A Word with God Podcast: Recent Episodes
A Word with God
Word with God is a podcast from Verity Church with Kerry and Pastor Stan Starkey
Now also available at Amazon and Audible https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/1ed58b21-b53f-4434-b715-a0dd308658af
This week I’m going back to something I had been working through earlier, which is getting all our elders to share their stories with us. We have Ricardo and his wife Maritza with us. They share their testimonies about how they came to faith in their home country of Colombia, how life there compares with life in Canada, and if it’s ever too late at night to have coffee. I hope you enjoy it.
This episode featured Tim Heikoop, who works with Return Ministries, which helps Jewish people return to Israel. Tim recently spoke at Verity at Easter time and shared the Messianic connections in Passover that most Christians are completely unaware of. Here we speak about his story, how he came to know Christ, and going over some of those connections he shared with us a few months ago.
You can find out more about Tim's work at Return Ministries at the link below
https://www.return.co.il/copy-of-ministry-team
This episode of the podcast is with my friend Samir, the founder of Lumens of Truth. Lumens of Truth exists to help Afghans know Jesus, grow in Jesus, and serve Jesus. They do this by evangelizing through their social media ministry, discipleship, home church, production of worship songs, and theological training through their Afghan School of Theology. Please check them out at the link below.
https://www.lumensoftruth.org/
Well this will be the final part of sharing my experience with mom's passing, about 1.5 years later. I'm sure I will mention it a lot or call back to moments in future podcasts, but all in all, at least as far as I can foretell, I've said everything I can on the matter. I miss you and love you mom.
Here is the second part of me wrestling with mom's passing. This time after she passed. It was the second time recording this, as the first didn't work, so it helped to be able to keep my emotions in check. Again, maybe this is more for me, but maybe it might help someone else out there.
As many of you know my mom passed away after a long battle with ovarian cancer on June 10, 2022. On the day we found out she was going to be transferred to hospice, I was on my way to record a podcast with Stan. Instead the following conversation occurred. After this I decided to record my thoughts at different times throughout this process, which I will release later. I sat on this for over a year not sure about releasing it, but maybe this could be helpful to someone else going through something similar.
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Here's the link to the podcast we did where mom shared her story https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/30-more-sickness-than-health-linda/id1575299094?i=1000543564156
Just like we did for Peter and Paul earlier, this time we are looking at the historicity of the martyrdom of John. The traditional Christian belief is that he was exiled on the island of Patmos, but there are stories of him being martyred for his faith. Is this true or later legend? I'm covering all of this and more, using Sean McDowell's "The Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus.
This book examines the stories and legends of the Apostles' deaths and tries to get to the truth. This series will be me reading passages from the book with some of my own thoughts along the way. Sean McDowell has graciously given me the go ahead to publish these episodes. His book, which I highly recommend, can be found here: the Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus https://seanmcdowell.org/item/the-fate-of-the-apostles
I realize that the episode title might make you think we're talking with John Mark, the gospel writer, but alas, he was not available. Fortunately, we have this talk with another one of our elders. I've known Mark now for about 15 years or so. He used to be the guy cleaning up campus. Then he became my friend. What has always struck me is that he has always spoken as a man wise beyond his years, which has proved helpful many a time. Enjoy his story.
This week we're on with Dave Thompson, an elder at Verity Church. What was his come to Jesus moment? How did he meet his wife? How did he end up at Verity? All these questions and more are answered here.
Any of you men have questions about marriage? How about any of you women want to know what the men were listening to during the men's breakfast? Ross Gilbert was here at Verity church to share his expertise on marriage, and you now get to hear the conversation that we had and hopefully get to learn something too!
It turns out that Steve and Rachel have been members of our church forever. They were there when I came to Evangel (our old name and location), and it turns out they were there for about 20 years before that as well! Steve was one of the first elders at the church and Rachel has been involved in worship ministry. They are pillars in our community and I've enjoyed getting to know them over the past 10 years. If you have any questions about prophecy, Steve is your man. I hope this can serve as a way to help you to get to know them as well.
Just like we did for Peter earlier, this time we are looking at the historicity of the martyrdom of Paul. The traditional Christian belief is that he was beheaded in Rome under Nero. Is this true or later legend? How does milk fit into it? We cover all of this and more, using Sean McDowell's "The Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus.
