Showing results by narrator "David A. Smith" in All Categories

Is it really free? Unlimited? Can it save “a wretch like me”? A few years ago I was invited to write a series of radio essays on this greatest of all Bible topics: Amazing grace. I had a lot of fun with it! It’s always been my job, during my radio years, to dig and claw and scratch and find the most memorable illustrations possible. So I went to a lot of Dodger games. I didn’t exactly turn in my receipts, including parking and popcorn, but it was a wonderful experience to try to find ways of making this wonderful theme in Scripture come to life here in the 21st century.

It’s only thirty seconds of quiet inspiration, but no song in the world has transformed lives like “Amazing Grace.” The haunting message of just four simple lines sweeps away theologies and arguments and presents us with heaven’s one singular rescue mission: God’s grace that flows from Calvary. In these cheerful but poignant chapters, Dan and David Smith go line by line through John Newton’s classic gospel message. If grace could rescue him from his sordid, cynical hell of being captain of a slave ship, can it liberate men and women here in the 21st century? Yes, it can!

They call it the “Death Zone” – 26,000 feet high, close to the roof of the world, where the planet’s rotation causes 140 mph winds. What makes alpine climbers risk fortunes and even their lives in order to stand for five minutes on the world’s highest peak? Mount Everest is also the wind-swept battlefield for personality conflicts, the unfolding of ego-driven dramas, and the sometimes unheralded stories of courage and sacrifice as one climber lays down his life for another.1996 marked a tragic climbing season in Nepal when icy storms blew in and left a number of climbers dead.

Sue Baines wins every lottery prize there is, except the one attached to a honeymoon suite. At 55 and still alone, she figures a quick stint as Bangkok Christian School’s substitute principal is just one more of God’s many missionary assignments. Can a gray-haired lady cross nine time zones flying to Thailand and meet her first credible love interest?

A cancer diagnosis robs the two Gray gentlemen – Big Ethan and Little Ethan – of a bride and beloved grandma. Unable to cope with Seattle’s jagged memories, Pastor Ethan gratefully embraces an invitation to move to Thailand and lead Bangkok Christian School's affiliate worship center, United Christian Church. Soon enough the story has a thumping soundtrack as Noah Charoenkul drafts the aging rocker to be his keyboardist for praise music at school and church.

This is a love story with a heartbreaking backdrop: a dangerous cult group that threatens the Body of Christ and the many courageous Christian churches throughout Bangkok. Truth be told, I have never experienced any sort of cult upheaval in Thailand. But years ago I had a role in a Mark Finley evangelistic adventure in Moscow, and a violent extremist group was regularly attacking our ministers. They were angry, they were violent, they were absolutely convinced that they and only they were right, that only they had God’s blessing, that only they were going to make it to heaven.

It takes adept multitasking for Ratana to thrive as a third-year med student who also does church concerts throughout Bangkok. Then one more thing threatens to explode her frantic schedule at Chulalongkorn U. His name is Jaidee: a heart-melting two-year-old orphan who needs a new mommy.

The Essential Classics: Volume 2 brings together 5 of the greatest classics ever written, perfectly read by an esteemed cast including Adjoa Andoh, David Rintoul, Kobna Holdbrook Smith, and Jonathan Keeble. Spanning the Atlantic, this collection includes stories of vampiric horror in Dracula, Poirot's first outing in The Mysterious Affair at Styles, as well as Emily Brontë's timeless tale of love on the moors, and more.

If God picked up His paintbrush and painted yet another new world into existence, a warning could be blazed across the sky. Don’t let madmen build nuclear bombs. Drugs and divorce can really hurt. Try to avoid a repeat of 9/11. And, Queen Lady, stay away from that apple tree! But what if a network of unstained worlds was already out there before the mess began on Earth?

In his bestseller, “The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry,” John Mark Comer suggests that a Christian can best celebrate the joy of “Sabbath” in two delicious ways. First, the family must bake a foot-square chocolate-chip cookie, smother it with ice cream, then joyously devour said cookie. But I love Idea #2: curl up on Sabbath afternoon with a great novel. I assume he means winsome adventures where the protagonist has heaven as their ultimate goal, and the Body of Christ as their highest passion! Which is where these Bangkok love stories come into play.

Resurrected Love is yet another dramatic love story set in exotic Thailand where Buddhist harmony and Christian miracles flow in co-existing streams. And sixth-grade kids the world over are very fond of teasing their beloved American teacher when they suspect Miss Giske has a new fan.

What do Bob Uecker and Sandy Koufax have to do with your success as a Christian? What on earth do Dodger Stadium and Boston’s “Green Monster” left-field wall have to do with heaven? And is Kirk Gibson’s miracle homer in the ’88 World Series–“High fly ball, into right field, she is . . . GONE!”–a foretaste of the joy we will experience at Jesus’ second coming? Bible writers often used the ordinary things of life to illuminate their lessons about eternal life. James spoke to us about ships’ rudders and olive trees. Paul wrote about soldiers’ armor and training hard for the OIympic Games.