Redeemer OC Podcast

In the sermon on the mount, Jesus says, “Do not be anxious.” At once, this sounds both wonderful and impossible. Join us this Sunday and together we’ll consider the ways that Jesus’ teaching is good news for our anxious hearts. Pastor Josh

When we think about our prayer lives, sometimes we can be discouraged. When Jesus teaches on prayer, he wants to do the opposite. He desires to encourage and give us hope. As we continue through another section on prayer in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount from Matthew 7:7-11, may you come with your hands and hearts ready to be encouraged and filled with hope. I look forward to worshiping with you this...

In The Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says something that is easy to miss, “When you fast…” Jesus assumes that his followers fast as one part of their Spiritual practice. For most of us, that raises a number of questions. This Sunday we’ll consider the What, Why, & How of fasting and seek to learn from Jesus together. Pastor Josh

Jesus’ disciples once asked: “Lord, teach us to pray.” In response, he gave them a prayer, which we now call, “The Lord’s Prayer.” Join us this Sunday and together we’ll learn from Jesus. Pastor Josh

For most of us there is a dissonance between what we believe about prayer and our experience in prayer. If we are honest, we are embarrassed by the paucity of our prayers, and how difficult we find prayer to be. Thankfully, this week, in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus teaches about prayer. His teaching is simple, straightforward, and should lessen the dissonance we experience. We look forward to w...

In J.D. Salinger's The Catcher in the Rye, Holden Caulfield observes: “If you do something good, then, after a while, if you don't watch it, you start showing off. And then you're not as good anymore.” This showing off, smugness, religious hypocrisy, is a particular threat for those who are committed to the practice of righteousness, as Jesus terms it. Join us on Sunday and together we’ll continue...

Fidelity and honesty, these are the virtues that Jesus addresses next in his famous Sermon on the Mount. Join us this Sunday and together we’ll seek to learn from Christ in Matthew 5:31-37. Pastor Josh

One would almost need to be blind, or at least ignore the media, not to realize that sex, in one form or another (frequently illicit), has become the idol of our day, the goddess who must be honored. Not to do so has become a form of blasphemy against cultural norms. Nebuchadnezzar-like we have lost our minds. And the problem with losing our minds is that we never know it, because they are the ins...

Jesus taught an ethic of love toward both neighbor and enemy. His life so beautifully embodied this ethic that readers of the gospels find themselves inextricably drawn to him. The way of Christ is so different from our base nature, one that is focused on self and bristles with anger. This Sunday we'll continue our study of Jesus' most famous sermon, The Sermon on the Mount. We come to the section...

Many of us hear the good news that we're saved by grace and not the works of the Law and immediately draw the conclusion that the Law is bad or no longer relevant to our lives. Not Jesus. In Sunday’s sermon, we will look at what Jesus meant when he said he came "not to abolish, but to fulfill the Law" and how at least one of the things he came to do was not to do away with our obedience, but enabl...

In this sermon preview I will make an unusual guarantee: I promise a sermon like no other, a sermon that sees deeply into the meaning of the Scriptures and yet practically applies its insights to daily life. I promise a sermon that challenges, teaches one to pray, unfolds an ethic of love, quells your anxiety, addresses our financial house, and moves the heart. Of course, I’m speaking about the Se...

Happy are those who are persecuted. Really? Can you say that? Who would be happy after being persecuted? This Sunday we will conclude our sermon series through Jesus’ Beatitudes by looking at the climactic and final beatitude: Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake. At first glance, it doesn’t make sense. However, after further reflection nothing else makes sense. If you’d li...

Are you a Christian? If so, in the seventh Beatitude Jesus says you are a peacemaker. Peace in the Bible is not the absence of pain or hostility. It’s not even described as tranquility of mind. When Jesus speaks of peace, he describes whole relationships that function and flourish in the way they were created to be. I look forward to worshiping together this Sunday as we consider how we can be pea...

Blessings on you! This Sunday we'll begin a 4-week summer sermon series through the second four Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5, the beginning of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount. Last summer I preached through the first four Beatitudes, which are often known as the Beatitudes of Need. This summer we are climbing the ladder of the Beatitudes and focusing on the Beatitudes of Service. These Beatitu...

Blessings on you! This Sunday we'll begin a 4-week summer sermon series through the second four Beatitudes, found in Matthew 5, the beginning of Jesus' famous Sermon on the Mount. Last summer I preached through the first four Beatitudes, which are often known as the Beatitudes of Need. This summer we are climbing the ladder of the Beatitudes and focusing on the Beatitudes of Service. These Beatitu...

How should the cross shape our community at Redeemer? What should the church do, specifically, to embody the ethos of Christ? This is the subject of Paul's final exhortation to the churches of Galatia, which we will consider this Sunday. See you on Sunday! Pastor Josh

It’s not uncommon to hear people say, “I’m a spiritual person, just not religious.” But what does it mean to be a spiritual person? In the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia, he describes the Christian life as a Spiritual life, one in which we are led by the Spirit, and, famously, evidence the fruit of the Spirit. This Sunday we’ll seek to understand what Paul taught and hop...

This Sunday we continue our series in Galatians by considering the fifth chapter of Paul’s letter. It is a section where the Apostle is exasperated by the Judaizers’ false teaching. To those who distort the gospel, Paul makes some of his most strident remarks. He also provides the church with a pastoral maxim, which is as useful for the Christian life today as it was then. We’ll hope to see you on...

This Sunday Pastor Derek Rishmawy will lead us as we continue our study of Galatians. In the fourth chapter, the Apostle Paul uses the doctrine of adoption to support his thesis--we are justified through faith in Jesus Christ not by the works of Torah, such as circumcision. Paul writes, "When the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those...

In his letter to the churches of Galatia, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree…’” This single verse of Scripture will be our focus on Sunday. I hope that as we understand it, we will be in a better position to understand the cross. See you on the Lord’s Day! Pastor Josh

In Galatians 3, Paul puts forward several arguments to advance the thesis of his letter—a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ. These arguments have helped generations of Christians understand Abraham’s faith, the way that Christ took the curse of the law on the cross, God’s intention for the Torah, and who it is that are the true sons of God. Join us this...

This Sunday we take up the magisterial doctrine of justification. It was the thesis of Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia and continues to address a question in the heart of every human—how can sinful people be right before God? Invite a friend, join us for worship, and together we’ll consider God’s grace. Pastor Josh

Have you ever succumbed to peer pressure? Are you a people-pleaser and find it hard to say, “No”? Are you codependent with someone? Do you control your life in such a way so people will not think bad of you? We all struggle with the problem of fearing others. We are all concerned with what others think about us and often we let what other people think dictate our actions. We will even behave contr...

This week we’ll be considering Paul’s conversion experience in which the risen Christ appeared to him and commissioned him to bring the gospel to the Gentiles. This event, along with the church planting ministry and subsequent letters to these churches (which make up approximately 30% of the New Testament), dramatically changed history. No wonder the Apostle Paul appealed to his unique calling whe...

“Paul is breathing fire. His zeal is so fervent that he almost begins to curse the angels themselves.” These are the words Martin Luther used to describe the beginning of Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia. His letter addresses gospel issues, truths that are vital importance for the church in every place and time. Join us this Sunday for our new sermon series in Galatians. Pastor Josh