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Last Thursday, white smoke came forth from the Sistine Chapel indicating a new pope had been selected. As the smoke rose, the throngs gathered in St. Peter's Square burst forth in cheers. Then the name was revealed. Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, at age 69, had been named the new pope, the first pope to ever come from the United States. His official papal name: Pope Leo XIV. Crowds swelled as the first public appearance was named. So, who exactly is Pope Leo XIV? What is his belief system? Will he point individuals to Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation and Jesus as being the only mediator between God and man or will he be leading followers down the same pathway of deception just as his predecessors?Returning to Crosstalk to bring a biblical perspective concerning this new pope was Mike Gendron. Mike is founder and director of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministry.Mike noted that Pope Leo XIV appears to be very well qualified to run an international organization. He speaks 5 different languages and is well

Dr. Michael Artigues is president of the American College of Pediatricians. Dr. Artigues received his undergraduate degree in Biomedical Engineering from Tulane University in 1988 and medical degree from the University of Mississippi Medical School in 1992 where he also completed his pediatric residency in 1995. He practices general pediatrics in McComb, Mississippi. He has served as a board member and president of the local crisis pregnancy and child advocacy centers and has been a member of the American College of Pediatricians Board since 2014.Children across America have been identifying as transgender in what some have called, "epidemic proportions." In fact, it's almost become a status symbol to be viewed as transgender. Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services released a ground-breaking report which confirms the lack of evidence supporting both the safety and efficacy of transgender interventions both in children and adolescents. This goes against the mantra that's been coming ou

Dr. Bob Shelton's message on Psalm 1 highlights the believer's call to be separated from the world, saturated with the Word, and situated by the water of the Spirit. He underscores the importance of rest, reflection, and the abiding presence of the Holy Spirit in the Christian's daily walk.

Ed Petrus, of the Lawrence County Historical Society, of New Castle, Pennsylvania, tells the story of the hometown hero hymnwriter Ira Sankey, and the inspiration for his song, "The Ninety and Nine." In addition Petrus plays the song on one of Sankey's organs!

Below is a selection of stories that were noted by Jim during the first quarter hour of the broadcast: --There's been a breakthrough in the tariff standoff between China and the U.S. as the U.S. Treasury Secretary and the U.S. Trade Representative are poised to meet with Chinese officials in Switzerland over the weekend.--President Trump believes an 80% tariff seems right, setting a potential guidepost ahead of the weekend talks in Switzerland.--President Trump's pick for U.S. ambassador to China was sworn in Wednesday by Secretary of State Marco Rubio just days before the anticipated trade meeting. Former Georgia Republican Senator David Perdue was tapped by Trump last December.--On May 8th President Trump provided a broad overview of a prospective trade agreement with the U.K.--Yesterday the first U.S. Pope was named: Pope Leo XIV (Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost from Chicago).--The new Pope shared articles on social media in the past that appeared critical of President Trump.--The IDF on Tuesday released f

It may not be conventional in talk radio today to broadcast a tribute to mothers when there's so much on the political landscape to discuss, but let's face it, motherhood continues to get mocked. In response, each year Crosstalk gives listeners the opportunity to uphold motherhood by calling in with their words of love and appreciation.This time around Jim presented a piece from his father-in-law's file called, "The Meanest Mother." Hear what that's all about along with comments from the many listeners who make this annual Mother's Day tribute so special.

Reverend Jim Harden is president and CEO of CompassCare Pregnancy Services in New York. On May 2nd, 2022, an illegal leak took place from the Supreme Court indicating a forthcoming overturn of Roe v. Wade. 6 days later (Mother's Day), Jim Schneider received word that a firebomb had gone off targeting our friends at Wisconsin Family Action. There was significant damage to the offices but thankfully no lives were taken.Part of the damage included vandalism where the following words were spray-painted in black across the building: "If abortions aren't safe, then you aren't either."A group identifying itself as "Jane's Revenge" claimed responsibility for the act and the message. Then on June 7th, 2023, another target was hit. This time it was CompassCare Pregnancy Services in New York. The result was catastrophic damage and firefighters were reportedly injured in attempting to extinguish the blaze. Even though there were other related acts of violence across the nation, and even though the New York perpetrators w

