Redeemer Weekend Sermons

Teacher: Adam Barnett “Through writing and reflecting, journaling keeps you alert to God's presence and activity in, around, and through me.” – Adele Calhoun “David's story isn't a stain-glassed window of a saint, but a cracked mirror in which we see ourselves and the God who loves us anyway.”  - Eugene Peterson But Samuel replied: “Does the Lord delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the Lord? To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams. - 1 Samuel 15:22 “Because you have rejected the word of the Lord, he has rejected you as king.”  - 1 Samuel 15:23b Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned. I violated the Lord's command and your instructions. I was afraid of the men so I gave in to them.” – 1 Samuel 15:24 Samuel said to him, “The Lord has torn the kingdom of Israel from you today and has given it to one of your neighbors—to one better than you.”  - 1 Samuel 15:28 Until the day Samuel died, he did not go to see Saul again, though Samuel mourned for him. And the Lord regretted that he had made Saul king over Israel.  – 1 Samuel 15:35 The Lord said to Samuel, “How long will you mourn for Saul, since I have rejected him as king over Israel? Fill your horn with oil and be on your way; I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem. I have chosen one of his sons to be king.” But Samuel said, “How can I go? If Saul hears about it, he will kill me.” The Lord said, “Take a heifer with you and say, ‘I have come to sacrifice to the Lord.' Invite Jesse to the sacrifice, and I will show you what to do. You are to anoint for me the one I indicate.” – 1 Samuel 16:1-3 But the Lord said to Samuel, “Do not consider his appearance or his height, for I have rejected him. The Lord does not look at the things people look at. People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”  - 1 Samuel 16:7 So he asked Jesse, “Are these all the sons you have?” “There is still the youngest,” Jesse answered. “He is tending the sheep.” Samuel said, “Send for him; we will not sit down until he arrives.” So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.  – 1 Samuel 16:11-13 Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him.  – 1 Corinthians 1:26-29 1. David loved God – “The Lord has sought out a man after his own heart…”  - 1 Samuel 13:14 2. David was faithful – Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much. – Luke 16:10 3. David had integrity – He chose David his servant and took him from the sheep pens; from tending the sheep he brought him to be the shepherd of his people Jacob, of Israel his inheritance. And David shepherded them with integrity of heart; with skillful hands he led them.  – Psalm 78:70-72

Teacher: Adam Barnett “David's story isn't a stain-glassed window of a saint, but a cracked mirror in which we see ourselves and the God who loves us anyway.” – Eugene Peterson In God's kingdom, people purposefully resist isolation and intentionally prioritize community. 1) Isolation contradicts the nature of love.   Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.  – 1 John 4:7-8; 11-12 2) Isolation makes you vulnerable to sin. “Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devoir.  – 1 Peter 5:8b 3) Isolation hinders your spiritual fervor. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching.  -  Hebrews 10:24-25 1) Community fosters growth and maturity. Proverbs 27:17, “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another.” 2) Community strengthens our purpose and mission. Calling the Twelve to him, he began to send them out two by two… - Mark 6:7a 3) Community offers practical support and compassion. Carry each other's burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.  – Galatians 6:2

Teacher: Adam Barnett Responsibility – the state or fact of having a duty (an obligation requiring loyalty and faithfulness). We carry the responsibility of sharing God's love and truth with others (through word and deed). We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. - 2 Corinthians 5:20a An ambassador is the highest-ranking diplomatic officer, designated by a government as its resident representative in a foreign land. "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." 1) Promise: you will receive power. 2) Person: the Holy Spirit. Before God sent the Church into the world, He sent his Spirit into the Church. "Trying to do the Lord's work in your own strength is the most confusing, exhausting, and tedious of all work. But with the Holy Spirit, the ministry of Jesus just flows out of you."  - Corrie ten Boom “Without the power of the Holy Spirit, our work will be drudgery. With it, it becomes a joyful task, a refreshing service.” - D.L. Moody 3) Purpose: to be a witness. “The church is closed today due to lack of power.” 4) Place: intentional and spontaneous. But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. - 1 Peter 3:15 5) Prayer: trust God with the outcome. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God has been making it grow. So neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. - 1 Corinthians 3:6-7

Teacher: Adam Barnett He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.   - Isaiah 53:3-5 Mark 15:25 - It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb. There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: ‘He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.' Now I have told you.” So the women hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy, and ran to tell his disciples. Suddenly Jesus met them. “Greetings,” he said. They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”  - Matthew 28:1-10 “The resurrection completes the inauguration of God's kingdom… it is the decisive event demonstrating that God's kingdom really has been launched on earth as it is in heaven. The message of Easter is that God's new world has been unveiled in Jesus Christ and that you're now invited to belong to it.” – N.T. Wright For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.  - John 3:16-17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! - 2 Corinthians 5:17 Jesus, I believe in you. I believe you died on the cross for me. I believe you resurrected from the dead. I give my life to you. I am sorry for my sins. Please forgive me. I welcome you to live in my heart and to fill me with your Holy Spirit. I want to live this life, and the life to come, with you. Through the name of Jesus, my Lord and Savior, I pray. Amen!

