What Is The Gospel?
Last night Deron, Miriam and I went to do a visitation of someone from WOWJAM and we ended up seeing their entire family come to Christ!!! It just hit me again- how powerful the Gospel is and how powerfully our God is working behind the scenes to prepare peoples’ hearts for salvation: your neighbors, co-workers- friends- family members… God is working!!!!
This last Sunday we talked about what the Gospel is. Do you remember?
I’m going to say it like it is:
Jesus is God
He died for you
And He Rose from the dead
Turn to Him
And you will be set free.
Would you do something for me this week? Repeat this to yourself. learn it. If you want to go deeper- look up scriptures that tell us more about each point. But in the end- memorize this very simple picture of the Gospel, and then pray God would give you someone to share it with. The best way to learn the Gospel- is to share it with others. Have a great week everyone!
Pastor Ryan
Does the Bible Condone Slavery?
Does the Bible condone Slavery?
It doesn’t seem to say “No” to slavery – so it must be condoning it right? Slavery still exists in the world today – should Christian be people who crusade against slavery or should we just let it go?
These are great questions, and something I’d like to address in our 2nd Look today.
The difficulty with answering a question like this is that once again there seems to be a million miles between the ancient world and today. Slavery in the ancient world looked different than we understand it today. We need to be careful when we consider a question like this – to take their context into mind.
I’d like to share two website links with you that really addresses this question quite well. I have two reasons in doing this –
They address this issue very well and say it as well or better than I could.
I think very highly of these sites and believe they can be very helpful resources for you with a variety of questions.
Here are the links.
http://www.gotquestions.org/bible-slavery.html
http://compellingtruth.org/Bible-slavery.html
May the Lord enable you to experience His grace and peace this week!
Pastor Ryan
God Is Our Heavenly Father
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails…..
Pastor Ryan
We Love Because He First Loved Us
1 John 4:19.
This verse has been haunting me over the last few months especially with my Bell’s Palsy. From the very beginning of the onset of Bell’s, I heard very loudly from the doctors that I was likely overstressed and needed to rest while I worked through this illness… I had one doctor who told me that this was my body telling me it couldn’t keep doing the things it was; that something needed to change.
I’d like to invite you to take some time this week to read 1 John chapter 4:17-21. God’s love for us is hand in hand with our love for others.
Please know that you are loved right now. As a matter of fact, you’ve never been more loved than you are right now. God’s love for you has been written in His mind throughout eternity. He can be nothing towards you but loving. I hope this gives you peace today and brings you freedom. All the stuff we DO must flow from who we ARE –
And YOU ARE LOVED!!!
Defeating Sin In Our Lives
Hello everybody, welcome to this week’s 2nd look!
1)Honesty.
2)Strengthening relationships
- It is honest. Folks in these relationships are truly known – the good, the bad and the ugly. They are real with each other and therefore can support each other when they are weak.
- It celebrates and pushes growth. A strengthening relationship is one where both parties seek to help the other be the very best version of themselves that God wants them to be. They will not settle for each other caving in. They celebrate and push each other to grow.
- It is simply there. Folks in a strengthening relationship are known and not alone. This is a relationship where they are doing life near each other. Their families know each other. They are journeying together.
- It directs back to God. The chief aim in these relationships is for us to grow and deepen in our relationships with God. These friendships inspire this.
3)Seeking And Delighting In God.
Have a great week everybody
And may God strengthen you as you walk with Him and serve Him
Pastor Ryan
Watch Your Language
10:11; 10:13-14; 10:18-21; 10:31-32;
11:9-13;
12:17-19; 12:23;
13:1-3;
15:1-4; 15:7;
16:24; 16:27-28;
17:27-28;
18:6-8; 18:21;
19:1;19:5; 19:28;
20:19-20;
21:23;
24:15-16Have a great week everybody!
Pastor Ryan
All The Rage
Hello Everyone,
For the last couple weeks we’ve been talking about how we are to live life together as the body of Christ. How are we to treat each other? What things do we seek to avoid? What do we cling to?
This week we looked at the problem of anger. The direction we get from God in Ephesians 4:26 is that we are to not delay but deal and work through our anger. This isn’t always easy.
