Category: giving thanks

• Making An Eternal Impact

  

  READ SCRIPTURE: Luke 12:13-21 13 Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 14 Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?” 15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/07/2018

  awakening, belief, believe, bible, bible stories, bible study, challenge, character, charity, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, example, facing challenges, Failure, faith, faithful, giving thanks, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, influence, inheritance, investigative, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, judgement, judging, kindness, leadership, Life, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, motivations, Motives, pastor, Prayer, prayer life, preach, preaching, priorities, proclaiming Christ, relationships, Savior, spiritual disciplines, thankful, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worry, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  assurance of eternal life, eternal life, is tithing important, Jesus changes everything, John Wesley On the Use of Money, living a generous life, Luke 12:13-21, relationship with Christ, relationship with God, relationship with stuff, stewardship sermon series, storage unit industry, storing up too much, the generous life, tithing and Christian life, Wesley’s rules for use of money

• Peace Beyond Understanding

  

  Click here to read Acts 27. You know the feeling. You have had days where nothing seems to go right. Weeks. Months. Year(s). It is hard to see anything past what is going on right before us. We’ll hear people say things like, just change your mindset and be more positive. But the truth is […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/15/2017

  anxiety, Apostle Paul, belief, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, facing challenges, faith, giving thanks, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, passion, pastor, patience, peace, Philippians, Prayer, Spirit, Spirit led, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worry, worship, writing, youth ministry

  absence of conflict, Acts 27, Apostle Paul shipwrecked, book of Acts, God gives wisdom, peace beyond understanding, Philippians 4:6-7, praise God, presence of Christ, Romans 12, thank God for His presence, when everything goes wrong

• 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

• Beyond Jealousy

  

  Click here to read the passage for today: Acts 5:17-42 CEB. Jealousy. We all get jealous at times. Sometimes we don’t even want to admit we feel this emotion. Jealousy, when left unchecked, causes us to act in irrational and hurtful ways. Oh, we want to feel excitement for the accomplishments and gifts of other […]

  Ryan Stratton

  05/26/2017

  ambition, apostles, bible, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, community, control, devotionals, disciples, faith, faults, freedom, gifts, giving thanks, glory to God, God, God’s grace, Golden rule, good news, gospel, grace, happiness, Holy Spirit, humility, Image of God, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, Love, maturity, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, motivations, praise, priorities, Relationships, repent, success, thankful, trust, Truth, uncategoried, writing, youth ministry

  Acts 5:39, book of Acts, finding joy in other people success, gifts of the Holy Spirit, knowing our own flaws, letting go of jealousy, made in the image of God, praising God, praying for others, presence of God, stop fighting God, Ten Commandments

• SENT OUT: to Make Disciples

  

  I invite you to click on this link to read our scripture for this week: Matthew 4:12-23. In our church we have been going through a 5 week sermon series called “SENT OUT.” Jesus invites his followers to go into the world on mission to help people experience the Kingdom of God here and now […]

  Ryan Stratton

  01/24/2017

  belief, believe, belonging, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, confessing, confession, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, faithful, gift, gifts, giving thanks, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Identity, Image of God, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, joy, leadership, learn, Life, Love, maturity, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, new creation, new life, pastor, peace, praise, Prayer, prayer life, preach, reconciliation, Relationships, religion, renewal, sharing our faith, Spirit led, spiritual gifts, spiritual growth, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  change the world, developing relationships, evangelizing in daily life, go into the world, gospel of Matthew, Great Commission, make disciples for Jesus Christ, redeeming the world, sharing our faith, Steve Jobs and Apple

• Renewal

  Happy New Year to everyone! I pray this is the start of an incredible year for you. It is easy to go into a new year and keep it business as usual. After all, we have our own schedules, our own ideas, our own tasks, and habits that we have to keep doing, right? Yes and […]

  Ryan Stratton

  01/03/2017

  belief, bible, born again, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, faith, giving thanks, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, motivations, Motives, new creation, new life, pastor, Prayer, reconciliation, relationships, relfection, religion, renewal, thankful, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worry, writing, youth ministry

  Christian living, committing life to Christ, living for God, new year devotional, new year resolutions, our motivations, participating in renewal, refocus our life, relationships matter, wesley covenant service, what really matters

• Confidence in Prayer

  

  Someone just asked their friend to pray in public. The friend felt fear creeping in. “What if I say the wrong words, that other person has much better prayers than I do!” These are thoughts that are not uncommon. It is scary, at times, to speak in front of a group of people. But prayer […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/08/2016

  Advent, anxiety, apostles creed, belief, Blessings, character, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, church, Communication, disciples, faith, giving thanks, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, healing, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, learning, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, praise, pray, Prayer, prayer life, renewal, Spirit, spiritual transformation, thankful, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, writing, youth ministry

  book of common prayer, confidence in prayers, daily prayer life, peace of God beyond understanding, pray without ceasing, praying the Lord’s Prayer, praying with the early church fathers

• Giving Thanks Daily

  

  Today is Thanksgiving. This is a day we set apart to be thankful for the blessings in our life. We will give thanks for the people, our vocations, our lifestyle, God, etc. What if today, we call this a “day of new beginnings” and talk about all the ways we are thankful everyday? It is […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/24/2016

  belief, Bible, Blessings, Christian Life, Christianity, church, disciples, ego, Emotions, eternal life, evangelism, faith, faithful, faithfulness, gift, giving thanks, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, Life, living, mercy, methodism, methodist, Prayer, reconciliation, relationships, renewal, repent, Spirit, Spirit led, spiritual growth, thankful, uncategoried

  bible verses on giving thanks, daily blessings from God, giving thanks daily, grateful hearts, thanksgiving day, what are you thankful for

• Sing to the Lord

  What are some of your favorite songs to sing this time of year? Mine are “Joy to the World” and “O Holy Night.” In fact, these are two songs I would like to be sung at my memorial service after I pass away. The reason is because, even in death, there still can be joy. […]

  Ryan Stratton

  12/15/2015

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• “Prayer and Praise” Week 2

  This week, we look at the passage in Mark 12. In this, we can see several things; but the biggest concept I think we can take out of it for this week, is the concept of giving thanks in our lack and being thankful for the opportunity to give. Mark 12:38-44 “As he was teaching, […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/08/2015

  belief, bible, bible study, Blessings, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, faith, gifts, giving thanks, glory of God, glory to God, God, good news, gospel, Gospel of Mark, grace, Holy Spirit, hope, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, new creation, new life, praise, Prayer, prayer life, relationships, renewal, Spirit, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality

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