A signpost for the lost. A resting place for the weary. Experiences that point to God. An expression of The Elevation Church. We're at 3, Remi Olowude str, lekki 2nd roundabout. Oniru, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria. We meet every Sunday at 10am and Wednesday at 6:30pm. Join us sometime, we can't wait to have you!
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المحتوى المقدم من Dr. James Merritt. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرة بواسطة Dr. James Merritt أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.
مشابه لـTouching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Victory BGC is a church in Bonifacio Global City that exists to honor God and make disciples. It is a member of Victory Philippines and under Every Nation Churches and Ministries.
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Insights into the weekly Torah portion
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Rabbi Shalom Rosner on The Parsha
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Welcome to the weekly podcast of Elevation Church led by Pastor Steven Furtick. To learn more visit our website at http://elevationchurch.org or download the Elevation App. To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://ele.vc/WeX3nP
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Follow the audio shiurim, lectures and speeches of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, global religious leader, philosopher, author of over 30 books and moral voice for our time. Rabbi Sacks served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth between September 1991 and September 2013. A full biography - together with an extensive online archive of Rabbi Sacks' work - is available at www.rabbisacks.org or you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @rabbisacks.
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Welcome to the Enjoying Everyday Life TV podcast with Joyce Meyer. To learn more, visit our website at joycemeyer.org or download the Joyce Meyer Ministries App. By supporting Joyce Meyer Ministries, you can help us reach hurting people around the world. To find out more, go to joycemeyer.org/donate
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<div class="span index">1</div> <span><a class="" data-remote="true" data-type="html" href="/series/accidental-ceo-podcast">Accidental CEO Podcast</a></span>
Dive into the heart of creativity and business with the Accidental CEO Podcast, your go-to audio hangout for turning passion into a thriving business. Hosted by Nata Salvatori, a seasoned wedding photographer and savvy business educator, this podcast peels back the curtain on the accidental journey from creative professional to CEO. Whether you stumbled upon the role of entrepreneur or have always dreamt of leading your own venture, this podcast is crafted for you. Each episode is a blend of inspiring stories, practical strategies, and real-world advice to navigate the complexities of running a creative business. From building a brand that resonates with your ideal clients to mastering the art of sustainable growth, Nata and a roster of guest experts offer insights into making the leap from creative to CEO not just possible, but profitable and fulfilling. The Accidental CEO Podcast is more than just a podcast; it's a community of creative minds eager to transform their accidental titles into intentional successes. So, if you're passionate about what you do but unsure how to fall in love with the business side of things, let Nata guide you. Subscribe to the Accidental CEO Podcast and join a vibrant community of creative entrepreneurs ready to make their mark on the business world. Together, let's turn your passion project into your success story. Connect with Nata: accidentalceopod.com instagram.com/accidentalceopod
Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
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المحتوى المقدم من Dr. James Merritt. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرة بواسطة Dr. James Merritt أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.
Under the leadership and dynamic preaching of Dr. James Merritt, Touching Lives exists to touch the lives of the lost and enrich the faith of the found. Our goal is to present the eternal, never-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who would hear and pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily among His people. Touching Lives is currently broadcast in all 50 states and in over 140 countries around the world. All sermons, articles, and other content is made available through various digital media formats on the web. Literally millions of people have been affected through the ministry of Touching Lives with thousands responding to the Gospel of Jesus for the very first time.
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المحتوى المقدم من Dr. James Merritt. يتم تحميل جميع محتويات البودكاست بما في ذلك الحلقات والرسومات وأوصاف البودكاست وتقديمها مباشرة بواسطة Dr. James Merritt أو شريك منصة البودكاست الخاص بهم. إذا كنت تعتقد أن شخصًا ما يستخدم عملك المحمي بحقوق الطبع والنشر دون إذنك، فيمكنك اتباع العملية الموضحة هنا https://ar.player.fm/legal.
Under the leadership and dynamic preaching of Dr. James Merritt, Touching Lives exists to touch the lives of the lost and enrich the faith of the found. Our goal is to present the eternal, never-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who would hear and pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily among His people. Touching Lives is currently broadcast in all 50 states and in over 140 countries around the world. All sermons, articles, and other content is made available through various digital media formats on the web. Literally millions of people have been affected through the ministry of Touching Lives with thousands responding to the Gospel of Jesus for the very first time.
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
I'm sure you know the running joke about fishermen exaggerating the size of their catch. But in 1959, Alfred Dean didn’t need to exaggerate when he caught a 2,664-pound great white shark in Australia, the largest fish ever caught in history. The Bible tells us about an even more unbelievable story, but in reverse—the story of a fish that caught a man. Jonah’s encounter with the great fish would make worldwide news today, but here’s what might surprise you: The fish story isn’t really the point. The book of Jonah is actually the missionary book of the Old Testament, revealing that God has a missionary heart and every Christian is called to be on mission. I like how John Stott said, “We profess to believe in God? He’s a missionary God. We’re committed to Christ? He’s a missionary Christ.” The truth that applies to us today is simple: We all are called. Every Christian has a mission to perform, a message to proclaim, a ministry to promote, and a Master to praise.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
At the Alamo, legend tells us, Commander William Travis drew a line in the dirt, asking his men to choose their fate—cross the line and face certain death fighting for Texas, or leave and surrender. All but one crossed that line, choosing sacrifice over surrender. Like those brave men, we face crucial choices every day. The average person makes 773,618 decisions over a lifetime and regrets 143,262 of them. While some decisions are trivial, others shape our eternal destiny. After weeks of discussing generational discipleship—teaching God’s truth, modeling godly living, and stewarding opportunities—we now arrive at decision day. Just as Joshua drew his own line in the sand before the people of Israel, saying, “...choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve…. But as for me and my household, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15, NIV), we, too, must decide which side of the line our families will stand on.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
According to Harvard Business School, any company that offers a product or service is in the business of solving problems. That’s not just true about companies; it’s true about churches. And we’re facing a massive problem in the church today: We're losing the next generation. Studies project that 35 million youths raised in Christian families will stop following Jesus by 2050, which would be the largest and fastest shift in religious association in American history. Before the Israelites entered the Promised Land, Moses gathered them all together and spoke these words—words that we must also impart to our children—to ensure they would maintain God’s favor: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength” (Deuteronomy 6:4-5, NIV). Every day, in every way, our generation must point the next generation to God.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In 1993, Nike faced a crisis when teenage boys stopped buying their shoes. The response was to produce the infamous Charles Barkley commercial where he boldly declared, “I am not a role model…. Parents should be role models.” This sparked a fiery debate, with NBA star Karl Malone saying, “We don’t choose to be role models; we are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one.” The truth is, they were both right. Every person is a role model to someone. The question of whether you’re a positive or negative role model comes into focus with a statistic like this: 68% of Christians make their decision to follow Jesus before age eighteen. As the Apostle Paul mentored young Timothy to lead the church in Ephesus, he emphasized this important truth in 1 Timothy 4:11-16: One of your primary roles in this generation is to be a role model for the next generation.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
