Showing results by author "Gordan Runyan" in All Categories

Why do God's people suffer? Since the book of Job, this question has been as relevant as today's breaking news. Join pastor Gordan Runyan and his congregation as they continue to explore the Bible book of Deuteronomy. The main text of this Sunday's sermon is Deuteronomy 4:20, where Moses refers to Israel's stay in Egypt as time spent in "the iron furnace". This message can be a ray of warm light shining through life's dark clouds if you are willing to learn the purpose of your trials, and the kind intention of God.

This Ragtown Pulpit sermon comes from Deuteronomy 4:32-40 and continues Pastor Runyan's walk through the book. Moses gives the people a list of reasons that should urge them toward obedience to God's commands. These same reasons are presently powerful to warm and thrill the Christian heart, inspiring the believer to a life of whole-hearted devotion. In fact, it may be that there is no true worship that lacks these ingredients. This message is warm and pastoral, meant to move the ordinary believer onward in our walk with the Lord. Read and be greatly encouraged.

Pastor Runyan finishes his series on Deuteronomy 1-4, in preparation for tackling the commandments, which begin in earnest in Deuteronomy 5. In Deuteronomy 4:41-43, Moses mentions the fact that Israel designated three cities on the other side of the Jordan as Cities of Refuge. This is a curious topic in the Law of God, often generating as many questions as answers. In this sermon, Pastor Runyan explains how the Cities of Refuge were meant to work in real life. He highlights principles of justice which we would all do well to remember even in our modern day. Then he explores the strong ...

In the Bible, what was the basis of the ancient people of God enjoying all the gracious promises that He gave to Abraham? Was it merely a matter of physical ancestry, or has it been (even from the book of Genesis) a matter of ethical/judicial action? Does a little Abrahamic blood in your veins buy you some sort of favor from God, even in spite of a persistent lack of faith? As we look at Deuteronomy 4:23-31, these questions are immensely relevant in our day. This is not a sermon about politics, though it does carry some obvious, political ramifications. Pastor Runyan leads us in an "...

This message is the third in Pastor Runyan's preaching series through the book of Deuteronomy, one more in the Ragtown Pulpit series. This important exhortation will help you avoid the mistake God's people made when they first stood on the banks of the Jordan River. They had all the right facts about the task ahead but failed to evaluate the evidence properly. As a result, they were frozen in fear. They doomed themselves to forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Moses now addresses the same challenge to the next generation, who watched their fathers fall in the desert. Make a sober ...

Has God really left it up to us to discover the best way to govern ourselves? Is "trial and error" on a national scale the best we can do as we form our civil governments? Imagine if God suddenly formed a bunch of people into a nation from scratch one day. Imagine God giving them a structure for their government and a relatively small set of rules and concepts for the purpose of protecting the most vulnerable members of society. It might be worthwhile to study those things. Of course, that is precisely what happened in the early stages of the biblical narrative. God brought Israel out of ...

This Ragtown Pulpit sermon is taken from Deuteronomy 2:1-9 and is part of Pastor Gordan Runyan's series preaching through the entire book. Through Moses, on the verge of the Promised Land, God recounts how he gave other nations their land as an inheritance. He was also about to give Israel its land in the same way. The message explains the origin of nations and expounds on God's sovereign plan for the kingdoms of the world. It explains the "Deuteronomy 32 Worldview" and the Divine Council doctrine, relating it to the goal of the gospel of Jesus Christ. What does it mean when we confess that...

This Ragtown Pulpit sermon is about the second Psalm, and its place in the hearts and minds of believers. Specifically, the dilemma concerning Psalm 2 is this: Why don't believers love it more than they do? It literally has everything you'd think a Christian would want in a very short passage. Christ himself is all over and throughout this Old Testament text. It's filled with promises of God's faithfulness and the victory of Christ's kingdom. Nevertheless, you've probably never heard anyone, anywhere, claim it as their favorite. That's just weird. There are reasons for this. This sermon ...

This series of 40 daily meditations is taken from King David's iconic prayer of repentance, the 51st Psalm. Deepen your walk with a devotional guide that manages to teach solid theology while also touching the tender heart. This book would be a wonderful personal study for the penitent believer during the season of Lent, written from an Evangelical Baptist perspective. Experience true repentance. Understand concepts like grace, faith, and forgiveness in a deeper, more biblical way.

This Ragtown Pulpit series installment is a sermon on Deuteronomy 1:34-46. The incident of Israel's rebellion at the door of the Promised Land, and the oath of God that doomed that generation to die in the wilderness, is an iconic event. That's an understatement, actually. It becomes the Bible's most oft-repeated warning. Moses retells the story in our text, but that's only the first of several recountings found in both Testaments of the Bible. Pastor Runyan shows how we need to heed the warning right now, as much as any people at any time. Will we be like those whose bodies fell in the ...

