Along the Way w/ Bro. Ryan

" Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen ." - Hebrews 11:1 To have this passage fully illuminated in what it is teaching was a real eye-opener for me. For the longest time, I had heard this passage preached and I had read it for myself, but it was not until recently that the weight and glory of this passage truly hit me (and for the better!) Before becoming a full-time pastor, I was a bi-vocational pastor in West Texas. While there, my second occupation was coaching. While coaching, I remember one day discussing some things with one of our coaches on staff, who was not a religious man, and I do not recall how we got on the subject but he made the common statement, "You have faith, but it's really just blind faith if you think about it." He was implying that the faith of a Christian is blind because none of us in present time has seen Jesus, much less seen God. There are things we can point to ...

**I thought it would be fruitful/helpful to post this online for anyone who may be unclear on the Gospel call, what it is and is not, and how one can determine whether or not they are trusting in a true or false conversion experience. (Based upon a study of Romans 10)** To this point, Paul has been dealing with Jewish objections to why God would allow the Gentiles to be saved and why God would not save all the Israelites.  He’s made it clear to them that it was always God’s sovereign plan to call everyone to repent, regardless if they are Jew or Gentile, and that forgiveness and salvation would only come to those who repent and believe – salvation has always come by faith.  Now, Paul moves into chapter 10 of his letter to the Roman Christians, and God directs Paul through the Holy Spirit to write a simple chapter on the nature of the true Gospel call.  What is the Gospel call?  How is it applied?  How are people genuinely saved?  How are people supposed t...

To study the early church in Corinth, we must understand first the city itself. Corinth was a cosmopolitan city known for its ethnic diversity, rich culture, commerce, and wealth……however it was also known for its vast paganism and immorality (mostly in terms of being sexually immoral). It was a great port city which saw trade ships and other sea vessels daily, which facilitated all of the diversity both culturally and religiously. The worship of many pagan gods was fueled by sexual immorality which in turn brought about the negative connotation for the name ‘Corinth’, because it was mostly known for its prostitution. Acts of sexual immorality ran rampant in this thriving city. With all of this taking place, Paul saw a great and urgent need for a renewed spiritual health among the Corinthians. What does this city sound like to you today? If we analyze the historical facts, Corinth sounds a lot like America doesn’t it? We are a people full of diversity, we are among the wealthiest nat...

" Zacchaeus, come down immediately.  I must stay at your house today ."  - Luke 19:5 This was scandalous and, to both the elite and poor alike, it was downright wrong.  Jesus was traveling through town.  He was a household name with 'rock star' status by this point in His earthly ministry.  He was known all over the region for His miraculous works, signs and wonders and people gathered by the thousands to see just what He would do next. The religious leaders, the Pharisees, scribes and elders, already had major problems and run-ins with Jesus.  They were unequivocally opposed to what He was doing, what He was preaching and the following He was accruing.  He was a threat to their power, authority, and religious system that kept the Jews under their thumb. This scene recorded for us tells the story of Jesus choosing to meet with a notorious chief tax collector named Zacchaeus.  Zacchaeus not only was a tax collector, but he was a "chief tax c...

" Get wisdom, get understanding ..."  -Proverbs 4:5 One of my all-time favorite books of the Bible is the collection of wisdom literature in Proverbs.  Proverbs are so practical and yet so profound.  They teach of the unsurpassed value of wisdom and why we should all pursue it with all we have.  Wisdom of course begins and ends with Jesus so true wisdom can only be found through a relationship with Him through faith.  After faith, the Spirit begins sanctifying the believer until the day of his/her physical death.  Through that process, the Spirit uses the Word of God to develop our Spiritual maturity and character - to help us to pursue holiness, which is intertwined with wisdom and self-control. Before moving forward, it needs to be understood that Eastern wisdom literature is to be taken in general terms, not as guarantees or promises.  In other words, the Proverbs, although fully inspired and breathed out by God, are statements made that are tru...

" But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His ."  - Rom. 8:9 (larger context, v. 1-13) Who is the Holy Spirit and what does He do? I would like to first mention that this post will not be an exhaustive account of everything the Holy Spirit is and does, but this is simply a surface-level character sketch.  God the Holy Spirit is a great wonder to the human mind, not one we will ever totally be able to figure out on this side of glory. Before I launch into answering these two initial questions, I first need to note what Christians confess about the Holy Spirit and then briefly explain what the Holy Spirit is not. Our general confession : 1)       God has eternally existed as Three-Persons 2)       The three Persons of the Holy Trinity are the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit 3)     ...

" Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven.  Many will say to Me in that day, 'Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?  And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness .'"  - Matt. 7:21-23 This is a sobering and often frightening passage of Scripture as it makes it abundantly clear that there will be many people on the Day of Judgment who will have participated in church ministries, were involved in humanitarian efforts in the name of God, experienced emotional seasons of intense worship, and even performed miraculous spiritual signs and wonders, who will be turned away from heaven as lost unbelievers.  They will religious lives, seeking signs and wonders rather than Christ Himself and forgiveness of sins.  They will rely on their own efforts and...