Teacher: Adam Barnett As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem. - Luke 9:51 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?' say, ‘The Lord needs it.'”  Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?” They replied, “The Lord needs it.” - Luke 19:28-34 Rejoice greatly, Daughter Zion! Shout, Daughter Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and victorious, lowly and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.  — Zechariah 9:9 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road. When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”  - Luke 19:35-38 1 - Jesus embodied peace. Romans 5:1 – “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” “Our sin has put wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God's own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever.”  - R.T. France Luke 19:41-42… But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace.” 2 - Jesus embodied healing. “The blind and lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.”  - Matthew 21:14 3 - Jesus embodied hope. The crowds that went ahead of him and those that followed shouted, “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest heaven!” - Matthew 21:9 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  – 2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Teacher: Dave Brown Despair: Utter loss of hope.— Merriam-Webster Dictionary Why is light given to those in misery, and life to the bitter of soul, to those who long for death that does not come, who search for it more than for hidden treasure, who are filled with gladness and rejoice when they reach the grave? Why is life given to a man whose way is hidden, whom God has hedged in? For sighing has become my daily food; my groans pour out like water. What I feared has come upon me; what I dreaded has happened to me. I have no peace, no quietness; I have no rest, but only turmoil.— Job 3:20-26 3 Types of Despair:1 - Spiritual Despair2 - Emotional Despair3 - Physical Despair Covert despair—repressed hopelessness characterizes the spiritual condition of North American culture. Unlike the despair of the poor and afflicted around the globe who know too well their true condition, the despair of the dominant culture of North America is a denied despair, not merely hidden by wealth and power but forcibly refused It is the kind of repressive posture that must lie to itself constantly that ends in destructive behavior more devastating than the negating realities it fears to acknowledge.— Kathleen O'Conner The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.—Luke 4:18-19 Without lament our hearts remain devoid of the light of Christ. Lament is an essential practice for moving to hope. Prayers that erupt from wounds, burst out of unbearable pain, and bring it to language. Laments complain, shout, and protest. They  anger and despair before God and the community. They grieve. They argue. The find fault…Although laments appear disruptive of God's world, they are acts of fidelity. In vulnerability and honesty, they cling obstinately to God and demand for God to see, hear, and act.— Kathleen O'Conner Hope: To cherish a desire with anticipation.— Merriam-Webster Dictionary 3 Kinds of Christian Hope:1 - Spiritual Hope2 - Emotional Hope3 - Physical Hope To hope for a better future in this world—for the poor, the sick, the lonely and depressed, for the slaves, the refugees, the hungry and homeless, for the abused, the paranoid, the downtrodden and despairing, and in fact for the whole wide, wonderful, and wounded world— is not something else, something extra, something tacked on to the gospel as an afterthought.— N.T. Wright The whole point of what Jesus was up to was that he was rescuing people from the corruption and decay of the way the world presently is so they could enjoy, already in the present, that renewal of creation which is God's ultimate purpose—and so they could thus become colleagues and partners in that larger project.— N.T. Wright

Teacher: Adam BarnettWhen the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. – Genesis 3:6-8When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. – John 8:44bThere is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. – Romans 8:1“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” – 2 Corinthians 12:9a“Grace is love that seeks you out when you have nothing to give in return. Grace is love coming at you that has nothing to do with you. Grace is being loved when you are unlovable… Grace has everything to do with the lover, not the beloved. It reflects a decision on the part of the giver, the one who loves, in relation to the receiver, the one who is loved, that negates any qualifications the receiver may personally hold. Grace is the most dangerous, expectation-wrecking, smile-creating, counterintuitive reality there is. Grace is one-way love.” - Paul ZahlSo what do we do? Keep on sinning so God can keep on forgiving? I should hope not! If we've left the country where sin is sovereign, how can we still live in our old house there? Or didn't you realize we packed up and left there for good? That is what happened in baptism. When we went under the water, we left the old country of sin behind; when we came up out of the water, we entered into the new country of grace—a new life in a new land! – Romans 6:1-3 (MSG)

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.— Matthew 11:28-30Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple].— Matthew 11:29For at least several decades the churches of the Western world have not made discipleship a condition of being a Christian. One is not required to be, or to intend to be, a disciple in order to become a Christian, one may remain a Christian without any signs of progress toward or in discipleship…Churches are filled with “undisciplined disciples”…Of course there is in reality no such thing. Most problems in contemporary churches can be explained by the fact that members have never decided to follow Christ.—Dallas Willard, The Great OmissionDisciple says we are people who spend our lives apprenticed to our master, Jesus Christ. We are in a growing-learning relationship, always. A disciple is a learner, but not in the academic setting of a schoolroom, rather at the work site of a craftsman. We do not acquire information about God but skills in faith.— Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction1 - Be with Jesus2 - Become Like Jesus3 - Do as Jesus Did1 - Be with Jesus3 Places to Experience God's Presence1 - Scripture2 - Creation3 - People2 - Become Like JesusSanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.— John 17:17-18In our kind of culture anything, even news about God, can be sold if it is packaged freshly; but when it loses its novelty, it goes on the garbage heap. There is a great market for religious experience in our world; there is little enthusiasm for the patient acquisition of virtue, little inclination to sign up for a long apprenticeship in what earlier generations of Christians called holiness.— Eugene Peterson, A Long Obedience in the Same Direction3 - Do as Jesus DidThe Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor.—Luke 4:18-19Our tendency today is to define “the poor” economically, on a scale of annual household income or with reference to an established, national or international poverty line. But this is only another reflection of our tendency to read our own world back into Luke's…Luke is concerned above all with a category of people ordinarily defined above all by their dishonorable status, their exclusion.— Joel Green, The Theology of the Book of Luke

