Redemption Hill Church

This Sunday we continue our series with Ecclesiastes 3:1-22. This chapter starts the second section of the book of Ecclesiastes. Section 1 focuses on life under the sun, pursuing the fullness of the end of human wisdom and experience, and that it all is a vapor, a mist, a chasing after the wind. The next few chapters shift to focus on God’s design for the world as He created it. 
Chapter 3 might be the most well-known passage in the whole of Ecclesiastes. All because The Birds recorded their song Turn! Turn! Turn! in 1965. You’re welcome for having that stuck in your head throughout the weekend now. There is a season for everything, and our lives will turn through season after season, eventually bringing us in the full cycle and reminder that we are dust, and to dust we will return. As we immerse ourselves in God’s Word on Sunday, we will work to find the secret of joy and purpose in every season of our lives, and in the midst of every circumstance under heaven. 

This Sunday we continue in our series with Ecclesiastes 2:1-26. Last week we were introduced to Qoheleth, the Preacher, and an overview of the book that highlights his teaching concerning the extent of human experience and wisdom under the sun. This week we will see him explore specific pursuits, assessing the ultimate value and end-goals of pleasure, wisdom, and work. Our teacher has had a full life and limitless resources and opportunities to push to the fullest end of each pursuit, trying to find meaning and purpose. We will follow him down those paths to see where they end. By the end of the chapter we have already come to the end of section 1 of the book, and verses 24-26 give us the conclusion of the matter. It is possible to find joy and purpose even in the midst of the vaporous reality of our lives. 

I love the book of Ecclesiastes. Reading through it feels like it could have been written directly to DC in 2024. With the uncertainty of the year ahead, anxiety that many are already carrying into another election year, and the difficulty of navigating life in general, we all long for something solid to stand on, something that is unmoving that we can trust. Ecclesiastes helps us by exposing the fullest measure of every pursuit under the sun.

As we close our series, Abraham: Journey of Faith, we come to Genesis 25:1-11, Abraham’s death. Like Sarah’s death, it feels kind of sudden after so much story and time together. There are some interesting details in the passage that we will look into. Most of our time, though, will be spent looking at Abraham’s life. We will look at his importance and place in Redemptive History, God’s plan for redeeming humanity and renewing and restoring all things. And we will see how Abraham points us to Advent, the longing, waiting, and anticipation of what God would ultimately accomplish in the coming of Christ.

This is a long chapter, but we’re going to cover it in one go. I encourage you to take the time to read it between now and Sunday so you can come in with some familiarity. After Sarah’s death, Abraham realized that it was time to find a wife for his son, Isaac. He sent his servant on a journey that led to an intriguing encounter at a well with a young girl name Rebekah. 

The chapter shows us something of God’s care and will for us. In Abraham’s Journey of Faith there have been a lot of ups and downs. He finally came to the point of complete surrender and God was faithful to provide exactly what was needed. Everyone else in the story shows steps of faith as well, showing us the beauty and freedom we can have in self-surrender. 

This chapter details the legal negotiations and contract for a piece of land containing a cave in Hebron. At first reading it might feel boring to most. With a closer look, though, we can come to realize that this is the first piece of the land God promised to Abraham that was secured as Abraham’s own, and at a high price. Our focus on Sunday, though, will be Sarah. The reason Abraham bought the land with the cave was to bury his wife, the Matriarch of the Promise, after her death. On Sunday we will take a look at Sarah’s life as a whole, and lessons we can learn from her, in a kind of Eulogy for Sarah. 

On Sunday, Pastor Eric walked us through Titus 1:5-9 and walked us through the ecclesiastical need for shepherds in the church, the distinctives of qualified, godly shepherds, the source of empowerment for every godly leader, and the response as God’s people.

This Sunday we continued our series, Abraham: Journey of Faith with what might be the most famous story in Abraham’s entire life. In the ultimate test of faith, God called Abraham to offer up his son, Isaac in Genesis 22. At this point Ishmael had been cast out. After 25 years of waiting, God finally brought the promise of offspring to fulfillment in Sarah bearing Isaac. That one boy carried the fullness of God’s promises to Abraham – that his name would be great, that his offspring would outnumber the stars in the sky, that all the families of the earth would be blessed through him. Now the same God who made those promises was demanding that Isaac be given as an offering. 

This story is gripping and powerful. It presents a devastating ethical conundrum. As we read through and study the text, we will work to enter into the tension and anguish of the story. It’s only when we are able to experience the tension and anguish of questioning God’s goodness in the midst of His justice, that we can experience the explosiveness of His grace. 

After 25 years of waiting, longing, and anticipation, Abraham and Sarah finally see God’s promise of a baby fulfilled. Genesis 21 is filled with laughter and feasting and joy, and then the difficulty of family conflict and relational turmoil. In all of this, we see God’s sovereignty on display. At the very end of the chapter we read a new name for God, El Elyon, the Everlasting God. We will see that this characteristic is crucial to make sense of the three major stories – Isaac, Ishmael, and Abimelech – weaving them together under God’s sovereignty and work. 

This Sunday we return to our series, Abraham: Journey of Faith with a fascinating story about Abraham and Abimelech. It is possible for us to live our lives day to day without any real sense or awareness of God’s active work in our lives and in the world around us. The more busy and focused we become on what is happening immediately in front of us, the more tempting it can be to forget that there really is someone working at all times, in all circumstances, and in the lives of every person; that God is sovereign, knowing, present, and active. Genesis 20 is a good example of human efforts that are exposed as failures on every side, and God’s faithfulness in the midst of it.