When it's good to be childish

Looking at Psalm 131, how are we to be childlike without being childish?
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Patricia St. John

This entry isn't actually my own. It is a recording of a talk by Patricia St. John, the author of many books that make deep truths of Christianity understandable for children (and the rest of us too).

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Say One Thing: A mini-seminar for speakers

I am really excited about getting together to think about how to be more effective as speakers! Thanks for your interest in thinking things through. What a privilege it is to be a tool in God's hands to make clear the truth that will set people free!

In preparation for our time together, watch this video and then fill out this speaker worksheet (Word file). Then bring the completed sheet to our session so we can work through your ideas and hopefully help you be more effective in communicating God's Word to your hearers.

I pray that our interaction will sharpen your message and that God will use it to change lives!

P.S. At least one problem had trouble viewing the video so here is an audio file that hopefully will work.

How Great is Your God?

How great is your God, really? Sometimes I say I believe in the God over all but then in my heart and in my actions, I betray a smaller view of Him than I'd like to admit. As we look at Exodus 6-11, we find a God who is without rival whom we can completely trust! Listen

Grace that Teaches Fear

In Psalm 51, David describes the incredible grace of God that taught Him to fear before it relieved that fear. Listen

Ending at the Beginning

What do you say to people who find life to be very troubling? Isaiah helps us by an answer God gave through him in chapter 65. Listen

Who dares to wrestle with God

How do you respond to things that challenge your sense of well-being? Sometimes we fight. Like a dog that is threatened, we try to attack or frighten off what challenges us. Sometimes we flee. Like a deer we run, or like an opossum we play dead.

So what should we do? The story of Jacob, who was renamed Israel (Genesis 32), gives us a very surprising answer! Listen

Avoiding Life's Great Rip-Off

In life we do our best to get a good deal. We know that in general, 'you get what you pay for.' If you want something of value, you have to be willing to spend more for it. But sometimes we get ripped off. We spend a lot and don't have much to show for it. The real concern is when we spend a great deal, in money, time, effort, and emotion, even life itself, and we discover that we end up with nothing.

So how can we avoid life's great rip-off? From the prophet Isaiah (chapter 55) we discover the solution! Listen

When the going gets tough, where do you go?

When the going gets tough, where do you go? King David wrote a poem to answer this question for us in Psalm 16. Listen

When life isn't good, God still is!

At times for some people, everything in life seems to go well. But that isn't the way it always goes! The question I have is this: what do you say when life isn't good? What do you tell yourself? What do you tell other people?

King David wrote a poem to answer this question. It is perhaps the most famous poem in the world: Psalm 23. So what does he say when life isn't good?

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Note that the first minute or two of this audio is cut off. I simply started by reviewing the string of good events in a friend's life.

Where in the world is God?

We believe that God sees what is happening in the world, and we believe that he cares. The problem is, sometimes we wonder if he is going to do anything about what is happening? After all, he doesn't have a body that we can see, and he doesn't have hands we can feel, and he doesn't have a voice that we can hear. We desperately need him, but where is the world is God?

Exodus 3 and 4 helps us understand how he does his work in the world. Listen

God Calls His People to Obey Him Courageously

Judges 4-5
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