Redeemer West Side

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Isaiah 6:1-10  

How can you know if you’ve really met with the living God? One sign is that you surrender your life to God. Like Isaiah, you say to him, “Here am I. Send me”. Notice that Isaiah commits to serving God before he knows exactly what God will ask of him. There’s no bargaining; only surrender to the holy one. This sermon will invite RWS into the liberating (if not frightening!) life of spending and being spent for God’s mission in the city.  

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Isaiah 6:1-8  

It’s no coincidence that Isaiah meets God in the temple, the place where heaven touches earth. This sermon will offer a brief biblical theology of “temple”, noting things like the pervasiveness of “temples” throughout our city, how Christ is the true temple, and how in the gospel the church has become the temple (Eph 2v19-22). The pastoral point, then, is that we won’t really know the living God apart from life together with the people of God. 

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Isaiah 6:1-8  

A vision of God as holy, confession of sin, and cleansing through sacrifice: Isaiah’s call serves as a kind of case study for what a real encounter with the living God consists of. Isaiah encounters God the only way a person can: in and through the gospel.  

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | John 2:1-11  

John calls Jesus’ miracle at Cana the archetype sign (v11): as we look at this story, we have a picture of who Jesus is and what he came into the world to do. 

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Luke 18:9-14  

The gospel reverses our image of righteousness. Jesus' message is clear: true righteousness comes not from self-promotion but from a humble recognition of our need for God's grace. The Pharisee boasts of his own goodness, while the tax collector acknowledges his sinfulness and begs for forgiveness. 

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Luke 15:11-23  

“Am I enough? Will I ever be? How will I even know?” In this parable of a father and his two sons, Jesus challenges our views of status, identity, and self-worth as he shows us the depths of the Father’s heart.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 13:44-46  

Jesus has come to give us a life that is better than we could have ever wanted or imagined. For many, the surpassing worth of this life remains hidden and unseen. But for those who find it – whether by happy circumstance or an earnest search for truth – they discover that it is worth giving up everything for. The gospel costs us everything, but we get far more in return.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43  In this parable, Jesus teaches us that evil is more deeply rooted than we know, both in our hearts and in the world. At the same time, God is actively sowing and cultivating good things, and will one day deal with evil in a final and climactic way. Grasping both these realities can help us live with a patient and realistic hopefulness as we move through life.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 13:1-23 

A seed can utterly transform a patch of soil and bring forth life and beauty, but only if the soil is receptive and hospitable. The good news of Jesus - who he is and what he came to do - is like a seed that won’t force itself into a person’s life. But if it is met with openness and genuine understanding, it unleashes a power that can remake our lives and the world around us.

TODAY’S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 18:21-35 

One YouTube comment said, “Unforgiveness is definitely the flavor of the day.” We live in a time and age where giving and receiving forgiveness is an uncommon experience, and yet we all desire it. The parable of the unforgiving servant by Jesus gives us a picture of why Christians are called to forgive and how we can experience it.