One thing I alluded to in the sermon was that our anger is often a spotlight on the things we really hold dear. If we look at the things we get angry about, often times we’ll see, underneath it all – that something we hold dear is threatened. It can be our comfort; a loved one; our safety; our desire to succeed. Sometimes things hurt and we get angry. Sometimes we are frightened and we don’t like to feel that way which induces anger in us.
Think back to the most recent time you’ve been angry. What was it that you were angry about? What happened?
Now think about this….. What did this situation threaten in you? Let me give you an example. My son and I recently had conflict. I got upset with him because he didn’t want to clean his room. Sounds pretty normal. What kid wants to clean their room? He was complaining and I got really upset. Let him have it. I needed to stop and think through what happened. My inner conversation went something like this:
– “Well Ryan, that wasn’t the best response. Why are you so mad?”
– He should be willing to clean his room without making this some big dramatic event! I’m sick of it. It’s not like we are asking him to do something unfair, or unheard of!
– Do you like cleaning your room? Or cleaning anything for that matter?
– No.
– Then why should you think he would love it? After all – he’s just like you.
– I know, I just, don’t want to deal with this right now…
– Why?
– It’s inconvenient, it’s Saturday morning, I just want it to get done so we could go to the orthodontist and then get on with the rest of our very full day.
– So you’re mad because William is acting in a way that is inconvenient to you?
– Are you suggesting that his behavior should be allowed?
– No. But I’m suggesting there may be a more constructive way to help him see that he needs to choose a different behavior. Because you yelling at him isn’t going to get it done – but if you choose a more constructive method – it means you’ll need to be inconvenienced. We both know yelling at William doesn’t get through to him the way sitting with him, asking him questions and reasoning through this does… And we both know that in the end, It usually takes him two to three times as long to get done what you want him to when you are yelling.
– sigh.. you’re right again… thank you inner Ryan
– you’re welcome outer Ryan. 🙂
That’s just a quick example of how our inner conversation can look – it doesn’t have to look that way for you – but there are several things going on in that conversation:
Admitting what really made me angry – (I’m frustrated with Will’s resistance to cleaning willingly)
Admitting what was threatened (My desire for comfort and efficiency)
Admitting William is a child and has every right to hate cleaning as much as I do (Which is trying to see things through his eyes)
Looking at alternatives for my behavior to constructively work through my anger with my son. (Calmly choosing how to direct my anger)
This can all happen in a very short time, or it may take some time to sit down and think this through. I know when my wife and I have conflict that sometimes we need to take a moment to move away from each other – to pray and think through these 4 things I listed above, then we can come back together and work through our conflict. It’s not always easy! Incidentally – I went to William and apologized for the way I expressed my anger then sat down and calmly tried to express what frustrated me. I also asked him this question:
“Will – do you think I enjoy cleaning?”
He said: “I don’t know..”
I said – “I don’t… I hate cleaning. I’d rather do anything in the world than clean. Do you feel the same way?”
“Yes”
“William can you see that if I hate cleaning as much as you do – how it would be frustrating for me to clean up your stuff? I don’t like even cleaning my own stuff!”
“Yea.”
We began to build a connection here and we had a very productive conversation. I wish every conversation went that way! 🙂
My point in all of this is to give you a picture of how I’ve been wrestling with this concept and to maybe give some of you who wrestle with anger – a picture that might be helpful.
Anger has big time destructive potential but it can also be a powerful catalyst for change and good. I pray that it might move us into deeper self understanding; and stronger community – rather than hurt and division.
This week my invitation to you is to consider if you are carrying anger. Maybe you’ve held anger for years. It might be time to consider what was threatened when you were angered and what has kept you holding it for all this time. This may need to be something you discuss with a counselor – or with some good friends whom you know you can trust. I am also happy to meet with you if you need a listening ear to think through some of these things. I’m not a licensed therapist – but I am listening ear, and am here for you.
The truth is, we need to be a community that roots out anger and doesn’t allow it to direct us. I pray for the Lord’s blessing on you this week!
Pastor Ryan
True-Faced
Hello SNC Friends!
This past week we began looking at God’s calling to us in regards to how we are to live together. What things are we meant to emphasize as a family of believers? What are we supposed to battle for; to fight for; to place as a priority in our relationships?
