"The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction." As he begins his Summer Sermon Series on Proverbs, Pastor Ryan Cogswell observes that God's creation runs by God's rules. Just as the ocean rises and falls at high tide and low, we can choose to hear and follow God's rules and they will make us wiser. 

It's human nature to let our fears block our view of God. It happened even to Jesus' disciples, in particular Peter. In his April 22, 2018 sermon, Pastor Ryan Cogswell emphasizes the importance of keeping our eyes on Christ, the Good Shepherd, who always leads us to greener pastures.

​If you are curious about the activity of the RCS Discipleship Learning Community team, here are some resources relevant to the presentation they gave on November 12th, 2017. We talked about how people grow in their faith and how churches can support the growth of faith among our people.

Here is a link to an article about the stages of faith formation and how we progress:

http://www.janethagberg.com/stages-of-faith-descriptions.html

A diagram of the information found in that article:

Can't God just make things happen that we want to have happen? The answer is yes, He can. But sometimes He asks us to get out of our comfort zones--sometimes WAY out--to teach us and deepen our faith in Him. That's what he did with Joshua when he gave him instructions on how to make the walls of Jericho come a tumblin' down, as the famous song lyrics go. Here's a link to Pastor Ryan Cogswell's July 30th sermon on the Battle of Jericho.

The Ten Commandments are more than just a set of moral rules. As RCS Pastor Ryan Cogswell explains, the Commandments that Moses received are about our covenant, our relationship with God.

With God, nothing is impossible. As Moses and the children of Israel found out, not even splitting the ocean in two and providing a path across is too hard for our mighty God.  In his sermon about the Parting of the Red Sea, Pastor Ryan Cogswell emphasizes the importance of letting God fight the fight for us.

​Sometimes, what God asks us to do is not only difficult but deeply painful. Through Isaac's story, from Genesis 22: 1-18, Pastor Ryan Cogswell shows us that God made a way out for a man about to kill his only son, and also that God had His own Son pay the penalty of death to make a way out for those who believe in Him.

​The Bible story from Genesis about Noah's Ark is often thought of as a lovely children's story about a family and animals who were saved during a catastrophe. In his June 18, 2017 sermon, Pastor Ryan Cogswell pulls back the curtain on what was a less-than-fairy-tale event that showed how a true man of God obeyed, emerged and endured through hardship. Genesis 6-9 is a scriptural parallel to Jesus's obedience, emergence and endurance on behalf of every human being.

Pastor Ryan Cogswell's Summer 2017 Sermon Series, "Creation, Fall and Redemption: The Story of God" begins in the Garden of Eden. He links his message about the Old Testament story of Creation and The Fall to its meaning for us today. Although Adam and Eve chose to separate from God in the beginning, through Jesus Christ's atonement for us we can be reunited with Him. The scriptures used in this sermon are from Genesis 3.

What role does the Holy Spirit play in our lives? In this June 4, 2017 sermon, Pastor Ryan Cogswell explains how the Holy Spirit shines a light on not only what we need to know but what we need to understand.