Podcast
Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast
Hosted by Dr. James Merritt · EN
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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Battle Stations
1w ago00:32:20Tap to summarizePresident Calvin Coolidge, known as “Silent Cal” for how rarely he spoke on anything, was once asked after church what the preacher had talked about in his sermon. “Sin,” Coolidge said. The reporter pressed: “Well, what did he say about it?” Coolidge replied: “He was against it.” That covers it pretty well. God is against sin. His Word is against sin. His holiness is against sin. And the cross of Jesus Christ is what God did about sin. In I John, the Apostle writes to two groups of people: those who believe they’re saved but aren’t, and those who are saved but aren’t sure they are. John is now going to deal with a problem that vexes every believer, and the closer you walk with God, the more it frustrates you: the daily battle with sin. Every single day of your Christian life is a battle. And John has three profoundly encouraging truths to take with you to your battle station and help you win.
Transcribe →Is Your Light On?
2w ago00:44:50Tap to summarizeDid you know that if the sun’s light ceased, the earth would freeze within days? All plant life would die, the oxygen would collapse, and humanity would perish within weeks, leaving our planet a frozen, silent slab of rock. That is how foundational light is to every form of life. One of the greatest statements Jesus ever made speaks to how essential He is to the cosmos, the culture, and our own souls: “I am the light of the world” (John 8:12, NIV). John picks up that truth in 1 John 1:5–10 and makes it deeply personal, asking us to do something harder than just flipping a switch for illumination. We are to honestly ask whether we are walking in the light or just saying that we are. There are four things John tells us we must keep doing if God’s light is truly living in us.
Transcribe →Sure Enough
3w ago00:42:20Tap to summarizeI was 3½ years old, standing before an open casket looking at my grandfather, the man I called Papa, wondering why he wouldn’t wake up. My aunt finally pulled me away and said, “He’s not waking up.” God planted a seed in my heart that day. I came to realize that the single most important thing any person can know, in light of the fact that we are all going to die, is to know for certain that when you do, you will be with God in Heaven forever. But wanting to know and actually knowing are two very different things. Mark Twain famously said, “It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble. It’s what you know for sure that just ain’t so.” I know of nothing more dangerous than being sure you’re going to Heaven when you’re not and nothing more miserable than being on your way to Heaven but not knowing how or why. That is exactly who the Apostle John is writing to. In five chapters he uses the word “know” 39 times, because Jesus didn’t die on the cross to give us a “hope-so” or “feel-so” salvation. He died to give us a “know-so” salvation. John gives us facts, not feelings, and leads us to three truths that will help you know for certain where you stand.
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The Sword of the Lord
3w ago00:46:00Tap to summarizeNapoleon’s foreign minister once said, “You can do anything you like with bayonets, except sit on them.” That is exactly what most Americans do with their Bibles. Eighty-eight percent of Americans own at least one Bible, yet nearly half of Christians say they are too busy to read it. George Washington rose at five every morning to spend an hour on his knees before an open Bible, because he understood something most people miss. Hebrews 4:12 says, “For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart” (NIV). This one verse tells us exactly what the Bible is and what it does. As you study these four truths about the power of God’s Word, you will be equipped to pick up this sword, wield it in your life, and never set it down again.
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Our Missionary God
May 300:47:00Tap to summarizeMost people could answer this question without hesitation: What is the most important birth in the entire Bible? Christmas makes that one easy. But here’s the harder question: What is the second most important birth in Scripture? In Genesis 21, a 90-year-old woman named Sarah finally gives birth to a son named Isaac, the child God had promised 25 years earlier. It sounds like a personal miracle for one elderly couple, but it was far more than that. That one birth set off a chain reaction, from Isaac to Jacob, from Jacob to Judah, from Judah to David, and from David to Jesus. Without Isaac, there is no Israel. Without Israel, there is no Jesus. Without Jesus, there is no Gospel. God is a missionary God, the Bible is a missionary book, and, if you have a heart for God, you will have a missionary heart.
