The local church is God's idea and is intended to be a life-giving experience for each of us. The call in Scripture is for us to have deep involvement. The problem today is that in our culture there are so many distractions. Many Christians have become bored with church gatherings and have begun to gather less and less. Pastor Scott preaches out of Hebrews 10:24-25, which presses the believers to stir one another and to not give up meeting together. The message ends with some practical instructions on how to make gathering with Christians nourishing and refreshing. This is a great message for January as decisions are being made as to how to distribute our time for 2017.
Cheerful Giving
Perhaps the touchiest subject amongst professing Christians is that of money and the idea of tithing. Jesus talked much about money in his teachings because the way we relate to money reveals the condition of the heart. Pastor Scott takes us into Paul's second letter to the Corinthians and focuses in specifically on chapter 9:6-8. Tithing is defined and discussed and the question of whether it is required for New Testament believers since we aren't under the law. The message is a strong call for each of us to give generously, sacrificially, cheerfully and secretly. When we give in this way we receive a rich reward of experiencing God's pleasure from our giving. We also reap a bigger more generous heart. Being generous is natural for the person who has been rescued from sin and hell. It's an expression of gratitude.
Standalone Sermons: Martin Luther King Jr. Day 2017
In honor of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Nate and Sam bring a message about God’s kingdom and racism. Nate shares that condemning and eradicating racism is a reflection of God’s character. God’s people is not one race or one culture, but is made up of every tribe, language, and race. Sam describes ways that we as Christians can carry on MLK’s legacy in how we live, pray, and worship.
Love Story: Glory of God
Pastor Scott delivers a sermon about the glory, the greatness, all the fullness, splendor and majesty of God. We have to fight through blockages in the world to see the glory of God; the way we think about God determines the way we live. We can have small, shallow, and inaccurate thoughts about God -- we can't understand the gospel until we truly understand who God is. Scott offers a powerful exhortation and prayer for the church, that our hearts would be opened to the goodness and glory of God, because we are called primarily to be worshipers, and to seek Him with all of our hearts.
Let Us Draw Near
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.