Pastor Ryan Cochran Podcasts

Chock full of "end-days" descriptions and descriptions, Matthew Chapters 24 and 25 repeats over and over a single, sober life-changing edict: be ready! Pastor Ryan drills down deeply on the famous parable of the 10 Virgins, and investigates its cultural and spiritual content, eliciting this one glaring and critical warning from our Lord: be ready f…

In Matthew Chapter 23, our Lord Jesus addresses the spiritual and religious conduct of the Pharisees, sharing with the crowd His assessment of their practice - hypocrisy! Jesus condemns the identity of these leaders, those who love the attention of the people rather than the directions of the Father, loving the practice of the Law (including their …

In Matthew 22:15-45, Jesus is confronted by Pharisees, Sadducees and Herodians with riddles. Three times they try to trip Him up-three times they fail - Jesus answers each time from "beyond the sun", beyond the mundane view of Ecclesiastes' perspective of life being "only-earthly". Jesus then riddles them - who is the Christ, the Messiah? Who is He…

Pastor Symps leads us through a challenging account of Matthew 21:23-46.Here, Jesus refutes the Pharisees' dubious inquiry into His authority by issuing four challenges: a right response to John the Baptist's ministry, the parable of the two sons, the parable of the vineyard landowner, and His own description of Himself as the chief corner (and stu…

We continue our series on Matthew with three detailed accounts of events in Matthew 21 - Jesus' triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the cleansing of the temple, and the cursing of the fig tree. In these three events, Jesus was demonstrating His authority to be King, to be Priest, and to be Prophet over Israel. In all three, the people had expectations,…

Isaiah prophesied about the Christ, the Suffering Servant. In Matthew 20:17-28, we hear of James and John requesting just the opposite from Jesus: power, authority and the implicit privilege that accompanies such. "Not so, with you!" exhorted our Savior. He then instructs the disciples, and us, that those who get ahead in the kingdom are those who …

Pastor Ryan continues our series on Matthew, targeting all the ways that Jesus taught us of the "narrow way" to enter the Kingdom. Today we look at the "rich young ruler" found in Matthew 19:13-30.Jesus targets the one thing left that he needs to do in order to receive eternal life: surrender! Submit to Jesus! He, not wealth, is the source of your …

Pastor Ryan explores Jesus' teachings on marriage and sexuality in earnest, looking deeply into the verses in Matthew Ch. 19 for today's Scripture. What is this "better story" that our Father has given us to share and emulate? How have we all failed to honor such a call? How is it that this God/Man Jesus knows more about marriage than anyone, yet e…

Pastor Ryan picks up on a long-overdue cliff hanger: returning to Matthew, the series begun before the COVID pandemic. Next week we resume progress on Matthew chapter 19, but today we get our "feet wet" through an introduction based on Math, Ch. 5-7 (the Sermon on the Mount). This discourse markedly points to the "better way" of Jesus, instructing …

Pastor Ryan leads us in our first sermon of the New Year, concentrating on Psalm 6. The Psalms are a gift from God's Word, teaching us that God pursues, above all, an honest whole expression of relationship with Him; all our joys, sorrows, happiness, pain, blessings and frustrations......all of it, to our loving Father, nothing artificial, fabricat…

Pastor Ryan finishes our short, sweet series on Ruth, focusing on the end of Chapter 4. Here, our story is replete with a genealogy (the royal lineage of priesthood and kingship), service (God displays His service to us by giving us Jesus, hr Lamb of God) and lovingkindness (our acts of service are because He displays His love for us first) - in th…

Pastor Ryan provides a short devotional message following our beloved Children's Christmas Presentation (see the streaming service for this date on our website). Pastor Ryan shares how Ruth's supporting prayer to Naomi is like Mary's response to the angel announcing her conception of Jesus: simple people with hearts of gratitude and loyalty, "hesed…

We begin a short series on a beautiful story of faithfulness, kindness and loyalty, of God's faithful care and attention towards "small" people. In Ruth, we find a surprisingly relationship to the Nativity of our Savior, where in the the "city of bread" that had no bread comes ultimately the Lord Jesus, the Bread of Life, Who gives living bread to …

In Heaven, the Throne of God is not empty: He is in command! And the worship before the throne is steadfast; eternal and forever!And we have the privilege, as God's children, to join in the throng of worshippers, to the holy throne of God and of the Lamb! Rev. chapters 4 and 5 are the Scripture passages used by Pastor Ryan for this final sermon of …

Romans 13, shares Pastor Ryan, exhorts all Christians of our mutual indebtedness to all to love unconditionally. We the proceed to study on the principle of neighborly service and devotion as a tangible method of worshipping our Lord. Similarities, deep and revealing, are explored between the famous parables of the Good Samaritan and the Prodigal S…

Suffering, like rain and sunshine, fall on the good and the evil, but the righteous suffer with hope! Pastor Symps leads us through studies in I Peter (4:12-19) and Job (1:1-22), using Scripture to help us understand how our suffering increases our dependency on God and further reveals His glory as He guides the child of God through their season of…

