Spiritual Fitness- Sermon on 1 Timothy 4:1-10

Here's my sermon from Sunday May 19 at Revive Church on 1 Timothy 4:1-10 entitled "Spiritual Fitness." (We had some technical difficulties with the audio, so I sound like I'm screaming into my pillow, but that's alright!)

The deceived servant will fall away.
- Deceitful Teaching
- Seared Conscience
- Legalism
The disciplined servant will remain faithful.
- Different Diet
- Different Discipline
- Different Source of Strength

Mothers' Day "Poem"

This last Sunday, I had the honor of giving the message at my church for Mothers' Day. I'll be honest with you- it was one of the toughest messages to plan and preach (since the elders decided to do a moms-specific message). I am not a mother (obviously), and it was a challenge and a stretch to preach something encouraging, sensitive, challenging, grateful, etc.

One thing I was sure of was that I didn't want anyone feeling shame over their shortcomings (or perceived shortcomings) with their own family or their own mother. Therefore, I had to emphasize the gospel, and  not just the importance of a godly momma. In my prep, I came across a great article - "Happy Daughter's Day" -  by Elyse Fitzpatrick, and it prompted me to write the below "poem" in encouragement to mothers about the great God they serve:

It is not about your temporary status as a mother, it is about your eternal position as a daughter.

It is not about birthing children; it is about being re-birthed by God’s Spirit.

It is not about your performance as a mother, it is about Jesus’ perfection as a Savior.

It is not about having faithful children, but having faith like a child.

It’s not about weaning kids, but about worshipping the King.

It is not about your greatness; it is about Jesus’ grace.

It is not about your skillset; it is about God’s strength.

It is not about your imperfect love, but his perfect love.
It is not about your work, it is about Jesus’ worth.

If you wanted to check out the whole sermon "A Mother's Faith" (on Timothy's godly mother), here it is as well:

Paul's Testimony: Great Mission, Great Mercy (Sunday Sermon 4/14/13)

Here's the sermon I preached Sunday April 14 at Revive Church in Claremont.

Text: 1 Timothy 1:12-20

Outline
1. Paul receives a mission
2. Paul receives mercy.
3. Paul gives glory.

Enjoy!

Making Work Better

I've been reading a little about the theology of work, mainly from Tim Keller's Every Good Endeavor: Connecting Your Work to God's Work. This topic has intrigued me since I am a Bible-lover who is also in his early career years. It just so happens that my career has centered on staffing and recruiting.

On a semi-related note, and a shameless self-plug (hey, this is my blog), some friends and I launched an online hiring system this week, called Flazingo. The aim is to bring world-class hiring processes in a user-friendly format for any business to use (though we've started by aiming to serve small businesses, who are mainly do-it-yourself when it comes to hiring.) We believe humans are created to work and find the most satisfaction when they're using their gifts in a productive manner. We believe the best companies are those who care most about their employees gifts, lives, and productivity. In a small way, we believe the better companies hire, the better the world will be!

Since I know my general blog traffic, the odds are that you are a college friend, a family member, or someone who clicked on the wrong link. At any rate, check out our system or pass it along to someone who may be interested in it.


Flazingo - Complete Hiring System from Flazingo on Vimeo.

Good Friday Sermon: What Happened and What it Means

Here's my Good Friday sermon, given at Revive Church on March 29, 2013. Much of my study for this came from my favorite John MacArthur book, The Murder of Jesus.

"Good Friday: What Happened and What it Means"
1. Jesus was bound so that we would be free.
2. Jesus was found guilty so that we would be clean.
3. Jesus was forsaken so that we would be accepted.
4. Jesus died so that we might live.

The Character and Benefits of God's Word (Sunday Sermon 3/10/13)

Sermon I preached at Revive Church from Psalm 19:7-11 on March 10, 2013.

God's perfect word gives spiritual life.

God's reliable word gives wise direction.

God's true word gives joy.

The Unchained Gospel

As of this morning, the teaching pastor and founder of our local church, Revive Church, has announced that he will be moving on to a new church in a new city. This is no small event for our congregation corporately, as 5+ years ago, he faithfully planted the church in his living room. His excellent, biblical teaching has been the glue that has held our body together and led us through times high and low. This is no small event for me as an individual, as his teaching has been a constant stream of grace since my sophomore year of high school. That's right, he's been there for high school graduations, my eventual wife's conversion & baptism, college graduations, a wedding ceremony, dozens of rounds of (mediocre) golf and a few ski trips. Safe to say, this is a huge deal.

There will be an appropriate time for me to "Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God. Consider the outcome of their way of life, and imitate their faith" (Hebrews 13:7). But today, I write a rallying cry for a crying church.


Second Timothy 2:8-10 says this: "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, the offspring of David, as preached in my gospel, for which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound! Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they also may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory."

Briefly, Paul writes from prion ("chains") to a young pastor, Timothy. He assures him with utmost confidence that even though he in his leadership is chained physically, the word of God is not chained. There are circumstances that limit Paul physically, emotionally, and geographically. But he proclaims confidence to Timothy: no matter my physical circumstances, Timothy, God's Word is unchained, unbound, and unstoppable.

I wish I wrote with the same confidence of Paul this morning. I'll try to get there. And I'm not so much writing for my church body as I am for myself. "Ryan, you (and possibly your church) may feel very bound at this moment. You may feel chained emotionally and spiritually. You may feel that the future is chained. But rest assured that God's Word- the same message that your pastor taught you to love- is unchained. Your ministry and growth as an individual and as a church is tied to this word. No imprisonment, no ailment, no pastoral transition can chain this.

If you're reading this, I don't know what your situation is. If you're connected to my burdened church, rally around the banner that God's Word and the ministry thereof moves forward unchained, even as we limp and mourn! And help me to do the same.