Eric Ludy Sermon Podcast: Church at Ellerslie

This is a must-see! Simultaneously hilarious and deeply impacting, this message enunciates the ancient Gospel in a fresh new metaphor, conveying both its amazing goodness and wonderful power to save us from both the penalty and the power of sin.

When the apostle Paul and his traveling companion, Silas, were thrown into a dark prison cell, they did something very strange: they sang songs of praise. When Jesus was upon the Cross—beaten, abused, bleeding, mocked, reviled—He did a strange thing: He loved, He forgave, and He died for His murderers. The world does not know what to do with such behavior. When a man is squeezed, most commonly it is pride, anger, frustration, bitterness, and self-defensiveness that comes streaming out of him. But not the Christian man. Out of the Christian man streams life—the life of Jesus Christ.

The title of this message says it all. If you are needing grace for dealing with people, then this message is built just for you. Jesus Christ, through His Cross work, has supplied everything we need for excellence in our relationships with family members, friends, co-workers, and even those who treat us like dirt beneath their fingernail. So, instead of complaining that people are too difficult and too frustrating to love, let's go to Jesus and get the almighty grace we need to succeed.

This message proved the catalyst to a deeply moving week at Ellerslie. It's a call to rise up and play the part of the patriot - to feel what God feels, and thusly to do what God does. God did not stand by passively and allow sin to have its way in our lives. He actually did something about it. He stood up and played the patriot. Are we willing to do the same in this generation?

This message is a beautiful and awe-inspiring defense of the God-ness, Greatness, and Grandeur of Jesus Christ. Throughout Christian history, the integrity and divinity of Jesus has always been under attack, and even in our modern day, the barrage is fierce against Him. However, the Bible does not stutter on this point. And, likewise, this particular message doesn't stutter in its presentation of Christ's preeminence. Jesus is God and Creator, come to this earth to make for Himself a New Creation. May every knee bow and every tongue confess that He is Lord!

This message packs a powerful Gospel punch, deeply challenging us all to place our confidence in the strength of Israel, Jesus Christ, rather than the strength of this world. Everyone wants to be strong, but few of us are willing to become strong on God's terms—through dependency and faith. But true indomitable strength is found only through embracing the opportunity that weakness affords.

This may not be a message that you want to listen to, but this is a message that you must listen to. Unforgiveness, bitterness, and resentment are running roughshod over the Church of Jesus Christ today. These three devouring beasts are crippling our growth and tainting our witness. But there is a power to forgive that the Church must return to. It's a God- imparted impetus and ability to let go of offenses and to forgive as Christ Jesus Himself forgave. And this power is not found in human grit, willpower, resolve, and determination. It's found in Christ and is available to all who would believe.

This message is a beautiful and powerful meditation on the possibilities of faith. There is a time to pray, and pray, and pray. And there is a time to stand your ground in faith knowing that the thing asked for is gained. This message brings clarity to when each of these critical dimensions of faith ought to be employed.

Many of us truly love Jesus Christ, we just don't know how to love Him with our lives. We are defeated, though we esteem victory. We are trying to accomplish something great but with the wrong tools. We are like ready seamen without a boat, eager craftsman without a hammer, or desirous archers without a bow. We mean well, but our lives don't work. And yet, though many of us testify to such a life of impotence, there is a very real and actual solution to this frustrating inability.

This is one of those messages that matches its name. It's strong and inspiring, with a glint of unabashed and unflinching manliness in its tone. It's a return to the ancient and time-worn notion that when the chips are down, the Christian man is the first to rise up.

This is a beautiful parallel between the man David and Jesus Christ. David's name means “Beloved.” And even though David lived in a cave for over a decade, his men had such a love for this "King in Hiding" that they chose to live in a cave with him—in exile, hunted, hated, and despised. Those who have beheld the beauty and majesty of Jesus Christ respond in like fashion, crying out, "Better is one day in His house (or even His cave) than a thousand elsewhere!"

This is a power-packed enunciation of a real, living, breathing Christianity. It's a literal symphony of Truth that awakens you to the extraordinary supernatural dimensions of Scripture and to the thrilling notion that all Scripture aims towards one thing ... Jesus. If Ellerslie's purpose statement, mission statement, and statement of belief were to all coalesce into a single thunderous sermon, this just might be the sermon.

