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Covenant & Conflict: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Gateway Center for Israel
"Covenant & Conflict" is a thought-provoking podcast produced by the “Gateway Center for Israel” and hosted by Nic Lesmeister and David Blease, where ancient biblical truths meet contemporary issues head-on. Each episode offers a deep dive into complex and often divisive topics with subject matter experts, aiming to explore the intersection of covenantal values and modern debates. Instead of fostering division, this podcast seeks to model respectful engagement and peaceful discourse amidst conflict.
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- 1 weeks ago46 min
Why Gen Z Struggles with Israel
When Nic graduated high school, nobody asked him what his stance was on Israel. Today, every teenager feels they need to take a position. Who can they trust to portray a balanced view?On this episode of Covenant & Conflict, Nic and his wife Tabatha talk about why Israel has become a stumbling block for Gen Z Christians, and why antisemitism tends to surface when a society is in distress. Nic says he never expected to hear pre-Holocaust rhetoric go mainstream this early in his life. They also raise a harder question: what happens to a young believer’s faith when they turn against the land that makes the Bible concrete?What we cover in this episode:Lost trust, loneliness, and the pressures on young adults todayThe political horseshoe theory and where the far left and far right meetHow extreme voices validate your pain and then hand you an enemyAntisemitism as a symptom of a culture in declineAnswering a false story with the Gospel rooted in God’s covenant with AbrahamOne question you can ask someone that blames the Jewish peopleCHAPTERS:00:00 Why Israel trips up Gen Z01:34 Welcome and why young adulthood is hard09:51 Israel as a stumbling block11:14 Why young people drift toward extremes21:55 The blame trap and the victim mindset29:24 Antisemitism as a symptom of decline32:56 Answering a story with a better story
- Oct 14, 202658 min
How to talk with your kids about Israel
The gospel outline most of us learned jumps from creation straight to Jesus in the New Testament. Our kids inherit the missing storyline in the Bible and it shapes how they see Israel.On this episode of Covenant & Conflict, Nic sits down with his wife Tabatha, who holds a master’s in practical theology with a concentration in the land of the Bible. Their advice for parents starts before any theology: bring your kids into the story of Scripture, where Abraham’s family is at the center, Jesus was and still is Jewish, and Jewish people brought the gospel to us. They also name the small habits that keep the blind spot alive, like calling it the “Old” Testament.What we cover in this episode:• What a 14-year-old is hearing from classmates at a Christian schoolIsrael and the nations, and why we are the nations• The family language the Bible uses and the institutional language we use• Jeremiah 31, Romans 11, Ephesians 3, and Psalm 83 to read together• What “Zionist” and “Israel” mean when your kids hear them at school• Staying caring, curious, and committed to God’s word in the conversation00:00 Identity is formed in the story01:18 Meet Tabatha and why this conversation matters09:11 Start with Israel and the nations14:33 The blind spot we pass down28:01 Scriptures to read with your kids45:41 What “Zionist” and “Israel” actually mean52:43 Closing thoughts and prayer
- Aug 12, 20261h 6m
Why Israel is Key to Reaching the World
In 1999, Wayne Wilks had a vision in a Budapest hotel room. Seventeen years later, on a balcony in that same city, he had another one... and it became Gateway Center for Israel.Nic Lesmeister sits down with Wayne to trace the whole story: an altar in Amarillo where a missions call turned into a lifelong love for the Jewish people, a festival in Odessa that filled a new Bible institute with purpose, and a moment in Ethiopia that quietly pointed toward who'd carry it all forward. They walk through decades of open doors, prophetic words, and one visa that cleared as the plane was boarding.What we cover in this episode:Wayne's 1982 altar moment in Amarillo and the Ezekiel study that reframed "to the Jew first"The 1996 Odessa festival and the Isaiah 37 visa storyEthiopia's ancient Jewish community and Zimbabwe's Lemba tribeThe Ethiopia courtyard moment that pointed toward NickThe Budapest balcony vision and the founding of Gateway Center for IsraelChapters0:00 Why Israel Is Key to Reaching the Nations4:54 Wayne’s Call to Missions9:31 A New Revelation About Israel16:52 The Calling That Led to Ukraine32:17 A Life-Changing Encounter in Ethiopia48:47 The Birth of Gateway Center for Israel59:03 What’s Next for the Church and Israel
- Jul 29, 202639 min
What Happens when Your Family Rejects Your Faith
"If you walk out those doors, you're not coming back home." She walked out anyway, and that was only the beginning.On Covenant and Conflict, Trystan Tice tells David how a secular Jewish teenager from South Florida ended up asked to leave home for believing in Jesus, and what it cost her to keep going. She traces the years of persecution, the questions across the kitchen table, and the slow way her own family's hearts began to turn.What we cover in this episode:• Growing up culturally Reform Jewish, with faith as identity rather than belief• The church service where she wept and couldn't explain why• Praying "if Jesus is the truth, answer me" and watching her desires change• Being told to leave home, and the friends who took her in• Canceling her own baptism to honor her mother, then baptized in the Jordan RiverChapters00:00 From Jewish to Following Jesus01:55 Growing Up Jewish Without Knowing God04:20 The Church Service That Changed Everything09:41 How Reading the Bible Changed My Life13:54 Kicked Out for Following Jesus20:25 Baptized in the Jordan River26:39 How My Entire Family Found Jesus
- Jul 1, 202656 min
Is questioning Israel antisemitic?
