Messages by Ryan Lenerz (Page 9)
Imprecatory Psalms
Jesus tells us to love our enemies, but in the Psalms, David prays for God to bash in the teeth of his enemies. How can we as Christians understand curses for one’s enemy as seen in the Imprecatory Psalms against the love that Jesus teaches? And how does this all fit with Vladimir Putin and the war in Ukraine? Message: Previously in our “Greatest Hits” series we have looked at one chapter of Psalms at a time. Today we will…
Psalm 119
Laws, decrees, precepts, ways, and commands are not something most of us love to talk about. But this Psalmist is different. He wrote the longest book of the Bible on this very topic. Why did he love God’s written word so much, and what does it mean for our lives today? And yes, Jesus plays a major role! Message: For the past several weeks we’ve been focusing on “Israel’s Greatest Hits” – the songbook of the Hebrew people – the…
Psalm 23
Our most beloved Psalm can only be properly understood through the eyes of a Shepherd. Listen to what David was teaching us about God’s provision, protection, and care through this amazing Psalm. Psalm 23 through a Shepherd’s Eyes Today we continue our “Greatest Hits” series by focusing on the most popular of all the psalms – Psalm 23. This psalm is beloved and memorized by millions of Christians even though very few people of our century know what ancient shepherding…
Psalm 8
“O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!” This song of David points to the glorious reputation of God. Unfortunately, God’s reputation is no longer what it was – but as followers of Jesus, we have an opportunity to re-build the God’s reputation with those all around us. Message Have you ever thought about how a single photo or image can instantly bring a certain person to your mind? The person’s name, achievements, and successes…
Psalm 72
In this Psalm, we read a prayer of King Solomon that depicts what he views as a perfect kingdom. But more than a Utopian view of life, we read Psalm 72 as a picture of what God desires his Kingdom, the Kingdom of God to be like. Finding Utopia: In 1971 John Lennon, as a solo artist, released his best-selling song, “Imagine.” Imagine there’s no heaven. It’s easy if you try No hell below us, Above us only sky Imagine…
Psalm 1
The first Psalm in the psalter begins with an epilogue that gives us the basic principle that people who do what is right in the eyes of the Lord will have all they need to survive the challenges of life while those who follow the path of other sinners and scoffers will have greater difficulty and eventually be cut off from God. What is a Psalm? Today we start a new sermon series, “Greatest Hits,” based on popular psalms from…
The Spirit Led Life
Many people think Christianity is just a bunch of rules to follow, but Jesus actually died on the cross so we could be set free from all the rules. But if we don’t have rules to follow, how can we know how to live? By the Spirit of God who acts as our guide in every moment of every day. This message from Galatians shows us how we are to walk in step with the Spirit. Rules Don’t Work Have…
Our Gift Giver
In 4 different places the Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit gives believers special gifts as He determines. In this message we look at those spiritual gifts and why different groups of Christians work off of different lists. But regardless of where you stand on the supernatural gifts, the Spirit has placed a gift in you and wants you to use it for God’s glory. * To view all the slides from the message, including the list of all…
Our Guide
One of the main tasks of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to be a messenger between us and God. And in so doing, he guides us through our lives on the path God wants for us. Looking through scripture we see that the 4 main messages the Holy Spirit communicates are: (1) convict the world, (2) guide us to truth, (3) teach us wisdom, and (4) intercede on our behalf. The Message Today is Mother’s Day! Do you…
Our Guarantee
The difference between a Christian and a non-Christian is much deeper than beliefs or behavior. The Bible tells us that the difference is that a Christian has the Holy Spirit put inside their heart as a guarantee of the inheritance God promises – Heaven! This message unpacks the confidence Christians can have that God seals us as his forever when he puts His Spirit inside us.