The commission of a Christian man is utterly impossible. Even God makes it clear that a man is wholly unable to pull off such a grand and holy life in his own power, strength, grit, and determination. Most Christian men of our day thusly justify their mediocrity, spiritual slovenliness, and gross disregard of the Scriptural command under this ever-convenient banner of "impossibility." But it is high time that the power of the Cross thunders forth in and through the corridors of modern Christian manhood and a heaven- endued expectation takes hold of the manly soul once again. For with man it certainly IS impossible, but with God all things are possible.

This is a study in the forceful and terrorizing grip that unmitigated self- appetite can have on both an individual life and the life of a society. Whether it was deserving or not, to be American used to carry with it the Puritan ideals of integrity, chastity, prudence, temperance, goodwill, generosity, and mercy. But times have certainly changed. Instead, it appears that around the world today the "American" is often known for their bizarre sense of self-entitlement and strange brand of religion (oft misunderstood to be Christianity) that gives them a so-called "liberty" to live in a constant state of excess and self-seeking pleasure. And thusly, the once noble and honorable word "American" has become a synonym for "glutton." Oh, for the Church of Jesus Christ to come out from among this and be separate!

WARNING: If there is any hypocrisy in you, this message will be like a heat-seeking missile ready to expose and root it out. We live in a generation when Truth is falling in the streets and those leading the Church are morally failing in the open square. May God clean house, starting with us. There was a powerful time of repentance followed this message in the Ellerslie chapel, and it is our prayer that it does not stop there.

“Cool” is not part of the true Church of Jesus Christ, and it’s high time that it be driven out of the sacred halls. Hip swaggers are expected from those intimately connected to the world's system, but there is nothing more unsuited than a Christian strutting around inside the Body of Christ with an angsty smolder. Those absorbed in the realities of the risen Lamb of God hold such swaggers, angst, and smolder with contempt. Please, Church of Jesus Christ, let's relinquish our worldly cool and embrace Christ's beautiful stigma in following the example of triumphant Christianity throughout the ages.

This is the ultimate man message, Jesus Christ being its chief muse. This world is desperate for the grandeur and nobility of mighty, self-expending manhood to return to the stage of time. Could it be that in this generation we see it unearthed once more?

The Cross supplied more than mere forgiveness from the penalty of sin; it supplied liberty and release from the power and control of sin. In this message, Eric Ludy animatedly enunciates this concept in a fresh, powerful, and deeply inspiring way. This message is a robust meditation on the life that many of us desire but few of us have been bold enough to actually pursue in faith. Oh, that the saints of God would rise up and once again live in light of the mighty work of the Cross!

This message reveals not only the brilliance and supernatural quality of Scripture, but also the entire Hebrew culture from which Jesus came. In the springtime (a.k.a. the month of Nisan to the Jews), kings would set forth to battle. And it was during the time when the barley was turning green in Israel that our King Jesus climbed aboard a colt and humbly entered Jerusalem as a man of war. And by the end of the week He was stripped naked, turned to a bloody pulp, nailed to a wooden gibbet, and laid in a borrowed grave... dead. His style of battle was undoubtedly different than that of any successful general before Him. But never has a general, neither before Him nor after Him, enjoyed such a victory. For without the aid of a single soldier or a single weapon, this divine man of war destroyed all the powers of Earth and Hell. As a result of His war effort, sin no longer has power and death no longer has a sting. This seemingly harmless carpenter's son is truly the Lord of battle, and when He sets out for war, He will not be denied His reward.

When the saints of God approach the Scriptures, how do they view it? How should they handle it? Is it something to be pitied and helped along? Is it something to merely befriend, laugh alongside, and throw the frisbee with? Or is it something to bend before, show deference to, and heed with holy reverence? How we approach the Scriptures defines what we will get out of the Scriptures. Until Scripture becomes the absolute authority in our life, the life that is only revealed in Scripture will not be found in us. Oh, how the Church needs holy trembling to return.

Christian history has a name for those who follow Jesus with loving and extravagant abandon and don't fret the oft-dire consequences of giving up everything for the sake of their Beloved. Sacred antiquity knows this renegade blood-bought band of soldiers as the Fellowship of the Burning Heart. This message is dedicated to the “burning hearts” of our modern times. We know you are out there, though often like Elijah, you are feeling like the lone-prophet left alive in this generation. But we exhort you to remember that there are at least 7,000 that have not bent their knee to Baal, and who, even today, are overcoming by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, loving not their lives unto the death (Rev 12:11).

