Renaissance Church: Recent Episodes
Renaissance Church Providence RI
Renaissance Church is a nondenominational Christian church located in Providence, RI founded in 2003 by Pastor Scott Axtmann.
Joel and Adrienne Charest have come alongside local churches in Mozambique for many years. Joel visited with Renaissance Church and highlighted their work in evangelistic soccer outreaches, children's ministry, water well building, and church planting, despite frequent terrorist attacks and persecution. In this message Joel recounts stories on suffering and miracles, encouraging us to step out in faith when God calls us to act, not because it's easy, but because it’s where His power is made perfect. When we step into uncertainty, He shows up — and what we offer, He multiplies.
Genesis 22
This sermon delves into the story of Abraham and Isaac from Genesis 22, emphasizing Abraham’s unwavering faith in God’s promises even when asked to sacrifice his son. Drawing from Hebrews 11 and James 2, the message shows that Abraham’s faith was not blind but reasoned and deeply rooted in God’s character—trusting that God could raise the dead if necessary. It also reveals how this story foreshadows the sacrifice of Jesus, with Isaac as a type of Christ and the ram as a symbol of substitution. Ultimately, Mark Skillin in this sermon challenges listeners to live out the Christian faith that not only believes but acts, trusting God’s goodness even when His ways are mysterious.
1 Samuel 16:1-13
In this sermon Pastor Scott shares the story of God choosing David as the next king of Israel, found in 1 Samuel 16. We walk through Samuel’s fear, God’s surprising instruction, and the powerful moment when David, the overlooked youngest son tending sheep, is chosen and anointed. The key message centers on how God does not look at outward appearances but sees the heart. We reflect on how this applies to us—reminding listeners that God values faithfulness in hidden places and uses those with a surrendered heart for significant Kingdom purposes, even if they feel overlooked or unqualified.
This final part of the Spirit series explores how to be continuously filled with the Holy Spirit—not just as a one-time event, but as a daily reality. Drawing from Scripture and practical illustrations, we look at how sin and distraction can block the Spirit’s flow, why a lukewarm heart is so dangerous, and how true spiritual power is marked by love. Pastor Scott covers three practices to help us be continuously filled by the Holy Spirit: aligning your life with God’s will, waiting on Him with expectancy, and giving away to others the love and power we receive from the Holy Spirit. This message is a call to go beyond spiritual routine and become a life set ablaze by the presence of God.
In this sermon, we dive into the vital work of the Holy Spirit—regenerating our lives, transforming our hearts, enabling deep prayer, and giving us boldness and assurance of salvation. The Spirit pours out God’s love in our hearts (Romans 5). The Spirit empowers us to live out Christlike love, endure suffering with joy, and understand spiritual truths. We don’t need to try to manufacture these qualities on our own; in fact, these things are impossible to do without the Holy Spirit. A key to the Christian life is learning how to yield to the Spirit’s work in our lives.
This sermon launches a three-part series on the Holy Spirit by addressing why we need to be filled with Him. Pastor Scott highlights the confusion and extremes often associated with the Spirit—some churches downplay His role, while others overemphasize emotional or dramatic manifestations. Yet the Holy Spirit is not merely a force or influence, but God Himself—the third person of the Trinity. Scripture shows that the Spirit teaches, comforts, convicts, empowers, and enables believers to live the Christian life. Without the Spirit, such a life is not merely difficult but impossible. This message corrects common misunderstandings and calls the church to actively seek the Spirit, recognizing Him as essential to living a life that truly honors God.
Luke 24: 1 - 35
What if Jesus is closer than you think—even when you feel most abandoned? On Easter Sunday, we looked at two disillusioned disciples on the road to Emmaus, and how the risen Jesus met them in their confusion, not their certainty. As he walked with them and opened the Scriptures, their hearts began to burn with fresh hope. This message invites you to see how God often shows up in the questions, not just the answers.
Luke 19: 28 - 48
This sermon, based on Luke 19:28–48, explores the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Just days before His crucifixion, Jesus enters the city on a donkey in fulfillment of prophecy, declaring Himself King, but not the kind of political or military leader many expected. Instead, He embodies peace and humility. The crowd's celebration contrasts with Jesus’ deep sorrow as He weeps over Jerusalem, lamenting that the people do not recognize the peace He offers or the significance of His coming. Jesus then drives out the shop vendors in the temple, asserting His authority. This passage gives us a glimpse into the complexity and beauty of Jesus’ character, calling listeners to see Jesus for who He truly is and to respond with authentic worship.
Luke 14: 1 - 24
Jesus is invited to dine at the house of a leader of Pharisees, only to disrupt the evening. It was the Sabbath, and a man with dropsy approaches Jesus for healing—something the religious leaders around the table would’ve considered forbidden work. Jesus heals the man anyway, stunning the dinner guests. He then addresses the guests with two banquet parables designed to expose their pride and self-righteousness.
This message compels each listener to reflect personally: have you truly humbled yourself before God? Do you presume you're secure in God’s kingdom, or do you recognize your deep spiritual need and your dependence on His grace?
Luke 19:1-10
Zacchaeus was a tax collector in Jericho who became very rich from exploiting people’s finances. One day Jesus passed through Jericho, and Zaccheus did everything he could to see Jesus, even climbing a tree because he was too short to see him in the crowds. Then Jesus calls up to Zacchaeus to come down from the tree because Jesus planned to come to his house, and while the crowd is shocked Jesus would go to the house of a “sinner,” Zacchaeus responds with saying he will give half of everything he owns to the poor.
Church leader Vicky Griffiths helps us in this message to understand the significance of this interaction. It seems like Zacchaeus is seeking Jesus, but really Jesus is seeking him.
This message is also part of Family Sunday and is designed for grade school kids to listen in, too.
John 8: 1 - 11
While Jesus is teaching in the temple, religious leaders drag a woman into the space who had committed adultery. The leaders’ aim is not justice; rather they use her to provoke Jesus to say something that would get him in trouble. But what Jesus says puts the religious leaders in their place, and he protects the woman, offers her mercy, and calls her to live a new life: “Go, and from now on sin no more.” Today when we read this story from John 8:1 - 11, maybe we see ourselves in the story as the religious leaders, but many of us can relate to the Woman. Each one of us has sinned against God’s ways, and each one of us needs God’s forgiveness. This message is for anyone who is struggling with guilt or shame and needs to drink in the mercy of Jesus that ushers people into a new life.
Genesis 15
The covenant God makes with Abraham in Genesis 15 sets up the entire Bible narrative for human redemption. God promises that Abraham’s descendants will be countless and that his offspring will bless all the nations forever. Even though Abraham is old in age and has no children, he responds with belief, and Abraham’s faith equates to righteousness in God’s eyes. Church leader Mark Skillin unpacks why belief matters to God so much. Mark also points out the ways Jesus will, 2000 years later, fulfill promises made in this covenant, and where we are today, eagerly waiting for the the rest of God’s promises to be fulfilled. Listen in for a deeper understanding of our faith in God and God’s faithfulness to us.
Genesis 11: 1 - 9
When God saw people build a tower and he confused their languages and scattered them over the earth, it wasn’t because building cities are bad or making a name for ourselves is dishonorable; rather, God cares about the motives behind our actions and for us to obey His will. In that moment, humans were not filling the earth as God commanded, so God scattered them Himself. Studying the tower of Babel narrative, Pastor Scott shares what it means to follow the will of God.
Genesis 4
Cain, filled with anger against his brother Abel, murders him. God doles out both justice and mercy onto Cain in response t0 sin. This passage outlines the mess that humans have made in giving in to sin, as it festers, grows, and drives us into restless wandering. This passage also shows God’s character, in light of human evil. RenKids teacher Reid Megathlin shares teaching points prepared by Scott Axtmann about the Genesis narrative of Cain and Abel.
Luke 5: 17 - 26
It’s the 1st century AD. The people of God hold high expectations for a Messianic King to arrive at any moment. Prophecies foresaw this to happen around that time. Then Jesus enters the synagogue, and a new reality bursts upon the scene: “The Kingdom of God is near!” he preaches. And people react. Some reject, some doubt, and some drop everything to follow this Jesus. A few men even break through the roof of a crowded place to lower down a paralyzed man right to him. Here, Jesus sees their faith and forgives their sins. Then, he instructs the paralytic to walk, and the man picks up his mat and walks home. Who but the Messiah could heal AND forgive sins?
This message from Mark Skillin will give you a deeper understanding of the kingdom of God, of the beauty of faith embodied, and why Jesus is the Messianic King who is worthy to rule the world.
Genesis 1 - 3
Good stories often introduce the most important characters at the beginning of the narrative. The opening chapters of Genesis set the stage for the entire biblical narrative, casting who God is and how humans came to be. Listen in as Pastor Scott walks through the layers of Genesis 1 - 3.
2 Kings 4: 1 - 7
Told in 2 Kings, a widow is about to lose her sons to slavery if her debt is not paid, but through a miracle God multiples one jar of oil into many jars of oil, in order for her to sell them and pay off the debt. Teaching leader Vicky Griffiths shares how we can see God’s power and presence increase through small things. Imagine what we can see God do when we trust Him.
John 12: 1 - 8
The Stories of God series highlights countless narratives in the Bible. This message looks at the account of Mary anointing Jesus’ feet with perfume one evening at dinner. One of the disciples rebukes her unusual offering, but Jesus advocates for her. Just as Jesus responded to Mary’s motives, Jesus notices and delights in the things we do for Him today.
Matthew 9:35 - 10:1
In this message, guest speaker Emily Cordon Drainville, a pastoral resident from Sanctuary Church in Providence, preaches about Jesus’ compassion for lost people. While it seems that people in Providence do not appear “harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd” (Matthew 9:36), many are walking with deep hurt inside and are searching for answers. In recent months, Emily has witnessed an openness to Jesus like never before from her peers locally and from testimonies around the world. In summary, the harvest is plentiful! There is a great need for people to go bring the light of Jesus into their communities here in New England, and Jesus is empowering you through His Spirit to join Him in the healing work. This message is meant to encourage anyone who needs needs a fresh wind of Jesus’ compassion for people in our lives.
2 Corinthians 13: 11
To conclude this series on 2 Corinthians, Pastor Scott unpacks what it means to live a life that aims for restoration and living in peace with one another.
“Finally, brothers, rejoice. Aim for restoration, comfort one another, agree with one another, live in peace; and the God of love and peace will be with you.”
2 Corinthians 12: 1 - 10
Why doesn’t God always deliver us from hardship, even when we cry out to Him? What if we tried everything we could to remove intense suffering, yet nothing seems to change? While there is some mystery, we do know that God permits troubles in our lives to form us into the image of Jesus. He cares more about our character than our comfort. Pride, unaddressed, would destroy us. Paul in 2 Corinthians 12 refers to being given “a thorn in [his] flesh” so as to keep him humble, learning how to “boast all the more gladly about [his]weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on [him.]” The hope for this message is to consider responding to hardship as an embrace of the way God wants to shape us.
2 Corinthians 11: 16 - 33
When we think of the way the Christian life is often described, what comes to mind? Sometime we focus only on the sweet elements (peaceful, fulfilling, powerful, secure), but Paul in 2 Corinthians 11 testifies to the bitter elements (dangerous, painful, feeling weak) of walking with God as the marks of authenticity. The American vision tends to preach living one’s best life now and basking in God’s blessings. In response, Pastor Scott gives ten reasons why authentic Christians will suffer.