At this moment in the United States, the odds of our children walking with Jesus as adults are equivalent to that of a coin toss. According to the Fuller Youth Institute, 50% of high school students actively involved in their churches walk away from their faith after graduation. These aren’t casual attendees; they were the most committed teenagers who are still choosing to do life apart from Jesus once they leave high school. As President Reagan famously said about freedom, “It is never more than one generation away from extinction. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.” The same is true for faith. Psalm 78 addresses this urgent reality, revealing how the faith of a nation collapsed when they failed to pass God’s truth to the next generation. We must touch the next generation by teaching them and reaching them with biblical truth.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Introduction: To this day, I remember the first summer I came home from college. As I walked up to our front door, my father didn’t welcome me with a hug or even a “Good to see you.” Instead, he met me with three blunt words: “Get a haircut,” though my hair barely touched my ears. My father had an unbending belief that a man’s hair should never be too long. For the first time in my life, I stood my ground. I reminded him of my good grades, my solid reputation, and how I’d never given him a minute’s trouble. Trembling, I told him if he meant what he said, I’d find another place to live that summer. Thankfully, my mother intervened, but that day revealed a powerful truth: Even people who love each other deeply can disagree profoundly over matters of personal preference. In today’s highly-charged culture, disagreement is inevitable—especially when it comes to politics, social issues, and personal choices. Romans 14 addresses this very challenge faced by the early church, where Jewish and Gentile believers clashed over food choices and holy days. The principles Paul taught them apply to our own struggles. When it comes to the gray areas of life—those issues where Scripture isn’t explicitly clear—we must be free to disagree without making it “all about me.” These principles will help you maintain unity even when you don’t see eye to eye.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Russian author Leo Tolstoy once wrote, “My question was the simplest of questions…. ‘What will come of my whole life? Why should I live, why wish for anything, or do anything?’” This question echoes in every human heart: What’s my purpose? Why am I here? While philosophers may debate the greatest question of life, believers in Jesus don’t have to wonder about their purpose. As we continue our “Who We Are” series, we discover the fourth dimension of the cross-shaped life: we haven’t just been born into this world; we’ve been sent into it. Just as Jesus wasn’t merely born but sent with divine purpose, we too are commissioned with the same mission: to seek and save the lost. When Jesus told His disciples, “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you” (John 20:21, NIV), He revealed our ultimate calling.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The great 19th century evangelist, Dwight L. Moody said, “The measure of a man is not how many servants he has, but how many men he serves.” This is the essence of the cross-shaped life we're exploring in our “Who We Are” series. While our culture often measures success by what we accumulate or achieve, Jesus demonstrates a radically different measure of greatness. As He declares, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45, NIV). The One who deserved to be served came to serve us! Today, we discover that service isn’t just something we do; it’s central to who we are as Christ-followers. It’s not an optional add-on to the Christian life but an essential expression of a life transformed by the Gospel.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Are you who you’re supposed to be, and are you what you’re supposed to be? While “Christian” appears only three times in the entire Bible, “disciple” shows up 269 times. In the first century, being a disciple wasn’t just about learning information; it meant becoming an apprentice who followed someone, watched how they lived, and grew to become like them. In other words, there’s a profound difference between deciding to become a disciple and living as a disciple. Our mission at Cross Pointe is “pointing people to Jesus and inspiring them to live the cross-shaped life.” As Jesus clearly states three times in Luke 14, “You cannot be my disciple” unless you’re willing to meet certain requirements. It doesn’t cost anything to become a disciple. It will cost you everything to be a disciple. Let’s take a look at what that means.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Everyone worships something. Well-known novelist David Foster Wallace said, “Everyone worships. The only choice we get is what to worship.” Some worship money, fame, or success. Whatever controls your thoughts and behavior is what you worship. Jesus has a life-changing conversation about worship with an unlikely person—a Samaritan woman with a troubled past. In that encounter, Jesus makes a revolutionary declaration: “God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth” (John 4:24, NIV). Most remarkably, Jesus reveals the one thing God actively seeks from us—our worship. As we begin our “Who We Are” series, we discover that worship isn’t just what we do; it’s who we are called to be as we point people to Jesus and inspire them to live the cross-shaped life.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
One of the greatest aspects of the Bible is that it tells the stories of real faith of real people—both their successes and failures. Throughout "The God Life" series, we've studied Elijah, a man just like us, showing not just how to live but how to exit this life God's way. Now, Elijah knew exactly when his final day would come. And he’s not the only one who had this intel. His successor, Elisha, also knew. And Elijah sowed into the next generation until his final moment on earth. For most of us, we don't know which day will be our last, but we all will eventually exit this life for the next one. As Dr. Adrian Rogers once told me after I completed my term as president of the Southern Baptist Convention, pointing to the exit door, "James, do you see the sign over that door? It says, 'Exit.' Well, that is exactly what you are right now—an 'Ex-It.'" One day, we'll all be an "ex-it," and we need to make sure we exit right. The greatest legacy you will leave is a life well lived.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In the aftermath of any tragedy, we face this reality: Evil is real and rampant. There is no place on this planet that is evil-free. As one author wrote, "I will never understand those who can read the headlines every day and then assert that people are basically good ... Evil is woven into the fabric of humanity." Throughout our study of Elijah, we've seen him facing or fleeing evil, but always returning to fight it, because that’s what it means to live the God life. And it’s not to be confused with the good life. While the good life might avoid evil, ignore it, or let others deal with it, those living the God life don't have that option. Now, as we near the close of Elijah's story, we find him confronting Ahaziah, the son of Ahab and Jezebel. Though Elijah might have hoped for retirement after the deaths of Ahab and Jezebel, evil continued through their son. And one central truth emerges: When you look up to God, you'll stand out from the crowd and often be told to stand down. But when you stand with God, He gives you the power to stand tall and strong in Him.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
When someone commits a crime, we want that person "brought to justice" because justice is a divine desire. While we often say "God is love," His most fundamental attribute is holiness. Because God is both holy and loving, He must also be just. In a world where money, bribes, and sometimes crooked judges allow criminals to go free, we're learning through Elijah's story that there is a God who is just, and justice will always be served. Even in Elijah’s time in history, when the people of God worshipped idols and ignored the prophets, God consistently reveals His Word and holds them to account. As Dr. R.G. Lee famously preached in "Payday Someday," because God is just, justice is a must. From one of the most important chapters in the Bible, observe God’s justice in action in the life of King Ahab, learning to revere and expect this aspect of God’s character to be revealed to us and to the world.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There are three special days that give Christianity center stage around the world: Christmas Day points to a cradle, Good Friday points to a cross, and Easter points to a cave. Without Easter, the other two days would be meaningless. Our world is filled with thousands of religions, but only four are built on personalities rather than philosophies. Judaism's Abraham, Buddhism's Buddha, and Islam's Mohammed all died and remain dead. But Jesus Christ did something no other religious leader has done; He rose from the dead. Christianity traces its beginning to one single event—the resurrection. Mark 16:1–8 tells us about that first Easter morning, when grieving women discovered the news that would change human history: "He has risen! He is not here." That empty tomb gives us hope for our lives now and for eternity.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
It is the worst drought in biblical history: for 3½ years, 42 months, 1,278 days, 30,660 hours without a single drop of rain. Imagine that for a moment. The stench of death from countless animal carcasses, every day dreading the immense thirst. It’s safe to say if you were in the umbrella business you went out of business. Even to this day with all of our technological advancement, all of our increase in knowledge, and all of our financial resources and education, we know (whether we admit it or not) that only God can get us out of drought. Through one of the most famous prophets in the Old Testament, you see how you, too, can live the God life—a life that is pure, powerful, and prayerful. You can see God work in your family, at work, and in your future because the secret to a powerful life is a prayerful life.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
