If there was a sub-title to this message it would be, “the sad disappearance of chasing butterflies and blowing bubbles in the Church.” Let’s face it—the rigors, the challenges, and the seriousness of this world seems to demand that we all grow up and pitch in to help steer this world from the edge of eternal destruction. And it would be a reasonable conclusion that there’s simply no time now to splash in puddles, catch fireflies, and skip rocks down at Chatfield dam anymore. Right? After all, Christianity is a serious business. But, this serious business of Christianity was never intended to be lived out by boring, stale, dull, unenthusiastic adults. It was meant to be lived out by born again believers set on fire with awe, wonder, thrill, and worship. It was meant to be lived out with unmuted childlikeness. May it not be said of us that the pterodactyl has flown its last flight.

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» Take these messages deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/

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The Christian life is all about new beginnings, fresh starts, and resurrected Life. But the resurrected Life that we enjoy as believers was discovered in and through the death of Christ. And that’s a key pattern in God’s Kingdom: Life always rises out of death, or it could be said, death always precedes Life. From Noah to Abraham to Moses to Jesus Christ—the greatest stories in history all draw from this same redemptive theme of Life emerging out of death and beauty rising forth out ash. May our life stories prove this same miracle.

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» Take these messages deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/

» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/

» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/

» Discover more resources, books, and sermons from Eric Ludy by going to: https://ellerslie.com/about-eric-ludy/

God’s leadership over our lives takes us through peaks and valleys. It takes us through rivers, deserts, and over rickety wooden bridges. But whatever the terrain and the altitude, He simply asks that we trust Him implicitly. Conceptually, this idea of “trusting God” doesn’t seem like it should be a difficult task. But, come to find out, spiritual staying-power and soul loyalty is something that demands God’s assistance. The enemy will hit us from every side to try and take us off God’s directed course. However, the simple believer that is willing to follow through storm, wind, hail, and hell’s bluster, will find that God is ALWAYS faithful and true to His Word.

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» Take these messages deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/

» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/

» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/

» Discover more resources, books, and sermons from Eric Ludy by going to: https://ellerslie.com/about-eric-ludy/

Much like the Christian life, the Golden Plover is created to do something that, apart from God, could never be accomplished. God designed this humble little bird to fly 2,500 miles non-stop from Alaska to Hawaii every year. But, biologically, mathematically, and aeronautically this feat is not just improbable—it’s impossible. As believers, like the Golden Plover, we were created for the impossible. The question is, are we, like the Plover ready to head out over the stormy ocean waters and watch what God will do when we trust Him to lead us to the Promised Land.

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» Take these messages deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/

» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/

» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/

» Discover more resources, books, and sermons from Eric Ludy by going to: https://ellerslie.com/about-eric-ludy/

In the CrossFit world of athletic fitness, a WOD is a “Workout of the Day.” A "Hero WOD" is an amped up version of a WOD. It’s a commemorative workout that honors a fallen hero. Performing a “Hero WOD” is a wonderful way to the describe the daily Christian life. It’s intense, it’s difficult, it’s sweat-inducing, and it is all done to honor the Ultimate Hero, Jesus Christ. This message emphasizes the athletic dimensionality of the Christian experience—pointing to the exercise of prayer as one of the chief ways the Christian can honor “The Fallen and Resurrected Hero” and change the world while they are doing it.

This is a message about seeing the impossible happen—where two completely opposite things like bitter and sweet stop their bickering and backbiting and finally join forces to form something neither on their own ever could. That’s the make-up of a Latte. And, supposedly—for those that like lattes—this unique blend of contrasting flavors is kind of a special thing. Reconciliation is like that. It is a ministry that God has entrusted His Church in order to see two opposing factions drop their differences and, instead, embrace their similarities. Reconciliation is a miracle every time it happens. It’s about time we, as the Church, begin utilizing this amazing Reconciliation ministry that we have been entrusted to serve up a few more short fat tall skinny lattes.

The Kingdom of Heaven appears upside down to us here on Earth. For instance, to be great, you must become small. To go high, you must first go low. To get strong, you must embrace weakness. This is not how we naturally think and reason, which is why many of us struggle with adapting to the Kingdom Life of small, low, and weak equating to great, high and strong. On this Resurrection Sunday, Eric reminds us of how God Himself demonstrated this phenomenon in and through the life, death, and resurrection of His beloved Son.

Procrastination is not a friend of functional Christianity. Rather, it’s a sworn enemy. Everything that makes Christianity work is based on “doing” and “action”. God goes out of his way to explain to us in the Scriptures that we can’t be tares, we must be wheat. We can’t be virgins without oil, we must be virgins with oil. And we mustn’t be goats that doddle, but sheep that do. Christianity was never meant to be a mere mental game where we sit around and muse and conjecture about theology. It was intended to be actually vigorously applied and lived out. And for that to happen, procrastination can no longer be invited into the storyline of our lives.

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» Take these messages deeper and be discipled in person by Eric, Leslie, Nathan, and the team at Ellerslie in one of our upcoming discipleship programs – learn more at: https://ellerslie.com/be-discipled/

» Receive our free “Five Keys to Walking Through Difficulty” PDF by going to: https://ellerslie.com/subscribe/

» If you have been blessed by Ellerslie, consider partnering with the ministry by donating at: https://ellerslie.com/donate/

» Discover more resources, books, and sermons from Eric Ludy by going to: https://ellerslie.com/about-eric-ludy/