Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Spiritual Warfare: Verses about Satan

This past Sunday, in the sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20, I spent much of our time trying to help us all see what the Bible says/warns about Satan. Here is a list of the scriptures I referenced during that sermon (plus a few that didn’t make it into the sermon):

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

A Christ-Centered Christmas

Laura and I often get questions this time of year about the kind of family traditions we have established to help point our kids to the real meaning of Christmas. This week Laura posted a recipe on her foodie blog (JoyFoodSunshine.com) and she added the following section on what we do as a family. I hope it can be helpful for you!

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

What did prayer look like in the Old Testament?

There are many examples of prayer in the OT, by people all across the social spectrum (think: Daniel was thrown in the den of lions because of his daily prayer discipline; Esther appeals to all the Jews in Persia to fast and—by implication—pray; Jonah, David, Hannah, etc...).

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

A possible harmonization of the resurrection accounts.

Sunday morning of the resurrection, a small group of women had been waiting until after the Sabbath to buy/prepare spices/ointments for Jesus’ body (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-2, Luke 23:56). Not having had a funeral, nor adequate time to mourn for Jesus—due to the abrupt and unexpected nature of His midnight capture, rapid “kangaroo court” and subsequent crucifixion (all during a holiday, no less)—they head to the tomb…

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

How did Jesus perform His miracles?

Philippians 2:5-11 says that Jesus, “…emptied himself…humbled himself…becoming obedient.” During His earthly ministry Jesus retained His full divine nature…but did not exercise the attributes unique to that nature in his humanity (ex. Jesus’ physical earthly body was not omnipresent)

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Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Why we address Mormonism in sermons.

One of the things that we know is unique about the Mission Church amongst other Utah churches, is our decision to address Mormonism at our Sunday gatherings. I have often had people ask me why we approach our local cultural “by name” in a setting that is supposed to be open to all. I have at least four reasons for why we do this. This past Sunday, I shared one of these reasons with the congregation during the sermon. Here’s that point, with a few more thoughts:

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