2 Corinthians 10
The problem of people being deceived by teaching is more relevant now than ever. A flood of information comes at us through social media, TV, and YouTube, and so much of it is biblically messed up. Many Christians fall for the persuasions, falling away from the true gospel. In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul defends the validity of his gospel preaching and calls out the false teaching going on in the Corinthian community. Given that this issue persists through every generation, Pastor Scott ends this message with practical tips for how to stay grounded in the truth of the gospel in the midst of deceitful teaching.
2 Corinthians 9: 5 - 8
The stress of dealing with money in our time—it’s real. Sometimes we operate out of a shame state or a scarcity mentality when it comes to managing time or money. But contact with Jesus can heal this worry within us. He takes us from an exacting compulsory life to a spacious life of grace. In this message Chris Waugh shares life stories to help listeners imagine where God may be calling us to expand our capacity to be generous.
2 Corinthians 8
The practice of generosity is a huge part of our spiritual formation and even combatting spiritual warfare, as giving is the antithesis to a culture that hoards money and fears of not having enough. Reading about the church in 2 Corinthians 8, Pastor Scott shares what it looks like to be wise with money while giving much in light of what we have. The posture of giving can be an act of worship, of grace, and can shape us into the people God is calling us to be.
2 Corinthians 7:8 - 13
What does it look like to have a healthy process of repentance and growth in your church community? It involves church leaders addressing sin instead of ignoring the problem, to respond to discipline with “godly sorrow,” and to commit to loving people instead of ostracizing them, hanging in there for the whole process of salvation. Mark Skillin unpacks several nuances to this type of dilemma as referred in 2 Corinthians 7, including what it means to find salvation when one is already a Christian.
2 Corinthians 7:2 - 16
2 Corinthians 7 gives a snapshot into the life of the apostles who endured suffering through their travels and gospel teaching, yet their love for the local church and hearing about the Corinthians’ growth in repentance magnified their joy that could not overshadowed by troubles. Mark Skillin goes through the backstory of this passage and from it gleans wisdom about suffering, joy in the Lord, and why learning from the apostles is important.
2 Corinthians 6: 14 - 7:1
God calls us to be fully in communion with Him. As Christ followers we can’t have one foot in the world, one foot with God. Yet throughout the centuries, determining what it means to be separate from the world and fully aligned with God has been challenging for the Church, and sometimes this separation has gone to the extreme. Pastor Scott sorts through what it means in chapter 6 v. 14 to not be “equally yoked” with nonbelievers, what to do with rules upon rules in legalistic circles, how to interact with our culture, and how to address internal shame in the process of pursuing holy communion.
2 Corinthians 6:1 - 13
Is there any part of your life that you’re holding back from God, and why is that? God continues to dole out grace, yet believers can neglect to tap into His treasures. Pastor Scott challenges listeners to “open wide” their hearts to God, in the context of Paul displaying His wholeheartedness to Christ and the Corinthian church through sorrow and joy.
2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 21
As Christians, we are “new creation[s].” Jesus has given us a new identity. The challenge is to keep walking the path of reconciliation in the redeemed identity. Pastor Scott unpacks the complex themes in 2 Corinthians 5: 16 - 21 about being reconciled to God, what it means to take sin seriously and walk toward righteousness, especially in a contemporary culture that’s normalized lukewarm faith.
2 Corinthians 5: 9 - 15
What motivates us to do the things we do? In Corinthians 5, Paul highlights that his motivation for doing good, sharing the gospel, and working for God’s kingdom is that he will be rewarded by Christ after death. There is an underrated theme of divine reciprocity in the Bible. What Christians do with their lives to honor God is accounted for by God and will reap a reward. This is in the context of paradoxes. Because Christ died for our sins, we must die to ourselves; Christians no longer live for themselves but for Christ’s motives, and living for Christ alone is rewarded. Listen to one of our elders Mark Skilllin as he unpacks these multi-faceted themes in 2 Corinthians 5: 9 - 15.
2 Corinthians 5: 1 - 10
Who we are in our bodies is a reflection of who we are in our souls. On the day of judgment, the way we conducted ourselves in our real bodies will give an account for the way we stewarded our spiritual vitality. “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Cor 5:10).
Speaker Chris Waugh analyzes three idols in our culture today that are related to the body, and he offers their spiritual antidotes. These idols are: the body as an object of worship, the body as a form of personal identity, and the body as a means of sacrifice. Listen in on these topics related to pornography, body image, health habits, and trauma, and how Jesus has a redemptive say to these important issues.
2 Corinthians 3: 12 - 18
We know that the fullness of Christ is meant to dwell within his believers, and yet we all sin, even after coming back to Christ. Through this struggle between sin and freedom, what is required of us to further pursue the fullness of Christian life? In this message, Council leader Vicky Griffiths clues us in on practical applications for transformation, the ways in which beholding the glory of God and embracing His Spirit will change us from one degree of glory to another.
2 Corinthians 3: 7 - 16
There’s a strange tendency as Christians to not realize what we have in Christ and to not take full advantage of all that is available to us. We settle for less than what God has for us. This malnourished approach to the Christian life has become the norm in this western corner of the world.
Passages like 2 Corinthians 3: 7 - 16 spur believers to refocus on what we truly have with Christ within us! He is true satisfaction. Everything else pales in comparison. But we must chase it, hunger for it, surrender fully to God’s life to embrace the fullness of Christ within us.
What people have had the most theological influence on you? What is the criteria you look for to trust the person’s spiritual expertise? Whether we’re aware of it or not, we tend to be on the lookout for people to emulate, and it’s important to discern the level of truth we hear from different teachers.
The 1st century Corinthian culture was no exception to sifting out false teachers, and in the mess some challenged Paul’s validity. 2 Corinthians 3:1-6 looks at the relationship between Paul and the Corinthian church and how the good fruit from the Corinthians bears witnesses to God’s true transformation and the good gospel message which Paul delivered to them.
2 Corinthians 2:17
What habits do Christ followers fall into that turn them into “peddlers of God’s word,” that cheapen or distort the gospel? How can we better understand and walk in the righteousness that Christ declares over his followers? Chris Waugh walks us through what gets disguised as Christ’s authority and Christ’s authority actually looks like.
Luke 24:13-34
Let’s talk about an Easter story after Easter! What if you already had the sign you were looking for? Council Leader Vicky Griffiths goes through the encounter of Jesus with the people on the road to Emmaus after the resurrection, how Jesus’ explanation of the scriptures and his breaking bread with the travelers both point to Him as the Savior we are looking for.
Church spaces all throughout the globe are talking and singing about the resurrection of Jesus, and Christians have hope to be raised from the dead at Christ’s second coming. But there are ways we can experience resurrection life now! Somehow, the Spirit of the living God can raise us out of spiritual death today and seat us with the resurrected Christ in heavenly places. We can be raised out of the muck of guilt and shame now. There are so many more implications, and Pastor Scott points out the unexpected path to resurrection life is the same one Christ took. Through death to sin and self, there is new life ahead.
2 Corinthians 2:12 - 16
What does it mean to be “the aroma of Christ to God?” The aroma refers to the fragrance of a sacrifice burning up to the heavens. Imagine a person’s heart, marked by the sacrifice of Christ, set ablaze by the Holy Spirit, with smoke reaching up to please the Father—this is the pleasing aroma to which Paul in 2 Corinithians refers. Chris Waugh challenges some of the common habits we have, such as letting savviness for knowledge get in the way of the heart, or putting on our best self at worship services like we put on perfume. But God wants to purify the heart and set it ablaze. This is what pleases the Lord.
2 Corinthians 2:5-11
How should a church respond to scandal within its community? Because the church is made of people who still sin, Christians need to prepare for how to disciple repentance and how to respond well to people’s sinful behavior. Pastor Scott talks about when to respond with tough love and when to respond with mercy by studying how Paul advises the Corinthians about a situation within their church community where they needed to call out the sin, confront, and restore the person back into the community.
2 Corinthians 1:23 - 2:6
In 2 Corinthians 1:23 - 2:6, Paul refers to the grief he felt when addressing the corruption in the Corinthian church community. The portrait of Paul in the Corinthian letters brings us up against this question: do we possess this kind of abundant love for the Church, that her condition intensely produces deep grief or joy? How much are affected by the state of the Church? Or affected by the people around us who are spiritually lost? Pastor Scott challenges us to let God’s grief for the spiritual condition of people to hit our hearts.
2 Corinthians 1:12-22
One day, followers of Christ will receive praise from Him for pursuing a life of righteousness. In the mean time, our present need is to motivate each other to seek Christ’s righteousness in the midst of trials and temptations. Following the model of church leaders encouraging believers in 2 Corinthians 1:12-22, Mark Skillin encourages us today to live in such a genuine way where Jesus is Lord over our politics, our homes, our work, even our meal times—every aspect of life, until the day when He tells us, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25).
Pastor Scott shares thoughts and updates for the Ren community this season related to Lent, the move out of the 184 Broad St building, and Core membership in 2024. Chris Waugh closes out with a brief word on communion and the full measure we can have of Jesus in our lives.
2 Corinthians 1:8 - 11
In our own strength and wit, do we really have what it takes to live the way God wants us to live? Can we really rid ourselves of pride? God will help us get to a point of humility, endurance, and trust in Him when we’re in circumstances beyond our ability to handle on our own. When He calls us to do impossible things, He will give us what we need, but we must rely on Him. This message looks at the circumstances Apostle Paul faced that drove him to the Lord to get through, and Pastor Scott unpacks how we can approach our need for God in our everyday lives.
2 Corinthians 1:1-7
We’ve all had our share of suffering—it’s part of the human experience. It’s a reality that we struggle to understand, and it frustrates us because we know what suffering can do to the human spirit. Suffering can lead us to despair; it changes us for the worse—or for the better. Trials can lead us to lose faith or could bring character, even intimacy with God. Suffering provides an opportunity to experience divine comfort, which in turn equips us to comfort others in similar circumstances. In this message, dive deeply into what the opening of 2 Corinthians says about the unexpected gift of suffering.
As followers of Jesus, how do we prioritize our love for God, our love for one another, and our love for neighbors in our spheres? Pastor Scott gives a pastoral talk on the most important essentials for Christian living to set us in the right direction for how we live and how we are a church together in 2024.
Matthew 2:1-12
There is no one God is not willing to pursue. The wise men, doing their job as well-off astrologists, followed an unusual star and discovered the true King of the Jews—Jesus. It’s worth looking at our own stories to ask, how might God today meet us in our communities and in our passions and interests? By studying the Magi story in Matthew 2, Ren Church member Vicky Griffiths helps us reflect on how we can pursue Jesus in 2024.
Listen for a short word on the joyous arrival of Jesus and the way God included shepherds as part of the celebration.
We may know in our mind that God loves us, but this truth does not always move to our hearts. We may feel our flaws are too much for God, or the experiences of being failed by others may affect our view of love. In these moments, we can ask God to help us with a fresh revelation of His love. As you listen to this message, let the truth of God’s depth love for you sink into your heart.
We kick off the 2023 advent season by dwelling on the hope Christians have because the arrival of Jesus, who came like the dawn piercing the darkness. The Christian hope of eternal life is not a vague experience but is one grounded in reality. In this message Pastor Scott goes through several reasons for why we can anchor our hope in Jesus.
