The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Sometimes we can struggle to have patience with the weakness we see in others. This impatience speaks not to our superiority but to our sin. God is patient with the weak.

Worse, sometimes we can struggle to have patience with weakness in ourselves. We are disappointed with the weakness of our own faith. Again, this speaks more to our sin than it does to our faith. In our sinful pride, we judge and condemn ourselves.

The good news is that God’s grace is no match for our sinful pride. God can more readily save the sinner than the one who thinks he is righteous; he can more readily save the weak than the one who thinks himself strong. The weak reach out their hand for help. That is the hand of faith. The one who thinks he is strong never reaches out his hand for divine help. His hand is too strong to need God’s grace. He has no faith because he’s convinced he needs no grace.

The great Puritan preacher Thomas Watson put it this way:
“The weakest believer is a member of Christ as well as the strongest; and the weakest member of the body [of Christ] shall not perish. Christ will cut off rotten members, but not weak members. Therefore, Christian, be not discouraged. God, who would have us receive them that are weak in faith, will not himself refuse [us]. Rom 14: 1.”
~Thomas Watson (1620-1686), Cambridge (Emmanuel College) graduate and Puritan pastor in his work The Ten Commandments

My friend, God is tender and gentle with the weakness of your faith. It is not the strength of your faith that saves you but the strength of Christ. Your faith may be small. Your Savior is big.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions…. Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand…

Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; for it is written,

“As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,
and every tongue shall confess to God.”
So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.

Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother…. So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.
~ Romans 14:1,4,10-13,19 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

God is a god of overflowing abundance and generosity. He gives liberally to all without discrimination.

Now, if we struggle when we see the wicked prospering, we’re not alone; the Psalmist also struggled with this at times (cf. Psalm 73).

Of course, just because God causes the wicked to prosper for a time does not speak to how lightly He takes sin. Rather it speaks to how liberally He dispenses His grace. God is not a bitter god, constantly fuming to get His way and settle the score. Oh, God is just, and you can count on His justice being thorough and perfect (Exodus 34:7). But He is also patient and kind, longing for all to come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).

So, the kindness that He showers on the wicked does not speak to a failure of God’s justice, but to the abounding nature of His grace (Romans 2:4-5).

Jesus put it this way:

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

~Matthew 5:43-48 (ESV)

You see, such generosity of spirit is rare, because it generated only by the Spirit of God.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

Psalm 73 (ESV)

1 Truly God is good to Israel,

    to those who are pure in heart.

2 But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled,

    my steps had nearly slipped.

3 For I was envious of the arrogant

    when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

4 For they have no pangs until death;

    their bodies are fat and sleek.

5 They are not in trouble as others are;

    they are not stricken like the rest of mankind.

6 Therefore pride is their necklace;

    violence covers them as a garment.

7 Their eyes swell out through fatness;

    their hearts overflow with follies.

8 They scoff and speak with malice;

    loftily they threaten oppression.

9  They set their mouths against the heavens,

    and their tongue struts through the earth.

10 Therefore his people turn back to them,

    and find no fault in them.

11 And they say, “How can God know?

    Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

12 Behold, these are the wicked;

    always at ease, they increase in riches.

13 All in vain have I kept my heart clean

    and washed my hands in innocence.

14 For all the day long I have been stricken

    and rebuked every morning.

15 If I had said, “I will speak thus,”

    I would have betrayed the generation of your children.

16 But when I thought how to understand this,

    it seemed to me a wearisome task,

17 until I went into the sanctuary of God;

    then I discerned their end.

18 Truly you set them in slippery places;

    you make them fall to ruin.

19 How they are destroyed in a moment,

    swept away utterly by terrors!

20 Like a dream when one awakes,

    O Lord, when you rouse yourself, you despise them as phantoms.

21 When my soul was embittered,

    when I was pricked in heart,

22 I was brutish and ignorant;

    I was like a beast toward you.

23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you;

    you hold my right hand.

24 You guide me with your counsel,

    and afterward you will receive me to glory.