A six-year-old boy gets unexpectedly recruited to help seat guests at a wedding. After a quick explanation of what he’s to do, he confidently responds, “Oh yeah, I got this, Pop. That’s easy.” When the first guests arrive, this boy offered his arm and said, “Now, Ma’am, whose side are you on?” That simple question—"Whose side are you on?"—cuts straight to the heart of the spiritual battle you face every day. It’s not between the bride and groom but between the true God and countless false gods demanding your allegiance. We’re studying Elijah—known as one of the greatest prophets in history. But he was also a human just like you, and that means you can live the same God life that he did. He faced profound opposition. In today's culture, choosing God's side often makes you public enemy number one. Stand on biblical truth and you'll be labeled bigoted, ignorant, and intolerant. Your choice is clear: Go along to get along, or stand alone and face rejection. One of these choices helps you live the good life; the other leads you to the God life, where you not only witness His power but become a vessel through which it flows.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Ever find yourself staring at the ceiling at 3 AM, whispering desperate questions like, "God, where are you?" "Do you even care about me?" "Are my prayers hitting the ceiling and bouncing back?" If so, you’re following the footsteps of spiritual giants. In 1 Kings 17, the great prophet Elijah barely survives after a powerful showdown with false prophets, idolaters, and a wicked king and queen. Alone and desperate at the bank of a small brook, receiving food from scavenging ravens, Elijah looks doubt in the eye. Maybe you’ve followed God and lived according to His Word, but the economy crashes, you lose your job, or the marriage ends. What do you hold on to when doubt feels stronger than belief? Watch how Elijah walks through the valley of despair to the other side of doubt, remembering one timeless truth: If you trust and obey, God clears the way. As you trust God, you discover His promise, provision, providence, and power.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
If you say that someone is "living the good life," you mean they're living in comfort and luxury with few problems or worries. The good life is what our culture celebrates—financial success, personal comfort, and freedom from hardship. But there's something far greater, far more fulfilling, and far more enduring than the good life—it's "The God Life." God wants you to experience the good life by living the God life. It's life lived in the intimate presence of God, made possible through the supernatural power of God, all for the magnificent praise of God. The God life ignites when you're accomplishing the divine purpose God created you for, reflecting His glory in everything you do, and offering His goodness to a broken world that desperately needs it. How do you enter the God life? Learn from a man by the name of Elijah.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
A breathtaking subdivision in British Columbia, known as the Seawatch development, was designed to be a luxurious paradise. The homes, valued at over a million dollars, overlooked pristine waters, but when winter came, disaster struck. Houses collapsed into sinkholes because they had been built on unstable ground. This tragic event illustrates a powerful truth Jesus taught in the Sermon on the Mount: a life built on a faulty foundation will not stand. As Jesus concludes His sermon, He tells the parable of two builders—one wise, one foolish. Both build houses, both face storms, but only one house remains. This lesson is not just about building homes but about building lives.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Have you ever heard of the “placebo effect?” It occurs when someone experiences improvement in their condition simply because they believe they are receiving treatment, even though the treatment itself has no real benefit. This psychological phenomenon is harmless when it comes to medicine, but when it comes to faith, self-deception can have eternal consequences. Jesus warns that not everyone who calls Him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. Many people claim to follow Jesus, but their relationship with Him is based on words rather than obedience. As Jesus closes His Sermon on the Mount, He delivers one of the most chilling statements in the Bible—a warning to those who think they are saved but are not.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Over the course of human history, countless sermons have been preached, but the greatest sermon of all was delivered by the greatest preacher—Jesus Christ. His Sermon on the Mount was revolutionary, challenging the cultural and religious expectations of His listeners. As Jesus nears the conclusion of His sermon, He issues a stark warning about a danger that has plagued the church from the beginning—false prophets. Unlike external threats, this danger arises from within the church. Satan attacks both from the outside through persecution and from the inside through deception. Jesus calls His followers to be on high alert, for these counterfeit prophets masquerade as true messengers of God while leading people away from the truth.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Dr. Billy Graham once told a story about asking a young boy for directions to the post office. After the boy explained the way, Dr. Graham invited him to his crusade, saying, “If you come tonight, I’ll tell you how to get to heaven.” The boy replied, “No, I don’t think I want to do that.” When Dr. Graham asked why, the boy said, “How are you going to tell me how to get to heaven when you can’t even find the post office?” Many people assume they are going to heaven simply because they die. For every one person in America who believes they’re going to hell, 120 believe they’re going to heaven. But Jesus makes it clear in Matthew 7:13-14 that there are two gates, two roads, two groups, and two destinations. God gives everyone the right of way to heaven, but only if they choose the right way.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There was a five-year-old girl watching her mother apply cold cream to her face. Curious, she asked, “Mother, why do you do that?” The mother replied, “To make myself beautiful.” Moments later, when the mother wiped the cream off, the girl exclaimed, “What’s the matter? Giving up already?” Just like that little girl’s humorous observation, we often approach prayer with the same mindset—giving up too soon. Have you ever felt like giving up on God? Have you ever prayed and felt like your prayers made no difference? In this message, we’re going to see Jesus give an encouraging, definitive teaching on prayer, reminding us that if we belong to God’s family, He hears and answers our prayers. The key is perseverance. Never give up on the God who will never give up on you. Jesus teaches us four key principles about prayer.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
If we are truly going to follow Jesus, we must accept that we will be different from the world. Nowhere is that more evident than in Matthew 7, where we encounter one of the most misunderstood, misused, and misapplied verses in the Bible: “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). This verse has become a cultural slogan, often quoted by people who reject or ridicule the Bible. Even among Christians, the idea that judging is wrong has gained traction, particularly among younger believers. However, Jesus' teaching is not about avoiding judgment altogether but about judging rightly. His message is simple: make sure your heart is right before you call out what is wrong.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There is a principle that applies to business, physics, and life—it’s called “The Domino Effect.” This principle describes how one event can set off a chain reaction of related events. A great example of this is the atomic bomb, where one atom splitting causes an unstoppable chain reaction. The same concept applies spiritually. In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus describes a spiritual domino effect that can transform our lives if we start with the right "first domino." Many people place financial success, personal happiness, fame, or power as their first priority, but Jesus tells us that the first domino should be this: “Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we’ve seen in the last two messages in this series on prayer, the first part of prayer focuses on God and His glory. Today, we’re going to see how the second part of prayer focuses on us and our good. We're told specifically that we ought to ask God for three things when we pray, and those three things deal with the three biggest needs in our lives. The first deals with our physical needs, the second deals with our emotional needs, and the last deals with our spiritual needs. The first thing we ask for deals with our present. The second thing we ask for deals with our past, and the third thing we ask for deals with our future. Let’s dive into what this looks like practically in our own prayers.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we continue our three-week series on prayer, we’re going to find that the key to effective prayer is found in four words: focus on the Father. In today’s message, we’ll discuss the two steps we need to take to pray this kind of Father-focused prayer.