Revelation 3
In Revelation, Apostle John receives a vision of what Jesus has to say on the condition of various churches. Letters in chapter 3 write to a dead church, a weak but highly-honored church, and a lukewarm but greatly loved church. While these letters are to specific churches, Pastor Scott challenges listeners of Renaissance Church to consider the warnings Jesus gave and look within: are our hearts truly burning for Christ, or are they lukewarm?
Revelation 2
This is a 2-part series that studies the seven letters to the churches in the book of Revelation. The letters reveal what Christ cares about, what impresses him and upsets him, what He wants to see His Church become. Though these are written specifically to churches in 95 AD, the principles about love, endurance and commitment to the truth can be applied to our church today.
Acts 28
Throughout the book of Acts there’s a pattern of demonstrations of the supernatural bringing people’s attention to Jesus and the gospel message. In the final chapter of the series, God uses a shipwreck, a snake bite, and countless healings from fatal sickness on the island of Malta, in order to break through to the Maltese toward belief and repentance. God used a variety of strange ways to capture the attention of people in the 1st century Mediterranean region—how can you ask God to demonstrate his supernatural power and presence to people in your community today?
Acts 27
Act 27 is the story of God and Paul working together to awaken a crew of hard-hearted sailors, soldiers, and prisoners out at sea when a horrific storm interrupts their trip to Caesarea. The human heart is full of pride, and God often uses hardships to reduce our pride and bring us to the low place where we can hear His voice and receive grace.
Acts 26
Making his appeal to Caesar, Paul shares the gospel message and his conversion story to Festus and King Agrippa, who respond to Paul in different ways from each other. Acts 26 exemplifies how to boldly share the whole gospel in averse environments and expect for some to refuse the gospel and some to be drawn in by the message of Jesus.
Ephesians 4:26-27
Dr. Mike Caparrelli is an author, public speaker, and a leader of a nonprofit, Unmuted, that helps trauma victims recover on a path toward healing. In this message he talks about anger in the context of Ephesisans 4:26-27: “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” What are healthy ways to be angry? Why do we get angry? How do we address the underlying reason behind our anger? Dr. Caparrelli touches on the psychological and spiritual implications for anger and how addressing our anger can build unity in the church.
In Acts 25, Paul continues to defend the faith in Jesus while on trial for advancing the gospel. This message from Pastor Scott urges every Christian believer to be bold about bringing the message of Jesus wherever God has placed us in life, explains why sharing the gospel is our calling in life, and offers wisdom for how to contend for the faith well.
Why does God at times take us away from fruitful Christian ministry? Why does God ever hide us away? Acts 24 is the episode of Paul on trial in front of governor Felix, who asks Paul questions about the gospel but with wrong motives, and ends up leaving Paul in prison for two years. Pastor Scott highlights the different seasons we might go through and how to respond to our season with faithfulness to Jesus, even if we don’t understand what God is doing through it.
In Acts 23, Paul is on trial in Jerusalem, and religious leaders react violently against Paul and each other. The following night the Lord meets Paul to encourage him and tell him the next thing for him to do. In this message Pastor Scott encourages us to expect suffering in the Christian faith while anticipating God to bring victorious moments in the midst of trouble.
In Acts 21 and 22, despite a prophetic warning that Paul would be arrested upon returning to Jerusalem, he accepts the path of suffering. When arrested, Paul shares his story of how he encountered Jesus on the road to Damascus. Pastor Scott encourages listeners to look for opportunities to honestly share our stories with others about how God has transformed our lives. Scott also discusses Acts 21: 9 that features women who prophesy in the church gathering.
This week is a message from special guest Anthony Pierre-Louis, associate director of the Greater Boston Men’s Center of Adult and Teen Challenge. Anthony unpacks the first chapter of Jonah, a book that displays the heart of God to reach the lost, including those who have done wrong to us or our people.
Pastor Scott highlights pieces of wisdom found in Acts 20, a chapter that gives Paul's final exhortation to the elders of Ephesus about endurance in sharing the gospel, caring for believers and being aware of false teachers that may lead Christ-followers astray.
Acts 19
In Acts 19, Paul travels to Ephesus, where many episodes unfold. When a crowd of Ephesians are baptized in the name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, they begin to speak in tongues and prophesy. Later a demonic attack against casual exorcists brings the fear of God on many Ephesians, and they respond to Jesus with repentance. Such a movement of revival in Ephesus stirs up a riot amongst Artemis-following Ephesians against Christian Ephesians. Speaker Chris Waugh reminds us that the book of Acts shows us what revival looks like and highlights the roles of repentance , exorcism, and disruption in a move of revival.
Acts 18
Acts 18 walks through Paul’s ministry adventures in Corinth and other cities throughout the Mediterranean, meeting church partners like Priscilla and Aquila and preaching the gospel while enduring opposition. These stories of early church ministry can help us ponder today: who are the people God has called you to reach? How do you encounter both the dramatic and mundane seasons of ministry work?
Pastor Scott walks us through the details of what to expect with the upcoming neighborhood gatherings on 2nd + 4th Sundays.
How do we raise children in the church to be prepared for what they face in the culture? To be confident in the gospel and remain faithful to Jesus for the rest of their lives? This message is all about discipling the next generation. Various members of Ren Church, such as Josi DeHaven, Max DeHaven, Grace M., and John Michaelson bring in theology, statistics, and personal stories to express why the entire church must invest in the kids and adolescents of our community. Lastly, RenKids Director Alli Leson shares a sneak peek of the intergenerational curriculum called Pebbles + Stones that Ren will apply in our Sunday neighborhood gatherings on the 2nd and 4th Sundays.
Pastor Scott shares about the new season ahead in the Ren community. Beginning in May on the 2nd + 4th Sundays we’ll be meeting in various neighborhood gatherings amongst the greater Rhode Island area instead of one big Sunday service. Listen in for more details and why we are shifting the way we do church life.
1 Corinthians 15: 3 - 8
Walk through 1 Corinthians 15: 3 - 8 to hear the credible witness accounts for Jesus to rise from the dead and why Christ’s resurrection makes all the difference for the world.
1 Samuel 1: 1 - 20
How do we pray when we come against impossible situations in life? We can cry out for God to intervene, and we don’t stop asking until we see him respond to our trials. This message from Pastor Scott looks at the prayer life of Hannah in 1 Samuel, a woman in a dysfunctional household and struggling with barrenness, who did not cease to pray through her “anguish and grief” until God answered her prayers.
Psalm 69
How do we respond well to the suffering we experience in life? Psalm 69 exemplifies the way we can cry out to God in the middle of distress. Like David, we can tell God all about it, be as honest as we want, work through our anger in prayer, and praise God in the midst of affliction. Pastor Scott encourages Christ believers to persevere in our faith, as when we cling to Jesus, He who suffered and endured to the end will carry us through to the end.
Isaiah 6
What happens when we have a genuine encounter with a holy God? We become aware of our unholiness. Yet this response makes room for God to purify us, like the seraphim placing a hot coal on Isaiah’s lips (Isaiah 6). How do we prepare for these types of encounters with God? In this message Pastor Scott offers wisdom for how to cultivate and sustain a deep prayer life that will prepare our hearts for life-altering encounters with God.
Habakkuk
There are pivotal moments in time when all we can do is pray in desperation. God hears these prayers, and this sermon series is to help us see examples in the Bible of what God does and says in response to our cries. This message from Pastor Scott looks at Habakkuk’s prayers that wrestle through questions and faith.
Pastor Scott gives a pastoral talk that sets the stage for exciting things ahead for the church. As other parts of the country have been experiencing revival, a diverse collective of pastors and leaders in and around Providence have been meeting monthly to pray and petition for God to revive the hearts of people in our region. Scott shares about the citywide worship gathering that is happening on March 15 that birthed out of these unified prayers, along with Ren Church’s plans for shifting the way we gather on Sundays starting this May and how this schedule change will help us better disciple the next generation.
Register for the City Gathering
Worship is what we do with what we have been given. This includes how we manage money. God does not need our money as if He is a desperate, broke person demanding we give Him a tenth of what we earn; rather, He wants our heart. Learning how to be generous with our money shapes our character into the likeness of Christ, and our primary motivation ought to be worship, a “fragrant offering” acceptable and pleasing to God. Pastor Scott gives wisdom for how we can handle our spending, saving, and giving in a way that glorifies God.
Romans 12:3 - 8
Each of us has been given by God certain abilities, talents, and gifts that can be used to glorify Him and serve the body of Christ. Romans 12: 3 - 8 introduces a list of spiritual gifts, and there are so many other abilities that can be stewarded—even gardening or organizing things can be done unto the Lord. How do we identify our gifts, and then use these abilities in our local church community? Pastor Scott walks through nine practical thoughts to help us cultivate what God has given to us to be in turn given back to Him and to the Ren community.
Worshipping God is more than the 20-minute block of singing on a Sunday morning. Rather, we worship God with all that we are. This is what Christ believers will do for eternity. How we spend the time we are given is an act of worship. Pastor Scott goes through some practical guidelines for how everything we do in a day can be shaped to glorify God.
Pastor Scott returns from his recent trip to Israel! Listen to the prayers he wrote while in the gospel story’s landscape, along with reflections on what it means to be “a city on a hill,” and what mission and prayer in the holy land can say about God’s mission in Rhode Island.
John 13:34
About a hundred times in the Bible, Christians are called to love “one another,” which refers to serving fellow Christian believers. John Michaelson unpacks six aspects of loving one another that we can apply in our life today: how to be present in the community, show hospitality, tend well to relationships, meet practical needs, use our gifts to serve the church, and how to disciple one another.
Leviticus 19: 13 - 18; Mark 12: 28 - 31
“Love your neighbor as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18). Our neighbor could be the person who lives next to us, or it could be anyone: refugees in our state, college students, Muslim believers, and all the favorite and not-so-favorite people in between. To what degree do we love? God has called us to love our neighbors as much as we ultimately look after ourselves, if not more. Neighbors we meet cannot only be those who are like-minded or cross our paths in the routines we establish, but we may need to go out of our way, change habits, and seek opportunities to serve people and display God’s goodness. Pastor Scott gives some practical ideas for how we might love people in our actual neighborhood, people in existing spaces that we visit, and people in spaces we create.
The great and first commandment, Jesus said in Matthew 22:37, is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” What does it look like to love God with all our hearts in everyday life? In this message Pastor Scott walks through ten principles, such as faithfulness and quality time, that will help us shape our lives toward pleasing God.
“Jesus loves you” is a truth that many churched people would find overfamiliar, but what if one really took time to ponder the vastness of God’s love? In this message Pastor Scott processes with us the impact of what Jesus did on earth for us out of love, and when we truly understand the gospel and respond to God, we’ll find that His love can satisfy the deepest part of our hearts.
Ephesians 2:11 - 22
In the midst of Christmas kitsch, high-volume holiday ads, and impatient shoppers, the peace of Christ cuts the noise. Advent is the time where we celebrate Jesus and anticipate his arrival. The first time Jesus came, he created a way for us to be reconciled to God and be reconciled to people who are different from us. The next time Jesus physically comes, we will see peace fully restored through the earth. Ren’s CityLove Director, Katherine Gosnell, gives a message that studies Ephesians 2:11 - 22 to explore in depth how peace comes with Christ.
One element of the human life that is difficult to talk about is the fear of death. People may avoid the subject, use humor to deflect, or will hold onto vague sentiments about the afterlife, but death is a certainty in our future. Where do we hope beyond that? The good news is that Christ came to this world to give us a hope that solves the problem of our fear of death. Pastor Scott in this message shares how Christian hope is built on Christ himself who conquered death, and how His Spirit marks us for eternal life, giving us assurance.
