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PODCAST

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast

Dr. James Merritt

Under the leadership and dynamic preaching of Dr. James Merritt, Touching Lives exists to touch the lives of the lost and enrich the faith of the found. Our goal is to present the eternal, never-changing Gospel of Jesus Christ to all who would hear and pray for the Holy Spirit to move mightily among His people. Touching Lives is currently broadcast in all 50 states and in over 140 countries around the world. All sermons, articles, and other content is made available through various digital media

religion & spirituality

All Episodes

45:00

Fanning The Flames | Part One

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/11/02

You may remember Frank Sinatra’s classic hit about love and marriage going together. Now, that may have been true 70 years ago, but it’s not the same today. In 1960, 59% of adults ages 18 to 29 were married compared to only 20% today. It seems our culture has become one of “hook up, shack up, and break up.” As a result, many think doing a series on marriage is a fool’s errand. But from the very beginning of time, God’s Word says, marriage has mattered, and it always will. It’s not coincidental that

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44:15

The Fire Starts Here

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/10/26

The most nervous I have ever been in my life was the day I was about to say the two words that I knew would change everything. Looking into the eyes of the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen, having known her only six months, I said, “I do.” At that moment, the word “marriage” took on a whole different meaning, from the hypothetical to the actual, from the imagined to the real, and from the abstract to the concrete. In this cultural moment, marriage is becoming like a dinosaur, with marriage rates

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44:15

Knowing God

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/10/19

What if the most brilliant mind of the 20th century was completely wrong about the most important question in life? Albert Einstein was named “Person of the Century” by Time Magazine, and his influence is everywhere you look today— from the atomic bomb to your smartphone. But as brilliant as he was in scientific theory, he unfortunately missed it when it came to spiritual theology. Even though Einstein believed in a being with “superior reasoning power,” he said, “There is a God, but we could never

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40:30

Under Water

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/10/12

Little six-year-old Nick loved church, loved the Bible, and loved Jesus. One day, his mother was walking by his bedroom and saw her son reading the Bible to the cat. She thought to herself, “Isn’t that sweet?” Well, about an hour later, she heard this terrible racket outside. She ran out the door and saw Nick trying to dunk the cat in a bucket of water. She asked, “Nick, what are you doing?!” He said, “I’m baptizing Muffin!” She said, “But cats don’t like to be put under water.” He replied

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46:45

Who Am I?

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/10/05

Did you know that nearly 85% of Americans struggle with low self-esteem? I have been part of that statistic my whole life. Low self-esteem affects how productive we are at work and how we relate at home. It can even lead to violent behavior or suicide. In my years as a pastor, I’ve discovered that the root cause often lies in the trap of comparison: measuring ourselves against others who appear better off, better looking, or in a better situation. But the fundamental question isn’t how we compare to

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45:35

The Right Side of the Road

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/09/28

A lady driving from Washington, DC, to Richmond had a flat tire and sat stranded by the roadside praying for help. Two cars passed by—one with a “Smile, God Loves You!” bumper sticker, the other reading “Honk If You Love Jesus!”—but both drivers moved to the far lane without stopping. Then a man in an old pickup with no bumper sticker pulled over, changed her tire, and refused payment, saying he hoped someone would help his wife if she were stranded. Three men drove by that day, but only one chose

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46:46

Forgiven Forgiving

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/09/21

I once read this in an article in Reader’s Digest: “Primates, like bonobos, mountain gorillas and chimps often follow confrontations with friendly behavior like embracing or kissing…The only species that has so far failed to show outward signs of reconciliation is the domestic cat.”1 Unfortunately, there are more than a few cats in the church today. When Peter asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone who sins against him, suggesting seven times as generous, Jesus responded with

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45:30

The Magic Touch

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/09/14

I remember visiting Mother Teresa’s Home for the Dying in Calcutta and remember the story of an American tourist who once witnessed her tenderly dressing a leper’s wounds. After a moment, he said, “Sister Teresa, I wouldn’t do what you’re doing for $10 million!” She replied, “My friend, neither would I. Neither would I!” Mother Teresa wasn’t motivated by money but by compassion. She modeled the heart of one of the greatest pictures of compassion in the Bible, where Jesus encounters a man with

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50:00

The Eyes of Compassion

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/09/07

Have you ever noticed that two people can look at the same thing but see completely different things? In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy and Charlie Brown are cloud gazing when Lucy confidently identifies Mount Rushmore, Michael Jordan dunking a basketball, the state of Hawaii, and the Magic Kingdom. When she asks Charlie Brown what he sees, he says, “Well, I was going to say I saw a horsey and a ducky, but now I’m not gonna say nothing.” Two of us will see completely differently, even gazing at the