"I'm just a village idiot. I'm just asking questions." This feigned innocence is used by a growing anti-Israel Christian crowd to sound humble while pushing an agenda. Nic Lesmeister helps you see through this smokescreen.Nic rejoins David Blease on Covenant & Conflict to name what's actually going on under the "just asking questions" posture, why the world tilted so fast after October 7th, and how an antisemitic theology long disavowed is showing back up in conservative Christian spaces. Plus, the Israel test: a way of reading how someone handles Israel that says a lot about how they handle everything else.What we cover in this episode:Why antisemitism didn't disappear after the Holocaust, just went dormantHow October 7th accelerated a shift the world wasn't ready to seeClassical dispensationalism, where it came from, and why GCFI isn't thatThe dual-covenant accusation and what "chosen" actually meansThe "just asking questions" move, and why arrogance keeps dressing up as curiosityThe Israel test: Genesis 12, God's name on a people and a placeCHAPTERS00:00 Intro01:07 Welcome back, Nic02:19 The world after October 7th05:33 Antisemitism didn't disappear, it went dormant08:01 The oldest hatred, and why it keeps mutating09:17 The imaginary Jew in your mind10:29 Scapegoating the biblical other12:15 What October 7th accelerated13:58 When the church adopts anti-Jewish theology16:22 What dispensationalism actually is19:58 Pre-millennial without being dispensational21:24 George W. Bush and Rachel Maddow23:23 A biblical and sincere love for the Jewish people26:47 Dual covenant, chosen, and the salvation question31:26 Why Christians collapse every question into "saved or not"33:51 A Greek worldview meets a Hebraic one36:46 Faith in Jesus as the assurance of salvation39:30 The Israel test and the weight of Genesis 1241:00 God's name on Jerusalem, sheen in the geography43:46 Tucker, Candace, and "I'm just asking questions"49:28 The Jew first, in blessing and in punishment51:27 Going to Israel and sitting in the tension53:01 Jesus comes back to a Jewish Jerusalem55:10 Closing thoughts
- May 13, 202645 min
A Roadmap to Joy: Finding God in Pain, Purpose, and the Unexpected
What if joy wasn’t the absence of pain, but something deeper, stronger, and always available?In this powerful episode of Covenant & Conflict, David Blease sits down with author and missionary Bonnie Saul Wilkes to explore a lifetime journey of calling, sacrifice, and discovering what true joy really is.From growing up with a Jewish last name in a Christian home…to encountering antisemitism that sparked a lifelong calling…to living on a kibbutz in Israel and eventually moving to the former Soviet Union to disciple thousands.Bonnie’s story is marked by bold obedience and unexpected turns.But what stands out most isn’t just the mission… it’s the joy she found along the way.In this conversation, Bonnie unpacks:Why joy is not the same as happinessHow joy can coexist with suffering, loss, and uncertaintyThe difference between joy, peace, and pleasureWhy gratitude is one of the most powerful spiritual practicesAnd how God leads us into joy through obedience, not comfortEven through cancer diagnoses in her family, hardship in missions, and seasons of deep pain, she discovered that joy isn’t something you stumble into…It’s something you walk into.Her new book, A Roadmap to Joy, is the result of decades of journaling, poetry, and real-life encounters with God, and every story somehow leads back to one truth: Joy is always available in His presence.Watch now and discover what it means to walk the pathway of joy.00:00 – Intro: A Life Marked by Calling02:15 – From Antisemitism to a Calling for the Jewish People08:00 – Leaving Everything for the Nations (Soviet Union Missions)13:11 – The Unexpected Theme: Why Every Story Led to Joy19:50 – Joy vs Happiness: What Most People Get Wrong30:55 – The Counterfeits of Joy (Pleasure, Success, Isolation)35:15 – Joy vs Peace: How to “Soar Over the Chaos”41:10 – A Final Prayer: Walking the Pathway of Joy
