My guest for this episode is the pastor and writer Scott Sauls, Scott is the Senior Pastor of Christ Presbyterian Church in Nashville he is the author of six books including the forthcoming ‘Beautiful People Don’t Just Happen' which is out June 14th, 2022, just after this episode is released.
In this episode, we talk about the closeness of Christ in times of difficulty and despair, the nearness of Christ even when we can’t see his footsteps, and how we can identify with Christ as the suffering servant. We talk about suffering and forsakenness and Christ’s unique position as the saviour and messiah who knows these things himself, we discuss the wonder of life and our small corner as humanity in the universe, and how God has a purpose for the hard realities that we face, even as he gives us the emotional and spiritual tools to help us process the things we face.
This is Scott’s story.
Hello and welcome to episode 27 of the Testimony Podcast. We praise God for those times in life when we can feel hope and joy, when we see God’s blessing in our lives, and when we rightly exercise the discipline of celebration. God is good and loves us. But sometimes the circumstances in our lives mean that it’s hard for us to be joyful, it’s difficult for us to be hopeful, and we find ourselves feeling angry, confused, and disappointed with God. Expressing these feelings to our brothers and sisters in the church can be difficult, many people won’t know how to respond to us, even if they know the circumstances that might have driven us to this point. Those we love might fall back on unconvincing and even unbiblical phrases like “God works all things for our good”, “we should be joyful all the time”, or “count your blessings and the negative feelings will go away”. There are times when talking to others can be an encouragement, especially wise people who have themselves suffered, but often we can feel frustrated and isolated, that no one understands our particular circumstances and needs. It is with all these things in mind that I want to share the next two episodes of the podcast with you. These next two episodes are two halves of a conversation I had with Sara Hall. Sara is a wife, a mum, a blogger and counselor and author of “Tasting Dirt – When you’re disappointed with God”. I have to tell you, this is one of the most important conversations I’ve had with anyone for the podcast, and I think there is real value and wisdom in what Sara has ...
Malcolm Down is an independent publisher and athlete, and in his life he has endured one of the most difficult challenges anyone can face. Malcolm and his wife Dawn were bringing up three young children when she received the devastating news that she had ovarian cancer, and after a brave battle over a number of years Dawn passed away leaving Malcolm to bring up their children and deal with his grief. This is his story. ...
My guest for this episode is someone who has had to face all kinds of challenges in her life including domestic abuse, isolation, and racism. As a single parent she brought up six children, and she spent many years establishing and then living out her identity and self-respect. Now, she has many identities. She is a church leader, an author, a businesswoman, a mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother; all roles that she embraces as she serves the people around her. As with all of my guests, her journey has not always been easy, but in our conversation she gives testimony to how Jesus has been her companion through the storms of life. In this episode you’ll be hearing the stories that matter from the life of Fiona Lynch, a true example of someone who has overcome many obstacles to work out her destiny in God. This is her story. ...