I Corinthians 6:13 states "the body is..for the Lord, and the Lord for the body." Pastor Ryan leads us through a thorough discussion of I Corinthians 6:12-20, where Paul targets two common, frequent, and lifelong consumptions (food and sex) and exhorts believers to consecrate them always to the Lord. Indeed, our bodies, temples of the Holy Spirit, …

From Hebrews 4:12-13 to other landmark verses, we explore the role that honoring and responding to God's Holy Word, to Jesus as Eternal Word, and the Holy Spirit's teaching of the Word has on our worship to the Father. God's Word is not outside the secular mind's frame of influence; His Word is in the center of it all - indeed, such that the frame …

Elder Ben Fischer, who with wife Lisa coordinates our worship team ministries, blesses us today with a lesson on the importance of singing as an expression of worship. Why sing? How is it appropriate as a vehicle of worship to our Father? What does God achieve in our hearts, minds and souls by having us worship Him in song? How does the body get bl…

The immersive, communal Love of the Triune God is available to us as children! The rapturous prayer from our Lord Jesus, found in John 17, declares emphatically how we are in, in IN this wondrous community of immersive love that the Trinity has had for eternity, now made available to each of us because of the work of the Lord. Pastor Ryan also shar…

Our final chapter in our consideration of our God in Three Persons, Blessed Trinity. God is Father, Jesus is Son, and the Holy Spirit is Love. The same Spirit that so long ago moved over the face of the waters, bringing order out of the chaotic sea, is the same Spirit Who moves in our hearts, bringing order to our chaotic souls, teaching us wha is …

Pastor Symps preaches and teaches on the cardinal pillar of our Savior: Jesus is God!We review the ironclad truths of Scripture that declare the eternalness and supremacy of our Christ, and worship Him for what He has done for us, and simply for Who He is: God the Son! The preeminent over all of creation!John 1:1-18, 5:19-30 and Col. 1:15-20 are ou…

Second lesson in our series, we concentrate on the Holy, wonderful and marvelous character of the Father. We look at passages that declare boldly, "God is Love".Pastor Ryan shares from John 17 and Galatians 4 on the overwhelming attribute of our Father is BE our Father, full of love for His children, and indeed, exemplifying for all what a Father d…

So we begin! Pastor Ryan begins our journey through the semester of learning and practicing one of BCC's pillars of ministry: "steadfast worship". We learn from Ephesians 1:3-14 of a Triune God worthy of praise, because of what He has done for us, and, more importantly, simply for Who He is!Our God, eternally Almighty, inexpressibly merciful!…

In preparation for our new fall series, Pastor Ryan discusses the blessings, responsibilities and spiritual expectations for the who choose to declare kinship to a small famlly group of Christ-followers. We are exhorted to enter into friendships where "iron sharpening iron" promotes healthy expressions of love and forgiveness, exemplifying the savi…

We complete our journey through the Book of Philippians with this final sermon, expounding on Paul's thankfulness of giving, and the "Koinonia" that it creates for and from the body of Christ. To fellowship, partner, share commune, all wrapped up in the Godly practice of giving, modeling what God does for us...constantly. Pastor Ryan so expounds on…

Pastor Ryan returns to our pulpit, sharing on Phil. 4:10-20. Today we hear of how the Apostle Paul was able to experience contentment in all circumstances, good or bad. Our exhortation from the Holy Spirit is to do the same, as we learn to trust completely and intimately on Jesus' power to do so - we learn that "our Lord is our Shepherd, He is ever…

Pastor Eric Woods, of NeighborLink Ministry, visits our church and pulpit. He shares a passionate exhortation to exercise our faith through deliberate ministry, shared-and modelled- by our Lord Jesus in John 13: 1-20.By Eric Woods

Pastor Bruce Cochran (Ryan's father) visits the BCC pulpit and expounds deeply on the famous passage of Philippians 4: 8, 9.Our maturity is reflected in what our mind dwells on, what our mind meditates on. Paul states, and pastor Cochran shares on, to do "what we have learned" from God to acquire His peace.…

Pastor Symps, returning from an extended missions journey, blesses us with a preaching on Philippians 4: 1-7. He emphasizes the acquiring of maturity through having peace and joy in all circumstances, through the power of the Holy Spirit.By Symps Ndlovu

Like it or not, all of us learn to progress in life through imitation, learning to do as we see and hear others doing. Paul, in Phil. 3, verses 17-21, exhorts us to imitate Christ! Not the earthly things, as Pastor Ryan explains. The enemies of the cross of Christ may not necessarily be overtly evil and demonic, simply false followers of Jesus - th…

pastor Ryan continues our study in Philippians 3, verses 10-16. Pastor Ryan expounds on Paul's cherished declaration of "pressing on", reaching for the one prize above all, Jesus Christ. Our love for Jesus is not a formula, but a relationship, learning to forget all in the past and strive for that one calling, one goal of being conformed to the lik…

