RUF @ Western Carolina

We wrap up our exploration of Narnia and Middle Earth talking about the virtue of friendship: why is it so important for us? How is it a help?

Finishing out our conversation on salvation with Sanctification, we then turn to the vision of the Christian life and faithfulness these works set out. How do we live well in light of eternity?

Day 2 explores the reality of evil in Narnia and Middle Earth, as well as the unseen but ever-active hand of providence. We also look at Repentance and Justification, what happens when the intervention of God begins to work in our own lives.

I got to teach this seminar at SuCo, and wanted to share it here for any who want to give it a listen! This first day we talk about the goal of the seminar, as well as Christ-figures in Middle Earth. Thanks to Fleming Ruteledge, Peter Kreeft, Mike Kruger, Louis Markos, and many others whose insights and teaching on these works has been so helpful!

Finishing up our series on the ordinary means of grace, we take a look this week at the NT sacraments: baptism and the Lord's Supper. Where do they come from? What are they? What do they mean? And how do we use them as means of grace despite our tendency to make them about ourselves?

Continuing our short series on the ordinary means of grace, how can we enjoy prayer in a fuller way? How does it sustain us in the Christian life?

What does it take to grow as a Christian? What are we supposed to do? In this mini-series, we're working through the "ordinary means of grace," looking at the common, easily available things that God uses to grow us and mature us by his grace. This week, we look at the Word: why is it a means of grace, and how can we actually enjoy it?

How does David respond after being exposed for his sin? How should we?

This week we look at the story of David and Bathsheba, asking how David could have gone so far astray. What does this reveal about sin in our own lives?

What does a right response to the grace of God in our lives look like? Where does the power to respond in that way come from?

Last time we looked at the Ark coming into Jerusalem, asking what happens when God comes into the center of our lives? This week we're looking at David's desire to build a "house" for God, and asking the question "how do we relate to God? If he's at the center, what is that relationship like?"

This week we skip ahead to the time when David is king over Israel. One of his first acts is to bring the Ark of the Covenant back to the center of the nation. But what happens to us when we invite God into the center of our lives?

About half of the psalms contain an element of lament, but what does it mean to lament? Why do we struggle to do it? What might it sound like in our personal prayer life and corporate worship?

What is friendship? What stands in the way of our friendships? How can we be freed to be committed, present, and vulnerable as we build friendships with others?

This week we look at the familiar story of David and Goliath, asking how it fits into the bigger story of Scripture and points to Jesus' victory before it points to our own personal struggle against the giants of our lives.

This week we start out our new sermon series looking at the life of David. Listen in as we meet him for the first time when Samuel anoints him as the next king of Israel.

This week we look at the empty tomb, taking a brief detour into the field of textual criticism.

How are Christians to navigate the political realities of the era they find themselves in? What are some of the complications, and what does it mean to "render unto Caesar that which is his, and to God that which is God's?"

This week we look at the common ways that we can miss who Jesus is when we're too focused on what we want him to do for us.

This week we look at Peter's confession and the Transfiguration. What does it mean that Jesus is the Christ? What does it mean that he is God? And why does he keep telling people not to tell anyone about him?!?

Jesus' conflict with the Pharisees is escalating: why does Jesus call them "hypocrites?"

What do you do when the way God works doesn't make sense? When he seems "late" in giving you what you need?

This week we look at two encounters Jesus had with the Pharisees on the Sabbath.

Continuing in Mark, we look at the surprising things that Jesus says in the healing of the paralytic.

What does it mean to follow Jesus? This week we look at the call of the first disciples, and consider what it means for us when Jesus calls us to follow Him.

Fall '24 - This semester we're looking at the Gospel of Mark, learning what it means to follow the servant king. Listen in to the first large group of the year!

What are we to do about suffering in the Christian life? What encouragement is there in suffering?

What tools does God give us that we might have confidence that we belong to Him?

How do we, as believers, think about our inability to live in the ways we really want to?

This week we look at Paul's discussion on sin and the law: are they the same thing? Opposed? How are Christians to relate to God's law if we're under grace?

This week we look at another angle of Paul's response to the misunderstanding that grace frees us to sin: our conversion. What does it mean that we've chosen a new master?

Paul starts applying our union with Christ to our day-to-day Christian lives, first addressing how we think about ourselves.

Jumping into our series on Romans, we look at how we can know that we are loved by the Father.

This week, we introduce our series on the book of Romans, talking about how Paul gets to the good news of chapter 5 through the long road of chapters 1-4.

If mini-marriage isn't the way we should date, what else is there? This week we imagine what the fruit of the Spirit might look like if they showed up in our dating relationships.

Definitions can be tricky things, especially when it comes to dating. What does it mean to be dating, and what expectations should we bring into that kind of relationship?

What does the Bible have to say about marriage? What is marriage? And how should an understanding of those things impact our relationships now?

From Jan 16, 2024, we kick off our relationship mini-series looking at what the Bible has to say about singleness.

After hearing from our graduating seniors, we had just a few minutes for a quick reflection on Eph 4-5 and Paul's command to "put on the new self."

We wrap up our series on Genesis looking at God's covenant with Abram, and tracing the Covenant of Grace through the story of Genesis so far, and the rest of the OT.

We look this week at the Call of Abram, and on of the purposes of God's blessing in our life. We also talk about God's will, and how to live in wisdom and trust.

This week we look at the Tower of Babel, and the modern ways that we seek to find security or "make a name for ourselves."

This week we continue with the Noah story, looking at Noah's obedience and the introduction of the sacrifice in the Biblical story.

This week we look at the beginning of the Noah story, and meditating on the fact that grace comes first.

This week we look at the story of Cain and Abel, looking for signs of grace even as humanity moves further and further from God.

The week we look at the effects of the Fall: "there is a crack, a crack in everything."

This week we start our look at the Fall, focusing on the ways that temptation works and God's pursuit of his people, even in their sin.

Last week we looked at what humanity is for. This week we're still on the topic of humanity, but asking a more fundamental question: who are we? How has God made us? What does it mean to be human?

This week we look at the Creation Mandate and ask what it means to be human.

We kick off our series on Genesis looking at chapter 1 and what creation reveals about our God.

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