Redeemer OC Podcast

Majestic: Having or showing impressive beauty or dignity. The name of God is majestic! When we pray to God, Psalm 8 shows us how to contemplate the majesty of God. This Sunday the Rev. Josh Eby will be back in town as we continue our Summer Psalms sermon series by preaching on Psalm 8, a prayer of praise. In preparation for Sunday, spend two minutes to read, meditate, pray, and contemplate Psalm 8...

Joy! We all want to lead a joyful life. How do we cultivate joy in our lives, even in the midst of sorrow? Last Sunday we kicked off our Summer Psalms preaching series with Psalm 13, a prayer of lament. This Sunday we will be looking at Psalm 126, a prayer of joy. Psalm 126 is a simple and concise prayer of joy that is written to help foster a life of joy for God’s people. In preparation for Sunda...

Summer Psalms. I am excited to announce that this Sunday we will begin a new sermon series through the Psalms for the summer! The Psalms are the prayer book of the Bible. If you desire to deepen your life of prayer, saturate yourself in the Psalms. Let their words become your words, their prayers your prayers. Over the summer we will be cover the main categories of psalms/prayers: Praise, Joy, Lam...

Pentecost is upon us. The fiftieth day after Easter Sunday. The day we remember that the apostles received the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. The day we celebrate that all Christians, like the apostles, have received the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. In honor of Pentecost this Sunday, we will intentionally study the work of the Holy Spirit and specifically pay attention to how...

This Sunday is Ascension Sunday! For centuries, the Church has celebrated Christ's Ascension into heaven 40 days after his resurrection on Easter Sunday. The Sunday following the 40th day is called Ascension Sunday. To celebrate Christ’s Ascension, we have the honor of welcoming the Rev. Marc Choi to preach on the theological significance and practical implications of the Ascension. Rev. Choi curr...

It’s hard to forgive. It’s especially hard when you have been betrayed. Jesus was betrayed by Peter. Peter denied knowing Jesus three times after loudly proclaiming that he would remain loyal to Jesus. If you were in Jesus' shoes, what would your follow up interaction with Peter be like? Do you think you’d be able to forgive him? With such a betrayal and your trust eroded, do you think you’d be wi...

Easter is not just a single day, but a season of fifty days to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The Church historically couldn't contain her joy and feasting in one day. In union with that practice, over the next three Sundays at Redeemer we will be focusing on post-resurrection texts from the Gospel of John and The Acts of the Apostles. Here is a preview of what’s to come: This Sunday...

The Christian life is often described as a pilgrimage, but where are we headed? What is God doing and what hope do we have for the future? Join us this Sunday for the Rev. Dr. Dennis Okholm's third and final sermon in his series: "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Salvation." On week one Dr. Okholm spoke of knowing Jesus as the driver of our pilgrimage. On week two he taught us that grace is the primary r...

Grace. It is a common word in our vocabulary, but foreign to our way of thinking. This Sunday is the second week in a three-part series from the Rev. Dr. Dennis Okholm entitled, "The Hitchhiker's Guide to Salvation." Last week Dr. Okholm preached on getting to know Jesus Christ as the driver in our pilgrimage (click the link below to listen to the sermon). This Sunday he will preach on the rules o...

I am excited to announce that for the next three Sundays we have the honor of hearing the Rev. Dr. Dennis Okholm preach at Redeemer! Dr. Okholm is currently a professor of theology at Azusa Pacifica University and an adjunct professor at Fuller Theological Seminary. Prior to teaching in Southern California he taught for many years at Wheaton College in Illinois. He has 30+ years of ordained pastor...

I love Easter. I love how we mark the day with joy, flowers, feasting, and fancy pastel attire! On Easter, more than any other day, we embody our theology in a wonderful way. We live out the Christian story in real time and space. It is such a beautiful reality and experience. In doing so, the resurrection of Jesus Christ becomes more near. Today is Maundy Thursday and tomorrow is Good Friday. Jus...