In Acts 17, Paul and Silas continue their missionary journey through Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens: cities where Paul introduces Jesus to Greeks through philosophical presentation. What motivates Paul to reason with people in Athens is the sight of idols filling the city, taking precedence over God. Pastor Scott challenges us to evaluate what our motivation is for sharing the gospel with others. Do we take seriously the things in our culture that offend the glory of God? How often do we tolerate idols in our culture today instead of sharing the gospel to confront these idols?
Sean Carew is the founder and director of Providence Rescue Mission, an emergency shelter for the homeless population in Providence. In this message, Sean shares a little about his story and looks at the life of Peter in the Bible, a fisherman who follows Jesus, betrays him at one point, and returns to Jesus to end up leading His Church. A life like Peter’s—and Sean’s—shows how Jesus creates all of us for a purpose and God’s goodness, no matter what background we come from.
Pastor Scott shares three stories in Acts 16, in which God reaches the hearts of unlikely people and in bizarre circumstances. Paul and Silas’ missionary journey through Macedonia is a reminder to be led by the Spirit in the midst of life’s adventures, to let God do the work of changing people as we share the gospel and spend time with them.
It’s important to take a pause and remember why we do what we do. Why do we gather as a church? What is our mission? How are we doing? Renaissance Church is currently in a season of rebuilding, and we have been reshaping the ways we gather in order to fulfill three components of the Church’s mission: to love God, love one another, and love our neighbors. Pastor Scott highlights how the Ren community can embody components of our mission through corporate worship and prayer (love God), small communities (love one another), and mission initiatives (love your neighbor).
The Church has faced the problem of false teaching since its early days. In Acts 15, a false teaching contrary to the gospel message spreads through church communities, and the apostles and elders confront the claims. Pastor Scott emphasizes the seriousness of absorbing distorted teaching and gives practical wisdom for recognizing false doctrines today.
In Acts 14, Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel, heal people, and encourage the church, despite nearly being stoned to death in Lystra. Looking at Paul and Barnabas’ example, Chris Waugh encourages Christians to persevere in the faith. Perseverance is one of the greatest character traits a Christian must develop, and is necessary in the face of spiritual attack and in faith-filled work.
In Acts 13, Paul and Barnabas begin their missionary journey through the mediterranean region. When they preach the gospel, Jews and Gentiles respond to the claims about Jesus with either belief or jealousy. The journey that Paul and Barnabas take gives a snapshot of the joy and the messiness that comes with obeying the Holy Spirit. Pastor Scott encourages believers to continue bringing the gospel into godless places. It is worth the cost, for believers partner with the Holy Spirit to reconcile people to God.
Our guest speaker of this message is Percy Ballah who pastors at Impact Center Providence. Percy preaches on the need to keep burning brightly as a Church, using the symbolism of fire. In Leviticus 24:1-4, God commands the people of Israel to prepare “pure oil” for a lamp in front of the tabernacle in order to keep the lamp burning continuously. Just as the Israelites needed to make fresh oil, we too as the people of God, the Church, need fresh fire from God to keep burning brightly and bring light into a dark world.
In Acts 12, the church prays for Peter’s release from prison, of which God sends an angel to break him free. Just as the early church was bold enough in their faith to pray earnestly, John Michaelson challenges us to pray big, audacious prayers in our day and time.
Tim Zulker is a founder and director of the network New England Urban Church Planting. Tim unpacks John 6, the story of Jesus feeding a crowd of over five thousand with five barley loaves and two fish. This message reiterates that Jesus came not only to preach good news to the poor and feed the hungry, but to become good news for the poor, become the bread of life. The good news is not only for the materially poor but for the spiritually poor, which is everyone.
Dr. Mike Caparelli is an author, public speaker, and a leader of a nonprofit, Unmuted, that helps trauma victims recover on a path toward healing. While much psychological activity is biological, there is a facet of mental health that involves a battle of the soul. Mike’s message looks at the story of a man with a demon that was healed by Jesus (Mark 5) and discusses the interplay of mental health with demonic forces.
This message comes from Greg Johnson, a local ministry leader who is launching a church training initiative called Revive New England. Greg discusses the need for God’s fire, the manifestation of God’s presence, to see revival in New England today, looking at 1 Kings 18 as an illustration of God's fire declaring his presence to people rebelling against Him.
Acts 9 tells of the conversion of Saul who, on his way to persecute more Christians in Damascus, encounters Jesus on the path and goes blind from the Christ’s heavenly light. After this supernatural encounter, Saul begins to preach the very gospel he once persecuted others for believing in. Pastor Scott points out that just as it took a move of God’s power to change Saul’s heart, so we need today a move of God’s power to change the hearts of those around us. It takes more than “being nice”—we need to ask God for him to move powerfully.
Our Youth Director Nicole Waugh preaches on Acts 8 about the turn of events in the early Church when various evangelists disperse into different regions and share the good news of Jesus, receiving different heart responses to the news. While Simon the Sorcerer used God to make himself look good, the Ethiopian eunuch responds with joy. How do we respond when we hear about Jesus,—selfish gain, or repentant joy? Nicole concludes by asking the listeners how we can respond to God with joy, and if we don’t, what is holding us back?
In Acts 7, when Stephen prophecies to the religious Jews in his day, calling out their hard-heartedness against the Holy Spirit, the Jewish leaders stone Stephen in response. Our youth director Chris Waugh delivers a relevant message to us about the parallels between the religious people in Stephen’s day to the self-righteous religious of our time and culture, where mob violence on social media runs rampant and modern-day prophets are shut out. How often do we neglect Cross-centered community in favor of “being right?” This message leaves the listener to face hard questions about our role and response in today’s hostile culture and how we might miss the voice of God.
Acts 6 continues the early church narrative of how they built community in the process of making disciples. The Hellenist widows were being neglected during “the daily distribution,” so the apostles delegated this task to other Spirit-led men in the community. Pastor Scott highlights in this message the goodness of a church sharing the load of caring for one another, in contrast with the folly of pastors shouldering all the tasks of the church, which is the trend in the modern, western church. Scott encourages us to think about the strength of a church when pastors, elders, and other “shepherds” of the church are able to devote more time to pray for you and minister to you and have the bandwidth to do so because the load of church care is being shared amongst the community.
In this sermon, guest speaker Jacob van Sickle, a church planter in Providence, helps us to think about God Himself: who He is, the kinds of things he likes, the sorts of things He does, and how we can know Him. Jacob walks us through 2 Timothy 3:18 to show how God reveals himself to us through His Word and uses the scriptures to teach and equip us every day of our lives.
John Michaelson unpacks chapter 5, which is twofold; first is the hard-to-swallow story about the death of Ananias and Sapphira, and second is of the persecution the apostles faced by the high priest in Jerusalem. The message challenges us to seek understanding of God’s character in difficult passages and to consider the true cost of following Jesus. At the end are two discussion questions: 1) why do you think the co-authors put in the story of Ananias and Sapphira? How does reading it make you feel? 2) Have you ever been persecuted, and what was that like?
We continue on our series in the book of Acts by looking at chapter four. Peter and John are questioned by the Jewish high council about whose authority gave them the privilege of performing a healing miracle and preaching about Jesus. Focusing in on vv. 11-13, there are three points of Peter’s response to the leaders—Jesus has become the Cornerstone of our life foundation, He is the only way to God, and He is the constant that empowers the apostles to perform miracles and preach the gospel boldly.
This message reminds us what bold acts of faith are all about: the one who was crucified but raised by God—Jesus Christ of Nazareth.
The value of miracles comes not from the miracle itself but in the faith it produces. In Acts 3, the healing of the crippled man enables us to believe that Christ has risen from the dead and is also a sign of God's promise to restore all things to peace and wholeness in the future.
Scott tells the story from Acts 2 of the birth of the Church. The place where the disciples were meeting shook, the Spirit came like a mighty rushing wind, and tongues of fire rested on each of them. Scott highlights that the gift of the Holy Spirit was not given to just apostles or pastors but to all. The promise of the Spirit extends to all Christians everywhere in every generation.
Pastor Scott starts off a new series in Acts 1. This passage begins with the disciples waiting for the promise from Jesus about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Scott encourages us to urgently seek God until He moves, until the Holy Spirit falls afresh on His people and bring forth what He promised.
This message walks through the twenty fourth chapter of the gospel of Luke, looking specifically at the personalized ways that Jesus made himself known to people after the resurrection. Despite the fact that his disciples viewed the idea of Christ being raised as an idle tale, Jesus gets through to them. We see throughout the gospel accounts that Jesus employed interesting, personal, and even playful means to bring doubting individuals to a place of faith. This work of Jesus transforming unbelievers into fully persuaded followers of Christ continues to this day. Toward the end of the message Scott discusses some of the unique ways Jesus works to get through to people today.
This message tells the story of Christ’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem, his weeping over those who rejected him, and the cleansing on the temple (Luke 19). What comes through these accounts is the fact that the glory of Jesus separates. Some receive him. Some do not. One day Christ will judge all humanity. It will be a great separation of sheep and goats, the redeemed and the lost. Scott gives an urgent admonition at the end of his talk to be ready.
Many of us are familiar with Jesus’ birth and final week of His life, death and resurrection. But rarely do we consider much of his final road trip from Galilee to Jerusalem. Much of the Gospel of Luke is devoted to this final journey that would climax at Jesus’ death of the cross. And He knew it. During the journey, we consider the emotional, mental and spiritual pressure He must have felt. Jesus knew He was born to die. So even amidst the stress, the distractions, the confusion, the rejection, the sorrow, sadness and agony, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, He set his face to go to Jerusalem.” (Luke 9:51). With steely determination, Jesus fulfilled what He came to do. He was clear about His mission. Jesus also exemplified how to fulfill our ultimate mission and how to walk forward in our faith journey.
In this last message of the Paradigm Shift series, the Reverend Most Holy Pastor Scott J. Axtmann talks about the unhealthy chasm between clergy and laity. Ordinary believers can turn the world upside down. God has seen fit in the Church age to empower common Christians to do great exploits. God has put the indwelling Spirit in every believer and has endowed them with everything they need to be effective ministers in the church and missionaries in the world.
In this message we look at Bible passages that show how the early Church spent money in generous ways. Pastor Scott asks us these questions to discuss: What kinds of things would you love to see local churches use their money for? How can churches creatively increase the amount of their overall income to dedicate it to local and global mission?
In this message, Scott asks the church several questions about the size and location of church community: where should Christians gather to practice church life? Are church buildings sacred? What is the ideal size of a church gathering? What kinds of spaces have we met in for worship gatherings? Which ones seemed to work best and why? What are the pros and cons of large churches? Of small churches? At what point numerically is a church too large to know everyone? If we experienced sudden dramatic numerical growth—what should we do? Bigger building? Multiple services? Or do we plant churches?
What is the Church? What is the difference between the universal Church and a local church? What should the church do when they are gathered together? This message invites us to discuss multiple questions about how we assemble as a church.
This message is a succinct summary of the preceding three weeks. There are eight distinct aspects of the paradigm shift that are explained. Each is aimed to strip away church practices that are not rooted in God’s design as revealed in Scripture. The message is also a call to be part of Ren Church for 2022.