“These people needed a break! The Pharisees' legalism surrounding the Mosaic Law had ground them into spiritual powder.” - Stuart Weber“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me [following Me as My disciple], for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest (renewal, blessed quiet) for your souls. For My yoke is easy [to bear] and My burden is light.” - Matthew 11:28-30 (AMP)A) Our familiesB) Our jobsC) Our mindsD) Our bodiesE) Our stress1 - Come to Jesus. 2 - Take his yoke upon you.To take his yoke expresses trust and relinquishes control over to Jesus.3 - Learn from him.Learn one thing from Jesus every day.4 - Find Rest. This is what the Lord says: “Stand at the crossroads and look; ask for the ancient paths, ask where the good way is, and walk in it, and you will find rest for your souls.” – Jeremiah 6:16“For those who live under the yoke, there is absolutely no better way to live. Who in their right mind would go back to the gods of Self, Money, Lust and Power? Who would return on bended knee to the shrines of pious performance and judgmentalism? Is not love better than hate, purity better than lust, reconciliation better than retaliation? And is not ‘better' really ‘easier' when measured in character rather than convenience, rest for the soul rather than selfish pride?– Doug WebsterChoose your yoke.

Teacher: Adam Barnett“Jesus didn't actually say much about the kingdom of heaven in the sense that we normally mean it. When he spoke of heaven's kingdom, he wasn't talking about a place called heaven to which people might or might not go after they die. He was talking about something that would become a reality ‘as in heaven, so on earth' (Matt. 6:10). So instead of suggesting that we could escape the earth to go to heaven, Jesus' good news was about heaven coming to earth.” – N.T. WrightThen Thomas (called Didymus) said to the rest of the disciples, “Let us also go, that we may die with him.” - John 11:16διστάζω – to waver, hesitate, to be uncertain.19 On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 20 After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord. 21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone's sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.” 24 Now Thomas (also known as Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25 So the other disciples told him, “We have seen the Lord!” But he said to them, “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe.” 26 A week later his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” 27 Then he said to Thomas, “Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” 28 Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” - John 20:19-291 - Share with others.2 - Wait on the Lord.Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! - Psalm 27:143 - Pray and confess.“Doubt is a form of rebellion. It is a refusal to relate to God on his own terms.” – Stan Harstine

Teacher: Dave Brown“Repent for the kingdom of heaven has come near.”— Matthew 4:17Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.— Matthew 5The kingdom of heaven is like…Sin may be comprehensively defined as a lack of conformity to the law of God in act, habit, attitude, outlook, disposition, motivation, and mode of existence.— J.I. PackerI reared children and brought them up, but they have rebelled against me. The ox knows its master, the donkey its owner's manger, but Israel does not know, my people do not understand. Woe to the sinful nation…— Isaiah 1:2Cross over to the coasts of Cyprus and look, send to Cedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols.— Jeremiah 2:10-11Son of man, I am sending you to the Israelites, to a rebellious nation that has rebelled against me; they and their ancestors have been in revolt against me to this very day.— Ezekiel 2:3Community sins are devastating.Sin breaks the created order, which results first in slavery, then in death.When we sin we trade places and powers with something that God created to serve us.Repent means to stop what we are doing, to turn around, and to go the other way.The good news is about the living God overcoming all the powers of the world to establish his rule of justice and peace, on earth as in heaven… And that victory is won not by superior power of the same kind but by a different sort of power altogether… The kingdoms of the world run on violence. The kingdom of God, Jesus declared, runs on love.— N.T. Wright, Simply Good News

Teacher: Adam BarnettThe elder, To my dear friend Gaius, whom I love in the truth.Dear friend, I pray that you may enjoy good health and that all may go well with you, even as your soul is getting along well. It gave me great joy when some believers came and testified about your faithfulness to the truth, telling how you continue to walk in it. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God. It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth.I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church. Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone—and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true.I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name. – 3 John 1:1-15 “3 John is a treasure that provides a glimpse into early church dynamics, provides a much-needed exhortation to Christians today, and makes a significant theological claim about where the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to be found.” – Karen Jobes1 - Walk in the truth.“If we were on trial for being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict us?” - Josh McDowell 2 - Practice hospitality.When we extend hospitality, we make our faith visible. 3 - Imitate good.Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. – 3 John 1:11Who has influence in my life, and is their example one I should imitate?