Christians often seem to have a weirdly uncomfortable relationship with the thought of obeying God's commandments. They're scared of getting gummed up in "works righteousness" or legalism. This needs to stop. The Gospel will be adorned, not harmed in some way, by Christians who do God's will. Jesus obeyed God completely. Either we're supposed to be like Him, or we're not. This sermon takes the encouraging words of Moses, given to Israel on the verge of crossing into Canaan, and draws out several powerful blessings that God attaches to the covenant faithfulness of His people.

"As we come to this next section of text in our slow march through Deuteronomy, I cannot overstate its relevance for us today. When you look around, you see the ongoing disintegration of our nation’s harmony and morality; and the threatening clouds on the horizon that may signal something much darker. I only ask for your patient attention as we walk through this Scripture passage, and find it speaking directly to our need." This Ragtown Pulpit sermon continues Pastor Runyan's series in the book of Deuteronomy. Specifically, we're in chapter four, verses 9 - 14, Take comfort in a profound,...

Why doesn't the Bible explicitly put an end to slavery as an institution? That's a criticism that is often leveled against the Scripture. Pastor Gordan Runyan's sermon shows that slavery cannot survive where the Gospel of Jesus Christ is believed. The New Testament may not tell slave-owners to set their slaves free, but it does teach radical principles that make slavery untenable. Gospel principles spell the death of slavery over time. This sermon is part of The Ragtown Pulpit sermon series.

The first in Pastor Runyan's preaching series on Deuteronomy. A very informative and inspiring take on the Biblical symbolism present in the move of God's people from Mount Sinai to Mount Horeb in Bashan. Move from Victory to Victory with this life-giving message.

"Somebody, please, make it all make sense!" This kind of plea is made frequently in our world. In this message, pastor Gordan Runyan points the reader to Jesus Christ, the One who interprets all things. What the Lord thinks, that is what is true. Without this bedrock assertion, truth has no rational starting point. The apostle Paul was on trial in Acts 26, and he made the bold assertion that he was not preaching anything new when he brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles. He claimed he was merely being consistent with Moses and the prophets. This sermon seeks to show ...

This item is a single sermon from pastor Gordan Runyan, of the Ragtown Pulpit, a ministry of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari, New Mexico. It is an expository message on the parable told by Jotham in Judges 9. In this narrative, the trees of the field are seeking a king to reign over them. They approach the olive tree, the fig tree, and the grapevine, but all these are too busy fulfilling their God-given callings to stop and be the king over the trees. Finally, the desperate trees approach the bramble, who is happy to be asked. Jotham warns them that this could end up destroying them ...

In this 34 page booklet (a significant expansion of the original 14 page article,) Christian preacher and patriot, Gordan Runyan examines libertarian political philosophy in light of the Bible. Runyan is a former Republican Party County Chairman and past member of the GOP State Central Committee in New Mexico. He now considers himself a Christian LIbertarian, precisely because he sees the Bible's teaching on civil government leading in that direction. The Ron Paul 2012 campaign is over. But only a fool would ignore its impact. Libertarians are often dismissed as rope-smoking peace-niks, who...

This sermon introduces the topic of Biblical giants: the Nephalim, or Rephaim. It is not a deep dive into the topic, although it does contain some recommendations for further research. It briefly examines the non-supernatural view of Genesis 6, that says the "sons of God" mentioned in that passage are not fallen angels but rather the godly line of Seth. It explains why that view doesn't do a great job of accounting for all the data in the text. This message also briefly summarizes the Nephilim narrative found in the ancient book of 1 Enoch, some of which is affirmed by New Testament writers...

This sermon was originally preached from the Ragtown Pulpit, in Immanuel Baptist Church of Tucumcari, New Mexico. It is part of Pastor Runyan's current series, a verse-by-verse exposition of the Bible book of Deuteronomy. In Deuteronomy 1:9-18 we see the layout of God's own, simple design for civil government. It may shock you in its simplicity. You may think it's impractical or completely unworkable, but this is what God gave to His new nation, expecting it to work. In fact, it was meant to be a blessing and to preserve for them all the good blessings of God-given liberty.

This message is meant to encourage people to trust God enough to resist the urge for instant gratification, in order to gain better long-term results. Two and a half tribes in Israel asked for their inheritance of land to be given to them on the "other side" of the Jordan, outside the original boundaries of the Promised Land. Was this a request made in faith or in disbelief? The bargain they made with Moses, who was initially suspicious, also represented a "big ask". It challenged their faith, courage, and valor as men of God. This sermon has immediate application to how we live our lives. ...