A Better Answer with Kyle Ranson: Recent Episodes
Crossroads Church
Do you ever wish you could just ask someone about all the random stuff you go through each week and get help? That's what I'm going to do.
Each week I'm bringing a real, live situation up to Kyle Ranson, a mentor of mine who's gone through all this stuff. I'm not just looking for the typical answer—I'm looking for a better answer through a faith perspective, and that's what he's going to help me with.
Listen in!
We're talking about glory, what God has planned for those who believe in Him, the role of affirmation, and how we accidentally instinctively shrug off encouragement. It's a good one! Listen in.
Jesus did hard things. Comforts are abounding in our day and it's hard to choose, out of our own volition, to do something hard. But would it be good for us and help us become more of who God created us to be? Would it teach us something? Listen in!
Fear of failure. Whether you've been taught it or not, you've probably experienced it in a way that it was hard to move towards something. Normal! This is a normal human experience. And yet, for those who follow Jesus, we're not under the thumb of fear, we're under the reign of Jesus who sets us free. So how can we fight this fear of failure? Listen in!
Some questions are hard simply because we fear not liking the answer. Yet they may have an answer that helps us understand and deal with reality. In this case: will God abandon you? Listen in!
Am I running the right race? AKA, the right major, the right direction in life, the right career path, the right mission in life, etc. How do we find our niche and run that race well? How can we know if we're running the wrong race? Listen in!
God created us with needs! Justin and I start the convo discussing our hearts being captivated by Christ, which quickly becomes a realization that we have needs we need to meet. This isn't a dilution of Christ, but an understanding of how God made us. Do you know what you need and how do you fill them? Listen in!
This week we're talking about what it means to be "all in" with God. Not 99% but 100%. How can I know if I'm all in? What if I'm hedging? All very normal things, yet need to be confronted! Listen in.
You're at a fork in the road and you need to make a decision that could alter your life. Which way do you go? What do you choose? HOW do you choose? And do I make this decision 100% on my own or do I involve anyone else? That's what we're talking about this week. Listen in!
We all have dreams we care about or things we really want to get done. But what happens when you want something so bad that you choose it over God? Is that alright? I mean, we can't be reading the Bible all day, right? We've got lives to live! But when we start making other things more important than God, that's where things get messy. You'll find it's really a matter of the heart and choosing God first in all circumstances despite whatever you're doing or moving towards. Let's talk about that.
Jesus promises abundant life (John 10:10). How can we step into that? This week we discuss a conversation between Nick and Kyle that happened outside of the podcast that helped Nick do just that, which had a profound impact. Listen in!
Do you feel like fear is dominating your life? Are there things that you want to do, but can't because of fear? You are not alone. The good news is that with God, we can overcome fear and live more free. Listen in!
WELCOME BACK EVERYONE! Yes, we're late. But there's a good reason. Listen in as Kyle discusses what's been going on behind the scenes and specifically how God defines leadership. We're called to lead as God defines it, not how the world defines it. Listen in!
Merry Christmas everyone! Sincerely thank you for listening. We hope this podcast has helped you step closer to God this year & we'll be back next year. Enjoy your time off!
Ahhhh the Holidays. We're here in full swing! But oh man can they be stressful. Gotta do this, that, and the other thing, or Christmas is RUINED! Does it have to be that way? Let's take a step back and remember the true meaning of Christmas. Listen in!
We all get to a place where we feel distant from God sometimes. But what do you do when you get there? Does it mean something's fundamentally wrong? Listen in as we discuss this this week!
It's pretty easy to get overwhelmed with all the things we have to do or say yes to. And it's even harder to see a way out, sometimes! Yet God promises to give us rest? This week we're talking about how we bridge that gap. Listen in!
You probably hear people talk about "hearing" from God or doing something because God told them to. But how do you know if it is actually God or not? While there are a whole lot of things to avoid here, this is what we're focusing on today as well as how God as a loving Father corrects us so we can stay on track! Listen in!
Can people change? Like, really change? It's a question you may ask about others or even yourself. This week we're diving into that question and discussing lasting, true, inward change. Listen in!
Whether consciously aware of it or not, there is a war for your mind. Jesus calls the devil, the "Father of Lies" (John 8:44), whereas Jesus is called the Truth. Satan would have you believe false things to oppress you and Jesus would have you believe truth to set you free (John 8:32). So what is this battle like? How do we fight? How do we win? That's what we're talking about. Listen in!
