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Focus on the Family Broadcast

Discovering the Power of One

Discovering the Power of One

Pastor Kyle Idleman’s life was changed when he realized that when Jesus reached the multitudes, he actually focused on one person at a time. In this broadcast, Pastor Kyle Idleman discusses developing a mentality of compassion for others, using your words and actions to reach those in need, and loving those who many would deem “unlovable”.
Original Air Date: January 6, 2023

Preview:

Kyle Idleman: There is this really beautiful verse in Luke 8. It says that she realized she could not go unnoticed, and that verse changed my perspective. That here’s this woman who is desperate, and Jesus, even though He’s surrounded by a crowd of people, uh, is gonna notice her, and she knows He’s not gonna let her go unnoticed.

End of Preview

John Fuller: That’s Pastor Kyle Idleman touching on the way that Jesus influenced one person at a time and, uh, he’ll be offering insights today on Focus on the Family. Your host is Focus President and author, Jim Daly, and I’m John Fuller.

Jim Daly: John, I can remember a lot of times that someone came along in my life and just was the right person at the right time to encourage me in some way. One of those guys, I can remember, I had just given my life to the Lord. Things were a mess. People know that story. And I was living with my brother and his teen bride, and it just was a bit of chaos. And I remember it was a Teen Challenge. I think they had a place in Riverside, California called The Castle. And people in jail, prisoners would come and do music. And I remember just talking to this guy, African American guy, walked up to him, he just poured into me-

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … and talked about, you know, the right way to go in life. He became, uh, kind of a letter writer to me. We probably exchanged four or five letters together. And he was just a super encourager, and just caught me at the very right time when I was looking for some guidance.

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: How about you?

John: I would think for me, one of the things that comes to mind is, uh, a- a gal that worked in radio. Her name was Sue Jacoris, and we would call her at my j-… from my job, we would call her and talk to her while she was doing her afternoon shift. And at one point she said, “John, I hear a smile in your voice. Have you ever thought of doing radio?”

Jim: (laughs).

John: That kind of led me to this point, uh-

Jim: Wow.

John: … all these years later, but it was that word at that time, and she kind of encouraged me along the way in that process.

Jim: Now the question becomes, have we been doing that? Have we kind of paid it forward with people in our lives?

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: I hope so. I try to. I try to be mindful of that connect-… Especially with younger leadership, and to talk with them about what it means to be a Christian leader, et cetera. Um, it’s easy to wonder if we’re taking the time and the energy to be available to others, especially when you’ve got a busy schedule, you’ve got to start prioritizing. But 1 John 3:17-18 says, “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Oh, there’s a fundamental question.

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: He goes on to say, “Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.” And that’s a great message for the church today in every direction. It’s so important to realize that if we aren’t reaching those around us that seem hard to love especially, we’re kind of missing the point of the gospel.

John: Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think God gives us opportunities every day. We’ll hear a little bit more from the heart of Pastor Kyle Idleman. Uh, he’s the Senior Pastor of Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky. Uh, he’s a frequent speaker and, uh, and author, and has written a book about his own experiences, um, in learning this kind of a lesson. It’s called One at a Time: The Unexpected Way God Wants to Use You to Change the World. And we’ll encourage you to get a copy from us here at the ministry, uh, just stop by focusonthefamily.com/broadcast.

Jim: Kyle, welcome for the first time to Focus on the Family, great to have you.

Kyle: Thank you. Good to be here. I listen to you guys often, so, uh-

Jim: We love to hear that (laughs).

Kyle: Yeah, that’s true. Sometimes you’re on podcasts, and you’ve never, um, heard it before, but both of your voices are familiar to me, so thanks for having me on.

Jim: Oh, that’s fun.

John: Thank you.

Jim: Hey, when your daughter was two years old, you had a scary experience with her. Uh, what happened, what kind of vision did that give you? It’s always good to learn from your kids, right (laughs).

Kyle: Yeah, it is. Well, and you know, your kids teach you how God not only sees you, but how He sees others, and- and really becoming a father helped me see the world differently, see the world and see other people through the lens of God as a father. And so when my daughter was two, I came home, uh, from work and she had been taking a nap, and one of my favorite things to do as a dad was to wake them up from their nap, you know, just really-

Jim: That’s not a good thing to do (laughs), let me tell you.

Kyle: It’s not good when they’re a teenager.

Jim: They get a little cranky.

Kyle: Yeah. Uh, you don’t want to wake them up (laughing) from a nap when they’re a teenager, but when they’re two-

Jim: Okay.

