Redemption Hill Church

Working For the Man

2009-03-29T15:14:00.002-04:00

Colossians 3:22-25; Romans 6:16, 20; 1 Corinthians 7:23

In nothing has the church so lost her hold on reality as in her failure to understand and respect secular vocation. She has allowed work and religion to become separate departments and is astonished to find that the secular work of the world is turned to purely selfish and destructive ends, and that intelligent workers have become irreligious.

- Dorothy L. Sayers

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Reflection Points

I trust Jesus, I love Jesus, but I need ____________. What have you been putting in this blank? What symptoms has this been producing in your vocation, marriage, parenting, or relationships?
Have you been working just to live because you feel that leisure is the meaning of life? How does that play out in your life at work?
Have you been living just so you can work because work is the meaning of life? If so, has work become not just your dignity but your definition? What has suffered because of this?
Can you identify examples when you are able to do things "from the soul" instead of trying to please others? What is this experience like?
When you hear that all of us are either slaves of sin or slaves of God, how do you respond? Do you feel trapped? Do you feel lost in desperation? Do you feel grateful?

Marriage: The Call to Cultivate (Part 2)

2009-03-15T09:51:00.002-04:00

Colossians 3:18-20; Ephesians 5:22-33

"The state of marriage is one that requires more virtue and constancy than any other... it is a perpetual exercise of mortification... from this thyme plant, in spite of the bitter nature of its juice, you may be able to draw and make the honey of a holy life."

- Francis de Sales

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Reflection Points

Husbands, how is your leadership related to sacrifice and servanthood? Where can you improve in taking the initiative to nourish, cherish, and cultivate the character of Christ in your wife and kids? Try asking your wife where she thinks this could happen.
Wives, does your marriage enhance or cultivate the character of Christ in you? In what ways is your husband respectable and leading your family well? Have you told him?
If you are not married, how can you be preparing yourself? What needs to change about your understanding of marriage?

Marriage: The Call to Cultivate

2009-03-08T10:02:00.002-04:00

Colossians 3:18-20; Ephesians 5:22-33

"Our spouses are joint heirs and rulers over creation. We are called to create order and beauty out of chaos and cultivate in one another an even clearer picture of Christ. Our only option in responding to our role as spouses is to either create or to use creation for our own selfish purposes."

- Dan Allender

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Reflection Points

Husbands, how is your leadership related to sacrifice and servanthood? Where can you improve in taking the initiative to nourish, cherish, and cultivate the character of Christ in your wife and kids? Try asking your wife where she thinks this could happen.
Wives, does your marriage enhance or cultivate the character of Christ in you? In what ways is your husband respectable and leading your family well? Have you told him?
If you are not married, how can you be preparing yourself? What needs to change about your understanding of marriage?

Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You (Part 2)

2009-03-01T10:28:00.003-05:00

Colossians 3:12-15

Turn on the news or pick up any paper and you will be confronted with the news of war and fighting all over the world. As horrific as these battles are, there is one that is even greater... with more at stake. Yet, it doesn't even get a mention.

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Reflection Points

One day even sins' presence in our lives will done away with. Until then, we fight.

Is there an urgency in your life to "be killing sin?" Do you have a desire to put your sin to death?
Have you lost sight of the seriousness of the battle?
What danger might you be in if you ignore it?
Are you well acquainted with the areas of your life where your old self gets the best of you... where you are prone to sin? What circumstances seem to surround that sin?
Ask the Holy Spirit to make you aware of these areas and give you an earnestness to fight.
God has given us "everything we need for life and godliness" - this includes strength for the battle and victory over the old self.

Fuzzy Sound

2009-02-23T19:40:00.002-05:00

Hey guys, I've noticed the last few weeks the sound has been kind of fuzzy. I am working to resolve it and hopefully this Sunday's sermon won't have the problem. Thanks so much for your patience.

Also!

This is tentative, but with some help from Kamen the podcast should be up by this Sunday or early next week. You'll still be able to listen to the sermons directly online, but the podcast will be far easier. For serious.

Love you all.

Be Killing Sin or Sin Will Be Killing You

2009-02-22T09:50:00.003-05:00

Colossians 3:5-11

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Reflection Points

One day even sins' presence in our lives will be done away with. Until then, we fight.

Is there an urgency in yourself to "be killing sin"? Do you have a desire to put your sin to death?
Have you lost sight of the seriousness of the battle?
What danger might you be in if you ignore it?
Read Romans 7:14-25. What parts best describe your own experience?
What do you think is the most frustrating thing about the sin in your heart?

What's So Bad About Being "Heavenly-Minded?"

2009-02-15T10:21:00.002-05:00

Colossians 3:1-4

The idea of being heavenly minded has caught a bad reputation in our culture. But maybe we have just failed to really understand what it means? Could it be that the most truly heavenly-minded people are, in fact, the most earthly good?

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Reflection Points

What things are competing in your life for your sense of righteousness?
What things do you tend to set your heart and mind on... what things do you make "your life?"
What is your understanding of Jesus being your righteousness, your "approval?"

