Better News Podcast

Have you ever thought about just how powerful faith is? Not just faith as a description of being religious but the deepest meaning of faith, trust and hope. As Pastor Ricky teaches us today, faith in Jesus brings salvation, receiving that gift, it's an amazing thing. Pastor Ricky reminds us that living a life in the power of the cross is crucial. Faith doesn't just end when you start your journey with Christ. You continue living, serving, and flourishing, in and through faith every single day.

Do you ever need a little extra motivation to go through something difficult? Even if it's just a reward at the end of a workout, or reaching a milestone towards a goal, a positive anticipation is good. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, the assurance that the Word of God increased and multiplied, was given before a difficult season as we'll hear in our text. Pastor Ricky reminds us that through it all, the Lord reigns and is doing a great work to keep us and His message until Christ comes again.

Aren't you glad that someone found a way to share the message of God's love in a language and way that you can understand? As Pastor Ricky teaches today, the good news spread to Antioch in a way that they could understand and that understanding came from a place of honesty, relatability, and realness. Pastor Ricky reminds us that we have fallen short. We've blown it big time and are all in the same need of forgiveness. That universal need carries us to the throne of grace. Christ is the answer for all of us.

Often in the English language, we have words with multiple meanings. The word “church” is one of those words. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you'll learn that we casually refer to the meeting place, the building, its committees, systems and programs as church. Others define church by what we do at worship service but Pastor Ricky reminds us that the church of Jesus Christ is so much more than just a building or a weekly gathering. It's a living organism, universal, and alive with unity following our Lord.

You aren't alone. Hopefully, you've heard that as a Christ-follower but do you really believe it? As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you learn that we're a part of a larger family of God. Unity, therefore, is so important to the mission at hand. Pastor Ricky reminds us that living in unity and understanding that we were never meant to do life on our own, not only gives us hope and reassurance to make it through another day, it can also make our impact on the world powerful.

Jesus came to earth and went from here to there, crisscrossing the land, bringing good news. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you'll learn that Jesus has become our example. We're commanded to spread the Gospel, to go as Christ went. So often we like to program our lives and churches in such a way that we might feel good but aren't really making disciples in all of the earth. Pastor Ricky reminds us that “go and tell” is a non-optional part of what it means to be God's church.

“Pick and choose” is the spirit of the age it seems. We love charting our own course. It's common today to live a life of a la carte faith, where only the attractive parts of faith are lived out. As Pastor Ricky teaches today, you'll learn how the commands of God, the plans that He has for you, aren't “pick and choose”. To be the church of God in the world today, we can't erase the true call that God has for us. Pastor Ricky reminds us that “go and tell others” is not optional.

Have you ever thought about what you would leave behind if you were to pass away today? For some, it might be a fortune. For others, it could be their family. However, Pastor Ricky invites you to reflect more deeply on that question. When you leave this world, what is the one thing that you can take with you? It's your salvation. Therefore, when you consider what you're leaving on this earth, remember that the most meaningful legacy you can leave isn't your possessions but the impact that you made during your life while walking with God.

What happens to us after we leave this world? Well, some believe that we simply cease to exist, while others think that we're reincarnated. However, the majority of people believe in an afterlife, a place of rest beyond this world, and they're right. Heaven is real. Unfortunately, due to sin, everyone is on a path that leads away from it. But that's why Jesus paid the price for our sins. He gives us the choice to live eternally with Him or away from Him. Today, Pastor Ricky encourages you to pick Jesus.

Isn't it amazing to know that we serve a God who could take even the darkest circumstances and turn them into blessings? In today's message, Pastor Ricky emphasizes that the God of Creation and the King of Kings holds absolute control over every aspect of our lives. Because He's in command, you can confidently rely on His promises to protect you and to lead you towards prosperity. Even when this world throws every storm towards you, you can trust in God that He'll deliver you through it.

