Redemption Hill Church

This passage continues Jesus’ teaching and confrontation of the Pharisees and religious leaders in Jerusalem on the Tuesday after his Triumphal Entry into the city on Palm Sunday. The religious leaders confronted Jesus, asking by whose authority he taught and cleared the courts of the Temple the day before. This week we look at the second parable Jesus told in that confrontation.

This week we will take a hard look at the idea of fruitfulness. It’s a theme that runs all the way through Scripture. In fact, we will take a look back into the prophet Isaiah’s writings to see the theme of the vineyard that Jesus was drawing on. We will look into what, exactly, fruitfulness is and what it means to “bear fruit” in our lives. Ultimately, we will see the warning and the call of Jesus for each of us and for his people.

We left off with Jesus arriving in Jerusalem on the donkey. Matthew then takes us through Monday and into Tuesday of the same week. Through the entire Gospel so far, Jesus told people not to talk to others about who he is. This trip to Jerusalem starts off with a parade into the city, and then on Monday Jesus stormed the Temple courts and flipped over tables of currency exchanges and booths selling sacrificial animals to pilgrims. The religious leaders, indignant, essentially asked, “Who do you think you are?!” when then asked Jesus, “By what authority are you doing these things?”

That’s the key issue both then and for us now. Who’s in charge? There are lots of things that are easy for us to love and understand about Jesus, his grace, mercy, kindness, healing, and love. What do we do, though, when Jesus turns over tables in our hearts, minds, and lives? Can we trust that he is both sovereign and good?

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

Whatever you might think or want to think, we have to grapple with what Jesus said about himself, and the claims made about him to not take a text as it is intended to be understood is unjust to the author. Matthew has taken pains from the very start of his Gospel and all the way through to show us that Jesus fulfilled prophecy and he is the King.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

Our passage holds together three parts that may not seem to go together at first reading. There is a telling question that Jesus asked twice in this short section, though, “What do you want?” The responses of different people in the chapter, James and John (and their mom), two blind men, a crowd near Jericho, it all shows us something about our own hearts and how much we understand the upside-down nature of Christ’s Kingdom. So, in preparation for Sunday, I’d like you to think about that question. What is it that you want? Not the answer you’re supposed to give, but really and truly.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

Last week we saw how Jesus turns our ideas of wealth, morality, and status upside-down and that “many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.” As we begin chapter 20, we will see a parable that Jesus told to show exactly that principle. The parable of “The Laborers in the Vineyard” is a tellingly frustrating look at the extravagant grace of God and how our hearts tend to respond it grace. We will take time to look at what frustrates us about grace, why it is contrary to our world and our own sensibilities, and the impact of grace on our hearts.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

Over and over again, week in and week out, we have been encountering Jesus and his teaching. Over and over again, if we really pay attention to what he said, it’s shocking to us. When we encounter the real Jesus, not a warm-fuzzy caricature of a buddy Christ, not a mystical guru or abstract teacher, not a distant, aloof deity, but when we encounter the real Jesus, it’s surprising, and it can be confusing. His perspectives, his Kingdom, his teaching are all upside-down from our sensibilities. Our passage on Sunday challenges us just that way as we will see Jesus and the way he handled children, as well as the way he addressed a young man who was morally and religiously righteous and very wealthy.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

This passage is intensely practical and important. Some of the most difficult conversations and issues of our time relate to sex, sexuality, marriage, divorce, and how and whether our identity is rooted and shaped by it all. The issues we wrestle with are not new to us. Modern Western culture and American sensibilities are not as revolutionary or novel as we might think.

On Sunday we will look to Jesus to see what he has to say and how he addresses marriage, divorce, and sex, and how our hearts and our world getting things flipped upside-down. I know that these are sensitive and deeply personal topics, and that many of us come with deep wounds and haunting doubts and questions. Let’s look together at the Word of God, who is love, to see how he can bring clarity, healing, and restoration.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

We pick it back up with Matthew 18:15-35. You may hear people reference “Matthew 18” as a kind of catch-all for conflict and confrontation for Christians, which can be as unhelpful as it can be helpful. The truth is that the church is messy. We’re God’s people and God’s family, brothers and sisters, but brothers and sisters don’t always get along well. At times they can be outright mean to each other. So, how do we handle it when there is conflict, or when someone sins against us?

Like so much in the Kingdom, Jesus calls us to clear and simple steps that flow out a radical posture within our own hearts. This Sunday we are going to tackle the difficult issues of conflict, forgiveness, bitterness, and reconciliation. If you’re out of town for Labor Day, I encourage you to make time to catch this sermon because it is such an important topic.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

This Sunday closes out our August celebration series, and I get to preach! We will return to our study in Matthew’s Gospel next week. This week we will focus our attention on Paul’s letter, 1 Thessalonians. This was the focus of our Leadership Retreat last weekend, and I think it will be important for the whole church to hear what your Leaders and CG Leaders are focused on as we look to the year ahead.

The theme for this Sunday is Tending the Vine, from 1 Thessalonians 3:6-13. There are lots of really important things that we done in church that build a good trellis, structures and systems to make sure good work happens. Ultimately, though, the work of ministry is vine work. As 1 Corinthians 3 says, we plant and water, but only God gives the growth. This Sunday we will see the passion and care Paul had for the believers in Thessalonica and how that can help shape our understanding of God’s calling on us as a church.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠

This Sunday we get to hear from Dr. Bill Kynes. Bill was the pastor of Cornerstone Church in Annandale, VA, for nearly 40 years. He was the pastor who believed in planting Redemption Hill Church. Over the years we worked together and alongside each other, Bill became a spiritual father for me. You can read more about his impact on me and on our church in an article I wrote, “Young Pastors Need Spiritual Fathers.” There is no one better to have with us for our 15th anniversary. I can’t wait for you to meet Bill and to hear from him as he opens God’s Word with us on Sunday.

------------------------------------------- 

Connect with us on Social Media

⁠Website⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Threads⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Vimeo⁠⁠

------------------------------------------- 

Download our App

⁠⁠Apple App Store⁠⁠ | ⁠⁠Google Play Store⁠⁠