A woman begs Jesus for help. He says nothing. Then he compares her to a dog. Was Jesus being unkind — or is something else going on?

In this final message from the summer series "Faith for Ordinary Days," Pastor John Rallison sits with the story of the Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:21-28) alongside Paul's own wrestling with unanswered questions in Romans 11. When something in Scripture — or in life — doesn't make sense, we don't have to force an answer. We can trust who Jesus is, even when we can't fully explain what he's doing.

Matthew 15:21-28 | Romans 11:28-36 | Isaiah 56:1, 6-8

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

Most sermons on Peter walking on water turn it into "get out of the boat and take risks for Jesus." But that's not what the text actually says. Most of the disciples stayed in the boat, and Jesus never rebuked them for it.

In this message, Pastor John Rallison of Redeemer Lutheran Church walks through Matthew 14:22-33 and asks what this story really offers ordinary Christians who never hear an audible "Come." The center isn't Peter's water-walking, it's the order of events: Jesus catches Peter immediately, before asking him anything, and only afterward asks why he doubted, not as rebuke but as honest reflection. Rescue first. Reflection after.

Part of the "Faith for Ordinary Days" summer sermon series at Redeemer Lutheran Church, Salem, Oregon.

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

We don't know what to pray for as we ought, and that's not a failure. It's the human condition the Spirit was sent to meet.

A message from Redeemer Lutheran Church's summer series "Faith for Ordinary Days," on Paul's surprising claim in Romans 8: creation groans, we groan, and even the Holy Spirit groans on our behalf with groanings too deep for words. Scripture: Romans 8:18-27 (ESV).

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Pastor John Rallison

Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon

https://www.RedeemerSalem.org

"Her sins, which are many, are forgiven." In this episode, Pastor John Rallison walks through Luke 7:36-50, the story of a sinful woman who anoints Jesus at a Pharisee's dinner table, and uncovers who's actually in the most danger in that room. Part of the "Faith for Ordinary Days" summer series from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salem, Oregon, exploring what it means to live by grace rather than guilt in the middle of everyday life.

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

Even the apostle Paul admits he did the very thing he hated. Was his faith failing, or is that just what it means to still be fighting sin after decades with Jesus?

Pastor John Rallison looks at the freedom Christ has already won, and the rest he offers in the middle of the fight.

Texts: Zechariah 9:9-12, Romans 7:14-8:2, Matthew 11:25-30
Redeemer Lutheran Church, Salem, Oregon | Faith for Ordinary Days, Sermon 5 | July 5, 2026

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The fire that terrified people at Sinai now rests on them at Pentecost. Same God. Completely different access. In this Pentecost Sunday message from Redeemer Lutheran Church in Salem, Oregon, we explore how the Holy Spirit equips every believer with gifts for God's kingdom — and why the tape measure matters as much as the drill driver.

Week 2 of the series "Stewards of the King: Living Your Faith Out of Belonging, Not Guilt."

Texts: Acts 2:1–21 | 1 Corinthians 12:12–27 | Philippians 2:12–13

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

Most people brace when they hear the word stewardship. This message is not what you are expecting.

In the first of three conversations about what it means to live as stewards of God's kingdom, we start with a simple image: a throne and a plain chair beside it. The steward's chair. And the question of which chair you are actually sitting in.

From John 17, Jesus's prayer the night before the crucifixion, we hear three words that change everything: "Yours they were." The disciples belonged to the Father before Jesus ever called them. They did not earn their place. They were given one. And in verse 20, Jesus extends that same prayer to everyone who would ever believe. Including you.

You were in this prayer before you were born. You are held by a grip that is not your own. That is where stewardship begins.

📖 John 17:1-11, 20 (ESV)📍 Redeemer Lutheran Church | Salem, Oregon | redeemer-lcms.org

Part 2: Empowered by the Spirit | Acts 2:1-21Part 3: Sent by the Son | Matthew 28:16-20

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

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.”

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