Cross Encounters
393 episodes - English - Latest episode: about 1 year ago - ★★★★★ - 2 ratingsPastor Samiec presents Lutheran Radio UK's weekly devotion. Inspiring messages that draw the listener close to the cross of Jesus where God comes to meet his people and to lead them in the way of truth.
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Episodes
Not transactional at all
March 12, 2023 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.67 MBThe world understands 'you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours' and that so many of our relationships are transactional – particularly in religion. Until we come to Christianity and Jesus that is! Then it is gift upon gift!
We can't escape ourselves!
March 05, 2023 00:00 - 6 minutes - 2.77 MBBut Jesus has rescued us so that we can live in him and that life is better than anything we could have done on our own!
Your perspective
February 26, 2023 00:00 - 6 minutes - 2.76 MBWe have so many experiences and encounter many points of view that it is important to understand why we have the perspective we have. For Christians, the answer is seen in Jesus and who is and what he has done for us.
More than expected
February 19, 2023 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.24 MBChristianity is more than ethics - how we behave - and Jesus is more than a teacher which is why following Jesus is really about relationships when you consider the cross.
Did you hear the one about?
February 12, 2023 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.53 MBJesus breaks the stereotype of God – look at the cross – so that people may live. Jesus' followers break the stereotype of discipleship with laughter rather than asceticism – because a full life with Jesus involves everyone around his...
Words
February 05, 2023 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.31 MBWords are so powerful and none more so than the Word made flesh.
A lived faith
January 29, 2023 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.49 MBThe Christian Faith is not disconnected from our lives but it exists and is lived in our situation – no matter what it is – because Jesus relates to us in all situations and no situation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord!
A spiral to God
January 22, 2023 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.17 MBEach church year, the liturgical seasons can draw us closer to God because we are changing each year and God is faithfully still serving us each year.
More than influence
January 15, 2023 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.22 MBJesus doesn't simply influence life – he kills the sinful flesh and brings a new life (in him) into being – and that is far more radical than influencing.
The encounter is now
January 08, 2023 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.01 MBChristmas, The Epiphany, Easter, anything about Jesus can seem to be about him with Jesus himself 'far away' and in one sense irrelevant but the power of words and the work of the Holy Spirit mean that people are still meeting Jesus through...
With us in our time and place
January 01, 2023 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.4 MBThe message of the Incarnation isn't about making Jesus like us but reminds us that God wants to us to be like him.
Christmas
December 25, 2022 00:00 - 6 minutes - 2.86 MBWhy Christmas is celebrated is important to know because, at its heart, it is a celebration of God being with us today.
Religious appropriation
December 18, 2022 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.24 MBPeople build their religions from all sorts of sources. How different is it for people when God reveals himself in Jesus Christ!
The book of Revelation
December 11, 2022 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.41 MBWhen people read the book of Revelation they are looking for comfort and hope – and in Jesus you can always find it for he is with his people always!
No matter what is happening
December 04, 2022 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.27 MBWhat is happening to us is always important to us - and we never face it alone with Jesus.
The truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth
November 27, 2022 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.12 MBTruth is important to us. The best truth is Jesus Christ.
Knowing the right forecast
November 20, 2022 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.54 MBGetting the forecasts right are very helpful for so much of living from the weather to the economy and more. How much more important is the right forecast that comes with living with Jesus Christ! Now that's life in all its fulness!
The power of words
November 13, 2022 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.43 MBWhether we hear them as they are spoken or read them from centuries past, words open the world and others to us – and that is no more so than with the Word of God.
While waiting at Heathrow ...
November 06, 2022 00:00 - 4 minutes - 2.18 MBWhen imagining heaven and arrivals there, let's be firmly grounded in God's Word – and there isn't much detail, but it is enough!
Which way to turn?
October 29, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.34 MBWhichever way it is, hopefully we make the best decision we can each time. Knowing that Jesus is with us is good and supportive, but he is not the puppet master, or a heavenly sat-nav. Rather Jesus guides us through his Word. Which way we turn is up to...
What are the stories you tell yourself?
October 22, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 2.77 MBWe all tell them and they shape our life but they do not necessarily define reality. For the Christian, defining reality and truth comes from God's Word which impacts the stories we tell ourselves.
Location, Location, Location
October 01, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.4 MBWhether it is the right place at the right time or the wrong place at the wrong time, we live in specific places all the time – and Jesus is with his people wherever they are because he is united with them in Baptism – and so wherever we are, we are...
Testing the fuses
September 17, 2022 23:00 - 4 minutes - 2.27 MBWill I test the new fuses in the house? If I remember and follow the electrician's instructions. Will I live as a person who is saved? That will depend upon whose words take hold of me even when my following them is all over the place.
