Category: belief

• Be Confident in Your Calling

  To what do you feel called? In other words, what is your purpose in life? What are you passionate about? These questions are all part of a series of questions we should ask ourselves to better understand who we are as humans. Finding the answer to these questions will also help us see how we […]

  Ryan Stratton

  01/17/2023

  belief, Bible, character, Christian Life, Christianity, disciples, faith, God, God’s grace, living, methodism, methodist, ministry, spiritual gifts, trust, Truth, uncategoried, witnessing, worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Corinthians 12, be who you are, called to diversity, Christian living, clarity of purpose, God created a masterpiece, knowing who you are, living out your purpose, spiritual gifts, transformation in the world, trusting God

• Beginning a Disciplined Life

  “What do you want to be when you grow up?” “If you could change anything anything about yourself, what would it be?” These are questions we all get asked, or we ask ourselves. These are good questions, but I think a better question would be “how much are you willing to do/change to achieve the […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/23/2022

  belief, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, disciples, faith, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, new life, prayer life, spiritual disciplines, spiritual growth, Spiritual transformation, uncategoried, writing, youth ministry

  best spiritual disciplines, changing our mindset, Christian living, growing in God’s grace, how to live a disciplined life, rather life, trusting God

• Guarding Our Thoughts

  What do you like to read? What do you like to watch? To listen to? These are things I have been working hard at paying attention to. Why? Because I know how my my mind can be, and is, influenced by what my eyes see and my ears hear. I know how dark my thoughts […]

  Ryan Stratton

  10/18/2022

  belief, believe, Christian Life, Christianity, Communication, disciples, heart, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, influence, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, Life, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, revival, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, transformation, Truth, uncategoried, words, worship, writing, youth ministry

  guarding your thoughts, live differently, living a holy life, Philippians 4, think better thoughts, what do you think about, you are what you think

• What Does the New Testament Say?

  

  This is Part 2 of Overview of the Bible Series. Click here for Part 1: What Does the Old Testament Say? If you could sum up the Bible in one word, what would it be? This may be tricky for some. Some may be thinking we can’t sum up the Bible in one word. I […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/01/2022

  belief, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, eternal life, evangelism, faith, forgiven, Forgiveness, God’s grace, God’s promises, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, Life, methodism, methodist, ministry, preaching, relationships, repentance, spiritual transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  bible study, faith in Christ, God is with us, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, how do I know who I am, Jesus brings salvation, message of the Bible, new creation in Christ, story of Christian scriptures, transformation in Christ, what does New Testament say, who is Jesus?

• The Greatest Gift

  Read Mark 12:38-44 October 31 is Reformation Day. What does this mean? This is the day Martin Luther nailed the 95 Theses to the front door of Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. This is the beginning of the Protestant Reformation. Reformation. Every 500 years, or so, the Church goes through a process of “reforming” to […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/02/2021

  arrogance, attitudes, awakening, belief, believe, belonging, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, community, compassion, disciples, faith, God’s grace, good news, gospel, hypocricy, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Martin Luther, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, worldview, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  compassion of Jesus, God raises up people, know Gods love, love God, love people, Mark 12:38-44, praise God, Protestant Reformation, reformation of the church, Trust Jesus, widows mite

• God Sees

  Click here to read 1 Samuel 15:34-16:13 How good a judge are you of someone’s character? How well do you have the ability to choose/pick who the next leader should be? Has it worked out for you in the past? These are questions that we should be thinking about when we read the passage today. […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/15/2021

  belief, believe, Bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, evangelism, faith, faithful, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, maturity, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, preparation, prepare, transformation, trials, trust, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 15:34-16:13, anointing of God, bible study, choosing leaders, God chooses, God chooses leaders, God sees the heart, Good News of Jesus Christ, Jesus king of kings, king David anointed, new life in Christ, prophet Samuel, Trust God

• God Calls

  Click Here to Read 1 Samuel 3:1-10 I don’t know about you, but I LOVE the Old Testament. Yeah, there are many things I still don’t understand, but I do know this, what we call the Old Testament takes up 66% of our Bible, so taking the time to understand the storyline is vital for […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/01/2021

  belief, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conflict, conversion, devotionals, disciples, freedom, freedom in Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, preach, preaching, speech, Spirit, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 3:1-10, bible study, Christian life, God calls, hearing God’s voice, knowing God’s voice, knowing Jesus, live differently, love the Old Testament, new life in Christ, responding to God, sermon on 1 Samuel 3, trusting God

• Mighty Acts of God

  Acts 2:1-21 The scene.  120 of Jesus’ followers were gathered in the Upper Room. What were they doing? Exactly what Jesus told them to do. Wait. But this was not a sit still, do nothing, kind of waiting. No. They were actively praising and worshipping God through Jesus Christ. Why? Because they knew the power of […]

  Ryan Stratton

  05/25/2021

  awakening, beauty, belief, believe, belonging, Bible, born again, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, disciples, eternal life, faith, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, John Wesley, kindness, leadership, legacy, methodism, methodist, mission, power, praise, preach, resurrection, revival, Spirit, Spirit led, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  acts 2:1-21, day of Pentecost, evangelism strategy, Good News of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, love jesus, power of God, power of the Holy Spirit, Trust God, wait for the spirit

• The Danger of Riches

  In 1780, John Wesley wrote a sermon called “The Danger of Riches.” This is a message to help us keep our priorities straight when it comes to material goods. Based on the scripture 1 Timothy 6:9, “They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful desires which […]

  Ryan Stratton

  04/15/2021

  anxiety, beauty, belief, believe, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, control, disciples, eternal life, faith, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, pastor, preach, preaching, reconciliation, relationships, repent, repentance, sin, Truth, uncategoried, witness, writing

  advancing the kingdom of God, Christian way of life, gospel of Jesus Christ, materialism, trusting God with money, what does money do to me

• Transformed Thinking

  I realize it has been some time since I last posted here. Recently I finished reading the book “Winning the War in Your Mind” by Craig Groeschel. I found this to be a great book, especially for this time in my life. One of the things I have noticed, lately, is how we keep our […]

  Ryan Stratton

  03/17/2021

  attitudes, belief, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, example, faithful, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, humanity, Image of God, Jesus Christ, mercy, methodism, methodist, mindset, ministry, miracles, thankful, thinking, thoughts, transformation, uncategoried, worship, writing

  changing our life, changing your thinking, Christian life, focus on God, God’s work in the world, Good News of Jesus Christ, live differently, loving God, what is God doing?