Category: compassion

• 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

• FREE BOOK!

  FREE book to help you study the Old Testament book of Jonah.

  Ryan Stratton

  05/26/2020

  belief, believe, belonging, bible, challenge, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, Communication, compassion, conflict, confrontation, conversion, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, faith, faithful, glory of God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy living, Holy Spirit, Identity, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, judgement, judging, kindness, leadership, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, mindset, ministry, miracles, mission, motivations, peace, people, Relationships, repentance, respect, revival, Savior, serve, service, sharing our faith, Sin, Spirit, Spirituality, struggles, transformation, travel, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worldview, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  bible study, book of Jonah, Christian life, faith in Christ, glory of God, God, God is with us, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, mission, new life in Christ, praying for revival, revival, talking with God, transform the world, Trust God, Trust Jesus, Who is God

• God’s Love Prevails

  While I was sitting in the airport recently, I observed the people around. Some were in the hustle and bustle of their day. Some were very irate when their flight was missed or delayed. Some were very worried about not making connecting flights. The tension in airports is very high. The airport is also one […]

  Ryan Stratton

  02/21/2020

  answers, beauty, belief, believe, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, compassion, faith, faithful, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, new life, Prayer, prayer life, preach, preaching, Relationships, repent, sin, Sinners, Spirit, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Christian life, Christians and suffering, God is love, God is with us, God’s love, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Jesus Christ, née life in Christ, new life, Trust God, Trust Jesus, trusting God, why do bas things happen

• Confessions of a Pastor

  Sometimes I Find Myself Being A People Pleaser One of the things I hear, from many people, is, “I will do what I want, I don’t care what other people think.” This is something I have said at times also. The older I get, the more I realize I do care what people think. I […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/16/2018

  belief, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, community, compassion, confessing, confession, disciples, faithful, Galatians, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, pastor, position, praise, pray, Prayer, prayer life, relationships, trust, Truth, uncategoried, youth ministry

  being a people pleaser, Colossians 3:23, focusing on Christ, Galatians 1:10, glorifying God, it’s all about Jesus, Kingdom of God, kingdom of heaven, mission in life, Pastor confessions, who do we work for?

• Betrayed, Denied, Tried, Crucified

  

  In the 1924 book by Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game is a story of big game hunter Sanger Rainsford and his friend Whitney ending up on an island owned by General Zaroff. The General talks about how he is bored with “traditional” hunting and has moved into hunting the most dangerous, the most cunning […]

  Ryan Stratton

  10/19/2018

  Apostle Peter, belief, belonging, bible, bible stories, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, comfort, compassion, confession, controversy, disciples, eternal life, example, facing challenges, faithful, Forgiveness, freedom, freedom in Christ, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, healing, heart, holy living, Holy Spirit, humanity, hypocricy, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, Life, Lord, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, pastor, priority, purpose, reconciled, reconciliation, sin, Spirit, transformation, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  betraying Jesus, change your hearts and lives, denying Jesus, depths of humanity, God always has the last word, God offers forgiveness and mercy, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Gospel of Luke, Jesus is crucified, Jesus’ mission on earth, Judas betryas Jesus, Luke 23, Luke 23:1-3, Peter betrays Jesus, trials of Jesus

• What’s Holding You Back?

  

  “Why do people get uncomfortable talking about stewardship?” This was a question we talked about last week. Last week we started a 3-week series on stewardship. We talked about not worrying about what we don’t have, or controlling our resources because everything we have is because of God and really is God’s anyway. Here is […]

  Ryan Stratton

  08/31/2018

  anxiety, belief, believe, bible, Blessings, body of Christ, challenge, character, charity, Christian Life, Christianity, church, compassion, control, conversion, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, example, Failure, faith, faithful, fear, gift, gifts, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, influence, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, Life, lifestyle, live, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, new life, pastor, poor, possibilities, power, praise, Prayer, prayer life, preach, preaching, relationships, religion, renewal, repent, revival, serving, sharing our faith, Spirit, Spirit led, transformation, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, works, Worry, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  control in our lives, getting eternal life, getting into heaven, giving to the church, Jesus changes everything, kingdom of God is here, Mark 10:17-31; Gospel of mark, rich man and Jesus, Stewardship, stewardship sermon series

• Why Are You Worrying?

  

  READ SCRIPTURE: Matthew 6:25-34 NIV 25 “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away […]

  Ryan Stratton

  08/24/2018

  anxiety, belief, believe, belonging, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, community, compassion, control, controversy, eternal life, faith, faithful, gifts, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, poor, possibilities, power, praise, Prayer, prayer life, priority, proclaiming Christ, purpose, reconciliation, redeemed, relationships, religion, repent, revival, Spirit, Spirit led, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worry, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  earning God’s favor, gospel of Matthew, Jesus says don’t worry, live free in Christ, Matthew 6:25-34, Stewardship, stewardship sermon series, stress in life, worrying about money

• Loving to Life Pt 5

  

  SHOW GOD’S LOVE DAILY As we continue in loving people and organizations to life, we remember we have been praying and seeking God’s direction, we have been allowing the people to be their real selves without judgement, we have been meeting with people in small groups, and we have begun a visioning process for the […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/27/2018

  awakening, beauty, belief, believe, bible, calling, challenge, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, compassion, conversion, Creation, Creativity, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, example, faith, fruit of the spirit, gifts, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kindness, leadership, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, mission, people, pray, relationships, renewal, trust, Truth, uncategoried, value, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  finding life in Christ, following Jesus Christ, ideas to love people, know how much you care, loving God, loving people, loving to life, people have value, people have worth, pray for people, praying with others, show God’s love through you, showing God’s love, writing notes to people

• Strength to Stand

  

  Click here to read Acts 14:8-20. The passage today has many things going on. First of all, we see Paul and Barnabas come upon a man who was crippled in his legs and couldn’t walk. Paul heals the man who is able to walk. The people in the crowd see the miracle and call Paul […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/05/2017

  Apostle Paul, apostles, arrogance, belief, believe, bible, calling, challenge, Christian Life, Christianity, church, comfort, compassion, conflict, confrontation, controversy, conversion, devotionals, disciples, faith, faithful, fear, giving thanks, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, passion, pastor, peace, service, serving, sharing our faith, trust, Truth, uncategoried, witness, witnessing, Work, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Acts 14:8-20, answers to prayer, Apostle Paul, book of Acts, devotionals, Holy Spirit within us, humble lifestyle, loving God, loving people, share our faith, stand up and walk, strength to stand, trusting God, trusting the Holy Spirit

• When The Spirit Moves

  

  Read Acts 11 here. Peter had a vision about what God considers clean. Before he had this vision about the animals on the sheet, he was still only focused on “his people.” But he began to understand that God’s Word is truly for all people. There is a little verse at the end of Romans […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/21/2017

  Apostle Peter, Christian Life, Christianity, church, compassion, control, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, faithful, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, judging, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, passion, pastor, praise, preach, Relationships, renewal, repent, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  book of Acts, Christ is the source of all, following Jesus, freedom in Christ, hands and feet of Christ, new creation in Christ, sharing grace, stepping out in faith, when the Spirit moves, work with God in the world