Transcribe →All In
Apr 2600:48:10Tap to summarizeWhat does it look like to be completely, unreservedly committed to God? In 1519, Spanish explorer Hernán Cortés sailed to Mexico with 11 ships, more than 500 men, and odds completely against him. When he arrived, he gave his men a shocking order: Burn the ships. Retreat was no longer an option. They were all in. Over 3,000 years earlier, a man named Abraham faced his own burn-the-ships moment. God had finally given him the son he had waited 25 years for, a boy named Isaac, and now God was asking Abraham to give him back. What happens on that mountain in Genesis 22 is one of the most breathtaking stories in all of Scripture. It shows us what giving really is, what giving really does, and why giving is one of the most important things you will ever do.
Transcribe →Master of the Universe
Apr 1200:45:00Tap to summarizeIn 1875, poet William Ernest Henley lay in a hospital bed, one leg already amputated, and wrote these now-famous words: “I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.” It sounds courageous, but Scripture tells a different story: “Our God is in heaven; he does whatever pleases him” (Psalm 115:3, NIV). In Genesis 17, God appears to Abraham and introduces Himself by a name never used before in all of Scripture—El-Shaddai, God Almighty—because Abraham still hasn’t grasped who is truly in charge. What Abraham discovers in this encounter is the one truth that can anchor any life: When everything seems out of control, everything is under God’s control. To live in that reality, there are three things you need to do: Walk before the Lord, wait on the Lord, and watch for the Lord.
Transcribe →The God Factor
Apr 1200:44:50Tap to summarizeIn algebra, x represents the unknown—the variable that, once you solve for it, makes everything else make sense. Abraham’s life looks that way too: unlikely candidate, impossible promise, uncertain path. But Genesis 15 reveals the x—the one variable that explains everything. It was faith in God. This chapter, which many scholars consider the most important in the entire Old Testament, reveals for the first time how a sinful human being can be made right with a holy God. Abraham shows us that faith isn’t passive; it drives out fear, it takes God at His word, and it holds on to His promises. There are three things Abraham did that activated the God factor in his life, and they’ll do the same in yours.
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On The Road Again
Apr 500:37:50Tap to summarizeThere are three words that are absolutely true, and if you’ve lived long enough, you’ve already said both “amen” and “oh, me” to all of them. Those three words? Life is tough. No matter how many holes you plug in the dam of life, another one pops open. Maybe it’s when the rug is pulled out from under you, a dream dies, or you feel like you’ve hit a dead end with nowhere left to go. I remember a Peanuts comic strip where Lucy was philosophizing again, as she always did, to poor Charlie Brown. “On the cruise ship of life,” she declared, “some people face their deck chairs forward to see where they’re going, while others face them backward to see where they’ve been.” She turned to Charlie and asked which way his chairs were facing. He frowned and said, “I can’t even get mine unfolded.” That was exactly where two disciples found themselves as they traveled the road to Emmaus—hopes buried beneath a stone, dreams dead. And they had nowhere to turn. It was there, on the worst road of their lives, that they met the risen Lord.
Transcribe →Braveheart
Mar 2900:45:10Tap to summarizeWhat makes someone truly brave? William Wallace, Scotland’s 13th-century national hero, led his outnumbered army to victory at the Battle of Stirling Bridge, proving Scotland could defeat the mighty English. The movie Braveheart immortalized his courage with the famous line: “They may take our lives, but they’ll never take our freedom!” The film won five Academy Awards and made more than $209 million worldwide. But here’s the thing—parts of the movie were made up. We don’t know if Wallace actually said those lines, and the movie’s climactic battle scene didn’t happen in an open field (it would have been a massacre). The real battle occurred on a narrow bridge. I’m taking you back to what I believe is the original braveheart—a man whose story is completely accurate and should be made into a movie. His name is Abraham. This story in Genesis 14 shows more about Abraham’s greatness than any other part of his life, revealing how we, too, can be bravehearts. The Apostle Paul reminds us, “Now these things occurred as examples …” (1 Corinthians 10:6, NIV). God is great and wants us to be great. The secret to greatness? Every day, follow God’s way. See how burden, battle, and blessing work together to build the courage you need for the life God’s calling you to live.
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