A steamroller levels most anything that gets in its way. This is a good analogy for big government and the deep-state as it doesn't care about private property, individual freedom or independence. It only cares about forging ahead to get rid of anything that might get in its way.This has been the case for many landowners that have been in the way of the carbon capture pipeline steamroller. Returning to Crosstalk to discuss this issue was Tom DeWeese. Tom is president of American Policy Center. He is one of the nation's leading advocates of individual liberty, free enterprise, private property rights, personal privacy, back-to-basics education and American sovereignty and independence and protecting our Constitutionally-guaranteed rights.Tom has written that the carbon capture pipeline is one of the worst environmental scams ever. The idea is to take carbon dioxide (which is basically plant food) out of the atmosphere and bury it underground. He believes this doesn't help the environment, it's damaging to it b

According to lifeissues.org, around the world euthanasia and assisted suicide present a growing threat to the sanctity of life. Many nations are facing increasing pressure to allow physicians to participate in the killing of their patients. Once these deadly practices are legalized, there's always a push for expansion.Returning to Crosstalk to bring an update on this issue was Brad Mattes. Brad is president of Life Issues Institute which was founded in 1991 to serve the educational needs of the pro-life movement. Brad is president of the International Right to Life Federation, a frequent international speaker and lecturer on abortion and related life issuesThis is a topic that must be followed, not just from a U.S. perspective, but internationally as well. For example, Brad noted how in Canada in 2020 they introduced a bill to remove "Reasonably Foreseeable Death." This has been expanded to include those with serious disabilities or chronic illness even though they're not terminally ill. Now there's pressure

Dr. Bob Shelton explores Psalm 1, urging believers to live separated from the world's ungodliness and saturated with God's Word. He highlights the importance of avoiding sin's path, delighting in Scripture, and staying spiritually rooted. This traditional call to holiness remains vital for Christians seeking to honor the Lord in daily life.

Get caught up on news from around the world as you head into the weekend. Crosstalk helps you do that with our News Round-Up & comment broadcast. Here's a sample of what Jim presented.--The U.S. delegation to the U.N. has denounced the U.N.'s so-called, "master plan for humanity," better known as the 2030 Agenda Sustainable Development Goals. --Wildfires that began Wednesday morning and have burned more than 5,000 acres in Israel have "miraculously" left homes untouched according to Israeli firefighting authorities. --Israeli police arrested 18 arson suspects following the spread of wildfires near Jerusalem. --After more than 24 hours of firefighting, the massive blaze that engulfed the hills west of Jerusalem had been brought under control.--2 Israelis were found murdered in Los Angeles in just over a 12 hour period, though it's unclear if the two are related. --6 people were arrested after anti-Israel protesters clashed with Hasidic Jews outside a prominent Brooklyn Synagogue. --U.S. Secretary of Defense Pe

It was by a joint resolution of Congress, signed into law by President Harry Truman, that the National Day of Prayer was established to be observed on the first Thursday of May.While having national recognition of prayer is important, what about at the personal level? After all, each of us has the privilege of coming before God in His grace and in the name of His son Jesus Christ, to intercede for our nation, its leaders, churches and families. Unfortunately, such prayer is often relegated to a single day when it should be a vital part of every day. No one knows this better than Evangelist Harold Vaughan. He is founder and president of Christ Life Ministries, Inc. Harold trusted Christ as Savior in his teen years. While in Bible College the Lord called him to enter the ministry as an evangelist. He has a passion for reaching the lost and to encourage the local church.Harold noted that prayer starts in the hearts of people, yet he sees faith-based effective prayer as being at a low ebb in the church at this ti

Chris Katulka is assistant director of North American Ministries at The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry and host of The Friends of Israel Today radio program. He is a Bible teacher, and writer for Israel My Glory magazine and is author of the book, Israel Always.Chris explained how the design of Israel's calendar is very intentional. It's designed to walk the Israeli from remembering the Holocaust to Yom HaZikaron (Day of Remembrance for Israel's fallen soldiers) to this very day as soldiers are losing their lives in the battle with Hamas and Hezbollah. It's all designed as a time of remembrance, laying the foundation for remembering Israel's independence. Review this broadcast and realize that as a modern nation, Israel is only 77 years old yet it's history goes back millennia to the time of Abraham. You'll also hear Chris detail the U.S. role in the formation of modern Israel, the modern advances that have come about because of Israel, the upcoming Great Tribulation and much more.