As Christians, we are well educated on the fact that sin is wrong. Some of us are taught that we shouldn't keep on sinning without being told how to stop. And others of us have been taught that we might as well keep on sinning since there is nothing to be done to stop the sinful propensity. Either option leaves us vulnerable to the powers of sin and thusly susceptible to a life of great discouragement and defeat. However, there is yet one more thing to be taught: the "one-two punch" that not only knocks sin out but also trains us in our God-empowered position to clobber sin in the teeth if and when it ever rises back up off the mat to take a swing at us again.

Is it possible for our tongue to actually be tamed? Is it plausible for our tongue to be harnessed by God in such a way that it no longer speaks forth self-glory, complaint, criticism, contention, strife, gossip, lies, and deceit? Is it really possible that the Christian tongue can be one marked by words of life always and only? To many of us, such a thought is almost fairy-tale- esque and hardly conceivable. But the Bible doesn't stutter on this subject. It does declare that we can't personally tame our renegade tongues, but our great God is in the business of taming tongues and utilizing them for His glory.

If you are disturbed by the current "Truth-made-mushy" trends in Christianity but are having a difficult time putting your finger on what exactly is wrong, this message might prove a great help. In this message, Eric Ludy tackles one of the most elusive and subtle enemy agendas in our midst today—the manipulative use of art in the conveyance of Truth. With an entire section specifically devoted to quoting the key voices behind this crafty maneuver, this message will leave you both insulted on behalf of Christ and inspired for the Truth of Jesus Christ afresh.

The Christian is intended by God to be the strongest of all humans on Earth. The Christian is built to snarl in the face of difficulty, laugh in the face of crisis, and cherish trials as the great channel through which God brings His grace into this world. A Christian will stand when all others fall, will keep going when all others run out of self-fuel, and will remain loving even when suffering incredible persecution. A Christian, as God intended a Christian to be, is something to behold. An individual Christian can alter the course of history, so just imagine what a band of such heroes could do? What would happen if the Church of Jesus Christ once again started functioning as the Church of Jesus Christ?

Is it true that even Christianity can be utilized as a creative cover for our self-centeredness? Americanized, post-modern, pop-culture Christianity seems to be one gigantic excuse for allowing self to remain enthroned in the souls of men. However, if self is not dethroned by the incoming rule of Jesus Christ, then where exactly is Jesus Christ being placed? After all, what's a king without his throne? This message is a strong call to give Jesus Christ that which is rightfully His, and as a result, this message scores rather high on the ol’ convict-o-meter.

Christianity means all-out, one-hundred-percent givenness to Jesus Christ. There is no half-hearted adherence. It requires everything—nothing held back, everything poured out. For it is when everything is emptied out within the human soul that a place is made for the life, love, power, and presence of Christ to be born within.

Fear controls the modern American Christian. And for most in the post-modern Church, this is nonchalantly accepted without a fight. But, the Biblical declaration of the healthy Christian soul does not allow for even a scrap of self-preserving fear, fretting, anxiety, and foreboding. It's simply not intended to be a part of the Christian life. So, how do we deal with this great discrepancy? And how do we start living the lives of fearless faith that God intended us to be living?

There are tests of faith that prove the true substance of our spiritual man. First instance, when God appears to be silent, how do we respond? When God appears to have forgotten, do we actually believe He has? Or when the natural realm boasts that such a thing is impossible, will we believe the boast? Or how about when it would appear our God has lost, will we, for even one moment, tremble under the anxiety of such a farce? Ax heads sink in water. It's a natural fact. But God is in the business of making iron float. And the church of Jesus Christ today must once again believe that even though it may appear that the ax head has officially sunk, it is in such moments that our God smiles and says, "Now watch what I will do!"

Few of us were ever trained how to handle our thoughts. In fact, most of us have considered ourselves victims to the random, strange, perverted, and otherwise demonic thoughts that float through our minds. But that should halt today. The thought-life of a Christian is not the playground for the enemy, but the stage upon which the Truth of Jesus Christ can shine. Jesus has given the saints of God everything they need in order to take command over their thought-lives. The Christian is privileged to think on nothing but that which is true, honest, just, pure, lovely, virtuous, and of good report.

In a time when God's voice has been emptied of it's lion-like roar and neutered of its thunderous majesty, this message is deeply significant, making a case for both the kingly-authority of Scripture as well as for the return of old-fashioned preaching in our day and age. This message is also an interesting peek into the fascinating journey Eric Ludy has gone on in gaining the forceful voice he now wields. At the close of this message there is a unique video bonus that demonstrates the "boisterous evolution" of Eric's speaking voice over the past 17 years of ministry.