The full story
September 10, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.29 MBLearning the full story is important. When it comes to salvation, then the full story must include Jesus and his cross and empty tomb.
On the announcement of the death of Her Majesty The Queen
September 10, 2022 23:00 - 4 minutes - 2.08 MBCross Encounters - #376
When things are unexpected
September 03, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.34 MBWe live with the expected and the unexpected and Jesus helps us with both.
Listening
August 20, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.35 MBWe listen to so much! And those voices - in the room, online, live or recorded - shape us. Making sure we hear theological truth for our context is important in forming us - growing us - in Christ. What a blessing it is to have Lutheran Radio UK.
Thoughts from a raging bull
August 13, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.43 MBThe opening ceremony of the 2022 Commonwealth Games can remind us that the past is always a mixture of 'good' and 'bad'. Whether personally or socially, only Jesus is best placed to help us with our history and our tomorrows.
When you're 100 years old
August 06, 2022 23:00 - 4 minutes - 2.18 MBWith age comes perspective – especially in the Faith.
Living in this world
July 30, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 3.01 MBFollowing Jesus in this world means knowing truth and seeking to serve everyone – friends and enemies, supporters and opponents – and society benefits.
More than labels and names
July 23, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 2.79 MBIdentity is big at the moment but who determines it?
Clothes
July 16, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.44 MBWe wear our clothes for all sorts of reasons – functional and festive, to be seen by others and just for being at home – and they say something about us. Through Baptism people 'put on Christ'. Returning to our Baptism each day is like...
Reflecting on the weather
July 09, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.52 MBI once heard the statement "there is no bad weather, only poor clothing" which, whatever we think of its veracity, reminds us that what we bring to situations – particularly our attitudes and insights as guided by God's Word – affects...
The Trinity
July 02, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.31 MBThe Triune God is a mystery to us but that doesn't make God unknowable.
God's Word
June 25, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.68 MBThe question to ask when we are reading that Bible is not whether it is God's Word – it is – and that answer is definitive, static. The question to ask when reading the Bible is 'How is what I am reading God's Word for me?'. That...
Character
June 18, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.72 MBWe want people to be technically competent and good at what they do but also their character is not unimportant. We are returning to this truth in today's world more and more.
Pentecost
June 11, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.69 MBIf Pentecost is not about Jesus, then what's the point of it?!
Faith – like life – is never static
June 04, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 2.81 MBWe are either growing or declining; getting healthy or unwell, living is about movement. Since faith is living, we can always do things to help or hinder it. It is important to remember that God is faithful and Jesus doesn't change.
A sudden change
May 28, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.31 MBNo matter how much people insist that God doesn't exist, it doesn't make him go away! That is true as a thought exercise and in reality. The resurrection of Jesus was unexpected and whether it is good news or bad news really does depend when...
Friends
May 21, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.7 MBHow do people relate to God? Often people think about spiritual relationships in terms of monarch and subject or all-powerful and not-powerful or master and servant or owner and pet or mystery and student but to think in terms of friends needs more...
Dying to live
May 14, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.42 MBHow we live is very much shaped by what we think dying and death are all about. No wonder then that what Jesus has done changes everything!
Being insistent
May 07, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.44 MBThe right rant at the right time to the right people just may get heard. Christ is risen! Our deaf world needs to hear this!
We still grieve but we also have hope
April 30, 2022 23:00 - 5 minutes - 2.53 MB'Long grief' is being discussed because of the COVID-19 context. All who grieve are in pain – and yes, it is long-term. Even longer, though, is the comfort and hope that Jesus brings since he is with people for the 'long haul' –...
It’s called the long view
April 23, 2022 23:00 - 4 minutes - 2.25 MBPerspective isn’t everything but it is very import, especially when it includes Jesus’ resurrection.
Hugs
April 16, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 2.87 MBHugs are special – to receive and to share – and the empty tomb of Jesus is God reaching out to hug all people.
Confessing our sins
April 09, 2022 23:00 - 6 minutes - 2.76 MBSuch confession is one of the most important ingredients in all growing relationships.
Getting hit with one thing after another
April 02, 2022 23:00 - 4 minutes - 2.25 MBNo matter the relentless pressure of life or the 'hard knocks' that come, Christians can be resilient not because God waves a magic wand but because God broke the 'quick fix stick' into a cross.
Glimpsing the local and the global
March 27, 2022 00:00 - 6 minutes - 3.02 MBJesus calls us to him in the Divine Service and then sends us into the world to serve. We often go out together but should we?
When the chatter inside our heads becomes too loud
March 20, 2022 00:00 - 5 minutes - 2.37 MBListening to a psychology podcast became a springboard for appreciating God's Word, meditation, prayer, Christian consolation, and the perspective they bring.