Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Does the Mission Church have women Elders (pastors)?

We believe that both men and women were created by God as image-bearers of Him. This means that we are all seen as equal in value in God’s eyes. Man is not greater than woman, nor woman greater than man.

But God designed men and women for gender-specific roles in the home and in the church. In the home, the woman is commanded to help, respect, and submit to her husband, and the man is commanded to provide for, protect, and shepherd his wife.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

What do we teach about LGBTQ?

At The Mission Church we affirm both the Old and New Testament teaching that—according to God’s design—sexual activity is only permissible within the bond of marriage between one man and one woman. The Bible repeatedly explains that any sexual practice that deviates from this design is the result of people dishonoring both God AND their own bodies.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Pre-Pentecost Prophets (Bible list)

This is a working list of "Pre-Pentecost Prophets" I have been compiling over the past few years. This includes any person (or group of people) who — before the day of Pentecost — is referred to as 1) a prophet, 2) a prophetess, 3) a false prophet/false prophetess, 4) an oracle, 5) a seer, 6) or are indicated to have been believed to be authoritatively speaking to people on God's behalf.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Can Vaccines Be a "Hill Worth Dying On?"

Christians are commanded by God to not sin (Matthew 5:48, 1 Corinthians 15:34). No Christian ever has—or ever will—be able to obey this command perfectly. It is only by the grace of God that the punishment due for our sins has been paid for in Christ's death on the cross. Yet over the last 2,000 years of world history there have been many times when civil authorities have demanded that Christians violate God's law…

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

The Fear of the Lord

This is a list of “fear of the Lord” verses that I have been compiling. Enjoy!

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

The God-Given Limits for Civil Authorities

God has given clear and unmistakable limits to civil rulers today. It would be wise for Christians to understand these things more clearly. Here are a few thoughts to consider:

To begin with, Romans 13 and 1 Peter 2 do NOT authorize civil authorities to rule with ABSOLUTE authority.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Why I Reject the BLM Movement

There is racism in America—it is wicked—and needs to be dealt with.

Almost everybody agrees with those three starting premises. But there is huge disagreement about how we ought to go about it. The battle-lines have been drawn, and it seems clear to me Christians are arguing over two possible Christian responses:  BLM or the Gospel. That’s right you CANNOT have both. You can only pick one.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Why Does the Resurrection Matter?

Blaise Pascal was a French philosopher who lived in the mid 17th century. He is often remembered for “Pascal’s Wager” in which he argues that we all BET OUR LIVES ON whether or not God exists. If God does exist, then there would be MAXIMAL loss for the one who denied Him. But if God does not exist there will be MINIMAL loss for the Christian. Therefore, Pascal argues…the Christian faith is a “good bet”.

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Spiritual Warfare: Verses about Satan

This past Sunday, in the sermon on Ephesians 6:10-20, I spent much of our time trying to help us all see what the Bible says/warns about Satan. Here is a list of the scriptures I referenced during that sermon (plus a few that didn’t make it into the sermon):

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

A Christ-Centered Christmas

Laura and I often get questions this time of year about the kind of family traditions we have established to help point our kids to the real meaning of Christmas. This week Laura posted a recipe on her foodie blog (JoyFoodSunshine.com) and she added the following section on what we do as a family. I hope it can be helpful for you!

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

What did prayer look like in the Old Testament?

There are many examples of prayer in the OT, by people all across the social spectrum (think: Daniel was thrown in the den of lions because of his daily prayer discipline; Esther appeals to all the Jews in Persia to fast and—by implication—pray; Jonah, David, Hannah, etc...).

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

A possible harmonization of the resurrection accounts.

Sunday morning of the resurrection, a small group of women had been waiting until after the Sabbath to buy/prepare spices/ointments for Jesus’ body (Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:1-2, Luke 23:56). Not having had a funeral, nor adequate time to mourn for Jesus—due to the abrupt and unexpected nature of His midnight capture, rapid “kangaroo court” and subsequent crucifixion (all during a holiday, no less)—they head to the tomb…

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

How did Jesus perform His miracles?

Philippians 2:5-11 says that Jesus, “…emptied himself…humbled himself…becoming obedient.” During His earthly ministry Jesus retained His full divine nature…but did not exercise the attributes unique to that nature in his humanity (ex. Jesus’ physical earthly body was not omnipresent)

Read More
Ritch Sandford Ritch Sandford

Why we address Mormonism in sermons.

One of the things that we know is unique about the Mission Church amongst other Utah churches, is our decision to address Mormonism at our Sunday gatherings. I have often had people ask me why we approach our local cultural “by name” in a setting that is supposed to be open to all. I have at least four reasons for why we do this. This past Sunday, I shared one of these reasons with the congregation during the sermon. Here’s that point, with a few more thoughts:

Read More