Restoration Community Church

Resurrection Sunday 2022

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church speaks on the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Not only is the bodily resurrection of Jesus an event rooted in history, it also has ramifications for us today. The resurrection breaks the power of sin in our lives and breaks the shackles of death.

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gVnMUkohE1o

Passages: Matthew 28:1-15; 

Q&A Sunday - Russia and the End Times

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church addresses another Q&A Sunday where participants can submit questions. This question focuses on Russia and the End Times.

Question: "Is Russia in the Bible when it describes what happens in the End Times?"

Passages: Ezekiel 38:1-4; Revelation 20:7-8; Genesis 10:2

7 Deadly Sins - Vainglory

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church concludes our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at vainglory. Many lists of the deadly sins include pride, however, the church fathers like Thomas Aquinas listed pride as the root of all of the sins. While pride is the excessive focus on excellence in itself, vainglory is the fixation on the recognition for our excellence.

Passages: Matthew 23:27-28; Luke 18:9-14; Psalm 139:1-6,13-16

7 Deadly Sins - Envy

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church continues our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at envy. This vice takes root in our lives when we fixate on the goods that God has given someone else and are resentful of the life that God has given us. Consequently, envy prevents us from loving our neighbor with fidelity.

Passages: Luke 22:24; Matthew 20:1-16; Exodus 20:17; James 4:1-3; Isaiah 43:1-4

7 Deadly Sins - Sloth

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church continues our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at sloth. Contrary to common opinion, sloth is more than just laziness. Joseph Pieper suggests that busyness and a workaholic posture can be the telltale signs of sloth. It may sound counter-intuitive, but it fits with how the church fathers understood this vice.

Passages: Proverbs 26:14-15; Psalm 90:6; Psalm 27:14; Psalm 1:1-3

7 Deadly Sins - Lust

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church continues our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at lust. Lust is a disordered sexual desire that is used for personal gratification. Given this definition we need to acknowledge that sex was created good by God, but has been distorted. To remedy this vice we need to temper our desires and channel them in virtuous avenues.

Passages: 1 Corinthians 6:13-20; Genesis 1:27; Philippians 4:8

7 Deadly Sins - Greed

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church continues our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at greed. In the 1987 movie "Wall Street," Gordon Gekko famously said that "Greed...is good." We live in a society where the economic engine and the creation of wealth seems to be largely based around corporate greed. How do we reconcile this with the stories that Jesus taught about money?

Passages: Luke 12:16-21; Proverbs 30:7-9; Hebrews 13:5-6

7 Deadly Sins - Gluttony

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church continues our sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at gluttony. If food is essential to life, how do we define gluttony? What ways are we using food to fill us physically while we starve ourselves spiritually?

Passages: Matthew 11:18-19; 1 Corinthians 6:12; Matthew 6:16

7 Deadly Sins - Wrath

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church kicks off a new sermon series through the 7 deadly sins. This week we look at wrath. Is wrath the same thing as anger? How do we know that we have moved from anger to wrath? While each of the 7 deadly sins should be relatable to us, anger is something many of us struggle with regularly.

Passages: Ephesians 4:26-27; Matthew 5:21-22; Genesis 4:6-7

Biblical Safety Nets

Pastor Chris Ansell of Restoration Community Church takes a look at the concept of social safety nets. Government entitlement programs are highly debated in our political setting. Does the Bible give us any insight into whether Christians can support these programs? As we dive into Scripture, we see that the heart of God is one of compassion where he provides social programs to help others flourish.

Passages: Exodus 22:21-23; Zechariah 7:9-10; Isaiah 1:17; Psalm 146:9; Leviticus 19:9-10; Leviticus 25