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In this message, we’re going to take a class called Prayer 101 where we are going to learn the basics of prayer from Jesus Himself. We’ll see that prayer is not something we do to get what we want from God but to get what God wants for us. To put it simply - wrong prayer is a waste of time, but right prayer is worth the time. With this in mind, let’s dive in and see what Jesus wants to teach us in Prayer 101.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s message, we are going to learn that perfect love loves everyone perfectly, even the most unlovable. If you are to love others the way God loves others (and the way God loves you), you are going to have to take some very radical steps.
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
If you're going to follow Jesus, you're going to have to live a second-mile life. I will tell you right now it's not a popular mile. If you walk this mile, you'll be in the minority. If you walk this mile, it will tax you and test you and try you like no other mile you'll ever walk. But if you do walk this mile, which is over and above what everybody else walks, it will lead you to the greatest joy, the most fulfilling achievements, the finest rewards, and the approval of your Heavenly Father. It's a higher road. It is a tougher road, but it is the better road.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
We’ve all had to put on a brave face at some point in our lives when we received a Christmas gift that wasn’t exactly what we wanted. But then, we’ve all received those perfect gifts too: the ones that show someone really saw us, really knew what we needed. In a way, these gifts remind us of the perfect gift that all of humanity received in Jesus—a gift prepared for us personally and purposefully. Today, let’s look deeper at our Savior, our greatest gift, as we reflect on Luke 2:11.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As Christmas approaches, it’s easy to feel surrounded by cheer— festive songs, colorful lights, and gatherings with loved ones. But for many, this season is far from “the most wonderful time of the year.” Studies show a majority of Americans feel loneliness and sadness during the holidays, and the post-Thanksgiving Monday is a peak day for appointments related to anxiety and depression. In this series, we’re learning how Christmas can bring comfort amid the hardships of life. The message of Christmas is not just joy, but comfort—rooted in God’s light and His invitation for us to be eternally right with Him.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
John’s letter in 1 John opens by diving straight into the significance of Jesus. John’s focus is on the true comfort and joy that Christ’s coming brings. With this in mind, we’ll explore three ways to take joy in Christmas: the historical reality of Jesus, the heavenly identity of Jesus, and the holy community Jesus invites us into. These truths are foundational to experiencing a joy that goes beyond the Christmas season.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Being thankful is so important to God that He actually commands us to be thankful. A man in the New Testament by the name of Paul went through a tremendous amount of suffering and heartache that would cause anybody to be bitter and ungrateful and maybe even mad at God. He wrote these words, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) You may not feel very thankful right now because of where you are in your life. Even though you may not feel thankful you can be thankful. This great man tells us how to be thankful and why to be thankful.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
When it comes to the gospel, silence is sinful. When we've experienced the love of God, surrendered our lives to Jesus Christ, been fed the bread of life, and tasted the living water, we can’t keep what we’ve experienced to ourselves. It's time for us to say something for the sake of growing God’s Kingdom. In today’s message, we're going to learn today how to make sure we speak up and don’t shy away from sharing our faith.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus takes on the matter of honesty, and we desperately need it. As we look at this passage in Matthew 5, here is the key thought that Jesus is giving us. Let the words “you” and “true” always go together. To help us make sure that happens, Jesus tells us three things to remember not just on telling the truth, but how to do it.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In Jesus’ day, divorce was more commonplace than you would have imagined and there was a great debate about when divorce was even allowed. It wasn’t incidental that Jesus had just finished talking about lust when He started to talk about divorce. Lust causes adultery and now shockingly, He is going to say that divorce and remarriage can do the exact same thing. Jesus is going to remind us that God’s ideal is one man and one wife for one life. It should be “’til death do us part.” There are two things that Jesus asks us to do when it comes to the topic of divorce. Let's dive into those together.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
From today’s key passage of Scripture, we’re going to see how adultery is not only a sin in the bed, but it is a sin in the head. Adultery can be both physical and mental. It can be both on the inside and the outside. In a day and age where sexual immorality is running rampant, not only are marriages being ruined, but even the very concept of a biblical marriage is being tainted. Thankfully, Jesus gives us three principles to remember so we can guard against this terrible sin of adultery and avoid the look that kills.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s key passage, Paul reminds Christians then and now of an important truth to remember. The God that gives us grace also gives us government. So with that in mind, how are we to relate to the government? That’s exactly what we’re going to discuss in this message. Let’s dive in.
