Better News Podcast

Pastor Ricky will be asking you this question today, “Do you place all your trust in God or in idols?”.  Your actions will reveal if you place your trust in God. You can't say that you believe God will provide for you and then live in worry and forsake the call God has on your life in order to stock up on money and resources. When times get tough do you run to the world for comfort or do you...

Pastor Ricky will be teaching today about the importance of beholding our God and falling deeper in love with Him. The only way that you can become more Christ-like, the only way you can rid yourself of sin, is if you focus on Christ and His presence. When you spend that intimate time with Christ in communion, you will naturally begin to become more and more like Him. Don't allow sin to be your ma...

God has created man with a longing for the Lord. Before you came to the Lord, you had a God-shaped void in your heart that only God could fill and satisfy. Now that you've received Christ into your heart, you have the peace of God that surpasses all understanding, but you still have the flesh within you that tries to sway you into longing for everything other than God. Always remember your first l...

God wants us to become disciples of Christ, and He also calls us to make disciples. Today, Pastor Ricky will teach us that one of the primary ways this happens is by living life together with other believers. The early church devoted themselves to learning, studying Scripture, praying, and sharing life with one another. As they did, they grew together—becoming more devoted to Jesus and more like H...

Today Pastor Ricky will remind us that early in the first church, all the people were together, and God continued to add to their numbers. As they were coming to Him, God was reshaping them, He was transforming them. As they became disciples, everything they did changed. It was all built around Jesus as they were totally devoted to Him. He became their identity. We will learn that this is what God...

We’ve learned that God handed the mission of the church to ordinary people. We also learned that God gave them the power to accomplish it. Today Pastor Ricky will teach us that the way this was accomplished was through everyday life. We will hear that the people were dedicated to fellowship, teaching, praying, and taking care of each other‘s needs. As they were living life on a day-to-day basis, a...

God handed over His mission to the church. Today Pastor Ricky will remind us that it was not the leaders or hand-picked scholars of the day that the mission was given to. It was given to the church. It was ordinary people who are not impressive and even got made fun of at times. God called them, transformed them, and then sent them. The best part of all is that He even gave them the power to do th...

Our mission in life is to make disciples, that’s the goal that God has for us. Today Pastor Ricky will remind us that this is the most important thing. No matter what the world says, no matter what our career is or where we live, ultimately God wants to use us to make more disciples. In spite of what people thought, or in spite of what it looked like, Paul knew this. He was willing to give up what...

Today Pastor Ricky will teach us that most people think that Paul did not have success in his ministry.  He then asks us what is our definition of success, and who and what is it based on. Is it based on your own agenda or is it based on God’s agenda? We will see that although Paul’s circumstances may not have been or felt successful, he chose and had the opportunity to reach people for Chris...

Today Pastor Ricky will be focusing his attention on exhorting the leaders of the church. If you’re looked at as a type of leader or role model, or any type of deacon or pastor, you’re held at a higher accountability before God. The Bible teaches that you’re to live a  life that is above reproach so that no one can have an evil thing to say about you. Is this true about your life today? What...

Since every Christian is called to lead others to Christ, are you being a godly example and making disciples of Christ, or disciples after yourself? The false teachers are characterized as selfish and self-exalting. They’re always pointing people to themselves. Do you share any of the characteristics that define a false teacher? The best way you can discern and understand when someone is a false t...

Did you know that you belong to a royal priesthood and God desires to use you in unison with the rest of the body of Christ to further His kingdom? Every member in the church has the responsibility to act as a priest and lead others to Christ. Christ gave the Great Commission to go and preach the gospel and make disciples. It was not the “Great Suggestion”. The Lord calls you to invite unbelievers...

Today Pastor Ricky will be teaching on the church structure, what makes up the leadership, and the congregation. The nature of the congregation is likened to a body, with all body parts interconnected yet unique in purpose. In the body of Christ, some have the gifts of teaching, prophecy, hospitality, and mercy, along with many other different gifts. The question is, are you using your gifts to fu...

Preaching the gospel and making disciples is not just handing out a pamphlet with the gospel message. You’re to allow unbelievers to see the gospel demonstrated through your lifestyle, as well as the preaching of the Word. Are you laboring for the sake of those that are appointed unto salvation? Pastor Ricky will be teaching on what laboring for the sake of God’s elect looks like. It’s not always...

Today Pastor Ricky will be teaching on having the proper priorities in our Christian walk. Are you busy doing the good works that God has ordained you to accomplish? If the enemy can’t get you to fall into sin, he will keep you busy doing good things but not the good things that God wants you to be focused on at the time. The quality of your work is much better than having quantity. The Lord desir...

We have seen Christ moving all throughout the gospels in the book of Acts. But now, how is He operating in the church? Christ is moving through the power of His Holy Spirit through the lives of believers. The Lord has specifically set up an authority structure in order to keep the church organized. Jesus is the Great Shepherd watching over the church but He’s also set up under-shepherds in order t...

We have seen Christ moving all throughout the gospels in the book of Acts. But now, how is He operating in the church? Christ is moving through the power of His Holy Spirit through the lives of believers. The Lord has specifically set up an authority structure in order to keep the church organized. Jesus is the Great Shepherd watching over the church but He’s also set up under-shepherds in order t...

Pastor Ricky will be finishing up his series on loving. He will be emphasizing the importance of loving the community that Christ died for. As the body of Christ, we need to keep our priorities in order. Our biggest priority should be to reach the lost and make disciples. A great way to reach our community is to look at the example of the apostles in the book of Acts. The apostles were led by the...

Today Pastor Ricky will be asking you the question throughout his teaching, how will you be a witness for Jesus in the community that you live in? You’re commissioned by Christ to preach the Gospel, make disciples, and be a witness in this dark, unbelieving world. Are you being the salt of the earth and a light to the world? If your answer is no then you need to repent because these commands are n...

Today Pastor Ricky will be emphasizing the Lord’s command to love each other the same way that Christ has loved us. The apostle Paul says that he who is spiritual should restore such a one that has fallen with gentleness. You should love to the point where you will exhort and love other believers toward repentance. When some believers correct someone, it's often in the spirit of self-righteousness...

Do love others as humbly as Jesus loves others? The Lord loves you regardless of merit and regardless of your status. Jesus said and by this, all will know that you are my disciples by the love you have for one another. We’re all sinners saved by grace so we have no good reason to love others with respect to their merit. If you have a problem having unconditional love for others, it may be because...

The story of Jesus calming the storm and bringing freedom and healing to the demon-possed man, reveals the character of God. How could you not fall madly in love with Jesus? Pastor Ricky will be continuing his teaching on the character of Christ and falling more in love with Him. the man that had been demon-possessed begged Jesus that he might go with Him. For many believers, following Jesus becom...

When the disciples asked Christ what laws they should keep, Jesus said to them, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength”. All the commandments are summed up in this. In this text today, Pastor Ricky will be teaching on the importance of falling in love with the real Jesus. Many people worship a Jesus that they make in their ow...

You have nothing to fear. You may tell yourself that but sometimes the heart is hard to convince. As Pastor Ricky will encourage you in today’s message, you don’t have to be afraid of anything in this life. Even the ultimate fear, death itself, has lost its power for those that Christ has redeemed. Though you may feel sadness for those you leave, death is not a loss as a believer. But instead, it'...

Pride is a dangerous sin. It's a subtle and effective tactic of our enemy. He convinces you that you know better than God. You may experience some small success or victory and he convinces you that your own reason or feelings are to be credited and trusted to guide your decisions. As Pastor Ricky points out in the example of Herod, this man took pride in his position and supposed that he was as po...