CHAPTER SEVEN – Sin Trap

Why do you think some people break the law?  Murderers and robbers and corrupt politicians obviously have some sort of motivation for what they do.  Do you think it’s because they don’t think there will be any repercussions for their actions?  Or maybe they think the payoffs will outweigh the damage done.  Or maybe they’re ultimately just not that smart.

Another good question to ask might be, why do some people obey the law?  Why would somebody live a peaceful moral life?  These days it seems like the law keepers take more of a beating from society than the law breakers.  Do you ever wonder why that is?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 49:36 — 22.7MB)

CHAPTER SIX – Dead and Buried

Did you ever wonder why it’s so hard for some people to quit doing things they know are bad for them?  It’s usually because they’ve been doing it for a long time.

If a person smokes one cigarette or drinks one beer and realizes that it’s gross and unhealthy, it’s easy for them to never drink or smoke again.  It’s even easier for people who have never even tried such things.  If they have watched other people’s lives destroyed by things like drugs or alcohol, it’s extremely easy for them to choose never to touch those things.  But for the person who has made it a habit and become addicted after months (or even years) of use it can be an extremely difficult struggle to break free of those bonds they have created.

It’s the same way with sin.  People choose to turn their backs on God, and break his commands.  And the deeper they go and farther they run from God the more they become enslaved by their own evil.  They become so used to living in sin and their minds are so darkened that they can’t even imagine what life could be like if they weren’t slaves to wickedness.

That’s why the fact that Jesus is willing to cleanse us from all sin is such Good News.  Not only does he save our lives from eternal damnation, he purifies our lives from the stain of sin and empowers us with the Holy Spirit to be able to live the way he commands us to live.  When we choose to repent and to turn away from sin and toward God, in his wonderful grace, God sets us free from that slavery to sin and death, and we are free indeed to live for Jesus and have a brand new life in relationship to him.

I don’t know about you…but I think that’s awesome!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:54 — 21.5MB)

CHAPTER FIVE – Do You Want The Good News or The Bad News First?

Have you ever notice how things can completely change depending on your perspective?  For example, imagine that you’re asleep–a nice comfortable sleep filled with sweet dreams and somebody slaps you in the face so that you wake up to a very sore cheek.  How do you feel about that person?

Ok, now say the same scenario happens, but once you’re awake the person who hit you explains that the building you’re in is on fire, and you need to get out before you’re trapped inside.  Now how do you feel about that person?

The Bible can bring about different reactions from different people.  For example.  If you don’t love God, and your life demonstrates a disregard for how he has told us to live, much of the Bible is going to sound pretty harsh–and even frightening.  But if you’ve been saved by God, and your life shows it through living the way he tells us to, then you’re going to read the same Bible with a lot of thanks and joyfulness.

So what do you get out of it–good news or bad news?

PS. I don’t know what happened, but this one has terrible sound quality too.  The others are better.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:07 — 20.2MB)

Do you know Jesus?  How do you know that you know?  Did somebody else tell you?  Are you just guessing?  Do you have any proof?  If you claim to know Jesus, are you sure he’d claim to know you?

Do you know why Jesus tells people to “Depart from me.  I never knew you.”?  Don’t you think that might be something important to know about?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 47:45 — 21.9MB)

What could be worse than a virus that destroys your organs and causes you to bleed from your eyes and ears and other openings and eventually killing you in extreme physical agony?

How about something that causes you to be in agony without the possibility of finding relief through physical death?

And how many people will wash their hands multiple times a day to keep from getting sick, but won’t think twice about sinning against God and dooming themselves to an eternity in Hell?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 42:48 — 19.6MB)

“Don’t judge me.”

I’ve heard that a lot.  In other words, they’re asking for you to ignore the decision they’ve made.

“Yeah, I decided to do what I know is wrong.  And I know that you know it’s wrong”  But I’m trying to convince myself that I’m not a bad person for doing it.  So please don’t mention that it’s wrong to me.  Don’t use your brain when you think about me.”

Well, you know, I wouldn’t have to “judge” you if you used good judgment yourself when you made the decision to do something wrong.  If you would do good, then you would want me to judge you and notice the good.  It’s only when you do bad that you don’t want people using discernment about your behavior.

And keep in mind that my judgment can’t do much more than cause embarrassment or inconvenience to you.  But we will all be judged by God for all of our thoughts and actions, and his judgment determines our eternity.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 30:55 — 14.2MB)

I’m sure you’ve heard before the line from the Declaration of Independence that lists 3 of the freedoms that are inseparable from us as human beings because we are created by God with such freedoms being part of who we are…

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

It goes on to say that the purpose of government is to protect such rights.  Did you ever stop to think about what the pursuit of happiness is?  We don’t have a right to happiness.  We only have the right to pursue it.  Interesting…don’t you think?

Some interpret that right of pursuit as “property.”  In other words we own our own body and our own ability to work and to build and to trade our labor for property.  So the money/property we trade our work for is our right–and therefore shouldn’t be taxed (as with the income tax).  So it’s everybody’s God-given right to trade skills and labor for money or goods in order to better our own lives.  Or you could say that “work” is pursuing happiness because it’s your means to improving your life.  Anyway, that’s the political definition.

From a spiritual perspective it’s slightly different.  Happiness comes to a person who obeys God’s law.  When you break that law, you enslave yourself to sin and death.  But real freedom comes from living a moral life.  If you avoid all those things that hurt you and hurt other people (lying, stealing, lusting, etc.) then you never become a slave of sin or death.  So you have the God-given right (and obligation) to pursue happiness by living the way God wants you to live.  And the natural result of living that kind of life is better than happiness–it’s joy, which is a deep seated glad contentedness that comes from having a relationship with Jesus–who, by the way, is the only one who can equip you to live a life of purity and total morality.

And if you have already made yourself a slave to sin and death because of your selfish and evil choices, your one hope for freedom is Jesus.  Wanna know more?  Listen to the podcast…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:58 — 20.1MB)

If Christianity were a football game, then going to church would be the huddle.

So after church is over, you’re supposed to go out on the field and make the plays.  If all you do as a Christian is go to church and sit on the bench, then you really aren’t helping your team out.  It’s time to get up and go for the win.  Leave it all on the field.  THEN, when you stand before the Judge on that great day, you can hear “well done…”

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:01 — 20.1MB)

Do you know what you believe in?  Can you explain it?  If someone has serious and complex questions about your faith, can you put it in terms that anyone can understand?  Can you answer deep questions about the Bible?

1st Peter 3:15 says if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it.  Are you always ready to do that?  Or do you not know what you really believe?  Do you know what the Bible teaches?

Did you know that rat poison is mostly good food?  It’s made of 99.5% wheat, fillers, sweeteners, solvent, flavor enhancers, and coloring.  And it’s only 00.005% poison.  So it doesn’t take much of a toxic substance to make something really bad for you.  If you claim to believe in Jesus, you ought to be 100% informed on who he is, what he teaches, and what he requires of his followers.

Always be ready to give an answer!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 33:37 — 15.4MB)

How do you act in church?

How do you act everywhere else?

Why would you act any differently in church than you do in the rest of the world?

Do you think God can only see what happens inside the church building?

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 38:44 — 17.7MB)