Redeemer Bible Church Sermon Audio

The gospel invites us to a lifestyle of confession.  Jesus Christ came to seek and save the lost. He came to save sinners.  Because of this, we don't need to excuse sin or deny sin, but rather we can confess our sin to a faithful and just God and receive his forgiveness and cleansing.  Join us as we turn to 1 John 1:5-10 to be spurred toward a life of gospel-motivated confession and away from a life of being buried in the darkness of our unconfessed sin. 

“Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel, and not frightened in anything by your opponents.”

James 5:13-20 | In typical field manual fashion, James ends his letter with pointed, practical help for a variety of situations in life.  There is a word to the sufferer, the cheerful, the sick, and a call to pursue the wanderer.  In it all, we see the power of prayer, praise, and pursuit.  Let's end this study by gleaning the power of what James leaves us with as he closes out his field manual of authentic faith lived out. 

James 5:7-13 | Time under tension builds physical muscle. How does the tension of life build our faith muscle? Let's unpack James command to be patient under suffering.

James 5:1-6 | Jesus cut it straight, "You cannot serve God and money." Period.  If I am serving money I am not and cannot serve God.  In James 5:1-6, James speaks a word to rich, oppressive unbelievers warning them that though they may have present riches, they are facing a future judgment.  Within this warning he speaks of three indictments against them, and these three indictments serve as pointed warnings to us.  Let's let God's word search us as we look together at three warnings money is my god. 

James 4:13-17 Simply put, God's plan is better than our plan. Let's look at three things from James 4 that following God's plan requires.

Worldliness sets in so subtly.  It can be hard to identify ways we have taken up a friendship with the world that is opposed to God.  Though it may be subtle, it is deadly.  We must wage war on worldliness and we have to know the battle plan God gives us to do so.  James 4:1-12 gives us the answers to four questions we must know in order to wage war on worldliness in our lives. 

If we lack wisdom we can ask God, and he will give it to us generously.  But how do we recognize the wisdom from above?  What are the characteristics of wisdom that come from God and how do we keep ourselves from falling into the counterfeits of a worldly, unspiritual, demonic "wisdom"? Fortunately for us, James gives us teaching this week to address this very thing.  Together we will look at "Four A's to Aid us in Identifying Wisdom from Above.”

Have you ever said something you wish you could have back? Have you ever said a foolish thing at the totally wrong time? Have you ever opened your mouth to spew angry words when you knew you should be quiet instead?  Why do we do this? Why do we so often say what we know we shouldn't?  James tells us why.  Today we look at four dangerously destructive truths of the tongue from James 3:1-12. 

Do you have any Easter expectations?  You may have not thought about that, but all of us carry expectations, big and small, for Easter Sunday.  On the very first Easter Sunday three women walked to a gravesite with 2 expectations: A closed tomb and a dead body.  Instead what they found would turn out to be the most life-altering, history-shaping, world-changing event of history.  He was not there. He had risen.  And EVERYTHING hinges on that good news.   

Can a faith that has not changed us, save us? What would James say to the one who claims a faith in Christ but whose life shows no deeds to authenticate that claim? James is straight to the point with us: Faith without works is dead. This week we unpack the beautiful reality that a genuine faith will get expressed, not perfectly but patternly, in a life of obedient works to God. Let's let this text search our hearts this week to ensure the faith we claim is the faith we live. 

People of this world get enamored with the rich, powerful, and celebrity.  Often these people are preferred and pedestaled.  Even as Christians, it can be easy to fall into playing favorites with those who carry a high social standing in this world. James warns us in this passage that doers of the word don't live like this.  Marked by gospel shaped hearts, and motivated by Great Commandment love, genuine doers of the word shun a life of partiality and favoritism, and seek to love the hearts of people regardless of external appearance and socio-economic status.  To cut it straight: Genuine Christians don't play favorites. 

Our study in James last week made it clear that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. This week, we'll examine three practical things evident in the pure religion of doers of the Word.

James makes it very clear that we are to be doers of the Word, and not hearers only. We see this theme all throughout Scripture. As we dive into James 1:22-25, let's examine our hearts to see where we are being hearers of the Word, but not doers.

