Westminster Loving God & Neighbour

DOES GOD EVEN EXIST?

This pdf document is a text version of a Sunday teaching series I led at Westminster in September 2017: “Does God Even Exist? – The 1 Question That Changes Everything.”

September 2017

Document: 2017 10 Does God Even Exist – M Ruttan – Series Manuscript

CHILDREN AND COMMUNION

This 1-page pdf document gives some background about the church’s decision to include children in the Sacrament of Communion, and also provides some help for explaining the meaning.

April 2020

Document: Children and Communion – Westminster 2020

IS THERE EVIDENCE FOR THE RESURRECTION?

This document is based on my sermon from April 8, 2018 at Westminster. In it I respond to 4 of the most popular conspiracy theories which try to undermine the resurrection, and present some other arguments which bolster the credibility of the resurrection stories.

April 2018

Document: Message-2018 04 08-380-M Ruttan-Is there evidence for the resurrection

IS THE BIBLE RELIABLE?

This document summarizes 17 of the most popular questions which come up during discussions around the reliability of the Bible. It was produced in tandem with pastor Ruttan’s message on January 15, 2017 called “Confident Convictions” as a part of the “Peachy” series at Westminster Church.

January 2017

Document: 2017 01 Is the Bible reliable – pdf

WHEN YOU SEEK GOD YOU SEE GOD.

This 2-page document summarizes 10 spiritual disciplines help you seek and see God in your life. A “spiritual discipline” is something you do to experience greater freedom; to receive God’s goodness; to examine and transform your inner self; and to develop greater communion with God. That’s huge! Spiritual disciplines are not just for “spiritual giants,” but for everyday, normal people like us. And they are best practiced in the midst of day-to-day life.

April 2016

Document: 2016 03 04 spiritual disciplines handout

ELDERS. WHO ARE THEY? WHAT DO THEY DO?

Presbyterian churches are overseen by elders. So in this sense “elder” doesn’t refer to one’s age, but to a recognized position of leadership. But who are they? What do they do? To answer these questions I put together a little brochure. You can get a hard copy at the church, or you can download one below. I hope it helps.

February 2016

Document: Learning About Elders Brochure – M Ruttan – 2016 02 17 – mr

IS THE HOLY SPIRIT AT WORK?

How do you know when the Holy Spirit is at work? The great theologian Jonathan Edwards wondered the same thing. In this 1-pager, I bring together and summarize 5 of his insights.

October 2015

Document: Holy Spirit – Edwards – 2015 10

RED-LETTER FOCUS

Everything Jesus Ever Said in 90 Days. This 1-page .pdf document takes you on a three-month devotional reading schedule through everything Jesus ever taught. The reading is about 5 minutes a day (or less).

September 2015

Document: 2015 09 M Ruttan Red Letter Focus

THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT

During my message on September 27th, I referenced a handout that highlighted the “fruit of the Spirit” (listed by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5). I also highlighted some insights about the fruit metaphor by Timothy Keller. Here it is.

September 2015

Document: The Fruit of the Spirit – handout – 2015 09 27 – M Ruttan

ANSWERING YOUR KIDS’ TOUGH QUESTIONS

This short document was put together for the church’s LIFT group one evening. It includes some helpful things to keep in mind when answering our kids’ tough questions.

Autumn 2014

Document: equipping-you-to-answer-kids-tough-questions-handout

OUT OF THE GATE

This 1-pager is to help you know where to start when you read the Bible. At first, the task can seem daunting. So this will help you know where to start, and even offers some advice about which translation to pick up.

May 2015

Document: m-ruttan-out-of-the-gate-bible-reading

THE MOST REFERENCED COMMANDS OF GOD

This 1-pager is packed full of God’s commands that are good to keep top of mind! (Otherwise, we’ll steer off the road.) I’ve put them here in one place.

June 2015

Document: m-ruttan-most-referenced-commandments

CAN YOU TRUST THE BIBLE ABOUT THE RESURRECTION?

I prepared this after Easter Sunday 2015. The resurrection is the ground zero of the Christian faith. It dwarfs ALL other stories in the Gospel. So wouldn’t it be great if we felt more confident in whether or not the Bible was a reliable record of it? Yup.

April 2015

Document: 2015-04-m-ruttan-can-you-trust-the-bible-about-the-resurrection1

THE APOSTLES’ CREED & NICENE CREED

These are two of the most globally accepted statements of the historic Christian faith.

Document: apostles-creed-nicene-creed

HOW DID WE GET THE MODERN VERSION OF THE LORD’S PRAYER

A lot of people spend time with the Lord’s Prayer. But why is the version most of us say not what is in the Bible?

March 2015

Document: 2015-03-m-ruttan-lords-prayer-evolution

ALIVE AND POWERFUL

This was created to help people understand a little bit more about the authority of the Bible, and about how to interpret it. This is about 10 pages but covers some important background.

March 2015

Document: 2015-03-alive-and-powerful-understanding-the-bible-m-ruttan-w21

SUMMARY CHART OF 66 BOOKS IN THE BIBLE

I put this together so people could tuck it in the front of their Bibles as a quick, high-level reference when reading through. Hopefully it helps.

November 2015

Document: the-bible-in-45-minutes-biblical-overview-chart-66-books