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Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

ARE MODERN SERMONS MISSING THE TRUE MESSAGE OF EASTER? HERE’S THE REALITY

Wretched Radio with Todd Friel

Fortis Institute

Religion, Christianity, Religion & Spirituality

4.93.1K Ratings

🗓️ 21 April 2025

⏱️ 55 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Segment 1



• The Resurrection is the cornerstone of Christian faith, but Andy Stanley downplays its biblical foundation.



• Many missed hearing the Gospel this Easter, with Stanley offering no biblical foundation for the Resurrection.



• King Charles' Easter message referenced Muslims, and the Pope’s final Easter address called for world peace—but both sidestepped the central message of Easter: God’s love through Christ.



Segment 2



• Melito of Sardis, a second-century saint, preached a powerful gospel-centered sermon that would be rejected by many modern preachers.



• His Easter sermon focuses on the suffering of Jesus, contrasting with today's often trivialized, moralistic messages.



• Melito’s preaching is drenched in the gospel, not stories or jokes, calling us to rejoice in the true meaning of Easter.



Segment 3



• Sermons like Melito’s from 170 A.D. are rare today, yet they are a rich example of Christ-centered, theologically sound preaching.



• This sermon is lofty and reverent, elevating the listener’s understanding of God, and demonstrates the power of high view theology.



Segment 4



• A few exceptions to weak Easter preaching: Franklin Graham and Billy Graham both stayed true to the Gospel.



• Billy Graham’s Easter message was fully focused on Jesus—no distractions, no moralism, just the glorious gospel.



• Preaching centered on Christ and the Word lasts, and is desperately needed in today’s pulpits.







Preorder the new book, Lies My Therapist Told Me, by Fortis Institute Fellow Dr. Greg Gifford now! https://www.harpercollins.com/pages/liesmytherapisttoldme







Thanks for listening!



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Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Richard Radio begins in three, two, one.

0:06.9

Live in the freedom that God loves you unconditionally.

0:11.8

And he loves you unconditionally.

0:14.3

God's love for you is unconditional.

0:16.8

Preaching that God loves you unconditionally is the wrong message.

0:20.2

God has a goodwill towards everybody, believers and non-believers.

0:24.3

But there is another love reserved only for those who embrace the gospel

0:29.5

and put their trust in Jesus as Lord and Satan.

0:33.4

It's time for Rretched Radio with Todd Freel.

0:36.8

I love Easter. And even though everybody knows, basically Todd Friel. I love Easter.

0:38.7

And even though everybody knows, basically knows the story, I love creating Easter messages.

0:42.3

Oh, they don't.

0:43.2

A lot of pastors don't.

0:44.1

Christmas and Easter is hard.

0:45.1

It's like, everybody knows.

0:46.1

I'm like, yeah, but this is like the greatest story ever told.

0:48.9

How do you know?

0:51.1

Because the Bible tells us so, this is Rretched Radio. The foundation of our Christian faith is built

0:58.4

on a more sure word. It is not built on miracles. It is not built on kind acts from a merciful

1:07.9

savior. No, our faith is built on nothing less than the more sure word of the Bible.

1:14.6

How do I know? Because, well, that's what the Bible says. Peter, having seen the transfiguration of

1:19.5

Jesus Christ, having seen what could be the greatest miracle that Jesus did on earth, by letting his divinity shine through his flesh on the Mount of Transfiguration,

...

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