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41:30

The God of Compassion

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/08/31

I remember it like yesterday: Professor Joe Master was the most intimidating instructor I ever encountered during my accounting degree. He’d call on you, and you’d better be ready. At one point, for six weeks, I was sicker than a dog. With temperatures over 102 (and eventually discovering I had pneumonia), I went to class every week, dreading whether Mr. Master would get me up in front of the class to answer a tough question. Then this professor did something unexpected: He never called on me once

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40:41

Sanctification

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/08/24

What if God’s will for your life could be summed up in one word? In 1 Thessalonians 4:3, Paul spells it out succinctly: “It is God’s will that you should be sanctified ….” But what does it actually mean to be “sanctified”? In our “Lost in Translation” series, we’re dealing with big biblical words that many of us struggle to understand and apply. Sanctification is one of the most important words in the Bible, yet we don’t hear much about it anymore. Sanctification literally means “to be set apart,”

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47:45

Conversion

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/08/17

Mike used to avoid me at neighborhood parties because he wasn’t interested in spiritual things. But when Mike was diagnosed with esophageal cancer, I visited him and shared the Gospel, and he accepted Christ. Everything about Mike radically changed from that day. If you asked what happened to him, I could tell you in one word: conversion. But what in the world is conversion? It’s a term you had better know and experience because Jesus said, “… unless you are converted and become as little children,

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45:00

Regeneration

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/08/03

What if understanding one biblical word could change everything about your relationship with God? In the comic strip Peanuts, Lucy fears a thunderstorm might flood the world, but Linus reassures her by explaining God’s promise to Noah and the rainbow as a guarantee. Lucy says Linus has really reassured her, and Linus says, “Sound theology has a way of doing that.” Indeed, the church desperately needs sound theology today, especially about salvation—what the entire Bible is all about. In our “Lost in

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42:00

Mastering Your Money

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/07/27

Have you ever wondered why money is such a persistent problem for so many of us? Both national and personal debt are at an all-time high, and most Americans don’t have reserve funds to cover a $400 emergency. Financial experts believe the solution is teaching people how to manage money, but I believe the real problem runs much deeper. After 45 years of working with all kinds of people, I’ve witnessed how both rich and poor can be enslaved by money. And whether you’re a Christian or not, the major

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41:10

We All Are

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/07/20

I'm sure you know the running joke about fishermen exaggerating the size of their catch. But in 1959, Alfred Dean didn’t need to exaggerate when he caught a 2,664-pound great white shark in Australia, the largest fish ever caught in history. The Bible tells us about an even more unbelievable story, but in reverse—the story of a fish that caught a man. Jonah’s encounter with the great fish would make worldwide news today, but here’s what might surprise you: The fish story isn’t really the point. The

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39:08

A Line In the Sand

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/07/13

At the Alamo, legend tells us, Commander William Travis drew a line in the dirt, asking his men to choose their fate—cross the line and face certain death fighting for Texas, or leave and surrender. All but one crossed that line, choosing sacrifice over surrender. Like those brave men, we face crucial choices every day. The average person makes 773,618 decisions over a lifetime and regrets 143,262 of them. While some decisions are trivial, others shape our eternal destiny. After weeks of discussing

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42:00

Heart to Heart

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/07/06

According to Harvard Business School, any company that offers a product or service is in the business of solving problems. That’s not just true about companies; it’s true about churches. And we’re facing a massive problem in the church today: We're losing the next generation. Studies project that 35 million youths raised in Christian families will stop following Jesus by 2050, which would be the largest and fastest shift in religious association in American history. Before the Israelites entered the

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44:55

Role Model

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/06/29

In 1993, Nike faced a crisis when teenage boys stopped buying their shoes. The response was to produce the infamous Charles Barkley commercial where he boldly declared, “I am not a role model…. Parents should be role models.” This sparked a fiery debate, with NBA star Karl Malone saying, “We don’t choose to be role models; we are chosen. Our only choice is whether to be a good role model or a bad one.” The truth is, they were both right. Every person is a role model to someone. The question of

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40:45

It All Begins Here

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/06/22

At this moment in the United States, the odds of our children walking with Jesus as adults are equivalent to that of a coin toss. According to the Fuller Youth Institute, 50% of high school students actively involved in their churches walk away from their faith after graduation. These aren’t casual attendees; they were the most committed teenagers who are still choosing to do life apart from Jesus once they leave high school. As President Reagan famously said about freedom, “It is never more than

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48:48

When You Don't See Eye to Eye

Touching Lives with Dr. James Merritt Audio Podcast ·

2025/06/15

Introduction:To this day, I remember the first summer I came home from college. As I walked up to our front door, my father didn’t welcome me with a hug or even a “Good to see you.” Instead, he met me with three blunt words: “Get a haircut,” though my hair barely touched my ears. My father had an unbending belief that a man’s hair should never be too long. For the first time in my life, I stood my ground. I reminded him of my good grades, my solid reputation, and how I’d never given him a minute’s

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