Kyle: … that’s pretty sweet.

Jim: You can get away with it.

Kyle: Yeah. You know, they’re excited to see you and are ready to wake up and play. And so I went up to her room, uh, opened the door to wake her up. And she wasn’t in her bed, and then I- I quickly noticed that a- a chest of drawers was on-

Jim: Oh, my.

Kyle: … the ground. And she had, uh, climbed up on this chest of drawers, it had fallen over on top of her, and I yelled for my wife. And I picked up the chest of drawers and she was, uh, non-responsive and, uh, already swollen and black and blue.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: Didn’t really look like herself. And I scooped her up in my arms and-

Jim: All right.

Kyle: … um, we tried to call 911, uh, several times. Nobody picked up. And just kind of this moment of panic. We got in the car, headed towards the hospital. My wife was in the backseat with her, um, I remember very vividly, um, driving while I could hear my wife, you know, praying over her. And I f- felt God’s presence in a way that I hadn’t before in my life. Um, she would go on to make a full recovery, but recognizing, okay, the way I see her is the way God sees people all around me as sons and daughters. There- there’s this beautiful story in Luke 8 where the woman with the issue of blood tries to stay hidden in a crowd and this, um, woman thinks, “If I can just touch Him, I’ll- I’ll be healed.” And so she reaches out. Jesus knows that power’s gone out from Him, and so He stops everything. And there’s this really beautiful verse in Luke 8. It says of the woman that she realized she could not go unnoticed, and that verse changed my perspective. It changed the lens through which I thought of impact and influence. That here’s this woman who is desperate, and Jesus, even though He’s surrounded by a crowd of people, uh, is gonna notice her, and she knows He’s not gonna let her go unnoticed. And then when He sees her, He says to her, “Daughter.” He calls her daughter. And when I read that in Luke 8, it reminded me of that moment as a father. And how Jesus sees this woman in Luke 8 is how I was thinking of my daughter in this desperate moment, um, that was my focus, that was what I cared about in that moment. And Jesus had that heart for this woman and He- He refers to her daughter, which was… would’ve been very unusual, if not inappropriate for a rabbi to refer to a woman in such an intimate, personal term. But that’s- that’s how He saw her. And when He saw her, He knew everything about her-

Jim: Yeah.

Kyle: … He knew the journey that she’d been on, the experiences that she’d had, and- and He speaks to her, you know, in a way that helps us understand His one at a time heart for people.

Jim: Yeah. I’ve often thought about that, how much marriage and then parenting reflects God.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: I mean He puts these simple things together for us to know Him, to experience Him. And it… uh, even if you’re a non-believer and you’re loving your children, that’s a character of God for us.

Kyle: Mm-hmm. That’s right.

Jim: And it’s built into our heart, as everybody’s made in the image of God. Uh, you have a story about a family at your church who wanted to celebrate their daughter’s cancer recovery and, uh, I believe you went, but they did it at a different church. Tell us what happened.

Kyle: Uh, yeah. So, I had a leader in our church who’s been a friend of mine for a while, he’s name is Dennis. And, um, he and his family had been on a pretty long journey with a daughter that they had adopted, who not long after the adoption, uh, was diagnosed with a pretty serious, uh, form of cancer. Um, we had prayed with them and kind of walked with them through all of this. And- and one day I get a text from him and it says, “Hey, she is cancer free. We’re gonna throw a party to celebrate it. You’re invited.” And, uh, and then it had the location. And it wasn’t at our church, it was at a church down the road. And I’m like, “Well, that’s weird. Why aren’t we celebrating this at- at our church? At his church?” And so I texted him back and like, “Hey, man, I’ll be there. I wouldn’t wanna miss this. So happy for you. Got to ask-

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: … why- why aren’t we hosting this party?” And he was really gracious about it. He just said, “Well, there was a little too much red tape and, um, we just decided to do it at the… this church down the road. It was just a little easier.” And, you know, I appreciated him being gracious, but immediately I’m like, “How did that happen?”

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: And- and so I- I went and I talked to some of our- our folks, um, that are in charge of facilities, and these are people who I know love Jesus. Many of them have, you know, sacrificed so that they can serve the church in this way. So, I know that they are-

Jim: Yeah, nobody’s-

Kyle: … well intended.

Jim: Sure.

