This Sunday, we began a new series on the book of Daniel, “Living in Exile.” Our first stop is Chapter 1 which sets the context for what is to come: the challenge of living faithfully when the cultural backdrop is literally designed to redefine the central tenets of one’s core commitments. But in Daniel, we see a theology of faithfulness that models “Staying True When It’s Hard.” Behind the fidelity of God’s servants, though, is God himself, who not only superintends history and individual lives, but ultimately stays true in the hardest of times.

We welcome Alex Wright to Redeemer this Sunday! Alex, his wife Keren, and their two boys moved to Cincinnati last Fall to explore planting a church in his childhood neighborhood of Price Hill. Currently, Alex is serving as an intern in the Chaplaincy program at Children’s Hospital. His text will be Mark 10:32-35, “Jesus’ Step to Greatness.” Alex writes: What does it mean to be ‘great,’ according to Jesus? It's very different than the way our culture thinks about greatness. This text reminds us that first and foremost, if we want to 'achieve' in God's Kingdom, we must first 'receive.'"

This Easter Sunday, our text is Acts 2:21-42, "What Do We Do with Jesus?" On the heels of the Holy Spirit being poured out on Pentecost, it's an excerpt from Peter's powerful and sweeping examination of Jesus' life, death, resurrection and exaltation. That message, and the clarion call to a response, resounds across centuries and continents and comes to us at Redeemer on March 31st, 2024. Pray along with me for renewed conviction and hope!

We come to our final text in 2 Corinthians (chapter 13) this Sunday, and the conclusion of our series covering both letters we find in the Scriptures to the young church in Corinth. Paul’s parting words encourage his brothers and sisters in faith to continue “Moving on to Maturity.” As usual, he is quite straightforward!

We are almost at the end of our series on 2 Corinthians, “More Grace for the Journey.” As we saw last week, the grace of God is Paul’s sufficiency, even to the point where he is able to boast about his weaknesses. They highlight his absolute dependence on Christ, and not on self. Not so for the “super-apostles,” who find their identity and value in how they appear (smoke and mirrors!). Paul recognizes the superficiality of their approach, how it runs counter to the Gospel, and in this week’s passage he makes it clear that his chief concern is to see their faith strengthened for the long haul.

“My grace is sufficient for you.” So says the Lord to Paul when Paul pleads three times for a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan, to be taken from him. Staggering. And, hopefully, a source of strength for each one of us who follow Christ: such travails (and what some would call “unanswered” prayers) are the very space in which God’s power is demonstrated most perfectly. How can this be? In what way is this remotely encouraging?

Paul takes up the position of “fool” in a verbal sparring match with his accusers in 2 Corinthians 11:16-33. He effectively says: well, let me speak on your terms for a minute and, in so doing, prove that I have more of a vested interest in than you do in the well-being of Christ’s church! What follows is a rather impressive list of hardships that culminate in Paul’s declaration that any boasting he will ultimately do is not to exalt himself, but rather God. More that that, his own weakness becomes the canvas for God painting His glory.

In 2 Corinthians 11:1-15, Paul defends his ministry against the claims of so-called “super apostles” and in the process he expresses the centrality of the original Gospel they received. It’s literally a story as old as Creation, as Paul references Eve and the serpent. That same serpent is still at work in crafty deception, distorting the Gospel and redefining What Matters Most. Paul won’t have it, and neither should we. Hopefully this text will reorient and ground us once again.

In 2 Corinthians 10, Paul moves from generosity to warfare – quite the stark contrast. His statements about where the battle exists (and the way in which the believer engages) call the church to fight differently than the world does, and paints yet another picture of our sheer dependence on Christ.

In 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Paul wraps up his discussion on the financial gift being collected for those struggling in Jerusalem. He provides ample reasons to translate the one-time gift into a lifelong, reflexive response to the grace of God. Such is the nature of biblical giving. And as far as Paul is concerned, nothing bad comes from such generosity – only good. If we asked the question, “Why so generously?” we would find plenty of practical answers in this text. So we will!