This week we looked at how we are called to be people who live in Truth. Paul in Ephesians 4:25 challenges us to put off falsehood and to speak truth. We need to be people of truth! We looked at how we can often lie not only with what we say – but also what we portray. Do we speak lies – do we live lies? This is a deep question for us to ask. How do we battle to live in truth in a day and age where so often we are pulled towards lies?
One of the big questions I asked is something I’d like to invite you to think about… Who really knows you? Are there people here who know the real you? This can be something that requires bravery – but are we willing to have a group of people at church with whom we can be real? My hope is that our church would be a place where people can be real about the truth of their lives. Do you struggle? I know there are things in my life I struggle with. The temptation is to hide this. The path to healing and victory – is to get this in the light. To get known.
So I want to ask you once again. Who really knows you? Men – are there other men here at this church that really know you? You need them and they need you. Ladies – do you have other ladies who really know you?
As a church we need to risk for truth – battle for truth – keep truth at the center of things!!! There is a great deal of life and freedom found in truth. Today may be the day to take some risks and let some people in…
Have a great week everybody!
Pastor Ryan
5 Fold Ministry
Hello SNC family!
Last Sunday we talked about how we are each given a base ministry for us to do within the church.
Do you know yours? Here’s a link to a test you can take that can help you begin to hone you understanding of what your base ministry may be… http://fivefoldsurvey.com
Please remember this –
Some of your results may be puzzling to you. Please read the commentaries they have on each ministry. They can be very helpful. It may be puzzling because you don’t think of yourself this way – or the fact is the test may actually get it wrong… That is always possible. This is why I highly suggest for you to invite several people to think this through with you… They can give you honest feedback and help you get a more clear picture.
Ok – so the inevitable question is: “Now what?” Now that I know my base ministry – what do I do?
My most immediate response is – “Look for ways to do this ministry.”
I’d also like to add: “Look for ways to develop your base.” Here are some ideas:
Apostle:
– Write down your ideas – how can you clearly communicate them?
– Why does the church need this?
– Practically speaking, how can we make an idea like this happen?
– Get involved with a team. When you are on a team you have an opportunity to be inventive and help develop new ideas…
Prophet:
– Is what I’m hearing supported by Scripture?
– Sometimes we need to take a risk – throw what you feel you are hearing from the Lord out there and see what happens. Do this with love and kindness…
– Learn more about hearing from the Lord and being able to discern His voice. There are some wonderful books out there that can be helpful in your journey…
– Get involved with a ministry team – every team at this church needs prophet ministry base folks…
Evangelist:
– Learn the sacred art of listening and asking good questions… This is a powerful ministry tool!
– How can you help us as a church learn how to evangelize?
– Join a ministry team – youth ministry is a great place to exercise your evangelism skills…
Pastor:
– Learn the sacred art of listening. In pastoral ministry this is a huge skill…
– I’d suggest two books to you: “How people grow” and “Emotionally Healthy Spirituality” – very helpful when understanding how to work with people…
– You need to put yourself in environments where you can care for others – hospital ministry – lead a small group in youth ministry – mentor some people in the church…
Teacher:
– Is what you are wanting to teach Biblically based and accurate.
– What are you passionate about that you could teach to others?
– What is an area in Scriptures; a theological area that you feel passionate about and would want to teach on?
– Children’s ministry – youth – men’s ministries need teachers. We also need small group leaders; and i’m sure there is a preacher out there somewhere. We need to think about this…
Talk to an elder – or one of us pastors. Pick our brains and see what we can come up with. This is when ministry gets exciting for us as pastors because we get to watch you all start this amazing adventure with God!
Have a great week everybody
Pastor Ryan
Palm Sunday Revisited
Wow what a morning we had at SNC!!! It was quite a roller coaster.
The police were seeking to apprehend someone – they had them handcuffed and the person managed to get away from them. This began a huge manhunt that resulted in 25 of us being locked inside the church – while many of you were locked out. It was quite an adventurous morning.
If I can give you one final suggestion – take some time this week to read Mark 11-16. This is the story of the “Passion Week” for Jesus. Take some time this week to consider Jesus’ road to the cross – so that we can be FREED!!!!
Have a wonderful week everybody.
Pastor Ryan