I am Second is a great resource of people’s faith stories, there are all sorts of stories from all sorts of people.
Scott Hamilton is a figure skater, won a gold medal at the 1984 Winter Olympics and four World Championship gold medals in the 1980’s.
But life hasn’t always been straightforward for Scott including treatment for testicular cancer:
Paul Young is the author of the massively popular book The Shack.
In this interview Paul talks about his own journey of faith.
At one point he says this:
I sat in front of him on the first day and I said “Scott, my life is over” and for the first time, I’m 38 years old, and for the first time in my life I say to another human being, “can you help me”.
To that point in my life that was the greatest single risk I had ever taken, because if the answer is no, why would I take the risk of doing this again?
One of the question you asked me earlier was “Can we get past this, can we get through brokenness, can we actually be healed of our addictions?” and I’m here to tell you “absolutely yes, but it’s not easy, it’s hard work, and you can’t do it by yourself; you have to take the risk of trusting someone…
At the end of 2004, 11 years of dismantling my soul, 11 years of saying “I have no idea who God is”, 11 years at the end of 2005 I turned 50, but in those 11 years I worked to the place where I could finally wipe the face of my father completely off the face of God. Because my view of God largely came through this difficult relationship with my dad and we are all impacted by our histories and our backgrounds, by the end of 2004 I was one of the healthiest people that I know, I had no secrets…
It’s a powerful story of healing and wholeness.
I had the privilege of being in a church in Atlanta, GA where Chris Tomlin is on the staff and a few thousand people attend a few weeks ago.
While Chris Tomlin wasn’t leading worship on that day, singing this song brought me to tears.
There’s a place where mercy reigns and never dies,
There’s a place where streams of grace flow deep and wide.
Where all the love I’ve ever found,
Comes like a flood,
Comes flowing down.
At the cross
At the cross
I surrender my life.
I’m in awe of You
I’m in awe of You
Where Your love ran red
and my sin washed white.
I owe all to You
I owe all to You Jesus.
Live at the Passion conference:
With chords and lyrics:
Bishop David Roller continues his Whole Earth Stories, this time telling the story of the Ten Lepers.
It’s a story of a miracle and a story of grace:
If you’d like to read this story in the Bible you can find it in Luke 17:11-19.
Another song to sing along to from the Rend Collective’s Art of Celebration album:
I come in simplicity
Longing for purity
To worship You
In spirit and truth
Only You
Lord strip it all away
‘Til only You remain
I’m coming back
To my first love
Only You
You’re the reason I sing
The reason I sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You
And forever I’ll sing
Forever I’ll sing
Yes my heart will sing
How I love You
A choice of two videos too, one with lyrics:
J. John continues his series of conversations called Facing the Canon; on this occasion he is talking to Nicky Gumbel.
Nicky Gumbel who is best known as the developer of Alpha and Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) which is the largest Anglican Church in Britain.