In this talk, the modern way that churches distribute the money they bring in is challenged. Every year in the United States churches bring in about 120 billion dollars. Where does all that money go? About 75% goes toward staff and buildings. Another 15% goes toward programs for the church people. About 10% goes toward foreign missions and local outreach. The problem with this picture is that the concept of Christians gathering in a church building and having a paid pastoral staff—isn’t in the Bible. In fact, for 300 hundred years the early Christians did not meet in buildings and did not have salaried pastors. Imagine if the churches in America returned to God’s original design. That would be about 90 billion dollars a year that could be invested in local and global mission. This message challenges the modern ways churches—including Ren Church—spend money. Scott also gives some wisdom about how Ren Church can make this shift in a gradual way that doesn’t hurt the community.
In this second message of the Paradigm Shift series, Scott gives a detailed vision of what the Lord intended church life to be like. The idea is to shift away from the traditional model of the “big Sunday show” and move toward a small missional church expression. The message not only lays out the design of God but also shows the wisdom of God’s design in fulfilling the mission of the Church. Scott gives some strong appeals to be courageous and not hold tightly to traditions for the sake of the advance of the gospel.
This first message in the series is an attempt to deconstruct the traditional American church model. Unless we are convinced of it’s deficiency we won’t have the conviction or courage to step into new waters. The message of the gospel does not change from generation to generation, however, methods and models must adapt with the times. The Christian movement in American is in decline. Many churches are dying. May God awaken us to the urgency of making drastic changes in the way we structure church life.
Hi Ren family!
I hope you are in a warm place enjoying the beautiful snow out your window. It's nice to be shut in once in a while. Life rushes along at such a fast pace. We need time to slow down and even come to a still.
It’s fitting that my message to you this morning is about the practice of pulling away into an unrushed secluded place.
Click the graphic above to read the whole letter.
There are times to lament, and there are times to feast. Pastor Scott goes through the theology behind celebrating as well as for fasting. This message focuses on not only practical wisdom for how to fast but also why we would fast and how to tell what the motives are behind your fasting.
Reading spiritual books is more than gaining information—it’s about transformation of the mind. Spiritual books interpret scripture for us in meaningful ways, or they can give fresh insight to faith in our day and age. Over time spiritual books will cultivate the way we think, which affects the way we live, so it is important to wisely choose which books we read. Pastor Scott offers ways to discern what and how we read, sharing his own list of book suggestions.
Pastor Scott addresses various habits we tend to have when we read the Bible and goes through a list of practical ideas to help us study the Bible more deeply.
We exist for the purpose of knowing God and enjoying Him. In this message, Pastor Scott offers wisdom to confront obstacles to our prayer times, such as a crowded mind, theological knots, or disordered affections, which deter us from gaining traction in our communication with God.
For this week’s advent theme, Pastor Scott focuses on the love of God. The message looks at the demonstration of God’s love through the voluntary death of Christ, as well as the manifestation of God’s love through the Holy Spirit in us, which enables us to love with His own love.
We all know the feeling of what it is to be in a world that feels like it’s in some way ordered but also have things that are completely in chaos. Youth director Chris Waugh looks at Isaiah 27 to give us three reasons for peace this Christmas: God’s destruction of the world’s chaos will be the most peace-giving experience imaginable, God communes with those who follow Him, and God’s harvest sets us free from the expectations we put on ourselves. This Christmas let’s be people who understand what our purpose is and have peace.
We begin our Advent sermon series with the theme of “hope.” During this season, many of us hope for many things— a new Christmas sweater, a new iPad, new experiences, new relationships, etc., but these worldly hopes are not based on assurance.
Scriptural hope, on the other hand, is all about assurance because it is founded upon faith in Jesus the Messiah. While God’s hope looks forward to victorious life on earth, most importantly, Advent reminds us of the best promised hope— the return of Jesus in all His glory.
Pastor Scott highlights different practices of gratitude that we can apply in confronting our natural habit to complain.
Assistant pastor John shares his story about how he’s been learning how to trust in the Lord in light of his diagnoses of muscular dystrophy and stage IV cancer.
This message explores how Scripture teaches we are either growing and maturing in Christ or receding and drifting away from our Savior, that we are not static beings but in a dynamic process in which the Lord exhorts us to engage with His Word for growth and renewal.
Guest speaker Dexley Dorcely, assistant pastor of Faith Community Church in Providence, shares a message about staying faithful to the mission of preaching the gospel even when it gets hard.
The message on the proverb (Proverbs 24:24-26) spotlights the importance of speaking the truth to those who are “wicked.” It is a massive temptation for us, as Christians, to avoid speaking truthfully to people around us practicing wicked things. If we confront people about their sin, in most cases, it will not go well. And yet the passage offers a tremendous promise to us if we are faithful in the call to rebuke the wicked. Telling someone the truth about their sin is an act of tender love. Pray for courage to speak plainly. Ask God for a heart of compassion. Don’t hold back.
To prepare us for communion, Pastor Scott unpacks one of the most popular Bible passages (John 3:16-18) to focus on God’s immense love and the power of belief in the gospel.
Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning…” As believers in Jesus many of us love to sing and talk about the love and grace and mercy of God. But how often do we really think about the ”fear” of the Lord? In this message, John doesn’t try to define this term but looks at the truly awesome and sometimes terrifying stories in Scripture where people encounter the real presence of God in His glory and holiness and how they reacted. By peering at these we recognize the significance of truly knowing God through understanding of the fear of the Lord.
We explore the passage in Hebrews 10:1-18 in preparation for Communion Sunday. The message considers three aspects of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ: the singularity, the sovereignty, and the sufficiency of his sacrifice. As we posture ourselves to receive God's word, our hearts and minds are ready to fully respond to the invitation to come to the table of the Lord's Supper.
Every Christian should be a rescue worker. I’m not sure that’s what comes to mind when people think about Christians, even good Christians. If someone were to describe a devoted Christian they might say he or she believes in God, loves the Bible, attends church, is kind and generous, and does not participate in many sinful things society freely indulges in.
This little verse in Proverbs, however, along with many other passages in the Bible, calls us to rescue people. But when we look at the people around us, we don’t see anyone drowning. No one we walk by on the way to work is sinking in quicksand or stuck underneath the rubble of a collapsed building. If we did happen to see someone in situations like this we probably wouldn’t personally try to rescue them but would contact trained rescue workers. This message asks, what is God exactly calling us to do?
Continuing the Proverbs sermon series, Assistant Pastor John focuses on the value of godly humility frequently mentioned in the text. Proverbs displays a sharp contrast between humility and pride and promises clear end-results for each. The sermon closes with practical tips from scripture of how to avoid the pitfalls of pride— and how to stay humble.
What ingredients make for a healthy church community? How can we be the kind of church that people don’t want to ever leave? How can we be a loving family and not merely a religious organization? These are questions I’m asking and the Book of Proverbs answers.
In this sermon we look at how the Lord's Supper reminds us of Christ's cleansing by His precious blood, and how he as purchased us as His own people commissioned to serve Him as we look forward to His Coming victorious and eternal Kingdom.
It is a constant daily inner battle to combat our own slothfulness. It’s natural for us to want to sleep too much, relax too much, waste too much time, spend precious time and energy on lesser things, and so on. It’s not that we want to do this — but the impulses of the body are powerful! Jesus said, “the flesh is weak.” But if we allow bodily impulses to control us, we will suffer consequences. What is needed is a clear vision of the kind of life we are called to live and a deep conviction that it is of greater worth to suffer for God’s will than enjoy the fleeting pleasure of bodily indulgence. We are called to work hard in all the areas of life God has entrusted us to steward, namely, our jobs, our houses, our families, our finances, our bodies, our time and energy, our talents, our church. The Lord places man in the garden (Gen 2) and calls him “to work it and keep it.” Being a sluggard means to be habitually lazy. Laziness is not only sin but it will negatively affect every single area of our lives.
It has become typical today to consider God's wisdom as optional for a wise, good and prudent life. But we proceed without God at our own peril, and we are witnessing all around us the wreckage of our declaration of independence from God. This message exhorts us to hold to God's wisdom as essential for life and peace and human flourishing, and to trust Him as our loving and wise Father.
It is easy to misunderstand the discipline of God. He bears down on us and deals with anything in us that needs to change. He sends forth His Word to convict us. He uses pastors, friends, family members, to speak truth to us. He engineers difficult circumstances to reveal deficiencies and to stretch us further into a life of holiness. The process can be unpleasant at times, but we should never be discouraged. The Lord is at work preparing us for eternity.
This is another introductory type message and the theme will be wisdom. Wisdom isn’t merely what we know but what we do. It’s how we live. The call from God is to pursue wisdom with earnestness and not casually. We are constantly pressured by the world we live in to live foolishly. The world gives us persuasive reasons to love money, to indulge in sexual desires, to lie and cheat, to live for ourselves. But Proverbs gives reasons to live wisely that far outweigh the reasoning of this world. The good news is that we don’t need to become wise on our own. Wisdom comes from God, and He generously gives wisdom to those who seek after it.
Proverbs 1
This message introduces a new series on Proverbs. The Church in America lives in a cultural environment of moral confusion, which can lead to sin. Scott addresses the need for the Church to return to moral order, to root ourselves in God’s wisdom.
This letter goes out to skeptics of the Christian faith, specifically intellectual skeptics. John Michaelson addresses those who question the legitimacy of Christianity, who have been offended by the church, or who are seeking answers to their faith questions but not ready to believe. He also explains why Christians are so eager to tell the story of Jesus to nonbelievers and come off a little too strong. John wants you, a skeptic, a normal person, to know that God meets you where you are at, questions and all, all the while inviting you to be part of His story of transforming the world.
This letter goes out to addicts and alcoholics. I can’t imagine any place in all of Rhode Island that has more substance abuse than the neighborhoods around our church. It is a massive problem. Many addicts have no desire to quit; they love their lifestyle. But there are others who cry themselves to sleep aching to be free. It is to the person desperate to overcome addiction that I’m speaking to. I believe there are thousands in our neighborhoods who are at this place of wits end. Some have called it “rock bottom.” It’s the place of being sick and tired of being sick and tired. There is hope for the addict. The Truth will set you free!
This message goes out to the many suffering moms in and around our city who struggle to make it through the day. Who I especially have in mind with this letter are single moms who feel far from God and who also have very little support from friends and family. Some moms are technically married but are raising kids alone because their husbands are in prison or never around. Some mothers live with abusive husbands which is probably the most difficult situation of all. Some are hiding in safe houses and others are at homeless shelters with their children. This letter goes out to all the moms who are feeling crushed under the weight of a heavy burden. The Lord God sees your pain and is moved with compassion when He thinks of you.
This letter goes out to the many in our city who are experiencing homelessness or the effects of homelessness. We’ve all heard the saying, “there’s no place like home.” It’s a way of saying that being in our own home is the best place to be. The saying isn’t perfect, of course, because the home life of some people is hostile. But most people enjoy being in their home more than any other place. It may be a tiny hut, a fourth floor apartment in an old broken down house, a one room studio, or a mansion by the sea. It doesn’t matter how big or how nice the home is. What matters is that it’s our space. Home is a place we can call our own; it’s a place for our stuff; it’s where we rest. Sadly, millions of people around the world do not have a place of their own. The Lord God—who created all people to live in homes—feels the suffering of the homeless; He is attentive to their cries.
This message is essentially a love letter to the many artists in and around our city who don’t know Christ. God is an artist and it is He who created artists. We are created by the Creator to create. Many artists I’ve talked with through the years who don’t identify as Christian have a lot of misunderstandings about the Christian faith. Many think it is something different than what it actually is. This message is an effort to clear misunderstanding and spread out a compelling vision of what God has in mind for those He has uniquely created to be artists.
