On this episode of Ask Us Anything, Pastor Alyssa Bream asks Pastor Stephen Mizell the following questions:

Why is Pentecost described as the birthday of the church? What would the church be like if the Holy Spirit did not exist?

Why was speaking in other languages chosen as the symbol for the Holy Spirit in the Bible?

Were they literal tongues of fire? Or were they hot?

Is speaking in tongues for today? It is something that anyone can do or is it only available for certain people?

If you have a question that you would like to be considered for an upcoming podcast, you can send us an email at onesinglestory@visitopendoor.com or submit a question in the Church Center app.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions:

What are some responses people outside the church might give if you were to ask them to provide evidence from their daily lives that they are “good people”, worthy of going to heaven?

Theological discussion: How could Abraham be saved by believing on the promise that God would give him a son? This is a far cry from the Gospel message we must believe: Jesus loved us and died for our sins. Does this mean Abraham went to heaven without hearing the Gospel of Jesus? Are there people in the world today who may go to heaven even if they have never heard the gospel of Jesus?

The reading for the day is Romans 4.

On this edition of One Single Story, Pastors Stephen Mizell and Sharon Schwartz discuss the following questions:

How hard is it to convince people in the modern world that they are sinners?

Is the language of “sinner”, and the language Paul uses in Romans 3 (e.g. “their throat is an open grave”… “poison of snakes is under their lips”) too antiquated to be effective when we share the gospel with people who are outside the church?

Are church people harder to convince of their sin than non-churched people? Is this similar to how it was more difficult to convince the Jews of their need for Christ than the Gentiles?

The reading for the day is Romans 3.