The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast

Our theme for today’s episode is faithfulness, and to help us understand the concept of faithfulness we’re looking at the life of Joseph. Joseph’s story reminds us that when we trust God and respond with faith, He can bring triumph from tragedy.

This week is Valentine’s Day, so it feels appropriate to bring you an episode about love. February 14th may prompt us to show extra affection to those dearest to us, but what do we do when people are hard to love? May these words from the apostle John serve as an encouraging reminder: “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.”

Thank you for joining me this week on The Encouraging Word podcast. The last few episodes we’ve been talking about the fruits of the spirit, and our topic today is kindness. In this episode I share a story from the Bible about two figures you likely know and one you may not. I can think of no better story to illustrate the lasting impact of the kindness of a friend.

Hello friend. Thanks for joining me on the Encouraging Word Podcast. This week we're discussing the importance of patience. The reality is we are all "works in progress" until the return of Christ.

Hello, my friend. What do you do when an unexpected storm blows into your life and disrupts everything? Where do you find strength to battle anxiety and fear? The Bible offers an answer in Philippians chapter 4. "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding...

Hello there my friend. Thank you so very much for joining me today. We're beginning the year with some episodes looking at the big ideas of the Bible. We started last week by talking about the purpose of the Bible, why it matters and why it's important to study it. This week we're moving on to some concepts found in scripture that you might know as the fruit of the Spirit. Today's episode is about...

Happy New Year! Welcome back to the Encouraging Word podcast. It's resolution season. All over the world people are resolving to exercise more, spend less, try a new hobby. A common resolution for people of faith is to read the Bible more and if that resonates, today's episode is for you! The Bible is the most important book for the Christian. It answers the two most fundamental questions of the h...

It’s that time of year when we're choosing gifts to give for Christmas. As the hero of the holidays, Jesus deserves our finest gift. But what could that be? We can look to the angels to know what Jesus really wants from us this Christmas. As a reminder, The Encouraging Word Podcast will be off next week, but we’ll back with new episodes in January. Merry Christmas, friend!

Hello friend. Thanks for joining me today.  Can you believe we’re halfway through December? Christmas will be here in just a few days. As you’re no doubt busy preparing for the holidays, I pray today’s episode gives you a few moments to reflect on the Savior who comes at just the right moment. 

Hi friend. I hope you’re doing well today.  The past few episodes we’ve been talking about what it looks like to live in a way that reflects God’s glory to the world around us. We’ve considered different aspects of life where we can take the focus off ourselves and put it on God. For some, the most difficult time to do that is when we’re succeeding. It’s wonderful to be good at something but...

Hello my friend. I hope you’re having a good day.   As we continue this series about living a life that reflects the glory of God, might I suggest that includes your struggles? We all have things in our lives we would change, things we wish we didn’t have to deal with. Illness, financial challenges, difficult relationships. But take comfort in this truth, friend: there is nothing you wil...

Hello friend. I hope you’re doing well today.  This week on the podcast we’re looking at an issue that plagued the Philippian church—legalism. They trusted the work of Jesus but were trying to add a little something on their own. If you ever find yourself looking for “Jesus plus” something else, the apostle Paul says to you what he said to the Philippians: “Now I am right with God, not becaus...

Hello friend. Thanks for joining me on the Encouraging Word Podcast.  We’re tackling a new topic today. For the next few weeks we’ll be talking about living a God-centered life. Now that might sound simple, but living a God-centered life means not living a me-centered life. Not quite so easy, but with God as our helper, it’s possible. 

Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a good day. 1 Corinthians 13:7 says, "Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things." God calls us to walk out sacrificial love. I pray this message encourages you.

Hello, my friend. Thanks for joining me this week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast. We really live in contentious times. This episode is releasing the day before a Presidential Election here in the United States. Regardless of the outcome, some people are going to be disappointed. Maybe angry. Including some Christians. But, no matter which candidate wins the Oval Office, we know who occ...

Hello, my friend. I hope you’re having a good day. This week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast we conclude our study of heaven’s timeline and what happens next. As I’ve studied and taught on this topic, I’ve been asked many times, “So, Max, are we living in the end times?” I think we are. And in today’s episode we consider the signs that indicate we are in the last days and how that knowl...

Hello, friend. Welcome to the Encouraging Word Podcast. For the past several weeks we’ve been studying heaven’s timeline and God’s plan for the ages. Today’s episode brings us to a challenging topic. What happens to those who reject Jesus? There will be a judgment day. It will be a sobering event. But you don’t have to fear it. You don’t have to wonder the outcome. Jesus has done everything possib...

Hello, my friend. Thanks for joining me this week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast. This world is not paradise. It doesn’t look like the perfect Garden of Eden in Genesis chapter one. Devastating weather events, ongoing war, famine and illness – all symptoms of our fallen world where Satan prowls. But a day is coming, friend. A day when Christ is crowned, and we will reign with him, and...

This week on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word podcast, as we continue our study of heaven’s timeline, we’re looking at the second coming of Christ. It won’t be like the first. Baby Jesus, sleeping in the manger – this is a familiar image. But it’s not the image of Christ’s return. When he comes again, it will be to rule and reign and answer the prayer of Matthew chapter 6: “Your kingdom come, your...

Hello, my friend. Welcome back to the Encouraging Word Podcast. We’re working our way down heaven’s timeline and God’s plan for the ages. Today we come to the period of tribulation. Scripture tells us this will be a dark, chaotic time, in part because the church and those who follow Jesus will be gone. But Scripture also tells us that this darkness won’t last forever, and even in the days of tribu...

In last week’s episode of The Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we talked about the rapture, and today we’re talking about what happens to the church after the rapture. I know these can be unsettling topics, but take heart, my friend – great celebrations in heaven await us.

Today on the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast we're continuing our study on the end times. What purpose does the rapture serve? How can I believe that it will take place? Those are the questions we're beginning to answer today...

What do you know about the millennium? The 1,000 year reign of Christ as described in revelation. Maybe you've never heard of it, maybe you're confused by the thought of it, maybe you don't understand the purpose of it, or maybe you’re fascinated by it. Regardless of where you are in your consideration of this wonderful and intriguing promise, I think you'll find today's discussion helpful as we d...

We're continuing our study on the end times, and on today's episode of the Max Lucado Encouraging Word Podcast, we're going to look at passage in the book of Daniel. Now bare with me, it is a bit challenging, but it is an important prophecy that warrants our careful examination. That's what we're doing today...digging into Daniel chapter 9.

Did you know that God has great plans for you? We get a glimpse of His plans for you in the Garden of Eden. A perfect garden where God's children, made in His image, live in perfect relationship with Him, with each other and perfected bodies in paradise. This story of the garden is more than a story...it's a picture, a description. It's a forecast of where our story is going to end up. I hope you'...