One of the most important things we can develop in the Christian walk is a deep, intimate life of prayer. Prayer is the essence of our religion and we were created to know and enjoy God forever. Pastor Scott identifies the common problem of why many believers struggle to pray. It's not merely that they are undisciplined, it's that they feel condemned. Hebrews 4:14-16 and 10:19-22 speak of Christ as a sympathetic high priest and also the Savior who shed his blood so we could have confidence in drawing near to God. The veil that once separated us from God has been torn and a new and living way opened up for those who trust Christ. Because of this we can draw near with utter honesty. We don't need to deny or downplay our sins. We don't need to blame others. We don't need to carry our guilt and pathetically attempt to work off our sins. We can come just as we are at all times to the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need.
Make the Best
2016 is gone and a new year is upon us. This message is a reminder of the brevity of life and the importance of living intentional. Pastor Scott focuses on just a few verses from Ephesians 5:15-18 about making the best use of our time and the opportunities we have. It's not just a call to fill our lives with good things but to have the right heart in all things. The message finishes with some compelling thoughts from the story of Martha and Mary.
Advent 2016 | Love
In this third week of Advent the theme of love is explored by young preacher Nia Campinha-Bacote who is a campus missionary at Yale University. Nia talks about God's great love for us demonstrated in the cross and that our love for God in response is a choice lived out in tangible ways. This is a message of hope for those who need to be reminded of how good God is.
Advent 2016 | Peace
This message was given by Pastor David Rodriguez of Church of the Community on the Advent theme of "Peace". Pastor David beautifully describes the peace we can have with God and the effects it has on our relationships with each other and even our enemies. The truth is that we live in a broken contentious world but God has called us and empowered us to be peacemakers. We are agents of peace in a world of strife.
Advent 2016 | Hope
Pastor Charles Berkley of Providence Assembly on Elmwood Avenue in the neighborhood was a special guest with us to open up the Advent season preaching a message on hope. Charles has pastored in the city for many years and is considered a mentor and spiritual father to many. Ren Church and Providence Assembly have partnered on many occasions with worship gatherings and city outreaches. This message by Charles is a great encouragement especially to those who are running low on hope. It's also a reminder that our hope is rooted in eternity.
Fishers of Men | Part Four
This is the fourth and final message in the Fishers of Men series. Pastor Scott unveils that the collective expression of the church has the potential of making the greatest impact upon unbelievers and outsiders. Often we think of evangelism as an individual effort but God calls us to reflect His glory as a unified church. This glory is seen as the church carries the spirit of prayer together. Prayer as a daily lifestyle of hunger and thirst will result in the glory of God filling the house when the people are gathered. Scott also gives some clear exhortation about how to approach God with honesty and awe. This message is not just a sermon for the week but has been the dream for this church from its conception in 2003.
Fishers of Men | Part Three
This is the third message in the Fishers of Men series and Pastor Scott shares the lessons learned during his Bible college years. The main punch of the message is that in order to be effective we need the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the power of God we are timid and our words fall flat. With the power doors open up, our message penetrates the heart and the reality of Jesus is demonstrated in various ways. This power is released in direct relation to our desperate and incessant prayers. Scott gives some strong exhortation about prayer at the end.
Fishers of Men | Part Two
This message falls on the first Sunday right after the election of Donald Trump as president and the aftermath of rioting and protesting across the country. Pastor Scott addresses the divide and helps direct hearts into a Christlike response. Then the talk transitions into the series theme of being fishers of men. Scott shares some of the lessons he learned in his first few years of being a Christian and some of the mistakes he made in the effort to share the message of Jesus with people.
Fishers of Men | Part One
This is the first of a series based on the great call of Jesus to go into all the world to be "fishers of men". Most followers of Christ desire to excel in leading people to Christ but struggle with the daunting task because of the many cultural obstacles. Pastor Scott shares in detail his own personal story of how two young followers of Jesus succeeded in reconciling him to God, highlighting the qualities they possessed that made them effective. Woven throughout the story are Scriptural principles to equip the Christian in the effort to pull people out of the waters of sin and into the boat of salvation. The importance of going to where people are, being filled with love, being bold and demonstrating Spirit power are discussed.
Hymns | Rock of Ages
This is the last of the messages in the hymn series. Pastor Scott expounds on the hymn "Rock of Ages" and once again probes deep into the Gospel with a special emphasis on the idea of wrath and Hell. The idea of Hell has often been minimized and even suppressed altogether by Christians as though hiding some sort of deficiency in God's nature. However, wrath is a massive biblical theme and Jesus taught much on Hell, giving us vivid and rather terrifying imagery to describe it. It is obvious by the weight that Scripture gives to judgment that God intends for people to come to grips with it and be impacted by its reality so that we might be driven to Christ for mercy.