This book examines the stories and legends of the Apostles' deaths and tries to get to the truth. This series will be me reading passages from the book with some of my own thoughts along the way. Sean McDowell has graciously given me the go ahead to publish these episodes. His book, which I highly recommend, can be found here: the Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus https://seanmcdowell.org/item/the-fate-of-the-apostles
I'm starting a new series that I will update semi regularly on the martyrdoms of the Apostles. This episode will be focused on Peter and the historicity of his crucifixion. I had been reading Sean Mcdowell's book "the fate of the Apostles" and realized I could take some of this information and share it with others. This book examines the stories and legends of the Apostles' deaths and tries to get to the truth. This series will be me reading passages from the book with some of my own thoughts along the way. Sean Mcdowell has graciously given me the go ahead to publish these episodes. His book, which I highly recommend, can be found here: the Fate of the Apostles - Examining the Martyrdom accounts of the closest followers of Jesus https://seanmcdowell.org/item/the-fate-of-the-apostles
Well this is definitely our biggest one so far! We've got Ricardo and Maritza, Dusty and Nathan, Dan and Seth, and Matt too. All these guys were recently in Colombia fulfilling Verity Church's Colombia project of building 2 homes for families in need and ministering to the people there. You don't need to know anything about construction to enjoy this one!
Warning, this episode contains frank and at times explicit discussion of experiences of sexual abuse of a minor and is most suitable to adults.
Dave joined us this week to discuss the abuse he faced at the hands of someone who should have been there to protect him, his father. He discusses not only the abuse, but the effect it had on his life moving forward, what it has done to his family, and what he is doing now in the face of his past.
Dan and Anne Marie are back and this was an incredible conversation to be a part of. Story after story was told of their missions work in Mexico and how they ended up there, where they almost went instead, and as you'll see, it definitely looks like they are going to need to come back for part 3.
If you enjoyed this, please share and let others know!
We recently had our first ever live podcast recording and it was with Sgt. Jeff Saunders. He is a police officer and a Christian. He shared with us about his story, coming to faith, romance, and what it is like to have faith in a world where you are constantly faced with its seedy underbelly.
Please remember to rate and review if you enjoy what we are doing.
Santos is back to talk about Easter with me. We start off talking about our experiences with Easter growing up and then move on to the Easter story. We read through the Gospel accounts and respond to the things that we find interesting or the questions that arise. Time started to become an issue so we had to speed things up at the end, but hopefully you will still find this edifying. Enjoy! Please remember to rate and review!
I spoke with Dr. Neil Cudney who serves as the current President of Emmanuel Bible College. Neil came into this position during the pandemic and as you can imagine, it hasn't exactly been an easy to time to serve. He shares his testimony, what has been happening at EBC since stepping onboard, and a little about the miracle that has taken place over the last month. I recorded the intro and outro on a new microphone that I'm still learning how to use, so you will likely notice a difference in sound quality, and I don't know how I didn't notice the creaking chair so you'll have to forgive me! Enjoy!
Kim is back from Guyana and has some great stories to update us on about what is happening down there. The main focus of our conversation is about a racial reconciliation ministry that she is taking part in. We also talk about passing on the baton of leadership, the struggles of that and what it also allows her to do more of.
Matt is a new but much loved member at Verity, and he is stepping into the youth pastor role that we have been sorely lacking. We get to hear his testimony and how he ended up where he is. We had a great time talking with him and I hope you enjoy listening as much as we had recording this. Also we get to catch up on what Stan has been up to lately during his time off.
Sandra was a missionary to Brazil for 20 years and has served in different ministry positions in Canada. She is now a chaplain and a key member of Verity church, helping head up our missions team.
How many shepherds were at the birth of Christ? How many wise men? Were there any wise men? Where was Jesus born? In a stable, a cave, or a house? Why do we celebrate on December 25th? Hopefully some of these questions will be answered for you on the Christmas edition of the Word with God podcast. Article 1 https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/people-cultures-in-the-bible/jesus-historical-jesus/how-december-25-became-christmas/
article 2 http://www.sviewp.com/RCbook/Bailey-%20Christmas%20-%20Middle%20Eastern%20Eyes.pdf
Everyone who has been listening along will have heard Clare on the podcast before, but this time his wife Halima is here to join us. We hear both of their testimonies, and the story of them meeting in Nigeria and then coming back to Canada and all sorts of interesting things.
Brought my mom in for this one! She has been battling ovarian cancer for the last 7 years. She tells us her testimony, some of which was new for me, and talks about her struggles with this illness and all the following complications, and her faith during this time. We had some audio issues with this one unfortunately. Zoom seemed to only pick up either my mom or myself, but not both of us if we were speaking at the same time.