In 1933, the concept of the first 100 days was measured under the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. It became a political benchmark for comparing the performance of every president since that time. Today marks 100 days since Donald Trump was inaugurated as the 47th president of the United States and, as you've probably noticed, the media has been making comments, evaluations, deciphering polls and more. This edition of Crosstalk reminded listeners about what President Trump has been able to accomplish in his first 100 days. For example: --From the Department of Homeland Security, Jim noted that the Biden administration refused to enforce the nation's laws on border security, but in just 100 days, Trump and Secretary Noem have not only closed our border, but have delivered the most secure border in American history with daily border encounters down 93%.--President Trump ended the CBP-1 app that allowed more than one million aliens to enter the U.S. illegally. This disastrous program was replaced with the CB

William J. Federer is a nationally known speaker, historian, author, and president of Amerisearch, Inc. He's the speaker on "The American Minute" daily broadcast.On April 2nd, President Donald Trump had a special event on the White House lawn. He declared, "A declaration of economic independence...Liberation Day...the day that we began to make America wealthy again."Since then there's been quite an uproar, not merely from nations around the world but from opposing politicians and the American media. With the way the reactions have gone (12 states are suing the Trump administration) you'd think that tariffs are some sort of new idea that President Trump has concocted. But there's much more to this than you may realize both historically and constitutionally. As William began, he described tariffs as a tax on items imported into America from other nations. Keep in mind that prior to the time of Woodrow Wilson there was no income tax. So for the first 150 years of our nation's history, tariffs were the number one

Dr. Bob Shelton explains biblical prophecies about Babylon's destruction, linking Isaiah and Jeremiah's accounts to modern Iraq, involving the Kurds. The Antichrist will lead this devastation after the church's rapture, fulfilling God's purposes. Additionally, Rome's religious system (Mystery Babylon) will be destroyed by the Antichrist, underscoring the need for personal faith.

Ukraine, Gaza, Iran, trouble in the classroom, tariffs, the Pope, a pharmaceutical tax dodging scheme and a Wisconsin judge is arrested for allegedly trying to help an undocumented immigrant. It's all part of this week's News Round-Up. Here's a brief selection of stories mentioned: --Jim began this edition of Crosstalk with a story concerning the court case titled: Mahmoud v. Taylor. It concerns parents who want to opt their children out of Montgomery County (Maryland) Board of Education's mandated storybook readings involving pronouns, transgender children and pride parades. Jim provided audio from a Supreme Court hearing dealing with this case. --Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said that the Kremlin is ready to reach a deal with the U.S. on Ukraine although he also said some elements need to be fine tuned.--Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, has condemned Hamas for delaying the release of Israeli hostages, saying that the group should disarm itself.--Israel's military campaign against Hamas has tr

Today is Holocaust Remembrance Day, a day where we remember that very dark time in world history known as the Holocaust where approximately 6 million Jews were killed by Hitler and his Nazi regime. To help listeners maintain a balanced, biblical view on this subject, Crosstalk welcomed back Dr. Richard Schmidt. Dr. Schmidt is pastor of Union Grove Baptist Church, and founder of Prophecy Focus Ministries. He's the speaker on the weekly TV program, "Prophecy Focus" and the radio broadcast, "Prophecy Unfolding."According to Dr. Schmidt, if we go back to Genesis we see Abraham had a son named Isaac. Isaac, in turn, had a son named Jacob whose name was changed to Israel. This is the foundation of who the Jewish people are. God called them his chosen/covenant people. Then in the (unconditional) Abrahamic Covenant God said that he would bless those who bless the Jewish people and curse those who curse them. This is still in effect today and will continue that way through the prophetic future.Moving up the timeline,

This past Monday, worldwide media brought us the news that Pope Francis had died at the age of 88. Network coverage was dominated by this news, with lengthy pieces, hour-long specials and even live streaming showing thousands filing past the body of the Pope. Yet to come is the funeral this Saturday, in St. Peter's Square, outside the basilica where leaders and heads of state from about 170 governments from all over the world will be in attendance. With more on this topic, Crosstalk welcomed Mike Gendron. Mike is the founder and director of Proclaiming the Gospel Ministry. Mike was a devout Roman Catholic for over 3 decades and was taught to rely upon the authority of the church above all else. Mike searched the Scriptures and was amazed to find that what he read contradicted the teaching and tradition of the church he had been a part of for so long. He trusted Jesus as his Savior and now the Bible has become his sole authority in all matters of faith. Mike is the author of the books, Preparing for Eternity a

In the same town as the Pro Football Hall of Fame, lies another "Hall of Fame" - the Christian Hall of Fame. Started by Pastor Harold Henninger, the Canton Baptist Temple hosts a collection of portraits to men and women who followed the Lord.