Teacher: Leanne Benton1 The elder, to the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth— 2 because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love. 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us. 5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. “Truth without love is harshness; it gives us information but in such a way that we cannot really hear it. Love without truth is sentimentality; it supports and affirms us but keeps us in denial about our flaws." - Tim Keller The great “truth” unveiled in the gospel is that the powerful, redeeming love of God is the motor that drives the cosmos. - N. T. Wright 3 Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love. 4 It has given me great joy to find some of your children walking in the truth, just as the Father commanded us.  Biblical orthodoxy without compassion is surely the ugliest thing in the world. - Francis Schaeffer Behavior is a reflection of belief.5 And now, dear lady, I am not writing you a new command but one we have had from the beginning. I ask that we love one another. 6 And this is love: that we walk in obedience to his commands. As you have heard from the beginning, his command is that you walk in love. When other's look at us, will they see a life shaped by the truth of the Kingdom of God and the love of Jesus?

Teacher: Adam BarnettDear children, keep yourself from idols. – 1 John 5:21Exodus 20:3 – You shall have no other gods before me. An idol is anything or anyone more important to you than God. “Idolatry is robbery and perversion. It's robbery because we take what is due to God and give it to something else. And it's perversion because we give the devotion God rightly deserves to other things.” - Erik RaymondIdols interfere with our identity. Is there anything or anyone more important to you than God? Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life. – Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)More anything else, I love / want / need / trust / desire / fear ___________________.Don't just remove idols – replace them. Idols can kill your worship; worship can kill your idols.

Teacher: Dave BrownDear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.— 1 John 4:7-12“The English word love is trying to do so many different jobs at the same time that someone really ought to sit down with it and teach it how to delegate.”— N.T. WrightFor God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…— John 3:16This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.— 1 John 4:10Love is not just something God does. It is who God is.Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.— 1 John 4:8Love is the language they speak in God's world, and we are summoned to learn it against the day when God's world and ours will be brought together forever. It is the music they make in God's courts, and we are invited to learn it and practice it in advance. Love is not a 'duty,' even our highest duty. It is our destiny.— N.T. Wright, After You BelieveLove is a disciple, a practice, an act of the will.Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.— 1 Corinthians 13:4-8aThe great thing to remember is that, though our feelings come and go, His love for us does not. It is not wearied by our sins, or our indifference; and, therefore, it is quite relentless in its determination that we shall be cured of those sins, at whatever cost to us, at whatever cost to Him.— C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Teacher: Adam Barnett1 John 2:28-29; 3:1aAnd now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!John 1:12-13Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God.To be “born of God” specifies the origin of our identities, impulses, motivations, and attitudes.1 - God's children do not live in sin1 John 3:6, 9No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God's seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God.6 No one who lives (Greek: menōn = to remain, abide, stay) in him keeps on sinning. 2 - God's children love one another1 John 3:11For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."A failure to love others is symptomatic of a failure to love God."-Karen Jobes1 John 3:16-18This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.To lay down your life is to express love through sacrificial and compassionate actions.3 - God's children are confident before the Father1 John 3:19-24This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God's commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.“John says that we can set our hearts at rest whenever they condemn us… for God understands us better than our own hearts know us, and in his omniscience, he knows that our often weak attempts to obey his commands spring from true allegiance to him.”-Howard Marshall

Teacher: Adam BarnettIf you know God, you must obey Him and live as Jesus did.We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in that person. But if anyone obeys his word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must live as Jesus did. - 1 John 2:3-6Do I take God's commands seriously and do I repent when I fall short?1 - You must not hate your brother.Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates a brother or sister is still in the darkness. Anyone who loves their brother and sister lives in the light, and there is nothing in them to make them stumble. But anyone who hates a brother or sister is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness. They do not know where they are going, because the darkness has blinded them. – 1 John 2:9-112 - You must not love the world.Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them.For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not fromthe Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God livesforever. – 1 John 2:15-17Worldliness – an affection for that which is unlike God and contrary to his will.Is there anything you possess or desire that interferes with your devotion to God?3 - You must not listen to false teaching.As for you, see that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father. And this is what he promised us—eternal life. I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray. – 1 John 2:24-26

Teacher: Dave BrownThis is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is nodarkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie anddo not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship withone another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be withoutsin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and justand will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have notsinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us. My dear children, I write this toyou so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for oursbut also for the sins of the whole world. —1 John 1:5-2:2FellowshipLight versus DarkTruth versus LieSin, Confession, ForgivenessAtonementConsumerism/MaterialismNationalismStewardship/EcologySexualitySecurityThe people stood in the holy place and spoke the current religious cliche and supposed thateverything was just fine. They were in the right place, and they said the right words—but theywere not right…Religion is not a matter of arrangements or places or words, but of life andlove, of mercy and obedience, of persons in a passion of faith. —Eugene PetersonGod of grace and truth, in Jesus Christ you came among us as light shining in darkness. Weconfess that we have not welcomed the light, or trusted good news to be good. We haveclosed our eyes to glory in our midst, expecting little and hoping for less. Forgive our doubtand renew our hope, so that we may receive the fullness of your grace and live in the truth ofChrist the Lord. Amen.

