Redemption Church Sermons (Huntington, WV)

This is a key moment in the book of Acts. God gives the Holy Spirit to indwell His people. The result is power. In chapter 1 they are held back. In chapter 2 they are sent to the streets. In chapter 1 the Son ascends. In chapter 2 the Spirit descends. This is the beginning to a whole new transition in God’s kingdom. But it is a chapter that has been terribly confused. Our goal is to take it simply...

The followers of Christ simply obeyed Jesus command to wait in Jerusalem for the Holy Spirit to empower them. While waiting, they prayed, sought the Scriptures, and asked for his leadership. God is not looking for perfect performance, but dependent believers. God's plan isn't complicated, but simple.

All followers of Christ are witnesses to his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus gives the Holy Spirit to empower that witness. In this passage we learn four things that power of the Spirit is and isn't. The power isn't a symbol, but is a reality. The Spirit is not a program, but is an ability. The power isn't to promote, but is to witness. The power isn't restricted, but is universal.

Jesus Christ is God's message for the world. God's people are God's messengers to the world. No other book of the Bible inspires the richness and courage our present mission better than the book of Acts. And no book affirms more clearly our God given power to persevere and make Christ known. We may be small in number, but no remnant was ever more sure of its future.

There is a certain fragrance to the gospel. It often smells like victory. It should smell like hope. But most of all, it must smell like Jesus. Some people will love that smell and be attracted to it. Others will hate that smell and be repulsed by it. Still, wherever we go and whatever we do, we will carry the fragrance of the gospel with us, as life to life and death to death.

Jesus’ Great Commission to his disciples are not just his parting words of encouragement to a bewildered, doubting band of believers. They are the backbone of everything the church does in this world and in preparation for the next. They give us all the confidence, assurance, boldness, power, energy, and belief we need to be on mission. Jesus is above us all, Jesus is in us all, and Jesus is with...

In this text, Jesus gives us five reminders to help us fight anxiety. To do so, we must first seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness.

You will never kill personal sin until you kill the power of sin. You may stunt it’s growth. You may stall its effects. You may keep it at bay. You may even choke it to unconsciousness. But in order to kill it, you must get to its source.

We’ve seen what we ought to know about our identity as Christians—now we’ll see how we ought to live out that identity. It’s Jesus who tells us who we are, and it’s Jesus who tells us how to live. We must be rooted in Jesus, built up in Jesus, and firmly established in Jesus for all we are and ever will be as Christians.

Our identity as Christians comes with a calling to hardship and suffering. Yet as we endure hardships as Christians, we become better ministers and servants of Jesus and his message of good news to everyone.

Colossians 1 gives us the framework for understanding the fullness of who Christ is, what he has accomplished, and why he came into this world. We are who Jesus says we are, and until we understand who Jesus is, we’ll never understand who we are and what we were created to be.

The Necessity and Benefits of Gospel Friendships

God has given us Christ, the greatest gift, so of course He'll give us everything else that is needed to be conformed into the image of Christ. While He works that plan, we live lives free of opposition, accusation, condemnation, or separation.

Romans 8:28 is one of the greatest promises in the Bible. It's based on fact, not feeling. It's God's project, not ours. It's a total plan, not partial. It's purpose is good, not evil. It's for Christians, not Non-Christians.

Suffering is a part of God's curriculum. It has a point and an end that far surpasses the pain. God calls us to groan to Him, hope in Him, and pray with Him while we wait.

Many believers through ignorance or misunderstanding do not walk in the freedom that is theirs in Christ. They trust Christ, by grace, but try to live like Christ through their own effort. We are free to enjoy the benefits of God's grace, which we see in this passage are: God is our leader, God is our Father, Assurance of God's favor, and we inherit the world.

God the Father, has sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to secure our salvation, free us internally, and gain us righteous standing before God. We have been indwelt by the Holy Spirit. However, we still have a sin nature residing within us. Christians make regular personal decisions about whether we will yield to the person of the Spirit or our sinful nature.

The first half of Paul’s letter to the Romans is the clearest, most accurate, and most compelling presentation of the gospel in the whole Bible. It shows our need as sinners, God’s grace to meet our need in Jesus, the peace we have with God by his grace alone, and the power we have in the fight against sin. But every single bit of good we have is owed to the gospel alone. We never leave it, never...

God has been doing a work in us and through us as we've studied the book of Job. It only seems fitting that we'd wrap the series by looking at what Job has taught us about God. We'll look at seven truths about God that were true for Job and are true today.

Studying the life of Job is only helpful if it helps us live our lives with God. We will review the book of Job, reflect on seven lessons about ourselves, and respond in faith and long obedience.

Our hope isn't in living happily ever after, but in the truth that God is refining in us gold like qualities. These qualities can be enjoyed in some degree in this life and in full in eternity. This is a truth that can only be realized through faith in Jesus Christ our God and Savior.

We all long for justice and we all long for grace. God is the source of both. This passage points us to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross for sinners. In Christ, forgiveness is worth asking for and justice is worth waiting for.

God's rebukes are reliable and effectual. We dare not ignore it or resist it. A response of full authentic surrender pleases God, yields rest for our souls, and is effective for God's mission.

God's way of revealing Himself to us can be unsettling. But since His ways are perfect, I submit. Since He's in full control, I follow. Since He has all the answers, I listen.

Jesus meets us where we are, forces us to admit the truth, gives us His life to enjoy, call us to Himself, and keeps coming to us until we do.