The Lord is zealous for the righteousness of his people. Man's anger does not produce God's righteousness.  In his field manual of authentic faith, James helps us understand how wisdom calls us to a "quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger life", how sinful anger is contrary to God's righteousness, and how we ultimately change by "putting away" what needs put away and receiving what we must receive. 

James has already told us that God cannot be tempted by evil nor does he tempt us.  God is never the giver of evil and always a giver of God. This is where James goes next in his field manual of authentic faith.  As we look at James 1:16-18 we will see that every good gift comes from an unchangingly good God whose goodness is most powerfully seen in the good news of the gospel.  These three verses have massive implications in how we understand who we are in Christ and how this understanding impacts the way we live out our life in Christ. 

John Calvin once said, “Our heart is an idol factory.” As we study James 1:12-15, one could also say that, “Our heart is a sin factory.” But there is good news. God is greater than any temptation we will face in this world.

Regardless of poverty or riches, the Christian's boast is in the same thing.  Or maybe we should say the same one: Jesus Christ.  In his field manual of authentic faith lived out, James quickly gets to the crucial call for Christians to boast not in their socioeconomic status but rather in their position in Christ.  So whether poverty or riches, James will instruct us to boast in the reality of our position in Christ alone. 

If James is a field manual of authentic faith lived out, it is fitting that he wastes no time at all getting to the topic of wisdom. Wisdom is God's will lived out. It's living out a godly life. So a life built on the wisdom of God is a life of authentic faith. But there is a problem; we don't always know the wise thing to do. On this side of heaven, we lack wisdom. James gives us the solution of what to do when we lack wisdom and how we carry that out. If you need wisdom right now in life, James 1:5-8 has a very clear direction for you.

Joy in trials? How is that so? And what does that mean? Are Christians to be gluttons for pain, taking joy in the hardship itself? Are we just to "grin and bear it" with no acknowledgement of the pain and hardships of life? Is James sticking a band-aid of a cliche on the deep pains of life? Not at all. James 1:2-4 is deep theology that allows us at Christians to rejoice in our trials knowing what God is ultimately accomplishing as we respond rightly to the troubles and trials of life. Let's be equipped together to joyfully endure the trials life brings.

God is after doers of the word.  He is after us applying the principles of the Christian life in our day-to-day life.  James is the field manual God has given us for what it looks like to live out an authentic faith.  We begin our five-month journey in the book of James by looking at James 1:1 and letting that orient us to the book as a whole.  Who wrote it?  Who was he writing to? And what is this letter's purpose?  We set the course this week for a study in a book that will deeply transform our everyday walk with Jesus. 

Disciples are made as we pursue others the way God has pursued us. Let's dive further into this pursuit and the ministry of reconciliation.

In the midst of such busy and stressful lives, how do we learn to rely on the Spirit's life giving freedom? Let's dive into Corinthians 3:12-18 to find out.

At the heart of our ministry lies this mission statement: To glorify God by making disciples.  This isn't a mission we came up with but is a mission Jesus left us with in his teaching of the Great Commission.  If we are going to make disciples and fulfill our mission, we better be able to answer some simple questions about disciples and discipleship.  In this four week series, we tackle four basic questions, beginning with this one: What is a disciple?  Let's look at what Jesus teaches in John 3 about the need to be born again as foundational to what it means to be a disciple of him. 

At the heart of our ministry lies this mission statement: To glorify God by making disciples.  This isn't a mission we came up with but is a mission Jesus left us with in his teaching of the Great Commission.  If we are going to make disciples and fulfill our mission, we better be able to answer some simple questions about disciples and discipleship.  In this four week series, we tackle four basic questions, beginning with this one: What is a disciple?  Let's look at what Jesus teaches in John 3 about the need to be born again as foundational to what it means to be a disciple of him. 

Let's dive into the five features of the Parable of the Sower: the secret, the sower, the seed, the soil, and the success.

