Redemption Hill Church

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.

In the aftermath of the Jerusalem Council Paul and Barnabas headed back to Antioch to teach together. They agreed to go out from there to revisit the churches they had planted together on their first journey. Not all went as they planned, but God was able to work in and through them even in the midst of it.

This Sunday we come to a watershed moment for the Early Church. The Apostles Peter, James, and Paul came to a point of conflict that could have threatened to divide the entire church. The future posture of Christianity was hanging in the balance. So, a council was called in Jerusalem, gathering the Apostles, the Elders, and the people of the Jerusalem church together. There is much to mine in this pivotal passage. As we walk through it together, we will see what is essential to the gospel, and something of how to handle things that we hold important but that are less essential.

This Sunday we will continue our series with Acts 14:20-28. Last week we saw that the Apostle Paul was dragged outside of the city and left for dead. This week we see his response. He got up and went back into the city. It's an unpredictable move that showed his passion for the work God had called him to. Not only that, Paul proceeded to go back through every city that he and Barnabas visited on their journey. Remember these are all cities that they had been run out of! Beyond the resilience of these men in their ministry, we will also see the beautiful reality that gospel proclamation and the advance of God's Word leads to church planting as people's faith is strengthened, disciples are made, Elders are trained and appointed, and the church is gathered to celebrate God's goodness and grace.

This passage shows the continuation of Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, as they went on to a city called Lystra. There Paul healed a crippled man, similar to the beginning of the ministries of both Jesus and Peter. The people of the city started to worship the two men as gods before making a quick turn against them. This passage shows vividly that when we idolize, we will demonize.

This section shows us the ways that people responded to Paul and Barnabas as they preached the gospel in various cities. They preached to Jews and Gentiles, and got responses that ranged from belief and repentance to plots to kill them. The passage shows us the ways that our hearts are prone to respond to the gospel.

Paul and Barnabas continued their journey to a city called Antioch in Pisidia. There they focused first on preaching the good news of Jesus to the Jews in the city, which was a pattern for all of Paul's ministry. This passage is unique in that it captures Paul's sermon, and illustrates for us the approach that he took as he preached about Jesus in synagogues. We will see an emphasis in this passage that God keeps His promises and His Word to us.