Sermon Podcast

The future looked bright for Israel at the end of 1 Samuel 7. But in chapter 8, Israel shows herself to be an unfaithful covenant partner yet again. In Israel’s faithless request for a king like all the nations we see ourselves — prone to wander, prone to leave the God we love. Yet, God loves to show mercy to his wayward people. We see this most clearly in Jesus Christ, the true but rejected King who laid down his life for us.

God rescues Israel from the Philistines in 1 Samuel 7:3–17. In this sermon, Ryan walks through the story, reflecting on the speed of God’s mercy and the importance of walking backward into the future.

The second of two talks exploring the doctrine of sin. In this talk, Ryan discusses indwelling sin and the practices of self-reflection, confession, and internalizing the gospel.

The first of two talks exploring the doctrine of sin. In this talk, Ryan gives an overview of the Bible’s teaching about sin.

1 Samuel 3:1–4:1a is a charming story about the LORD calling the boy Samuel to be his prophet. But that’s not all. Ultimately, this story is about the God who speaks through his prophets, his written Word, and supremely in his Son, Jesus Christ.

Over the last several years, we’ve seen scandal after scandal involving well-known Christian leaders: illicit romantic relationships, sexual abuse, covering up abuse, heavy-handed leadership, and the list goes on. How do we hold on to faith when the people who are supposed to represent Jesus don’t?

The second talk in a two-part overview of the Bible’s teaching about the natural world. In this talk, I focus on human beings’ role as members of the community of creation tasked with ruling and keeping the world on God’s behalf.

The first talk in a two-part overview of the Bible’s teaching about the natural world. In this talk, I focus on the opening chapters of Genesis and what they reveal about creation’s inherent goodness and value.

“Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence” is a solemn, reflective hymn that invites worshipers to stand in awe of Jesus Christ, who is none other than God the Son Incarnate. In this talk, Ryan explores the hymn’s ancient roots and unpacks its meaning and relevance for Christians today.

The resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth is at the heart of the Christian faith. No resurrection, no Christianity. Yet, many modern people find belief in the resurrection difficult. What should we make of the New Testament’s accounts of Jesus’s resurrection? Are they reliable? Is belief in the resurrection reasonable?

Ryan recently finished preaching through the Book of Romans. In this talk, he discusses something that stood out to him while studying Romans: the cosmic dimension of salvation.

In this final sermon on the Book of Romans, Ryan looks at the Apostle Paul’s concluding doxology. It’s the longest doxology in the New Testament, and its grammar is complex. But the message is clear: Praise God for the gospel of Jesus Christ.

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.

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.

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.