Conversations at the Ranch with Dudley Hall

By Dudley HallReligion & Spirituality Christianity

Conversations at the Ranch with Dudley Hall episodes

July 01, 2018 How To Please God (DMM-JUL18)
A friend recently spoke of the prevalence of “Adam’s itch” in all of us. He was talking about the compulsion to do something to get back into the good favor with God—back in the Garden of Eden—back to where we can be the recipients of God’s blessing rather than the object of curses. Like all itches, Adam’s itch begs to be scratched, and it feels so good for the moment, but later causes further inflammation and infection. It seems that we will go to any length to hear another clever way to pull the blessing lever. We are vulnerable to religious offers of knowledge, rites of passage, and mystical experiences. Some peddlers of novel interpretations of scripture have built multimillion-dollar kingdoms from scratching the itch. They have honed their sales pitch to convince enough people to buy in. Everyone wants to somehow please God enough to get his blessings.
The gospel eliminates the itch by means of a mediator. Jesus came as a human to be obedient to God’s requirements and receive the blessings commensurate with perfect human obedience. He alone gets the covenant blessings promised by the covenant God. We are given the privilege of enjoying these blessings when we are in Christ, trusting him alone for favor.
38 min
June 01, 2018 What's in the Inheritance? (DMM-JUN18)
In the eighth chapter of Romans, the apostle Paul is describing what living in the promised land looks like since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. He skillfully uses the story of Israel’s exodus and occupation in Canaan as a template for us. The Spirit leads us rather than an actual cloud and pillar of fire. We share the full inheritance, which is the life of Jesus rather than a small piece of real estate. We share not only in his access to the Father and the assurance that we are now identified as sons of God, but we share in his mission on earth.
50 min
May 01, 2018 Compelled to Speak (DMM-MAY18)
Acts 4:20 - The state of current American Christianity is generally rather shaky. For generations, we have spent the capital of moral strength we had stored up from generations that preached and practiced the gospel of transformation. We have tried to maintain a moral society without the infusion of passion that comes only from believing in the resurrected and ascended Lord.
When we look at the model of New Testament believers in comparison to contemporary Western Christians, we are astounded. It causes us to wonder if we can expect to live the same way. Were they living in an easier time? Was the Spirit more available to them than to us?
The demeanor of the New Testament Christians is not an unreachable ideal. It is the norm for those whom God has given the ability to see his kingdom. The question we must ask is: What had happened to those disciples that so changed their lives and emboldened them to confront the powerful entities of evil in their day with remarkable confidence and effectiveness?
42 min
April 01, 2018 Jesus Is Lord and He Has Spoken (DMM-APR18)
Acts 2; Hebrews 1:1-2 - When I was a teenager, the big question at church youth camp was whether it was possible to know Jesus as Savior and not as Lord. Many of us wanted the assurance that we were “saved” from the penalty of our sins, but we weren’t sure we wanted Jesus to be the Lord (Boss) of our lives. Little did we know how dangerous it is to confess Jesus as Lord. There is good news: Jesus is Lord. It is true—and dangerous.
Since Jesus is Lord, and he has spoken, his word carries ultimate authority.
Jesus is Lord—and he has spoken! What he says is profound. Listen. Build your house on it.
47 min
March 01, 2018 News We Can Trust (DMM MAR18)
News today is suspect. We aren’t sure there is any source we can trust. What we hear is mostly bad news, and it comes with such a spin, we can barely get hold of it. We know that the American dollar bears the weight of such debt that it is threatened by currencies of other national economies along with multiplying crypto-currencies. The American dream has dimmed in the eyes of a young generation realizing they probably won’t even have the prosperity of their parents. They cringe at the debt they have been left with and sneer at the premise of the baby boomers who believed riches can make you happy. The American destiny is being reinterpreted through the eyes of secularism. And though we used to snicker at the obvious spin of the used car salesman, it has been adopted and honed to a new luster. The Media, the Congress, the Presidency, and even the pulpit have bought in.
We could use some good news!
43 min
February 08, 2018 A Different Kind of Comfort (DMM-FEB18)
We all like to be comfortable, but probably don't consider what is involved in such a state. We think of quiet, soothing, non-judgmental treatment. If we should think of a church service that is comforting, we might imagine an affirming message promoting how wonderful we are despite our missteps. That is a pretty popular approach of many trying to attract the contemporary consumer, but the word "comfort" used by Isaiah to describe what God had in mind for the remnant of Israel is much stronger. Instead of promoting how wonderful the audience is, he promotes how wonderful God is.
47 min
January 01, 2018 An Encounter with God (DMM JAN18)
Isaiah is one of the most important figures in the Bible. His writings are some of the very best, not only in the Bible but in history. His influence on the revelation of the gospel is unparalleled in the Old Testament. His story is fascinating. He was reared in an aristocratic environment. His family was well respected, and he was well trained as an elite in society. He was a faithful Hebrew having been taught the basics of Israel’s covenant with God. He lived in the last half of the 8th century B.C. when there was rampant apostasy among the people of God and a gathering storm of military threat. Uzziah had been a prosperous king for the southern tribe, but suddenly he died. Life had been good, but the prospects of the future were at best, uncertain. For whatever reason, Isaiah was in the temple during this sad and shocking time and experienced a radical encounter with the God he had only known conceptually. This encounter launched him into a ministry that confronted both the rebellious Jews and the pagan powers with the word of God. Later, he also became the voice of God for comfort to the remnant that would come out of exile.
45 min
December 12, 2017 Do We Want Reformation? (DMM-DEC17)
Considering the apparent increasing darkness swirling across the land, many church people are talking about the need for another Great Reformation. This has been a good year to talk about the Reformation. It was 500 years ago this year that it began. On October 31, 1517, Martin Luther nailed 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg Germany noting the issues he had with the corrupt Roman Catholic Church. Historians mark that date as the beginning of a move of God that eventually affected the whole world, especially Western Civilization. There is good fruit beyond measure. But, it was tumultuous. Blood flowed down the streets of many European towns. Hundreds were beheaded. Men, women, and children were killed. People were boiled in oil, burned at the stake, drowned, and thrown off high cliffs. Kings were dethroned. Empires fell. It was not a gentle reformation. Do we want a new reformation?
41 min
December 12, 2017 Do We Want Reformation? (DMM-DEC 17)
41 min
November 02, 2017 Only Sinners Need Apply (DMM-NOV17)
I was extremely blessed in my early years to know a businessman who loved to share Jesus with men who claimed not to be interested in salvation. He called it “winning souls.” He was very good at it as he would not try to convert someone who was not being convicted by the Spirit. One day he approached a man and offered to talk with him about his relationship with God. “I don’t want to talk about God. Anyway, I’m no worse than half the people down there at the church, even the deacons,” he bellowed. Mr. O’Neal was gentle and firm in his reply. “Ok. You are a man God can’t save.” The man wanted to argue. “Yes, he can.” Mr. O’Neal shook his head and began to walk away. The man followed him. “Why do you say that God can’t save me?” Mr. O’Neal stopped and said, “God can only save sinners, and you don’t think you are a sinner.” The man opened up and finally prayed with his new mentor.
43 min

About Conversations at the Ranch with Dudley Hall

From the publisher's feed

Each month for more than 40 years, Dudley Hall has shared from his heart what God is teaching him. Refreshing, candid, and honest expressions of God’s grace in Dudley’s life inhabit these messages…