Most of us say we want clarity. What we really want is certainty about the future. And Jesus never promised that. What he promised was his own presence, every step of the way.

In this final message of the series Jesus. Right Where You Are, Pastor John Rallison explores Psalm 23 and John 10, and what it means that the Good Shepherd does not hand us a map. He walks with us. His rod and staff are with us even when we cannot see the way forward.

If you are facing a hard decision, a season of waiting, or a life that will not resolve the way you hoped, this message is for you.

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Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

What do you do when hope collapses? The disciples on the road to Emmaus know the feeling. On the evening of the first Easter, they're walking away from Jerusalem saying "we had hoped" — past tense. Their hope was real. It was just aimed at the wrong thing.

This message draws a sharp distinction between optimism and Christian hope. Positive thinking is a tool for navigating the manageable. It cannot carry you through suffering and death. Christian hope has to hold in Nigeria — where Christians are being killed for their faith — or it doesn't hold at all.

The risen Jesus walks with disappointed people. He opens the Scriptures. He breaks bread. And hope returns — not because the situation changed, but because Christ is known.

Hope is the way the soul sets itself toward the future in light of the risen Christ. Not a feeling to generate. Not a timeline to protect. A person to trust.

Part 2 of "Jesus. Right Where You Are." — a post-Easter series from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salem, Oregon.

Even after the resurrection, the disciples are still afraid.

In John 20, we find them behind locked doors, uncertain and trying to stay safe. The resurrection is real, but they are not yet living in it. And that’s where Jesus meets them.

He doesn’t wait for their fear to go away. He stands among them and says, “Peace be with you.”

In this message, we explore what that peace really means. Not just a calm feeling, but shalom—a deep, lasting peace grounded in what Jesus has done through his death and resurrection. We also look at Thomas’ struggle to believe and how Jesus meets doubt with presence, not condemnation.

If you’ve ever felt afraid, uncertain, or stuck in your own “locked room,” this message invites you to hear those same words spoken to you: “Peace be with you.”

STAY CONNECTED:

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https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ozqxlON8mRFDt6Y0-nfb4qm5sjnQynm

• Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/40R6TAOIWGgjqOz8fVibMd?si=b9fba79c1eac491b

Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

Easter is often about what Jesus gives—hope, life, and joy. But what if it’s also about what He takes away?

In this message, we look at how the resurrection of Jesus changes three deep human burdens: fear about the future, shame that makes us hide, and regret that keeps us stuck in the past. These struggles don’t simply disappear—but because Jesus is alive, they no longer get the final word.

More than a message or mindset, Easter gives us someone to turn to. A living Savior who has faced death, carried our sin, and risen again so that forgiveness, freedom, and a new beginning are real.

He is risen. He is risen indeed. Alleluia.

Stay Connected:

• Receive weekly sermon summaries by email:
https://mailchi.mp/92230176913c/redeemer-email-signup-landing-page

• Read more reflections on Substack:
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• Watch more sermons on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ozqxlON8mRFDt6Y0-nfb4qm5sjnQynm

• Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/40R6TAOIWGgjqOz8fVibMd?si=b9fba79c1eac491b

Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

Palm Sunday begins with a crowd crying out “Hosanna”—“save us”—as Jesus enters Jerusalem. They know what they want: deliverance from Rome. But Jesus comes to confront a deeper enemy, one they cannot see.

In this message, we explore how Jesus intentionally fulfills prophecy, what kind of King He truly is, and why His answer to our prayers often looks different than what we expect. The same tension the crowd faced then still shows up in our lives today.

Do we trust Jesus enough to answer our cry His way?

Temptation isn’t just something out there. Temptation is only tempting because it resonates with something already inside us. That can be a hard truth to face.

But the good news is this: in Jesus, you don’t have to hide.

In this message on the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:2–4)—especially the petition, “Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:13)—we explore how temptation really works, why it feels so personal, and what it reveals about us.

More importantly, we see how Jesus meets us in that reality. He doesn’t call us to pretend or perform. He calls us to honesty—and He stands for us where we fall.

This sermon concludes the series The Lord’s Prayer as Re-Formation, where we discover that this prayer doesn’t just teach us what to say—it reshapes who we are. As we pray it with awareness, it exposes where we hide, reveals where we don’t trust, and brings us back again and again to the Father who loves us and delivers us in Jesus Christ.