25 Whom have I in heaven but you?

    And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

26 My flesh and my heart may fail,

    but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

    you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

28 But for me it is good to be near God;

    I have made the Lord God my refuge,

    that I may tell of all your works.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Since time immemorial parents have been managing the tension between a child’s desire for self-expression and their need for external structure and discipline. 

Each culture has negotiated this differently—some more permissive and others more restrictive. However, what’s unique about our present cultural moment is that it’s defaulted, almost completely, to an ethos of self-expression. We are warned that the most damaging thing we can do to a child is to question their inner desires or (God forbid) suppress their self-expression.

But here’s the problem: children need their parents to guide them in who they ought to be. Children are hardwired to find their self-definition, not in themselves nor in societal fads, but from their family. That’s why every child naturally looks to their mom or dad for a response to their actions: “Look, Mom!” or “Daddy, watch!”

Now, indeed, it’s possible for a parent to be abusive in their reactions or restrictions, but it does not follow therefore that all restrictions are. Ancient wisdom (not to mention, parental experience) tells us that “folly is bound up in the heart of a child”. Therefore, we do damage to our children and their future if we do not direct and correct their false and foolish desires. No good parent pushes a child into the street, saying, “Just find your own way. Do your own thing!” My friends, if this is true in physical development; how much more in social, emotional, and spiritual!

Certainly, children need to know they are loved and accepted; but they also need to know there are limits to what’s acceptable. They need instruction and consistent and loving correction. Requiring conformity to norms is not uncaring; it is a safeguard to emotional and social chaos.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“A youngster’s heart is filled with foolishness,

   but physical discipline will drive it far away."

~Proverbs 22:15 (NLT)

  “My child, listen when your father corrects you.

   Don’t neglect your mother’s instruction.

   What you learn from them will crown you with grace

   and be a chain of honor around your neck.”

~ Proverbs 1:8-9 (NLT)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Historically, the Christian church has been very serious about the issue of teaching and training. To be a Christian is not something to be dabbled in but is more akin to being on a sports team, even a Division I college team, requiring significant amounts of conditioning, training, and team practice. If we want to live as Christians, then we must subject ourselves to Jesus’s conditioning program—that’s the function of the church. If you want to be formed as a Christian, this is going to require a process. This process is what is known as “catechesis”, from the Greek word for teaching/instruction.

Sadly, such a process of training has all but disappeared from the church. This does not mean that we are not being formed; it just means that we are not being formed in the gospel. 

So, what are we being formed in? Well, we become formed by whatever we give our lives to, particularly to whatever we give our “free time”.

For example, studies suggest that the average American spends well over 6 hours a day on the television or internet. This is not unimportant to our spiritual formation. Who we become is a function of our habits. We make our habits, and then our habits make us.

As it stands, the average American is being formed by the entertainment industry and big tech companies. Imagine, though, if you spent 6 hours a day reading the Bible and praying. How would your life be different? Imagine if you spent 6 hours a day serving and seeking to encourage your fellow Christians? How would the church be different?

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness. I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.”

~Romans 6:12-19 (ESV)

Further Resources:

Digital Liturgies: Rediscovering Christian Wisdom in an Online Age by Samuel James

Transcript:

Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!

In the ninth chapter of Ezekiel, the prophet details God’s judgment against the remnant of Jerusalem. God’s judgment sweeps through the city slaughtering those who do not mourn over its sin.

We learn something of how injustice overtakes a society by the way God describes the city. He says, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice.” So, we see that the problem is that “injustice” has become epidemic and endemic to the way society operates. It’s “full of injustice!” But why does injustice become so embedded in the fabric of society? Well, the next line gives us a clue. “For they [the city’s inhabitants] say, ‘The LORD has forsaken the land, and the LORD does not see.’”

Now, note that carefully. The reason we tend towards evil and give up fighting against injustice (in ourselves and in our society) is because we already, deep in our souls, believe: 1) that God doesn’t care (He’s forsaken the land!), and/or 2) that there is no God watching over us to whom we must give an account (He doesn’t see!).

You see, at the root of all sin, individual or corporate, is a deep disbelief in the God of Scripture. Evil is driven by a cynical hopelessness that says it makes no ultimate difference whether I do what’s right or what’s wrong.

