A collect based on Psalm 109. "O God of our praise, stand by us when liars pour out invective on us. Rescue us through your loyal love, that we may give you thanks…"
]]>A collect based on Psalm 108. "O God, you whose steadfast love is higher than the heavens and whose faithfulness knows no end, reach down with your strong hand and deliver us from our enemies…"
]]>A collect based on Psalm 107. "Gracious Father, you who hear our anguished cries for rescue, deliver us from our distress and satisfy our longing souls with yourself, that we may…"
]]>A collect based on Psalm 106. "Our faithful covenant Lord, you who showed mercy to your wayward people Israel time and again, have mercy upon us. Remember your covenant with us in Jesus Christ…"
]]>A collect based on Psalm 105. "Our faithful God and the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, you who delivered your people Israel from Egypt and brought them to the land of promise, be with us…"
]]>Psychiatric medication doesn’t cure mental illness. However, using it wisely as part of a holistic approach to addressing mental health challenges can provide relief from some of the most debilitating symptoms. Medication just might be what someone needs to begin cultivating a greater level of mental health.
]]>A collect based on Psalm 104. "Our Creator and Sustainer, you who provide food and drink to every living creature, gladden our hearts with your gifts…"
]]>A prayer on behalf of those who live with anxiety, using the collect pattern. Our God and Heavenly Father, you who hear the cry of the distressed, hear us. Listen to our groanings—our pleas for relief from the gnawing pain of our anxieties…
]]>A prayer, in the form of a collect, for those who live with mental health challenges. Our Heavenly Father, direct our unstable hearts to your unfailing love and the faithfulness of our Savior, so that…
]]>A collect based on Psalm 100. “O God, our Creator, Redeemer, and Shepherd, continue to show your steadfast love and faithfulness to us…”
]]>The Bible teaches that God is all-powerful (omnipotent). However, it’s one thing to know this and another to live in light of it. In this talk, Ryan explores how God’s omnipotence intersects with everyday life.
]]>Romans 16:1–16 is a lengthy list of difficult-to-pronounce names of people who lived and died centuries ago. What can we learn from it? In this sermon, Ryan explores what this passage shows us about the diversity and unity of the early church and what it means for the church today.
]]>In this sermon on Romans 15:14–33, Ryan explores three characteristics of a mission-shaped church.
]]>How does God’s sovereignty intersect with my daily life?
]]>How do we get along with fellow Christians despite our differences? Ryan seeks to answer that question in this sermon on Romans 14:1–12.
]]>In this sermon on Romans 13:8–14, Ryan preaches about loving our neighbors.
]]>In this second of two talks on Christian funerals, Ryan discusses the nature and purposes of a funeral and provides a suggested pattern for a gospel-centered funeral service.
]]>A collect inspired by the biblical story of Ruth.
]]>Resources for planning gospel-centered funerals.
]]>The Christian funeral has fallen on hard times. In this talk, Ryan discusses the ways funerals have changed over the past few generations and proposes a recovery of a more robustly Christian practice of marking death.
]]>How do you deal with your anger, outrage, or hatred? Vent it? Suppress it? Ignore it? Most of us struggle with knowing how to handle these emotions. However, the Psalms teach us how to engage our anger faithfully. They invite us to pray our hate. In this talk, Ryan explains why and how to do it.
]]>Advent is a four-week period of time in the Christian calendar that focuses our attention on the “advent,” or coming, of Jesus Christ. We look back to Jesus’s first coming and forward to his second coming. It’s a time of anticipation, longing, and waiting. Perhaps more than any other song, the hymn “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel” signals the start of the Advent season.
]]>If you could summarize the season of Advent with one word, it would be the word “waiting.” Advent is a season of waiting and longing for Jesus Christ to come again. It’s a microcosm of the Christian life. Christians are waiting people—people who yearn for and anticipate the day when Christ returns to make all things new.
]]>Advent joy isn’t glib positivity. It’s something more, something deeper. One theologian described it as “an act of resistance against despair and its forces.” Advent joy doesn’t deny the pain of life in a broken world; it protests the pain. Advent joy refuses pain’s invitation to succumb to despair.
]]>A pastoral prayer delivered on December 24, 2023, at Grace Bible Church in Escondido, California.
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