As I started to think about an Easter message this year I felt that strange pressure that pastors feel to put some new spin on the old story of Easter. Thankfully, I really felt a strong impression from the Spirit saying, “Just tell the story.” This brought much peace to my heart since I knew that telling the story was something I could do. So that’s what this Easter message is. It’s a telling of the story, starting all the way back into eternity past and stretching out into the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. What a story it is! It doesn’t need to be dressed up. It is the greatest story of all, and the resurrection is the greatest event in the history of the world. At the end of the message I set aside my notes and gave a strong appeal to those who do not yet have peace with God to receive the free gift of eternal life that Christ purchased.
Jesus not only rode into Jerusalem on a colt, died for our sins and rose from the dead, but these also function as prophetic signs of God's future for His people and for the world.
Today's service includes worship led by the youth and youth directors, and the message is two-fold. You'll be hearing from some of the church about what they learned from the book they read together last summer called Be the Bridge by Latasha Morrison, which is about God’s heart for racial reconciliation.
Secondly, Pastor Scott finishes up the book of Ephesians—finally! This message takes some of the ideas in the last verses of this epistle and relates them to the relational tensions we are seeing in the Church throughout the land regarding politics, race, the pandemic, theology, and many other things.
The Church is more divided than ever. Even groups that have enjoyed much unity around a system of theology have suffered terrible divisions. How can our church survive what is happening today? How can we be unified as brothers and sisters if we disagree about important things? This message shows how—despite the complex differences of opinion amongst Christians—we can find harmony by simply caring for one another.
Ephesians 6:19-20
The world is becoming increasingly hostile to the message of the Gospel. This has been predicted from the beginning and we are seeing it unfold before our very eyes. The reason why persecution is mild in America is that there are still great numbers of Christians, and very few Christians speak the Gospel with boldness. The reason Christians have been silenced is primarily because of social fear. There exists in society such a collective frown upon anyone who would preach that their way is the right way, and other ways are the wrong way, that Christians fear being categorized as zealots, extremists, proselytizers, fundamentalists, and now, even evangelicals. Some Christians won’t even call themselves Christians anymore! The prayer request of Paul for boldness to proclaim the Gospel should be our desperate request. The glorious truth is that the Lord is willing to grant great boldness to His people to speak out His message without fear of consequences.
This is a simple message encouraging the church to pray for one another in the Spirit. Prayer is the most powerful thing we can do for another human being because it activates the intervention of God Himself. We don’t always see the results right away but if we will pray and not give up until we get answers, our faith will grow. What would happen if we increased our prayers for one another by 3x or 10x or 100x? Imagine the measure of grace and power upon the church!
In this message, Assistant Pastor John Michaelson looks at the Apostle’s encouragement to take a “stand” against Satan’s forces using the “armor of God” that’s available to all followers of Jesus. We’ll take an in-depth look at how Paul paints a picture of the spiritual weapons in our struggle as analogous to the armor worn by the Roman army soldiers of his time.
Invisible to our eyes—and yet very real—is the spiritual realm. It’s the place where God, angels and demons, and the spiritual part of humans, collide. Because it is invisible it is not easy to understand. The Bible gives us some insight but much remains a mystery. What we do know is that there are spiritual forces of darkness seeking to pull us away from God. These fallen angels have superior power and intelligence to us and their clever schemes are often effective. This message aims to give us a greater awareness of these unseen adversaries and to show us how to overcome.
Why does the Bible not condemn slavery? Why does the Paul Apostle not encourage slaves to run away or encourage slave owners to set their slaves free? Would God want anyone to be a slave? Why was Jesus so silent on this subject? These are questions that have caused much debate through the centuries of the Christian Church. This message seeks to address some of these complex questions.
In this message I’ll be using Ephesians 5:22-33 but only focusing on the relationship of Christ to the Church. The passage has much to say regarding husbands and wives (explored in the previous message). But here we want to celebrate one of the most profound and glorious truths, namely, Christ’s vast love for His universal Church. There are seven specific elements the text unveils about Christ’s relationship to His Church. My prayer is that after listening to this message you would float away on a cloud knowing how deeply loved you are in Christ.
For Martin Luther King Jr. Sunday I have a message on Jesus and justice. Our nation is deeply divided, and the divisions have spilled over into the American Church. Political extremism has strengthened the problem of segregation amongst the churches. Don’t expect my message to win the applause of either the Left or the Right. It will be a pastoral talk with a prophetic element aiming to help all of us to represent Jesus well amidst the present politically polarizing climate.
In western American culture "submit" is an unpopular word, but Jesus' view of submitting is different, being Holy Spirit-led and full of humility. In this message John Michaelson unpacks what it means as a church to be mutually submissive to each other, looking at Christ's character as a reference.
One of the most basic evidences of a life filled with the Spirit is a strong practice of expressing thanks. Without the filling of the Spirit, even if we are Christians, we easily fall into grumbling and grumpiness, discontentment and resentment. Christian gratitude is not dependent on things going well in the present circumstance. We are taught to look beyond the present and rejoice that our God is working all things together for good. We may not always understand why things happen as they do but we can trust the Father knows what He’s doing.
This message focuses on the shepherds in the Christmas story (Luke 2:8-20). The revelation of Christ's birth to shepherds demonstrates how God's glory is manifested in unlikely places and in personal ways.
This message is about singing and making melody to the Lord with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs (Eph 5:19). It is part of the preceding verse that exhorts us to be filled with the Spirit. The writer (Paul the Apostle) is encouraging us in one of the most basic and common ways to be filled with the Spirit, namely, singing! This teaching explores how singing from the heart can drench us with the joy of the Spirit. It is an encouragement to fill our lives with songs, to join the innumerable angels in festal gathering (Heb 12:22), to sing to the Lord a new song! Even amidst a pandemic and global problems mounting, we can sing with the choirs of angels — “Glory to God in the highest.” A Savior has come and it is good and fitting to make a joyful noise!
“Be filled with the Spirit." What does that mean? In the wider Church, the Holy Spirit often gets either restricted to just producing virtue or He is credited for doing bizarre confusing works. What are the manifestations of the Spirit? When Christians are filled with the Spirit what should be expected? Is the Spirit still at work today the way He was 2000 years ago in the early Church? Are we filled with the Spirit? What works do we do that cannot be explained in any other way than by the Holy Spirit? This message will essentially explore what it means to be filled with the Spirit and why it’s so important in accomplishing the mission of the Church to reconcile people to God.
As Ren unpacks Ephesians 5:18 over the next 3 weeks, this talk addresses the first part, “do not get drunk,” and explores the matter of drinking alcohol. Pastor Scott shares not only the Word but opens up on some of his own life and present crisis of conscience in this area, as the pandemic isolation has allowed more time to examine every aspect of life, a season of rethinking everything one does and thinks.
This message asks questions such as these: is drinking okay? Is it not only permitted but blessed and encouraged by God? What does the Bible really teach about the use of alcohol? Does God intend Christians to enjoy the effects of alcohol in a moderate way? What is moderate? How much is too much? Is it possible to feel the effects of alcohol and be filled with the Spirit? Or is this verse suggesting they are opposing fountains?
How do we know the Lord’s will? How do we prepare ourselves to hear it? In the context of Ephesians, John Michaelson shares eight practical questions we can ask ourselves to hear God’s will and apply a biblical framework to decision making.
This message is a clear call to be thoughtful in the way we live in every area of our lives. That we would orient our lifestyles around the pursuit of God and the interests of God—“making the best use of the time” (Eph 5:15). Each of us are given opportunities and we choose what we do with them. We choose how we live. We choose what we prioritize. We choose whether or not we will give the Lord the best of what we have or the scraps. One of the great motivations to give our all is because “the days are evil” (Eph 5:16). We are in a spiritual war and Satan rages against us daily in an effort to lead us astray. In this generation, as the divine clock winds down, many Christians are falling away, as Jesus predicted. This message is a strong sober call to spiritual arms in light of the very real danger of being swept away by the subtle schemes of the forces of darkness.
Many Christians are asleep in the light. They take part in the “unfruitful works of darkness” but, because they are sleeping, are unaware or unconcerned. Because they live like the world they cannot expose the darkness of the world; darkness cannot illuminate darkness. They have no burning and shining light in them that draws people to God. This message is a wake-up call to the sleeper. It’s a call to arise and be the light of the world! We are called to be different from the world, to boldly expose the sins of our generation and to reflect Jesus Christ, so that those in darkness will be reconciled to God.
Since the beginning of the story of humans there has always been a concern to please or appease the Creator. You find it in virtually every culture in every generation. The ideas of what pleases God are profoundly diverse and conflicting. The God revealed in the Bible doesn’t want us to merely guess what pleases Him but wants us to be sure. The Scriptures reveal clearly what pleases God and what does not. This message not only reminds us that God has made it clear but also explores what kind of heart pleases the Lord.
From every direction, the world attempts to bring us into agreement with its way of viewing things. We are told that things the Bible defines as sin are not sin. What people of God have called sin for thousands of years is now denied or downplayed, and in some cases, celebrated. In these verses, God is urging us through the apostle to not be deceived by empty words. The Scriptures not only condemn much of what is considered normal and natural to practice in society—sex before marriage, homosexuality, bisexuality, lusting in the heart, filthy talk, and so on—but God says that “because of these things the wrath of God comes”. We live in a day when good is called evil and evil is called good. Few people seem to realize that there are consequences for sin beyond the grave. This message is essentially about the importance of seeing the seriousness and sinfulness of sin so we do not casually or ignorantly partner with it.
God is calling us to a different standard even in our casual conversations with one another. So much conversation in locker rooms, at lunch tables, in the break room at work, at social gatherings, and so on, is considered by God to be filthy, foolish or crude. Not only should we never initiate this kind of talk, we should not partner with it. This requires wisdom and will inevitably put a strain on relationships. In contrast to this unsavory language, the Christian should be filled with the new language of thankfulness. This teaching defines the sort of language we should avoid as followers of Jesus and how a new language of gratitude is formed.
We live in a generation with unprecedented sexual temptation. Inappropriate content is not only easy to find but it aggressively finds us. It comes at us from every direction. As a result, many of God’s people have fallen into deep dark struggles. Some carry a burden of bondage and guilt daily. The Christian sexual ethic stands in stark contrast to what is generally acceptable in society. The standard of purity that God intends for His people goes way beyond just outward abstinence. As new creatures in Christ a whole new way of thinking emerges. The mind is renewed and people we may be physically attracted to are no longer viewed lustfully as objects but, rather, with honor as people made in God’s image. Sex is good. It is designed by God to deepen intimacy between a man and woman in the covenant of marriage. It is holy and not to be trifled with or cheapened. This message is a clear call to sexual purity with practical instructions on how to live pure in a sex-crazed society.
This message is not so much of a sermon or teaching but is what I call a pastoral talk. There is a prophetic element to the talk, as well. In other words, there's a strong sense that this is a timely word from the Lord for the Church. The message was birthed out of an unshakable burden I've carried during this pandemic over countless believers who are drifting away from the Lord. The enemy of the Church (Satan) is taking advantage of the pandemic to push God's people into addictions, doubts, discouragement, fear and other snares. The message is intended to be call to the Church to stand firm. And also a call to pray for our dear brothers and sisters in Christ who are struggling.
