A Better Answer with Kyle Ranson
Crossroads Church
Episodes
067 - "Yeah, but..." Hunting
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.
066 - You Can Do Hard Things (ft. Justin Mosteller)
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!
065 - Fear of Failure
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!
064 - Will God Abandon You? (ft. Justin Mosteller)
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!
063 - Run Your Race
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!
062 - Do You Know Your Needs? (ft. Justin Mosteller)
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!
061 - How Do You Know if You're "All 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.
060 - How Do You Choose Which Way to Go? // Why Relationships Are Extremely Important
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!
059 - When You Put Something Ahead of God
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.
058 - Becoming REALLY Alive & Kyle's Morning Routine with God
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!
057 - Don't Let Fear Control Your Life
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!
056 - How Does God Define Leadership? + Kyle's New Role!
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!
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!
055 - How Do You Survive the Holidays?
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!
054 - When You Feel Distant From God ft. Justin Mosteller
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!
053 - Are You Tired??
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!
052 - Can You Hear God? Also, Does God Discipline Us?
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!
051 - Can People Change?
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!
050 - The War for Your Mind: Lies & Truth
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!
049 - Living Fully Alive: Rejecting Numbness ft. Justin Mosteller
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!
048 - Living Fully Alive: Real Friendship & God ft. Justin Mosteller
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!
047 - Living Fully Alive: Being Fully Honest With God ft. Justin Mosteller
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!
046 - Processing When A Loved One Commits Suicide
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.
045 - Making Wise Decisions About Debt as a Christian
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.
044 - Self Empowerment vs Holy Spirit Empowerment
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!
043 - What Happens When Someone Dies and I Don't Know If They Believed In Jesus?
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!
042 - Processing the Death of a Loved One & The Hope Jesus Gives Us in Death
This week we talk about losing someone you love as well as the hope we have in Jesus after death. Listen in!
041 - Finding Real Joy
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!
040 - Coping & The Purpose in Suffering
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.
039 - Am I Worthy? / I Don't Feel Like I Deserve Good Gifts
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.
038 - Stepping Towards What God is Calling You To
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!
037 - Are You a Civilian or a Soldier?
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!
036 - The Importance of Margin in Your Life!
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.
035 - The Name God Has for You
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!
034 - God Restore Me! ft. Justin Mosteller
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.
033 - [LIVE - Part 2] Stop Earning Your Relationship with God + Q&A
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!
032 - [LIVE - Part 1] What is True Wisdom and Does God Show Up Even When I Don't?
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!
031 - Why Do I Feel Like a Failure?
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.
030 - Stop Trying to Control Your Life
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.
029 - What is Repentance, Really?
"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.
028 - Why Should I Put Jesus First in My Life?
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.
027 - Stop Beating Yourself Up
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.
026 - What is Real Love?
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 to chase in the first place? Let's talk about that.
025 - Love is an Action
Doing something a little different this week. Join in and invite a friend! Email me how it went at nick.snider@crossroads.net
024 - Kyle's Story & Asking God if He's Real
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.
023 - What is Real Faith?
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.
022 - The Name God Gives You
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.
021 - Am I Gifted in Anything?
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.
020 - How Do I Face Discouragement When Life Keeps Beating Me Up?
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.
019 - What is the Holy Spirit?
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.