Our ministry has changed a lot since the start of the full scale invasion. Like it or now the conditions around you can have a powerful negative or positive affect on how you share the gospel. Here are a few ways that I see the conditions of war have changed how the gospel message goes out. We must say, however, that the content of the gospel message never changes. Nevertheless, our methods, approaches, and attitudes about the gospel can change drastically. 1. War Tests the Gospel Verse: 1 Peter...
Jul 25, 2025•25 min
Recently, I’ve heard claims—mainly from conservative media in the West—suggesting that the Ukrainian government is persecuting churches. Is this true? In this video, I share firsthand insight into Ukraine’s religious freedoms, the constitutional protection of faith, and the real reason behind the 2023 law concerning churches tied to Moscow. While Ukraine remains a country where religious freedom is protected, the situation in Russian-occupied territories is completely different. I share the stor...
Apr 17, 2025•13 min
America is in an identity crisis. People are searching for their identity and going to all kinds of drastic measures to change their identity in the desperate hope that with a new identity they will finally overcome their feelings of depression, anger, frustration, and lack of self-worth. . You can simply look at some of the best selling books to find evidence for this. Last year the book “Untamed” was published by Glennon Doyle and has remained in the top 5 on the New York Times best seller lis...
Oct 09, 2024•33 min
Unfortunately, as you look around our world it is not hard to find people who are rich, famous, in places of power, and over all who seem to be enjoying the “good life” yet they are also evil and have no fear of God. They say what they want and they do what they want. They seem to live on their own terms. Not only do their lives go against God and his Word but often they threaten the lives of those who are poor, who are in difficult circumstances and yet who honor God. This type of injustice can...
Aug 18, 2024•32 min
There is something about the worth of the Gospel that is greater than any threat we can face, physically or otherwise. For us personally, I believe that God called us to Ukraine, and the conditions where we live should not change God’s calling in our lives. This morning, I want to talk with you a little bit about the worth of the Gospel in our lives. We all make decisions based on what we think is worth it, what we value in our lives. The thing we value most, above all else, is the one thing we ...
May 24, 2024•34 min
What is the relationship between risk, God’s glory and God’s calling in our lives. This sermon based upon Isaiah 42:8-9. The post Risk, Calling, and God’s glory | Isaiah 42:8-9 first appeared on The Suko Family .
May 10, 2024•25 min
We answer your questions about life in Ukraine and what’s going on now here on the ground exactly 2 years after Russia’s invasion on February 24, 2022. Below are some of the questions we answer in the video/podcast. 1. What is your plan if Russia wins the war and perhaps Odessa is threatened with being under Soviet control? 2. What is the perception of the Ukrainian people about America’s support or lack of support? 3. At the beginning of the war, when you were relatively safer in Moldova, what ...
Feb 25, 2024•44 min
The situation in Ukraine continues to draw concern. Winter brings heightened worries about power infrastructure and heating, especially in the face of potential advancements by Russia. The big question on everyone’s mind remains: Will the United States continue to stand by Ukraine? As we navigate this uncertain period, your prayers and support are invaluable. Despite these challenges, we’re grateful for the provision of power and heating so far. We recognize the freedom we have in Ukraine—a free...
Dec 15, 2023•12 min
Unfortunately, we live in a world where it seems that terrors are multiplying. None of us want to be in a place of terror and yet we have all been there one way or another. Certainly, our family has been at the center of some terror in the past few months in Ukraine. At first it was rumors of war. Tanks, artillery, soldiers, weapons of every kind moving in on three sides of the country. For at least a month we received almost daily communications from the US government to leave the country. Then...
Jul 16, 2022•34 min
The Orthodox Church teaches that praying for your dead loved ones helps their soul make the 40 day journey from earth to heaven where along the way they will encounter many devils and 20 testings that will purify their souls and prepare them for heaven. *Quick links 2:35 Visit to Kyiv Pechersk’ Lavra 5:35 Going into the caves 12:00 Praying for the dead 14:25 Orthodox teaching of what happens after death 15:13 The 20 “Mytarstva the soul must pass through 20:36 Bible verses used by Orthodox to exp...
