're going to look at one of those and see…
Just Breathe
Take a breath and let it out slowly. And again. Breathing is amazing, isn't it? From the first gasp to the last, breathing is the source of life animating your body.
Living in community is like breath…