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
We find in 1 Timothy chapter 2 what every Christian should do politically for every political leader. Simply put, every day we should always pray for the political leaders who lead the way. So what is the politically correct thing to do when it comes to any political leader? That’s what we’re going to discuss in this message.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Approximately 70 murders happen in the United States every single day. We are the murder capital of the Western world. Yet, if I were to ask you, “Have you ever murdered anyone?” you would probably and emphatically say, “No!” But listen to what Jesus said about murder. He is going to show us in today’s key verses that murder is not an act; it is an attitude. Put simply, Jesus said, “Murder from the hands comes from murder in the heart.” We are going to see exactly what Jesus says about murder and you will see it in a totally different light.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
If you are going to be rightly related to God both in this life and the life to come, you had better be rightly related to the truth of God’s Word. We are going to learn in today’s message that when you honor the Lord, you honor the law that the Lord honors. Now, what does that mean exactly? Let’s dive in together and find out.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Jesus makes two important statements to His followers in today’s key passage. He says, “You are the salt of the earth, and you are the light of the world.” As we study this text together, we are going to see that Jesus used these metaphors because we live in a world that is decaying and dark. The culture before our eyes is disintegrating. The darkness of evil is a cloud that covers this entire planet. We need to be the salt that stops the decay and light that penetrates the darkness. With this in mind, here is the whole point of what Jesus is going to say – Jesus makes us different so we can make a difference. And when we make a difference by being salt and light, we can bring the world under the influence.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
If you get through this life, particularly in the culture of this world, and you are never in any way, shape, form, or fashion persecuted, maybe it's because you're not standing for Jesus. Hopefully, today you will decide in light of this message that you are going to stand up when you need to and you are going to speak up when you need to. If you pay the price of persecution, you can be reminded that Jesus says you are blessed. So to prepare for that moment, let’s look at the three pieces of counsel Jesus gives regarding facing persecution.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Maybe the reason why we don’t really face much of any persecution is not because we are living in a different age than the early Christians. It may be because we are living a different kind of Christianity than the early Christians. The reality is that you are going to be persecuted if you truly live up to the standard that Jesus expects. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what Jesus is telling us in His powerful statement about persecution from the Sermon on the Mount.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Isn’t it interesting that our heroes are not peace-makers, but they are the fighters, the soldiers, and the warriors? The people who make the history books and the news are the people who fight the battles, win the wars, and conquer the enemy. Then, Jesus comes along and said, “Blessed are the peace makers. For they shall be called the children of God.” What we are going to learn today from Jesus is simply this - when we make peace with God, we can then make peace for God. This statement leads us to answer four questions about peace and peace making. Let’s dive into answering those questions together.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The word “pure” from today’s key verse is translated from the Greek word “katharos.” It means “to purify by cleansing from dirt, filth and contamination.” The reality is that we were all born with dirty hearts. That is why a king named David who was a man after God’s own heart asked God to create in him a pure heart. But what does that mean? Well, the idea of a pure heart is a heart that is pure in its motives, in its thoughts, and in its desires. It’s the kind of heart Jesus is encouraging His followers to have according to the Sermon on the Mount. With this in mind, today’s message is going to be all about what it looks like to have the kind of pure heart Jesus was talking about.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Both character and conduct are important when it comes to following Jesus. Conduct without character is meaningless. And character without conduct is useless. You have to have both. As you study the Sermon on the Mount, you realize that what Jesus is saying is, “You are not a Christian because you act like one; you act like a Christian because you are one.” With all of this in mind, today’s message summed up in a sentence is this - when you truly experience the mercy of God, you will freely extend mercy to others. So let’s look at what our responsibility is when it comes to showing others the same mercy God has shown us.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s key verse, Jesus says if you have a holy appetite, an appetite for righteousness, you will be filled. That is, you will be satisfied – satisfied in a way that nothing in this world, of this world, or from this world could ever do. We are going to learn today that the healthiest appetite is the holiest appetite. In other words, a healthy appetite leads to holiness, and holiness leads to happiness because happiness leads to the only one who is holy – Jesus. Let’s use this analogy of being hungry and being thirsty to learn what it means to have a healthy appetite.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
We live in such a competitive culture that we are taught never to give up, never to give out, and never to give in. There are certainly times when that is great advice, but there is virtue in a totally different way and for a totally different reason to sometimes giving up and giving in. What we are going to learn today is simply put: the way to be in control is to be surrendered to God’s control. That is when you are blessed. That is when you are going to inherit everything that God has for you, both in this life and the life to come.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In the second beatitude, Matthew 5:4, we see one of the absolute strangest things that Jesus ever said. It is something you would never hear the world say, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted” (Matthew 5:4). This statement does not align with our natural leaning. We all want to be happy all the time. But Jesus says, in effect, “Happy are the unhappy.” You are blessed if at least sometimes you have a broken heart. Honestly, don’t we all want to go through life without any sorrow, any pain, any heartache, any suffering? I think it would be wonderful, but you will learn that it is not all you’d expect it to be. I’ve learned that you grow closer to God in the bad times than you do in the good times. You learn more about yourself, your spiritual maturity, and your real love for Jesus, not in the good times, but in the bad times. So with this in mind, let’s take a closer look at what Jesus was talking about in this beatitude and learn how to apply it to our lives as we follow Christ.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Over the next several weeks, we are going to be camping out in a section of the Gospel of Matthew, specifically chapters 5-7. These chapters make up the Sermon on the Mount, the most famous sermon Jesus preached during His earthly ministry. And as we kick off our study of this section of Scripture, we will begin with the Beatitudes, listed in chapter 5. The Beatitudes tell us how to enter the Kingdom of God, how to express the Kingdom of God, and how to enjoy the Kingdom of God. Jesus begins by telling us this, “You will never be filled with God until you realize you are empty without him.” Or to put it another way, “You will never be blessed by God until you admit you are bankrupt without Him.” Jesus makes it clear that the first step to being different, to finding significance and satisfaction in life, is to declare bankruptcy. Let’s dive in to see what this means.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The God we have been talking about throughout this entire series knows you better than anyone or anything. Just like He knew Moses, and He knew the Israelites, He knows you too. But the question of the day is this, “Do you know God?” Now the question is not, “Do you know about God?” The question is not even, “Do you believe in God?” The question I am asking is, “Do you know God personally?” Then I would follow up that question with this one, “How well do you know God?” I can answer that question for all of us. You know God as well as you want to. As we wrap up this series with today’s message, we are going to take a look at how we can come to know God deeply and personally.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The people of Israel had been treating God like a heavenly bellhop expecting Him to be at their every beck and call and give them everything they wanted when they wanted it. When Moses had lingered on that mountaintop meeting with God, they decide they would just take matters into their own hands. They would make a god more to their liking. The truth is, we all have “idol hands” that tend to either make the God we worship the God we want or make the god that we want the god that we worship. We’re going to learn today that if you are for God, you won’t put anything before God. You may not think that you have an idolatry problem. You may not even understand why we even have to discuss this issue, but when we see how we do choose false idols and what happens when we do, my prayer is it will cause all of us to give our total loyalty, complete love, and full life to the only true God there is.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In this message, we are going to study the story of when God had a word for His people and wanted to meet with them. But before the people met with God, God wanted to meet with Moses. Every meeting was a mountaintop meeting and though you might get the idea from the movies that Moses only went up the mountain one time, he actually went up seven times. God wanted to show both Moses and the people that there is no bigger deal in life than meeting with God. What’s also great about this story is that we learn that the same God who met with Moses wants to meet with you. The same God that spoke to Moses wants to speak to you. We can learn from this mountaintop meeting how we can meet with the God of this universe every day, and not only do we not have to make an appointment or wait in line, but when we meet with Him, He will give us His undivided attention.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