The Chapples are another pair of missionaries to Mexico. Both of them were raised in the mission field in Ecuador and there was enough story there that we only made it up through their lives to their marriage. So treat this as part one, as we will be sure to have them back soon to talk about Mexico.
For their safety we aren't able to say much, but these two missionaries were raised in an Islamic country in the Middle East and found Jesus, which turned their lives upside down. These are two people who have really understood what it means to take up their own cross and follow Jesus.
Bethia was born in Nigeria, moved back to Canada, ministered on Indigenous reserves, worked in America, and much more.
Here we talk with my great friend Steve about changing direction from typical "full time" ministry to another field. What challenges that take place and what there is to look forward to.
I recently rewatched Les Misérables and thought that there is so much here in this story to talk about from a Christian perspective. I find this is very lacking in modern art so I broke down the songs into the parts that I thought were most important from our perspective. Huge spoilers ahead, so if you haven't seen the play or movie, or read the book, and plan to, stay away until then.
Last time Ariel was on with us to speak about her experience of going through an abortion. We catch up with her now and she has started a job working with the pregnancy centre in Brantford. She tells us about what the women who come into the centre looking for advice are facing.
Kim Cook is a missionary to Guyana. Here she tells us her story of what might happen when you tell God you don't want to be a missionary, and the adventure of a lifetime that it leads to. She works with YWAM and is currently heading up one of their bases in Guyana. https://ywamguyana.org/
Steve was a wild man, and he still is, but now he directs that energy for the Kingdom. Listen to his inspiring story from 20 years of atheism and substance addiction to having his life turned upside down by God.
A short video Teen Challenge produced about Steve:
www.teenchallenge.ca/stephens-story
Teen Challenge:
www.teenchallenge.ca
Steve's interview on 100 Huntley Street
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x1bO2Os_AA0
Cullen and Caden's Cause
https://www.jessesjourney.com/cullens-cause/#:~:text=That's%20the%20day%20Stephen%20and,a%20muscle%20wasting%20neuromuscular%20disease.
Treading into new territory with this one. It might dip it's feet a little too deeply into the well of nerdom, but there is still some life application here to be learned. Tolkien believed that we were all called to be sub creators, whereas God is the creator. Here I explore this idea in his writings.
Not a normal episode, but just myself babbling on about my trip to Colombia. I know some friends are interested in hearing about it so I thought why not do a recording while I'm stuck in quarantine with nothing to productive to do.
Verity's resident church historian is back with us again to talk about Heaven, or Heaven and the New Earth, or, well, that final place we are going to end up I suppose. Really nothing to do with church history come to think of it. Maybe how the church has interpreted Heaven throughout the ages. Heaven is a very loaded concept. When we hear the word, the picture that comes to our mind is very often different than what the Bible describes. Here we talk as much as we can about that concept, in the time that we had, while sitting in parked car.
Samson and his family have been members of our church for the past 10 years. Here he recounts his journey to faith and the obstacles that he has had to overcome. After listening to his story, I have been reminded to be more grateful for the life I have here in Canada and how many of what we consider big problems here, are very small compared to what others go through globally.
I'm trying my hand at doing a solo episode here. Well it's not really an episode. It's an update about what is going on/testing a new recording app. Please let me know if there is anyone you want to see on the show, someone you want to see back, or topics you would like to see covered. I should probably say hear or listen, as we don't currently have a video component yet, but you get the idea.
We sit down with Santos this week. Santos was born in El Savidor but most of his early memories are from a refugee camp in Honduras, where his family fled to during the civil war. He arrived in Canada as a young boy and now is a minister of the Gospel. His story is one of hope and gratitude.
Today we're with Rebecca and hear her story of growing up in a difficult home, joining and leaving Mormonism, and her battles with mental health.
Ivan and Donna are with us today to share their story of serving God. They have served in Toronto, Oakville, Mexico, and now in Kitchener. Theirs is a story of God's provision.
I couldn't fit all of Donna's miracle list below, but here are some of them:
Miracles in relation to building of Sheridan Hills EMC. Working backwards!
1.Sat. it rained. Mud everywhere. I phoned Pat Frances and said that I needed her to agree with me in prayer about the day. I was asking God that Sunday would be beautiful, sun shining, warm and a slight breeze to dry up the mud.. We agreed together. Sun. a.m. was kind of dull - but nice - a lot of the mud dried up, but Sunday afternoon the sun came out. We had a beautiful day, no mud! Warm - not hot - just right - P.T.L. It was a miracle because not only had it rained all day Saturday, but the weather man had predicted rain for Sunday.