Teacher: Adam BarnettWho?The Apostle JohnWhat?A pastoral exhortation on truth, obedience, and love. When?AD 90-95.Where?Ephesus (and surrounding churches)Why?The truth was under attack.1 John 1:5 (NIV)1 John 1:5 (AMP)“All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.” - St. Francis

Teacher: Leanne BentonJeremiah 29:11Proverbs 15:22Psalm 33:11The Infinite Infant Entered Our TimelineWhat Will We Do When God Disrupts The Plan?Proverbs 16:9Proverbs 19:21The Story of Christmas is Not About What We Want But What We NeedWhat Will We Do When God Changes Our Plan, A Holy Disruption?Philippians 1:6What Will We Do When Our Plans Come to a Place of Disruptive Disappointment?James 1:2-4Psalm 23:?John 1:?Philippians 3:13-14John 16:33

Teacher: Adam BarnettIsaiah 9:6Isaiah 7:14Matthew 1:22-231 - God was with us (past event).Matthew 1:18-212 - God is with us (present reality).God is ALWAYS with you and will NEVER leave you.Galatians 2:203 - God will be with us (future hope).

Teacher: Adam BarnettIsaiah 9:6Peace is not the absence of conflict.Luke 2:12-14Luke 2:141 - Peace with God.Romans 5:10“Our sin has put wrath between us and God, and a mere ceasefire will never suffice—we are not meant to live under the cloud of an uneasy standoff with God. Instead, Jesus became incarnate, died, and rose so that believers might be adopted into God's own family and eat at the table with him in unbroken fellowship forever.” – R.T. France2 - Peace within.Philippians 4:6-73 - Peace with others.Romans 12:18“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love.” – St. FrancisCan we agree to disagree, and focus on being loving instead of being right?

Teacher: Adam BarnettIsaiah 9:6Psalm 90:2Jesus was born, but he did not begin. John 1:3 - Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. The infant is infinite. Philippians 2:6-7John 14:9Christmas – God got on our level. “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.” - Augustine

Teacher: Adam BarnettIsaiah 9:6Isaiah 9:1-5Isaiah 9:6-7Isaiah 9:2-7, MSGMighty God - El Gibbor1 - Jesus is God.Philippians 2:6-7“He took to himself what he was not, while remaining what he was … he continued to be what he is, while appearing to us as what we are.” – Augustine2 - Jesus is a Warrior.Luke 1:46-513 - Jesus sees your battles and cares.

Teacher: Dave BrownIsaiah 9:6-7Wonderful CounselorMighty GodEverlasting FatherPrince of PeaceJesus has cognitive and practical mastery of every phase of reality: physical, moral, and spiritual. He is master only because he is Maestro. “Jesus is Lord” can mean little in practice for anyone who has to hesitate before saying, “Jesus is smart.” He is not just nice, he is brilliant. He is the smartest man who ever lived. He is now supervising the entire course of world history (Rev. 1:5) while simultaneously preparing the rest of the universe for our future role in it (John 14:2). He always has the best information on everything and certainly also on the things that matter most in human life.—Dallas WillardColossians 2:2-3The soul is the perceiver and revealer of truth… We know truth when we see it, from opinion, as we know when we are awake that we are awake.—Ralph Waldo Emerson The only way we can ever know what is right for us is that it feels better subjectively than any alternative…what tastes good is also, in the growth sense, better for us.— Abraham MaslowThe counsel is that we can arrive at our full humanness by gratifying our desires. It has been a recipe for misery for millions.—Eugene PetersonMatthew 7:24We don't become whole persons by merely wanting to become whole, by consulting the right prophets, by reading the right book. Intentions must mature into commitment if we are to become persons with definition, with character, with substance.— Eugene PetersonMatthew 23:36-40Relationship with God is not something added on after we complete our basic growth, it is the essential core of that growth. Take that core out, and there is no humanity at all but only a husk, the appearance, but not the substance of the human.—Eugene Peterson

MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Consumerism | Week 12 | November 24, 2024Teacher: Daniel DennisonMark 10:17-22“An idol is anything in our life that takes the place of God. It is anything in our life other than God that gives us meaning, acceptance, and purpose.”- Tim KellerMatthew 6:25-26

MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Legalism | Week 11 | November 10, 2024Teacher: Dave Brown“In the past few years, I've observed an epidemic of sorts: patient after patient suffering from the same condition. The symptoms of this condition include fatigue, irritability, insomnia, anxiety, headaches, heartburn, bowel disturbances, back pain, and weight gain. There are no blood tests or X-rays diagnostic of this condition, and yet it's easy to recognize. The condition is excessive busyness.” - Dr. Susan KovenMark 4:35-41…That day when evening came, he said to his disciples, “Let us go over to the other side.” Leaving the crowd behind, they took him along, just as he was, in the boat. There were also other boats with him. A furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped. Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion. The disciples woke him and said to him, “Teacher, don't you care if we drown?” He got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, “Quiet! Be still!” Then the wind died down and it was completely calm. He said to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?” They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”“Margin is the space that once existed between our load and our limits. Margin is the space between vitality and exhaustion. It is our breathing room, our reserves, our leeway. It is the opposite of overload. When Jesus went to the back of the boat, he was practicing margin.” - Richard SwensonIf Jesus needed to stop, then so do we.“Maybe the greatest enemy of the life you want is the life you are living.” – Craig Groeschel “To walk with Jesus is to walk with a slow, unhurried pace. Hurry is the death of prayer.” - Walter Adams"Every one of us needs half an hour of prayer a day; except when we are busy. Then, we need an hour.” - St. Francis Jesus wants to infuse our lives with purpose, but not through full schedules and hurried lives.Do I need to slow down in order to catch up with God? Schedule time with God. Learn to say no. Quit something.Adopt new disciplines.Resist social acceptability. Turn notifications off. Practice Sabbath.

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Legalism | Week 10 | November 10, 2024Teacher: Dave Brown/> We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.—Galatians 2:15-17/> Since in much Western theology “justification” and “salvation” have regularly been confused, sometimes even conflated, it has been easy to strip out the “Jew and gentile” aspect of these verses and read them simply as saying, “To be saved, it isn't a matter of keeping moral rules; it's just a matter of believing.”—N.T. Wright/> Legalism is the distortion of obedience that can never produce truly good works. Its first fault is that is skews motive and purpose, seeing good deeds as essentially ways to earn more of God's favor than one has at the moment. Its second fault is arrogance. Belief that one's labor earns God's favor begets contempt for those who do not labor in the same way. Its third fault is lovelessness in that its self-advancing purpose squeezes humble kindness and creative compassion out of the heart.—J.I. Packer/> Our beliefs about legalism and grace direct affect how we view God and how we view ourselves./> Grace does not do away with holiness, righteousness, and obedience./> The Christian ideal had not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.—G.K. Chesterton

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Complacency | Week 9 | November , 2024Teacher: Tim Mannin/> 1 Peter 1:1 (NIV) To God's elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces…Mark 12:28-31 (Message) “Which is most important of all the commandments?” Jesus said, “The first in importance is, ‘Listen, Israel: The Lord your God is one; so love the Lord God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence and energy."/> 1 Peter 4:1-3 (NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry./> GOD IS NOT LOOKING FOR PERFECT, HE'S LOOKING FOR PASSIONATEPREPARE YOUR PASSION IN PRIVATE SO GOD CAN USE YOU TO SLAY GIANTS IN PUBLIC./> 1 Peter 4:1-4 (NIV) Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you./> 1 Peter 4:5-7 (NIV) They will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit. 7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray./> 1 Peter 4:8-11 (NIV) Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God's grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and power for ever and ever. Amen!/> WE ARE TIRED OF MEDIOCRE VERSIONS OF FAITH, SO WE ARE OVER THE TOP PASSIONATE ABOUT THE PURSUIT OF THE LIVING GOD./> Hebrews 12:1-3 (Message) Do you see what this means—all these pioneers who blazed the way, all these veterans cheering us on? It means we'd better get on with it. Strip down, start running—and never quit! No extra spiritual fat, no parasitic sins. Jesus, who both began and finished this race we're in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he's there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves That will shoot adrenaline into your souls

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Technology| Week 8 | October 27, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> Poison #1: My phone controls me. /> “We are formed in the image of what we habitually gaze at.” – Justin Earley, Habits of the Household/> Antidote: 1 Corinthians 6:12. “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything"—but I will not be mastered by anything. /> True freedom comes not from permission to do everything, but from not being enslaved to anything./> Action Step: Delete a time-consuming, unnecessary app (right now)./> Poison #2: My phone defines my worth. /> Other people's words (positive or negative) don't define my worth./> Antidote: 1 Peter 2:9 and Ephesians 2:10. You are God's special possession … God's handiwork./> Action Step: Memorize 1 Peter 2:9 and Ephesians 2:10./> Poison #3: My phone is a weapon./> Antidote: James 1:19-20. Let every person be … slow to speak./> Action Step: Be nice and say you're sorry. /> Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. - Deuteronomy 6:4-7

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Unforgiveness| Week 7 | October 20, 2024Teacher: Leanne Benton/> We were created for connection, but we can easily drift or be pushed toward isolation!/> Genesis 2:18 "Then the Lord God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”/> John 10:10 "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life and have it to the full."/> "People began to tell me they felt isolated, invisible, and insignificant. Even when they couldn't put their finger on the word “lonely,” time and time again, people of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds, from every corner of the country, would tell me, “I have to shoulder all of life's burdens by myself,” or “if I disappear tomorrow, no one will even notice.” /> I Peter 5:8, "Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour." /> Our very identity is discovered and uncovered in community. /> Hebrews 10:24-25, "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near."/> James 5:16, "Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results."/> Galatians 6:1-3, "Dear brothers and sisters, if another believer is overcome by some sin, you who are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path. And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself. Share each other's burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ."