Are you ready? Are you prepared to celebrate the most climactic day of the year? Easter is almost here. 9 days and counting! Ash Wednesday and the season of Lent have helped us prepare for the glory and joy of Easter. However for many of us, 46 days is a bit long of a preparation season. When leaving for a trip, we are lucky if we pack a day or two early! This Sunday is Palm Sunday. It marks the b...

Have you ever wondered what Jesus prays for you? At the conclusion of Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his disciples, on the eve of his crucification, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and prayed to his Heavenly Father for his disciples and the forthcoming church. This 26 verse prayer, often titled Jesus' "High Priestly Prayer," is his longest recorded prayer. This Sunday we have the honor of having the...

Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit. Over and under-emphasis of the person of the Holy Spirit is extremely common. In some churches you would think that God is not triune, but is only functioning in the mode of the Holy Spirit. In others, you may wonder if there is even a person known as the Holy Spirit, because he is never mentioned. Jesus' Farewell Discourse to his disciples, recorded in the Gospel of...

Who are you? How do you become generative? Not many questions in life are more important than those. This Sunday we will study John 15:1-5. Jesus' teaching in this text discusses some of the most foundational life topics: our identity, and what we create. In preparation for Sunday, take 5 minutes to read, meditate, pray, and contemplate Jesus' words in these 5 verses and then ask yourself: Who am...

"Peace I leave with you... Let not your hearts be troubled." Jesus says these words to his disciples on the eve of his crucifixion. When our hearts are troubled, may we remember that Jesus gives us peace. This Sunday we will continue our Lent sermon series through Jesus' Farewell Discourse recorded in the Gospel of John. In chapter 14 Jesus knows his disciples' hearts are troubled. He gives them p...

To receive love is sometimes more difficult than to give love. This is especially true for many of us in relation to God. Often, we are happy to serve God by giving love to others; however, we have a hard time sitting and letting God love us. Is that true of you? Do you find it difficult to sit and simply let God love you for who you are? Or do you feel like God loves you only if you are serving h...

Christ is our life. This is the main theme of John’s Gospel account. It is seen clearly in the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand, and his teaching that follows in chapter six. Jesus gives bread to the crowd and then states that he is the bread of life. He meets their most basic physical need to live, and then shows them their most basic need to experience true life. Bread is the most basic...

Do you want to be healed? In John 5, Jesus asks a man this question, and it’s the same question he still asks us today. Don’t immediately assume you know the answer to that question. Often, we don't really want to be healed. We might be in denial of our sickness - whether physical, spiritual, or some type of an addiction. Perhaps we are aware of our sickness, but the work it would take to change f...

How long, O Lord? Have you ever prayed that prayer? If so, you are not alone. King David knew what it felt like to pray and cry out and wonder what God was doing, or maybe what God wasn't doing. This Sunday Pastor Chad Brewer will be preaching on King David's prayer from Psalm 13. Take a few minutes to simply sit with this psalm, this prayer. Remind yourself that you are not alone when you pray "H...

How does the Church bear witness against the powers of the world? Purity, peace, gentleness, open to reason, mercy, being impartial and sincere are some of the attributes that James mentions that the Church should cultivate. Last Sunday Dr. Kyle Strobel, Associate Professor of Spiritual Theology at Biola University, introduced the truth that Jesus' power comes through weakness. This Sunday Dr. Str...

I am excited to announce that Dr. Kyle Strobel, Associate Professor of Spiritual Theology at Biola University, will be preaching at Redeemer for the next two Sundays! This week he’ll be teaching on the nature of Christian power from 2 Corinthians 11:30-12:10. In our culture, we think that weakness is the antithesis of power. However, when we look at the person and work of Jesus, as well as the lif...

We all thirst. Every day we experience the basic desire for thirst, and we satisfy that desire with water. Life is dependent on water. Clearly, since 60% of the human body is made up of water. If we don't quench our thirst, we will slowly cease living. If we don't quench our soul’s thirst with the living water of Jesus Christ, we will slowly cease finding our life in him. This Sunday we will be lo...