Better News Podcast

There are moments when life forces us to ask what really satisfies us. We chase accomplishments, relationships, comfort, or control, yet still feel a quiet ache underneath it all. Jesus speaks directly to that deeper hunger, calling us to recognize that the longing beneath every longing is ultimately a longing for Him. In today's message, we are invited to consider why we come to Christ, where true life is found, and what it means that He receives all who turn to Him.

Life can feel like a swirl of pleasures, fears, and shifting plans, leaving us unsure of what's solid and what's slipping away. But Psalm 33 invites us to steady our hearts by placing God, not our circumstances, at the center. In this final message of our series, Pastor Ricky shows how God's unchanging character, faithful promises, and rescuing love create a foundation strong enough for every season. Even when life feels unstable, God remains steady, present, and entirely trustworthy.

When the world feels unstable, chaotic, or unpredictable, we instinctively search for something, anything to hold us steady. In today's message, Pastor Ricky reminds us that God alone provides the kind of center strong enough to anchor our lives. Drawing from the richness of Psalm 33, he shows how God's character, sovereignty, and steadfast love give us a foundation that cannot be shaken. This message offers clarity for anyone feeling lost in the swirl of uncertainty.

There are moments when the weight of unconfessed sin feels crushing, draining our joy, clarity, and strength. In today's message, Pastor Ricky shows how Psalm 32 leads us out of that suffocating place and into the relief only God can give. He explains how honest confession restores our fellowship with God and steadies our lives with renewed peace and direction. This is a message for anyone longing to breathe again and experience joy on the other side of repentance.

We all know how deeply we try to avoid being exposed, blamed, or held accountable, but in today's message, Pastor Ricky shows how confession is not the step towards shame; it's a step toward freedom. Drawing from the honesty of Psalm 32, he helps us see how God meets real brokenness with real forgiveness—trading the heaviness of hiding for the joy of being made clean. This message invites us to drop the excuses and step into the life God is offering.

Everyone one of us carries wounds, disappointments, or seasons where God feels distant. Yet Psalm 22 reveals a God who is closer than we fear and more faithful than we. In today's message, Pastor Ricky helps us recognize the shift from anguish to confidence that happens when we anchor ourselves in God's character rather than our circumstances. It is a reminder that the pain we feel is not the end of the story; God is still writing one of rescue.

Pain has a way of narrowing our world, of making us feel unseen, unheard, and alone. In this message, Pastor Ricky walks us into the raw honesty of Psalm 22, showing how God meets His people not in polished strength but in the depths of suffering. He helps us see that our cries do not push God away; they draw us into the very places where He brings comfort, clarity, and hope. For anyone in the pain club, this message is a lifeline.

When life feels thin, restless, or unsatisfying, our instinct is often to chase something new. Pastor Ricky shows how the Psalms call us back to the goodness God has woven into everyday moments we've grown numb to. He explores how contentment is formed, not by changing our circumstances but by reawakening our hearts to the gift God is already giving. This message invites us to slow down, notice, and receive the blessings we've been missing.

We often search far and wide for the life we think we are missing, hoping the next achievement, relationship, or milestone will finally satisfy. But in today's message, Pastor Ricky reminds us that God has already placed deep blessing within reach, inviting us to rediscover what we've overlooked. He helps us see how God meets us in the ordinary, grounding us in joy and gratitude right where we are. Sometimes the blessings we long for have been at home all along.

Many of us live with an inner tension between who we want to be and who we feel we've become. In today's message, Pastor Ricky helps us see how God reshapes us from the inside out, not by demanding perfection but by forming new desires, new rhythms and a new center of gravity for our lives. He highlights the quiet but powerful ways God restores our humanity and teaches us to walk with renewed strength.

Most of us long to feel like ourselves again, to be restored to a life marked by clarity, purpose, and spiritual strength. In today's message, Ricky shows how the Psalms guide us toward a renewed humanity, shaped by God's presence and truth. He highlights the practices that reorient our inner life and help us live with a grounded identity, rather than being driven by emotion, pressure, or distraction. Renewal begins with learning how to return to who God designed us to be.

Sometimes God's work in our lives feels slow and hidden, other times it feels urgent, unmistakable, and impossible to ignore. In today's message, Pastor Ricky explores how God lovingly disrupts our comfort in order to draw us back to Himself. He helps us see the deeper mercy behind His pursuit and the hope that comes when we finally stop running. It's an invitation to recognize God's hand, even in the moments that feel overwhelming.

There are seasons when life feels less like a steady walk with God and more like being pushed, prodded, or pursued. In this message, Pastor Ricky helps us understand the surprising ways that God uses pressure, discomfort, and even fear to move us toward places of growth we would never choose on our own. He shows how God's guidance isn't always gentle, but it's always good and often the very thing that rescues us from settling for less.

