Truth Encounter: Weekly Message Podcast

Wouldn’t you like to stand in DL Moody’s shoes before the throne of God or in this modern age, in Billy Graham’s? Well, both men knew that being a gifted mouth in the body of Christ is not enough. What is more important than all the sermons they ever preached?

Your child is in the hospital dying. You desperately pray for the Lord to heal them. Why does God apparently say “yes” to some parents and “no” to others? When Jesus was here on earth there were times when the sick in an entire town were brought to Jesus and he healed them all. Today there are recorded cases of miraculous healings, but many are left still languishing in their illness. Does this mean their faith is not strong enough? Is God simply not powerful enough to meet all of these desperate needs?

Love is what makes the world go round. Socrates, Shakespeare, Jane Austin -these genius all wrote about it, but where can we find the most succinct and sublime revelation of what love is and how it acts?

Should the contemporary church exhibit the same spiritual gifts as the Corinthian church of the first century? The issue has divided churches and friends. Can we get by all the emotion and take another careful look at exactly what was going on in the Corinthian church?

Too old, too old, too old. Some of you have heard this refrain and it has sucked away your meaning in life. Well I’ve got encouraging news for you. There is a group where no one becomes too old to play a vital role.

If a movie producer wants to make a horror film he fills the screen with all kinds of weird visuals: bodies covered with eyes, creatures with gigantic ears, or noses, or skeletons without skin or internal organs. Why do our churches at times look more like horror films than beautiful love stories?

The military creates unity by dressing everyone in the same uniform and making sure everyone has the same haircut. For most of us unity equals sameness, but is this the way that God looks at unity?

It is called holy. Often only a select priesthood is able to serve it; and entire denominations have been formed over disagreement about it. It is called Communion and the breaking of the bread, and sometimes this table which is supposed to remind believers of Christ’s death, resurrection and return initiates great fear or unworthiness. Who has the right to partake of the communion? What does it mean?

I’m sure you have heard the talk about removing the so-called chauvinistic language from our culture. In new translations of the Bible, it means that we replace “our Father in heaven” with “our almighty divine being in heaven.” How do you feel about these trendy changes or better yet, how does God feel?

Think back over this week and consider some of the opportunities you have had to rub shoulders with someone who doesn’t even consider that Jesus might want to be part of their daily routine? What steps are you taking to make contact with these individuals, begin to develop friendships, and to pray for meaningful opportunities to share Christ?