All of us encounter unexpected challenges in life. And in these moments that are beyond our control, it's crucial to remember that they're never beyond God's power. In today's message, Pastor Ricky reminds us that nothing in our lives occurs by mere coincidence. Everything falls within the divine purpose of God. Even when we struggle to understand His plan, we can hold tight to the faith that God would never allow us to face harm. His promise to prosper us remains steadfast no matter the circumstance.

Have you ever been on a road trip and found yourself lost in an unfamiliar city without a map or a guide? That journey can quickly become overwhelming. In the same way, many people are wandering through life unaware that they're on a spiritual journey. In today's message, Pastor Ricky urges you to recognize that you were never meant to navigate this journey alone. You were designed to walk alongside God. He created you out of love, desiring a deep connection with you. So, the question is, will you take that step and walk with Him?

Life is a journey filled with shifting seasons, moments of peace and times of trial, calm waters and raging storms, periods of rest and intense labor. No matter where you find yourself right now, Pastor Ricky wants you to understand that you can wholeheartedly trust in God. He is steadfast and will guide you through every storm and challenge. The key lies in the choice that you make regarding your faith. Will you place it in the fleeting assurances of the world or in the unshakable truth of Jesus Christ?

Back in the Old Testament days, getting forgiveness for sins was quite the journey. They needed to make animal sacrifices with the help of priests. Have you ever stopped to think about how God flipped the script, just for you? Today, Pastor Ricky dives into the fascinating topic of the New Covenant. God sent His one and only son, Jesus, to be sacrificed on the cross just for you. When you acknowledge Jesus, it opens the door for you to ask God for forgiveness directly. Can you believe how much He loves you?

Isn't it a bit silly to count the moments that we choose to forgive others? It's pretty wild to think about how often God would need to forgive our sins, isn't it? God's abundant grace and mercy are always wrapping around our lives like a warm hug. Just like God has wiped the slate clean for you time and again, why not extend that same grace to those around you? In today's message, Pastor Ricky shares a heartfelt reminder of the power of embracing a forgiving attitude toward those around you. He'll always be by your side, guiding you along the way, even if you mess up.

As you dive into the stories of the Israelites in the Bible, you'll notice that God was always there for them, meeting their needs and showering them with love and guidance, even when they strayed from the path time and again. Have you ever wondered if God is still the same and that He's always there to answer your prayers just when you need them most? Well, today, Pastor Ricky tells you about the overflowing grace and love of God. He'll always be by your side, guiding you along the way, even if you mess up.

It's inevitable that sometimes, despite our best intentions, we can't always stick to the promises that we've made to others. Your focus on your own needs will always prioritize your interests over those of others. But have you ever thought about who always sticks to their promises? In today's message, Pastor Ricky shares some insights on the covenants that God has made. He's got a unique plan just for you, and you can bet that He'll definitely keep the promises that He's made along the way.

It's easy to believe that when you mess up with your spouse or your family, it's not going to really matter since it's not a sin against God. But let's dive into that thought a bit more. Have you ever thought about how the wrong you did to them is actually a wrong against God? After all, He's the one who brought your spouse into your life. Today, Pastor Ricky shares a heartfelt message encouraging you to turn to God with genuine repentance. Remember, there's always a chance to turn things around and find forgiveness through Jesus.

Sometimes a soldier finds themselves injured in the chaos of war. He'll need a little time to heal up, but soon enough he'll be ready to take on the enemy again. The journey of a Christian can be quite like that of a soldier, filled with challenges and battles to face. In today's message, Pastor Ricky encourages you to reconnect with the purpose that God has set for you. It'll help you feel better and provide the relaxation you need, but hey, it's time to jump back in and give it your all in serving Him.

Opening up to someone about your feelings can often feel like a real challenge, but holding on to those feelings can lead to anxiety and depression that creep into your life. So, what choices do you have? Well, today, Pastor Ricky pushes you to open up and share your sorrows with God. He gets what you're going through. He's the only one who knows just how to lift your spirits when you're feeling down and to help you find your way back up. So, feel free to share anything and everything with your Creator.

