Redemption Hill Church Sermons

Reformation Series Week 6 (Finale!): Extra Nos. 2 Timothy 3:14-17: Our final sola— Sola Scriptura, Scripture Alone. April 17, 1521. Martin Luther stands at the Diet of Worms before Charles V. Over 25 of his writings pile on the table. “Will you recant?” His answer still echoes: “My conscience is captive to the Word of God. Here I stand; I can do no other. So help me God. Amen.” What is Scripture?...

Reformation Series Week 3: Extra Nos. Galatians 2:11-21: Paul confronts Peter to his face in Antioch for hypocrisy. Peter had been eating freely with Gentile believers, until "certain men came from James" (the circumcision party). Then Peter drew back, separating himself. Even Barnabas got swept into the hypocrisy. Sola Fide: Faith Alone. We are justified by faith in Christ alone, not fa...

Philippians 3:4-11: Paul lays out his impressive resume, circumcised on the eighth day, tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews, a Pharisee, blameless under the law. Then he calls it all rubbish compared to knowing Christ. Extra Nos is Latin for "outside of us," Luther's term for the alien righteousness of Christ given to us. It's not something we produce; it's something hande...

Week 65 in Acts. Acts 24:1-27: Paul stands before Felix , the Roman governor of Judea, a former slave turned tyrant whom Roman historian Tacitus described as "reveling in cruelty and lust, wielding the power of a king with the mind of a slave." The Jewish council hires Tertullus , a smooth-talking lawyer, who flatters Felix shamelessly and accuses Paul of being a "plague" and r...

Acts 22:30-23:35: Paul is brought before the Sanhedrin, the same high council that condemned Jesus 27 years earlier. He opens with, "I have lived my life before God in all good conscience." The high priest orders him struck. Paul fires back: "God is going to strike you, you whitewashed wall!"Realizing the council is divided between Sadducees and Pharisees, Paul cries out: &quot...

Week 63 in Acts. Acts 21:39-22:29: Paul stands on the temple steps, bloody and battered, and asks the Roman tribune for permission to speak, not for release, not for water, but to address the mob that just tried to kill him. He speaks in Hebrew, which stuns them into silence, and shares his testimony. Paul's testimony: He was zealous. He was religious. He was highly educated under Gamaliel. He...

Reformation Series Week 2: Ephesians 2:1-10: The second installment of the Reformation series tackles Sola Gratia, grace alone. What is the standard of God's holiness? Personal, perfect, perpetual righteousness. No exceptions. No discounts. And we don't meet it. Paul paints the backdrop: We weren't just drifting, afloat, or drowning. We were dead, drowned, tied up, buried, spiritually...

Acts 21:27-39: The storm has arrived. Paul is in the temple completing the Nazarite vow when Jews from Asia (specifically Ephesus) spot him. These are the same people who nearly killed him in Ephesus. They stir up the whole crowd, laying hands on Paul and crying out, "This man teaches everyone everywhere against the people, the law, and this place!" They also assume he brought Trophimus...

Week 61 in Acts. Acts 21:15-26: Paul arrives in Jerusalem. James and the elders receive him warmly. He gives an account of God's work among the Gentiles, and they glorify God. Then comes the sensitive matter: thousands of believing Jews are zealous for the law and have heard rumors about Paul teaching Jews to forsake Moses. James proposes a solution: Take four men under a Nazarite vow, pay the...

Acts 20:13-38: Paul's farewell to the Ephesian elders at Miletus. He's hastening to Jerusalem for Pentecost. He can't stop in Ephesus, but he sends for the elders, because he loves them too much to skip them. Paul gives his testimony. His character. His teaching. His warnings."I did not shrink from declaring the whole counsel of God." "I coveted no one's silver or go...

Acts 20:1-12: After the riot in Ephesus (Demetrius the silversmith and the "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians" mob), Paul sends for the disciples, encourages them, and departs for Macedonia. He continues into Greece, where a plot against him forces him to change plans. He travels with a diverse team, men from Berea, Thessalonica, Derbe, and Asia. Different backgrounds, one mission. At Tr...

Acts 19:11-20: God is doing extraordinary miracles through Paul in Ephesus. Handkerchiefs that touched his skin bring healing. Evil spirits flee. The word spreads. Enter the seven sons of Sceva, itinerant Jewish exorcists trying to invoke Jesus' name like a talisman. "I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims." The evil spirit answers: "Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, bu...

