Church of The Redeemer - Sermons

Everyone has to face their fears at one point or another. In Mark 4:35-41, the disciples face their fear of nature when a storm overtakes their ship. But when we face moments of fear, we find transformation in Jesus' presence, power, and purpose.

Jesus came to proclaim the good news of the kingdom (Mark 1:15). This kingdom is the good news of God's rule and reign through the King, Jesus Christ. But after explaining the posture of people's hearts as they receive or reject the kingdom in Mark 4:1-20, Jesus uses multiple parables to explain the importance of paying attention to the kingdom in Mark 4:21-34.

Jesus is controversial. More and more we forget the exclusivity of Jesus. But, he is the only way to God and as we see in Romans 5:1-2, he is the only way we can have peace with God, access to grace, and hope for the future.

Gates are often the first thing you see when you approach a castle or a well-guarded facility. Psalm 118, specifically verses 19-24 tells us that only the righteous will enter the Lord's gate. This gate will be rejected, but will ultimately be rejoiced in (pointing us to Jesus as the true gate). As Advent closes, we'll explore five reasons we can rejoice in the King this Christmas season.

How can we know if someone is trustworthy? Better yet, how can we know if God is trustworthy? This is what Psalm 89 wrestles and worships with for over fifty verses. Ultimately, Jesus' kingship proves we can trust the Lord.

We were designed to desire. Desires are not bad, but our problem lies in desiring the wrong things. If we are not desiring God, we will desire something else. In Psalm 45, the sons of Korah draw attention to the beauty, majesty, and power of the king while admonishing the bride to make herself ready to meet him. In understanding the Psalms as anticipating the arrival of the true King in Jesus, we...

The Psalms are the hymnbook of God’s people. They sang of their longing, questions, laments, and hope as they looked to God for their comfort and deliverance. It was also the hymnbook for Jesus, representing not only his earthly experience but that he was the fulfillment of every anticipation and promise they spoke about. Therefore, the Psalms prepare our hearts in anticipation of the coming King....

Jesus drew large crowds to himself, but the parable of the sower in Mark 4:1-20 asks an important question: who are the true followers of Jesus? If Christ's followers are committed to his words, then it leads us to listen and respond in faith.

Our culture loves the idea of family. From major holidays to brand slogans, people want to experience family yet they shun the traditional, God-ordained structures of family. In this remarkable text, Jesus uplifts loyalty to God’s will over his own natural family, thus forming a new spiritual family for those who follow him. Rather than doing away with the family, Jesus upholds it as a model for G...

Many years ago, C.S. Lewis argued that Jesus could only be one of four things: legend, lunatic, liar, or Lord. If he is a legend, we can't know him personally. If he is a lunatic, we can't look to him for wisdom. If he is a liar, we can't find truth in him. But if he is Lord (which he is), we can trust him for salvation.

Names have meaning. Think of our own names or how celebrities change theirs. In Mark 3:7-19, the crowd begins to press against Jesus, the demons recognize him as the Son of God, and we see the names of the apostles and their commission. And like the apostles, when we embrace the identity of Jesus, we are given our own calling and commission.

The Sabbath is an important theme throughout the Bible. God declared a day of rest after he created the world (Gen. 2:2-3), Israel rested from collecting manna in the wilderness (Ex. 16:23), the Sabbath was instituted both in the Ten Commandments (Ex. 20:8-11) and the laws of Israel to point to a greater rest (Ex 23:10-12; Lev. 25), a rest only found in God. While rest has been significantly misun...

It's no secret that every election cycle brings a contentious and tumultuous time. Yet, Christians are called to live and think differently about politics and government than the rest of the world.

The disciples of John the Baptist and the Pharisees enter into a third confrontation with Jesus, why do they fast but not his disciples? To them, fasting had become nothing more than a ritualistic habit that was more about performance than intimacy with God. Jesus redirects their question with three parables that illustrate one overarching idea: You cannot follow Jesus and expect your life to rema...

Are we considered sinners or righteous? This has been a historic conflict in the life of a Christian. But until we understand that we are as sinful as Scripture tells us, we will become self-righteous and remain far from the grace of Jesus. Following Jesus requires us to humble ourselves before him because he came to call sinners, not the righteous.

When we hear that Jesus is God and able to forgive sins, what is our reaction? In Mark 2:1-12, a paralytic man has his sins forgiven but the scribes question Jesus' actions in their hearts. They had forgotten that God is compassionate, gracious, sovereign, and all-powerful. But Jesus shows us that the God who forgives sins is worthy of praise and worship.

In two back-to-back stories, Mark shows us a stunning reality. We were made for communion with the Triune God, but sin, like the condition of the leprous man, separates us from this fellowship. Jesus is the only one who can heal this fracture; all it takes is a sinner's humble cry to move the Savior's heart to heal and restore us.

In this short, but powerful passage from Mark's gospel account, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law and does a mighty work in their entire town because of his authority over healing and the demons. Mark 1:29-34 shows us that Jesus came to transform our homes and communities when we rely on him for all our needs.

As we encounter stories of Jesus exorcising demons, we must frame them within the context of that power being the fruit of his authority. Jesus' authority means that he is the only one who wields the right and power to all of what he pleases. This means we can follow Jesus because he has authority over everyone and everything. While authority may scare us, Jesus is a king who wields this authority...

Everyone is looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. We want to know why we're here and what life is all about. Thankfully, we have been given a purpose by our Creator himself. As we see in Mark 1:14-20, our greatest purpose is surrendering everything to follow Jesus.

Everyone is looking for meaning and purpose in their lives. We all ask questions like, "What am I here for?" "What is the purpose for my life?" "Does my life have any meaning?" Mark 1:9-13 addresses these questions by reminding us that the essence of the meaning of life is found in the Triune God.

No one likes waiting. But for four hundred years God's people had to wait for him to speak. From Malachi, the last Old Testament prophet, to the announcement from John the Baptist, Israel was waiting for God to fulfill his promises. Mark's gospel account opens with the good news that God has fulfilled every one of his promises in Jesus Christ and he calls on us to respond. Will we receive the King...

The false stories of this world will never satisfy us. They will never be enough. That's why God tells a better story, one where the hero is both like and unlike us. It's a story where the Author enters the story himself and makes a way for rebels to become like him. It's a story that ends with the Author making all things new. This is God's Story of Redemption.

Why do we love stories? From pop culture to the Olympics, we love to tell and be a part of stories. The reason might not seem obvious initially, but it's because we are in a Story ourselves written by a divine Author. God has been writing a better Story since the foundation of the world. This is the Story that he is calling us to participate in. We must learn to live in God's better story rather t...

In these final words from Paul to Titus, we hear again the refrain to devote ourselves to good works. This devotion is not just for the sake of doing good things, but it comes from a heart that has been radically transformed. Because of this, a transformed people devote themselves to gospel living and leave no room for divisiveness.