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Unforgiveness| Week 6 | October 13, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. – Deuteronomy 6:5/> Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. 23 “Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. /> 3.12e10/> Matthew 18:26 “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,' he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go./> Matthew 18:28 “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded. 29 “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.' 30 “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened./> Matthew 18:32 “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,' he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. 35 “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”/> The kingdom of heaven is a forgiving place! /> Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. - Ephesians 4:32/> Colossians 3:1212 Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. 13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Guilt vs Conviction| Week 5 | October 6, 2024Teacher: Scott Johnson/> You have a job – and work to do – for God's kingdom!/> GUILT is a counterproductive shame you feel over something in your past that cannot be changed (it's there, alright!) and for which you have already been forgiven by Christ. Guilt interferes with your present and future – sometimes in very subtle ways./> CONVICTION is an invaluable gift from the Holy Spirit, a tug or nudge in your conscience to help you turn from a pattern of sinful behavior or a sinful choice you are considering, or move positively in a direction God is leading you. Unlike guilt, which springs from events in your past that cannot be changed, conviction is a very present sense of right vs. wrong. Heeding it will help you make the right choice in a current circumstance that affects your future path./> 1. You are an ambassador for Christ – and you have work to do!/> 2. Guilt is a counterproductive obstruction in doing the work God has just for you./> 3. We need to stop looking back, live with a view to the future, and go for it!/> 4. Conviction is a gift from the Holy Spirit, guidance to help us steer clear of sinful behaviors, actively move toward what God wants us to do, and make the best of our short time here!

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Politics | Week 4 | September 29, 2024Teacher: Pastor Dave Brown/> Tradition helps us remember God's faithfulness./> This is a day you are to commemorate; for the generations to come you shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD—a lasting ordinance…Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on the this very day that I brought your division out of Egypt…Obey these instructions as a lasting ordinance for you and your descendants.  When you enter the land that the LORD will give you as he promised, observe this ceremony.  And when your children ask you, “What does this ceremony mean to you?” Then tell them, “It is the Passover sacrifice to the LORD, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.—Exodus 12:14, 17, 24-28 /> One thing we can learn from this is the importance the Bible places on ritual.  The Old Testament repeatedly refers to teaching Israelite children who God is and what he has done.—Peter Enns/> Tradition gives us anchors for belief./> Repetition and familiarity work.  What is repeated becomes familiar, and this becomes a part of us…Far too many equate ritual with spiritual dryness.  True, ritual and liturgy can be dead but only when the significance and power of those rituals are forgotten.  Spiritual death is not a property of ritual itself.  To the contrary, ritual has always been and will always be a means of securing for future generations the power and reality of the gospel…Ritual breeds familiarity.  It seeps into one's subconscious and, however subtly, begins to exert a formative influence.—Peter Enns/> Tradition “gets in the way” when we misunderstand the why behind it. /> Stop bringing meaningless offerings! Your incense is detestable to me. New Moons, Sabbaths and convocations—I cannot bear your worthless assemblies. Your New Moon feasts and your appointed festivals I hate with all my being.They have become a burden to me; I am weary of bearing them. When you spread out your hands in prayer, I hide my eyes from you; even when you offer many prayers, I am not listening. Your hands are full of blood! Wash and make yourselves clean. Take your evil deeds out of my sight; stop doing wrong. Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.—Isaiah 1:13-17 /> As with the Israelites, our worship practices and religious activities are intended to be symbolic of deeper realities.  There is no necessary connection between these and the realities.  But there is a direct connection between those realities and our ethical behavior.  We can be very religious and yet be living our lives for ourselves.  We can give the appearance of obedience and yet be living a self-centered life that is nothing but rebellion.— John Oswalt /> Tradition “gets in the way” when it no longer accomplishes its why. /> Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”—Acts 15:1 /> Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear?  No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are…It is my judgement therefore that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God.—Acts 15:10-11, 19

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Politics | Week 3 | September 22, 2024Teacher: Dr. Dennis Edwards/> Unity requires living as heavenly citizens/> Unity means engaging in Spiritual Warfare together/> Unity require humility

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Politics | Week 2 | September 15, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> 1.    Jesus demands our ultimate allegiance. /> Anyone who loves a father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and anyone who loves a son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.  - Matthew 10:37-38/> My Christian identity is superior to my political affiliation./> 2.    My peace and hope are in Jesus, not the Oval Office./> Christ and _____________ is not the gospel of Jesus Christ./> 6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—7 which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! 9 As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse! 10 Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.  – Galatians 1:6-10/> 3.    No matter what, God is in control. /> God reigns over the nations; God is seated on his holy throne.   Psalms 47:8/> Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. – Matthew 28:18 /> 4.    This is not our home, but it still matters./> And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.  - Jeremiah 29:7 /> 5.    Allow the Bible to influence your vote./> … But the word of the Lord endures forever.– 1 Peter 1:25 /> 6.    Choose your words wisely.  /> “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”   - Ephesians 4:29   /> 7.    Pray for our next President.

