-
Overworking and Burnout: What Are the Signs? (Plus Practical Steps and Biblical Wisdom)
Burnout. It’s a word we hear often but don’t fully understand until it hits us. For me, this subject is deeply personal. In 2009, I hit a wall—a wall I didn’t even see coming. I was pastoring at a church that could only be described as abusive. Weekly meetings stretched into the early hours…
-
The Wednesday Check-In: How TACO’s Discord Provides Digital Christian Community
Listen to “Stream Story” Podcast Episodes here: In today’s digital world, communities are finding new ways to gather, connect, and support each other, even when they’re separated by thousands of miles. The TACO Discord has grown into a vibrant online community, acting as a digital church providing pastoral care for the digital age. Recently,…
-
How to be MAXIMUM Christian!
What’s the secret to living for God – for REAL? What steps do we need to take in order to discover God’s plan for our lives and how to live it out in an effective and fruitful way? This message might help. Podcast Version: https://anchor.fm/xtianninja/episodes/How-to-be-MAXIMUM-Christian-e1kltm3 I Need Your Support I’m doing this full-time and…
-
Christians: God Is NOT ANGRY at you when you sin!
Sometimes God has the reputation of being angry all the time – and a lot of people who grew up in the church were told that when they do something wrong God is disappointed and will come down on them hard if they don’t behave. Is that true? Podcast Version: https://anchor.fm/xtianninja/episodes/Christians-God-Is-NOT-ANGRY-at-you-when-you-sin-e1jogau I Need Your…
-
When God Asks the Impossible
Sometimes life throws stuff at us that we just can’t handle. Illness, relationship issues, responsibilities, big needs, cause all of us to shrink back and ask ourselves, “Why would God bring this into my life?”. There are a lot of people who have faced the same situation. What are we to do? Podcast Version:…
-
But What if They’re a Really Good Person?
If you’ve ever asked, “Do good people go to heaven?”, give this a watch: XtianNinja talks through the thought process we see in Romans 1-3 and explains why understanding it is critical to understanding what Christians call “salvation”. Podcast Version: https://anchor.fm/xtianninja/episodes/But-What-if-Theyre-a-Really-Good-Person-e1iplfr I split my YouTube channels, so if you’re looking for the fun and…
-
How to Find Your Life’s Path (Should You Follow Your Heart?) – Psalm 25 Devo & Discussion
New YT Video: You, as you sit there right now are a ball of potential energy – but where should you release that energy? How do you know what to do? Should you trust your instincts? Go with your gut? Follow your feelings? Or is there another way?(Psalm 25 Devotional and Discussion) I really…
-
We’re Changing the Online World Right Now! (Join Us!)
“When I came across XtianNinja’s channel on Twitch, I recognized he had a goal that was more than simply streaming and playing games. As I continued watching his streams, I saw how happy he was (and is) to be a true friend and reach out to those who may be hurting, whether they’re comfortable…
-
Wrestling Appolyon + A Ministry Update & Mentoring Creators
In this week’s episode, I finally get around to continuing our Pilgrims Progress study and then share a clip from a recent stream where I explain a new Christian Content Creator Mentorship Program that I’m going to be moving into the next phase of very soon. Podcast Link:https://anchor.fm/xtianninja/episodes/Wrestling-Appolyon–A-Ministry-Update–Mentoring-Creators-e18vnbc Script: Whaddup! Happy Weekend! I’m Al…
-
Dear Christian Content Creators – We Need to Talk!