In two verses, Isaiah prophesies of the majesty of the child who would one day come as Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  He also in these verses shows us what will mark the Kingdom of this coming Savior-King. Isaiah 9:6-7 contain the truths our hearts need again this Christmas to behold the majesty of Christ and take hold of the marks of His Kingdom.  These are two verses that will stoke the fire of our worship as we gather this Sunday, three days before another Christmas morning. 

We see in Isaiah 7 that we are called to a faith in Christ to save, not a faith in man. But as we make our way through this passage, we'll notice four things play out: a problem for God's people, a plea for faith, a pious faithlessness, and a promise to faithfully save.

Of all the places in the world, it was Bethlehem that hosted the birth of the Messiah.  Micah says, "But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel..." From this little place came the Christ.  God, once again, working in an unexpected way in an unexpected place. The highest of Kings born in the humblest of places.  Sunday we look at how an unexpected place brought us an unrivaled king who brings us unending blessings. 

So many advent sermons are soft and sentimental.  This is not one of them.  We begin Advent in a passage that at first glance might not strike you as much of a Christmas passage. As we look at Genesis 3:15, though, I hope we see the cosmic war that was being raged as Christ came that holy Christmas night.  I also hope we can see how the scriptures had already predicted and promised the winner of that cosmic war between God and Satan.  Genesis 3:15 will show us how we can have ourselves a merry snake-crushing Christmas this year and why that is such great news!

Pastor Robbie Symons of Hope Bible Church Oakville leads us through a study of Isaiah 66:1-2, and the three character traits God promises to show favor toward.

Ok, here we are. The final words of Paul's letter to the Romans. The letter closes with a worshipful doxology, declaring that God is worthy of all glory forever. As Paul glorifies God, he reminds us of an important reality that we must cling to as we close this book: the gospel is not only the power to save us, it is the power to strengthen us as well. So as we close our series in the book of Romans, we do so with the strong reminder that God, who strengthens us in the gospel, is worthy of all glory forever.

You open to Romans 16, and what do you find dominating the first 16 verses?   Names.  27 of them to be exact.   It's easy to come to sections like this of Paul's letters and speed read through them.  But we need to slow down here. What do all these names and descriptions tell us about a congregation and people known and loved by Paul?  How does this section help us understand that all the gospel doctrine and ethics Paul has laid down in this letter are rooted in a deep love for the people on the other side of the letter?  We have much to see here for how gospel doctrine gets lived out in the context of personal relationships within a congregation. 

You open to Romans 16, and what do you find dominating the first 16 verses?   Names.  27 of them to be exact.   It's easy to come to sections like this of Paul's letters and speed read through them.  But we need to slow down here. What do all these names and descriptions tell us about a congregation and people known and loved by Paul?  How does this section help us understand that all the gospel doctrine and ethics Paul has laid down in this letter are rooted in a deep love for the people on the other side of the letter?  We have much to see here for how gospel doctrine gets lived out in the context of personal relationships within a congregation. 

Paul had an ambition to preach the gospel where Christ had not yet been named.  In other words, Paul lived with a passion for the gospel frontiers.  He wanted to go to the places where the gospel had yet to go and announce the good news of Christ there. In this week's passage, we see Paul's eyes fixed on a new gospel frontier of Spain. As we walk through this together we want to pull out four factors for forward movement to gospel frontiers.  Let's let God's word fill us with a greater zeal for the gospel frontiers in our day where the gospel must go forward!

Why witness? How should we witness? This morning we unpack the heart of witness—We witness to the glory of God, so the lost can experience our glorious God.

In the church at Rome there were some conscience controversies: "Should we eat that or not?  "Should we drink that or not?  "Should we celebrate that day or not?" In our congregation today there are unique matters of conscience as well. Last week we looked at Five Gospel Unifiers for us on matters of conscience.  Those Five Gospel Unifiers from last week lay a foundation for us to build on as to how we practically live with one another in these matters. Today we tackle this by looking at Romans 14:13-15:13 and from this passage will make 3 resolutions to love my neighbor in matters of conscience. 