Have you fallen for the lie? Do you find those doubts echoing in your soul: Does God see? Does God even care?

When you believe God’s given up, then you will too.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

And the Lord said to him, “Pass through the city, through Jerusalem, and put a mark on the foreheads of the men who sigh and groan over all the abominations that are committed in it.” And to the others he said in my hearing, “Pass through the city after him, and strike. Your eye shall not spare, and you shall show no pity. Kill old men outright, young men and maidens, little children and women, but touch no one on whom is the mark. And begin at my sanctuary.” So they began with the elders who were before the house. Then he said to them, “Defile the house, and fill the courts with the slain. Go out.” So they went out and struck in the city. And while they were striking, and I was left alone, I fell upon my face, and cried, “Ah, Lord God! Will you destroy all the remnant of Israel in the outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?”

Then he said to me, “The guilt of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great. The land is full of blood, and the city full of injustice. For they say, ‘The Lord has forsaken the land, and the Lord does not see.’”
~ Ezekiel 9:4-9 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hey Friends and Supporters of Christ Redeemer Church! This is Pastor Don from Hanover, NH. Hope all is well with you! 

Just a quick update on CRC’s building project…

God is on the move here in New England. We’ve already cleared massive legal hurdles to become the first new church approved for a building in this Ivy-League town in over 60 years. Now, the only thing standing in the way from making our dream a reality is funding. And good news: We are less than $100k away from meeting a matching challenge which would put us in range for breaking ground this spring. But we need your help! Could you make a last-minute push for pledges and donations? Spread the word! 

Anything we bring in over the match will significantly reduce our financing costs. This will give us elbow room to expand our ministry from this strategic Ivy-League community. It will allow us to train and send more people with global leadership capabilities.

The deadline of February 28th is fast approaching. Donate, pledge, and encourage others to do the same! For more info or to give, click on link in this post or visit christredeemerchurch.org/flourish."

Thank you so much for partnering with us!

Jesus said: “Upon this Rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell with not prevail against it.”

~Matthew 16:18

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome The Kingdom Perspective.

The year 2025 marks a hugely significant moment in the history of the Church. Seventeen hundred years earlier, Christian leaders from all over the Roman Empire met freely and openly for the first time to affirm the Scriptural and longstanding teaching of the Lordship of Jesus Christ. In the decade leading up to that moment, controversy had broken out in the church of Alexandria, Egypt. An influential leader named Arius began teaching that, though Jesus was divine, He was not on the same level as God the Father. He was merely the first created being who in turn created everything else. 

This heresy contradicted the clear teaching of Scripture—namely that there is only one Creator God (Genesis 1:1; Deuteronomy 6) and that Jesus was that Creator and, thus, worthy of worship (Colossians 1:15, John 1:1-3).

In the summer of AD 325, these Christian leaders, many of whom bore scars of persecution for their fidelity to Christ, gathered and hammered out a public statement, faithfully articulating the teaching of the Apostles and, indeed, of Jesus Himself. They accurately reminded the church that the pre-incarnate Son of God is “begotten not made”—that He is “of the same essence” or nature as the Father (Hebrews 1:3; Phil 2:1-11), fully sharing in the very being of the Father. Thus, there are not multiple divine beings but only one. The Son is “true God from true God”. There are not a hierarchy of gods, but only One who exists eternally in three persons—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

The impact of this clarification cannot be overestimated, for it provided a clear framework for a transformative way of looking at life and relationships, both in the church and in the world.

And that’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”

~Philippians 2:5-8 (NIV)

“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven.”

~ Hebrews 1:1-3 (NIV)

The Nicene Creed of AD 325

We believe in one God, the Father almighty,

maker of all things visible and invisible;

And in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God,

begotten from the Father, only-begotten,

that is, from the essence of the Father,

God from God, light from light,

true God from true God, begotten not made,

of one essence with the Father,

through Whom all things came into being,

things in heaven and things on earth,

Who because of us men and because of our salvation came down,

and became incarnate and became man, and suffered,

and rose again on the third day, and ascended to the heavens,

and will come to judge the living and dead,

And in the Holy Spirit.