God wants us to live fully alive. If you want to live fully alive, something you will have to wage war against is numbness. Which means actively making moves to cut out and reject activities or thought patterns that make us numb out and feel nothing. In other words, living half asleep. Jesus promised abundant life (John 10:10) and this is one of the barriers that'll keep us from it. Listen in!
Building off last week, we are discussing what it looks like and what active decisions we can make to build real, honest, enjoyable, life-giving friendships. On top of all that, living in this helps us experience and enjoy God in a new way. He created us to be deeply connected to others. Listen in!
A profoundly human trait is to run away from, try to control, hide, or ignore feelings we don't like. From ourselves or others! Which in turn can lead to us putting on a fake face for God. Yet, the Bible says God is our comforter in sorrow. So perhaps to have a more vibrant relationship with God we need to be more fully honest with Him about how we feel. Listen in!
Today we're talking about processing when a loved one commits suicide. It's a really heavy, painful topic and yet a reality for some of us. Kyle shares his own experience of a loved one committing suicide and his process through healing afterward. Even if you haven't experienced this, it's good to hear so you can be there for someone else.
Today we're going the more practical route. Maybe you have debt and want to get rid of it. Perhaps you're considering taking on more debt. Maybe you have none! Whatever the case, we want to be asking how we make these decisions and honor God in the process.
This one's a good one. It's so easy to put everything under your control, walk ahead of Jesus, and PROVE that you're growing. But it just isn't sustainable and ultimately doesn't work. For actual, real heart change, the Holy Spirit has to change you. So how do we step into that? Listen in!
Heavy and weighty topic this week as we discuss the reality, questions, truths, and unknowns about what happens when people pass away. This week, specifically, if we don't know if the person who passed knew Jesus. Listen in!
This week we talk about losing someone you love as well as the hope we have in Jesus after death. Listen in!
Joy! What a widely used word with so many connotations. Is it happiness? Is it long-term or short-term? Is it about having a good life? In Galatians, Joy is listed as one of the fruits of the Spirit. AKA, something that springs up out of those who believe in Jesus. Then why does it feel so elusive? Let's talk about that!
Life throws punches. At the end of the day, I just want to check out. Watch TV, play video games, eat ice cream, etc. All perfectly fine things! The problem is when we numb out to life. Avoid the pain and stack up our negative feelings till we're further and further in a pit and not moving forward. God definitely has thoughts here! Let's talk about that.
You know that feeling when someone gives you a good gift and you feel like you don't deserve it? We're digging into that today as God has given us an enormously good gift through Jesus for FREE, and yet we feel we can't receive it or we need to earn it. Let's talk about that.
God will prompt you, move you, and inspire you toward something but only give you a step to take—not a view of the whole path. God will ask us to move forward in faith, choosing to trust Him with incomplete knowledge and understanding! But that isn't easy. Let's talk about that and take that step!
Ever feel like you're stuck on the sidelines? Like you're not supposed to be in the fight? That is not what God wants for you! This week we're taking off the veil and taking a good look at what God calls us to vs what the "father of lies" wants us to believe. Listen in!
This week we're hearing Kyle speak about gaining more margin in your life. In Mark 6:31 Jesus says, "Let’s go off by ourselves to a quiet place and rest awhile." Does this sound true of your life or more like a pipe dream? And yet, Jesus spoke these words and they've been preserved in the Bible by the Holy Spirit for us to chew on! This can feel hard to live out for sure, so let's lean in and step towards this together.
Today we listen to one of Kyle's best messages about the name God has for you. We all have a name. But we fill it up with all sorts of other things. Like calling ourselves successful, a failure, inadequate, wealthy, and many other things, usually from external tangible things in life. But what about God? Do you think God has anything to say to you on this? Could God have a name for you? Listen in!
In Psalm 13, David cries out to God, "Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die." Kind of intense! And yet, very real and honest to where we can feel we are sometimes. It's difficult to be in a place where you don't feel that sparkle and can lead to a similar cry of, "God restore me!" Let's talk about that.
This is part 2 of our live recording at Crossroads College Night! If you haven't listened to part 1, it's the episode right before this. In this second half, we're diving deeper into getting out of a transactional mindset with God and then getting into some Q&A!
This was a live recording from a College Night at Crossroads Uptown! We start off by talking about gaining true wisdom in life and we jump into our main topic about when we make our relationship with God transactional. Listen next week for part 2!