Kyle: Like they are not against celebrating four-year-old girls who recover from cancer.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: Like th- they would not have that heart. So, I went to try to understand it, and they talked to me about there are just so many requests and we sort of have this philosophy that if we can’t do it for everyone, then it’s not something we can do. And I understood practically how a decision like that gets made, the problem of course is that it doesn’t at all reflect the Gospel. You know, that’s not the heart of Jesus. And so, um, we talked a little bit more-

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: … about what’s a… what’s a different approach that we can have. And- and so they came up with this, uh, value of we want to do for one what we wish we could do for everyone. And I love that. And- and they began doing that in some really practical ways. Um, for example, at- at one of our campuses, uh, they started a t-… a type of valet parking for some people who needed to park closer than our handicapped spots would allow. And it wasn’t very practical, right? But that’s what you do for the one. And, um, as a church, we just began to say, “We wanna be known for these stories. We want that to be-

Jim: That’s great.

Kyle: … how we’re identified.” It’s impractical, doesn’t always make sense-

Jim: Yeah.

Kyle: … but that’s a lot of the Gospels.

Jim: Yeah, it’s so good. Um, in your book, One at a Time, and obviously the big narrative is reach the person right in front of you, right? What does the Lord want you to do-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … in that relationship? And that’s a great piece of advice, because so often we’re thinking we’ve got to do something bigger, something more impactful-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … but one at a time really makes it happen for all of us. If every Christian were doing this, think of the impact that would be. But you do caution Christians, uh, to make sure that you let God work in us before He works through us. What are you getting at?

Kyle: Well, for me, as a pastor and in ministry for a long time, I defined influence and impact by what God was doing through me. And I would pray prayers that would focus on, “God, what great things do You wanna do through me (laughing)?” And I think they were well intended, you know?

Jim: I like the question.

Kyle: Yeah. I- I think it was not, um, I- I don’t think it was selfish. I’m sure some of it was, but- but for the most part, I think it was a desire to be used by God to influence and impact people. And- and what I’ve discovered over the years is that God often wants to do, I would even say always wants to do some things in you first, and then out of what He’s doing in You, He’ll do some things through you to reach people, to impact people. Um, you know, your story’s a good reflection of this, right? Like you go through some difficult challenges and struggles, um, as a child and growing up, and now God uses you to help people one at a time in that way. And so I- I think all of us have some ways that God has worked or wants to work in us, so that He can do His work through us. But if we’ll shift our prayers from, “God, what do you wanna do through me today?” to, “God, what are you wanting to do in me today?” m-… I’ve just learned that that prayer of in you, leads to the through you.

Jim: Yeah. And I think in that context, I appreciate you raising that, ’cause I think Jean taught me a couple of great lessons. I mean one of the things I would say, because you move through those points of pain and then you’re on the other side, you see how God has used it in your own life so you can be quick to the trigger, like Romans 8:28. Oh, “He’ll work all things for good for those who love Him,” right?

Kyle: Yes.

Jim: And if you say that too quickly to a hurting person, that only adds soreness to the wound, let me say it that way.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: You have to have maturity to know that person’s gonna need to walk a bit through that pain valley before they can begin to understand God can work all things. So, that’s what you’re talking about. And maturity, I would think as well, just, you know, letting God work in you so that you can help others. But timing and- and saying the right word at the right time is really critical.

John: Yeah. It’s a good reminder to have our, um, our eyes open to the people around us, and- and to be able to pour out of our pain into other people, uh, at their point of need. This is Focus on the Family with Jim Daly. And our guest today is Kyle Idleman and, uh, he’s written a terrific book. It’s called One at a Time: The Unexpected Way God Wants to Use You to Change the World. And, uh, we’d encourage you to get a copy from us here at the ministry, uh, at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast, or call 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY.

Jim: Kyle, you, uh, this is so funny, I love these funny stories that authors write about (laughs) that we could pull it out of the book. But you talk about skiing with your son and you learned a lesson between sympathy and compassion. This is something I would’ve done (laughing). Tell me what happened.

Kyle: Uh, my son and I go on an annual, uh, ski trip for a few days and I ski within my limits. I’m pretty careful. He, uh, goes as quickly as he can down the mountain. And, uh, we were at Keystone, I was giving him my lecture as we went up towards the top on the lift.

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: Uh, behave.

Jim: About safety.

Kyle: Be careful. Safety.

Jim: Don’t go in the trees.

Kyle: You know, right. At the-

Jim: Pizza. Pizza. Pizza.

Kyle: (laughs) Ye- yes.

Jim: It’s where you put your t-… skis together in front.