Acts 19:1-20 (Part 1): Paul finally arrives in Ephesus, the gateway city to Asia. He finds disciples who only knew John's baptism. "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They hadn't even heard of the Holy Spirit. Paul explains: John pointed to the one coming after him, that is Jesus. They're baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul lays hands on them. The Ho...

Week 54 in Acts. Baptism Sunday! Acts 18:18-28: Paul is "in transit," traveling from Corinth through Ephesus, Caesarea, Antioch, and back through Galatia. A bridge text. But Luke is showing us something profound: discipleship in motion. Paul takes Aquila and Priscilla with him. He greets the church (encouraging them with stories of God's faithfulness). He strengthens disciples wherev...

Week 52 in Acts! Halfway through the book. Acts 18:1-17: Paul leaves Athens and arrives in Corinth—a city so steeped in debauchery that "to live like a Corinthian" became Greek slang for moral corruption. The church wasn't planted in a place that degenerated—it was planted in the cesspool itself. There Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla, the New Testament's most beautiful picture of...

Acts 17:16-34: Paul waits for Silas and Timothy in Athens. His spirit is provoked by the city drowning in idols. A Roman satirist once said, "It was easier to find a god than a man in Athens." Paul reasons in the synagogue, in the Agora, and finally at the Areopagus (Mars Hill), invited by Epicurean and Stoic philosophers. This is a masterclass in subversive apologetics. Paul uses the St...

Acts 18:1-17: Paul leaves Athens and arrives in Corinth, a city so steeped in debauchery that "to live like a Corinthian" became Greek slang for moral corruption. The church wasn't planted in a place that degenerated, it was planted in the cesspool itself. There Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla, the New Testament's most beautiful picture of unified marriage. Always mentioned toget...

Pentecost Sunday! Acts 17:1-15: Paul and Silas arrive in Thessalonica where there's a synagogue. For three Sabbaths, Paul reasons from the Old Testament scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead . Over 1,000 Old Testament prophecies converge in one man, Jesus. Yet the Jews wanted a warrior-king, not a carpenter from Nazareth. They wanted conquest,...

Acts 16:16-24: Paul and Silas meet a slave girl with a spirit of divination. She's making her owners rich through fortune-telling. Demonically possessed, she follows them for days shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim the way of salvation!"Theologically accurate. But unhelpful. Paul commands the spirit: "In the name of Jesus, come out of her."...

Acts 16:16-24: Paul and Silas meet a slave girl with a spirit of divination. She's making her owners rich through fortune-telling. Demonically possessed, she follows them for days shouting, "These men are servants of the Most High God who proclaim the way of salvation!" Theologically accurate. But unhelpful. Paul commands the spirit: "In the name of Jesus, come out of her."...

Acts 16:1-15: Paul and Silas continue the second missionary journey. In Lystra, they meet Timothy, son of a Jewish believer and Greek father, well spoken of by the brothers. Paul circumcises Timothy (not for salvation, but for gospel access to Jews). As they deliver the Council of Jerusalem's decision, churches are strengthened and grow daily. Then something unexpected: Forbidden by the Holy S...

Picking up from last week: Who are we as God's people? Verse 9 : You are a CHOSEN RACE, a ROYAL PRIESTHOOD, a HOLY NATION, a people for God's own possession—THAT YOU MAY PROCLAIM His excellencies. Called out of darkness into marvelous light. Verse 10 : Once NOT a people, now GOD'S PEOPLE. Once had NOT received mercy, now HAVE received mercy. Verses 11-12 : Live as SOJOURNERS and EXILES...

Second Sunday of Easter + 12th Anniversary of Redemption Hill Church!1 Peter 2:1-12: Growing up into salvation as living stones built into a spiritual house. Peter transitions from WHO we are in Christ (chapter 1) to HOW we should live. The indicatives lead to imperatives. Because of what God has done, NOW what? PUT AWAY (v.1): Malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, slander. These are community-killers....

Matthew 21:1-11: The Triumphal Entry. Jesus orchestrates the fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9—riding on a donkey signals "Your king has come."Not the first time a king rode a donkey (Solomon rode David's mule in 1 Kings 1). Jesus = greater than Solomon, son of David. Passover was like a fair—familiar + surprise. Up to 2 million in Jerusalem. Buzz in the air. Jesus disrupts the liturgy. C...

Acts 15:32–41After the Council of Jerusalem settled the gospel question (salvation by grace alone), the church sends Judas and Silas to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas to deliver the letter. Judas and Silas encourage and strengthen the believers, then return to Jerusalem. Paul proposes a second missionary journey to revisit the churches they planted. But a sharp disagreement erupts: Barnabas wants...