Category: Uncategorized

• 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 Leads

  Click here to read 1 Samuel 17. These are the stories that capture our imagination and restore hope. Rudy, The Karate Kid, Cinderella Man, Million Dollar Baby…these are all stories where the “wrong person” wins. But these stories stick with us. Why? Because of who wins! We love for the underdog to win. Why? I […]

  Ryan Stratton

  06/22/2021

  anxiety, attitudes, awakening, believe, belonging, Bible, bible stories, bible study, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, devotionals, disciples, faith, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, legacy, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, motivations, preach, preaching, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, Worry, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  1 Samuel 17, Christian life, David and Goliath, faith in Christ, God leads to victory, Good News of Jesus Christ, Jesus changes everything, rooting for the underdog, transform the world, underdogs win

• Vitality of the Christian Faith

  On July 2, 1789, John Wesley wrote a sermon called, “Causes Of The Inefficacy Of Christianity”. Click here for the full sermon. This is a powerful, convicting, sermon on how Christianity can be more transformative in our world. Here is a summary and application for this important sermon: Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity Jeremiah […]

  Ryan Stratton

  11/20/2020

  belief, bible, born again, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conversion, disciples, Failure, faith, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, grace, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, leadership, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, new creation, new life, power, Prayer, priority, proclaiming Christ, reconciliation, redeemed, Relationships, renewal, repent, transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, witness, witnessing, worship, writing, youth ministry

  becoming born again, Causes of the Inefficacy of Christianity, changing the world, deny yourself, holy spirit led, is Christianity real, Jesus Christ crucified, john Wesley sermon, life change, real Christianity, renewing methodism, take up your cross and follow Jesus, the Christian life, What is a Christian

• 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

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

  How well do you know the biblical story? If we’re honest, we all should say we don’t know it as well as we want. One of the most beautiful things about scripture is that it continually speaks, even today, the words of God through the presence of the Holy Spirit. If I were to ask […]

  Ryan Stratton

  09/01/2020

  bible, bible study, Christian Life, Christianity, church, Creation, disciples, faith, God, God’s grace, good news, gospel, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, Life, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, reconciliation, redeemed, Relationships, repentance, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, worship, youth ministry

  old testament introduction, people of God, Who is God

• Rahab: The Past Does Note Define You

  How would you describe yourself before coming to faith in Jesus Christ? How is that different from your life now? What do other people think about you? Do your family and friends see something different and new in you since you began to follow Christ? Even if you have be “in church” your whole life, […]

  Ryan Stratton

  08/04/2020

  anxiety, attitudes, awakening, belief, Bible, bible stories, bible study, born again, Christian Life, Christianity, church, disciples, faith, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, home, Jesus, Jesus Christ, legacy, Life, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, new life, preach, preaching, redeemed, Relationships, revival, Spiritual transformation, transformation, Uncategorized, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  fall of Jericho, following Jesus, Jesus changes everything, Jesus defines you, Joshua 2, keeping your word, know who you are, know your worth, new life in Jesus, overcoming the past, people can change, People like us, Rahab the prostitue, story of redemption, trusting Jesus

• Esther: “Wrong” Place, Right Time

  We have been in this series where we have been looking into the lives of biblical characters to see how we can still see ourselves on the pages of scripture. As we said last week, our way of life, and society may have changed, but human nature really hasn’t changed. We still fall prey to […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/28/2020

  anger, awakening, beauty, belief, believe, belonging, bible, bible study, calling, Challenges, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, controversy, disciples, example, facing challenges, Failure, faith, faithful, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, invitation, Jesus, Jesus Christ, John Wesley, judgement, Life, Lifes Journey, mercy, methodism, methodist, mindset, ministry, mission, pastor, revival, transformation, trials, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, worship, writing, youth ministry

  book of esther, called by God, Esther, for such a time as this, God is always working, greater purpose in life, Happy with your life, Life mission, mission of God, new life in Christ, no coincidences with God, People like us, personal mission, trusting God, whats in the bible

• Noah: Nobody’s Perfect

  There are movies and books and stories that we allow to speak to our hearts. We fall in love with the characters and root for them, or want what’s coming to them to happen. The stories we seem to pay more attention to add to our notion that life is all about us. One of […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/21/2020

  anger, attitudes, belief, Bible, bible stories, bible study, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, confrontation, Creation, disciples, eternal life, evangelism, Failure, faith, forgiven, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, grace, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, learn, Life, methodism, methodist, ministry, mission, people pleasing, perfection, plan, planning, priority, purpose, relationships, rest, sin, trials, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, wisdom, Work, worship, writing, youth ministry

  Genesis 6, in Christ alone, Jesus is the way truth and life, live a holy life, narrow is the gate, noah and the flood, noah found favor in the eyes of God, nobodys perfect, perfection in Christ, Trust in Christ

• People Like Us: Adam

  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was formless and void, but the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. Right here we get a picture of God who seeks to be intimately connected with his creation by remaining close. For God it was, and still is, all about […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/14/2020

  belief, Bible, bible stories, bible study, character, Christian Life, Christianity, church, conflict, confrontation, disciples, Failure, faith, faithful, glory, glory of Christ, glory of God, glory to God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, holy life, Holy Spirit, hope, humble, Jesus, Jesus Christ, judgement, mercy, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, proclaiming Christ, Relationships, revival, transformation, trials, trust, Truth, Uncategorized, worship, writing, youth ministry

  becoming more, blaming others, Christ changes everything, Christ is victorious, Christian blog post, I am not a failure, is it my fault, it’s all about Christ, People like us, sermon on Adam, taking responsibility

• No Perfect People Allowed

  Note: This was the sermon preached on Sunday, July 5, 2020. Today, we move into a series to see how God uses people no one else would expect to carry on his mission in the world. We‘ll take a few examples of people from the Bible so we can know God better through his people. […]

  Ryan Stratton

  07/07/2020

  beauty, belief, believe, Bible, Christian Life, Christianity, church, disciples, Ephesians, eternal life, evangelism, Failure, faith, faithful, Forgiveness, freedom, glory, glory to God, God, God’s grace, God’s promises, good news, gospel, harevsting, holy, holy life, holy living, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, leadership, methodism, methodist, ministry, miracles, mission, pastor, power, preaching, renewal, spiritual growth, spiritual transformation, trust, Truth, uncategoried, Uncategorized, Worship, writing, youth ministry

  Church growth, church mission, created for a purpose, decline of Christianity, knowing God, knowing your purpose, missio dei, mission of God, mission of the church, reaching people for Jesus, state of the church message, who is my neighbor