Richard Ellis Talks

For the believer, God provides an exit out of every temptation so that we don't have to sin. It helps to focus on the things God's saved us from struggling with, rather than getting discouraged about the things we do struggle with!

The Bible's filled with stories of people who stepped out in obedience to God no matter how crazy it seemed. Obedience begins with being faithful in the little things, even if they don't make sense. That's when we learn to obey Him, leading Him to call us to greater things!

When we live in sin, the devil has full access to our lives. While he can't possess a believer, he can get us to believe his lies, which infiltrates into our actions. We can resist his efforts by meditating on Scripture, worship, and letting Jesus have control.

It's best to fear God and obey Him no matter what it costs, because not fearing Him puts us in a dangerous position! The more we know God, the more we fear Him with a certain awe and respect that He deserves.

We've all fallen short when it comes to hitting the "bull's eye" of perfect holiness. No matter how much we act like Christians, we'll never hit the mark until we allow Jesus to live in us and through us!

A crucial part of the Christian life is studying Scripture. God wants us to be immersed in the Word, so that He can use us, not only to help explain truth and life to those who are seeking it, but also to portray what it says by living it out!

God sent His only Son to die on our behalf. That's the ultimate proof of whether or not He loves us! So now we can rest in our faith, not in our feelings, that His love is constant and complete.

What's it really mean to be "His hands, His feet"? Well, that's the honor and responsibility that's given to believers to invest in others, to share God's love in action. We'll give an account for the life that God gave us. Did we spend it, or did we invest it?

When Jesus rose from the dead, even His own disciples doubted Him and raised questions. It's okay to have questions, but a believer must also come to a point of faith in Christ and His living power.

The Bible tells us specifically that Mary was a virgin, and that the Holy Spirit enabled her to conceive not just any baby, but God Himself within her womb. The fact that Jesus wasn't just a great human, but rather God Himself, makes all the difference in Him having the ability to save us!

The Gospel story is that Jesus died a brutal death, was buried as a dead man, and was raised to life. It's because of His sacrifice and resurrection that we can be saved from our inevitable spiritual death. It's important that we share this good news with everyone we encounter, knowing that it 's only God who can give them the faith to believe it.

Jesus' last words that He spoke while hanging on the cross proclaimed the completion of His payment for mankind's sin - "It is finished." His death was the full payment once and for all, taking all of our sin upon Himself, and finishing all that was needed to set us free!

Prayer doesn't have to be an eloquent speech, but rather a simple conversation with God. Just find a quiet place alone to talk to Him. Prayer helps build relationship with God and allows for the opportunity for us to see God answer our prayers!

Everyone starts off with our heads buried in sin, but God made a way to take away all our sin! However, He allows some consequences to stay, so we can learn from our mistakes. The more we dive into the Word and apply what we read, the more God’s Spirit works in us and through us.

We only produce good fruit in our life (like love, kindness, patience, joy) when we're connected to Christ. The result of good fruit, is that others see that our life is transformed, and they want to get connected to Christ so that they can be transformed as well!