Every believer eventually reaches places where God exposes what we trust, reveals what we chase, and calls us toward a better path. In today's message, Pastor Ricky unpacks how genuine transformation happens, not through quick fixes but through surrender, renewal, and a willingness to let God reshape what guides us. He invites us to consider how the Word of God redirects our desires and leads us toward a life that is steady, rooted, and intentionally formed by Christ.

So much of life is lived in the tension between who we hope to be and what actually forms us day by day. In today's message, Pastor Ricky helps us see how our inner world is shaped. Slowly, quietly through patterns we either intentionally cultivate, or carelessly drift into. He invites us to take a thoughtful look at the voices we follow, the habits we lean on, and the spiritual direction they create. Real growth begins with honest attention.

Life often feels like a series of branching paths, each one promising a different outcome. In today's message, Pastor Ricky helps us slow down enough to recognize that spiritual direction isn't shaped by dramatic moments but by the quiet daily choices that form our character. He invites us to consider the influences we welcome, the habits we practice, and the kind of person we are becoming, often without noticing. It's a needed reminder that every step shapes a destination.

The story that plays out in the book of Esther is one that begins with impending doom for an entire people, it ends instead with their victory over their intended destroyers. It's remarkable to watch the intrigue and behind-the-scenes dealings of a real-life drama playing out before our very eyes. Pastor Ricky will be teaching about the providence of God and how His hand works in our lives even when we can't perceive Him. It's beneficial for us to pay attention to history because we can learn from it.

We all like celebrations, right? So did the Israelites. It's interesting that God mandated not just solemn assemblies like the Day of Atonement but also joyous ones like the Feast of Tabernacles where people camped out and ate for a whole week. Pastor Ricky will be teaching from the book of Esther focusing on the creation of the feast called Purim. He'll be showing the importance of remembering events through celebration and how these lessons from the past apply to us today.

It can definitely be vexing to observe injustices being done around us and it's hard not to get frustrated with God in those regards. We want justice and we want it done now. At those times, it's best to listen to Pastor Ricky. He'll be teaching about the importance of our submitting such frustrations over to God and understanding that His timing will always be perfect. He also is the only just judge because He knows all of the circumstances as well as the heart of those involved.

As Christians, we believe that what the Bible tells us is true. It indicates that in the last days, there will be a final judgment. Although that's sometimes not a comfort at this present time, it is comforting to know that God has not turned a blind eye to what's occurring. Pastor Ricky will be teaching from Esther, emphasizing that God is indeed watching over all and is keeping track of what men are doing. He alone will be the final judge and His verdict will be final.

So often we see people get away with doing bad things, and that's frustrating to us. We see people getting away with crimes without any consequences. It seemed like the same thing was going to happen in the story of Esther. Haman was planning to kill all of the Jews and no one realized it. But as Pastor Ricky will be teaching, God knew all about Haman's plans and He had already put His own plans into motion. And as we'll learn, God's plans included appropriate justice for Haman and preservation for the Jews.

We all have different stories about how we came to saving faith. The undercurrent in all of them though is God's grace in showing us our need for Him and then providing the faith necessary to receive His son's salvation. The story of Esther is in many ways a foreshadowing of our own redemption. Pastor Ricky will be teaching about how Esther and the exiled Jews' deliverance by God is a precursor to our own rescuing by God. He'll also teach us about God being the final arbiter of justice.

So often it's hard to see God working in our lives. Maybe we're looking for something obvious, like being able to see angels stopping out-of-control vehicles. The truth is, God works most often than not behind the scenes. We only see His hand after the fact. Pastor Ricky continues teaching from the fascinating story of Esther where we're allowed to peak behind the curtain as it were. In this story, we can observe all the players involved and watch God orchestrating circumstances for maximum effect.

All around us, we see bad men and women prospering seemingly without a check on their actions or behaviors. It's really frustrating and we wish for justice to be done to them and for them to be stopped. Pastor Ricky will be continuing to teach from the story of Esther where we find a similar situation. Pastor Ricky will be reminding us of God's sovereign will and how He has the final say in all matters. This should be encouraging to us despite the aggravation we often have to endure.

The timing of Jesus' birth is amazing. The prophecies in the Old Testament regarding the Messiah's heritage and location of birth required meeting formidable odds, and yet, Jesus' mother was who she needed to be, and they and Joseph were where they needed to be at the time of His birth. Pastor Ricky will be teaching on how the orchestration of the confluence of these events shows the sovereignty of God. This is also a reminder that God knows where we are and has us on this earth for His reasons as well.

