Worship is what we do with what we have been given. This includes how we manage money. God does not need our money as if He is a desperate, broke person demanding we give Him a tenth of what we earn; rather, He wants our heart. Learning how to be generous with our money shapes our character into the likeness of Christ, and our primary motivation ought to be worship, a “fragrant offering” acceptable and pleasing to God. Pastor Scott gives wisdom for how we can handle our spending, saving, and giving in a way that glorifies God.
Beautiful Worship: Worship God with Your Gifts
Romans 12:3 - 8
Each of us has been given by God certain abilities, talents, and gifts that can be used to glorify Him and serve the body of Christ. Romans 12: 3 - 8 introduces a list of spiritual gifts, and there are so many other abilities that can be stewarded—even gardening or organizing things can be done unto the Lord. How do we identify our gifts, and then use these abilities in our local church community? Pastor Scott walks through nine practical thoughts to help us cultivate what God has given to us to be in turn given back to Him and to the Ren community.
Beautiful Worship: Worship God with Your Time
Worshipping God is more than the 20-minute block of singing on a Sunday morning. Rather, we worship God with all that we are. This is what Christ believers will do for eternity. How we spend the time we are given is an act of worship. Pastor Scott goes through some practical guidelines for how everything we do in a day can be shaped to glorify God.
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.
Great Commandments: Love One Another
John 13:34
About a hundred times in the Bible, Christians are called to love “one another,” which refers to serving fellow Christian believers. John Michaelson unpacks six aspects of loving one another that we can apply in our life today: how to be present in the community, show hospitality, tend well to relationships, meet practical needs, use our gifts to serve the church, and how to disciple one another.
Great Commandments: Love Your Neighbor
Leviticus 19: 13 - 18; Mark 12: 28 - 31
“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Our neighbor could be the person who lives next to us, or it could be anyone: refugees in our state, college students, Muslim believers, and all the favorite and not-so-favorite people in between. To what degree do we love? God has called us to love our neighbors as much as we ultimately look after ourselves, if not more. Neighbors we meet cannot only be those who are like-minded or cross our paths in the routines we establish, but we may need to go out of our way, change habits, and seek opportunities to serve people and display God’s goodness. Pastor Scott gives some practical ideas for how we might love people in our actual neighborhood, people in existing spaces that we visit, and people in spaces we create.
Great Commandments: Love God
The great and first commandment, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” What does it look like to love God with all our hearts in everyday life? In this message Pastor Scott walks through ten principles, such as faithfulness and quality time, that will help us shape our lives toward pleasing God.
Advent 2022: Love
“Jesus loves you” is a truth that many churched people would find overfamiliar, but what if one really took time to ponder the vastness of God’s love? In this message Pastor Scott processes with us the impact of what Jesus did on earth for us out of love, and when we truly understand the gospel and respond to God, we’ll find that His love can satisfy the deepest part of our hearts.
Advent 2022: Peace
Ephesians 2:11 - 22
In the midst of Christmas kitsch, high-volume holiday ads, and impatient shoppers, the peace of Christ cuts through the noise. Advent is the time where we celebrate Jesus and anticipate his arrival. The first time Jesus came, he created a way for us to be reconciled to God and be reconciled to people who are different from us. The next time Jesus physically comes, we will see peace fully restored through the earth. Ren’s CityLove Director, Katherine Gosnell, gives a message that studies Ephesians 2:11 - 22 to explore in depth how peace comes with Christ.
Advent 2022: Hope
One element of the human life that is difficult to talk about is the fear of death. People may avoid the subject, use humor to deflect, or will hold onto vague sentiments about the afterlife, but death is a certainty in our future. Where do we hope beyond that? The good news is that Christ came to this world to give us a hope that solves the problem of our fear of death. Pastor Scott in this message shares how Christian hope is built on Christ himself who conquered death, and how His Spirit marks us for eternal life, giving us assurance.