Coming to a place of deep conviction about the reality of Jesus Christ sometimes takes time. Many people, both seekers and Christians, struggle with doubts or feelings of unreality. Pastor Scott walks through the Luke 24 resurrection narrative and shows that those who were the mighty pillars of faith in the first church were weak, doubting and frightened. Jesus didn’t turn away from them for struggling to believe. He didn’t scold them. He didn’t hate them. Rather, He came to them as a merciful teacher to help them. And when they encountered the risen Christ they were transformed. The end of the message answers the question of what we can do to have an encounter with Christ that transforms our lives into people who are fully persuaded.
Psalm 118
This Palm Sunday message sets the table for Good Friday and Easter Sunday. In this message, from Matthew 21 and Psalm 118, we explore how Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem leads up to our future triumphal entry into the New Jerusalem. We look at how Jesus overcame sin and death, and now by His Spirit enables us to see how God works all things, especially hard things, for our good as Jesus prepares us for that Day of our glorious entrance. Jesus conquered sin and death for the whole world, and now we follow Him in this world as overcomers to the glory of God.
Psalm 1
Guest preacher Nick Fatato teaches on Psalm 1. This psalm includes a warning against aligning our lives with destructive tendencies and an encouragement to intentionally root our lives in the Word and the power of God. We can choose to live by default or by design.
Baptism: Be Baptized!
This is a basic teaching on the meaning and significance of baptism. What is baptism? Is baptism really necessary? What must we do before getting baptized? Is total immersion necessary? What about infant baptism? These are some of the questions addressed. This teaching is perfect for anyone who has identified as a Christian but has not been baptized since making a conscious decision to trust in Christ for salvation.
Psalm 145
This psalm is typical in that it expresses praise for the goodness of God and calls us to speak out the excellencies of the Lord. The psalm is unique among psalms in that it tells us about God’s love and care for every person in the world. Despite God’s love for all, not all are saved. Only those who call out to God in truth, fear God and love God will be brought near, heard and preserved. And those who reject God will be destroyed in the end. Scott gives a strong encouragement from the last verse to pray for and reach people who are spiritually lost around us.
Psalm 107
Once we become followers of Christ the propensity to go astray is real. We choose daily whether we will abide in Christ or follow the impulses of our sinful nature. Psalm 107 describes four different groups of people who each went astray for different reasons. Thankfully, God doesn’t just let us run away. His steadfast love for His people cannot be quenched. He will never leave us or abandon us, even in our worst seasons. He tenderly invites us back, and if we will not listen, He orchestrates circumstances—even severe afflictions—to bring us to a place of humility and crying out to Him. God then answers our cry and rescues us. The psalm describes a cycle of straying/affliction/desperate prayer/rescue. This type of cycle is miserable and Scott gives some strong encouragements at the end about how to not live a “roller coaster Christian life”. The secret is the fear of the Lord.
Psalm 42
Sorrow is an unavoidable part of the human experience and, as followers of Christ, we are not exempt. Jesus Himself was called a “man of sorrows” (Isaiah 53) and Paul said he was “sorrowful yet rejoicing” (2 Corinth 6:10). In this world we will experience sorrow. The experience of sorrow can be dangerous if we let it draw us away from God and into sin. But sorrow can actually be a thing that drives us into the depths of God and it can shape our lives in significant ways. God gives us Psalm 42 as a gift to show us the way to pray through even our worst seasons of prolonged sorrow. This message goes out especially to all those who have been dwelling in the valley of discouragement.
Psalm 67
Carrying out God’s mission can be difficult. But God doesn’t leave us without a guide. Psalm 67 teaches us that Christ-centered prayer, praise and justice all lead to the exaltation of God through the exultation of his people. In other words, God saves and his people sing, so that the world might join in and sing as well!
Ren 101: Devotion
In this last message of the Ren 101 series Scott lays out a clear vision of what devotion to the church looks like. The norm in much of modern Christianity in America is nominalism. A strong argument against shoddy worship is given and an exhortation to give God the kind of worship He deserves. The aim of this talk was to inspire each person in the church to play their part well and to strive toward full devotion.
Ren 101: Dreams
The invitation to dream big is found throughout Scripture but it’s easy to fall into thinking small for a variety of reasons: false humility, laziness, ignorance of the resources of God, delay, norms in the Church and so on. God tells us in the Word that “without a vision the people perish”. It is imperative for a church to have a collective dream they are striving for together or else they will fall into lethargy and even become lifeless. Scott spends most of this message talking about the dreams he has for Ren but in the last part presses home the importance of faith. That it’s not enough to just dream; we must dream according to God’s will; we must dream God’s dreams. Strong exhortation is given to stand firm in faith believing that God will do what He said He will do in time. An invitation is given at the end to pray the prayer of Habakkuk—“O LORD, I have heard the report of you, and your work, O LORD, do I fear. In the midst of the years revive it; in the midst of the years make it known; in wrath remember mercy.” Habakkuk 3:2