Kyle: Skis together, yes. I- I snowplow all the way down for me.

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: But he’s, you know, he’s not as careful. So, we get to the top and he starts flying down the mountain. Uh, and I’m making my way down. He’s quickly out of sight. And as I’m going down I see a guy off to the side, um, who is just sprawled out, right? His skis are off, his poles are in different direction, and I think, “Ah, I hate that. Poor guy. That is a rough way to start the day.” Like in my heart I feel sympathy for him, but that’s about it. And as I get a little bit closer, I realize, “Uh-oh, that’s my son (laughing).” And, uh-

Jim: That’s exactly it.

Kyle: … I go over there as quickly as I can and, uh, he snapped his clavicle.

Jim: Oh.

Kyle: He broke his collarbone and had to be-

Jim: That is a hard way to start the day.

Kyle: Yeah, it was a hard way to start the day. But in that moment, like nothing else really mattered. I was gonna make sure he was taken care of, I was gonna do something about it. And, you- you know, this is the difference between having sympathy and being compassionate. You know, compassion is not just a feeling, it’s an- an action. It’s interesting in the Gospels, the most commonly attributed emotion to Jesus, uh, is compassion. Like He had all kinds of emotions, but compassionate is the primary emotion He felt. Which is fascinating, because most of our emotions come from what we experience, what’s happening to us.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: If you think about your emotions, it’s typically you’re sad, you’re happy, you’re angry because of what’s happening to you. The primary emotion that Jesus felt was based on what happened to other people.

Jim: Yeah. So, often the Word says, “He had compassion on…”

Kyle: He had compassion. Yeah, and what’s interesting too in that is the word that often follows this compassion, uh, um, description of Jesus is the word and. Almost always there’s an and. Jesus had compassion and He healed and He fed and He prayed. Jesus had compassion and.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: So, compassion always has an and to it, it’s not just, uh, feeling a certain way. It’s doing something about it. And one of the things I’ve learned about myself personally, I know it’s true for a lot of believers, is that we have compassion, or we have these feelings of compassion and we feel good about ourselves because we feel a certain way, you know? Because we feel sorry, or we feel sympathy, um, but we don’t actually do anything about it. And- and so the real test of compassion, the real test of being able to tell one at a time stories, is to ask, “Is there an and here? A- am I doing something about it, or am I just feeling a certain way?”

Jim: Yeah. You know, we started the program talking about people that encouraged you and me, John.

John: Mm-hmm. Right.

Jim: And, uh, the power of words spoken to one another. Uh, you had that experience when you were a little boy. I think you got glasses.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: I was also a little boy with glasses. I think bullying has only gotten worse. I doubt it’s gotten any better-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … so we probably experienced the same kind of chides in school, you know-

Kyle: Yeah.

Jim: … four eyes. I never quite understood what that meant (laughing). But, you know, all the little barbs that kids throw at each other. Uh, so what was your story and how did your teacher actually give you encouragement?

Kyle: Yeah, it’s interesting, when you reverse engineer how people have influenced you one at a time-

Jim: Right.

Kyle: … the things you remember, you guys did that as you shared it, and- and for me this was one of those moments. I was, um, I was in the third grade, I had just, uh, got glasses, was very self-conscious. I had big ears, buck teeth, now you add the glasses to that-

Jim: (laughs)

Kyle: … and I- I, uh, walked into my third-grade classroom and, uh, a number of the kids started laughing at me. And listen, the glasses my parents picked out for me were rough. They were like the Sally Jessy Raphael glasses.

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: You know, big-

Jim: Bigger than your face.

Kyle: Right (laughing). They- they were probably the cheapest ones on the wall and that’s what I got.

Jim: (laughs).

Kyle: So, I walked in and the kids started laughing at me. I remember a few kids kind of pointing and- and, um, my teacher, Mrs. Zies was her name, she had this moment where everybody got quiet and she said, “I think you look like Clark Kent.” And it just changed, you know, everything for me. That, uh, in that moment I felt so self-conscious and, uh, she just with one sentence, you know, took all of that off of me. And- and that stuck with me throughout that year when I put those glasses on. And- and I, you know, the Bible talks about this, that it’s not just the right word, it’s the right word from the right person at the right time that could have incredible impact. And one of the ways that’s happened for me is when somebody says, you know, “Kyle, here’s something I see in you.” And learning to start some sentences with, “I see in you…” and then recognize some things, you know, point out some things that are specific to their character or unique to the way God made them. I had an eighth-grade teacher who, after Sunday school class one day, he was an accountant, had me stay after Sunday school class and just said to me, “Hey, I see in you somebody that God’s gonna use to have an impact in this world.”