Expectations

2009-02-08T09:51:00.002-05:00

Colossians 2:16-23; Hebrews 10:1-18

Expectations can be the source of both frustration or freedom. The difference usually lies in making sure that you have the right expectations and the resources needed to meet them. It's no different when it comes to worshipping God... freedom is found in understanding the right expectations and frustration is birthed from the wrong ones.

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Reflection Points

What does it mean for you to not pursue "being good," but living a life of worship?
Has Christianity been a pursuit of "the good" for you? How does "being made new" change your understanding?
Is it encouraging that Jesus Himself is your potential to meet God's expectation of worship?
How can your job be worship? How can you worship God though your relationships?
What would it mean for you to "Live Everyday Life with Gospel Intentionality?"

Dangerous Religion: Judged. Disqualified. Opressed.

2009-02-01T10:24:00.006-05:00

Colossians 2:16-23

"One of the marks of a certain type of bad man is that he cannot give a certain thing up himself without wanting everyone else to give it up. That is not the Christian way. An individual may see fit to give up all sorts of things (marriage, meat, beer, cinema) for all sorts of reasons but the moment he starts saying that things are bad in themselves or looking down his nose at others who do use them; he has taken the wrong turning."

- C.S. Lewis

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Reflection Points

How often do you focus your gaze on the shadows and lose sight of Jesus?
What things do you tend to add to Jesus as requirements for happiness or maturity?
Are you a "grace killer" in some people's lives? If so, who? How so?

Enjoy this quote this week:

"The enemy is sending against us every day the Sherman tank of the flesh with its cannons of self-reliance and self-sufficiency. If we try to defend ourselves or our church with peashooter regulations, we will be defeated, even in our apparent success. The only defense is to "be rooted and built up in Christ and established in faith" (Colossians 2:6); "Strengthened with all power according to his glorious might for all endurance and patience with joy" (Colossians 1:11); "Holding fast to the head from whom the whole body, nourished and knit together... grows with a growth that is from God" (Colossians 2:19). From God! From God! And not from ourselves."

- John Piper

Going on, the Way You Began

2009-01-25T11:06:00.003-05:00

Colossians 2:6-7

We are called by God to be a people who proclaim His greatness with all that we are, in all that we do. If that is who we are to become, then how do we get there? Amidst a million voices fighting to answer that question, Scripture speaks clearly that how we started is the same as how we move forward.

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Reflection Points

Are you becoming more and more aware of your sin, misplaced trust, and more in awe of the Gospel?

What are your reactions to the ideas that,

"The more you see your own sin, the more precious, electrifying, and amazing God's grace will be to you. But on the other hand, the more aware you are of God's grace and acceptance in Christ, the more you will be able to drop your denials and self-defenses and admit the true dimensions of your sin."
"The sin under all other sins is a lack of joy in Christ."

Meditate on this prayer throughout the week:

Lord, you have brought me to the valley of vision

Where I live in the depths, but you live in the heights;

hemmed in by mountains of sin I behold your glory

Let me learn by paradox that the way down is the way up

that to be low is to be high

that the broken heart is the healed heart

that the contrite spirit is the rejoicing spirit,

that the repenting soul is the victorious soul,

that to have nothing is to possess all,

that to bear the cross is to wear the crown,

that to give is to receive,

that the valley is the place of vision.

Happy Birthday Redemption Hill

2009-01-18T10:36:00.003-05:00

Colossians 1:28-29

This week as we remember the start of Redemption Hill, we find ourselves at a great place to be reminded of exactly who God is calling this church to be and what He's calling us to do.

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Reflection Points

Use these questions as an ongoing guide to pray for your pastors. Also, take these prompts and insert yourself and your church in all of the places where it says [your pastors].

That [your pastors] would know and love the living God, would have a saving interest in Christ, being purchased by His blood, and thus would be bound to the Lord by the indissoluble bond of the Holy Spirit.
That [your pastors] would know, embrace, and ever more deeply understand the Gospel and be shaped by it in life and ministry.
That [your pastors] would be a useful servant of the Lord, that he would know and love God's word, God's people, and God's kingdom; that he would be used to build it up so that it prevails even against Hell's gates.
That [your pastors] would study, practice, and teach the Word of the Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
That [your pastors] would love to pray, because he loves to commune with his God, and that he would be a man of prayer, characteristically.
That [your pastors] would be ever dependent upon and filled with the Spirit; and that he would possess true Spiritual wisdom.
That [your pastors] would be holy unto the Lord. That his tongue and heart would be wholly God's.
That [your pastors] would be kept from pride, and especially spiritual pride. That the Lord himself would be gracious to slay pride in him, and that [your pastors] would endeavor to always be putting pride to death, by the grace of the Holy Spirit.
That God would give [your pastors] guidance as to where to focus his efforts in ministry.
That He would protect [your pastors] from himself, from the enemy of his soul, and from all earthly enemies.
That no decision which [your pastors] ever makes or desires that [your pastors] ever pursues would restrict his ability to pour his whole soul into the Gospel ministry.
That many would be converted and many built up under [your pastor]'s ministry, to God's glory alone.
That the Lord would bless [your pastor]'s wife, [...], with holiness and happiness, Gospel assurance and Gospel rest.
That God would make [your pastors] a godly husband and father... that [your pastors] would be a good friend to his wife, and love her self-sacrificially, that [your pastors] would be a good daddy to his children. That they would love God, their parents, and the church.

