Red Rocks Church Weekend Messages
Episode: Week 6 of Kiss the Fire
Speaker: Ryan (Not Doug!)
Date: November 8, 2025

Episode Overview

This week, Ryan concludes the “Kiss the Fire” sermon series with a message titled "Bring Your Bible to the Fire." The central focus is equipping believers to turn to the Bible—trusting it, studying it, memorizing it, and living it—especially when navigating life’s toughest "fires." Ryan discusses common objections to Scripture’s reliability, shares practical steps and personal stories, and encourages hearers to approach battles by wielding the Word of God rather than the distractions or vices offered by the world.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Bible as Our Weapon in the Fire

• Life’s Fires and the World’s Solutions:
  The world distracts us from life’s pain (work, vices, hobbies), but followers of Jesus are invited to face challenges head-on, equipped with scripture (00:04).
  • “This series is not called just kind of hope the fire goes away. This series is called Kiss the Fire.” (00:08)
• Main Instruction:
  "Bring your Bible to the fire." Grounded in Ephesians 6: Paul’s metaphor of the Word as “the sword of the Spirit.” (00:10–00:15)
  • “So often I would argue that we just have the enemy in our ear whispering lies to us while our sword is collecting dust… I want to teach us how to take the Bible with us into the battle.” (00:15)
• Four Steps to “Take the Bible into the Fire”:
  • Trust it
  • Study it
  • Memorize it
  • Live it

2. Can We Trust the Bible?

• Addressing Skepticism:
  Many feel the Bible is like a "game of telephone," unreliable after centuries and translations (00:20).
  • “Biggest critique... is they’ll usually say something like this: ‘I just don’t feel like I can trust the Bible. It feels to me like this giant game of telephone.’”
• Actual Transmission of Scripture:
  The gospels are eyewitness accounts, not hearsay. Scholars go directly to original texts, not to “translations of translations.”
  • “It would be like going to the first person in line of the game of telephone going, ‘Hey, what did you say?’ because I want to make sure that I get this accurate.’” (00:28)
• Supporting Quotes & External Scholarship:
  • Nelson Glueck: “It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference.” (00:38)
  • Norman Geisler: “There’s more evidence that the Bible is a reliable source than there is for any other book from the ancient world.” (00:39)
• Personal Trust in the Bible:
  The Bible is a library—66 books, 39 authors, over 1,500 years, three continents, yet tells one unified story pointing to Jesus.
  • “It all weaves together to tell one unified story that all points to Jesus.” (00:45)
• Further Study Recommendations:
  • “Why Can I Trust the Bible?” sermon by Pastor Sean
  • “Evidence That Demands a Verdict” – Josh & Sean McDowell

3. How to Study the Bible

• Owning a Bible vs. Reading It:
  Stats: 87% of American households have a Bible, but only 11% interact daily (00:48).
  • “It’s not enough just to have the Bible. We actually gotta open it up. We actually gotta study it.” (00:48)
• Practical Guidance:
  • Have a Place: Consistency matters.
    • “I have a chair in my room and every morning when my alarm goes off, I go to my chair and I read for about 30 minutes.” (00:54)
  • Have a Plan: Use Bible reading plans; suggestion to read Luke & Acts over the rest of the year (52 chapters in 52 days).
• Learning from Real Examples:
  Pastor Jill is highlighted as a model of daily study—annotating, praying, and finding comfort in her Bible through personal trials.
  • “She gets her Bible and she starts going over to Isaiah 22… every single page, just highlight, highlight, highlight, underline, underline, underline, note, prayer here.” (00:59)

4. Memorizing Scripture: Bringing the Word with You

• Why Memorize?
  So God’s Word is available during challenges—beyond just morning quiet times or reading at home (01:02).
  • “It’s not enough just to study the Bible. We gotta memorize it so that we can bring it with us into the fire.”
• Jesus as Example:
  When tempted in the wilderness, Jesus replied with Scripture: “It is written…” (Matthew 4), showing the power of having verses memorized.
• Application & Group Challenge:
  Ryan gives three foundational verses:
  • Romans 5:8 – Assurance of God’s love:
    “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (01:07)
  • Ephesians 2:10 – Our identity as God’s handiwork.
  • Joshua 1:9 – Encouragement that the Lord is always with us:
    “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous… For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.”

5. Living It Out: Facing Your Fire with God

• Personal Testimony:
  Ryan candidly shares his lifelong fear of public speaking and feelings of inadequacy.
  • “My whole career is very ironic. The fact that I’m standing on this stage is very ironic… I was terrified of public speaking.” (01:13–01:15)
• Truth from Scripture:
  God’s presence is our strength—God told Moses, “I will be with you” (Exodus 3:12), not “You’ve got this, Moses, you’re awesome.”
  • “Public speaking does not come naturally to me. It doesn’t. But it does come supernaturally to me.”
• Encouragement for Listeners:
  No matter what "fire" you face—personal struggles, habits, unfulfilled dreams—the Lord is with you, enabling you to do far more than you could alone (01:19–01:22).
  • “Maybe [something] doesn’t come naturally to you, but in the name of Jesus, it will come supernaturally to you because the Lord is coming with you. So don’t you dare give up.”

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Why Rely on Scripture over Superstition
  “When the fires hit, like the real fires, 222 is not going to help you. Okay, but ‘Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous… For the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.’ That’ll get you through a fire. So don’t bring superstition to the fire with you. Bring the word of God to the fire with you.” — Ryan (00:51)

• On the Bible’s Unity and Reliability
  “It all weaves together to tell one unified story that all points to Jesus.” — Ryan (00:45)

• On the Power of Memorized Scripture
  “I have hidden Bible verses in my heart so that I’m ready when the enemy does attack.” — Ryan (01:04)

• On God’s Presence in Insecurity
  “He doesn’t say, Joshua, be strong and courageous because you’re awesome. He says, be strong and courageous. Why? Because I’m going with you.” — Ryan (01:14)

• On Facing Our Fires
  “You can kiss this fire in front of you because the Lord is going with you. He’s going before you. He’s with you every step of the way. So you’re gonna kiss this fire, and we’re gonna walk away whistling. Amen.” — Ryan (01:25)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• 00:03–00:09: Welcome, series introduction, and prayer
• 00:10–00:19: Why bring the Bible to the fire; the “sword of the Spirit”
• 00:20–00:40: Addressing skepticism about scriptural trustworthiness
• 00:45–00:46: Unity of the Bible and how Jesus used Scripture
• 00:48–00:56: Practical tips—studying the Bible, having a plan and a place
• 00:57–01:01: Pastor Jill’s example of daily devotion during hardship
• 01:02–01:10: Memorizing Scripture, Jesus’ example, killing lies with truth
• 01:13–01:16: Ryan’s personal struggle with public speaking and overcoming through scripture
• 01:18–01:22: Encouragement for listeners facing any kind of fire
• 01:23–end: Prayer and invitation to commit to Jesus; closing worship

Conclusion: The Core Takeaway

Ryan’s challenge is clear and heartfelt: to face life’s struggles not with distraction, denial, or superstition, but by anchoring in the truth and promises of God’s Word. By trusting, studying, memorizing, and living out Scripture, believers are empowered not just to survive life’s fires, but to face them with confidence—because the Lord is always going with them.

“Maybe it doesn’t come naturally to you, but in the name of Jesus, it will come supernaturally to you—because the Lord is coming with you.” — Ryan (01:22)