Jim: Wow.

Kyle: And maybe, in fact, I would guess he did that for most of the kids in the class. It was probably just my turn.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: But I- I believed it. I believed it when he said it. I was, you know, an awkward teenager, and to have somebody pull me aside and just say, “Hey, I see this in you,” was really impactful for me.

Jim: And that can go both directions. I mean it can be that positive word, we’ve talked about that, our own experiences. It can also be a negative experience that communicates something. You had a story about a prisoner, and I think he had a photograph in prison-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … and tell us that story, ’cause to me that’s a great example of some things not to do.

Kyle: I was, um, visiting a- a prison, having a time to share with some of the- the inmates there. And afterwards a guy came up to me who, you know, was pretty intimidating. He’s kind of this big guy with tattoos going up his neck and, you know, the kind of person that if you ran into him on the road, you’d just be a little nervous. Like I don’t wanna do anything to upset this guy.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: And he came to speak to me afterwards and he had his Bible with him, and he pulled a photograph out of his Bible and he showed it to me. And he asked me, “Do you notice anything in this picture?”

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: He handed it to me and I looked at it. I was looking at it, it was him in his driveway, um, holding a beer can up to the camera. And I looked at it, I didn’t really see anything, but I could tell he wanted me to see it.

Jim: Yeah.

Kyle: I kept staring at it, and then I finally noticed in the background, it was a little faded, but there was a church across the street from where he lived.

Jim: In the picture.

Kyle: In the picture.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: Small church, um, that was just right across the street. And I said… I handed it back to him. I said, “You lived across the street from the church.” And he said, “Yeah, for seven years I lived across the street from the church.” I knew where the conversation was going. Like I knew it. And I instinctively apologized before he told me what the story was.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: I said, “Uh, you know, I- I am sorry.” And he said, “Why didn’t anybody ever come over and just talk to me? Why didn’t anybody ever invite me? Why…” and he, you know, the only time he had any interaction with the people in that church was if his grass got a little bit too long and they’d leave a note in his mailbox and-

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: … and he was asking me why. At first I thought it was a rhetorical question, because to me the answer seemed obvious, right? I knew why, but he was genuinely trying to understand. And I explained to him, you know, that they were scared. You- you know, that they were, uh, afraid of saying the wrong thing, or being rejected, or they were busy and distracted. And- and he was just so confused-

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: … because he had found a life in Jesus that he had been so desperately searching for, and for seven years he lived across the street from a church, watched people walk in carrying the same Bible that he now holds that changed his life. And, you know, he didn’t understand why no one walked across the street.

Jim: That’s a good picture to imagine for people a- around us, right? To think of him.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: And that could be that opportunity for that person to avoid a lot of pain.

Kyle: Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Jim: And to become a believer in Christ before the big challenges occur. Uh, you have a story also in the book about Randy and how he challenged you to love those who are hard to love.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: What- what was Randy’s story?

Kyle: Um, Randy was a young boy in the very first church I preached at, it’s called Christ’s Church of Perseverance (laughing) and-

Jim: There’s a… there’s a church that just welcomes all.

Kyle: Yes. Uh, and, you know, after I was there for a while, I understood the- the name of that church a little bit more. But I loved those people and- and it was a church of maybe 30 or 40 folks and I was 19 or 20 at the time. And there was this boy that would get dropped off at church, but his parents would never come. And he would just cause me all kinds of problems. Was always running around and, uh, being a distraction and lots of energy and no discipline. And- and one day I was up preaching and I could see out in the lobby, um, where he was running around. There were these glass paneled doors between the sanctuary and the lobby, I could see him running around. In the middle of my sermon he took what turned out to be a Matchbox car and he chucked it at the window (laughs) or at the door and the glass broke. And I was… I was done with Randy. I- I- I (laughs) took him… my wife and I took him after church and we went to his house, and he lived in this trailer park behind the church. And I was gonna tell his mom, “Hey, you know, he can’t keep coming by himself. If- if- if he’s gonna c-… you’re gonna have to come with him.” And- and she meets us right outside the door and she is angry, “What did that blankety blank do now?” And she’s, um, just going off on- on him.

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: And I kind of looked into that- that trailer and I could see where there was a- a bed on the couch, pillow and blankets, and I just kind of, uh, knew that’s where he… Randy slept, and- and this was the home that he was in. And in that moment, I loved Randy (laughs). You know, I-

Jim: It changed.