You don’t have to hide.

This message speaks to anyone wrestling with temptation, shame, and the desire for real spiritual freedom through the grace of Jesus Christ.

Stay Connected:

 • Receive weekly sermon summaries by email:
https://mailchi.mp/92230176913c/redeemer-email-signup-landing-page

 • Read more reflections on Substack:
https://johnrallison.substack.com/

• Watch more sermons on YouTube:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ozqxlON8mRFDt6Y0-nfb4qm5sjnQynm

• Listen on Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/show/40R6TAOIWGgjqOz8fVibMd?si=b9fba79c1eac491b

Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

The petition in the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us,” can sound like God’s forgiveness depends on ours. But Jesus shows us something deeper.

In this message, we explore how forgiveness actually works in the kingdom of God. Not as something we earn, but as something that grows out of the mercy we have already received.

When we hold onto resentment, we carry a weight that was never meant to be ours. But when we begin to release the ledger we keep on others, we step into a deeper freedom.

This message includes a reflection on the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18) and an invitation to live without keeping score.

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Part of the series: The Lord’s Prayer as Re-Formation

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Follow Pastor John Rallison:

 • YouTube(Video Sermons):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ozqxlON8mRFDt6Y0-nfb4qm5sjnQynm

• Podcast onSpotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/40R6TAOIWGgjqOz8fVibMd?si=b9fba79c1eac491b

• Email SermonSummaries:

https://mailchi.mp/92230176913c/redeemer-email-signup-landing-page

• Substack:

https://johnrallison.substack.com/

Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

Jesus teaches us to pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.”
But what does that really mean?

In this message from Matthew 6:11, we explore how this petition of the Lord’s Prayer reshapes our relationship with God. The word give reminds us that life is received from the Father, and the word daily calls us back from anxiety about the future to trust God for today.

Part of the series The Lord’s Prayer as Re-Formation.

Speaker: John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church – Salem, Oregon

Lord’s Prayer
Matthew 6:11
daily bread
Christian sermon
trust God
Bible teaching
Lent sermon
anxiety and faith
Jesus teaching on prayer

In this message from a Lenten series on the Lord’s Prayer, Pastor John Rallison explores what Jesus means when He teaches us to pray, “Your will be done.” If God is truly Father, praying for His will isn’t surrender to a tyrant — it’s trust. And trust takes courage.

We often wonder what God’s will will cost us. We fear losing control. But when Jesus describes heaven, He speaks of wedding banquets, joy, mercy, and welcome. What if “Your will be done” is not about crushing obedience, but about entering into the life and joy of the Kingdom?

In this sermon, we reflect on:
• What God’s will looks like “in heaven”
• Why repentance means a change of mind
• What Jonah reveals about our resistance
• Jesus’ prayer in Gethsemane
• The courage it takes to pray honestly

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FollowPastor John Rallison:

• YouTube (Video Sermons):

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8ozqxlON8mRFDt6Y0-nfb4qm5sjnQynm

• Podcast on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/show/40R6TAOIWGgjqOz8fVibMd?si=b9fba79c1eac491b

• Email Sermon Summaries:

https://mailchi.mp/92230176913c/redeemer-email-signup-landing-page

• Substack:

https://johnrallison.substack.com/

Pastor John Rallison
Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon
https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

When the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray, He gave them a direct answer. The very first word matters: “Father.”

In this message from Matthew 6:9, we explore what it means to pray “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.” Before daily bread, before forgiveness, before protection, Jesus grounds prayer in identity and relationship. If God is Father, then we are children — and that reshapes how we pray, how we carry responsibility, and how we understand our place in the world.

This sermon examines:

• Why the disciples believed prayer must be taught
• The significance of “Father” in the original Greek
• How this word corrects both pride and shame
• What “in heaven” means for anxiety and control
• How “hallowed be your name” shapes the way we live

This message begins a Lenten series walking slowly through the Lord’s Prayer, allowing Jesus’ words to form us as we pray them.

Scripture: Matthew 6:9
Series: The Lord’s Prayer as Re-Formation

Keywords

Lord’s Prayer
Our Father in heaven
Matthew 6:9
Teach us to pray
Christian prayer
Meaning of Our Father
Hallowed be your name
God as Father
Lenten sermon
Lutheran teaching
Biblical prayer
Prayer formation
Christian identity
Sermon on the Lord’s Prayer