If you've accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you have a profound hope that this world lacks. Like a beautiful violin solo floating over a tired and frustrated crowd, Jesus gives us peace. As Pastor Ricky illustrates in today's message, this is what sets us apart as believers. This world is headed towards destruction, with many people unaware of what's happening. Depression and anxiety are pervasive. Jesus alone offers hope, and it's our calling to share that with the world around us.

Conspiracy theories abound in our world. Corrupt governments and leaders have fostered an environment of distrust and paranoia. Some of those ideas are really far out there. The thing is, as Pastor Ricky clarifies in today's message, the truth is even more far out there than some of the wildest theories. Scripture tells us that there are dark spiritual forces that roam the world. Unseen creatures and beings that should make us shudder, and they're behind the chaos and the unrest that we see all around us.

Most of us don't want to be mean. As Christians, that should never be our intention. We should never take pleasure in pointing out the sins of others, and we need to be full of grace when we do. But, as Pastor Ricky clarifies in today's message, to ignore sin and pretend like it doesn't have any consequences at all, is the meanest thing that we could do. People need to know that God is a just and holy God, and living in sin and rejecting Him as Lord has eternal consequences.

God sees everything you do, He hears everything you say, and He observes your heart on the deepest level. Apart from Jesus, that's a scary thought. If you take an honest look at yourself, you know the injustice that lives in your heart. As Pastor Ricky warns us in today's message, the frightening words that God wrote on the wall as Belshazzar and his nobles celebrated their national success serve as a warning for all of us. God is just and all-knowing, and the success of the wicked will come to an end.

It can be easy to live in your little world and not think of what other people think or say. Today, Pastor Ricky says we have hope because God was merciful to King Nebuchadnezzar, even though he was prideful. God is trying to show you something new within your own life. He wants to work through your heart and use you to show others just how great He is. You must run to Jesus daily. He alone will humble you and bring you to a place of dependence on Him. Allow God to work through you today.

Everyone has a little bit of pride hidden somewhere. Therefore, we must check every day to ensure that we're living for God's glory. Today, Pastor Ricky says no matter what, pride always makes its way out of our hearts and into our external lives. Is there something in your life that you're secretly prideful about? Maybe it's a tendency to look for compliments consistently, or maybe it's a project you're working on that's for your glory and not for God. Give up your pride to the Lord and allow Him to work through your arrogance.

There is a God who is above all earthly authority. Today, Pastor Ricky says King Nebuchadnezzar had to face the reality that heaven ruled, and he didn't. You see, even when you can't see it, there's a God who's working all things out for His glory. Heaven rules. Now that's a hard concept for us to grasp sometimes, but one that is necessary for growth in Christ. When you recognize there's someone greater than you who has everything under control, it'll give you confidence as you go through your day-to-day life.

If you turn towards secular sources, things begin to look upside-down and inside-out when you compare them to what God has to say. Today, Pastor Ricky teaches that what God says is wise; the world calls foolish. According to the world, when somebody cuts you off during rush hour, you're supposed to honk and scream. According to God, you're supposed to smile and go about your day. Now, who are you going to trust? Are you going to trust the one made up of fallen people, or are you going to trust God?

What lies at the bottom of the ocean? Well, we know a little bit about what's at the bottom - Angler fish, the Titanic, fallen satellites, but so much of it is still a mystery. In today's message, Pastor Ricky teaches that life's mysteries can make you scratch your head, but God knows the who, what, when, and where. Maybe the bottom of the sea really does have sea dragons, or maybe it's nothing but sand. Nevertheless, trust in God because He knows the answer to every mystery.

It seems like just yesterday the world was still out of control. In fact, the world has been out of control for the last week, month, year, millennium, and back until just after the first flower bloom. You can look at the news and try to make sense of it all, but just like Pastor Ricky, it will probably just raise your heart rate instead. Today, try something different. Instead of turning towards the chaos, try turning towards the peacemaker who makes sense of it all. Today, turn towards Jesus Christ.

How do you usually respond when you get told your project deadline is moved a week closer? What about when a family member ostracizes you for your faith? How about when your car battery dies after you just bought a bunch of cold groceries? Well, today Pastor Ricky teaches that you can respond with bitterness and anger, or you could respond with prayer and worship. Do your actions reflect your prayer life in the way that Daniel's did? When the world is against you, do you choose to worship God?

