Have you ever noticed the desire to return to some of the old habits which you gave up when you became a Christian? Pastor Ricky will show us in today's study how we could be much like the Jews after they were delivered from slavery in Egypt. Believers in Christ can also begin to grumble about not having the freedom of following their desires. However, the freedom that the world offers is actually slavery to sin. Sometimes we may be guilty of serving our desires and not God.
Redemption - Sin Lies, God Provides #1, Part 3
God's purpose for us is always good. It’s our sin that lies to us and we question whether He is present when things are going badly. But as people rebelled against Him in the desert, God promises to be with them and provide for their needs. They’re blaming God for their condition, for not taking care of them, and instead of turning away, He brings water from a rock. When we needed a savior He brought us his Son, The Rock, who gives us living water. No matter our misunderstanding of Him, He does provide.
Redemption - Sin Lies, God Provides #1, Part 2
In the most horrible times of your life, you may have wondered where is God? He couldn't possibly be watching us go through misery and be okay with it, right? Not like ourselves, His commitment never wavers. We will go through turmoil but He promises to be with us. With that kind of hope, we can go on. As we’ll hear in today’s teaching, God's commitment to His people is steadfast. They can't see beyond their current circumstances but God knows the plans He has for them and He will be there.
Redemption - Sin Lies, God Provides #1, Part 1
Giving your life to Jesus doesn't immediately make all your problems disappear. In fact, you may face new ones. Fully breaking away from our old lives is not an easy transition. As we’ll hear today from Exodus, God’s people were so fixated on the uncertainty of being in the desert that they started to look back on their lives in slavery as being better. When we begin to look back on our days without the Lord as having been easier, we need to remember the end game of that path and focus on renewed life in Him.
Redemption - Stand Still, Go Forth, Part 2
Throughout our lives, we’ll experience battles great and small but none are so vital as the one for our souls. For the unbeliever, God is fighting every moment to draw you near, for the believer that hard-fought struggle has been won. As Pastor Ricky will remind us in this study in Exodus that our bondage to sin has been broken just as the children of Israel were free from slavery in Egypt. The effects of sin still remain though but none as blinding and oppressive as those chains that bind unbelievers.
Redemption - Stand Still, Go Forth, Part 1
Our God is a fighter. We don't often think of Him that way but He's in a battle for us constantly. We have the greatest warrior on our side yet we still like to try and control the many universes we've created around ourselves. In today's teaching we’ll discover a better way. We can be still while God blazes forward on our behalf. When God's people were let out of Israel they sought to know what was coming next. They saw their enemies and wanted to take action to protect themselves but all the while God went before them.
Redemption - Remember What He's Done, Part 3
When you gather to celebrate a person's birthday, it's a special time to acknowledge their place in everyone’s heart. But just because you have a party one day a year doesn't mean you forget them the other 364 days. Gathering together to worship and honor God on a regular basis is one way that we can remember God's place in our lives. Sometimes we may struggle and having fellow believers to give you a boost and remind you of all He’s done can help you to regain your focus on what matters.
Redemption - Remember What He's Done, Part 2
After delivering His people out of the hands of Egypt, the Lord gave them a directive to honor the Passover on a regular basis in order to remember what He did for them. As believers living today we aren't exempt from this command to remember. The commemorations observed by God's people in Exodus radiated throughout their lives, throughout the year. Likewise, the Word should permeate our lives. The birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus shouldn't be remembered once a year but be ever-present.
Redemption - Remember What He's Done, Part 1
No matter how good we think we are, we are all spotted with sin. We’ve burdened ourselves with it, with every wrong choice we’ve made. Sin destroys the things we love, our hearts, and our lives. Yet the God who created us wants us in spite of it. So much so that He willingly gave His most precious Son to unburden us of that sin. Today, as we hear about God's provision to His people as the firstborns of Egypt, we’ll begin to understand the magnitude of this gift and just how valuable it is.
Redemption - The Passover, Part 2
No matter how good we think we are, we are all spotted with sin. We’ve burdened ourselves with it, with every wrong choice we’ve made. Sin destroys the things we love, our hearts, and our lives. Yet the God who created us wants us in spite of it. So much so that He willingly gave His most precious Son to unburden us of that sin. Today, as we hear about God's provision to His people as the firstborns of Egypt, we’ll begin to understand the magnitude of this gift and just how valuable it is.