This is an inspiring illustration of how to both approach Scripture and unpack the beautiful mysteries of Scripture. At Ellerslie we are always declaring that everything in the Old Testament points to Jesus. Eric Ludy takes a singular story in the Old Testament regarding the person of Moses and the newly budding Israelite nation and demonstrates how this one seemingly innocuous story powerfully demonstrates how our life in Jesus Christ ought to work. Everything in the Bible really does shine forth the power and majesty of the Gospel of Christ.

At Ellerslie, this is THE message. A semester at Ellerslie is a constant refrain of this extraordinary Truth. Eric Ludy is constantly asking his students, "Where are you spiritually located?" And the answer to that question defines the level of spiritual health that our soul enjoys. The Gospel power hinges on the believer being "in" Christ—not "near" Christ, "on" Christ, or merely "within earshot" of Christ. When you truly grasp the substance of this message, the Christian life finds its wings and begins to fly.

Faith is the linchpin that holds the entire construct of Christianity together. Without it the Christian life is completely non-functional. But if faith is understood, grasped, and realized, everything begins to fit back into place. Suddenly the Christian life once again has power. Suddenly the Bible begins to live and breath for the believer. And suddenly all Hell goes on red alert. Get faith right and all Hell's best laid plans and conspiracies go south. If your faith is a bit wobbly at the moment, this message is a sure elixir.

There are certain topics that pastors know they should probably avoid for fear of raising the ire of their congregants. Talking straight about parenting methods would definitely fall into that category. However, in this message Eric Ludy throws caution to the wind. With the extreme influx of post- modern "feelings-based" ideology into the raising of our children, it's important to gain a Biblical grip on the issues at hand. Many Christian parents today have unwittingly bought into the notions of "feelings-based"parenting methods. This inevitably results in Christian homes run by little toddlers with grape jelly on their chins and foolishness running unchecked within their hearts. But God has an age-old, time-tested method for raising children, and it's high time we brought it back to the Church of Jesus Christ, both in parenting our kids and in the way we respond to being parented by our God.

To be "politically correct" is one of the not-so-hidden social secrets to success in our modern age. In America today, there are social behaviors that are frowned upon and social behaviors that are approved by the populace (i.e. racial sensitivity is approved while criticism of homosexuality is disapproved). But this demarcation of "correctness" by no means originated in modern America. It's as old as humanity itself. And we are not the only culture that has been poisoned by its power. In fact, Jesus struck a decisive blow against this "man-defined righteousness" at the Cross. 2000 years ago, Jesus declared this form of “righteousness" filthy in His sight and wholly unfit to save a single human soul from the judgement to come. He then proceeded to provide us with the only righteousness that was truly fit for the job of rescuing the world... His own.

In 1638, Scottish Christians were faced with a jarring challenge. They had to choose between their earthly king, Charles I, and their true "heavenly"King, Jesus Christ. To choose the "earthly" would mean comfort in this world, but death to the soul. To choose the "heavenly" would mean death in this world, but life to the soul. They chose Jesus. And these "Covenanters" modeled for each of us as believers the manner in which we are supposed to handle this same decision in our own souls. We must die in order to truly live.

This is a message that unlocks the art of praying in a very unique and stirring way. The answer for the Church is not in brainstorming solutions and in novel marketing campaigns—it's in prayer. And prayer is enabled and empowered when one beholds the "face of God." This message is about seeking the face of God as a primary work and not as a last resort.

December 2nd of the year 1804, an arrogant little man named Napoleon Bonaparte ascended to the throne of France. Kings being crowned kings is not an uncommon thing throughout the histories of men; however, at Napoleon's coronation something very unusual happened—something so bizarre, fantastical, and despicable that it proves an amazing metaphorical picture to explain the bizarre, fantastical, and despicable things that happen within our own human souls. There is one very clear conclusion that can be drawn: no man is great enough, wise enough, or strong enough to sit in the seat of the preeminent. That seat belongs to Jesus Christ, and Jesus Christ alone!

Every Christian today seems well groomed in the phrase, "Judge not, lest ye be judged." But Scripture makes it clear that "judging" (authoritative decision-making based on the Word of God) is a necessary part of a healthy society, business, church, family, and individual life. For instance, if a father doesn't have the ability to bring judgment in his home, his little children will run wild without proper discipline and punishment. There is an arrogant and improper way to judge, and there is a humble, heavenly way to judge. It is imperative that the Church of Jesus Christ learns how to judge rightly.

