Dillon Community Church

Pastor Ryan Leeds begins a three week sermon series on Gratitude

Gratitude is more than a warm feeling we get when life goes well. Scripture calls us to a posture of thankfulness that is rooted in remembering God's goodness, not just reacting to favorable circumstances. Several things block genuine gratitude, including pride, entitlement, and self-loathing, and all three share a common thread: they resist dependence on God. True gratitude requires us to acknowledge that we need what God has given us. Practical habits like slowing down and keeping a gratitude journal can help train our eyes to see His provision in everyday life. Gratitude is not a feeling we wait for. It is a posture we practice.

Pastor Ryan Leeds concludes his series in 1 Corinthians

Living a kingdom life is not about chasing extraordinary spiritual experiences. It is built through small, faithful, ordinary decisions made day after day. Paul closes his letter to the Corinthians with practical instructions on giving, relationships, and standing firm in faith. He challenges them to give generously, consistently, and appropriately, not out of social obligation, but as an act of trust in God. The way we handle money reveals how much we actually trust Jesus with our lives. And the relationships we find difficult are not obstacles to avoid but opportunities for ministry and growth. Transformation rarely comes through the big moments. It comes through the quiet, everyday habits that slowly shape us into the people God is calling us to be.

Pastor Ryan preaches on 1 Corinthians chapter 15

The resurrection of Jesus is not just a future hope. It is the foundation for how we live today. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul makes clear that without the resurrection, faith collapses entirely. Because Christ has been raised, our sacrifices, our service, and our daily choices to die to self all carry eternal weight. Jesus described Himself as a seed that falls into the ground and dies, producing much fruit, and He calls His followers into that same pattern of life. The resurrection means that nothing done in obedience to Him is ever wasted. Our labor in the Lord is not in vain.

Pastor Jim Howard returns for a message in 1 Corinthians

First Corinthians 14 is often treated as a debate about spiritual gifts, but its deeper message is about love. Paul's concern was not whether the Corinthians were using the gift of tongues, but how they were using it. When worship becomes unintelligible, it excludes people rather than welcoming them. Paul's four analogies, drawn from teaching, music, trumpet calls, and foreign languages, all point to the same truth: communication that cannot be understood does not build anyone up. Spirit and understanding must work together, not compete with each other. The principle running through the entire chapter is simple but costly: put others first. Every gift, every practice, and every decision about how a community gathers should be filtered through one question. Does this build people up and help them belong?

Pastor Ryan preaches in 1 Corinthians chapter 13

Please note: We experienced a building power outage during today's service, so unfortunately we lost a few moments of audio mid sermon.

First Corinthians 13 is one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, but familiarity can cause us to miss its real challenge. Paul wrote these words not as a poem for weddings, but as a correction to a self-centered, divided church community. The word he uses for love is agape, a Greek term describing a covenant commitment rather than a fleeting feeling. Paul lists fifteen verbs to describe love, making clear that love is something you do, not just something you feel. Love is patient, kind, and free from envy, pride, and bitterness. It does not keep a record of wrongs, just as God does not count our sins against us. Love always protects, trusts, hopes, and perseveres, even when it is costly and inconvenient. It is not a feeling you wait for. It is a choice you make.

Pastor Ryan Leeds preaches a message from 1 Corinthians chapter 12

Every follower of Jesus has been given a spiritual gift, not just pastors or leaders, but every single member of the body of Christ. Spiritual gifts are not the same as natural talents. They are abilities empowered by God, given for the good of the community rather than for personal recognition. Paul makes clear in First Corinthians 12 that the Spirit distributes gifts to each person individually, meaning no one in the church is unnecessary. When any member fails to use their gift, the whole body is affected. Discovering your gift starts not with a personality test, but with paying attention to where your heart is already being drawn and where God seems to be using you to bring life to others. The church functions best when every part is working together, each person contributing their unique gift toward something bigger than themselves.

Guest speaker Dr. Judy Diehl picks up the sermon series, A Holy Mess, with a message from 1 Corinthians chapter 11

First Corinthians 11 addresses two issues that seem unrelated at first: head coverings and the Lord's Supper. Both, however, point to the same root problem in the Corinthian church, which was pride and a lack of genuine care for others. Paul was not establishing timeless rules about what to wear in church. He was calling believers to honor God and one another in the way they gathered. The Lord's Supper had been turned into a display of social status, with wealthier members eating while poorer ones went without. True worship is not about outward appearances or personal privilege. It is about fixing our attention on Christ and genuinely serving the people around us. The call to love one another selflessly is just as urgent today as it was in first-century Corinth.

Pastor Ryan continues his series titled A Holy Mess

Faith gets complicated the moment it starts touching our habits, relationships, and sense of personal freedom. Drawing from 1 Corinthians 10, Paul uses Israel's story as a warning: God's people were delivered, sustained, and provided for, yet they kept turning back to what they left behind. The same temptation exists today, not just toward ancient idols, but toward comfort, career, political identity, and anything else that quietly takes the place of God. The Lord's table stands as the antidote, reminding us that we are welcomed not because of our performance, but because of what Jesus has done. Love is attentive to others without being anxious, and freedom is best expressed when we care more about another person's growth than about exercising our own rights. The question worth sitting with is simple: what is currently forming you more than the Gospel is?

Continuing his series A Holy Mess, Pastor Ryan preaches in 1 Corinthians 9

Paul's letter to the Corinthians raises a question that cuts to the heart of Christian living: what are you willing to give up for the sake of someone else's experience of God? In 1 Corinthians 9, Paul makes a compelling case that he had genuine, legitimate rights as an apostle, including financial support, and then explains why he chose not to use them. He worked with his hands, lowered himself socially, and refused to let anything tangle up his ability to preach freely to everyone. His willingness to become all things to all people was not about pretending or compromising his identity. It was about surrendering real freedoms so he could stay connected to people and point them toward Christ. The gospel had become the lens through which Paul saw everything, and that single affection ordered all his desires and decisions. The invitation for us is the same: not just to know the gospel, but to let it reshape how we hold our rights, our preferences, and our relationships.

Pastor Ryan Leeds continues teaching through 1 Corinthians

Knowledge can tell you what you are allowed to do. But love asks a harder question: what does freedom actually require of you? Paul's words in 1 Corinthians 8 are just as relevant today as they were for the early church. Being theologically right is not the same as being spiritually finished. Are you holding onto your rights so tightly that you have stopped asking what love requires? This one will challenge you.