We are blessed to have guest speaker Dr. Chad Raith delivering our message today. He speaks on Phil. 3, verses 2 - 11. Here the Apostle Paul enjoins us towards that one asset that focuses our lives: Jesus, only Jesus! Dr. Raith explains that each of uses charged to determine that ONE thing, that One asset, that we absolutely must have to ensure an …

Pastor Ryan elaborates on Philippians 32:19-30, where Paul emphasizes, of all things, travel plans! Travel plans that encourages the importance of friends and colleagues, that in turn emulate Christ-like relationships rich in Christly investments, that in turn demonstrate Godly maturity in the Spirit.…

In Phil. 2:12-18 (our text for today), we find Paul exhorting the church (and The Church) to 'work out our salvation with fear and trembling", Pastor Ryan leads us through a discussion on this very subject, focusing on how our maturity in Christ is demonstrated through NOT grumbling!By Ryan Cochran

Pastor Ryan leads us through one of the most beautiful passages of Scripture, the "Christ Song" found in Phil. 2:1-11. Here we find Jesus, God in the flesh, demonstrating His Godliness through the complete humility of the cross. This ultimate demonstration and model of humility is for us to follow, tone mature, to be more like Jesus!…

One of our own elders, Steve Snyder, preaches to our body today, showing how our passage in Philippians models the cardinal goal of maturity in Christ through unity. Philippians 2:1, 2 are the verses of focus today.By Steve Snyder

Pastor Symps looks closely at Philippians Chapter 1, verses 19-30.Our confidence is in Christ, our citizenship is with Hm! We are His sheep, and not sheep to the world's politics, and our conduct should be that of one who is citizen to the Kingdom of God!By Symps Ndlovu

We look intensely at chapter 1, vss. 12-18. Paul makes it clear of his state of suffering, a suffering we so many times must endure for the sake of Christ! We see in this passage how 1) Paul models maturity in his sufferings for Christ and 2) how suffering does produce maturity that glorifies God and furthers the Gospel.A difficult reality for us t…

Pastor Symps continues our learning of Christly maturity by concentrating on the lesson of Philippians 1:9-11, that being our call to discerning love. Paul exhorts our love to be anchored n Christ's character, full of discernment, knowledge, integrity and of course its result: authentic, mature love.…

Pastor Ryan introduces us to our new series on Philippians. He shares with us Paul's call to the Philippian church the call to a walk with Christ that models maturity, a walk priviledged to resemble Christ even in servanthood and suffering, yet abounding in joy. In their letter, Paul is able to share his obvious affection and love with his fellow c…

Israel fails miserably in using the Ark of the Covenant as a means to manipulate the God of Israel. In chapters 7 and 8 of I Samuel, we see Samuel, as Israel's last judge, call and teach the people to take their regret and turn it into true repentance, into true worship, into grateful remembrance, and into total faithfulness of our One True God. A …

Pastor Ryan leads us through a panoramic view of Samuel's birth, his relationship with God, and his focus of ministry to Israel. A clear contrast of comparison can be drawn as we view Samuel and Samson (the last named judge in "Judges"); how did they treat their mother? God? The calling given to each? I Samuel, chap. 1-3 is our scripture for today.…

Pastor Symps helps us to grasp the deep significance of our justification and our sanctification, both identified through Christ's wonderful work on the cross! Like Him, we are to be reckoned with the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus' Gospel identity.Hallelujah! We, sinners now declared righteous because of Christ, can now be slaves to right…

He is Risen! He is Risen Indeed! The disciples did not, at first, understand this nor its full implications. In fear they cowered after Jesus' crucifixion. But Jesus appeared! And not only gave them peace, and the Holy Spirit, but also a charge, a mission to continue His work on earth. We look at John 20:19-23, John's version of the Great Commissio…

We arrive at our last tale found in the book of Judges, Chap. 19-21. Pastor Ryan leads us through five scenes of narrative, leading from the wandering Levite priest, the horrific events of the concubine, to civil war, and a solution to near-genocide that once again breaks God's law. Throughout is the tragic comparison of radical hospitality vs. unp…

We are in Chap. 17 and 18 of the book of Judges. We focus on the story of Micah, a man devoid of personal and meaningful relationships, one who does his own will to acquire meaning, purpose and belonging in his life, only to have it so easily taken away. So like our culture in America now, where we see so often only a glimpse of God in an expressio…

Pastor Symps completes our trilogy on the life of Samson in Judges Chap. 16. Pastor Symps leads us into a detailed study of Samson's last actions, his downfalls, and his wrong choices in his walk with God. What do we learn from this story today?How can we protect ourselves and the body from repeating such destructive life decisions?…

We are looking at Samson's life and character, found in Judges Ch. 14 and 15. We see a "hero", larger than life, who is for...himself. Samson is for Samson. He is the encapsulation of Israel, a nation to whom God gave so much, but delivered to Him no praise, but indifference. Yet God's lovingkindness remained, for God was faithful and generous with…

Today we look at Judges Chapter 13, and we are introduced to Samson's parents, Manoah and "his wife. What kind of people were they? How much did they listen to the Lord, how much did they understand? We learn that God here takes the initiative: He does not wait for a "good" person, He does not work in places of great attention, and He does not use …