Remembering our God’s great works of the past enables us to trust God for tomorrow so that we may be faithful to our Lord today. The Lord calls us to be faithful daily by forgiving others as we have been forgiven.
Since the first batch of humans were made, there have always been tensions between people. To be human is to experience being hurt, being slighted, being wronged by people. It’s also very natural as humans to respond to certain people with anger. It’s easy for us to become bitter and even malicious. The Christian faith, however, teaches us to do the opposite. The first part of this message shows what each of these words are: bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. Because the verse urges us to put all these away, the last part of the message talks about the importance of continual renewal of the heart and fresh infillings of God’s love.
I probably say this too frequently but this message is one of the most important to understand. It’s on just one single verse—“do not grieve the Holy Spirit”. Most Christians have heard the verse, and it’s sometimes used to really bang Christians over the head. But the meaning is so much deeper than “hey, you better behave or you’ll tick off the Almighty”. It’s really about love and, specifically, this love relationship we have with God that is the supreme motivation for doing right. We all struggle at times to find within ourselves the motivation to resist sin, to love others, to forgive, to do the right thing. This message will open up a fountain of revelation to put within you a deep and abiding motivation to do what is pleasing to the heart of God.
This message is intended to help us understand the power of the words we speak. Every single day we speak things to people around us, and our words can be a fountain of life. They can be refreshing and grace-filled. Our words can be Gospel-saturated, Holy Spirit-drenched words. Words aptly spoken, tailor-fit gems that enrich the soul. This message is a reminder that we are representing God with our words everywhere we go. Our whole lives speak. We are, in fact, called “living epistles”, living animated letters speaking important things to the world. Let our words be kind and gracious, wise and compassionate. Let us not speak unhelpful words or words that confuse or words that hurt. May our words heal and build; may they advance the kingdom of God in our generation.
Chris Waugh shares a message from Ephesians 4:28: Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need.
Anger has caused more ruin than perhaps any other thing. It has destroyed marriages, friendships, churches, companies, music groups and entire nations. It is the reason for violence and has led to hundreds of thousands of people being slaughtered in battle. Many people are in prison for life because of anger. It’s not a new problem but is as old as Cain and Abel. Learning to tame this “tiger” is essential in order to possess a joyful life. Many people are in despair secretly over the way anger hijacks their heart and drives them to say and do foolish things. Or the way they are plunged into an inward confusion. There’s hope. Even the most angry people can learn from the Master (Jesus) and become meek and lowly in heart. This is the wonder and glory of God’s grace! This message will teach you not only how to control your anger when it surfaces, but teach you how to become the kind of person who is slow to anger by default.
As the nature of truth has become increasingly unclear in our culture, the church is charged to “put away falseness” and “speak the truth” to our neighbors. This message focuses on how the church interacts with the God of truth and how we ought to interact with each other more deeply in truth.
Ephesians 4:17-24 As humans we find ourselves being commanded to do a great many things by various people throughout our lives. When we hear a command we immediately begin to process whether we really need to heed the command or not. In other words, we decide how serious we should take the command. That's what this message is about. It's centered around the urgent words of the Apostle to us - "you must". The real punch of the sermon is about the way we have a tendency to desensitize ourselves from God's commands. It's a call to (as Scripture describes) tremble at the Word. This message is for everyone but especially for those who feel a measure of hardness of heart setting in.
Today we have a guest preacher, Mike Caparelli, who is the director of Unmuted. The mission of Unmuted is to give victims of various kinds of traumatic experiences their voices back. Mike speaks from 2 Samuel 13 and the idea of the conscience. He challenges listeners to stay attuned to what their God-given conscience is telling them, and warns of the consequences of stifling the conscience.
Ephesians 4:15-16 The great aim in the Christian life is to become like Jesus. It is to display the very life of Christ as it grows in and through us to the world. This work of spiritual formation in the church is accomplished when each part is working properly in the practice of speaking the truth in love. In other words, the church equips the church; the church builds the church; the church makes the church grow. As important as pastors are in helping the church to grow spiritually, it is God’s design that the church grows by the interdependence of all the parts working together. Church people minister to church people. This message is an encouragement to each of us to play our part well in speaking and receiving truth in the church community. Practical instructions are given in the last segment of the teaching to help us develop more honest relationships.
Likely, we’ve all heard someone described as “gifted”. Usually, this word is used to describe a special type of person that possesses unique qualities. It carries the idea that most people—us common folks—cannot and should not be described as gifted. In our church experience we tend to regard orators, music leaders or outgoing winsome personalities who are good at evangelism, as gifted. In honest moments we wonder why others are gifted and we are not. But the Bible does not support these notions at all and, in fact, teaches us that every child of God is gifted by God to contribute to the grand design of God in building the Church of God.
We find ourselves living in a world filled with people who we disagree with about a great many matters. As Christians, we also find ourselves in a Church world filled with people we disagree with about a great many matters. Is unity even possible? What can be do to foster unity with others? This talk comes from Ephesians 4:1-6 but also comes from the many experiences I’ve had over three decades of deep involvement in the Church. Unity is not only attainable for God’s people, it is the very prayer of Jesus (John 17). This message is very practical in helping us to work through disagreements with others.
One of the greatest tactics of Satan is to try to convince us that we are powerless. He lies to us and tells us that we aren't holy enough, righteous enough, prayerful enough to be effective. He tells us we are still too sinful for our words and actions to make any real difference in people's lives. When we allow ourselves to be duped, the result is discouragement, silence and inaction. The benediction of Paul in these verses is a reminder that God is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can imagine - through us! We are more powerful than we know! This is a message of encouragement to the child of God to not shrink back in unbelief but speak out for God and keep laboring for the advance of the gospel.
The message is from Ephesians 3:14-19 and is a prayer for God’s love to be made real in us. It’s one of my favorite prayers in the Bible and one that I’ve prayed thousands of times in my own words. When we come to faith we begin to understand the Father’s love in small measure, but this understanding grows more and more through the years. Even after we learn all the Scriptures about love and hear countless teachings about God’s love, even after singing songs for years about God’s love—we still need fresh revelations! The prayer of Paul is, essentially, that we would fully comprehend what we already know, namely, God’s love. Knowing this love is more than head knowledge. God Himself, at times, opens the eyes of our heart and enables us to see it in all of its glory. My prayer for this message is that it would create in us a greater hunger to experience the love of God above all else and that we’d be stirred to seek after it. Nothing is more transformative than experiencing the loving embrace of the Heavenly Father!
"I intended on resuming our sermon series on the book of Ephesians but about the middle of this week I felt moved to stay on the theme of racial justice. I’ve been reading a lot and watching a lot of content lately and trying to get perspectives from every angle. Listening to a black pastor (TD Jakes) share his story this week with Hillsong NYC pastor (Carl Lenz) left me undone. I admit that there is so much suffering in the world that I can hear about and feel numb to. But when I listened to this pastor, it was as if the Lord Himself was helping me to understand and feel empathy. In one point of the conversation the pastor was talking about the parable of the Good Samaritan and it became the seed for this week's sermon."
Continuing on with our Ephesians series, we find ourselves at the beginning of chapter 3. In this passage, Paul writes about the Grace of God in a way we don't often think. Looking deeper at this word we reclaim an even fuller meaning of this amazing, unmerited favor of God.
As this terrible pandemic is affecting our planet there is another kind of pandemic that has been going on for years and shows no signs of letting up soon. I’m talking about the spiritual pandemic of God’s people being bored, sour, cynical, divided, ungrateful and cold in heart. It’s not surprising that this widespread problem is happening because the prophets, apostles and Jesus himself predicted it would happen in the latter days. The verses in Ephesians 2:11-22 are a medicine for the mind. When we take this “medicine” consistently through the practice of contemplation we will find ourselves full of health and life. This message aims to evoke awe and gratitude.
It is a universal belief that we humans are responsible to shape our own lives into something significant. The Christian faith actually teaches the opposite - God Himself is the shaper, the artist, the potter. The implications of this are wonderful! Instead of floundering in our moral inadequacies in the effort to become people of virtue, we trust God Himself to fashion us into the image of His Son. This message is an encouragement to all who struggle to live up to the high standards of the Word of God. We can relax on the Potter’s wheel and allow the Master Potter to do what He does best.
This was a message born out of much prayer, tears and anguish. It wasn’t merely another Sunday sermon but I felt like the truths in this passage were life to me in helping me to get through a severe trial. God is so good! He always provides what we need. This life can be hard and many are struggling with anxiety and fear during this pandemic. Scripture encourages us amidst the afflictions of life to set our minds on the glory of God and his glorious plan. When we do that it puts everything in perspective and a certain confidence emerges. My prayer for this message is that it would overwhelm hearts with hope!
In order to appreciate how amazing grace is, we must understand how desperate our condition would be apart from grace. That’s what this message is all about. The first few verses of Ephesians 2 describe who we are apart from grace. It’s not just that we needed a little help or that Jesus made our already good life a little sweeter. The writer of the epistle describes our life apart from grace as spiritually dead. A dead person cannot hear, cannot see, cannot respond. We were hopeless. The Apostle Paul presses us to remember how desperate our condition was in order that the glorious grace of God would be magnified. It is humbling and even painful to consider that apart from Christ we would be enemies of God under His wrath. But the more we understand just how lost we were the more our hearts are moved to gratitude, awe and worship.
This present pandemic we are in has caused many of God’s people to spiral into sorrow, fear and uncertainty. The resurrection story in John 20-21 couldn’t be more relevant! The followers of Jesus came to a point of deep discouragement. Mary was crying her eyes out; the disciples were hiding in fear; Thomas was reeling with doubts and Peter was swimming in shame. But when the risen Christ showed up, everything changed. He spoke peace to them and their sighing was turned to dancing. The early Christians were marked by inexpressible joy. They experienced tremendous persecution and pressure but the Scriptures say that they broke bread together and ate together with glad hearts. This message is designed to spark joy. It’s a reminder that the risen Christ is with us and He is speaking peace to us. Despite the present circumstances of this dark pandemic cloud, we can fly above the clouds in the blue skies of God’s joy.
The message is from the classic passage in Luke that talks of Jesus coming into Jerusalem on a colt. Instead of focusing on that part of the story I really felt impressed to go deep with the next scene: Jesus weeping over Jerusalem and then cleansing the temple. In light of the present pandemic it seems like a lot of people are asking the question, “Is God angry with the planet and punishing them for their sin?” It’s a valid question but the better question perhaps is, “how does God feel and act toward people who provoke him to wrath?” Luke 19 answers this important question perfectly. We see Jesus weeping for, warning with tears, shaking up and teaching those who have sinned against him. What love! The discussion of coming judgment is hard to bear but this message will bring great hope to those who wonder if God has given up on them.
This message is deeply relevant to the present moment we are all experiencing with this pandemic. Things are being shaken. Many people are feeling anxious. The economy is unstable. We know that people are struggling for their very lives in hospital rooms all over the globe. Amidst this global distress people are groaning for solid ground. They are realizing that life is fragile; that no amount of wealth can protect them; that no government can save them; that the health care system is limited. Jesus sees and feels deep compassion during all this, and is calling people to come under the shelter of His presence. He wants to be like a shepherd to us: caring, feeding, protecting, guiding. He wants us to lie down at night with total peace knowing that He is watching over us. I believe this message will be a comfort to anxious hearts. For those listening who may not yet know Christ, this message is an invitation to run into the arms of the Good Shepherd. You don’t need to carry your burden alone. You were not designed to live independently of God. Just like sheep need a shepherd, all living creatures need God.
