Faith Methodist Church Richmond

Free to Be Free-Pastor David Dorn

Pastor David opens with a humorous story about a terrible hash brown that leads to a playful reimagining of the Fall — maybe Eve didn't hand Adam the forbidden fruit because it was irresistible, but because it was so awful she needed someone else to suffer through it too. In all seriousness though, that moment in the Garden marked the first time humanity experienced sin, and because of Adam, that sinful nature has been passed down to every generation since. This is precisely why the virgin birth matters: Jesus had no earthly father to pass down original sin, making Him the only one who could stand in our place. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." But freedom from sin is not the same as permission to sin freely. Drawing from Galatians 5:13-25, Pastor David challenges us to resist the temptation to treat the cross like a license to do whatever we want — what he colorfully calls the "James Bond" approach to grace. Instead, Paul calls believers to use their freedom to walk in the Spirit and love their neighbors, which he says fulfills the entire law. When we partner with what the Spirit is doing in the world, the fruit of that partnership — love, joy, peace, kindness, self-control, and more — begins to grow naturally in our lives. We invite you to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/faithmcrichmondtx

The Battle for Your Mind-Pastor David Dorn

In this week’s sermon of the There Is None Greater series, Pastor David turns our attention inward — to the battlefield of the mind. While culture tells us to "follow your heart," Pastor David makes clear that it's our thought life that truly drives everything: how we see ourselves, how we see others, and how we see God. Leaning on Romans 12:2, he calls believers to stop conforming to the patterns of this world and instead be "transformed" — a word rooted in the Greek metamorphoo, the same word used to describe Jesus' transfiguration and the ongoing work of the Holy Spirit in 2 Corinthians 3:18. That kind of transformation, he insists, is inseparable from a renewed mind. Pastor David introduces the concept of "spiritual neuroplasticity," drawing on the science of how the brain can be rewired through consistent, repeated behavior over 30 days. The teachings of Jesus — loving your enemy, forgiving those who wrong you, resisting lust and hatred — don't come naturally to us, but they can be trained into us if we're willing to commit. Citing 2 Corinthians 10:3-5, he urges us to take every thought captive and filter it through the words of Christ, recognizing that not every thought we entertain is good, holy, or even our own. The sermon closes with a call to spiritual warfare, walking through the armor of God in Ephesians 6:13-18 and landing with particular force on the weapon of prayer. Pastor David reminds us that Jesus declared, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me" (Matthew 28:18), which means every internal struggle and external battle can and should be brought to Him. Whether wrestling with shame, fear, relational conflict, or self-doubt, the answer is the same: pray — confidently, persistently, and without giving up. We invite you to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/faithmcrichmondtx

Crucified with Christ-Pastor David Dorn

Pastor David opens with a striking quote from Dietrich Bonhoeffer — "When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die". Drawing from Hebrews 5:12b-14, he frames the sermon around the call to move from spiritual infancy to maturity, from a "Jesus Loves Me" faith to one that grapples honestly with the cost of following Christ. This isn't feel-good Christianity, he says — it's solid food for those willing to grow up in the faith. Turning to Galatians 2:15-16, 19-21, Pastor David unpacks Paul's argument that no one is justified — that is, saved — by following the law, no matter how diligently they try. Just as breaking the speed limit by even one mile per hour still makes you a lawbreaker, our inevitable failure to keep God's law reveals our sinfulness without offering any remedy for it. The law exposes sin but cannot save us from it. The heart of the message rests in Paul's declaration, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me" (Gal. 2:20). Echoing Jesus' own words in Matthew 16:24b-25 and Luke 9:23, Pastor David calls us to the daily practice of dying to self — putting to death selfishness, lust, anger, and bitterness — so that Christ, not our sinful nature, is what the world sees in us. This, he says, is what separates a saint from a pew warmer, and it is the life he is inviting every believer to step into. We invite you to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/faithmcrichmondtx

The Great Exchange-Pastor David Dorn

Pastor David opens this post-Easter message with a pressing question: now that Easter is behind us, what comes next? His answer is straightforward — it's time to grow up. Drawing on the New Testament's analogy of moving from spiritual milk to solid food, he reminds the congregation that while every believer starts their walk with Jesus focused on what He can do for them, spiritual maturity calls us to shift that focus entirely onto Christ. In the Methodist tradition, this is part of the process of sanctification — having our lives transformed and conformed into the image of Jesus. To illustrate this, Pastor David turns to John 3:22-30, where John the Baptist's disciples come to him troubled that Jesus is drawing bigger crowds. Rather than taking offense, John responds with remarkable humility, comparing himself to the best man at a wedding: "The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. He must become greater; I must become less" (John 3:29-30). This exchange of self for Christ, Pastor David argues, is the very heartbeat of spiritual maturity. Pastor David also addresses the reality of doubt, pointing to Matthew 11:2-6, where John — now imprisoned and facing death — sends word to Jesus asking, "Are you the one who is to come, or should we expect someone else?" (Matt. 11:3). Rather than dismissing John's doubt, Pastor David reframes it: doubt doesn't signal spiritual immaturity, it signals spiritual honesty. Jesus responds not with a rebuke, but by pointing to all the good being done around John. In the same way, when doubt creeps into our own lives, what we often need most is not answers, but a change of perspective — a reminder of what God is already doing around us. We invite you to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/faithmcrichmondtx

Different-Pastor RaMona Riggs

Pastor RaMona delivers a powerful message about transformation, drawing parallels between the physical changes she witnessed in Fulshear since 2011 and the spiritual transformation that should occur in believers' lives. She emphasizes that true transformation comes from within, referencing Romans 12:1-2 which calls believers to "be transformed by the renewing of your mind." Using the dramatic conversion of Saul to Paul in Acts 9:3-9 and the disciples' encounter with Jesus on the road to Emmaus in Luke 24:28-35, she illustrates how genuine encounters with Christ lead to life-changing transformation.Pastor RaMona addresses common struggles believers face, including doubts about God's presence and feelings of unworthiness. She shares a personal testimony about receiving an unexpected Scripture from a friend that directly answered her prayers, demonstrating God's active presence in believers' lives. The sermon concludes with the powerful reminder from Romans 8:35, 37-39 that nothing can separate us from God's love, and she introduces the song "Different" by Micah Tyler, which reinforces the theme of allowing God to change us from within rather than asking Him to change our circumstances.We invite you to connect with us: https://linktr.ee/faithmcrichmondtx