We have been studying a man by the name of Moses in a series we are calling, “Red Sea Moments.” This great man of God was facing a Red Sea moment when he came to his own level of stress. He is leading two million of his people through wilderness and desert and they are burning up at times at the way he is doing it, and he is burning out trying. In the 18th chapter of Exodus, Moses had a moment and a meeting that didn’t just change his life, but it literally saved his life and helped him complete his tasks. It is not only very practical, but it is very spiritual. If you feel overworked and overwhelmed, now’s the time to admit it, because you will never be the father, the mother, the husband, the wife, the employee, or even the Christian that you should be as long as you stay there. Moses took three simple steps that kept him from burning out that you can take as well.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
One of the things that you will see throughout the books of Exodus and Numbers is how much complaining and griping the Israelites did. At different times in Exodus and Numbers, Moses and the Lord had to listen to their complaints. Every one of them had to do with food, drink, and living conditions. You have to wonder why God let his people get thirsty and then in this chapter he lets them get hungry. Why does God let us go through times of need, hardship, and difficulty? Because God is trying to teach us what He is trying to teach them and that is every single day of your life you live from His hand to your mouth. In this message, we are going to learn five things about God and about our daily life that I pray will lead us to be people not of griping, but gratitude, not of complaining, but celebrating.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we look today in the book of Exodus in chapter 14, we are going to read about the most celebrated event in Jewish history. Two movies have been made concerning this event and two words are all you need to know – The Exodus. If you had been standing where Moses was standing, you would have said, “This is the end of the line. We need to get our affairs in order. It’s over.” Normally, I wouldn’t spoil the ending by telling you what happens, but most of you already know it. God parts the Red Sea. The children of Israel pass through. He then closes the waters back on the Egyptian army, drowns them, and saves the day. The same God that came through for Moses and the nation of Israel is alive and well and wants to come through for you. In this message, we are going to learn what we need to do when our back is against the wall, just like Moses’ was.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
You may be asking, “What does a burning bush or a Red Sea or a man named Moses have to do with me?” You will learn the answer to this question throughout this series as we discover that we all have Red Sea moments. We all come face-to-face at times with burning bushes. Moses is a lot like all of us and the God of Moses is still alive today and wants to move in your life the same way He moved in his. You are going to learn three lessons today that will teach you don’t ever beat around a bush that calls your name. If you feel like you are living on the backside of the desert and nobody knows about your life or cares about it, and you even feel like God has forgotten you, take these three lessons to heart.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
When Moses was born, Israel had become slaves in the land of Egypt, but that wasn’t always the case. Because of a great man named Joseph, the Egyptian pharaoh had basically adopted them into the nation, giving them favored status and the full rights of citizenship. Four hundred years had passed and now Israel had two big problems. There was a pharaoh that had forgotten who Joseph was, but even more importantly, the nation of Israel had forgotten who God was. It was in that situation that a baby was born that changed everything. Israel needed a miracle, and that miracle came in the form of a baby, a baby named Moses. And as we read his story, we will see that three things were true of Moses that are true of you.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Many people have doubts that there is life after death. But in this message, I’m going to show you why I believe there is more after this life than this life. Yes, there is more to come because death is both an end and a beginning. As we look at what the Bible has to say and what Jesus had to say about life after death, we’ll learn three things. Let’s dive in.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
What Jesus said in today’s key verses is true: there is exactly a zero percent chance of anybody getting to God if they don’t go through Jesus. It is not that you have a little chance or some chance – you have no chance. At the end of the day, there is only one way to God. If that is true, then we have to draw three conclusions. Let’s look at those conclusions together.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
When it comes to all the fights that we face, all the failures that we have, and all the faults that we battle, we have a Savior who is absolutely perfect and who can bring sympathy and empathy to help us deal with how we feel. Simply put, whatever you are going through, Jesus will get you through. In today’s key passage of Scripture, we are told three facts about Jesus that let us know that this is true. Let’s dive into those facts now.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
A man named Aleph wrote the longest chapter in the Bible: Psalm 119. In this psalm, he makes a very bold statement about God. “You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees” (Psalm 119:68). He said unequivocally, “God is good and God does good.” So why should we believe him? I can tell you in one simple sentence. There is good because God is good. On the other hand, let me put that negatively. If there is no God, there is no good. With that in mind, I want to give you some reasons why we should believe in Good God Almighty.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Many of us remember the song, “Jesus Loves Me.” If you remember the song you know that famous line, “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so.” I want to change that slightly and give you this sermon in a sentence. Here it is, “God loves me, this I know, for the cross shows me so.” In a book called “Romans,” an apostle named Paul wrote down one of the most incredible sentences in the entire Bible which forever puts to rest the question as to whether or not God loves us. God’s love is not just a “say-so” love. It is a “show-so” love. I can say with 100% confidence, “Yes, God loves us, for the following reasons…”…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we continue to address different doubts that people struggle with, today we’re going to tackle the existence of God. I love the way Albert Einstein said it when he stated, “You look at this world and you will see outstanding evidence for God.” I am going to show you today why I believe that is true and that he knew what he was talking about.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Today, we are going to be addressing this specific doubt that so many people have: “I doubt the Bible is the Word of God.” If that is a doubt you’re struggling with, you should at least consider the case of why 2 billion people absolutely believe the Bible is the Word of God. My point is this, “The word of God is as good as God’s Word.” Jesus Himself believed you not only could take the Bible as God’s Word, but God is as good as His Word because he said, “Your word is truth,” (John 17:17). So, if the Bible is God’s Word, there are certain reasons why we should believe it is when we examine it. Let me give you five of those reasons right now.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There is a difference between doubt and unbelief. Doubt asks questions while unbelief won’t even listen to answers. In this message, we are going to study a man in the Bible who had such a problem with doubt he was even given the most famous nickname of any disciple. He is called “Doubting Thomas.” I feel sorry for Thomas because I think he has gotten a little bit of a bad rap. He was a doubter, but he teaches us how to deal with doubt. He is able to starve his doubt and feed his faith and he shows us exactly how to do this. If you’re struggling with doubt today, I would encourage you to take notes on these five steps.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Today, we are going to deal with the doubt people have about Jesus being raised from the dead. Either like every other person who has lived and died, Jesus is still dead or he is physically still alive. A man named Paul went through unbelievable torture, hardship, and finally a beheading because he preached and believed and would not deny that Jesus Christ was alive. In a letter he wrote to a church in Corinth, he laid out what would be true if Jesus was not alive and if everything he said was either an intentional lie or a bad mistake. If Jesus is not alive it has a tremendous impact on whether you are a believer or not. If Jesus is dead nothing else matters, but if He is alive it is the only thing that matters. Knowing that either He was raised or He wasn’t, I want us to answer two questions in this message. When we are finished, I can assure you that your doubt will be destroyed and your faith will be fortified.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
