Eric Ludy Sermon Podcast: Church at Ellerslie

Prophecies, tongues, and spiritual gifts will cease when the perfect has come, according to 1 Corinthians 13:10. But what is the perfect that is to come? This question has caused confusion and misunderstanding within the Body of Christ today and as a result, has split the church. In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy gives biblical understanding to this difficult topic and with graceful dexterity shows how the Shadow Kingdom all pointed toward one end—Jesus Christ. Whether you’re a declared cessationist or a charismatic (or have no idea what those words mean), this message on spiritual gifts and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit will embolden your faith and exhort you to keep your focus on Christ.

Too often we forget that in the Christian life suffering is a good thing. We are commanded to rejoice when faced with trials, to have exceeding gladness in the midst of suffering, and to endure tribulation and testings with endless joy. But the question we must ask ourselves is do we actually believe (and live) this? Using the “happy” story of a grape, Pastor Eric Ludy takes us to “Grape School” to discover the hidden secret in the training of a grape. Through these simple yet powerful lessons, you will understand the joy of embracing any hardships and difficulties in your life. This sermon was originally given on March 12, 2017.

Just as a physical body has several systems that help it function and live (e.g.: respiratory, endocrine, digestive, etc) so too the Body of Christ has systems that help it live fully for the glory of God. In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy compares the physical body to the Church and explains why each of us is necessary for its function and life—although we don’t all have the same gifting, function, or role. The difficulty of being a body is that we typically think in terms of our “system” while forgetting the others are just as important—thus allowing irritants and frustration from others to distract us from Christ. The heart of this message is Eric’s appeal to allow God to take every irritation and frustration and, just like an oyster, use the irritant to produce pearls.

The Christian is one who has a reason to smile. And this reason doesn't change . . . ever. The Christian possesses an indomitable joy, an impervious sense of gratitude, and an ever-present buoying grace that supplies, not just an endurance through difficulties, but shouts of joy in the midst of the darkest of life's turns.

In this straightforward and illuminating message, Pastor Eric Ludy addresses the often misunderstood concept of spiritual gifts and how they work together within the Body of Christ today. As a Body, we are called to function together and showcase Jesus Christ. As such, the Bible says He has given us different gifts in order to bring about that purpose. Rather than an intimidating sermon on a concept that can divide the Church, Pastor Ludy lays a biblical foundation for the gifts and reminds us that the chief gifts given by God are Himself and love.

In 1799, the French military leader Napoleon Bonaparte sized political power of France, soon becoming its emperor. During his coronation, in a display of pomp and arrogance, Napoleon took the crown from the Pope and crowned himself. This self-crowned king is a great picture of how the flesh works in our life—always seeking to rule, master, control, and wear the crown. But this is completely opposite as to how Christ works. In God’s “Upside Down Kingdom” the first become last, the least become greatest, and we discover life in the midst of death. Christians are called to think like a king—the True King—which means we must become humble, a lowly servant, and not seek our own gain. In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy compares the thinking of two kings—Napoleon and Jesus Christ—and exhorts us to spurn the coronation of Napoleon (i.e.: flesh) and instead follow the six baffling secrets of Jesus’ coronation.

The forehead, spiritually, is a determined position or declaration of defiance—either against God or against darkness. As Christians, we are biblically called to don a noble brow—a position of trust, reliance, and dependence upon Christ Jesus. We are to be immutable, fixed, unchanging, and unalterable in our position because we know Jesus and His character; or as Hebrews declares, God has promised and He cannot lie. In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy declares Christians are people of freed foreheads—believers who have been freed from the mark of sin and who can now be marked by Christ—and therefore can live with noble brows.

We often look at the lives of heroic Christians like Apostle Paul, Charles Spurgeon, or others and forget the hardships and difficulties they faced. Mrs. Charles B. Cowman wrote that “Every flower, even the fairest, has its shadow beneath it as it swings in the sunlight. Where there is much light there is much shade.” Though lives like Paul and Spurgeon shown much light, their lives were also marked by much “shade.” In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy encourages us to embrace the difficulties, trials, and hardships that come our way—as that is often a tool God uses to declare the power of the Gospel even more through our lives. For as Paul reminds us, “Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”

The process of growth and maturity takes time, even for a church. In this revealing sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy examines what it means for the church to function in a full-scale Biblical pattern of truth, love, obedience, holiness, and Holy-Spirit power. Though we often want our lives and churches to showcase the remarkable, Pastor Ludy reminds us that God often uses the mundane and unremarkable as His way to reveal the majesty, triumph, and glory of Jesus Christ. But this message is more than theory—Pastor Ludy gives practical thoughts of how we are to live as Christians if our lives are to showcase Jesus Christ … and they likely won’t be what you expect.

A shepherd, in the simplest sense, is one who keeps out wolves and comforts sheep (and knows the difference between the two). Good shepherds are willing to sacrifice their safety, comfort, and pleasure for the sake of those in their keep—the same should be true for anyone in leadership—fathers, husbands, pastors, etc. In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy discusses the role and art of shepherding in the Bible and applies that challenging concept to everyone in a headship position. Pastor Ludy gives practical ideas on how to shepherd ourselves and others well, and also reminds those under headship that we must extend grace and mercy to those above us.

Too often as believers, we attempt to fulfill the calling, commands, and commission of the Christian life in our own strength, resource, and power. We rush to the practical living aspects of Christianity and forget those aspects must be built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ and His work within our lives. As Pastor Eric Ludy says in reference to the book of Ephesians, we start in chapter four (living the Christian life) but forget the first three chapters (the power to do so). In this compelling sermon, Pastor Ludy reminds us that if we are going to live triumphant Christian lives that actually work, we must start in “chapter one” and let the outflow of our lives be from the resource, work, and power of Christ within.

There is a vast difference between visiting somewhere and abiding there. When you visit, its a purposeful short-term stopover; but to abide means to move in, remain, and stay regardless of difficulty or trial. And this is certainly true in our spiritual lives—do we abide in Christ or do we merely show up for a short visit? In this message, Pastor Eric Ludy discusses the single most important thing ever: Jesus Christ and how He alone is to be the center, the preeminent, and the focus of the Christian life. As you learn about the four major earthquakes of the New Testament, you will discover that Christ is to be the epicenter of your life.

Every generation has had to face attack on the Word of God. Even in the Garden, the serpent questioned God’s word by asking, “Did God really say?” And this same assault rears its head in every generation—often attacking the God-ness of the text, the preservation of the text, and the sufficiency of the text. In this foundational sermon on the all important Word of God, Pastor Eric Ludy lifts high the preeminence of Jesus Christ and gives ten points of evidence to show the construction, preservation, and accuracy of the Bible. This message will supercharge your faith, give you greater confidence in the Word of God, and cause you to fall in love with Scripture all over again.

The Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 10 that “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” He continues a few verses later and declares “how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace.” In this sermon, Pastor Eric Ludy gives a special message dedicated to the His Little Feet International Children’s Choir and expounds upon Paul’s message in Romans 10 about declaring the Gospel to the world. Pastor Eric uses a simple picture anyone could replicate to walk through 27 incredible aspects of the Gospel, and in so doing, causes us to freshly reflect upon the amazing wonder of the cross and the depth of the Gospel we can experience in our lives.

“Greet one another with a holy kiss.” This passage from Paul is one that most Christians today are slightly nervous about. Kiss? How do we practically apply that as the body of Christ? In this slightly humorous (and awkward) message, Pastor Eric Ludy examines the book of Philemon and what it means for the Church to have purposeful affection for others in the Body of Christ and “prepare a guest room” for the brethren, thereby applying the phileo love of Christ.