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Within Roman society, the earliest Christians stood out for the oddness of their beliefs and practices. They worshiped God in strange ways, and practiced religion in a whole new way that would have been viewed as bizarre to other religions at the time.  Ed Stetzer talks with Nijay Gupta about his book, Strange Religion: How the First Christians were Weird, Dangerous and Compelling and how these early Christians and how their stories can be an encouragement and hope for us today on Ed Stetzer Live.

Ed Stetzer Live is a listener supported program.  To donate, click here.

To learn more about Ed Stetzer, click here.

To learn more about Ed Stetzer Live, click here.

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How do you enjoy a vibrant marriage to a member of the military? On this Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman, author and seasoned military spouse, Ashley Ashcraft, talks about the combat deployments, solo parenting, post-traumatic effects of war, and much more. What are the challenges and joys of maintaining a strong marriage to a military spouse? Hear encouragement on Building Relationships with Dr. Gary Chapman.

Featured resource: Mission-Ready Marriage: A Christian Guide to Discovering Hope and Purpose as a Military Wife

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Moody Founder's Week has long been a shining example of time spent learning and growing from God's Word.  Students, staff, alumni and friends of the Institute gather to hear what it means to take a new and powerful step closer to Jesus.  We'd like to take you back to a previous Founder's Week on the subject of Holiness.  Pastor Mark Jobe presents what it means to have a holy hunger for a holy God.

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Series: "Give Us Life - Revival"

- Psalm 42 / God has wired our bodies to tell us when we need to hydrate. We get thirsty. Failure to meet this need can result in dizziness, headache, fatigue or worse. Scripture provides a parallel picture of our need for spiritual hydration. We’re weak and ineffective without it. Crawford Loritts begins to list four reasons why we should thirst for God. 

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About seven hundred emperor penguins in West Antarctica, only six months old, huddled together at the edge of a towering icy cliff fifty feet above the frigid water. Finally, one penguin leaned forward and took “a leap of faith,” diving into the icy water below and swimming away. Soon scores of penguins took the plunge.

Young penguins typically jump just a couple of feet into the water for their first swim. This group’s death-defying leap was the first to be caught on camera.

Some people would say that the blind leap into the unknown by those penguins is similar to what happens when a person trusts in Jesus for salvation. Putting faith in Him is just the opposite. The author of Hebrews said, “Faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

Enoch’s faith pleased God: “Without faith it is impossible to please God” (v. 6). The world hadn’t seen anything like the great flood and yet Noah, “in holy fear built an ark to save his family” (v. 7) because he trusted in God. By faith Abraham followed God “even though he did not know where he was going” (v. 8).

When we first put our trust in Jesus it is by faith. As we continue following Him and our faith is tested, we can remember how God came through for these men. Even when we don’t know the whys and how’s we can trust God with the outcome.

On today’s program, Liberty University reached a settlement with disgraced former President Jerry Falwell Jr. last year, but the terms of that settlement were only disclosed this week. We’ll have details.

And, Bob Jones University names a new president just a month after its current leader announced he is stepping back. Many alumni aren’t happy with the choice. We’ll explain why.

Plus, beloved Bible study author Kay Arthur has died at 91. We’ll look back at the ministry founder’s life.

But first, police close its investigation into sexual abuse allegations against Daystar. The police department investigating accusations that sexual abuse was covered up by Daystar Television Network’s founding family, Joni and Marcus Lamb, has announced it is closing the investigation. According to the Colleyville Police Department in North Texas, the allegations were thoroughly investigated over the last year and a half, but no one will be charged in the matter.

The producer for today’s program is Jeff McIntosh. We get database and other technical support from Stephen DuBarry, Rod Pitzer, and Casey Sudduth. Writers who contributed to today’s program include Kim Roberts, Marci Seither, Kathryn Post, Bob Smietana, Brittany Smith, and Christina Darnell.

A special thanks to The NonProfit Times for contributing material for this week’s podcast.

Until next time, may God bless you.

Sermon Overview

Scripture Passage: Acts 8-10

Jesus Christ commanded us to take the Gospel to the darkest corners of this Earth, and God has given us open doors to all the world. In our own way and opportunity, each of us is called, ordained, and equipped to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

In the Book of Acts, the conversions of three men reveal why it is so important to witness to others.

In Acts 8, the conversion of the Ethiopian man shows us that all people have a common hunger to know God, even if we don’t understand it yet.

Adrian Rogers says, “Man doesn’t primarily need a boost from beneath; he needs a birth from above.”

In Acts 9, the conversion of Saul—who later became Paul, an apostle of Christ— reminds us that all people have a common heartache. All the intelligence and money in the world couldn’t buy the satisfaction that is found only in Christ.

In Acts 10, the conversion of Cornelius tells us that all people have a common hope—Jesus.

Back-to-back, we are shown through Scripture that the hope of Africa is Jesus, the hope of Asia (Paul the Apostle) is Jesus, and the hope of Europe (Cornelius) is Jesus.

All people need the same help. The hope of the world is Jesus.

God told Phillip, Annanias, and Peter to “Go.” He took their availability, expendability, and adaptability, and used them to share the Gospel with men who would carry it even further, to the uttermost places on Earth.

Adrian Rogers says, “A Christian who refuses to go is not missing a blessing; he’s guilty of high treason against Heaven’s King.”

We all have the same heartaches and hunger that are only satisfied through our common hope in Jesus Christ. And remember: Jesus will save anybody who is willing to come to Him.

They may not even know that it is God they are searching for, but each and every man needs to know Him. It is our job, as a Christian community, to help them.

Apply it to your life

Are you available, expendable, and adaptable, ready to be used by God? Somebody needs you desperately! All men need the same help—they need somebody to tell them about Jesus and that somebody is you.

Visit the Radio Ministry online to find the photos Joni mentioned in today’s program.

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Joni and Friends envisions a world where every person with a disability finds hope, dignity, and their place in the body of Christ. Become part of the global movement today at www.joniandfriends.org.

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