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESIn The Way | Same and Condemnation | Week 1 | September 8, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.  – John 10:10/> Satan wants to secretly, casually, quickly, and fully destroy the superabundant life Jesus wants for you. /> Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  - Romans 8:1

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESRedeemer People | Worship | Week 3 | September 1, 2024Teacher: Leanne Benton/> 1. Worship forms our memory./> When we worship, we remember God's faithfulness./> 2. Worship awakens our expectation./> Boldness in action outside the church began with boldness of prayers inside the church./> When we worship together, we are actually experiencing God's presence./> 3. Worship grounds our hope./> When we worship, we foretaste the future.

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESRedeemer People | Our Affirmations | Week 2 | August 25, 2024Teacher: Dave Brown/> The centrality of the Word of God/> All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.2 Timothy 3:16-17 /> The Evangelical Covenant Church affirms the Holy Scriptures, the Old and New Testament, as the Word of God and the only perfect rule for faith, doctrine, and conduct. /> Where is it written?/> The necessity of new birth /> Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here!— 2 Corinthians 5:17/> A commitment to the whole mission of the church /> He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you?To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.—Micah 6:8 /> The church as a fellowship of believers /> They devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.Acts 2:42 /> Compelling Christian Community /> Mission Friends /> A conscious dependence on the Holy Spirit /> An unconscious independence /> …you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.—Acts 1:8 /> The reality of freedom in Christ /> We major on the major and minor on the minors /> Covenanters have understood that God's Word is sovereign over every human interpretation of it, including their own.  And understanding this, they have been free to allow for differences of opinion where the biblical record itself can be differently read.—Committee on Covenant DoctrineCovenant Affirmations

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESRedeemer People | Mission and Vision | Week 1 | August 18, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> Vision is seeing where you are going and knowing how to get there. /> Where there is no vision, the people perish.  - Proverbs 29:18 />Redeemer Church exists to see Christ exalted in our church, community, and world./> WORSHIP:Redeemer will be a community of corporate worship where people can express their love for God and observe the sacraments, and where God is worshipped and glorified./> COMMUNITY: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus experience love, support, encouragement, and grace from one another. /> DISCIPLESHIP: Redeemer will be a community where followers of Jesus mature into Christlikeness and exhibit character consistent with one who has a personal relationship with Him. /> “Spiritual formation is the process of the transformation of the heart (that is, the will and spirit). The heart is being formed in such a way that its natural expression comes to be the deeds of Christ done in the power of Christ.”– Dallas Willard /> MISSION:Redeemer will be a community committed to the Great Commission, serving as Christ's witnesses in our church, community, and world.  /> Acts 1:8 - But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. /> STEWARDSHIP: Redeemer will be a community that honors God with our resources and time

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESWalking The Way | Unity | Week 14 | August 11, 2024Teacher: Adam Barnett/> We are not called to SAMENESS. We are called to ONENESS. /> I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.  – John 17:4 /> Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name—the name you gave me—so that they may be one as we are one.  – John 17:11 /> “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message,that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me,that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent meand have loved themeven as you have loved me.  – John 17:20-23 /> 1.    Unity is from the Holy Spirit, not us./> The Holy Spirit is THE ONE who can MAKE US ONE. /> 2.    Unity is a witness of God's love to the world.  /> 3.    Unity is not an avenue to agreement. /> Unity is not an avenue to agreement. So, take a deep breath and relax.   /> I am sorry. I was wrong. Please forgive me. I love you. 

/> ### MESSAGE NOTESWalking The Way | Community | Week 13 | August 4, 2024Teacher: Alison Myers/> “You can make a strong case that of all the practices of Jesus, the two most important are SILENCE & SOLITUDE, and COMMUNITY. Because they are the two containers that hold all of the others. As a general rule, our best moments of healing and freedom and breakthrough and experience or encounter with Jesus, are either when we are alone with him in the quiet, or when we are together in community.” – John Mark Comer /> Jesus was formed spiritually./> Jesus was formed in community./> Jesus formed others in community./> Community is something we must practice./> We're lonely but we're afraid of intimacy. />“And so from social networks to social robots we're designing technologies that will give us the illusion of companionship, without the demands of friendship. We turn to technology to help us feel connected in ways we can comfortably control.” /> "This expression is very difficult to render in English, but we could translate it by saying, ‘A person is a person through other persons.' We need other human beings for us to learn how to be human, for none of us comes fully formed into the world. … I can be me only if you are fully you. I am because we are, for we are made for togetherness, for family. …I have gifts that you don't have, and you have gifts that I don't have. We are different in order to know our need of each other. To be human is to be dependent.” /> Soon the house where he was staying was so packed with visitors that there was no more room, even outside the door. While he was preaching God's word to them. -Mark 2:2/> Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven. -Mark 2:5