Have you ever had a week where either nothing seems to be going right or you can't seem to bring yourself to do what you'd want to do to consider it a success? And then you can't help but feel like you yourself are a failure? Yeah, not fun. God has something to say about this. Let's talk about that.
Last day! Here we are on day 21 of our series in how to follow Jesus. Therefore, we're ending with a big one. In Acts 10:36 Jesus is called "Lord of all." Not only does this display Jesus' authority, it also a message of peace. How? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 20! In 1 Timothy 2:5 it says, "There is one God and one Mediator who can reconcile God and humanity—the man Christ Jesus." What does it mean that Jesus is a Mediator between us and humanity and how can we be like Him in this? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 19! We've only got a few days left. Today we're talking about when Jesus is called "a man of sorrows," in. Isaiah 53:3. Pretty heavy title to carry around! This gives us insight into Jesus, following Him, and how to love others. Listen in!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 18! In Isaiah 53:2, it is prophesied about Jesus that there was "nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him." With how much he changed the world, this can be a strange idea! There is something to be learned here in how we love others and how we are truly free to live. Let's talk about that!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 17! In Job 19:25, Job says, "But as for me, I know that my Redeemer lives, and he will stand upon the earth at last." That Redeemer is Jesus. What does this mean for our lives? Is it a small thing where life kinda gets better or is it radical transformation somehow? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 16! Jesus called us his friends in John 15:15. How does this translate into following Him and loving others well? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Week 3!! Final week! This week is all about loving people more through knowing who Jesus is. We're starting off with Jesus being a teacher. Might seem kind of odd, but there's something here that we can translate into loving the people around us. We're looking at John 3:2. Listen in!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 14, last day of week 2! This one is pretty cool. In Isaiah 9:6–7, there's a prophecy about Jesus that calls Him, "Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace." What AWESOME names! How can we hear this and follow Jesus and love him more? Listen in!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 13! Jesus is the cornerstone. In Psalm 118:22 it says, "The stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone." That's talking about Jesus! So what does this have to do with following Him & loving God? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 12! In Acts 3:15, Jesus is called the "author of life." That's a lofty name! So, in continuing our series, let's talk about that and how that translates into following Jesus by loving him.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 11! Jesus is a Savior. This is something you have probably heard before. It may even be something you feel like glossing over, but if Jesus didn't have that title, we may not be talking about him at all! And if you believe this, lean in. It's good to remember what's been given to us. We'll be looking at John 3:16 for this.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 10! Today we're talking about where Jesus is called a "Son" by God and how we also receive that title of daughter or son when we believe in Jesus. This is coming from Matthew 3:17!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 9! In Revelation 17:14 says, "Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings." That's a big title. What does that mean for us as we follow Jesus?
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Week 2 here we go! This week is all about names that help us love God, inspired from Jesus telling us the greatest command is to love God. Today's name is "Immanuel" aka God with us (Matthew 1:23). What a beautiful picture! Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301
Last day of week 1! In John 15:1-2 Jesus says, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener." What does it mean that Jesus is the true vine? Let's talk about that.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 6! In John 14:6 Jesus says, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one can come to the Father except through me." What does that mean? Let's talk about that!
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 5! Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even after dying." That's a wild promise! Let's talk about it.
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 4! Today we're talking about the same passage as yesterday, but further on when Jesus says, "I am the good shepherd."
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Day 3! Today we're discussing when Jesus says, "I am the gate for the sheep."
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 2! Today we're talking about when Jesus says, "I am the light of the world."
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
Day 1 of 21 in learning how to follow Jesus! Starting off with Jesus' seven "I Am" statements in the book of John. Today's is, "I Am the Bread of Life."
Share this with a friend! If you're in your 20's, you don't live local to Cincinnati, and you're looking for a community you can be part of, text "Anywhere20" to 301301.
If only I could control the outcome of everything in my life, then I would stop worrying, have no anxiety, and just enjoy life. What a dream. And yet, impossible. Jesus offers another way. Let's talk about that.
"Repentance." What a word. Often associated with a lot of cultural or experiential baggage. But what is it, really? Does God have a greater purpose for it, such as your freedom and joy? Let's talk about that.
If you believe in and follow Jesus, you've probably wondered what kind of role He plays in your life. I have things I want to do and accomplish! Can I keep Him on the sideline? Is He a co-pilot? Let's talk about that.
