Acts 14: 1-7
Guest speaker Dexley Dorcely, assistant pastor of Faith Community Church in Providence, shares a message about staying faithful to the mission of preaching the gospel even when it gets hard.
Standalone Sermons: Palm Sunday 2021
Ren Elder Mark Skillin preaches a Palm Sunday message, highlighting the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection for our lives. Jesus not only rode into Jerusalem on a colt, died for our sins and rose from the dead, but these also function as prophetic signs of God's future for His people and for the world.
MLK Sunday: What is Justice?
For Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday I have a message on Jesus and justice. Our nation is deeply divided, and the divisions have spilled over into the American Church. Political extremism has strengthened the problem of segregation amongst the churches. Don’t expect my message to win the applause of either the Left or the Right. It will be a pastoral talk with a prophetic element aiming to help all of us to represent Jesus well amidst the present politically polarizing climate.
Standalone Sermons: Revival or Survival?
This message is not so much of a sermon or teaching but is what I call a pastoral talk. There is a prophetic element to the talk, as well. In other words, there's a strong sense that this is a timely word from the Lord for the Church. The message was birthed out of an unshakable burden I've carried during this pandemic over countless believers who are drifting away from the Lord. The enemy of the Church (Satan) is taking advantage of the pandemic to push God's people into addictions, doubts, discouragement, fear and other snares. The message is intended to be call to the Church to stand firm. And also a call to pray for our dear brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling.
Standalone Sermons: Conscience
Today we have a guest preacher, Mike Caparelli, who is the director of Unmuted. The mission of Unmuted is to give victims of various kinds of traumatic experiences their voices back. Mike speaks from 2 Samuel 13 and the idea of the conscience. He challenges listeners to stay attuned to what their God-given conscience is telling them, and warns of the consequences of stifling the conscience.
Standalone Sermons: Good Samaritan
I intended on resuming our sermon series on the book of Ephesians but about the middle of this week I felt moved to stay on the theme of racial justice. I’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of content lately and trying to get perspectives from every angle. Listening to a black pastor (TD Jakes) share his story this week with Hillsong NYC pastor (Carl Lenz) left me undone. I admit that there is so much suffering in the world that I can hear about and feel numb to. But when I listened to this pastor, it was as if the Lord Himself was helping me to understand and feel empathy. In one point of the conversation the pastor was talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan and it became the seed for this week's sermon.
Standalone Sermons: Controlling Relationships
Special guest, Dr. Michael Caparelli, has served as a lead pastor in Rhode Island for over 10 years. He has recently branched out to begin a new ministry called UnMuted, giving victims of trauma their voices back. This particular message was about controlling relationships. The classic story of Pharaoh’s relationship with the people of Israel (Exodus 5) was used as an illustration of how control works. The aim of the message was to bring light and freedom to anyone suffering from a toxic relationship and the courage to break the cycle of control.
Audrey Cook Calabro - Memorial Service
Audrey, Kevin Calbro’s lovely wife, recently passed away after a long battle with lung problems. Audrey was known for her amazing devotion to God. She was unwavering despite suffering so much. She is originally from Georgia so the funeral was there but we hosted a memorial service at Ren for those in their Rhode Island community. It was a time to “weep with those who weep” and rejoice that Audrey is now at home with the Lord.
Standalone Sermons: Why You Need the Church
Becky and Nate reflect on how being a part of the Church has been a source of joy, peace, love, but also a source of division, embarrassment and exhaustion. It’s invigorating and life-giving but can also be taxing and energy draining. Sometimes it seems theoretically brilliant but practically disastrous. It’s greatest asset is that Jesus is the head, but oftentimes it seems like the greatest weakness is that people are the body.
Yet despite for all the ups and downs, Church and the community it creates is the primary vehicle through which Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit chooses to change us and strengthen us to live for the Kingdom of God. Becky and Nate, in a rare tag-team sermon, share from the Scriptures and their own lives some of the reasons why we need the Church.
Standalone Sermons: Joel Charest
Joel Charest and his family are missionaries to a part of Mozambique that is primarily Islamic. He teaches from 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 about how the love of Christ compels us to share the Gospel message with others. Joel shares a powerful testimony of following the prompting of the Holy Spirit that resulted in a church being planted in a community hostile to Christianity and miraculous healing occurring through God's power.