Category: heaven

• God’s Story, Your Story: The New Testament

  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 think we can sum up the Bible with the word, JESUS. After all, in Luke 24, Jesus tells the disciples on […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/08/2020

  belonging, bible, bible study, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, comfort, conversion, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, example, Failure, faith, family of God, Forgiveness, God’s grace, God’s promises, Golden rule, good news, gospel, heaven, holy, holy life, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, kindness, leadership, learn, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, passion, pastor, power, prasie, preaching, Relationships, religion, renewal, revival, sin, Sinners, Spirit, Spirit led, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, world, worldview, worship, writing, youth ministry

  end times and revelation, God wins, gospels of Jesus, letters of Paul, live faithfully, New Testament overview, stand firm in the faith, trust in God, what is Jesus like, What is the new testament, what’s the Bible about, who is Jesus

• Whose Side is God On?

  There is so much that divides us, as people—politics, race, social economics, and so much more. We often try to get people to be on “our side.” One of the challenges we face is we often question who is God fo? Who’s side is God on? This video is some of my thoughts on the […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/10/2020

  belief, believe, belonging, bible, Challenges, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, disciples, faith, faithful, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, heaven, holy, holy life, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, pastor, peace, power, relationships, spiritual transformation, trust, Truth, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  commander of the Lord’s army, division in our country, grace trasnforms, Joshua 5, On gods side, power of God, power of grace, saved by grace, stopping division, the kingdom of God, the kingdom of heaven, what is the kingdom of heaven like, whose side is god on

• Seeking & Saving the Lost

  

  Jesus is so much more than we realize he is. Even those of us who profess his name and seek to follow him still do not get or give a full picture of who he is. Over the last few weeks, we have talked about various aspects of who Jesus is: Jesus is God in […]

  Ryan Stratton

  10/12/2018

  believe, belonging, bible, Christian Life, Christianity, conversion, disciples, faith, faithful, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, Gospel of Luke, grace, harevsting, heaven, Holy Spirit, Image of God, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, lost and found, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, motivations, new creation, pastor, people, praise, pray, Prayer, prayer life, preaching, renewal, repent, repentance, revival, Savior, sharing our faith, sin, Sinners, Spirit, Spirit led, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  God pursuing you, God seeks and finds the people, God so loved the world, God’s heart for the world, Gospel of Luke, mission of Jesus, repent and believe, saving people, seeking and saving the lost, sinners repenting, trusting in God, trusting in Jesus, who are the lost, who are the poor, who is Jesus Christ

• 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

• Journey to Revival Week 10

  REVIVAL HOPE Romans 15:13 “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.” We are on week 10 of a 12 week time of prayer and study for revival and awakening. This week, […]

  Ryan Stratton

  03/30/2018

  belief, believe, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, comfort, disciples, faith, faithful, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, healing, heaven, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, passion, pastor, patience, peace, pray, Prayer, prayer life, reconciliation, revival, Spiritual transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  hope for the future, hope of the life to come, hope of the resurrection, life with God, life with Jesus Christ, power of God, praying for revival, taste and see that the lord is good

• Community

  

  Click here to read Acts 2:42-47. Imagine Utopia, a perfect place were there is no conflict and everyone has what they need. Sounds like a great place? John Lennon thought of how the world would be different if we simply “Imagine”[d] doing things out of love rather than doing things out of self-preservation; but doing […]

  Ryan Stratton

  05/09/2017

  awakening, belief, believe, belonging, bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, community, conversion, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, example, gift, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, Golden rule, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Imagination, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, Life, memory, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, new life, pastor, revival, spiritual growth, testimony, transformation, trust, uncategoried, unity, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Acts 2:42-47, believers devoted themselves, book of Acts, growing in our faith, John Wesley band meetings, living as community, living in God’s grace, loving our neighbors, no individual christians, praying for revival, worshipping as communtiy

• REDEEMED: The Unfamily Becomes Family

  