Kyle: … my heart, oh, it just changed completely. You know, I mean immediately I’m talking to the mom and, you know, I’m like, “Hey, you’ve got a special one here (laughing)” You know, just- just having the opportunity to hear enough of his story-

Jim: Yeah.

Kyle: … uh, it- it changed the way that- that I saw him. I said to his mom, “We’d love to have you come too. If you do, I’ve got a sermon waiting on you.”

Jim: (laughing).

Kyle: Uh, but we were hoping that she would come. She never did, but he kept… he kept coming and, you know, the love that we had for him changed because we took the time-

Jim: Yeah.

Kyle: … to understand a little bit of-

Jim: Mm-hmm.

Kyle: … what was going on in his life.

Jim: Which is what he was looking for actually.

Kyle: Yeah. Yes.

Jim: Even through his desperate deeds-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … he was looking for affirmation-

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … affection-

Kyle: Yeah.

Jim: … love.

Kyle: He- he wanted to not go unnoticed.

Jim: Right.

Kyle: You- you know, he wanted to be seen.

John: Mm-hmm.

Jim: Right. That’s so good. And you’ve done such a great job with this book, One at a Time, and, uh, you really encourage us to set aside all those distractions and love on that one person. It’s a great reminder, it’s what the spirit of God would want us to do. I fully believe so. Thank you so much for being with us and talking to us about this.

Kyle: Great to be with you. Thank you.

Jim: And, uh, for the listeners and viewers, I mean I- I would encourage you to get a copy of this. We’ll make it easy. If you can just, uh, send us a gift of any amount, we’ll send it to you as out way of saying thank you for supporting the ministry. All the proceeds go right back in the ministry. There’s no profits that we share here (laughs). It just goes right back to the ministry. So, get, uh, Kyle’s great book, One at a Time, through Focus on the Family, and I would encourage you to apply it. I’d start a little journal, that sometimes helps.

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: It would help me. What did the Lord do today when I worked out of His character and not mine-

Kyle: Mm-hmm.

Jim: … and showed kindness to somebody? So, uh, get your copy today.

John: Yeah. Our number is 800, the letter A, and the word FAMILY. And, uh, again, the book is called One at a Time, uh, stop by and donate at focusonthefamily.com/broadcast. We hope you have a restful weekend and that you join us on Monday when Miles Mettler asks the question, “What kind of message are you sending to your children?”

Dr. Miles Mettler: If we’re continually criticizing or condemning our kids, m-… complaining about them, they don’t stop loving us, they stop loving themselves, and that’s not a good place to be.

John: On behalf of Jim Daly and the entire team, thanks for joining us today for Focus on the Family. I’m John Fuller inviting you back as we once again help you and your family thrive in Christ.

Today's Guests

One at a Time: The Unexpected Way God Want to Use You to Change the World

Receive the book One at a Time for your donation of any amount!

Recent Episodes

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Creating a Shared Vision for Your Marriage (Part 2 of 2)

Pastor Sean and Lanette Reed describe their marital journey and God’s faithfulness. Although many wondered if their relationship would survive, the Reeds were proactive about creating a long-term plan and a godly legacy for future generations of their family. (Part 1 of 2)

Focus on the Family Broadcast logo

Creating a Shared Vision for Your Marriage (Part 1 of 2)

Pastor Sean and Lanette Reed describe their marital journey and God’s faithfulness. Although many wondered if their relationship would survive, the Reeds were proactive about creating a long-term plan and a godly legacy for future generations of their family. (Part 1 of 2)

Focus on the Family Broadcast logo

Establishing Clear Boundaries in Your Life

Pastor Kevin Thompson helps you learn how to navigate the roads of life—circumstances, situations relationships—by staying in your lane. By examining what belongs to us, what belongs to others, and what belongs to God, you’ll get a strong grasp on boundaries and how to apply them in your life.

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A Legacy of Music and Trusting the Lord

Larnelle Harris shares stories about how God redeemed the dysfunctional past of his parents, the many African-American teachers who sacrificed their time and energy to give young men like himself a better future, and how his faithfulness to godly principles gave him greater opportunities and career success than anything else.

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Accepting Your Imperfect Life

Amy Carroll shares how her perfectionism led to her being discontent in her marriage for over a decade, how she learned to find value in who Christ is, not in what she does, and practical ways everyone can accept the messiness of marriage and of life.