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I was concerned because even though we had verbal approval to be in the building, we had nothing from the different departments in writing. I was worried that they might cause a problem. So Saturday afternoon Pat and I agreed that there would be no difficulties, no problems, that the opening would go smooth and to the Glory of God. It did! It could not have gone better. P.T.L
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We needed money to cover the finishing of the Kitchen, the septic system and the landscaping. Approx. $7,000 came in on Sunday. P.T.L.
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All along the Lord has supplied in various ways the money so the building could be debt free. P.T.L.
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The Piano - Ivan’s desire was someday for a grand piano - be nice for the opening. Back several months ago one of Ivan’s mother’s cousins had donated $5,000.00 toward a Piano in memory of Ivan’s mom. Suddenly the possibility of a grand piano became real. However we needed - we were told about $4,000.00 more. We felt that if this was the will of the Lord, He’d supply the rest of the money - but we really didn’t figure it would happen before the opening. Anyway, during Stayner camp Ken Wilson contacted Ivan and said he had a Grand Piano for us. We hadn’t even ordered it yet! Ken said he got it for us. We said we were short about $2,400.00. Ken said the piano was only going to be $6500.00 - he’d gotten a special deal. Now we only needed $1500.00. Could he leave the piano with us in Oakville while we decided? Ivan said yes! Ivan had been asked to visit a friend of his mom’s. He went and she handed him an envelope for the church. Before he opened it he told her about the piano and asked if she’d like her gift to go in memory of his mom toward the piano. She’d be delighted and said there was enough to finish paying for the piano plus tuning! P.T.L. It is a lovely piano and we Praise God for it.
Stan and I talk about health and wealth movements and the documentary "American Gospel."
Dr. Tom Dow joins us this week. He is a former president of Emmanuel Bible College and a former pastor of Lincoln EMC. If you don't know, Lincoln EMC was the church that merged with Evangel to form Verity, and is the building in which we now reside.
Stan starts our new series about the "verities" of our faith. Forgive the sound issues, they get better as it goes on.
Jim Stanley was a missionary in Senegal for 50 years to a tribe ignored by the majority of the population. He and his wife were told by many not to go and were not given support, but it appears God had a different plan. We had a few disagreements, but I'm sure you will find Jim's story of pursuing the dream that God had put on his heart as inspiring as I did.
Kerry bounces off a TED talk (found here https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=10160548823870652) about how we have what the world is looking for. If you're struggling to find meaning in life, we have the answers.
Mark brings us the word Still working out volume since we moved to streaming our live services
Dave brings us the word Still working out volume since we moved to streaming our live services
More from the book of Acts! Still working out volume since we moved to streaming our live services
We get together with Verity's new associate pastor Nathan Weber. We asking him probing questions about how he ended up here, his story, and why his last name is pronounced Webber instead of Weber.
This week Kerry brings a message on the division in our society and in the church that has been troubling him and the call to be united.
Verity's new Associate Pastor, Nathan Weber takes us through Job 1 and talks about walking in faith through troubling times.
*This episode was recorded before we knew about all the allegations against Ravi and their confirmation. If anything this is now an interesting time capsule of how time and information changes perspective.
Because of some technical difficulties this episode about the loss of apologetics master Ravi Zacharias is coming out a few weeks after we recorded it, but it's never too late to talk about Ravi and the blessing he has been to the kingdom.
We're back from a long break with a huge update so tune in to hear about Verity. We also are meeting during the COVID-19 pandemic and discussing what that means for the church today and going forward.
This week we sit down to talk about abortion and sex ed with Ariel. We tend to hear a lot of opinions about abortion but not a lot about peoples experiences. Ariel shares her story with us and we hope you will be as touched by it as we were.
After a long hiatus we return to talk about the banning of Christmas decorations at public schools and an atheist pastor in Toronto
Stan asks me what my summer reading list looks like and that takes us down a rabbit trail where we end up discussing theological paradoxes.
Kerry and Stan speak with our guest Melissa about her experience growing up in an extremely charismatic church and her faith journey.
Today we are joined by Stan's son John to talk about social media. Kerry and John end up on a philosophy tangent that is too late in the day for Stan to handle.
Kerry and Stan discuss the differences between the beginning dreams of ministry and the reality of ministry
Stan and I discuss the move from parent to grandparent as well as what he thinks is one of the biggest issues facing people today, isolation.
Kerry and Stan are joined by our "resident church historian" and church elder, Clare Fuller. It was the Christmas season so that was naturally our major point of discussion.
Kerry and Stan discuss the beginnings of Word with God and end up discussing current issues in the Church and Ministry