CIAM Radio

What happened to the apostles after Luke set down his pen? In this message, Dr. John picks up where Part 1 left off, tracing the spread of the gospel across the ancient world, the fall of Jerusalem, and the final years of John — the last living eyewitness — whose writing from a Roman prison island brought the New Testament to its close. A sweeping and inspiring conclusion to the series through Acts.

Jesus Goes Global: A Prisoner of Christ: When we read the book of Acts, we tend to give primary attention to the formation and growth of the Church in the early chapters. We then highlight the three mission trips of Paul. But some of the most profound lessons lie in the final chapters of Acts 25-28. Dr. John will show God extending His Kingdom through the personal struggle and imprisonment of Paul. The world’s worst cannot impede God’s best.

If you could be any animal, which one would you choose? No one ever chooses to be a sheep, and yet that’s how we’re described in the Bible. We are all like sheep needing a shepherd. And we have one—Jesus Christ. He guides, protects, and keeps us in the right rut.

Hear Pastor Chuck Swindoll teach on the fulfilling life of faith from 1 Thessalonians 3:9–13.

From the Series: Contagious Christianity

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What does God’s love look like when your earthly father failed you? He Calls Me Daughter, a new Christian movie by Rick Altizer, follows real stories of father wounds, faith, and redemption. Rachelle Starr’s Scarlet Hope ministry brings hope to women in strip clubs, showing how obedience, prayer, and God’s grace transform broken lives. Watch, reflect, and discover how healing from father wounds can restore identity, trust, and purpose.

Show Notes and Resources

• Watch the film He Calls Me Daughter in theaters for two days only: March 17–18 (get tickets and find theater locations now). visit HeCallsMeDaughter.org.
• Learn more about Scarlet Hope ministry: Visit scarlethope.org for stories, donation options, team info, and ways to get involved.
• Set sail on the Love Like You Mean It Marriage Cruise! Now through 3/31/26, use promo code CruiseMadness27 and enjoy exclusive savings on your stateroom.

• Thanks to the Christian Standard Bible for sponsoring this episode. Learn more at CSBible.com.
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• Find resources from our podcast at shop.familylife.com.
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At first I thought some apocalyptic event had hit our town. Schools were all empty, there wasn't a school bus in sight, lots of people suddenly disappeared. Not to worry. It was just Spring Break.

Of course, for many of America's young people, Spring Break is code for "party like there's no tomorrow, baby." Well, after downing lots of booze and sometimes drugs, your internal censors just go off duty. So a lot of folks come back from break with little memory of some big mistakes. Partying that lasts for a night; regrets and scars that can last a lifetime. Going for "break" and coming back broken.

I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Timeout Tragedies."

There's this lie that sets people up for expensive choices, hurtful choices. What you do when you're away, or when you're alone, or when you're anonymous doesn't count. It's not just a lie students fall for. Businessmen on trips, women home alone, guys on the Internet, girls texting, people on vacation or at a party. I'm almost sure there's someone listening right now who would do anything to erase what they did when they believed it wouldn't matter.

It does, doesn't it? Because while you can turn off your internal controls, you can't turn off your conscience. It picks up every wrong thing we do - or, in God's vocabulary, every sin. As observed by the wife of a governor who was disgraced by the discovery of his long - distance affair, she said, "You can pick your sin; you can't pick your consequences." It's so true.

So your conscience is always running and so is your calculator. It's adding up the consequences, because as the Bible says, "whatever a man sows, he reaps." That's an inescapable law of the universe. Worst of all, the camera's always running, too. In our word for today from the Word of God, God's camera is described this way, "A man's ways are in full view of the Lord, and He examines all his paths." You know that "Sin City" commercial that says, "What you do here stays here"? No, forget about it! If God knows, you're caught. Oh, believe me, God knows.

It doesn't matter how drunk you are, how depressed you are, how devious you are, how deserving you think you are. The Bible says, "be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23). So, first the thrill, then the bill. The fear of discovery, the trail of cover-up deceit, the guilt, the shame, the loss of self-respect, the ugly consequences, and the judgment of Almighty God. "For," as the Bible says, "God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil" (Ecclesiastes 12:14).

See, nothing good happens when we blow past God's stop signs. That's why we've got to run from the rocks that we've been drifting toward and saying "no!" to that seductive, but devilish voice that says "Forget about tomorrow; now is all that matters." Oh, tomorrow really does matter.

But what about the memories? What about the shame of the mistakes that it's too late to change? Well, there's hope in a word called "forgiven." The very God whose plans for us we trash has made this stunning promise: "I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Hebrews 8:12). Like the wonderful feeling of a shower when you're disgustingly dirty, God says He'll make us clean inside; every sin erased from His book, with our eternal sin-bill paid in full because of a cross. Where Jesus, God's one and only Son, in the Bible's words, "carried our sins in His own body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24) and He absorbed the judgment I deserve: The choices that accuse us. Gone! Forgiven!

That's what happens when a sinner grabs the Savior. It's nothing less than a new beginning.

