Redeemer Weekend Sermons

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In The Way | Guilt vs Conviction| Week 5 | October 6, 2024

Teacher: Scott Johnson

/> You have a job – and work to do – for God’s kingdom!

/> GUILT is a counterproductive shame you feel over something in your past that cannot be changed (it’s there, alright!) and for which you have already been forgiven by Christ. Guilt interferes with your present and future – sometimes in very subtle ways.

/> CONVICTION is an invaluable gift from the Holy Spirit, a tug or nudge in your conscience to help you turn from a pattern of sinful behavior or a sinful choice you are considering, or move positively in a direction God is leading you. Unlike guilt, which springs from events in your past that cannot be changed, conviction is a very present sense of right vs. wrong. Heeding it will help you make the right choice in a current circumstance that affects your future path.

/> 1. You are an ambassador for Christ – and you have work to do!
/> 2. Guilt is a counterproductive obstruction in doing the work God has just for you.
/> 3. We need to stop looking back, live with a view to the future, and go for it!
/> 4. Conviction is a gift from the Holy Spirit, guidance to help us steer clear of sinful behaviors, actively move toward what God wants us to do, and make the best of our short time here!

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In The Way | Politics | Week 4 | September 29, 2024

Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown

/> Tradition helps us remember God’s faithfulness.

/> This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance…Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on the this very day that I brought your division out of Egypt…Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.  When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.  And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” Then tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.

—Exodus 12:14, 17, 24-28

/> One thing we can learn from this is the importance the Bible places on ritual.  The Old Testament repeatedly refers to teaching Israelite children who God is and what he has done.

—Peter Enns

/> Tradition gives us anchors for belief.

/> Repetition and familiarity work.  What is repeated becomes familiar, and this becomes a part of us…Far too many equate ritual with spiritual dryness.  True, ritual and liturgy can be dead but only when the significance and power of those rituals are forgotten.  Spiritual death is not a property of ritual itself.  To the contrary, ritual has always been and will always be a means of securing for future generations the power and reality of the gospel…Ritual breeds familiarity.  It seeps into one’s subconscious and, however subtly, begins to exert a formative influence.

—Peter Enns

/> Tradition “gets in the way” when we misunderstand the why behind it.

/> Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.

—Isaiah 1:13-17

/> As with the Israelites, our worship practices and religious activities are intended to be symbolic of deeper realities.  There is no necessary connection between these and the realities.  But there is a direct connection between those realities and our ethical behavior.  We can be very religious and yet be living our lives for ourselves.  We can give the appearance of obedience and yet be living a self-centered life that is nothing but rebellion.

— John Oswalt

/> Tradition “gets in the way” when it no longer accomplishes its why.

/> Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”

—Acts 15:1

/> Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are…It is my judgement therefore that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.

—Acts 15:10-11, 19

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In The Way | Politics | Week 3 | September 22, 2024

Teacher: Dr. Dennis Edwards

/> Unity requires living as heavenly citizens

/> Unity means engaging in Spiritual Warfare together

/> Unity require humility

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In The Way | Politics | Week 2 | September 15, 2024

Teacher: Adam Barnett

/> 1.    Jesus demands our ultimate allegiance. 

/> Anyone who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  - Matthew 10:37-38

/> My Christian identity is superior to my political affiliation.

/> 2.    My peace and hope are in Jesus, not the Oval Office.

/> Christ and _____________ is not the gospel of Jesus Christ.

/> 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God’s curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God’s curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  – Galatians 1:6-10

/> 3.    No matter what, God is in control. 

/> God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.   Psalms 47:8

/> Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. – Matthew 28:18

/> 4.    This is not our home, but it still matters.

/> And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.  - Jeremiah 29:7

/> 5.    Allow the Bible to influence your vote.

/> … But the word of the Lord endures forever.– 1 Peter 1:25

/> 6.    Choose your words wisely. 

/> “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”   - Ephesians 4:29   

/> 7.    Pray for our next President.

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In The Way | Same and Condemnation | Week 1 | September 8, 2024

Teacher: Adam Barnett

/> The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  – John 10:10

/> Satan wants to secretly, casually, quickly, and fully destroy the superabundant life Jesus wants for you. 

/> Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  - Romans 8:1

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Redeemer People | Worship | Week 3 | September 1, 2024

Teacher: Leanne Benton

/> 1. Worship forms our memory.

/> When we worship, we remember God’s faithfulness.

/> 2. Worship awakens our expectation.

/> Boldness in action outside the church began with boldness of prayers inside the church.

/> When we worship together, we are actually experiencing God’s presence.

/> 3. Worship grounds our hope.

/> When we worship, we foretaste the future.

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Redeemer People | Our Affirmations | Week 2 | August 25, 2024

Teacher: Dave Brown

/> The centrality of the Word of God

/> All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

2 Timothy 3:16-17

/> The Evangelical Covenant Church affirms the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, as the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct.

/> Where is it written?

/> The necessity of new birth

/> Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!

— 2 Corinthians 5:17

/> A commitment to the whole mission of the church

/> He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

—Micah 6:8

/> The church as a fellowship of believers

/> They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

/> Compelling Christian Community

/> Mission Friends

/> A conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit

/> An unconscious independence

/> …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

—Acts 1:8

/> The reality of freedom in Christ

/> We major on the major and minor on the minors

/> Covenanters have understood that God’s Word is sovereign over every human interpretation of it, including their own.  And understanding this, they have been free to allow for differences of opinion where the biblical record itself can be differently read.

—Committee on Covenant Doctrine

Covenant Affirmations

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Redeemer People | Mission and Vision | Week 1 | August 18, 2024

Teacher: Adam Barnett

/> Vision is seeing where you are going and knowing how to get there.

/> Where there is no vision, the people perish.  - Proverbs 29:18

/>Redeemer Church exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world.

/> WORSHIP:Redeemer will be a community of corporate worship where people can express their 

love for God and observe the sacraments, and where God is worshipped and glorified.

/> COMMUNITY: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus experience love, support, encouragement, and grace from one another.

/> DISCIPLESHIP: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus mature into Christlikeness and exhibit character consistent with one who has a personal relationship with Him.

/> “Spiritual formation is the process of the transformation of the heart (that is, the will and spirit). The heart is being formed in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.”– Dallas Willard

/> MISSION:Redeemer will be a community committed to the Great Commission, serving as Christ’s witnesses in our church, community, and world. 

/> Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

/> STEWARDSHIP: Redeemer will be a community that honors God with our resources and time

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Walking The Way | Unity | Week 14 | August 11, 2024

Teacher: Adam Barnett

/> We are not called to SAMENESS. We are called to ONENESS. 

/> I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  – John 17:4

/> Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.  – John 17:11

/> “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me,that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent meand have loved themeven as you have loved me.  – John 17:20-23

/> 1.    Unity is from the Holy Spirit, not us.

/> The Holy Spirit is THE ONE who can MAKE US ONE.

/> 2.    Unity is a witness of God’s love to the world. 

/> 3.    Unity is not an avenue to agreement.

/> Unity is not an avenue to agreement. So, take a deep breath and relax.  

/> I am sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I love you. 

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Walking The Way | Community | Week 13 | August 4, 2024

Teacher: Alison Myers

/> “You can make a strong case that of all the practices of Jesus, the two most important are SILENCE & SOLITUDE, and COMMUNITY. Because they are the two containers that hold all of the others. As a general rule, our best moments of healing and freedom and breakthrough and experience or encounter with Jesus, are either when we are alone with him in the quiet, or when we are together in community.” 

– John Mark Comer 

/> Jesus was formed spiritually.

/> Jesus was formed in community.
/> Jesus formed others in community.

/> Community is something we must practice.

/> We’re lonely but we’re afraid of intimacy. 

/>“And so from social networks to social robots we’re designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship, without the demands of friendship. We turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control.” 

/> "This expression is very difficult to render in English, but we could translate it by saying, ‘A person is a person through other persons.’ We need other human beings for us to learn how to be human, for none of us comes fully formed into the world. … I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family. …I have gifts that you don’t have, and you have gifts that I don’t have. We are different in order to know our need of each other. To be human is to be dependent.” 

/> Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God’s word to them. -Mark 2:2

/> Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven. -Mark 2:5