But as for those who say, There was when He was not,

and, Before being born He was not,

and that He came into existence out of nothing,

or who assert that the Son of God is of a different hypostasis or essence,

or created, or is subject to alteration or change –

these the catholic and apostolic Church anathematizes.

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

According to classical Christian teaching, at the very source of reality, we find a perfect and eternal relationship of self-giving love. A divine community (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in an infinite, mutual, self-giving relationship—perfectly and equally sharing being and joy before all time. One God in three self-giving Persons, and three self-giving Person in One God. This is the very Fountain of all Love!

It was out of the overflow of this fountain, God made the world. And so, all creation is a theater of God’s glorious love. This is especially true with human beings, for we alone are made in the very image of this love.

In the light of this truth, we see more clearly the biblical concept of sin. In making us in His image, God meant for us to find our life in His self-giving Love. However, sin broke that relationship. Sin a dis-ease, a dis-harmony with the source of love. A cosmic relational breach with devastating consequences!

We have no life apart from the Triune love of God, for we were made from it and for it. God designed us to feast on His self-giving love and reflect it in our relationships with others. Indeed, to be a “person”, like God, is to live in communion with God and others. And so, any “person”, any “self”, that does not exist to serve and give themselves away for others is a corruption of what it means to even be a “person”—indeed, what it means to be made in the image of God.

And that’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“At that time Jesus declared, ‘I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that you have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such was your gracious will. All things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal him. Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.’”

~ Matthew 11:25-30 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

Hospitality is a discipline of heart, mind, and action. It requires you to have a new mindset—to work at getting outside yourself (your perspective, preferences, hurts, grievances, etc.) into the world of “the other”. It requires being considerate and kind, looking at and appreciating life from another’s perspective (Philippians 2:1-5). For the Christian, this happens first and foremost with one another in the church, and secondly, with those outside (Galatians 6:9-10). It is seeking to accommodate and value one another’s differences, while welcoming all to the same table of faith and repentance through the grace of Christ. It is giving of your time, treasure, talents, and reputation to help others feel the welcome embrace of God in Christ.

Hospitality often involves mixing your nonbelieving friends and neighbors with the people of the church, so that all might have an encounter with Jesus (Luke 5:27-32). It is seeing yourself as an ambassador in your workplace, school, and neighborhood; it is seeing your home as an embassy of gospel shalom. It is seeing our church as an embassy to our community. It is seeing your engagement at church as a diplomatic mission to all present.

As a church, we should expect to be “on display” in our community and thus be mindful of representing the gospel well in our engagement with others (Matthew 5:16; Colossians 4:5-6; Romans 12:9-21). As a church, we are an outpost of the coming kingdom—a city within a city (the polis of God amongst the polis of man). Thus, it is imperative we nurture a community of Christ’s love, of His grace and truth (i.e., love), as this is critical to the effectiveness of our mission of hospitality.

Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.”

~ Philippians 2:1-7 (ESV)

Transcript:

Hello this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.

If we were to peel back the universe to see what’s underneath it—to discover the very source of reality—we would not find a mathematical formula, nor a scientific theory, nor a moral to do list, nor even a theological doctrinal statement. All these are good and necessary in their place, but they are not ultimate. Rather, if we were to peer into what’s beyond and behind creation, we would find a perfect, eternal, untainted relationship of self-giving love. A divine community (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) in an infinite, mutual, self-giving relationship—perfectly and equally sharing being and infinite delight before all time. One God in three Persons, and three Persons in One God.

Now, what does this mean? Well, most basically, it means love is real. As Christians, we do not have a thin and sentimental view of love. Love is not a mere feeling we experience. Love exists apart from our feelings. Indeed, it exists apart from and prior to all else. Love is more real that time, for love is in the very essence of God. God exists eternally as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in a relationship of self-giving love.

In making us in His image, God meant for us to share in the glory of this love. He meant for us to find our life in the overflow of His Triune love. He meant for us to reflect His self-giving love in our all our relationships. He meant for us to feast upon the infinite abundance of this love and lavish it upon others.

That’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”

~ 1 John 4:7-14 (NASB95)