Redeemer Weekend Sermons

Palm Sunday
April 2, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett

--

Luke 9:51 NIV

As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.

Luke 19:28-34 NIV

After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.”

Zechariah 9:9 NIV

Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Jesus is the Prince of Peace and came not to conquer men, but sin.

Luke 19:35-38 NIV

They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

Luke 19:39 NIV

Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”

Luke 19:40 NIV

“I tell you,”he replied,“if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out."

The Kingdom of Heaven
Parables • March 26, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown

--

R.T. France

"Chapters 11–12 have illustrated the growing divisions among men in their attitude to Jesus, culminating in the sharp contrast between true disciples and all others in 12:46–50. Division, and the problem of how some could reject Jesus’ message while others responded, are the underlying themes of this chapter too; the parables thus provide some explanation of the attitudes revealed in the preceding narrative."

Matthew 13:44-46 NIV

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy went and sold all he had and bought that field. “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value, he went away and sold everything he had and bought it.

What Makes the Kingdom of Heaven Treasure?
1. The Character of the King
2. The Values of the Kingdom
3. The Culture of the Kingdom

Matthew 9:35-36 NIV

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

The Character of the King
1. Compassion
2. Mercy
3. Grace
4. Righteousness
5. Love
6. Sacrifical

The Values of the Kingdom
1. Justice
2. Peace
3. Freedom

Culture is how we do things around here.

The Culture of the Kingdom
1. Accepted
2. Valued
3. Loved

What the kingdom of heaven does not invite us into is passive acquiesce. Rather, it confronts us with choice.

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector
Parables • March 19, 2023
Teacher: Daniel Bunn

--

Luke 18:9-14 NIV

To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’ “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’ “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”

Luke 18:15 NIV

People were also bringing babies to Jesus for him to place his hands on them. When the disciples saw this, they rebuked them.

Luke 18:35-39 NIV

As Jesus approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. When he heard the crowd going by, he asked what was happening. They told him, “Jesus of Nazareth is passing by.” He called out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” Those who led the way rebuked him and told him to be quiet, but he shouted all the more, “Son of David, have mercy on me!”

Luke 22:24 NIV

A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.

The Seed and The Sower
Parables • March 12, 2023
Teacher: Leanne Benton

--

Martin Luther

“We need to hear the gospel every day because we forget it everyday."

Mark 4:3-19 NIV

“Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow But when the sun came up, the plants are scorched, and they withered because they had no root. Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants, so that they did not bear grain. Still other seed fell on good soil. It came up, grew and produced a crop, some multiplying thirty, some sixty, and some a hundred times.” Then Jesus said, “Whoever has ears to hear, let them hear.” When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables. He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you.”

Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t you understand this parable? How then will you understand any parable? The farmer sows the word. Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desire for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

Mark 4:18 ESV

“And others are the ones sown among thorns. They are those who hear the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches and the desire for other things enter in and choke the word…”

3 Distinct Weeds:
1. The cares of this world
2. The deceitfulness of riches
3. The desire for other things

Cares = Divided Mind

Neither riches nor poverty create heart.
They reveal heart.

Other things = ...and all the rest.

John MacArthur

“Some (want to) alter the seed, or manufacture synthetic seed. They try to update the message, tone down the offense of the cross, leave the hard or unpopular parts out. Many simply replace the gospel with a totally different message…But this parable is not about enhancing the quality of the seed, improving the skill of the sower, or finding a more elegant use for the farm. It’s all about the condition of the soil.”

Good Soil:

Luke 8:15 NIV

“those who, having heard the word with a noble and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with patience.”

Matthew 13:23 NIV

“who hears the word and understands it."

Mark 4:20 NIV

"hear the word, accept it, and produce a crop - some thirty, some sixty, some a hundred times what was sown."

Lostness
Parables • March 5, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett

--

Luke 15:2b NIV

“This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”

Luke 15:7 NIV

“I tell you that in the same way, there will be more rejoicing in  heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.”

Luke 15:10 NIV

“In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Luke 15:11-16 NIV

Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them. “Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living. After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs. He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.

Matt Williams

“To liquidate his portion of the estate and then to leave his family amounted to an act of the grossest disregard and disloyalty.”

Luke 15:17-19 NIV

“When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death! I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’

“I am no longer worthy.”

Luke 15:20-24 NIV

So he got up and went to his father. “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him. “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Luke 15:25-27 NIV

“Meanwhile, the older son was in the field. When he came near the house, he heard music and dancing. So he called one of the servants and asked him what was going on. ‘Your brother has come,’ he replied, ‘and your father has killed the fattened calf because he has him back safe and sound.’

Luke 15:28-32 NIV

“The older brother became angry and refused to go in. So his father went out and pleaded with him. But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disobeyed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends. But when this son of yours who has squandered your property with prostitutes comes home, you kill the fattened calf for him!’ “‘My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours. But we had to celebrate and be glad, because this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’”

A.J. Levine

“They threw a party for the younger son, and they had enough time to call the caterer and the band before anyone told the older son.”

1. The nature of repentance.
2. God’s unconditional love.
3. Joyful welcome of sinners.

Those who accept Christ must accept others accepted by Christ.

1. Share God’s joy when any sinner repents.
2. Do not give up on people when they turn away from God or family.
3. Show patient love when someone snaps out of it and tries to make things right.
4. Practice forgiveness, as you want God to forgive you.
5. Avoid jealousy and selfishness when the celebration is for someone else.

The Good Samaritan
Parables • February 26, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett

--

If you’re not feeling it, you’re not fasting it.

