This episode reframes how we think about love and relationships by contrasting fragile, contract-style arrangements with the resilient, biblical model of covenant. Drawing from marriage research, Scripture, and decades of walking with couples in crisis, J. Warner Wallace explains why seeing marriage (and other key relationships) as covenants radically changes how you date, marry, and relate—whether you are single, engaged, or married.​

You'll hear why people who "love marriage" itself tend to have stronger, more sacrificial relationships, how your marriage (or singleness) is always preaching something to the watching world, and why thinking of relationships as contracts actually trains us to look for exit clauses instead of opportunities to serve. The episode unpacks the idea of a 100–0 covenant mindset—giving 100% with 0% demand in return—as an expression of a deeper covenant with Jesus, and shows how this posture can transform conflict, expectations, and long-term commitment.

If this conversation is helpful, please subscribe or follow the podcast and take a moment to leave a rating and review in your favorite podcast app so others can find it as well. You can also find and subscribe to the show by searching "Cold-Case Christianity with J. Warner Wallace" in your podcast platform of choice.​

This episode wrestles with trauma, murder, and suffering, and explains why the way you see the world—your worldview—largely determines how deeply you are wounded and how you process life's most painful events. Drawing from real cold-case homicides and personal conversations with victims' families, J. Warner Wallace shows how expectations about God, goodness, justice, and life itself either shatter under the weight of evil or are refined and strengthened when they match reality.​

You'll hear how an underdeveloped or shallow view of the Christian faith can collapse when tragedy strikes, and why a robust, well-thought-out Christian worldview can actually prepare you for suffering rather than promise you a pain-free life. The episode summarizes key ideas from J. Warner's work on the problem of evil—why God might allow horrific events, how this relates to free will, eternity, and human sin, and why Christianity offers not just an explanation for suffering but hope and meaning in the middle of it.​

To go deeper on these themes of evil, justice, and the Christian worldview, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://amzn.to/3LNWxp6

If this conversation helps you think more clearly about trauma and God's plan, please follow/subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in your app—your feedback helps more people discover this content and process their own suffering through the lens of the gospel.

This episode challenges the modern obsession with platforms and "ministry success" and asks whether followers of Jesus have quietly replaced real service with a pursuit of visibility, funding, and fame. Drawing from years of case work, tentmaking ministry, and mentoring aspiring apologists, J. Warner Wallace contrasts the quiet, often unseen work of everyday Christian service with the drive to build brands, launch organizations, and chase numbers in the name of the gospel.​

You'll hear why Scripture calls believers to serve without needing applause, income, or a 501(c)(3), and how simple daily acts—loving your local church, discipling a few people, posting faithful content, caring for the hurting—can have more eternal impact than any "big" platform. The conversation also addresses the real dangers of pride, comparison, and monetization, and offers a practical vision for using gifts, tools, and even book sales as fuel for generosity and ministry rather than as measures of personal worth.​

To go deeper on these ideas about motives, identity, and calling, check out J. Warner's book The Truth in True Crime here: https://amzn.to/3LNWxp6

If this episode encourages or challenges you, please follow/subscribe to the podcast and take a moment to rate and review it in your app—your feedback helps more people discover this content and rethink what real Christian service looks like.