The world as we know it is not the world it was designed to be in Genesis. Back then, God created a garden of peace and beauty. Today's world is engineered to bring stress, anxiety, and depression. In today's message, Pastor Ricky teaches that there's no magic pill. There's nothing you can buy, watch, or do to make your uneasiness go away. Your only hope for peace is to turn to the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ. Only Jesus and His work on the cross can give you peace that is going to last forever.

For people without the ability to see, they place their trust in many things to guide their day-to-day activities. They trust their cane to feel objects. They trust their ears for direction. They trust their touch to know when the glass is full. Today, Pastor Ricky challenges you to consider what you've placed your trust in. As you're walking through this crazy life, unable to see what the next step brings, will you trust the Lord of creation to guide each and every step? Will you trust that God will protect and provide?

The Cross of Calvary, the most important, powerful, compelling and talked about story of all time. In today's message, Pastor Ricky teaches that this historical event, foretold by prophets like Daniel and Isaiah, would shake the earth for generations to come. Your whole life has been shaped by the events that happened between Jesus, the Romans, and the Jews outside of Jerusalem, whether you realize it or not. As you tune into the Word of God today, reflect on the power of the Cross and what Jesus did for you.

In the business world, tech companies are faced with a major decision in the life of their products. Do they take an incremental approach to innovation, or a disruptive one? Disruptive innovation has its moments, but for many, incremental is the way to go. Today, Pastor Ricky teaches that each decision you make can either bring you closer to God or further from Him. If you want to innovate your spiritual life, allow every decision you make to develop you into a product that models Christ.

There's a phenomenon called “brain rot” that we've all experienced. It's the hyper fixation of something, usually online content, that is meaningless and not beneficial in any way. It grips our attention and causes our brains to rot away instead of doing something productive. Today, Pastor Ricky teaches that your walk with Christ ought to be apparent in all aspects of life. Have you experienced spiritual “brain rot” by placing the trivial things above Christ, or do you allow Him to be productive in your life?

Have you ever watched a movie and noticed how the director and cinematographers would focus on some seemingly random and meaningless detail, only to reveal the vast importance of that detail later in the plot? Well, in today's message, Pastor Ricky teaches that many details in your life might seem pointless, but God is going to use them as a part of your unique story. He works all things together for good, even when you don't notice. You only see the current scene, but God knows the whole plot.

We try, at all costs, to avoid the things that break our hearts. It's in our nature to run away from sorrow. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us just how amazing Jesus truly is. Not only did He not run away from being beaten and crucified but He pursued it His entire life. It wasn't something that He was looking forward to per se but He knew that it was necessary. So well a story about a man being falsely convicted and suffering for it breaks our hearts, we can also see that it was essential to our salvation and we can be so grateful for Him.

Have you ever been truly forsaken? Sometimes we feel alone or unloved but feeling it and it being true are two different things. When you know love and lose it can shatter you. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us that that was exactly what Jesus went through by being crucified. His entire life, He knew the love of His father intimately but when the time came for Him to die, it required Jesus to take all of our sin that caused God so much wrath and take it on Himself. He knew the wrath of God so that you might be saved from it.

We often let society's narrative translate our actions in order to feel better about them. We think about sin as this big thing when in reality we all sin every day. Pastor Ricky reminds us today how important it is to not downplay our sin because it is a big deal and it's only when we recognize the weight of our sin that we can truly appreciate the weight of what Christ carried on our behalf. We have to see our sin through God's perspective in order to understand what He did for us and to be truly thankful.

We don't always choose the wisest options in life. In fact, we often choose the option that we know isn't wise just because we're curious or because we don't think through the consequences. Pastor Ricky reminds us that even though Pilate tried to sway the crowd into releasing Jesus instead of a murderer, it was to no avail. They would rather see a dangerous man walk amongst them than an innocent one who threatened their way of life. And check your pride, because you would have done the same.