It is evident how much Paul wants to drive home the reality that people who have come to believe the gospel will now live lives marked by gospel-empowered love.  In this passage, Paul summarizes that to love is to fulfill the law.  He also helps us see that walking in love and walking in the light go hand-in-hand.  Let's look together at what a gospel-empowered life of love and light looks like.

It is evident how much Paul wants to drive home the reality that people who have come to believe the gospel will now live lives marked by gospel-empowered love.  In this passage, Paul summarizes that to love is to fulfill the law.  He also helps us see that walking in love and walking in the light go hand-in-hand.  Let's look together at what a gospel-empowered life of love and light looks like.

Paul comes to what we call a "rapid fire" section of his letter.  A series of commands and instructions that come quickly and pointedly in Romans 12:9-21.  Though it is rapid fire, they aren't entirely disconnected.  Verse 9 serves as a proper header for these verses around the theme of genuine love. Last week we looked at what genuine love for one another in the body of Christ looks like. This week we tackle what genuine love for our enemies looks like.

Paul comes to what we call a "rapid fire" section of his letter. A series of commands and instructions that come quickly and pointedly in Romans 12:9-21. Though it is rapid fire, they aren't entirely disconnected. Verse 9 serves as a proper header for these verses around the theme of genuine love. This week we look at what genuine love for one another in the body of Christ looks like. Next week we will tackle what genuine love for our enemies looks like.

Lord, keep me low. Lord, build your church. Lord, use me.

As Paul moves to his instructions for what a life shaped by the gospel looks like, he begins with an appeal.  His appeal is that his readers would live as sacrifices to God.  What kind of sacrifices are we to be?  How does this define for us what true worship is?  What would prevent us from becoming these sacrifices?  What is the catalyst that leads us to this kind of gospel-shaped sacrifice?  All this is answered in two really important verses of this book.

As Paul moves to his instructions for what a life shaped by the gospel looks like, he begins with an appeal.  His appeal is that his readers would live as sacrifices to God.  What kind of sacrifices are we to be?  How does this define for us what true worship is?  What would prevent us from becoming these sacrifices?  What is the catalyst that leads us to this kind of gospel-shaped sacrifice?  All this is answered in two really important verses of this book.

Noah's Ark. This remarkable story of a catastrophic, global flood where God's wrath is poured out on the utter depravity of the world. And yet, God's mercy and kindness is all over this story as he preserves some through an ark-shaped vessel of his mercy. As we look at this story, I pray we see both the fullness of God's wrath toward wickedness, and the riches of his grace and mercy. Most of all, may we see how this global flood points us to gospel glories!

It is time to come back to the Lord. There are times we run from God. Sometimes those are blatantly obvious by the outward expressions of our life. Other times everything looks good on the outside, but we are spiritually cold on the inside. In 1 Kings 18 we see a showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal that turns the people's hearts back to the Lord. As we walk through this story together, there are three things we need to see and act if we need to return wholeheartedly to the Lord as well.

In Numbers 22-24 we find an entertaining and humorous story about a king, a pagan prophet-for hire, and a donkey. The donkey is significant because God makes the animal speak in a human voice, which is why this story is so memorable. But the story is not really about the donkey. This story is all about our God who is faithful to keep His promises. And His greatest promise, a coming Savior, was fulfilled in Jesus Christ, in whom all the promises of God find their Yes!

1 Samuel 17

1 Samuel 17

In Romans 11:25-36, Paul reveals the fuller picture of God's plan of salvation by explaining the “mystery” that in the end, “all Israel will be saved.” He goes on to focus on the centrality of God's mercy in the salvation of all the elect, both Jew and Gentile. Finally, in concluding this section of his letter to the Romans, Paul writes a doxology in which we are reminded that this entire plan of salvation is designed specifically for God's glory. Our salvation isn't the ultimate goal; God's glory is. 

God's ways are not our ways. We see this throughout this section of Romans.  God is doing a great work for maximum redemption of both Jew and Gentile, and he is carrying that out in a way he knows is best. Paul says a remnant of Israel has been chosen by grace, the rest have been hardened, but we see in this week's passage how God is using even that hardening for greater salvation for Jew and Gentile alike.