Have you ever felt lonely, like there's nobody that can understand the pain that you've been through? Or the hardships that you've endured, the sin that you felt burdened by for so long? Well, Jesus cares about you. He cares so much that He died on the cross so that you could be set free from sin and so that you could have an eternal relationship with Him. Today Pastor Ricky is going to encourage you that Jesus cares about you. He cared for His people throughout the Bible and He cares about you now.
Even If - Yet I Will Rejoice, Part 2
Every time that you're in the presence of the Lord, you can have a taste of what heaven is going to feel like. We can have joy in the Lord because of the hope that we have in Jesus’ return. He's going to return and save us from the corruption and sin that’s in the world. You don't have to worry about tomorrow because God is in control. Today Pastor Ricky will encourage us to rejoice in God because He's already promised us the gift of eternal life and that's something to be thankful for.
Even If - Yet I Will Rejoice, Part 1
It can be really hard to have joy in your life when everything seems to be falling apart around you. You lost your job, you lost your friends, the car is breaking down, your marriage is failing, it seems like things just can't go your way, so how do you find joy during those unfortunate circumstances? Well the Lord is the answer. He can provide joy that’s everlasting. Today Pastor Ricky is going to use the story of Habakkuk to teach us how to have joy. Habakkuk understood how to rejoice in the Lord even when his circumstances weren't perfect.
Even If - Behold, The Waymaker and Warrior, Part 2
The old prayer, “Lord, give me patience and give it now” has more truth than we would like to admit. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, learning to trust God requires a great deal of patience and waiting. We’re learning in Habakkuk that God is squarely in charge. Another word for that is sovereign. Pastor Ricky reminds us that as we acknowledge that, it requires us to let go of forcing our own path and agendas in order to see progress the way we prefer it. Trust in God always pays off.
Even If - Behold, The Waymaker and Warrior, Part 1
Have you ever wanted to be a part of a family, a company, or a club where everybody looked out purely for the best interest of each other? That sounds a little too good to be true sometimes, doesn't it? Well as Pastor Ricky teaches us today, God is always working and always including us in His victories. We never see God off doing something with disregard to what's going on back in our own lives. Somehow, God sees fit to include us and have us as co-victors with Him. That's the good news of the Gospel.
Even If - When the World Seem Unjust, Part 2
God has your best interest in mind. God's plan is for His glory and for your good. As Pastor Ricky teaches us today, God is about wholeness and restoration. The application from our scripture lesson is timely and relevant. Pastor Ricky reminds us that we might be confused with all of the bad things going on, and it seems to continue, and many seem to get away with it, so we're tempted to wonder, where is the justice? Habakkuk shows us that God is in charge. He hasn't lost control. He's not overwhelmed. He is big enough for what we're facing.
Even If - When the World Seem Unjust, Part 1
God's ways are higher than our ways. How many times have we found that to be true? As Pastor Ricky teaches us today, God uses unlikely people even an unfaithful country to bring about His plan. What can really be confusing is when justice doesn't seem to come fast enough. Pastor Ricky reminds us that even though we might feel that God isn't bringing about justice swiftly enough, or harsh enough, His ways are still higher and better than ours. We’ll understand better one day but for now, we just have to trust Him.
Even If - Living When You Don't Understand, Part 2
With every day that passes, a couple of things seem to be an option for us to take. One is that we become more confident in what we've experienced and learned in life. If we're not careful that can lead to assumptions and reliance on our own knowledge. The other thing that could happen is that we realize just how much we don't know. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, trusting in the Lord is critical on our path with Jesus, even after many years of experience. So be open to where He leads today.
Even If - Living When You Don't Understand, Part 1
Have you ever thought about just how powerful faith is? Not just faith as a description of being religious but the deepest meaning of faith, trust and hope. As Pastor Ricky teaches us today, faith in Jesus brings salvation, receiving that gift, it's an amazing thing. Pastor Ricky reminds us that living a life in the power of the cross is crucial. Faith doesn't just end when you start your journey with Christ. You continue living, serving, and flourishing, in and through faith every single day.
Antioch - Message 3, Part 2
Do you ever need a little extra motivation to go through something difficult? Even if it's just a reward at the end of a workout, or reaching a milestone towards a goal, a positive anticipation is good. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, the assurance that the Word of God increased and multiplied, was given before a difficult season as we’ll hear in our text. Pastor Ricky reminds us that through it all, the Lord reigns and is doing a great work to keep us and His message until Christ comes again.