God has been laying the importance of using my gifts and experience to mentor Christian Content Creators – and I want you to be part of it. When I was first called to full-time Twitch ministry I thought it was going to be primarily evangelistic – but God has been moving me toward not…
-
Why You Should Argue With Yourself, The Danger of “Fear of Man”, P.P. 6.5: Hard Questions
In this episode: Listening to that little voice inside you, how “Fear of Man” can wreck your life, and why you should let people ask you extremely personal questions. Podcast Link:https://anchor.fm/xtianninja/episodes/Why-You-Should-Argue-With-Yourself–The-Danger-of-Fear-of-Man–P-P–6-5-Hard-Questions-e14ju6e/a-a65hugm Interesting Links: – Article: https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/from-gods-to-gallows– Pilgrim’s Progress Free Book: https://www.desiringgod.org/books/the-pilgrims-progress– Support XtianNinja OM: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=7XJFMCJKESBEG Unedited Script: Hello, today is Friday, July 16th, 2021 and welcome…
-
Humble Streaming: Being a Servant to Your Viewers (Devos & Chill Ep. 3 – Phil 1:1-2)
What does it mean to be a “servant of all” when you are a Twitch Streamer, YouTuber, or social media star? What does humility look like as a Christian internet personality? This message is from my Twitch channel’s Devos & Chill series where, on Thursdays, I give a short message before we get into…
-
Where the Rubber Meets the Road (The Sermon on the Plain)
Please turn to Luke 6:17 where we read about Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain”. We’re used to hearing about the “Sermon on the Mount”, but Jesus obviously preached the same message more than once to different audiences. So, this is the “Sermon on the Plain” and you’re going to see lots of parallels to…
-
Why Did Jesus Suffer? (Lent 2020)
During the season of Lent is the time when we fast and contemplate the sufferings of Jesus, what they teach us about Him, and what they mean to us. Please open up to Mark 8:27-38: “And Jesus went on with his disciples to the villages of Caesarea Philippi. And on the way he asked…
-
Drag Your Sin Into the Light (Gospel of John Series)
“Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, ‘Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered…
-
The Drug of Self-Deception (Gospel of John Series)
**Sorry, no audio this week** “So the Jews said to him, ‘What sign do you show us for doing these things?’ Jesus answered them, ‘Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews then said, ‘It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it…
-
What Do You Seek? (Gospel of John Series)
“The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And…
-
A Firm Foundation for the New Year
There seems to be a feeling of flux right now in the world. I’m sure you’ve felt it. A feeling of instability in our hearts, community, country, and world. There are people going through relationship transitions as the dynamics of their marriage, friendships, partnerships and workplace change around them. Some are facing personal transitions…
-
The Thread of Light (Gospel of John Series)
John’s Purpose A few weeks ago I told you that the gospel of John is all about explaining who Jesus really is. If you recall, I said that by the time the Gospel of John was written, the gospels and letters of the New Testament had already been written and been circulating individually for…
-
Elijah: A Nature Like Ours – Burnout, Depression & The Let-Down Effect
Turn with me to 1 Kings 18:1–40 and I want to read two stories about the prophet Elijah today, but we need to read a large section so we can get the whole story. A lot has already happened up to this point, but you’ll figure out how things are going as we…
-
Free Sermon Collection E-Books
I’ve decided to take some of my older sermon series’ and put them into e-book format. My hope is that they bless God’s church and bring Him glory. Right now, I’ve only put together my 2008 series on James (it also has a Small Group study guide) but I hope to be releasing…
-
How Do I Experience The Power of God? (HC:LD18c)
Imagine following in the footsteps of Moses – how huge a task that would be. Moses is probably the most important person in the Old Testament. It was through Moses that the nation of Israel was delivered from Egypt. It was Moses that led and judged the people for decades. It was Moses…
-
Lent & The Beatitudes (Lent 2019)
“Seeing the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down, his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the…
-
Jesus: Liar, Lunatic, or Lord? (HC:LD14)
*Sorry, no audio this week. 😞 * One of the people in that video, the artist, Makoto Fujimura said that at one point in his life Jesus became real to him. He said, “This historic figure was no longer just this historical figure… and he wanted to reveal himself to me in a way I…
-
Why is Jesus Called “Only Begotten Son” and “Lord”? (HC:LD13)
The question we’ve been answering for the past few weeks is “Who is Jesus?” We’re going through the Heidelberg Catechism, which, at this point, is taking us through a line-by-line, word-by-word study of the Apostles Creed, the oldest and most reliable summary of Christian beliefs we have. It goes all the way back…
-
Why is Jesus Called “Christ”? (HC:LD12)
Turn with me to Mark 8:27-33. This scripture occurs in the final year of Jesus’ earthly ministry as His focus has grown more steadily towards His journey to Jerusalem and the cross. He has already gathered His disciples and they have been with Him for a couple years. He has already done much travelling…
-
Why is Jesus called “Jesus”? (HC:LD11)
“Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins…
-
God the Provider (HC:LD10)
I’m consistently amazed how we can start studying something months ago, using commentaries written over a hundred years ago, studying a catechism written 450 years ago, based on scriptures written thousands of years ago – and how they all speak directly to our needs for today. Truly, our Lord, His Holy Spirit and…
-
How to Prepare for The Lord’s Supper
Audio: Text: Tonight we are going to be doing something a little special, something we haven’t done since I’ve been the pastor here, and that is to have an evening communion service. It’s interesting how this happened. Some people came to me and said that they felt like they wanted to “change up communion”.…
-
Bible Reading, Prayer & Your Crucible
Audio: Text: I’ve been doing something lately that I rarely do. I can’t actually remember when I’ve done this before. I’ve been reading books for myself. I know that sounds weird to say, but usually when I read, study, or watch something, it’s so that I can learn for the sake of my job.…
-
Introduction to The Apostles Creed (HC:LD7)
Audio: Text: Please open up to Romans 10:9-17 and let’s read it together, and then I have a short video to show you: “…because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart…
-
Stewarding Wealth 2: Why Are We So Anxious About Money? (And What Can We Do About It?)