The story of Jesus' birth is one of the triune God deciding to intervene on man's behalf to fix the problem that man had caused. We messed up in the Garden of Eden with eternal damnation as the consequence. Fortunately, the Trinity loved us enough to make a way to restore the original relationship we had with them. Pastor Ricky will be teaching about how the names of the Messiah in the book of Isaiah relate to the character of God the Father and to Jesus, and how those are applicable to us today.

It's funny how family resemblances work, isn't it? Facial characteristics, even vocal qualities, passed on from generation to generation. In the same way Jesus embodied the characteristics and nature of His father. Jesus said, “He who has seen me has seen the Father.” Pastor Ricky will be teaching from Isaiah, using the prophecies about the Messiah to show how the qualities of God the Father will be present in He who is to be the Savior of the world, showing His love for us as well.

Sometimes, as we go through life, we get into situations where we have no solutions to fix our circumstances. It's in those times when we find out what our foundation is, what we really are relying on. God, through the prophet Isaiah, was trying to get the people of Israel to turn back and rely on Him. Pastor Ricky will be teaching from the book of Isaiah, sharing what God was trying to communicate to the Israelites. He'll also teach how the promises given those centuries ago apply to us now.

We read in the Gospels that those who were closest to Jesus struggled at times with believing the one who performed miracles right in front of them. So it's no surprise that we would have the same struggles. Pastor Ricky will be teaching from the book of Isaiah, sharing one of the stories that Isaiah wrote down. The Israelites were threatened and looking for help everywhere except to God. This is a good lesson for us and a reminder that God's help is closer than we think.

There is a whole lot of insanity going on in the world these days. We observe the wars and threats of war and ask ourselves if these people really know what they're doing. We often find ourselves praying for wisdom for our leaders. God often pleads for His people, Israel, to take advantage of the wisdom that He had to offer. Pastor Ricky will teach about God's wisdom versus man's wisdom and the importance of our asking for the insight that comes only from the author of the universe and using it.

It certainly seems that keeping in the loop in regards to our surrounding circumstances is the wise thing to do, and that's exactly what the Israelites of Isaiah's time did. After all, they thought their nation was being threatened by the big power of the time. As Pastor Ricky will be teaching, Israel missed the point. God was their refuge and strength. The prophet Isaiah was trying to point this out to them. In the same way, we need to let God be our refuge and strength in spite of what danger surrounds us.

It's difficult, or even impossible, to conceive how good can come out of accidents or disasters. We hear the verse that Pastor Ricky quoted and wonder how that can even be. It's difficult, or even impossible, to conceive how good can come out of accidents or disasters. We hear the verse that Pastor Ricky quoted and wonder how that can even be. Surely the Israelites in exile asked themselves what good would come from their situation as well. Pastor Ricky will be sharing from the book of Esther, and other scriptures, teaching us about the sovereign will of God. He'll be teaching us how God with His ability to see the end from the beginning orchestrates events for our benefit.

Throughout the Old Testament, we see where God's people turned to foreign idols and God has to discipline them to bring them back to Himself. We in the New Testament era like to think that because we have chosen to follow Jesus, we don't have those kinds of problems. Not true. We can at times put things like money or jobs ahead of our relationship with God. Pastor Ricky will be teaching on the disastrous result of Israel's turning away from God and His faithfulness to them nevertheless.

There's no question that there are unjust actions occurring in our world. There are wrong things being done on a personal level, as well as the corporate and even international level all the time. Part of the story in the book of Esther deals with a threat that is real faced from a man who is a member of a tribe that was hostile to Israel. Pastor Ricky will be teaching on this and showing how man's rebellion against God allowed injustice to enter the world and how God saves the day for the Jews.

As we see events going on around us, particularly in the government, we're tempted to feel completely helpless. We want things to change for the better and we elect people we think will do good things yet nothing changes. “Where's God?” we might be tempted to ask. Certainly, the Jews must have felt like this being under the control of a heathen king, far from their homeland. Pastor Ricky will continue with the story of Esther and how God used this king to accomplish His purposes.

We all know the saying, “Be careful what you ask for, you might get it.” Many girls dream of being a princess, having the king fall in love with them and then becoming the queen. We don't know if this is what Esther wanted but it happened to her nonetheless. Pastor Ricky will be teaching about this story and the apparent comprises Esther made in her life along the way to becoming a queen. This certainly can be a warning to us against putting aside Godly principles for seeming advancement.

As we witness our society's descent into further ungodliness in normal living, we may find ourselves pulled toward the darkness as well. As much as we want to live godly lives, the sin nature resident in us is allured by the things of the world around us. As Pastor Ricky will be sharing, the Jews in Persia may have had the same difficulty. At such times, it's all but impossible to give in and go along with everyone else. We'll find out how Hadassah, also known as Esther, deals with this circumstance.