When you speak to yourself, is it kind? What about true and upbuilding? How we talk to ourselves matters as it can change what we believe about ourself or contradict what God says is true about ourselves.
Movies, media, and culture all have something to say or show about what love really is. What if we have it wrong and we're trying to chase something that God didn't even want us ot chase in the first place? Let's talk about that.
Doing something a little different this week. Join in and invite a friend! Email me how it went at nick.snider@crossroads.net
In this episode we get to learn more about who Kyle is, his story, and how asking God if He's real was part of that. Sometimes you just need to ask God directly what you're really thinking. Let's talk about that.
We've heard that following God takes faith, but what does that mean? And how does that play out, practically? How can I personally step towards real faith? Let's talk about that.
We try to earn ourselves a name we like to cover up a name we really don't like. Whether it's "weak," "not enough," "unlovable," etc, we spend our lives trying to earn a better name. However, living into who God created you as means He has a better name for you and you are free from the name you're trying to cover up. Let's talk about that.
We all have giftings whether we realize it or not. How do we identify our gifts? What if you don't believe you have any gifts? Let's talk about that.
Sometimes life just keeps throwing punches and we wonder if we should get back up. But we can and we don't need to rely only on ourselves. Let's talk about that.
The Holy Spirit can be incredibly confusing. And yet, Jesus said it's better for him to leave so that we receive the Holy Spirit. What!? So what, or who, is the Holy Spirit, and what does it mean for my life? Let's talk about that.
Welcome to the New Year! Often there are many things we think of changing. But it's usually much more complicated to actually create change. Perhaps there's a tool or a mindset shift we need. What does God have for you in 2023? Let's talk about that.
People pleasing. It plagues all of us to some extent and distracts us from what really matters. Is there a way to change that? Let's talk about that.
Sometimes life seems cruel. Genuinely terrible things can happen to innocent people. We've all wondered about it and it's a hard question to even ask. Let's talk about that.
God has a will, right? We hear that all the time. But what does that mean? Is everything that happens God's will? Can we know God's will? Let's talk about that.
Life has a way of making us believe things about ourselves that aren't true which can leave us feeling a lack of confidence. How could we become truly confident? Let's talk about that.
We all get into misunderstandings with others. Is that a thing to avoid outright? Or is there something there that we're missing that could build better relationships? Let's talk about that.
We all get hurt by other people whether that's a minor inconvenience or a larger, much more painful experience. We also hear a lot about forgiveness, but it's a difficult gap to bridge. Yet, forgiveness could be the key to experiencing freedom and healing in our soul. Let's talk about that.
Life gets tough. When it does, it's easy to wonder if God will be there for you, understandably so. Let's talk about that.
Life is much richer surrounded by people who pick you up when you fall and cheer for you when you win; people who love you for you and not a mask you wear. God designed us to experience Him through other people. But how do you find those people? Let's talk about that.
The Bible is a very well-known book. But is it trustworthy and how can we know? Let's talk about that.
In the spirit of last week's cutting out what's not good for us, how we do we alternatively actively choose what's good for us? Small, better choices for ourselves build better days and altogether a better life. Let's talk about that.
It's pretty common to have that one thing that we immediately turn to when we feel something we don't like, even subconsciously. Why do we do that? Can we choose something better? Let's talk about that.
The Church! We hear a lot about it. What is it? And what about the gaps that exist within it where we think it should be doing better? Let's talk about that.
Those parts in the Bible where it promises peace and joy and all the good things... how come there's a gap between those promises and what I experience on a daily basis?
Do you ever feel kinda crappy about yourself? Like you don't measure up or your decisions are never good enough? Yeah, we all do sometimes. But is it true? Where does your value actually come from and what are you worth?
What do you do when you feel like you don't belong and want to hide your true self from everyone? That's what we're digging into this week along with shame and how to start overcoming it.
There are so many things to believe out in the world, and so many more OPPOSITE opinions! How can we determine whether something is really true or not?
Are we cursed to live a life of stress forever? Welcome to our first episode! Jump in with us as we talk about being stressed out and a different path to take.
Hey there. You have a gift... seeing how this world could be more beautiful. Formed into a place where people are loved instead of discarded, known instead of invisible, filled with life instead of emptiness.
This world that we live in can be overwhelming. There's also great joy, hope, relief. But how do we get there? Our commitment to you is to keep it authentic. I'm Kyle, here with Nick, let's get into it.