Being the Church During an Economic Recession

2008-12-28T10:22:00.002-05:00

Luke 10:25-37; Acts 4:32-37

What does it look like to be the reflection of God's character - His love, mercy, justice - during a time of economic uncertainty? This morning we'll unpack the story of the Good Samaritan to see how Jesus might deal with this question.

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Reflection Points

If you had to rearrange your weekly time commitments in order to create a two-hour block for the purpose of being a neighbor to somebody else, where would those two hours fall during the week? Where might you spend those two hours?
Which aspect of the Samaritan's display of mercy would be most difficult for you and why?
Risking your personal safety to help a complete stranger?
Altering your schedule at a moment's notice?
Potentially ruining your car's upholstery?
Spending hundreds of dollars to pay for the victim's shelter and medical care?
Coming back to check up on the victim, not really knowing how much more of a sacrifice that follow-up visit could demand of you?

Is Jesus Enough for Your Joy?

2008-12-14T10:16:00.002-05:00

Colossians 2:9-15

C.S. Lewis said that "it is a Christian duty, as you know, for everyone to be as happy as he can." But where is one to find a happiness and joy that cuts through the nature of today's challenges?

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Reflection Points

Where have you found fullness of joy? Where are you searching? Are the things in your life providing what you are looking for? Can they?
What promises to transform you the way that Jesus does? Are you settling for something less?
What kind of confidence do you have in the forgiveness of your sins? If you are a Christian, set aside your anxiety about God's anger toward you. The cross was enough. It paid your debt. You really have been forgiven.

Jesus: The Treasure and the Treasure Chest

2008-12-07T10:09:00.002-05:00

Colossians 2:1-10

We all know what it is like to be deceived by something that sounded too good to be true. One of the chief aims in Paul's letter is that the church will know the richness and truth of the Gospel in order that they will not be fooled by other messages that sound too good to be true.

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Reflection Points

What treasures in your life can make the same claims as Jesus? Could they even accomplish them? Are any of them even worth comparing to Jesus? Have they or could they ever do what He has done?
Is your life characterized by encouraging the discouraged? Can anything other than the Gospel really deposit courage into your life or anyone else's?
Is your life characterized by pursuing unity in love? What would it mean for you to be grace driven at home? At work? At church?

Jesus: The Mystery of God Hidden for Generations

2008-11-23T09:59:00.001-05:00

Colossians 1:24-27; Luke 24:13-32, 44

Often, our disappointment with people is based on having faulty expectations of them... the same is true with God. We'll look at how Jesus is the fulfillment of the long awaited promise of God to renew His people -- the mystery hidden for generations.

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Reflection Points

Is following Jesus a duty that you perform or a delight that you have? Why do you think this is the case?
Do you follow Jesus hoping that He'll love you? What difference would it make for you to follow Jesus because He loves you? How is the source of motivation different?

11/16/08

2008-11-16T10:38:00.002-05:00

Introduction and relfection points coming soon.

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Who is Jesus? The Head of the Body, the Church

2008-11-09T10:57:00.001-05:00

Colossians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

If you asked 50 people to tell you what the church is or what it does, you would get 51 different answers. But it does not have to be that way. As we saw last week, "Jesus created everything, on heaven and earth... and all things were created for Him" - this includes the church. Jesus created the church, sustains the church, leads the church, and empowers the church to be a reflection of His glory in this city.

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Reflection Points

Has church just been a place or an event that you go to? Why do you think that is?
If Jesus is the head of the church and is the center of the church, what peripheral things do we often put our focus on? Are there "issues" that you have made the center of the church?
God has brought you to Redemption Hill to know Him and love others, why did you think that you were here?
Have you gotten connected here at Redemption Hill? Why not? If so, have you experienced the life of "the body"?

Who is Jesus?

2008-11-02T10:29:00.000-05:00

Colossians 1:15-17

There is nothing more important and at the same time more controversial than the question of "who is Jesus?" Starting this week we are going to unpack the many ways that Paul portrays the person of Jesus to this young church. Hopefully, we will go into the holiday season this year with more eternal reasons to give thanks and with an awe that no advertiser can steal.

Reflection Points

Who do you say that Jesus is? Do you believe that Jesus is God? How does this alter your current view of Jesus?
Why do you think that we so easily disregard Him as God? Why do we tend to put Jesus in the margins?
How do you think that believing that Jesus is God will affect your quality of life, today?
Are you settling for an existence rather than a life? He came that you would have so much more than that.