We all know what it's like to mess up but we still think of ourselves as the protagonist. We may be self-critical but at the end of the day, we're still selfishly inclined. What Pastor Ricky is going to remind us of today, is to have a little perspective. If you'd lived in Jesus' day, you would have been shouting along with the rest of the crowd to crucify Him. Don't think that you would have been brave enough to stand up and defend Him. We're all responsible for His crucifixion, not just the people who were there.

We don't always respond the way we should. When someone comes at us with harsh words, we feel the need to not only defend ourselves but often to strike back. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us of our Savior who endured everything for our sake and through it all, He never responded in sin. Not once did He speak biting words for the sake of hurting somebody. Instead, He responded only in calm silence and honesty. Don't doubt your Savior because He's proven His faithfulness to us a hundredfold.

There are people out there who don't mind going against the crowd but not everyone is comfortable with it. It can be a scary thing to speak out against so many voices. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us that going against the flow is essential to the Christian life. There are going to be times when you feel all alone in your principles. Remember that even the apostles couldn't always stand the pressure. But know that there are a sea of people that are clinging to the same rock as you, the solid rock of Christ.

What would you do in order to save your most valued possession? We don't always realize what we hold most dear until we realize that we're terrified to give it up. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us just how valuable Jesus is to us, even if we don't realize it. We owe Him everything. If the thought of giving Him up doesn't terrify you, then you don't fully understand all that He's done for you. Without Him, there is no hope, no love, no peace. We need to check our hearts and be sure that we value Christ above all else.

Sometimes things are only valuable to certain people. We get sentimental and attached to objects because they're worth something to us, even if they don't mean anything to anyone else. Today Pastor Ricky reminds us that now and then, our values become skewed. We see a much smaller scope compared to God and our values aren't as selective as they should be. If you're to see God for who He is, you'd realize that everything you have to give doesn't even begin to compare to all that He's given to you.

Many of us, knowing a deadline, wait until the last moment to do the important work that's necessary before the deadline. Jesus knew this about humanity and so clearly stated that we won't know the day or hour that He's coming. But as Pastor Ricky teaches us today, we do know that Jesus could come back at any time. Jesus encourages every believer to live like it could be at any moment. So don't waste your life in comfort or apathy. Live with an urgency to share the gospel with as many people as you can, while you can.

That day. Jesus talks on His way to the cross of “that day”. The day when He returns to gather believers together. Today Pastor Ricky will encourage you to remember that when you're torn and battered as a believer in Christ in this world, you have a cherished hope. Don't despair and feel powerless in the world around you. Jesus, the almighty King, will come in great power and glory on “that day” to gather His church and to rescue all those who believe in Him forever. God's story doesn't end here in the evil chaos. It ends with Him reigning forever.

In the days that we're living in now, Jesus said that there would be difficult days and terrible circumstances that we must go through as believers in Him. Fear, anxiety, anger, they're going to try and rise and fill your mind and heart. But as Pastor Ricky teaches today, God uses these hard times for a good purpose. God will use you as a witness, to share His goodness as you trust Him in difficulties. In all things, let the opposition turn into opportunities for the gospel witness. Let your faith and relationship to Christ shine through so the world can know Him.

The things that have been going on in our world in recent years are definitely troubling - wars, death, division, sickness, and poverty amongst many other evil things. It can seem like God has lost control and we're all doomed. But as Pastor Ricky teaches us today, Jesus said that these things would happen as His return draws nearer in order to prepare believers so that we wouldn't fear. We're in what He calls the “last days”. It's important in these turbulent last days to hold on tight to Him and confidently believe that God is still in control.

The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus' day were experts of scripture. They should have always been on the lookout and the first to see and recognize Jesus was the Messiah. Yet as Pastor Ricky teaches us today, they didn't recognize, and they certainly didn't acknowledge Jesus as the prophesied Messiah. Sadly, most of us today are much like the scribes. We know about Jesus but so often we want to hold onto and build our own kingdom and power. Are you willing to surrender your life to God, in order that you might be saved?