Redemption - The Passover, Part 1
When the Lord prepared to bring the final plague upon Egypt, He commanded His people to do a very specific thing, a ritual sacrifice. God’s people were not going to be spared the death of their firstborn because they were sinless, far from it. In His mercy, the Lord offers a way for the people to avoid this consequence of death. As we’ll see today this ritual was not an easy task. God is just and none of us will be free from justice but He is also loving and has given us the greatest sacrifice of all.
Redemption - Above all Gods, Part 3
Every clap of thunder, every flash of lightning, is a warning that a storm is coming. Every plague brought upon Egypt was a warning as well. In this part of Exodus, we'll see how God slowly reveals His character with each new plague, not as a harsh tyrant but that of a merciful father offering chances for repentance. The Lord's justice isn't based on what we deserve, as we see through His grace throughout the whole scripture. The evidence of that grace isn’t limited to past events but runs throughout our lives.
Redemption - Above all Gods, Part 2
The plagues that afflicted Egypt were immense and punishing. When you take in just how intense these events must have been, it's such a wonder that Pharaoh's heart continued to harden against Moses and the people. Then again, it's not really that hard to imagine. As individuals, as a nation, as a world, we feel powerful. We describe ownership to everything which is a denial of the Creator. With every hardship though we can be crushed and feel powerless, then our eyes may recognize Him.
Redemption - Above all Gods, Part 1
You know when you're trying to find a radio station, and it's sort of cuts in and out until you end up with static? When you land on the station you want it's clear and in tune. Today Pastor Ricky will speak about how God reveals Himself in ways that will tune us into Him. In Exodus with the plagues, God is restoring His people back to His glory. Though the means seem harsh, we will see God's heart and what it says about His character. Today He is still proclaiming who He is and we need to respond.
Redemption - Opposition & Doubts, Part 2
As a little child, your idea of grandeur is somewhat limited. You may remember a friend's house as a mansion only to realize as an adult that it was a two-story house while yours had only a ground-floor. In comparison to God's plan for our lives, our perspective is that of a child. We may have desires that go unfulfilled because the Lord has a greater purpose for us, a life that we can't even imagine for ourselves. Today we will see God's people struggle with their inability to trust God's plan and promises.
Redemption - Opposition & Doubts, Part 1
When you’re in the thick of it, it may seem impossible to see the forest for the trees. That's where we are in Exodus today, when Moses and the people are being even more oppressed by Pharaoh. It feels like there's no way out. Even Moses will begin to waver, wondering why all this is happening. But God is great even when we’re wondering about the next chapter in our story. We may feel stuck on a particular page but He has already written a happy ending for us.
Redemption - Burning Yet Not Consumed, Part 2
Jesus went to the cross for you and for me. He is the hope that we need. He will save you from your sin so the question is, do you know Him?
Redemption - Burning Yet Not Consumed, Part 1
Today we’ll learn five characteristics of God. We will hear from the book of Exodus that God is the exact God that we need but not always the God that we want. He is in control. He is a sovereign God. When we suffer or go through a difficult time this should provide peace and comfort. Often we don't know what to do or how to fix the situation however, the God who is Sovereign over all things has everything under His care. Trust in Him today.
Redemption - Groaning for Redemption, Part 2
Today we are reminded of just how bad the Israelites were treated. The Bible says they were reduced to severe slavery. They were crying out and groaning to God. It then says that God heard their cry and remembered his covenant with Abraham. God hears your prayers as well. God knows your sorrow, He knows your circumstances. When you cry, He's listening and He's ready to keep His promises to you. Turn to Him.
Redemption - Groaning for Redemption, Part 1
Today Pastor Ricky will teach about groaning. We might groan because we've been sinned against, or we might groan because we have sinned. In today's message, we will hear that Moses committed a terrible sin. Therefore Moses fled to a new land. Moses thought he'd escaped his sin but in actuality, it cost him to groan for something more. Moses was groaning because he was not home. Moses did not belong to the land where he found himself just like we really don't belong here.