One Single Story

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Wendy Korbusieski discuss the following questions: Does it feel offensive, in your opinion, to ask God for forgiveness of your personal sins for "the honor of His name"? How does the collectivist cultural view of forgiveness translate into our Western individualistic perspective of forgiveness? The reading for the day is Psalm 25:11-2...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss the following questions: What does it mean to you to know that Job, who is upheld in scripture as a great example of faith, struggled with depression? When people are fighting, discouragement and depression, they often look back to the past, have an unhealthy focus on themselves rather than other others, and a se...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss the following questions: What does "wisdom" really mean in our modern day? It seems like it is more than just have smarts, or being a sharp-minded person. Do you think people really value wisdom, as Job defined it? Multiple places in Wisdom Literature (Psalm, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, Lamentations,...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss the following questions: How do believers and unbelievers differ in their view of trouble or terror? How does our faith sustain us in times of trouble? The reading for the day is Job 27.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss the following questions: Sometimes when tragedy strikes, like in the example of severe weather conditions which take out one home but leave another standing, it is often easier to cope with these events by believing they are random. How does it change how a believer copes if he sees both the destruction and the p...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss the following questions: How does the fact that God is great, powerful, and sovereign lead us to conclude that he is also more holy and pure than man? When you think of God's greatness, does it make you afraid (i.e. "fear the Lord")? The reading for the day is Job 25.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions: Have you ever heard verses 14 - 23 used as an explanation that no one can resist sin? What does that mean for people who believe that approach? How does knowing that we are free to obey God through Jesus Christ, because we have been joined with him in his death and resurrection (Romans...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions: How does viewing Jesus as our representative, rather than our substitute, change our understanding of Jesus' death for us? Why can't God just choose to forgive man without needing the death of Jesus to pay for sin? If sin is against God, wouldn't it be enough for God to simply declare,...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the question, "Do you think it is fair that God placed every person under the curse of sin for something that only one man, Adam, did?" The reading for the day is Romans 5.

On this episode of Ask Us Anything, Pastor Alyssa Bream asks Pastor Stephen Mizell the following questions: Why is Pentecost described as the birthday of the church? What would the church be like if the Holy Spirit did not exist? Why was speaking in other languages chosen as the symbol for the Holy Spirit in the Bible? Were they literal tongues of fire? Or were they hot? Is speaking in tongues for...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions: What are some responses people outside the church might give if you were to ask them to provide evidence from their daily lives that they are "good people", worthy of going to heaven? Theological discussion: How could Abraham be saved by believing on the promise that God would give him...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions: How hard is it to convince people in the modern world that they are sinners? Is the language of "sinner", and the language Paul uses in Romans 3 (e.g. "their throat is an open grave"… "poison of snakes is under their lips") too antiquated to be effective when we share the gospel with pe...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sheryl Daughety discuss the following questions: We tend to read about the Jews and the Gentiles with our church glasses on, and fail to see that this is, in effect, a discussion about racial privilege. How does that perspective change the way you think and feel about Paul's argument? What are some other ways that Christians make assu...

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sheryl Daughety discuss the question, "If someone asked you, 'Why should I be saved?', would you be able to provide a reasonable explanation?" The reading for the day is Romans 1.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sheryl Daughety discuss, "It is easy for us to assume that we are always on the side of the right concerning situations of warfare, terrorism, and necessary showings of strength. Is this a naive perspective?" The reading for the day is Psalm 18:31-50.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sheryl Daughety discuss the question, "Do you think it is blasphemous, or at least insulting, to talk about God as a trickster, in as far as how he might respond to Satan's schemes and tricks?" The reading for the day is Psalm 18:20-30.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sheryl Daughety discuss the questions, "Does God use natural elements like storms, wind, water, thunder, and lightning to accomplish his work? If so, what do we do with the destruction that is also caused by these elements?" The reading for the day is Psalm 18:7-19.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss the question, "Do you think the fact that there is life after death, and the fact that Jesus has resurrected from the dead, really makes a difference when we are experiencing suffering?" The reading for the day is Job 14.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss if there are times we must "forgive" God, not because God has done something wrong, but because we have been deeply hurt by decisions He has made. The reading for the day is Job 13.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss if when a person continues to trust in God in spite of suffering, is it because God is working in their hearts rather than because they have great faith? The reading for the day is Job 12.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss when something bad happens, why do some of us automatically assume God does not care about us?. The reading for the day is Job 11.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Alyssa Bream discuss if suffering is easier if we know "why" we are enduring it. The reading for the day is Job 10.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss why our conscience is critical to a relationship with the Lord & how we can keep a clear conscience. The reading for the day is Psalm 15.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss what to say to people who do not believe in God & how we can prepare ourselves for these conversations. The reading for the day is Psalm 14.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Chris Rexroad discuss if we demand answers from God & our approach to God when we are in distress. The reading for the day is Job 7.