Pastor Scott gives a pastoral talk that sets the stage for exciting things ahead for the church. As other parts of the country have been experiencing revival, a diverse collective of pastors and leaders in and around Providence have been meeting monthly to pray and petition for God to revive the hearts of people in our region. Scott shares about the citywide worship gathering that is happening on March 15 that birthed out of these unified prayers, along with Ren Church’s plans for shifting the way we gather on Sundays starting this May and how this schedule change will help us better disciple the next generation.
Standalone Sermons: Reflections from Israel
Pastor Scott returns from his recent trip to Israel! Listen to the prayers he wrote while in the gospel story’s landscape, along with reflections on what it means to be “a city on a hill,” and what mission and prayer in the holy land can say about God’s mission in Rhode Island.
Standalone Sermons: Living for Jesus
Sean Carew is the founder and director of Providence Rescue Mission, an emergency shelter for the homeless population in Providence. In this message, Sean shares a little about his story and looks at the life of Peter in the Bible, a fisherman who follows Jesus, denies him at one point, and returns to Jesus to end up leading His Church. A life like Peter’s—and Sean’s—shows how Jesus creates all of us for a purpose and God’s goodness, no matter what background we come from.
Standalone Sermons: Fall Reset
It’s important to take a pause and remember why we do what we do. Why do we gather as a church? What is our mission? How are we doing? Renaissance Church is currently in a season of rebuilding, and we have been reshaping the ways we gather in order to fulfill three components of the Church’s mission: to love God, love one another, and love our neighbors. Pastor Scott highlights how the Ren community can embody components of our purpose through corporate worship and prayer (love God), small communities (love one another), and mission initiatives (love your neighbor).
Standalone Sermons: We Need a Move of God
Leviticus 24:1-4
Our guest speaker of this message is Percy Ballah who pastors at Impact Center Providence. Percy preaches on the need to keep burning brightly as a Church, using the symbolism of fire. In Leviticus 24:1-4, God commands the people of Israel to prepare “pure oil” for a lamp in front of the tabernacle in order to keep the lamp burning continuously. Just as the Israelites needed to make fresh oil, we too as the people of God, the Church, need fresh fire from God to keep burning brightly and bring light into a dark world.
Standalone Sermons: Jesus—Good News for the Poor
John 6:1-14
Tim Zulker is a founder and director of the network New England Urban Church Planting that resides in Providence. Tim unpacks John 6, the story of Jesus feeding a crowd of over five thousand with five barley loaves and two fish. This message reiterates that Jesus came not only to preach good news to the poor and feed the hungry, but to become good news for the poor, become the bread of life. The good news is not only for the materially poor but for the spiritually poor, which is everyone.
Standalone Sermons: Mental Health + Spiritual Warfare
Mark 5
Dr. Mike Caparelli is an author, public speaker, and a leader of a nonprofit, Unmuted, that helps trauma victims recover on a path toward healing. While much psychological activity is biological, there is a facet of mental health that involves a battle of the soul. Mike’s message looks at the story of a man with a demon that was healed by Jesus (Mark 5) and discusses the interplay of mental health with demonic forces.
Standalone Sermons: Fire for Revival
1 Kings 18:16-39
This message comes from Greg Johnson, a local ministry leader who is launching a church training initiative called Revive New England. Greg discusses the need for God’s fire, the manifestation of God’s presence, to see revival in New England today, looking at the story of Elijah and the prophets of Baal in 1 Kings 18 as an illustration.
Standalone Sermons: Knowing God our Father
2 Timothy 3:14 -17
In this sermon, guest speaker Jacob van Sickle, a church planter in Providence, helps us to think about God Himself: who He is, the kinds of things he likes, the sorts of things He does, and how we can know Him. Jacob walks us through 2 Timothy 3:18 to show how God reveals himself to us through His Word and uses the scriptures to teach and equip us every day of our lives.
Palm Sunday 2022
Luke 19:28-48
This message tells the story of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his weeping over those who rejected him, and the cleansing on the temple. What comes through these accounts is the fact that the glory of Jesus separates. Some receive him. Some do not. One day Christ will judge all humanity. It will be a great separation of sheep and goats, the redeemed and the lost. Scott gives an urgent admonition at the end of his talk to be ready.