The Word at Westminster

Join in with this prayer from the Easter Sunday service 2025.

Despair. Like when a light within you is extinguished and you no longer think it can be rekindled. This must have been what the disciples were feeling after the crucifixion. Despair about the nation, Jesus’ teachings, their friend, even themselves. In The Seventh Seal a medieval knight plays chess with the prince of darkness. At the end of the movie, the prince makes a final move: Checkmate! And that’s the end of the movie. But, as Tony Campolo explains, world chess champion Bobby Fischer was watching. Why is it ending? The King has one more magnificent move! This is central to the resurrection. The King had one more move — and he continues to have one more move. Just when you think you’re out of options, just when the prince of darkness whispers ‘Checkmate!’, the King has one more move. This Easter sermon explores Mark 16:1-8 and invites you into the story of a corpse-raising God when it comes to our own apparent impossibilities. The King has one more move. He is risen! Note: The song referenced toward the end is “Not Abandoned” by George Dennehy. You can see and hear it by clicking here.

A few years ago a child asked Pastor Ruttan this question. This is his response.

Pandemonium and God’s Plan in the Blood of Good Friday The word pandemonium literally means “demons everywhere.” That’s surely how it must have felt to the disciples when Jesus was “convicted,” tortured and crucified. Pain, blood, nails, thorns, despair, darkness. But there weren’t ONLY demons. We need to zoom out from the initial horror to see the bigger picture about what was truly happening. When we do that we discover stable hope—not only for the disciples then, but for us today living in a world that can easily be described as pandemonium. The text is Mark 14:53 – 15:47. Please note that it was read in full before this recording. The passages Pastor Ruttan quotes mostly refer back to this text. God is in control, even when you are not. And that is very good news.

A young shepherd boy named David was not “impressive.” But God chose him. He saw his heart and said Yes. A poor widow put less than a penny into the offering box. It wasn’t “big.” But it was. God saw her heart and said Yes. Guess what? Other people are more popular than you, more successful than you, more attractive than you, richer than you, smarter than you and stronger than you. And that’s okay. The knowledge that our God “looks on the heart” is both liberating and hopeful. But how? Why? This sermon explores the Great Commandment and also the offering of the poor widow in Mark 12:28-44. Jesus made his disciples look at what she did. That is what faith looks like! In this text you’ll discover fresh liberation and hope for you life as well.

There are a lot of good things in life. But if we put good things in a bad order, good things can leave us in a bad way. Augustine said: “The essence of sin is disordered love.” We love different things. We love family and friends, we love music and certain foods, we love work (sometimes), hobbies, and God (hopefully)! But if we get the order wrong, we are living in a way that is unharmonious with God’s plan and our design. In this sermon on Mark 12:1-27 Jesus faces the established leadership who try to trap him. During one of those attacks he offered what is now a famous line: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” We unpack the text, explore this statement about putting God first and correctly ordering priorities, and apply it to our lives today. “The essence of sin is disordered love.”

Do you want to be “like Jesus”? Dallas Willard observes that many Christians want to do Christlike things—whether that be loving their enemies or courageously defending God’s truth—yet neglect the formative practices that help get them there. “We cannot behave “on the spot” as [Jesus] did and taught if in the rest of our time we live as everybody else does.” This podcast episode is an invitation to become more like Jesus by more closely emulating his own spiritual practices. When and how did he pray? Was it “in the moment,” did he follow a formula, or was it both? What was the role of Scripture or the synagogue? We don’t need to adopt his exact routine, but there is a lot to be learned by what he did on a daily and weekly basis. I think this will open our eyes and provide some fresh motivation and fortification for the task to which God has called us—a task which includes Christlikeness on a narrow and often bumpy path. This episode is in the form of an audio essay. It was originally released on ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan‘ and is an article Pastor Ruttan wrote for LivingInTruth.ca called “Live like Jesus, Be like Jesus.” Originally, it was written with Christian leaders in mind. But really, what he says is applicable for all. You can link to the original written version here. That’s where you can also find the footnotes the quotes that he is about to share. Also be sure to check out LivinginTruth.ca. It is a website committed to upholding the historic reformed tradition. Here it is. What can we learn from Jesus’ personal devotional life?

Join in with this prayer from the service at Westminster on March 23, 2025. “Lord over all, as a king who leads his own people onto the battlefield; as a shepherd who chases away salivating wolves; as a Father who lifts a crying child into his arms saying, ‘It will be okay, I love you’; Lord God the Almighty, the all-loving, we come to you because of you…”

Jesus overturned the tables of the money-changers in the Jerusalem Temple. I wouldn’t call it violence, but perhaps righteous anger. But why did he do it? And what might this teach us about the dignity and purpose we have as followers of Christ? To answer these questions we need to look at some big picture biblical themes. That’s just what we do in this sermon on Mark 10:46 – 11:33. We trace the presence of God through the temple, the resurrected Christ, and into his people. Because of this, Jesus’ people have a dignity and purpose which is unique and powerful. Note: During the live-stream recording of this sermon, a few short ‘blackout blips’ occurred. Each lasts for only a few seconds.

This episode is an answer Pastor Ruttan has provided to a question submitted through Westminster’s Q and A Forum. The question (submitted anonymously) is this: “I’ve heard it said that when Christ returns (I believe some people refer to this as “the rapture”?), he will take all those who believed and have already died to heaven first; then he will take all the living believers. It’s a little unsettling to think that our much loved ones who were faithful believers are just hanging out somewhere waiting for that day. Could you also say a clarifying word about the terms ‘purgatory’ and ‘the millennium’?” Please note that we’ve slightly condensed the question, but have tried to capture it’s main elements. You can also read the answer in text form in blog format on our website here.