  Last week, I invited you to think about your faith story and how you are different because of the grace of Jesus Christ. If it wasn’t for his mercy and his grace, we would not be able to experience hope, joy, love, and peace in this world. We would constantly shift from emotion to emotion. […]

  Ryan Stratton

  03/30/2017

  belief, believe, belonging, bible, bible stories, bible study, Challenges, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, faith, faithful, family, family of God, friendship, gift, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, Holy Spirit, home, homeless, Jesus, Jesus Christ, kindness, Lent, Life, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, new life, pastor, Prayer, reconciliation, relationships, trust, Truth, uncategoried, understanding, worship, writing, youth ministry

  adopted children of God, becoming a family, book of Ruth, family of God, God is with you, God loves you, know who you are, know who you belong to, lent blog series, lent devotionals, redeemed by Christ, redeemed sermon series, season of lent, walking beside you

• REDEEMED: The Prodigal Father

  

  What is your first impression on the story of the “Prodigal Son”? Most of us have probably focused on the wayward son that came back home and the father welcoming him back with a big party. We probably also have focused on the attitude of the older son. Have you been counted among the “prodigals” […]

  Ryan Stratton

  03/09/2017

  belief, Christian Life, Christianity, church, compassion, conversion, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, faithful, forgiven, Forgiveness, freedom in Christ, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, Gospel of Luke, heaven, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lent, Life, Lord, Love, mercy, methodism, methodist, new life, preach, preaching, reconciliation, redeemed, Relationships, renewal, repent, repentance, revival, Sin, Truth, uncategoried, writing, youth ministry

  choose life with Christ, christian blog series, devotional, experiencing God’s grace, Gospel of Luke, prodigal son parable, redeemed by Christ, redeemed sermon series, redemption sermon series, resurrection of Jesus Christ, season of lent, unconditional love of God, wayward children coming home

• Giving It Up

  

  Lent is coming upon us. No, this is not the lint we find in our pockets or in our dryers. This is a special time within the Christian Church calendar. This is a time of sacrifice, self-denial, repentance, self-reflection, etc. so we can be fully ready to experience the joy that comes on Easter Sunday […]

  Ryan Stratton

  02/28/2017

  attitudes, belief, believe, belonging, calling, challenge, character, charity, children, Christian Life, Christianity, church, confessing, control, devotionals, disciples, dying, eternal life, evangelism, faith, faithful, forgiven, Forgiveness, gift, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, humility, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Lent, Life, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, pastor, peace, Prayer, reconciliation, Relationships, renewal, repent, Sacrifice, spiritual disciplines, Temptation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Ash Wednesday, confession and repentance, daily devotionals, experience the present of God, giving up for lent, love of God, resurrection of Jesus Christ, season of lent, spiritual disciplines for lent, spiritual life, stay focused on God, temptation of Jesus Christ, what is lent

• Preparing for What?

  We have just entered into the season of Advent. This marks the beginning of a new Christian church year. Advent is one of my favorite times because we have the opportunity to focus on the actions God took by becoming man, Jesus Christ. We are invited, once again, to deepen our faith and allow the […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/30/2015

  Advent, advent devotional, belief, believe, bible, born again, challenge, character, Christian Life, Christianity, Christmas, church, conflict, daily devotionals, devotionals, disciples, eternal life, faith, faithful, family of God, forgiven, Forgiveness, gifts, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, heaven, holy, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Jesus’birth, Life, Love, methodism, methodist, ministry, new creation, new life, new year, pastor, patience, peace, power, pray, Prayer, preparation, prepare, relationships, renewal, Savior, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, Spirituality, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, youth ministry

  advent devotionals, Christ’s return, Christian life, daily devotionals, devotionals, end times, faith in Christ, God, God’s actions, Good News of Jesus Christ, gospel of Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, new life in Christ, O come Emmanuel, prepare our hearts, ready for Jesus