As we travel through our daily lives, mundane as they may seem to be, it can be hard to imagine that God is working behind the scenes on our behalf. As we consider the story of Esther, it seems like this is just a story about a king that got mad at his wife and decided to get another one. As Pastor Ricky will be teaching, much of this story seems to just kind of go along until the end where we see how God has been using the events of these people's lives to accomplish His purpose for His people.

Sometimes in our lives, we can feel as though we're inside a blender, being swirled around in a million directions. It's often difficult to see what the point of events and circumstances in our lives are. The Israelites that were in exile in the book of Esther may have felt similar, “Where is God in all of this? We've lost everything”. As Pastor Ricky will be teaching, what we see is often not the full extent of what's actually happening in our lives. God is working behind the scenes on our behalf.

Today, Paul testifies that the Lord stands near and strengthens. Even with death looming, he asked for cloak, book, and parchments because grace keeps serving until the finish. Beyond every near rescue lies the final rescue when the King brings His people safely home. For anyone tired, sidelined, or unsure, this is fuel for the last miles.

Paul writes as an old soldier of the gospel, finishing his race, and coaching Timothy for the miles ahead. Friends drift, others are called elsewhere, and yet God supplies tough friends for tough times and even writes surprising restorations into the story. This isn't cynicism. It's clarity that frees us to love people wisely while placing our greatest expectations on the Lord. In the world of transient loyalties and weary hearts, this passage steadies our pace and renews our courage.

We live in a world filled with noise. There's a constant pull towards what entertains, affirms, or distracts. But Paul calls Timothy, and every believer, to something deeper, to hear the word when it's hard, to stay anchored in truth when others wander, and to let God's voice cut through the clamor of the age. In today's message, we'll learn how to listen safely and wisely so that our hearts stay grounded in what's clear and life-giving.

Paul's charge to Timothy wasn't just to preach but to do so with character, courage without arrogance, conviction without cruelty, and with patience wrapped in truth. Today, we'll see what kind of man God entrusts with His word and how the church can discern faithful preaching from mere performance. This message reminds us that every listener shares in the work—to lean in, to endure truth when it's hard, and to love the Word more than comfort.

Paul is nearing the end of his race. Writing from a cold prison cell, with eternity in view, his words to Timothy carry both urgency and tenderness—a passing of the torch to keep preaching the truth when the world grows tired of hearing it. In today's message, we are reminded that faithful preaching still matters deeply today, not as performance but as the means by which God's Word speaks, corrects, and comforts His people.

Every generation needs courage to hold what holds us. We've been learning that the God-breathed Word is not one more book in the stack but the compass for life. Today we're invited to begin as beginners—opening the Bible, thinking, and praying so truth can shape our loves, steady our steps, and train us for every good work. When the winds rise and voices multiply, we don't drift. We hold fast to what is enough.

Paul's final letter to Timothy carries the weight of a dying man's words. Every line is meant to strengthen the next generation. From a cold prison cell, he writes to his spiritual son— urging him to stand firm when others fall away, to remember the faith handed down through his mother, his grandmother, and through their years of shared ministry. The world around them is unraveling, yet Paul's call remains steady and timeless. When trials come and truth is tested, don't let go.

Some warnings are mercy in disguise. Today's passage calls us to reorder our loves--loving God above self so compassion, integrity, and discernment flow from the heart. We are not to judge leadership by charisma, clicks, or crowds, but by character you can see up close. Look in the mirror first, then choose friends and guides who make you more like Christ. In a culture hungry for celebrities, Jesus forms servants.

Some passages lift our spirits. Others flash a warning light. Today is one of those merciful warnings. Today, Paul hangs a wanted poster, teaching us to discern appearances from the loves that steer a life. It's not about winning debates or spotting flaws, but examining our hearts, weighing leaders by character, and refusing quarrels that multiply. God calls us to truth with gentleness, courage with humility, and a faith that works.

When conflict flares and words fly faster than wisdom, Paul's words to Timothy cut through the noise. The call isn't to win the room but to look within—do I resemble Christ? Flee the heat of youthful reactions, pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace. Teach with clarity, correct with gentleness, and carry the measured strength of Jesus into hard spaces so people, not points, are won.

Paul writes to Timothy from his cell while Timothy faces a church brawl-- quarrelling controversies, counterfeit teaching. It feels less like a sanctuary and more like a saloon as chaos spreads. In moments like that, what does a servant of Jesus do? Paul aims Timothy's heart--see the goal, examine yourself, refuse foolish fights, and display the measured strength of Christ. Conviction with gentleness, clarity with patience, for the good of God's household and a watching world.

As Paul writes his final words to Timothy, his body may be chained, but his hope is free. Nothing can silence the gospel's advance. Empires crumble, leaders fade, yet Christ's work keeps moving forward, alive and unbound. Even in the fog of war, when faith feels fragile, we're called to remember the one we follow and the message we carry.