Redeemer West Side

Given by Rev. Paul Yoo TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 3:1-6 The church in Thyatira needs strength and conviction to avoid spiritual compromise with the idols in their city. “The faith of Jesus is not merely the excited sprint of enthusiasm of those new to faith, but the committed marathon of a long obedience in the same direction” (Ian Paul).

Given by Rev. David Lee TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 2:18-29 The church in Thyatira needs strength and conviction to avoid spiritual compromise with the idols in their city. “The faith of Jesus is not merely the excited sprint of enthusiasm of those new to faith, but the committed marathon of a long obedience in the same direction” (Ian Paul).

Given by Rev. Paul Yoo TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 2:12-17 Like Smyrna, the church in Pergamum needs strength to face not just suffering but also spiritual seduction/temptation. “The temptation is too strong, and they give way. Compromise creeps in; the distinction between the church and the world is blurred” (Michael Wilcock).

Given by Rev. Paul Yoo TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 2:8-11 The church in Smyrna needs strength to face the sufferings of persecution.

Given by Rev. Andrew Field TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 2:1-7 The church in Ephesus needs to recover their “first love”: love for God and love for each other. “Protecting themselves and others from error and exhaustion is only of value if they are protecting their relationship of love with their Lord and with one another” (Ian Paul).  

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Revelation 1:9-20 Psalm 16:8 says, “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.” There was much that was trying to “shake” the seven churches in Asia Minor. This vision of Christ—the Living One, the First and the Last—is what those churches, and every church, always need to keep their eyes on.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:28-39 This passage doesn’t say all things are good. It says that God works all things for good for his people, culminating in their being glorified—safe with him in his kingdom forever as their truest selves. To know deep down that God is working all things for good provides hope and peace even as we walk through the fiercest storms.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:18-27 Paul never minimizes the sufferings Christians experience, but he does say that those sufferings pale in comparison to the glory that’s coming. There is a real, embodied, healed future coming for the people of God. Christians are those who live in the present shaped by confident hope in that coming future.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 8:12-17 The Spirit helps Christians experience their adoption, that a Christian has become a member of God’s family, his son and daughter, with brothers and sisters (new community). What the Spirit does is take that objective reality and help us experience in subjective ways.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Romans 6:1-14 The gospel brings new power and new purpose for living. Through the gospel, a person is freed from living for themselves (sin) and is freed to “live a new life” in, with, and for God.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Romans 4:1-8, 4:22-5:2 Justification means not only that sin is forgiven, but being “credited” with Jesus’ own righteousness. Through the gospel, a person can be truly accepted and have a meaning in life that is unshakeable. “This is my beloved son; in him I am well pleased.”  Through the gospel, the verdict is in: justified in the only court...

Given by Rev. Paul Yoo TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Romans 1:14-17 Everyone is looking for salvation. “Interestingly enough, the majority of people who seek salvation today do not think of themselves as someone who seeks salvation. But they feel the need for it regardless. In his book, A Secular Age , Charles Taylor explains the experience of desiring a “fullness” in our lives that is not there, of a...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Habakkuk 3:16-19 The message of Habakkuk ends with the paradox of faith: even when everything is lost, the prophet can rejoice because he still has God. God cannot be lost. In this way Habakkuk is particularly helpful to persons going through suffering. The source of hope is not in the reversal of difficult circumstances, but an ever-increasi...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE |  Habakkuk 3:1-15 In the midst of life’s hardest moments and in the midst of suffering, one of the resources that God’s people need is the cultivation of spiritual memory. Habakkuk is standing in awe of God’s deeds, God’s past work. The word deeds is an important word in the Old Testament. God’s deeds refer to his specific acts of deliverance o...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Habakkuk 2 After asking his hard questions, Habakkuk gets a response from God, even if not a satisfactory answer. God doesn’t explain all of his ways to Habakkuk, but he does remind Habakkuk of his glory: “The Lord is in his holy temple” (v. 20). In other words, God responds to Habakkuk’s hard questions by giving him a bigger vision of his glo...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Habakkuk 1 Habakkuk 1 describes a man asking God hard, uncomfortable questions, and being unsettled by the answers God gives. We need to start here—with hard questions—because experiences of suffering always raise hard questions. We need to encourage honesty in wrestling with a God whose ways are often confusing and frustrating. If we don’t he...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Ephesians 1:15-23 This sermon explores the historical foundation and the life-transforming power of the greatest news ever told: Jesus was raised on the third day .

Given by Rev. Andrew Field.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Matthew 21:1-11 Palm Sunday celebrates Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem as a true king, and a truly humble king. The triumphal entry reveals the upside-down nature of his kingdom and how followers of this humble king should use their power in the world.

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Luke 18:9-14  To round out our series on repentance, we’ll consider humility. Humility is both the foundation for and a fruit of repentance. Pride will keep us from truly repenting. And if a person truly repents, they are filled with gospel-humility, not less of themselves, but thinking of themselves less, and thinking much more of Jesus and...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | 1 Thessalonians 1:4-10 As Thomas Watson points out, godly repentance is that which starts in the heart and bursts forth into a change in life. This sermon explores how repentance is a turning from “sin”, or idols, and is a turning to God. This turn manifests in actions, deeds, behavior, etc. (cf Acts 26:20).

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Psalm 32:1-11 Another essential ingredient in gospel repentance is the confession of sin. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament highlight the importance of confession as a regular practice for the people of God. In this passage, we learn something about what real confession is and why confession is such an essential part of the Christ...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | 2 Corinthians 7:8-12 In the March 9 sermon, we considered repentance generally. The upcoming three sermons dive more specifically into the aspects of repentance. One ingredient of biblical repentance is experiencing godly sorrow for sin. Paul, in 2 Corinthians, distinguishes godly sorrow from worldly sorrow, and shows us how godly sorrow is...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Mark 1:14-20 In his famous 95 Theses, Martin Luther remarked that the entirety of the Christian life is one of repentance. This is fitting, for when Jesus’ begins his public ministry and announces his kingdom, the invitation Jesus gives is one of repentance. In this sermon we’ll be exploring what repentance is (and isn’t!), and why repentanc...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Mark 2:1-12 In Mark 2, we see someone whose life was radically and holistically healed by Jesus. But he would not have experienced healing from Jesus if it were not for his friends who brought him to Jesus. Because this man’s friends brought him to Jesus, his life was forever changed. We want to be a church where people meet Jesus and experi...

Given by Rev. Bijan Mirtolooi.  TODAY'S SCRIPTURE | Ephesians 2:19-22 In his book, Side by Side, Ed Welch describes church as a place where every person is both needy and needed. Using the imagery of “temple” to describe the church, Paul is reminding Christians that they need the church and the church needs them. One way we promote shalom in our city is by fostering a community where it’s saf...