Audio: Text: https://player.rightnow.org/99573 So, that little video is a reminder of what we’ve been studying over the past while, especially last week where we looked at Jesus teaching in Matthew 6 about how we ought to be setting our priorities when it comes to stewarding our treasures (meaning our finances and possessions). The biggest…
-
Ashamed to Be a Christian?
Audio: Text: We’re about to enter into a time historically known as “Passion Week”, starting on Palm Sunday and ending on Easter Sunday. It’s a week filled with history and meaning. This is the most important week of the Christian calendar. Centuries of history have revolved around it and believers from all manner of…
-
Stewarding Our Abilities: Understanding Why You Are Here
Audio: Sermon Text: We’ve been working through a series on Stewardship over the past few weeks. Stewardship is the word that Christians usually use to talk about how we see and use all the good things that God has given us in this world. Our jumping off point was 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 where Paul…
-
Common to Man: The Process of Sanctification
Audio: Text: “For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, and all ate the same spiritual food, and all drank the same spiritual drink. For…
-
Run To Win (Why Christians Practice Self Control)
Audio: Text: “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do…
-
Bloom Where You Are Planted (Life On Purpose)
Audio: Text: The Right Tool Check out some of these weird tools. Maybe they’re only weird to me. Have any of you used these? Here’s my favourite, which is awesome, and it’s the Stanley #1 Odd Jobs. I absolutely love this guy’s description. We’ve all used the wrong tool to try to accomplish…
-
What Makes a True Apostle?
This is the second of a two-part series on 1 Corinthians 4, so please open up to 1 Corinthians 4 and let’s read verse 1 to remind ourselves about what we talked about last week. It says, “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of…
-
God’s Plan For Your Life is Revealed Not Discovered (Stop Looking, Start Listening)
If you remember last week, we learned that regardless of what the multitudes of unbelievers in this world think, there really is objective truth and objective morality, and those things were written long, long ago by God Himself. And therefore, despite all of the dramatic changes of opinion which seek to envelop us, and all…
-
Called & Cleaned Part 3: A Biblical Case for Pursuing a Godly Life
Right now, and over the past few weeks, we’ve been working through an extended introduction to the first few verse of Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians. It begins as most letters began, by stating who the letter was from and who it was to. It reads: “Paul, called by the will of God…
-
A Woe to the Greedy & Warning about Debt
Changing Sin Confronting people’s sin isn’t very popular these days. More and more the world is handing out excuses rather than judgements and punishments. It’s not that I’m advocating for the return of the Salem Witch trials or the Spanish Inquisition, but I do believe that we have lost something incredibly important to human…
-
Life Sucks Then You Die
Please open up to Habakkuk 2, and as you get there let me give you a quick reminder of what we’ve covered so far. Quick Review Habakkuk is a book that show us a conversation between God and one of his prophets about the incredibly sinful things he’s seeing around him. His whole nation…
-
Crop Top Day, Individualism, and Submission to Authority (Mark 10:32-45)
“And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him, saying, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son…
-
How to Deal with Doubts and Unbelief (Mark 7:31-8:33)
Today we’re going to study Mark 7:31-8:33. At first these stories are going to seem disconnected, but as we read them, hopefully you will see a theme developing. I also want you to listen for similar phrases and events. It’s set up as a sort of sandwich where we see a couple of similar events,…
-
How Temptation Works
Podcast Audio: The Bug Zapper Have you ever sat outside next to a bug zapper? My parents have one. It’s a little gadget that hangs from the roof of their patio and glows. And the light that emits from it attracts bugs… and when they get close… ZAP! I know exactly how those little…
-
Satan and Demons (Origin, Powers, Defeat and Going On The Offensive)
Podcast Audio: Three Realms Sun Tzu in “The Art of War” says, “Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster.” That’s a great quote and it’s hugely applicable to the Christian life. One could almost summarize the path of discipleship using almost those words. Being a Christian…
-
“The Growing Seed” – Having Patience when God Seems Inactive
I’m back from vacation and looking forward to catching up on my posts. I had a wonderful holiday and I’m very thankful to the church for allowing me to be able to spend time with my family taking a break. I hope you are all able to do the same this summer. Podcast Audio: Planting…
-
“Weigh It Out” – The Importance of Being a Doer and Not Just a Hearer
Podcast Audio: I want to take you on a bit of a journey around scripture today. We’re still in the Gospel of Mark, but we’re going to jump around a bit to explain part of what we are going to talk about today. First, open up to Mark 4:21-25. Let’s remember our context. Jesus…
-
Spiritual Journaling Using Scripture as your Guide
Podcast Audio: Last week I gave you a brief introduction to Spiritual Journaling using Scripture as your Guide. (If you haven’t read that yet, I suggest you start there.) I said that the system I’m teaching isn’t the only way to meet with God, but it is one way that has worked for me…