Pressure. Stress. Overwhelming troubles. Should we hate them less? In the book of Acts we see some men who received supernatural confirmation of their faith! It came when they were facing death. Paul, Peter and Stephen walked through the "valley of the shadow," and it changed them. Today Pastor Jim will share some personal experiences that have convinced him more than ever that God is near, and His Word is true.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.

Death will change your life! Maybe Paul wasn't actually dead when he got his glimpse of the next world: "in the body or out of the body I do not know, God knows," he wrote. But some kind of switch was flipped for Paul, and Peter, and Stephen, in the worst crises of their lives. These men were transformed by encounters with the supernatural when their natural lives were, or seemed to be, over. Here's Jim with the middle segment of his message, Stephen's Death.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.

Stephen's "vision" was better than 20/20. We think of Stephen as the first Christian martyr, a powerful preacher, even a theologian. But is there more we can learn from this servant of Jesus, especially when we compare his experience with others'? It isn't difficult to see into the next world; all it takes is for God to remove the blindfold. You may have gathered that we're back in the book of Acts, right where we left off earlier in the year. Here's Jim to talk about Stephen's Death.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

You can purchase a copy of this message, unsegmented for broadcasting and in its entirety, for $7 on a single CD by calling +1 (800) 984-2313, and of course you can always listen online or download the message for free.

Once we're saved by grace, how should we conduct ourselves in a pagan culture? In Acts 15 the whole church agreed it's grace that saves us, not keeping the Mosaic law. But that doesn't mean that new Gentiles believers couldn't benefit from some guidelines and instruction.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Must Christians obey the laws of Moses? It must have been difficult for Jews in the early church to embrace all the Gentiles coming in, uncircumcised, untaught - probably smelling like bacon! The Mosaic law had been so important to the nation of Israel, and such a source of pride; surely it was still necessary, somehow? Pastor Jim points us to the central debate of the early church, in his sermon, By Grace - Not By Law.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

When Paul turned his attention away from the Jews, toward Gentile audiences, he had to start very, very simply. A miracle had happened in Lystra - Acts 14 - and the natives had jumped to some wild conclusions. Paul and Barnabas had their work cut out for them in trying to communicate with the pagans there.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

"For God so loved the world..." - the entire broken, sick, injured world. The Lord's concern for the Jews is obvious from history, and He isn't through with them, by any means. But in Acts 13 we see Phase II of His plan go into effect. Now God will begin to bring healing and restoration to everyone else - to "whosoever will." This will require a change of location, a change of spokesmen, and a change in presentation.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

What's the biggest hindrance to God's program of getting the good news out? Could it be you and me? The Holy Spirit is plowing up the hard ground in the hearts of unbelievers, convicting them of sin, showing them the failure of their own attempts to be good. He's working tirelessly in everyone we meet, not willing that any should perish... and then He's waiting on us. Like Peter, we may need to radically change our thinking. Here's Part 2 of Pastor Jim's message, Proud Peter Processes Pork.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

Sometimes, what we know about the Bible can blind us to what else is there. We're familiar with the story of a hungry Peter on the rooftop praying, and his vision of the "unclean" animals lowered in a sheet, repeated three times. But Pastor Jim would like us to look beyond the spectacular - visions and angels - and notice what God had been doing quietly, behind the scenes to bring Gentiles into the church. We're in Acts chapter 10 for a message called, Proud Peter Processes Pork.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.

The first Christians saw suffering for the sake of Christ as a privilege. Maybe the problem with us is that we don't know we're chosen. Saul, later Paul, had no doubt he was chosen and called to suffer for the name of Jesus. And he testified that the persecution was nothing, just "momentary, light affliction," compared to the "eternal weight of glory" to come.

Listen to Right Start Radio every Monday through Friday on WCVX 1160AM (Cincinnati, OH) at 9:30am, WHKC 91.5FM (Columbus, OH) at 5:00pm, WRFD 880AM (Columbus, OH) at 9:00am. Right Start can also be heard on One Christian Radio 107.7FM & 87.6FM in New Plymouth, New Zealand.