Ora et labora is a Latin phrase with origins in Christian monastic communities. It was a maxim of monks and nuns throughout the history of the church that captured what they thought the Christian life was all about: prayer and work. And there certainly is an integral connection between our prayer and our work. Listen as RUF Campus Minister Ethan Brown preaches on Psalm 46:10 showing how this passage of Scripture, through the help of the Holy Spirit, can help us lead lives of prayer and work for the glory of God.

Part of a series: Glory-Light Shines: Meditations on the Mission of the Church

From Sunday Worship, September 8, 2024.

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Do you believe that God can bring change into your life? Christians often struggle with sin and weakness, wondering if things will ever get better, often tempted to believe they won’t. But the good news for these weary believers is that Christ came (in part) to change us. And he has given us everything we need to that end. But how does it happen? Listen as Pastor Luke preaches on 2 Corinthians 3:18, showing that as we behold Christ in the Scriptures, through the ministry of the word, we become like Christ by the power of the Spirit.

Part of a series: Glory-Light Shines: Meditations on the Mission of the Church

From Sunday Worship, September 1, 2024.

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What gets you out of bed in the morning? In order to get moving, something has to grip your heart. Maybe it’s a new job, a new goal, that first cup of coffee. In Habakkuk 2, we find a better source of hope, of strength, of power to grip your heart. To move you. To get you out of bed. “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.” (ESV) Listen as Pastor Luke Herche preaches on this verse, first providing the context of Habakkuk, then looking at the language and vocabulary of the verse itself, and finally sharing three implications: delight in the glory of the Lord in Christ, wait for that glory to come, and reflect that glory to the world.

Part of a series: Glory-Light Shines: Meditations on the Mission of the Church

From Sunday Worship, August 25, 2024.

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How do you finish well? What does that even look like? Do we measure it by achieved goals? Or by the legacies we leave? Scores of people who have achieved their goals remain unsatisfied, and even once-great legacies can change when viewed through the ever-shifting lenses of time and culture. And all people, no matter how successful, reach the same end... How can we finish well if we all die?

As the book of 1 Peter comes to an end, we find in verse 12 the purpose of the letter: Peter sought to help his readers understand the grace of God and to stand firm. To remain steadfast. To finish well. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on 1 Peter 5:5–14, focusing on Peter’s exhortation to his readers to be humble, because of God’s providential care; to resist, because we know God’s truth; and to have hope, because we can trust in God’s promises.

Part of a series on 1 Peter.

From Sunday Worship, August 18, 2024.

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Church elder Daniel Thies preaches on Psalm 130, showing how this text reveals the depths of our sin, the source of our righteousness, and the certainty of our hope.

Part of a mini sermon series: Songs of Ascent.

From Sunday Evening Worship, August 11, 2024.

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Listen as church elder Brian Aldridge preaches on 1 Peter 5:1–5, drawing our attention to four points: fellow shepherds (verse 1), willing shepherds (verses 2–3), victorious shepherds (verse 4), and responsive sheep (verse 5).

Part of a series on 1 Peter.

From Sunday Worship, August 11, 2024.

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Have you ever had a hard week? Or a hard month? Or year? Or decade? The thing about hardship is that when those weeks get harder and time goes on, you can grow weary or despairing, crying out “How long?” The book of 1 Peter is written to sojourners who are suffering. They are facing trials and they will face more trials. They are in Christ, children of God, and partakers of immense privileges, but one thing this association with Jesus has brought them is difficulty. In the midst of their suffering, with many temptations to despair and discouragement, Peter gently reminds them that because they are in Christ they can face suffering. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on 1 Peter 4:12–19, showing that suffering should not surprise us, but instead it helps us to see and show the glory of God, driving us not to shame, but to trust.

Part of a series on 1 Peter.

From Sunday Worship, August 4, 2024.

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Jesus is coming back soon. Are you ready? What does it mean to be ready? In the book of 1 Peter, the apostle Peter gives us some answers as to what it looks like to be prepared for Jesus’ return. Writing to suffering Christians, exiled from their homes, Peter reminds these believers that the end of all things is at hand and commands them, in the midst of this, to glorify God in everything they do. Listen as Reformed University Fellowship intern Tim Sandridge preaches on 1 Peter 4:7–11, looking firstly at what Peter means when he says the end of all things is at hand, and then focusing on how Peter commands those to whom he is writing—and us today—to glorify God. Tim shares that glorifying God in all things looks like glorifying God in your godly character, in your earnest love, and in your good stewardship.

Part of a series on 1 Peter.

From Sunday Worship, July 28, 2024.

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Feeling like an outsider is a strange and uncomfortable thing. You can feel like an outsider anywhere, be it in church, at your job, with your family. In the book of 1 Peter, Peter refers to Christians as sojourners. We, as Christians, are ones who are on the outside looking in. We are in the world, but not of it.

1 Peter 4:1–6 begins a culmination of a theme that has been woven throughout the book on what it means to live as Christians and as sojourners, now specifically addressing the reality that Christians will face rejection in this world. Listen as Pastor Josué Pernillo preaches on this passage, explaining that we are called to reject sin, showing how this rejection of sin leads to our rejection in the world, but how it is also tied with our final vindication in God in the age to come.

Part of a series on 1 Peter.

From Sunday Worship, July 21, 2024.

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Writing of Psalm 127 Derek Kidner says, “One of the most telling features of this short poem is that it singles out three of our most universal preoccupations — building, security, raising a family — and makes us ask what they all amount to and to whom we owe them.” Rather than looking at the psalm according to these three common preoccupations, church elder Jamie Chesser proposes we look at it instead in two parts, in order to reveal something more about God’s providence. Listen as Jamie teaches on this passage, looking first at the warnings giving about our striving, when done apart from God, and then looking, in contrast, at God’s perfect provision.

Part of a mini sermon series: Songs of Ascent.

From Sunday Evening Worship, July 14, 2024.

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