Posts by Ben Sadler (Page 3)
Victory News – January 28, 2022
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, When I was a young boy, I always thought the Lord’s Supper was a strange practice. Why stop preaching, singing, and praying to eat a wafer and a thimbleful of wine? But over the years, the more I study the Scriptures and the more I walk with Jesus, the more I see the power in this seemingly foolish meal. The Lord’s Supper, or Holy Communion, is a meal that brings us together (which is the meaning…
Victory News – January 14, 2022
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, Becoming a Christian and following Jesus is a cross-cultural experience. So many things in the Bible feel foreign, foolish, and even just plain wrong. The greatest conflict between culture and Christianity seems to be around the topic of marriage and sex. This is not a new problem. When Paul started new churches throughout the Roman Empire, he had to teach and explain why God designed sex to be experienced only in a marriage between one man…
Victory News – December 10, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, It’s a Wonderful Life is one of my favorite Christmas movies. And I’m not alone. It is considered one of the greatest movies of all time. Which is surprising, because when it was first released, it was a box office flop. But over time, it grew in popularity and now it is a Christmas classic. How did this happen? What makes this movie resonate with so many people throughout the decades? Why do we keep watching…
Victory News – November 12, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, How could a loving God send people to hell? That is a challenging question in our current culture. To most people (even strong Christians), God’s final judgment seems too extreme. In fact, there are a number of people who have left the Christian faith because they no longer believe in what they call “eternal conscious torment” (ECT). But has the rejection of hell helped our society? Has it made us more loving and less judgmental? I…
Victory News – October 29, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, Recently, a number of well-known Christian leaders have publicly renounced their faith. Some of these include: Joshua Harris, the best-selling author of I Kissed Dating Goodbye; Marty Sampson, the lead singer of the Christian band Hillsong; and Abraham Piper, the son of John Piper, a well-known preacher. Maybe you don’t recognize some of these “Christian celebrities”, but you probably know someone close to you who has walked away from Christianity. In fact, maybe you are going…
Victory News – October 15, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, This weekend we are finishing up our sermon series on the book of Nehemiah. So far this book has been a masterclass in how to carry out a God-sized vision. Under Nehemiah’s leadership, God’s people seem to do everything necessary to be a great success. But that’s why the last chapter of this book is such a surprise. After only a few years of completing their mission, they are backsliding into their old ways of apathy,…
Victory News – October 1, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, How would you summarize the message of most politically-driven media? Let’s start by describing what you would hear from the other side, whatever the other side means to you. You’d probably hear something like, “Those people on the other side are getting in our way. They are hurting our nation, our democracy. They are stopping political progress.” Now let’s say you turned the channel back to your side. What is the message you would hear? Probably…
Victory News – September 17, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, We are purpose-driven creatures. That’s how God designed us. We need a reason to get out of bed in the morning. So what is your greater purpose? What has God called you to do? In last week’s sermon, we heard that God gave Nehemiah a big purpose. He was called to rebuild the walls around Jerusalem that had been torn down from the Babylonian invasion. But how could he accomplish such a big vision? He needed…
Victory News – September 3, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, This weekend we are finishing up our series on the life of David. I hope you have enjoyed this series as much as I have. We are going to close this series by looking at David’s “last words”. These aren’t necessarily the last words he ever spoke, but these are the words by which he wanted to be remembered. Surprisingly, even after ruining his life, his relationships, and his kingdom, David is not filled with regret,…
Victory News – August 6, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, Have you heard of worship wars? It happens when one person’s worship music preference is pitted against another person’s preference. Someone says, “Worship should be led with the organ, not a band. The music should be more solemn, more referent!” Then another person chimes in, “No, worship should be more joyful and exuberant. That’s why you need a band to worship Jesus!” Round and round the argument goes until the church is divided over personal opinions.…
Victory News – July 23, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, Without good friends we just aren’t going to be able to make it in this life. At least that’s what Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, once said: One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Proverbs 18:24) When you need financial support, a friend will be there to help you get by. When you are depressed or anxious, a…
Victory News – July 9, 2021
PASTOR’S MESSAGE Hi Friends, This weekend starts a new sermon series based on the life of David. David is one of the most important characters in the story of our salvation. Even before he was king, David defeated Israel’s great enemy, Goliath. He virtuously stood up to King Saul’s threats. He wrote many of Israel’s most famous prayers in the book of Psalms. And, as king, he funded the building of Solomon’s Temple. Yet, what the Lord valued most in…