Klyne Snodgrass

“The parable is a metaphor or simile drawn from nature or common life, arresting the hearer by its vividness or strangeness, and leaving the mind in sufficient doubt about its precise application to tease it into active thought.”

Klyne Snodgrass

“Jesus’ parables are among the best known and most influential stories in the world. Even if people know nothing about Jesus, they either know about his stories or have encountered their impact in expressions like, ‘prodigal,’ or ‘good Samaritan.’ Jesus was the master creator of story, and nothing is so attractive or so compelling as a good story. Story entertains, informs, involves, motivates, authenticates, and mirrors existence.”

1. The Kingdom of God.
2. The Character of God.
3. Expectations of God.  

Luke 10:25-28 NIV

On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. “Teacher,” he asked, “what must I do to inherit eternal life?“What is written in the Law?” he replied. “How do you read it?” He answered, “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind’; and, ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” “You have answered correctly,” Jesus replied. “Do this and you will live.”

Leviticus 18:5 NIV

Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them.

Luke 10:29 NIV

But he wanted to justify himself,so he asked Jesus, “And who is my neighbor?”

Leviticus 19:33-34 NIV

“‘When a foreigner resides among you in your land, do not mistreat them.The foreigner residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.

Luke 10:30 NIV

In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead.

Luke 10:31-37 NIV

A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went to him and bandaged his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. ‘Look after him,’ he said, ‘and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense you may have.’ “Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers?” The expert in the law replied, “The one who had mercy on him.” Jesus told him, “Go and do likewise.”

Matthew 22:36-39 NIV

“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’

Why go to church when church can come to me?
Asking for a Friend • February 19, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown

--

Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The antithesis between the Christian life and the life of the bourgeois respectability is at an end.  The Christian life comes to mean nothing more than living in the world and as the world, in being no different from the world, in fact, in being prohibited from being different from the world for the sake of grace.  The upshot of it all is that my only duty as a Christian is to leave the world for an hour or so on a Sunday morning and go to church to be assured that my sins are all forgiven.  I need no longer to try and follow Christ, for cheap grace, the bitterest foe of discipleship…has freed me from that."

On Sundays, we go to a building for worship.  We don’t go to Church because we are the Church.

What does it mean to be the Church?

1 Thessalonians 1:1 NIV

Paul, Silas and Timothy, to the church of Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Ekklēsia - Called Out Ones, assembly

1. Participate in God's Kingdom.
We are to live under King Jesus.
We are to be an alternative culture.
We are to be an indwelling fellowship.
We are to live like free people.

Romans 6:11-14 NIV

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.

We are a dwelling place for God.

Revelation 21:3 NIV

God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them.  They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.

We are to act out of love.

Tertullian

But it is mainly the deeds of a love so noble that lead many to put a brand upon us. See, they say, how they love one another, for themselves are animated by mutual hatred; how they are ready even to die for one another, for they themselves will sooner put to death.

How is the Bible Meant to be Read Today?
Asking for a Friend • February 12, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett

--

How is the Bible, an ancient document, meant to be read today?

Douglas Sweeney

“The Bible is the written word of God, from the eternal word of God, and hangs together on the work of the incarnate Word of God.”

STEP ONE: Research the World Behind the Text.

Exegesis: the careful, systematic study of the Scripture to discover the original, intended meaning.

2 Timothy 4:6-8 NIV

For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing.

Do your best to come to me quickly. – 2 Timothy 4:9

Do your best to get here before winter. – 2 Timothy 4:21

STEP TWO: Examine the World of the Text.

Romans 12:1 NIV

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.

STEP THREE: Discern the World in Front of the Text.

We cannot apply the Bible without knowing what it means, but we can know what it means and not apply it.

John 14:21 NIV

“Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me.”

Miracles
Asking for a Friend • February 5, 2023
Teacher: Dave Brown

--

If God never changes, why do we not see miracles today?

If God doesn’t provide a miracle that I asked for does that he doesn’t love me enough?

What is a miracle?
Why does God perform them?

1. Peter’s Mother-in-Law
2. A Man with Leprosy
3. Water to Wine

Luke 4:38-44 NIV

Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her. 39 So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them. Moreover, demons came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But he rebuked them and would not allow them to speak, because they knew he was the Messiah.

At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place. The people were looking for him and when they came to where he was, they tried to keep him from leaving them. But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” And he kept on preaching in the synagogues of Judea.

A miracle is the unnatural change in the physical, emotional, or spiritual condition of a person or thing.

Luke 5:12-16 NIV

While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.” Yet the news about him spread all the more, so that crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

At sunset, the people brought to Jesus all who had various kinds of sickness, and laying his hands on each one, he healed them…At daybreak, Jesus went out to a solitary place.

Crowds of people came to hear him and to be healed of their sicknesses. But Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.

John 2:11 NIV

What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

Miracles are displays of God’s glory, not demonstrations of God’s love.

J.I. Packer

A miracle is an observed event that triggers awareness of God’s presence and power.

We see miracles so often that we no longer recognize them.

1 Corinthians 12:28 NIV

And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues.

Is Jesus Really the Only Way to Heaven?
Asking for a Friend • January 29, 2023
Teacher: Adam Barnett

--

Is Jesus really the only way to heaven?

Jesus is undeniably, unmistakably, totally, entirely, and absolutely the only way to heaven.

John 14:1-7 NIV

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?” Jesus answered,“I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you really know me, you will know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

Acts 4:12 NIV

There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name given under heaven by which we must be saved.

1. Be thankful there is a name.

2. Be a good steward of that name.