A man by the name of Solomon wrote the book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament. And in that book, he was saying that all that you do for God and with God is serious business, so you had better be serious about what you choose to do. Then he tells us how to do serious business with God and what that looks like practically as followers of Jesus. In this message, we are going to look at Solomon’s instructions and learn more about how to take care of business with God.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The prayer we are going to study today is found in a book called Colossians. This prayer is particularly unique because, in the first two prayers that we examined, Paul was praying for churches he had actually founded or visited and for Christians that he personally knew. In today’s prayer, Paul is writing to a church he has never visited. He has never met one Christian in this city. Yet, without knowing a single name or a single need he prayed a perfect prayer for not just this church and not just these people, but for any church and any people. I call it a “Carpe Diem” prayer. If you are familiar with that phrase, you know it means “seize the day.” I don’t know of any prayer that we could pray daily that could do more in us, for us, with us, and through us than this prayer. We all want to pray the types of prayer that we are one hundred percent convinced that God not only hears, but God would agree with and God would answer. This prayer fits the bill.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In this series, we are learning that Paul prayed about things most of us never even think about. I know his prayers got to heaven because they began in heaven. And one of these things Paul prayed about was the fact that God wants us to be growing up in our going up. In today’s key verses, the prayer that Paul prayed (if prayed and answered) will radically change any life, any church, and any denomination. The way Paul prayed for the Christians in Philippians is the way that we should all be praying for our church, our spouse, our children, our families, and ourselves.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s key text, Paul is writing from a Roman prison, and he tells the Ephesians how he is praying for them. He also tells them how they can pray for themselves. It’s this type of prayer we know is a prayer that will connect with God. This is a prayer that God will hear, and God will answer. Interestingly, the prayer is all about one simple thing – knowing God. There are four things we should pray for on a daily basis, and when we pray these four things, we will be praying a life-changing type of prayer.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Today, we are dealing with the phenomenon of transgenderism. The percentage of people that identify as transgender in the United States varies somewhere between 0.3 and 0.6%. To deal with this issue, in my study, I’ve determined as a follower of Jesus that there are three things we have to consider as we talk about this issue: feelings, fact, and faith. Or to put it another way, you have to talk about transgender and psychology, transgender and biology, and transgender and theology. We’re going to look at all three of these in today’s message, so let’s dive in.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
When you read the phrase, “pro-life” you think about two things – right? Abortion and politics. Well in this message, I am going to leave the politics out of it. I want to make the case today that the pro-life position is truly the only logical, biological, and theological position that you can take if you are willing to face the truth. The thing I want you to keep in mind today is this – the right to life is the right side for life.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There is a line that is clear when it comes to where you stand on marriage, and you will either be on one side or the other. You will either be on the side of celebration by accepting what culture says or condemnation by affirming what God says. So here is my simple message today. Model marriage is what God has designed and what God has defined. In order to get this right, we are going to go back to the first wedding that resulted in the first marriage in history. As you are going to see, I got this idea from Jesus, because the only time Jesus was asked specifically regarding divorce, He went back to the first book of the Bible and so will we. When we do this, we will see what a true model marriage is.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As much as it pains me to say it, in our culture today, there is no such thing as committed sex; it is casual sex. Since 1960, the rate of marriage has been declining steadily and here now in what is best described as a low-commitment culture of “sex without strings and relationship without rings.” To go a step further, by the age of 18, over 75 percent of those who never attend church and almost 53 percent of those who do attend church weekly are no longer virgins. So as we look at our text in I Thessalonians 4, keep one thing in mind. The sex drive is God-given and there is nothing wrong with sex. It is just that God-given sex should be God-guided sex. God has a plan, a place, and a purpose for sex. When that plan is followed and that purpose is fulfilled, that is when sex is best. You’ve got to remember – It is God’s will that you don’t say, “I will” until you say, “I do.” God not only wants what is best for you, but He wants it when it is best for you, and when you get it, He wants it to be the best it can be. This can be true for you if you align yourself with the following three statements.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we read today’s key passage, we see Joshua is the commander- in-chief and leader of the nation of Israel. He has led the people into the Promised Land that God has promised them, but he wants to make sure they keep that land and prosper in that land. He wants them to live happily ever after. But on this day, he is not talking as the commander-in-chief or as a political leader; he is talking as a dad who has a family. He makes this momentous statement: “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (v.15). In effect, he drew a line in the sand. He said, “Even if no one else comes to stand on this side of the line, my family and I will.” He chose to lead his family to do three things that I am going to ask you to do as well.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s key passage, God tells Moses to do something very important. In a nutshell, He says, “Make sure that your children and your grandchildren love God with all their heart.” The fact was that at that time in history, people didn’t associate love and God. All of their experiences with gods had been about making sacrifices and focusing on works. But the God of Israel changed all of that. And the truth is, seeing God as loving and also choosing to love God are truths we want each and every generation to embrace. We need to teach the next generation to know the truth of God's Word so that they will know the God of that truth. So in this message, we’re going to look at the four ways we are to do just that in our homes.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
There's a letter in the New Testament called First Timothy. It was written by the Apostle Paul to his young protégé who was going to take over pastoring the church in Ephesus. Timothy was young, barely 30 years old, and quite inexperienced. But Paul lets him know that though you may be lacking in education or experience, the one thing you can always be is a role model. The main lesson I want us to take away from this message is our role for the next generation is to be a role model. We can do that in four ways, and we’re going to discuss each of those in detail.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
The psalmist who wrote today’s key passage of Scripture is encouraging the people not to let history repeat itself, to learn from the mistakes of the past, and to defeat them in the present. In these eight verses, we are going to learn three things that we must do to make disciples of every generation. Simply put, we must always touch the next generation by teaching them and reaching them with biblical truth.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