The following quote from Charles Spurgeon should prove sufficient in introducing this moving and inspiring message: “There is no glory in being a featherbed soldier, a man bedecked with gorgeous medals, but never beautified by a scar, or ennobled by a wound. All that you ever hear of such a soldier is that his spurs jingle on the pavement as he walks. There is no history for this carpet knight. He is just a dandy. He never smelled gunpowder in battle in his life. If he did, he fetched out his cologne to kill the offensive odor. Oh, if we could be wise enough to choose, even were as wise as the Lord Himself, we would choose the troubles which He has appointed to us, and we would not spare ourselves a single pang.”

This is a message that is most appropriately listened to while on your face at the feet of your beloved Jesus. This is the eternal song of the redeemed. It's a song the world deems utter foolishness and extravagant waste. But to those of us that have beheld our almighty Lord and have had our lips touched with a burning coal from His altar, this is the song we are moved to sing—and even delighted to sing—no matter what this world may think.

This message pulls no punches, hitting squarely on some of the most touchy subjects in the conservative church. It's Eric Ludy's appeal to the modern Church which seems magnetically attracted to controversy and debate in and amongst Bible-believing saints. In the Ellerslie world, every conceivable conservative denominational persuasion is represented, with every vantage point on soteriology, eschatology, baptisms, sabbaths, and the gifts of the Spirit resolutely hosted within our student body. Yikes! The opportunity is rife for potential division and contention. And yet there is a supernatural sense of order and agreement in our midst. There is one mind and one message that rings forth from the students at Ellerslie, causing the lion to lay down with the lamb (or in our case, the Calvinist to respectfully hold hands with the Arminianist). So what is our message? It's Jesus Christ and Him crucified!

This message is about the basics that make Christianity really work. In other words, this is basic training. It's no-nonsense Truth applied to the human life so that the human life begins to function as it ought. Eric Ludy has his drill sergeant voice in full gear for this one.

This message is a game changer. It's a poignant look at how the Gospel is meant to be applied to the area of daily work, industry, and diligence. Most modern-day business owners would agree that Christians today are often some of the worst workers. And this very real blind-spot in our spiritual discipleship is crippling our testimony for Jesus Christ in countless ways. It's high time we gain a vision for how our behavior can (and must) begin to match up with our bold belief.

75% of 18 to 24 year old young people in America today are considered ineligible for military service. They are obese, mentally unfit, and unable to pass the hearing tests (due to hearing loss attributed primarily to a life filled with loud music). Could it be that what is true of the United State's military is also true of God's military? There is a lethargy, a soul obesity, and a Biblical ignorance that is disqualifying a vast number of young Christians from proving anything but pathetic in their Christian service. It is totally unlikely that God would find His valiant and victorious army in and amongst our spiritually lumpy ranks, but such is God's great agenda—to take the weakest things and turn them into triumphant pictures of His great redeeming grace. This message supplies one of the primary ingredients necessary for this great and seemingly inconceivable reformation to begin.

Every man needs a code of honor. He needs to know why he's here and what he's supposed to do with the short time he has here on Earth. This message supplies such a vision. For if a man knows what to live for and what to die for and possesses the God-imparted strength to live and die well, the world will undoubtedly be altered for the glory of King Jesus as a result.

This is a message that poignantly and powerfully weaves together two of Eric Ludy's favorite things: the pure undiluted Gospel of Jesus Christ and Eric's six-year-old son, Hudson. This message is an instant Ellerslie classic, sure to be held in a special place in the campus vault for years to come.

This may be the shortest Sunday message you ever hear Eric Ludy give. At the conclusion of a very special Sunday morning service dedicated to the testimonies of Advanced Ellerslie Graduates, Eric finished up the service with these inspiring words, reminding us once again that Jesus is the center of history, the center the Bible, the center of the Gospel, the center of our Christianity—and truly, the center of the entire Universe!

Where are the men that turn the world upside down? Where are the men that take their God at His Word and actually believe? Where are the men who have such a firm grip on the promises of their God that their spiritual knuckles turn bone-white with determination? Where are the men willing to suffer and die that Jesus Christ might gain His rightful due? If such men still stir on this suffering globe, then please, God, now is the time to raise them up.