Oct 13, 2021•35 min•Season 2Ep. 13
Today Christina joins me on the podcast to talk about her ministry of counseling both unbelieving and believing. Also we talk about the difference between parenting for the now and parenting for the long-term. *Quick links 1:33 Background on Christina’s counseling ministry 4:15 Why is it important to meet in person? 6:08 How do you counsel someone whose homelife is far from ideal? 7:50 What is the biggest problem unbelievers have with the gospel? 12:22 Marriage is hard work 16:25 Have fun while ...
Oct 06, 2021•37 min•Season 2Ep. 12
As we think about sharing the gospel with LGBT people let us remember that they are people too. Every one of us is a sinner and every sinner needs Christ. The biggest need of every homosexual, is Christ. No matter how you share the gospel, do your best to keep the focus on Christ. There will be many distractions and many questions but we must always bring it back to Christ, the truth of who he is, and what he has done for us. 1 Corinthians 1:17 For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preac...
Sep 29, 2021•31 min•Season 2Ep. 11
As we look at the Bible it doesn’t take long to find out that the sexuality of mankind as a central part of creation. If we read through the account of the creation of Adam and Eve it seems that Moses goes out of his way to show the differences between the sexes and that these differences were good and they were determined by God himself. What about Eunuchs? https://answersingenesis.org/answers/in-depth/v12/does-jesus-reference-to-eunuchs-affirm-transgender-people/ The post A Biblical Defense of...
Sep 22, 2021•26 min
When you look at transgenderism you will quickly find many similarities between the terminology they use and gospel terminology. In this episode of The Gospel Today I give talk about transgender vocabulary and how much of their terminology echoes gospel terminology. I also talk about how one church transitioned after COVID made them rethink their Church’s name. Quick links 1:00 Ministry news 6:01 The trans gospel vocabulary 19:03 A church transitions to a new name because of COVID Walter Heyer s...
Sep 17, 2021•29 min•Season 2Ep. 9
In this episode of The Gospel Today I share with you some gospel perspectives on the US pullout from Afghanistan as well as on Coronavirus. Afghanistan action page at ABWE: https://www.abwe.org/prayer-focus-afghanistan Dennis Prager on Afghanistan: https://youtu.be/q4gxRqrH_Vc?t=129 Quick links: 0:00 Intro 1:33 Family and ministry news 4:47 Afghanistan 16:50 Coronavirus The post Afghanistan and Coronavirus | The Gospel Today first appeared on The Suko Family ....
Sep 01, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 8
Did you know that your body naturally follows the direction of your eyes? If you’re walking, running, riding a bike or driving a car, it’s important that you keep your eyes in front of you. If you don’t you can easily get off track and you can get yourself into trouble by running into something. We can say that prayer is like the eyes of the heart. The directions of our prayers show the direction of our hearts. That is why it’s important that we learn to fix our prayers on the Heavenly Father, t...
Aug 30, 2021•38 min•Season 2Ep. 7
We just returned from two months in the US. Whenever we go back to the US I find that I have to adjust to the way of life there. I can’t always put my finger on it but life just feels different in a different country, so I have to change some of my expectations when we go back to the US. What I didn’t realize years ago was that living in Ukraine was changing me, it wasn’t just changing the way I lived or thought but it was also changing the way I spoke. I realized this when people in the US bega...
Aug 25, 2021•50 min•Season 2Ep. 6
A crossless Christianity I’m thankful for the strength of many churches in the US but at the same time I realize that we live in a time of great challenge and opposition to the church. In these times it’s more important than ever to get the vital issues right. You see, opposition doesn’t come out of nowhere, it is often formed over years and even decades of slowly eroding theology and weakening faith in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. One of Oprah Winfrey’s favorite theologians and author of the boo...
Aug 11, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 5
America is in an identity crisis. People are searching for their identity and going to all kinds of drastic measures to change their identity in the desperate hope that with a new identity they will finally overcome their feelings of depression, anger, frustration, and lack of self-worth. You can simply look at some of the best selling books to find evidence for this. Last year the book “Untamed” was published by Glennon Doyle and has remained in the top 5 on the New York Times best seller list ...
Jul 10, 2021•24 min•Season 2Ep. 4
What is missing in churches today? Where is the unseen hole? Simply put, we are missing true gospel centered discipleship. Without discipleship the church can still have an outward attraction and all the looks of activity but they will be empty and meaningless because in the end it will not take you to any meaningful place spiritually. Discipleship is the engine of the church and if we want our churches to grow in a meaningful gospel centered way then we must focus our attention on this core asp...