It is the start of a new year, and we are all in the same boat. It is called “social jetlag” but I call it a “holiday hangover.” Maybe you’ve slept late, taken time off of work, partied it up, ditched your diet, enjoyed the new gadgets, and swapped your gifts. But now it is time to re-enter the real world of traffic, alarm clocks, school, and making a living. You have neither the will nor the energy to do it, but the new year is coming one way or another. So what kind of year are you going to have in 2024? I hope and pray it’s a holy new year! But how can we make that happen? That’s exactly what we’re going to discuss in this message.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
As we wrap up this Christmas series, we are going to learn about what happens when we follow Jesus wherever He wants us to go. When you surrender to God’s call you are under God’s care. We already know that Joseph never had it easy. God didn’t promise Joseph a rose garden. There was a high price he paid to be the father of Jesus. We learn three things that were true of Joseph all of his life that are true about you and me when we simply surrender to the will of God in our lives.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
In today’s most familiar passage of the Christmas story, we are going learn some unbelievably valuable life lessons that I pray we will never forget. If we can remember these truths when we face the difficulties of life, we will step up and be what God wants us to be and do what God wants us to do. Here is the principle to remember: No matter what is in front of you, God is always ahead of you. Let’s look at how this truth plays out in the life of Joseph.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
We are embarking on a three-week study of an unsung hero in Scripture: Joseph, the father of Jesus. Even though only sixteen verses in the Bible mention Joseph by name, you are going to see his influence was much stronger and much greater than what is implied, because he truly is an unsung hero who is going to teach us what it really means to follow the Jesus of Christmas. We are going learn from Joseph that commitment to the will of God will bring clarity about the will of God.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Today’s key passage of Scripture contains a very famous verse. It says, “But as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15). Can you imagine what could happen in this country if every family made that decision? Do you think the crime rate would go down? Do you think our jails would be emptier? Do you think our marriages might be stronger? Do you think schools would be safer? Joshua shares with his people that he is going to lead his family to do three things with all his might and power. I would encourage every family and every household head to give this same direction, make this same decision, and have this same determination for your family.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Being thankful is so important to God that He actually commands us to be thankful. A man in the New Testament by the name of Paul went through a tremendous amount of suffering and heartache that would cause anybody to be bitter and ungrateful and maybe even mad at God. He wrote these words, “Give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” (I Thessalonians 5:18) You may not feel very thankful right now because of where you are in your life. Even though you may not feel thankful you can be thankful. This great man tells us how to be thankful and why to be thankful.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
I want to ask you a question. When people are around you, do they know who you have been with? I want people to know that when they are around me there is one person I have been with, that I walk with, that I live with, that I stay with every day and His name is Jesus. That raises the big question, “How can people know that I have been with Jesus? What will be true of me and true of you if we have been with Jesus? What are the marks of a person who has been with Jesus?” You are going to see in this message that what was true of these men in Acts chapter 4 can be, should be, and will be true of us if we have been with Jesus.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Today’s key verse amazes me coming from a man who had a lot to brag about. When he was alive, he was the greatest preacher in the world, the greatest missionary in the church, the greatest teacher of the faith, the greatest theologian, and the greatest religious author. He wrote more books than anyone else in the New Testament. He had a lot to brag about. Yet, Paul said, “There is only one thing I’ll brag about. There is only one thing I will ever show pride in. There is only one thing that will make my heart swell, and it is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Paul is saying that, as believers, our lives should be lived in the shadow of the cross of Jesus Christ. In this message, we’re going to see exactly what it means to live in the shadow of the cross. Let’s dive in together.…
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Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
So often in our society today, the concept of “truth” is up for debate. What is right? What is wrong? What or who determines right from wrong? These are questions that people are constantly trying to answer. But the truth is, if you try to make right and wrong a matter of human choice, human reason, or human decision, you are out on a limb that will break every time. One of two things is true. Either what is right is right in our eyes or what is right is right in God’s eyes. With this in mind, I want to give you three reasons why only with God can you have morality. Only with God can you know what is right and what is wrong, and only with God can you tell the difference.…
مرحبًا بك في مشغل أف ام!
يقوم برنامج مشغل أف أم بمسح الويب للحصول على بودكاست عالية الجودة لتستمتع بها الآن. إنه أفضل تطبيق بودكاست ويعمل على أجهزة اندرويد والأيفون والويب. قم بالتسجيل لمزامنة الاشتراكات عبر الأجهزة.
Daily Deals
مشابه لـTouching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
A signpost for the lost. A resting place for the weary. Experiences that point to God. An expression of The Elevation Church. We're at 3, Remi Olowude str, lekki 2nd roundabout. Oniru, Lekki, Lagos State, Nigeria. We meet every Sunday at 10am and Wednesday at 6:30pm. Join us sometime, we can't wait to have you!
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Victory BGC is a church in Bonifacio Global City that exists to honor God and make disciples. It is a member of Victory Philippines and under Every Nation Churches and Ministries.
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Insights into the weekly Torah portion
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Rabbi Shalom Rosner on The Parsha
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Welcome to the weekly podcast of Elevation Church led by Pastor Steven Furtick. To learn more visit our website at http://elevationchurch.org or download the Elevation App. To support this ministry and help us continue to reach people all around the world click here: http://ele.vc/WeX3nP
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Alpha and Omega Christian Fellowship "Weekly Sermon"
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Alpha and Omega Christian Fellowship "Weekly Sermon"
Alpha and Omega Christian Fellowship "Weekly Sermon"
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Podcast by Alpha and Omega Christian Fellowship "Weekly Sermon"
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Fr. Larry Richards of The Reason For Our Hope Foundation Podcast
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Fr. Larry Richards of The Reason For Our Hope Foundation Podcast
Father Larry Richards
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Fr. Larry Richards is the founder and president of The Reason for our Hope Foundation, a non- profit organization dedicated to ”spreading the Good News” by educating others about Jesus Christ. His new homilies are posted each week.
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Follow the audio shiurim, lectures and speeches of Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks, global religious leader, philosopher, author of over 30 books and moral voice for our time. Rabbi Sacks served as Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth between September 1991 and September 2013. A full biography - together with an extensive online archive of Rabbi Sacks' work - is available at www.rabbisacks.org or you can follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @rabbisacks.
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Aspire Church Manchester UK - Sermons
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Aspire Church Manchester UK - Sermons
Aspire Church Manchester UK
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Live recordings of the sermons preached at our regular services here at Aspire Church, Manchester UK. For more information visit our website at http://www.aspirechurch.co.uk or email info@aspirechurch.co.uk
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Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life® TV Podcast
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Joyce Meyer Enjoying Everyday Life® TV Podcast
Joyce Meyer
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Welcome to the Enjoying Everyday Life TV podcast with Joyce Meyer. To learn more, visit our website at joycemeyer.org or download the Joyce Meyer Ministries App. By supporting Joyce Meyer Ministries, you can help us reach hurting people around the world. To find out more, go to joycemeyer.org/donate
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