Redemption Church KC Sermon Podcast

1. What is your own experience of journeys? Share about some that come to mind, and how they’ve shaped you. How did you know there was a journey ahead? Or did you?   Have you ever felt like you weren’t “not made for perilous quests?” When things seem perilous (physically or emotionally or both), do you tend more toward avoidance or diving right in? How has that worked for you in the past? 2....

Tim Suttle

1. In his sermon today, Tim repeatedly returned to the phrase “calamity has two faces.” He went on to describe one face that’s characterized by neighboring, open hearts, bravery in saving others, and a deep sense of belonging to one another. The other face is characterized by closed hearts, fear rising, darkness, and cruelty. Have you been in calamitous situations in which others have taken on fac...

1. Tim started his sermon talking about Edwin Friedman & family systems theory, and the ways in which the systems and environments in which we are steeped seem “normal” to us, because we’re deep inside of them. Outsiders, on the other hand, can come in and easily see things that we have never noticed.  In some instances, these outsiders can act as what Friedeman referred to as a...

1. The scripture passage today, the first of the church calendar’s year, was Isaiah 2:1-5. Here’s the version Cole read from the NLT:  https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Isaiah%202%3A1-5&version=NLT  Re-read or review this passage as a group. What does it tend to evoke in you? Prior to Cole’s teaching today, what has this passage generally communicated to you (if it’s one w...

1. In his message about St Francesca Cabrini, Tim shared about Francesca’s vow, made very early in her life, to give her life to the service of God. Did you make any “vows” as a child or young person? Were they made to yourself or to someone else? What were they? If not, what kind of vows might you have made?   For those who made some sort of vow or commitment: Did you keep them? For how long...

Tim Suttle

As Redemption Church recently honored the life and ministry of Walter Brueggemann in our Saints series, we are sharing this powerful conversation with the beloved theologian. In this episode, Dr. Brueggemann discusses the profound, practical, and prophetic meaning of the Sabbath. He argues that the Sabbath is not a mere luxury but a radical, disciplined act of resistance against the modern "Pharao...

1. Walter Brueggemann often used the term “totalism” to mean “any system of power that claims to be absolute & self-sufficient.” It’s essentially synonymous with empire. Inherent is totalism is the idea that nothing good or necessary comes from outside of the system.  For Brueggemann, the exodus was about God leading God’s people out of totalism. The place God leads them, as Tim taught, i...

1. Mandy gave us important context for the story of Saint Martin of Tours as she talked about the nature of the Roman army within its historical and cultural space. The Roman army was a scary, elite, and powerful arm of Imperial Rome. She went on teach about the  themes of the gospel of Mark that develop around the inherent conflict between the gospel of Jesus and the gospel of Caesar. ...

1. In his closing prayer, Tim harkened back to the beginning themes of his sermon when he prayed about the “sense of failure and meaninglessness that we’re all dealing with.” Considering the framing for these ideas (and reviewing the slides below as needed), how much do you identify with this idea? What does it look like for you to be wrestling with a sense of failure & meaninglessness? What a...

1. Tim covered a lot of ground when talking about our culture of ideology. What stood out to you the most? What resonated? Which ideas and topics prompted you to think or helped you make a connection? What areas left you with questions? 2. Tim gave us a definition for ideology that describes it as a tool that masks our alienation from ourselves. He said that ideology offers fantasies of wholeness...

1. In his sermon, Tim shared a slide of 3 concentric circles that represented our sphere’s of relationship in life: - inner circle = Intimate (family/friends) - middle ring = Social (village/neighborhood) - outer ring = Public (tribe/affinity based) He then shared that, though smart phones have helped people connect more with the inner & outer circles in their life, they’ve had a “decimating [...

1. As Cole discussed the evolution of the ideas of individual personhood & the ways in which they became weaponized, Cole shared about how the Golden Age’s “titans of industry” became the patrons of the conversations & institutions that shaped America’s consciousness.  In time, there was a shift away from “all people were created equal” toward “all people have equal opportun...

Toward the end of his sermon, Tim said (approximately) the following. All the questions today will refer back to this excerpt. “All it takes is one human being, who is wise and faithful, has integrity who lives in service to others, endures hardship, and forgoes vengeance who forgives and reconciles and seeks shalom…and peace can happen in the most unlikely places. “In some ways, this is a glimpse...

1. In his sermon, analyzing and reflecting on the beginning of Joseph’s life, Tim pointed out that - in Joseph’s life, as in our own, “there are no blameless parties.” He shared a slide that read, “We are all part of the brokenness…We blame each each other to avoid facing reality that we’re all responsible for the mess. Because it’s hard to trust that God we can’t see is with us, keeping our world...

1. Early in his sermon, Tim pointed out an idea that many see in the stories we’ve covered in Genesis: “each generation just repeats and magnifies the mistakes of the generation before.” What do you think of this idea - relative to Genesis, and relative to your experience of life in general? Where do you see evidence of the truthfulness of this statement? Where do you see evidence contradicting it...

1. Tim pointed out that after God promises to be with Jacob and keep him, Jacob almost immediate responds with his own caveat-filled transactional vow. Of this, Tim said that bargaining with God is part of living in a world we can’t control. Think back to some of the times and so situations in which you have bargained with God, added caveats to God’s presence, or tried to negotiate that be God on...

1. One of Tim’s slides read: “the Israelites decided their God must be in conflict with the way the world is typically organized.  [& that] God‘s blessing is not distributed according to birth order strength, or fertility, but is for all people who are willing to be vulnerable and to love…” What does this revelation mean for us today as Christians? Where do you see overlap or a through-li...

1. In framing the story of God testing Abraham by asking him to sacrifice Isaac, Tim positioned God & Abraham as the parent & child to consider.  As he did so, Tim said, “every good thing we want for our kids will come through struggle.”  Think about this idea relative to yourself as the “kid” in question. What good things have come to you through struggle? What wisdom has been g...

1. In his sermon today, Tim described 3 melodies that show up and repeat throughout the book of Genesis: creation & blessing testing & failure  de-creation & re-creation  What is your response to these melodies? What thoughts, feelings, or questions are provoked in you as you consider them throughout the Genesis stories, either as Tim outlined them, or as you see them in othe...

1. In his introduction to our study of Abram/Abraham and the importance of his story in the Jewish faith, Tim drew our attention to the Hebrew phrase “lech lecha,” which God said to Abram. The phrase essentially means “get going.”  Tim taught that the teaching all of  the great rabbis, regarding this passage, is summed up in words from Avivah Zornberg: “to leave one’s place…is to seek to...

1. Using the TV show MASH as an example, Dr. Christina Bohn helped us start to think of the Tower of Babel story through a lens that considers the time of the story’s editing, synthesis, and recording. She explained that though scholars believe it likely that the story had long been a part of Israel’s oral tradition, it was written down and recorded in (roughly) the version we have today after the...

1. From the start of his reflection on the story of Noah and the flood, Tim introduced this idea: “In the Bible, God lets the kids tell the story.”  He taught that the people of Israel had an understanding of God that evolved over time, and that the evolution of their understanding is evident as we follow the evolution of the ways in which God is presented in the text. Their view of God, Tim...

1. In his sermon, Tim noted humanity’s assigned roles in creation:  to till, keep, nurture, and conserve …to be the  keepers  of everything that is. (Hebrew: abad and shamar). Contrary to the message that sometimes dominates Christian narratives, our job, Tim said, isn’t to be perfect; it’s to be faithful.  When we’re talking about “everything that is,” that obviously encompass...