- May 6, 20261h 17m
Torah, Jesus, and Identity: The Tension No One Talks About
What happens when a Jewish man finds Yeshua, but refuses to stop being Jewish?In this powerful episode of Covenant & Conflict, we sit down again with Rocket Rudolph, a Torah-observant Jewish follower of Jesus, to wrestle through one of the most misunderstood tensions in Christianity:Can you follow Jesus and still remain Jewish?What does “Torah observant” actually mean today?Did the early Church unintentionally create division in Acts 15?And why does the word “Christ” feel complicated for many Jewish followers of Yeshua.This conversation goes far beyond theology, it’s about identity, calling, and the deeper story most believers have never been told.From the meaning of Israel (“to wrestle with God”) to the real implications of Torah, exile, and Messiah, this episode challenges both Gentile Christians and Jewish believers to rethink what faithfulness really looks like.Along the way, we unpack:Why being “chosen” might not mean what you thinkThe difference between Jewish and Greek ways of thinkingHow the gospel is often told… and what’s missingWhy antisemitism is ultimately a spiritual issueAnd what it really means to live “through” Messiah00:00 – Intro: The Jewish Wrestle Begins Again02:15 – What Does It Mean to Be “Chosen”? (It’s Not What You Think)08:10 – Torah Observance: Law, Identity, or Something Deeper?15:30 – Acts 15: The Decision That Changed Everything24:50 – “Christ” vs “Messiah”: Did Translation Shift Theology?34:10 – Why Antisemitism Is More Than Political (It’s Spiritual)45:20 – The Gospel We Preach vs The Gospel in Scripture55:00 – Final Thought: Don’t Stop Wrestling
- Apr 29, 20261h 17m
Is Israel Breaking International Law? The Truth About Genocide, the UN, and Gaza with Andrew Tucker
In this long-awaited episode of Covenant & Conflict, we sit down with international lawyer Andrew Tucker to unpack one of the most misunderstood and controversial topics in the world today: Israel and international law.From accusations of genocide to debates over occupation, settlements, and the United Nations, this conversation brings clarity to the legal language dominating headlines and social media.If you’ve ever wondered:What international law actually isWhether Israel is committing genocideWhy the UN constantly targets IsraelWhat “occupation” and “settlements” really meanOr how the modern conflict connects to biblical themes…this episode will help you think clearly and respond intelligently.Andrew Tucker serves with a legal think tank focused on Israel and international law, advising at the highest levels—including the UN. He brings both legal expertise and a deep understanding of the spiritual and historical dimensions behind the conflict.This is not just a political conversation. It’s about truth, clarity, and understanding one of the most important issues of our time.⸻Chapters00:00 – Why Israel Is So Controversial Right Now00:02:10 – Biblical vs Political Israel: Why It’s So Complex00:13:52 – What Is “International Law” (Really)?00:24:59 – Are Israeli Settlements Illegal?00:45:19 – What Is Genocide? (Legal Definition Explained)00:50:54 – Is Israel Committing Genocide in Gaza?01:03:59 – Who Owns the West Bank? (Legal Breakdown)01:06:04 – Why a Two-State Solution Keeps Failing
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About Covenant & Conflict
"Covenant & Conflict" is a thought-provoking podcast produced by the “Gateway Center for Israel” and hosted by Nic Lesmeister and David Blease, where ancient biblical truths meet contemporary issues head-on. Each episode offers a deep dive into complex and often divisive topics with subject matter experts, aiming to explore the intersection of covenantal values and modern debates. Instead of fostering division, this podcast seeks to model respectful engagement and peaceful discourse amidst conflict.
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