This was not an easy message to preach. At the start of the week, amidst a flood of news regarding the pandemic, I starting praying, “Lord, what are you saying about all this?” It seemed like a simple enough question but I’m not sure I was ready for the answer. I spent most of the week steeping in the Book of Isaiah chapters 24-39 and the Lord began to unveil to me the purpose behind His shakings. Nothing in this world happens randomly. The Lord Almighty is sovereign over all things and this present pandemic is being permitted by Him for a purpose. Not just Isaiah, but all the prophets, interpreted unpleasant happenings from a heavenly perspective and showed that God was at work. Often, the judgments of the Lord are aimed at His own beloved people in order to humble them and cause them to return. When the common grace of God, the kindness of God and the clear message of the prophets is not enough to turn people around, God resorts to terrifying shakings. As I began to study these chapters it was easy to make parallels to the present moment, as the state of the Church has become sick and lame in this generation. Especially in America, the state of things is deplorable. Most people who aren’t Christian are hardened against the message of the Gospel. Those identifying as Christian are collectively guilty of pride, breaking of marriage covenants, pornography, idolatry, stinginess, disregard of the poor (orphans and widows), neglect of prayer, slander, bitterness and much more. It can surely be said of this generation, “there is no fear of God before their eyes”. This message, taken from Isaiah, is a reminder that God is calling His people to humble themselves and turn from sin. It’s a reminder to us to get low and plead for mercy. Judgment begins in the House of God (1Peter 5). I realize this message isn’t easy to listen to. It is birthed out of much love and tears and many days of prayer and fasting. I believe that those who receive the message will be transformed by it. Those who reject it, sadly, will become even more hardened against the Truth. I’m praying it would bear fruit in every heart! -Scott
In this season, we are in a series on the book of Ephesians and through the first chapter. However, in light of the present global pandemic (Coronavirus) I decided to pause on the Ephesians series to begin a new series to address the current strange moment. The new series is called “When the Earth Gives Way” which is taken from Psalm 46. Besides explaining our recent decision to suspend Sunday services the message is a simple exposition of this very relevant psalm. In times of uncertainty we do not need to be afraid. God is with us and He is working all things together for good. When it feels like the earth is giving way under us, the admonition from above is—“be still and know that I am God”. This message is aimed at helping anyone who is feeling anxious.
This message explores the big prayer of the Apostle Paul for those who are God’s own. The great problem Christians are up against, despite having the Spirit within them, is dullness. Even though we might have had a wonderful encounter with Jesus a few days ago, the things of eternity may not seem real today. This dullness is a constant struggle for the believer. Paul’s prayer strikes at the very root of this problem. He prays that the Spirit would open the eyes of the heart and reveal the knowledge of God. He prays, specifically, that we would know the hope of our calling, the riches of our inheritance and the immeasurable greatness of His power. This prayer of Paul not only gives us inspiration to pray big but it gives us permission.
Paul said that he did not cease to pray for the believers in Ephesus. This practice of earnest continual prayer marked the early Christians and especially the prophets before them. Many examples from history are given to paint a picture of what intercessory prayer is all about. Scott explains that it’s a different sort of prayer. It’s not the prayer of rest. It’s not merely coffee, contemplation and communion. It’s war. It’s a toil not of human effort but of supernatural power. Paul talked of “struggling with all His energy which so powerfully works within him”. This message is a strong call to be devoted to the serious practice of laboring in prayer for others. It’s a call to return to what the old saints called “travail” and the “burden of the Lord”. It’s this kind of praying alone that has paved the way for mighty moves of God throughout the world.
In America, most people believe that heaven awaits them after death. This includes not only Christians and Catholics but Mormons, Jehovah Witnesses and all sorts of other religious folks. Even people who don’t hold to a specific religion have a loose idea that there is a God and that they will be welcomed into heaven after death. Jesus, however, warned that many will be surprised and shocked on judgment day when they find the door is closed. They will hear the words, “I never knew you”. Jesus is famous for his statement in John 3 that “unless we are born again we cannot enter the kingdom of God”. So how do we know we are truly saved? One of the crowning promises in the Bible is that the Christian will receive assurance that after death he or she will forever be with Christ in glory. What are the distinguishing marks of this assurance? How do we know that our assurance is genuine and not mere wishful thinking? This message explores these important questions and offers guidance to those who are uncertain about their standing before God.
How does a person go from lost to saved, from not knowing Jesus to knowing Him, from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ? What are the elements of this sacred process of entering into the kingdom of God? What must happen to obtain salvation? These are the questions explored in this small verse in Ephesians. Scott shows that the gospel must be preached and heard; there must be a response of faith; the Spirit must cause new birth. From start to finish it is God doing the work. The last part of the message is an exhortation to the church about the importance of preaching the gospel because no one will be saved unless the gospel is preached (Romans 10). Strong reasons are given to preach the gospel even if most reject it and the effort to communicate has negative effects socially most of the time.
Even the most amazing earthly inheritance we could imagine pales in comparison to the inheritance we obtain in Christ. Because we are God’s chosen beloved children we will receive an inheritance that will never fade and that will last forever. We have been made rich through our adoption! This message also touches on predestination and the doctrine of election. It again explores the question—why are some saved and others not? The last part of the sermon unfolds the ultimate purpose of our existence, namely, that we would glorify God. Scott shows that the revelation of what God has done for us has a way of making us want to worship with everything in us. We loathe the idea of mediocrity or shoddy worship or partial giving or mere minimum requirement. Our hearts burn to please Him and to give our utmost to Him.
Special guest, Dr. Michael Caparelli, has served as a lead pastor in Rhode Island for over 10 years. He has recently branched out to begin a new ministry called UnMuted, giving victims of trauma their voices back. This particular message was about controlling relationships. The classic story of Pharaoh’s relationship with the people of Israel (Exodus 5) was used as an illustration of how control works. The aim of the message was to bring light and freedom to anyone suffering from a toxic relationship and the courage to break the cycle of control.
Because all of us have experienced broken love in varying degrees, it can be a struggle to fully grasp that God lavishes, loves, and even likes us. This message explores the heart of God before creation and how he devised a grand plan with excitement and joy to bless us. As God’s chosen and dearly beloved people, we are a part of this plan to unite all things together in Christ in the coming ages. May we be overwhelmed by the depth of the Father’s love for us!
If God is so powerful why doesn’t He save everyone? Why are some saved and others not? Why does God say in the Word that our salvation does not depend on anything we do? What does it mean that God chose us before the creation of the world? Did we choose Jesus or did He choose us? Do human beings have the ability to come to Christ? Does God give everyone the ability? Does God want all people to be saved? Did God know some people would end up in hell before He made them? Does God extend mercy to all or to some? If to only some, is that just? What is just? Does everyone have an equal opportunity to be saved? These are some of the questions Pastor Scott cracked open from Ephesians 1:1-6 and the great theme of election. Scripture seems to teach opposing ideas on God’d sovereignty and man’s responsibility, which theologians have long struggled to reconcile. Scott encourages us to hold them in tension, embrace the mystery and trust that God’s ways are higher than our ways. The overall thrust of the message is to breathe in the wonder of being chosen and let it humble you and evoke joyful worship.
This is the first message of a series on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians and includes introduction details to lay a foundation for the study. Most of the message is an expounding of the accounts in Acts 18-19 that talk about the extraordinary things that happened in Ephesus as the movement of Jesus was established there through Paul. The message not only gave some context for the study but also served to set the tone for the new year. Themes such as boldness, bravery, persecution and the Word of God are explored.
This was the first message of 2020 and also a Communion Sunday. Psalm 32 was expounded on as a way of helping to reset hearts for the new year. The essential message was that God is merciful and yet we are responsible to deal honestly with our sins.
This is the second message of a two part series in an effort to bring more clarity to our December art installation called Light Project. There were eight separate rooms each communicating a different idea. This message expounds on the last three rooms which deal with the themes of conversion of the soul, growth as a follower of Jesus and the future glory in store for those who love Christ. This talk is especially relevant to anyone who is struggling to fully surrender to Christ.
The 2019 art installation, called Light Project, brought in nearly 700 people. The aim of the installation was to introduce people to the person of Christ using the Scriptural metaphor of light and darkness. Because art can be interpreted differently by different people, and is easy to misinterpret, we decided to follow up the installation with two clear spoken messages to illuminate the precise meaning of each of the eight installations. This first message addresses the first five ideas—Light is, light delights, light reveals, light exposes and light dispels. At the end Scott ties it all together and helps the hearers to understand why all this matters.
"For we ourselves were once foolish, disobedient, led astray, slaves to various passions and pleasures, passing our days in malice and envy, hated by others and hating one another. But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life." Titus 3:3-7
This is the last in the series on Revival and it ends with a great push to persevere. All the things talked about in the series need to be done in a persistent way. It’s not enough to just go at it for a short time. It’s essential to pray “until” the Spirit is poured out from on high. Scott uses Isaiah 62 as his main text to bring out these ideas. The last part of the sermon several, potential momentum-quenchers are addressed. Let nothing and no one stop us from night and day pursuit of the glory of God!!!
Audrey, Kevin Calbro’s lovely wife, recently passed away after a long battle with lung problems. Audrey was known for her amazing devotion to God. She was unwavering despite suffering so much. She is originally from Georgia so the funeral was there but we hosted a memorial service at Ren for those in their Rhode Island community. It was a time to “weep with those who weep” and rejoice that Audrey is now at home with the Lord.
To be Christian is to care for the poor. To care for the poor is to know God. Proverbs 21:13 says, “whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.” All our efforts to pray, fast and cry out for revival will be in vain if we do not relate to the poor properly. Scott brings us into Isaiah 58 and talks about the sort of fasting that God requires. It is fasting accompanied by a lifestyle of pouring out for the hungry and afflicted. Caring for the poor can be complicated and this is acknowledged; however, we simply cannot throw aside the call because it’s challenging. We must figure out how to live like Jesus in our city!
In this great pursuit of revival, prayer is an essential element. Extraordinary prayer has been a distinguishing feature of all historic revivals. Most of us know prayer is important and desire to have a deep life of prayer, however, we struggle to find a vibrant satisfying deep experience. This message focuses not so much that we should pray but on the how. Several neglected forms of prayer are discussed that deepen intimacy with God. The last part of the message lists several obstacles to prayer and practical wisdom on how to overcome them. This message is pure encouragement, not just for the person who doesn’t prayer at all, but for the person who is presently in a prayer rut.
In this great pursuit of revival the call to be holy is essential. In order for God’s Spirit to come with full force the way must be cleared. Every genuine revival is marked by deep conviction, repentance and holiness. Much attention is given in the sermon to explaining exactly what repentance is and how it’s not a one-time act but an ongoing ethic in the Christian life. The enemy (Satan) works very hard to frustrate the work of genuine repentance with subtle deception. The Apostle Paul tells us we are not unaware of Satan’s schemes. Pastor Scott spends the last part of the message exposing the lies of the evil one. Overall, this message brings clarity to how a Christian should think about and relate to sin.
Tabatha Mello, who is one of the directors of Teen Challenge, brought the entire women’s home to share stories and songs. The glory of God was displayed powerfully. Tabatha preached a strong message on revival and the importance of narrowing your interests for the sake of going deeper in Christ. She talked plainly about the many good things that can pull us away from the best things. She used 2 Peter chapter one as her main anchor text.