Antioch - Message 3, Part 1
Aren't you glad that someone found a way to share the message of God's love in a language and way that you can understand? As Pastor Ricky teaches today, the good news spread to Antioch in a way that they could understand and that understanding came from a place of honesty, relatability, and realness. Pastor Ricky reminds us that we have fallen short. We’ve blown it big time and are all in the same need of forgiveness. That universal need carries us to the throne of grace. Christ is the answer for all of us.
Antioch - Message 2, Part 2
Often in the English language, we have words with multiple meanings. The word “church” is one of those words. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you’ll learn that we casually refer to the meeting place, the building, its committees, systems and programs as church. Others define church by what we do at worship service but Pastor Ricky reminds us that the church of Jesus Christ is so much more than just a building or a weekly gathering. It's a living organism, universal, and alive with unity following our Lord.
Antioch - Message 2, Part 1
You aren't alone. Hopefully, you've heard that as a Christ-follower but do you really believe it? As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you learn that we're a part of a larger family of God. Unity, therefore, is so important to the mission at hand. Pastor Ricky reminds us that living in unity and understanding that we were never meant to do life on our own, not only gives us hope and reassurance to make it through another day, it can also make our impact on the world powerful.
Antioch - Message 1, Part 2
Jesus came to earth and went from here to there, crisscrossing the land, bringing good news. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you’ll learn that Jesus has become our example. We're commanded to spread the Gospel, to go as Christ went. So often we like to program our lives and churches in such a way that we might feel good but aren’t really making disciples in all of the earth. Pastor Ricky reminds us that “go and tell” is a non-optional part of what it means to be God's church.
Antioch - Message 1, Part 1
“Pick and choose” is the spirit of the age it seems. We love charting our own course. It’s common today to live a life of a la carte faith, where only the attractive parts of faith are lived out. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you'll learn how the commands of God, the plans that He has for you, aren’t “pick and choose”. To be the church of God in the world today, we can’t erase the true call that God has for us. Pastor Ricky reminds us that “go and tell others” is not optional.
Jesus Movement - The Cross as the Dividing Line, Part 2
We try, at all costs, to avoid the things that break our hearts. It's in our nature to run away from sorrow. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us just how amazing Jesus truly is. Not only did He not run away from being beaten and crucified but He pursued it His entire life. It wasn't something that He was looking forward to per se but He knew that it was necessary. So well a story about a man being falsely convicted and suffering for it breaks our hearts, we can also see that it was essential to our salvation and we can be so grateful for Him.
Jesus Movement - The Cross as the Dividing Line, Part 1
Have you ever been truly forsaken? Sometimes we feel alone or unloved but feeling it and it being true are two different things. When you know love and lose it can shatter you. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us that that was exactly what Jesus went through by being crucified. His entire life, He knew the love of His father intimately but when the time came for Him to die, it required Jesus to take all of our sin that caused God so much wrath and take it on Himself. He knew the wrath of God so that you might be saved from it.
Jesus Movement - This Can't Be the Right Road, Can It? Part 3
We often let society's narrative translate our actions in order to feel better about them. We think about sin as this big thing when in reality we all sin every day. Pastor Ricky reminds us today how important it is to not downplay our sin because it is a big deal and it's only when we recognize the weight of our sin that we can truly appreciate the weight of what Christ carried on our behalf. We have to see our sin through God's perspective in order to understand what He did for us and to be truly thankful.
Jesus Movement - This Can't Be the Right Road, Can It? Part 2
We don't always choose the wisest options in life. In fact, we often choose the option that we know isn't wise just because we're curious or because we don't think through the consequences. Pastor Ricky reminds us that even though Pilate tried to sway the crowd into releasing Jesus instead of a murderer, it was to no avail. They would rather see a dangerous man walk amongst them than an innocent one who threatened their way of life. And check your pride, because you would have done the same.
Jesus Movement - This Can't Be the Right Road, Can It? Part 1
We all know what it's like to mess up but we still think of ourselves as the protagonist. We may be self-critical but at the end of the day, we're still selfishly inclined. What Pastor Ricky is going to remind us of today, is to have a little perspective. If you'd lived in Jesus' day, you would have been shouting along with the rest of the crowd to crucify Him. Don't think that you would have been brave enough to stand up and defend Him. We're all responsible for His crucifixion, not just the people who were there.