And that's why our website is called ANewStory.com. It's where you can find the information that will help y

Read: Matthew 14:22-33; Hebrews 11:1-2

Callie turned down the final loop of the zoo. “Best day of school ever! I love animals!”

“And I love that we’re both homeschooled and can go on field trips more often!” Callie’s best friend, Katie, grinned. “Hey, look at that cool-looking antelope!” Katie and Callie marveled at the antelope’s twisted horns that spiraled close to thirty-five inches high.

“Mom, why are they enclosed with such a short fence? It can’t be more than four feet high!” Callie pointed out.

Katie frowned in concentration. “Yeah, it says right here that African impalas can jump up to ten feet in the air! I wonder why they aren’t just roaming all around the zoo?”

“Let’s consult my phone,” Mom joked. “You girls always have great questions. Interesting! This article says impalas won’t jump unless they see where they’ll land. Since they can’t see the ground on the other side of this wall, that must keep them in their habitat.”

“It’s kind of sad when you think about it,” Katie pondered. “Freedom is just a jump away, but fear keeps them trapped.”

Mom nodded. “We can learn a lesson from the impalas. Callie, remember when you felt like God wanted you to serve in the children’s ministry at church, but you were scared because you weren’t used to working with kids?”

“Yeah, I was nervous about it.”

“But then your best friend reminded you that faith is stepping out in confidence even when you can’t see the outcome,” Katie reminded her. “Just like it says in Hebrews chapter eleven.”

“That whole chapter is filled with people who trusted God to help them take great leaps of faith, even though they weren’t sure how things would turn out,” Mom mused. “We can do the same when we remember that Jesus is always with us. He died and rose again to give us eternal life, and that means we can always trust Him.”

Katie smiled. “Hey, maybe we can have a code word! The next time one of us wants to hold back because of fear, we can yell ‘Impala!’”

Callie jumped in the air dramatically. “That will remind us to take a leap of faith!”

–Savannah Coleman

How about you? Do you ever feel held back by fear? Maybe you sense God’s prompting to talk to a lonely kid. Perhaps you need to confront a friend for doing something they shouldn’t. God may even put it on your heart to speak about Him to someone who doesn’t know Him. If you know Jesus as your Savior, He is with you and will help you complete the work He wants you to do. Trust Him to help you take that leap of faith.

Today's Key Verse: Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. Hebrews 11:1 (NIV)

Today's Key Thought: Trust Jesus and take the leap

Win the battle for your mind in a way that will impact every area of your life.

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“Daddy, my head hurts.” “Daddy, I’m so cold.” “Daddy, can you rub my feet?”

A high fever, chills, and body aches recently descended cruelly upon my teenage daughter. She wanted me to make it better. But mostly she just wanted me near. Eventually, we took her to urgent care. “Virus,” we were told. Nothing to do but ride it out.

I sat with my sick girl hours that day. Rubbing her feet. Getting her medicine. Desperately wanting her to feel better. Occasionally, my selfish side complained, This is hard. Indeed, it is hard to sit with people’s suffering, to witness their hurt up close.

Job’s friends saw his suffering up close, too. These three guys are often—fairly!—criticized for their later poor treatment of Job. But it’s easy to forget that, initially, they simply sat with him: “They sat on the ground with him for seven days and seven nights. No one said a word to him, because they saw how great his suffering was” (Job 2:13).

Jobs’ friends remind us that when someone we love is hurting, it’s our presence—our being there, whether we speak or not—that matters most. Their example reminds us that even though we may not always know what to say to a friend or loved one who’s hurting, simply sitting with someone in their suffering may be the greatest gift we can give.

It’s one thing to thank God before a meal. It’s another thing entirely to thank God before sending off a tax payment. For Christians, gratitude doesn’t end where the deductions begin. On the next Faith & Finance Live, Rob West takes a surprising look at taxes—not as an interruption to our finances, but as evidence of God’s provision. Then, it’s on to calls. That’s Faith & Finance Live— biblical wisdom for your financial decisions—weekdays at 4pm Eastern/3pm Central on Moody Radio.

Faith & Finance Live is a listener supported program on Moody Radio.  To join our team of supporters, click here.

To support the ministry of FaithFi, click here.

To learn more about Rob West, click here.

To learn more about Faith & Finance Live, click here.

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Segment 1

• The push to abandon church buildings for “first-century house churches”: admirable or misguided?

• Did the early church reject formal worship spaces, like church buildings?

• Old Testament and synagogue patterns challenge the modern church narratives.

Segment 2

• The popular image of early Christian churches: casual gatherings with no leaders or structure.

• Historical evidence shows early worship was organized and liturgical.

• The “pure house church” idea may be a modern projection.

Segment 3

• Two major historical events forced believers out of synagogues and public worship.

• As time went on, Christians increasingly faced expulsion and persecution from their governments.

• Change of pace: how much has parenting really changed since the 80’s and 90’s?

Segment 4

• What does modern-day church gathering and discipleship look like?

• Though parenting is never easy, parents today face difficulties that they didn’t 20 or 30 years ago.

• How can churches and communities come together, gather around families, and love and support children together?

___

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