As Paul headed back toward Jerusalem he stopped off to meet one last time with the elders of the church in Ephesus in Acts 20:13-38. It's an emotional scene that shows the tenderness between the Apostle and this church. It also shows us something of the calling to serve in leadership in local churches. We will see this week what the focus needs to be to keep a planted church on mission.

This Easter’s sermon comes from Acts 20:7-12, continuing our current series in Acts with a dramatic story of a young man named Eutychus who fell from a window and was brought back from the dead. The raising of Eutychus is only a shadow of the glory of the resurrection offered to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will see that God sees our suffering and sorrow, and that death does not hold the final answer.

This Sunday we will continue our series with Acts 19:21-20:6. This passage is a riot. Literally. After two years in Ephesus, Paul's ministry was recognized as a threat to the social and economic order of the city. It shows us that the gospel truly does turn the world upside down. This passage will help us to assess the broader cultural idolatry of our city and to see the divergent paths of the Way of this world and the Way of Jesus.

This Sunday, we continue our series with the beginning of Paul's 3rd missionary journey in Acts 18:24-19:20. This passage shows us a young upstart preacher who needed correction, a deficient understanding of repentance and baptism, and demons that whooped a group of brothers and sent them running down the street naked. In all of it, we see a distinction between ministry done from our own understanding and power, versus the Spirit-filled power of God brought to bear. This will be a fun one to explore together.

In this passage Paul goes into the city of Corinth. Corinth was a notorious place, a financial and trade center and a city that offered its proud inhabitants anything and everything they could wish for. Paul ended up spending 18 months there planting a church, but it took a vision from God to give him the confidence to stick it out in the face of opposition.

This Sunday we come to a passage that has been foundational for Redemption Hill Church since the very beginning. Even before our church had a name, when it was just an idea, Acts 17 and Paul's time in Athens shaped what would be our approach to life and ministry in this city. I continue to believe that DC is our culture's Athens - a place of education and learning, where ideology is openly discussed in the marketplace, and it is filled with inhabitants who "spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." I am eager to open this text up together and to see what we can learn as we continue to work to bring good news to this great city.

This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 17:1-15. This passage shows Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. The gospel turned the world upside down. And the advance of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ always calls for a response. It stands upside down and against the kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of our own hearts. The result, as we see in these two cities will either be jealousy and violence, or eagerness for God's Word.

This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 16:16-40, which shows the impact of the gospel in Philippi. The ups and downs of Paul’s journey continued, and still things just didn’t go as he would have liked or planned. But this passage shows us that the power of the gospel can change lives and overthrow systems even in a great city. It’s an important passage for us as we continue to live and work in DC, with great hope to see God at work in our city.

Paul's second missionary journey continued, but nothing went quite like he hoped. Along with Silas and Timothy, after the Spirit forbade them to go to the cities they had planned on, he ended up in Philippi. Throughout it all, even with clear closed doors, the travelers continued forward, trusting that God was directing their path wherever it led. We will see that God is good and sovereign, and that His leading will lead to unforeseen opportunities to join Jesus in good work.

This Sunday, we paused our series in Acts to focus on a much-needed topic: Rest. Our city is not a well-rested one. No matter the neighborhood or background, DC has a hustle to it. Understanding the need for rest, and the biblical concept of rest is essential for us.