Showing results by author "Gordan Runyan" in All Categories

Has God really left it up to us to discover the best way to govern ourselves? Is "trial and error" on a national scale the best we can do as we form our civil governments? Imagine if God suddenly formed a bunch of people into a nation from scratch one day. Imagine God giving them a structure for their government and a relatively small set of rules and concepts for the purpose of protecting the most vulnerable members of society. It might be worthwhile to study those things. Of course, that is precisely what happened in the early stages of the biblical narrative. God brought Israel out of ...

According to Scripture, do individuals have a right to self-defense, up to and including the use of deadly force? Is there a verse about the Second Amendment? What does the Bible say about guns, or self-defense? What about the consistent teaching and example of Jesus Christ, who advocated for peaceful, non-violent opposition to evil? Are these two concepts in opposition? Do these considerations have anything to say to the Christian who is concerned about gun rights and gun violence in America? Pastor Gordan Runyan's message is a short but sober look into all of this. This is a Ragtown ...

This 39 page article is for you if you are baffled. What is Calvinism? What's with the debate between Calvinism and Arminianism? Maybe you've heard the name of John Calvin attached to a theology that sounded cold, monstrous, illogical, unbiblical, or cruel. Maybe Calvinists haven't been helpful in the task of understanding Calvinism! It's time to get some clarification. If you've been burned by all the heat surrounding the debate over things like predestination and election, Reformed theology, or the TULIP of Calvinism, maybe it's time for straightforward facts, without all the hysteria. ...

In this 34 page booklet (a significant expansion of the original 14 page article,) Christian preacher and patriot, Gordan Runyan examines libertarian political philosophy in light of the Bible. Runyan is a former Republican Party County Chairman and past member of the GOP State Central Committee in New Mexico. He now considers himself a Christian LIbertarian, precisely because he sees the Bible's teaching on civil government leading in that direction. The Ron Paul 2012 campaign is over. But only a fool would ignore its impact. Libertarians are often dismissed as rope-smoking peace-niks, who...

This Ragtown Pulpit sermon is about the second Psalm, and its place in the hearts and minds of believers. Specifically, the dilemma concerning Psalm 2 is this: Why don't believers love it more than they do? It literally has everything you'd think a Christian would want in a very short passage. Christ himself is all over and throughout this Old Testament text. It's filled with promises of God's faithfulness and the victory of Christ's kingdom. Nevertheless, you've probably never heard anyone, anywhere, claim it as their favorite. That's just weird. There are reasons for this. This sermon ...

These messages were preached consecutively as part of the study in the book of Deuteronomy at Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari, New Mexico. Pastor Runyan brings his conversational, "street-level" style to bear on the last of the books of Moses, Deuteronomy. The second generation after the exodus from Egypt had come to the banks of the Jordan River, able to look across into the Promised Land. They had recently accomplished two stunning victories against the imposing armies of pagan kings. Deuteronomy is the last address of Moses to the people. He won't be making the journey with them, ...

This message is the third in Pastor Runyan's preaching series through the book of Deuteronomy, one more in the Ragtown Pulpit series. This important exhortation will help you avoid the mistake God's people made when they first stood on the banks of the Jordan River. They had all the right facts about the task ahead but failed to evaluate the evidence properly. As a result, they were frozen in fear. They doomed themselves to forty years of wandering in the wilderness. Moses now addresses the same challenge to the next generation, who watched their fathers fall in the desert. Make a sober ...

What is libertarianism? It seems like a lot of libertarians are atheists, so does that mean it's a fundamentally unbelieving philosophy? Can a faithful Christian also be a libertarian without denying the faith? Pastor Gordan Runyan gives a lot of solid answers to these challenges and more in this short essay. His contention is that the Bible actually teaches a libertarian ethic, from cover to cover. Jesus Himself taught and modeled libertarian-style leadership. The Christian Scriptures uniformly teach that self-control under the commandments of God is the first, most basic, most vital form ...

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus Christ said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” What might that have meant to His first audience on that day? They certainly had a different definition of what it meant to be poor, compared to ourselves. Once we understand what they would have thought about financial poverty, we'll be in a good place to think about its parallel: spiritual poverty. This encouraging message of Gospel invitation will be a help to your own spirit.

There are many questions in the air about the Bible's teachings on the End Times. Dispensationalism is a form of biblical interpretation, a system that advertises itself as the only serious option for the study of prophecy. But, since its appearance in the mid-19th Century, it has correctly predicted nothing while fostering a sub-culture of wild speculation within evangelical Christianity. The litany of wrong predictions and laughable proposals that have plagued Dispensationalism from its outset would be comical if it didn't represent the deception of millions along the way. When will the ...

"Somebody, please, make it all make sense!" This kind of plea is made frequently in our world. In this message, pastor Gordan Runyan points the reader to Jesus Christ, the One who interprets all things. What the Lord thinks, that is what is true. Without this bedrock assertion, truth has no rational starting point. The apostle Paul was on trial in Acts 26, and he made the bold assertion that he was not preaching anything new when he brought the gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jews and Gentiles. He claimed he was merely being consistent with Moses and the prophets. This sermon seeks to show ...

This sermon is an encouraging message of hope for all those who have believed they are beyond God's saving reach. The text is from the end of the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew's gospel, and the approach of a leper to the feet of Christ. If you or someone you know could use a reminder of the Lord's love for the outcast and isolated, this message can help.

This item is a single sermon from pastor Gordan Runyan, of the Ragtown Pulpit, a ministry of Immanuel Baptist Church in Tucumcari, New Mexico. It is an expository message on the parable told by Jotham in Judges 9. In this narrative, the trees of the field are seeking a king to reign over them. They approach the olive tree, the fig tree, and the grapevine, but all these are too busy fulfilling their God-given callings to stop and be the king over the trees. Finally, the desperate trees approach the bramble, who is happy to be asked. Jotham warns them that this could end up destroying them ...

This series of 40 daily meditations is taken from King David's iconic prayer of repentance, the 51st Psalm. Deepen your walk with a devotional guide that manages to teach solid theology while also touching the tender heart. This book would be a wonderful personal study for the penitent believer during the season of Lent, written from an Evangelical Baptist perspective. Experience true repentance. Understand concepts like grace, faith, and forgiveness in a deeper, more biblical way.