Jun 26, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 3
As we celebrate Easter this year we also mark a full year of living during a pandemic. We have all encountered new difficulties because of COVID. Many have been through COVID, others have watched as loved ones have suffered, sadly some of us have even lost friends and family to COVID. Yet, there is one aspect to the pandemic that I believe is common to our experience and that is fear. To one level or another we have all feared the ramifications of the pandemic in our lives and the lives of our l...
Apr 27, 2021•45 min•Season 2Ep. 2
Here’s a story I heard from Radio show host Chris Witts Johnny arrives at school in the morning and his teacher asks him, “ Where’s your homework?” Johnny replies “ Sorry, Mam, I couldn’t do it because there was too much noise at home.” His teachers curiously asks, “ What? Noise all evening? What kind of noise?” Johnny said, “ It was the television, Mam. It was too loud and I couldn’t do my homework .” The teacher was trying to be helpful: “ Now Johnny. You could have asked them to turn down the...
Mar 23, 2021•33 min•Season 2Ep. 1
Some time ago I took my wedding ring off at home because I wanted to do some exercises and I didn’t want to get my ring scratched up. I placed my wedding ring in a spot where I knew I would not forget it and where it would be very visible to me. For some reason after I finished my workout I forgot to put my wedding ring back on. The next day I also forgot to put my wedding ring on when I left for work in the morning. So as I was sitting there at work I noticed that awkward feeling that my weddin...
Dec 11, 2020•42 min•Season 1Ep. 11
Have you ever wondered why there are fewer faithful pastors now than there was 40-50 years ago? In this episode of the podcast I talk about 6 reasons why there is a lack of faithfulness in minsitry. The post 6 Reasons for Lack of Faithfulness in Ministry first appeared on The Suko Family .
Sep 11, 2020•40 min•Season 1Ep. 10
Recently our oldest son Mishael left us and moved to the US. This is our second child to leave the home. In this episode Christina and I talk about how we deal with children leaving the home and we give some advice that helped us. We also talk about some gospel principles that are vital in these transitions. Below are links to some topics in the video: Christina’s ministry at the women’s center: ( 1:10 ) Church/Coronavirus update: ( 3:02 ) The kids new school year: ( 3:57 ) Seminar teaching: ( 4...
Sep 03, 2020•36 min•Season 1Ep. 9
As with any sin, worry is a perversion of something that was originally good. So how do you know when your planning has crossed the line into worry, or when your concern for safety has gone overboard and turned into an unhealthy fear? Friends many people are struggling with worry, fear and anxiety during these unusual times. I decided to record a few chapters from by book “What if… How to Kill Worry and Anxiety Before They Kill You.” I hope this recording will help calm your worries and anxietie...
Sep 02, 2020•12 min
In this episode of The Gospel Today I talk about the blessedness of persecution. I share with you some of the story of Richard Wurmbrand and I talk about how we can prepare ourselves for persecution. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted t...
Aug 28, 2020•46 min•Season 1Ep. 8
Worry and anxiety are the weeds of the mind and spirit. Do nothing and they will grow! Leave them alone hoping that they will go away, and when you come back, they will be bigger and stronger than before. Eventually they crowd out everything else and do real damage to your spirit! In the New Testament, Jesus used a similar illustration when he taught his disciples about the destructive nature of worry. In the parable of the soils (Matthew 13:3-9) Jesus explained how worry can completely take ove...
Aug 21, 2020•15 min
Here’s a quick summer update, there will be more to come soon! Here’s a brief overview: Coronavirus situation in Ukraine is getting worse, some churches have gone back to online services and others are meeting outdoors We are beginning a new ministry to internationals called “Odessa International Fellowship.” We became grandparents for again on July 4th! Welcome Cosette Ivana Whitaker Suko! We recently had a meeting of our Ukraine Crisis Fund board and dispersed funds to pastors and churches in ...
Aug 18, 2020•16 min•Season 1Ep. 7
“Every culture, every time period, and often every church has a few sins that are considered acceptable. For the patriarchs, polygamy really wasn’t that bad. In the New Testament, some churches thought it wasn’t a big deal to segregate the rich from the poor. Not so long ago in US history, many churches had no problem segregating blacks from whites. Today you could make a long list of sins that are acceptable by many in our culture. Worry is one of those acceptable sins.” The post “What if…” Cha...
Apr 24, 2020•12 min
