Eric Ludy Sermon Podcast: Church At Ellerslie

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. 

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 longer be invited into the storyline of our lives. 

This is a message at the very heart of our Ellerslie Training. The Five Fingers is an illustration that is often used in our teaching to explain the most central, salient, and foundational Truths that make up the Christian life. These are the five points that we as believers unite on and separate over. This is what Christianity is all about. Hint: It all has to do with Jesus. 

There are things in life that are naturally attractive to us as humans (ie. flowers, sunsets, and poetry). Tribulation is definitely not on that list. In fact, we will go to great lengths to avoid it. But, as believers in Christ, it is essential that we recalibrate our thinking regarding this very important thing known as tribulation. Because according to God’s Word, tribulation is the Holy Spirit’s primary tool used to fashion the saints of God into Christ-showcasing men and women.------------» 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 serm

The average human when given a choice between becoming a small or a great person, without hesitation, would select great. Why not? Isn’t it the goal of life on this earth to become someone special? But, when you contrast that native instinct for the “great” life against the Christ model—there is a stark difference seen. Christ, when He came to this earth, chose the small life, the small things, and the small people to pour Himself into and out for—and in so doing, made the greatest impact any life has ever made. It appears that God's recipe for accomplishing great things on this earth is through the surrendered embrace of the small. 

Potato farming demands faith. The potato farmer needs to trust that the potato is actually growing though he can’t see it growing underneath all the dirt. Most of us steer clear of this sort of faith. We prefer things we can see, smell, hear, and touch. But, God is in the business of potato farming faith. And it is this sort of faith that Eric is charging the Church of Jesus Christ to return to full force. We’ve been twiddling our thumbs long enough in the land of mediocrity. It’s time to venture into the land of the impossible—believing that our God intends to do amazing, miraculous things on this earth. He’s simply waiting for His Church to start thinking and living like He is indeed the Almighty Sovereign King of Kings. 

The Christian life is impossible to live. But that doesn’t mean we aren't intended by God to live it. The secret is in gaining the supernatural help to pull it off. Baked into the design of the strong Christian life is something that Eric refers to as “leveling up.” It’s when God calls the Christian to a higher degree of difficulty in their walk and supplies them heavenly grace in order to pull off the greater challenge. Most of us kind of wish that there wasn’t a need for leveling up. But without it, there isn’t growth. 

Superman is unstoppable. There isn’t a bad guy out there that can possibly defeat him. Unless, of course, the bad guy happens to know Superman’s lone weakness—Kryptonite.The church of Jesus Christ was designed to be unstoppable, too. But, if that’s true, then why do we presently appear to be so pathetic, so frail, and so vulnerable? Could it be because, like Superman, we, the believers in Christ, also have a Kryptonite that weakens us?  

The number twenty-nine seems to be all over the Ellerslie ministry. But why? In this tribute sermon, Eric explores the powerful way this number has impacted his life and the lives of all those who have gone through the training at Ellerslie. This is a fun message that gives a unique behind-the-scenes take at some very formative moments of the ministry’s history. 

A gambōl is a playful skipping and frolicking about. It’s not something many of us still do after we crest the age of seven. But it is an art that as we enter the Kingdom of our dear Savior, we are intended by God to pick back up and master. In fact, the Spirit of God aims to train us in bringing out our most energetic gambōl when life turns bleak and the oppressions and cares of the world make their persuasive appeals. As Christians we are designed to gambōl as victors even when this world is crowing loudly that we are anything but. 

In Joshua chapter 17, the Mountain Country is not the desirable land. It’s rocky, forested. filled with Canaanite giants, and, these Canaanites giants have iron chariots, to boot! So, it isn’t any surprise when Ephraim and Manasseh receive their tract of land in the Mountain Country that it translated to them as a bit of a downer. We all have the same tendency to underrate the value of the Mountain Country in our own lives. Most of us simply want flat farm land without any obstacles, hindrances, or foes nearby. But, God loves us too much to give us something that dull and boring. Our God specializes in supplying us with the perfect land to match our soul’s need. He is in the business of growing us up to be mighty, and there is nothing quite like a tract of Mountain Country to do the job. ------------» 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.c

The Christian life is won or lost in mind. The Devil knows this, too. So the Devil goes after the aperture of the Christian mind in order to direct its focus anywhere but on Christ and His Cross. If we as Christians know this, then we fight back and learn to counteract this demonic ploy with God’s weaponry. This particular sermon lays out one of the key tactics in God’s military strategy for keeping the Christian’s mental focus right where it belongs. 

Being a WW1 fighter pilot was gutsy. Kind of like being a radical Chrisitan today. When a pilot went up in one of those rickety biplanes, there was a high chance he wasn’t coming back. As Christians, when we sign up for serious Christian living, it’s kind of like climbing into a rickety WW1 biplane and taking off. It’s a dangerous and difficult mission that is promised to be accompanied by a thousand challenges. But God designed us for this very adventure—and He built us to bring down the enemy while we are at it.

From the outside looking in, the long jump event in track and field doesn’t seem very complicated. You run and then, well, jump. What’s so difficult about that? But, experts that know a little more than the average human say that the long jump is actually one of the most technically complex events in all of sports. And that’s kind of like living out the Christian life. From the outside looking in it doesn’t sound that difficult to make happen. You just need to love, rejoice, be patient, holy, and pure. How hard can that be? So, it’s a bit of shock when the average Joe tries to live it out and simply can’t. But, thank God that He is the ultimate spiritual track and field coach, and it is His desire to train us to succeed in this impossible event known as “living a godly life.” This is a fun biographical message in which Eric shares twenty brief stories in his life that explain the many technically complex moments in his journey that have made up his personal long jumping adventure. 

Consistency in any field or arena of life is important. But, consistency in the realm of Christian living moves beyond the term “important” into the zone of “eternally significant.” An inconsistent Christian can be the undoing of another human soul, the justification of a wary skeptic to stay away from the Truth, and even the excuse for another believer to take lightly their own inconsistent behavior. As believers we are designed to walk true, walk faithful, and walk consistent. But, many believers today question whether or not such a life is even possible. And that is why a fresh reminder message like this one is critical. 

Many Christians today are showing a greater faith in the power of Sin to continue to control their lives than they are in the power of God to deliver their lives from the power of Sin. We all go one of two ways. We are either overpowered by Sin, or we learn the secret of overpowering Sin. Yes. It’s true. Sin boasts a greater power than that of humans gritting their teeth, attempting to defy it. But, it’s also true that Jesus boasts a far greater power than that of Sin, even when Sin is in its best condition and at its strongest. Someone is getting overpowered. The question is who? Is it going to be Sin, or is it going to be you?

Our measurements for greatness often don’t match with God’s measurements. We see Eliab the strapping son of Jesse and we cry out, “Anoint him! Make him king!” But, God sees the eighth son of Jesse, who seemingly wasn’t important enough to even invite to the party, and He says, “There is a man after my own heart!” The Bible chronicles a long line of this “unexpected” and “unpopular” choosing of God. The people of God want one thing, but God doesn’t give them what they want—He gives them what they need most. Of course, in no way is this seen more clearly than in His supply of our Great High Priest, Jesus Christ—the messiah rejected by the Jews, but appointed by God to stand in the gap for sinners the world over.