Redemption Church - Sermons

Most of us believe in God’s grace—at least in theory. But we often struggle to trust it in our everyday lives, so we live with by an internal scoreboard of our successes and failures. Yet over and over again, God uses messy and sinful people (like us) to fulfill his plans. This series follows the life of Jacob as it wanders a twisted path filled with grasping, striving, and deceit as well as redem...

We wrap up our Deep, Meaningful Life series looking at the call to expand the reach of the gospel in our city and in our world. In Jesus’ plan, each of has a role to play using our unique spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality, and experiences to advance the mission of God.

This week in our Deep, Meaningful Life series we'll look at the importance of connection to others when it comes to living a life of flourshing. Most of us know we need connection, but genuine connection is often hard to come by in our world where we often feel the need to perform and conform just to fit in. In John 13, though, we see that Jesus' vision was that the church would be a place where d...

We kicked off our Deep, Meaningful Life series looking at our personal devotion in Jesus’ call to “follow me.” This week, we see the importance of our personal development. Devotion without development is shallow. We will dive into the ways Jesus developed his disciples to live a deep, meaningful life.

The clean calendar of a new year invites us to renew and refocus our lives. This January, we will survey the New Testament Gospels to see how Jesus develops people to flourish as his followers. We are investing the entire month in you: your devotion, your development, your connection, and your expansion of God's love in our world. This is a great time for everyday people -- just like you and me --...

A short reflection on Psalm 1 as we wind down 2023 and usher in 2024.

Message from Jeff Lawrence on December 24, 2023

When you read about the birth of Christ, perhaps no one had a front row seat like the Innkeeper. He first told Mary and Joseph that there was no room at the inn, and then he showed them into the courtyard where the animals were kept. This week, we will consider the arrival of Jesus through the eyes of the Innkeeper as we consider the importance of seeing — really seeing — the significance of Jesus...

Have you ever found God’s plans wild and weird and wonderful, all at the same time? This week, we will see the Christmas story from the surprising perspective of the angel Gabriel. He was the one God chose to tell an innocent teenager, Mary, that she would give birth to a Savior son. Were these words easy for an angel to speak? Were the eyes of the angel alive with wonder as he watched these long-...

Seven hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophet Isaiah foretold of the virgin birth of a son to be called Immanuel (which means, "God with us"). This week will look at the story of the birth of Christ through the lens of Joseph. What can we learn about Joseph that might open our eyes to the greater wonder of this familiar Christmas story?

Like nothing else in human history, Christmas combines the cosmic marvel of God's salvation plan unfolding in time, and at the same moment, the most intimate and personal of human interactions surrounding the birth of a little boy. Join us this Christmas season as we zoom in for a close up look at Christmas from the perspective of the wisemen, Joseph, the angel Gabriel, the innkeeper, and the mult...

How should Christians relate to those who are outsiders to Christian faith? This is an important question, especially in our complex and often contentious times. In these verses, Paul closes his letter with a call to be fully alive in gospel mission to the world around us as we prayerfully, wisely, and winsomely make the most of every opportunity.

How does new life in Christ affect our relationships? This week, we explore the ways in which being made alive together in Christ works out in everyday life — in our family and in our work. When Jesus is at the center of our relational world, it transforms and reorders everything under his leadership.

Most of us want to grow spiritually, but how exactly are we supposed to go about it? Over these four weeks, we will seek to answer this question and help you move toward spiritual maturity with Jesus. Join us this weekend as we talk about reasonable and unreasonable expectations for our spiritual growth.

Most of us want to grow spiritually, but how exactly are we supposed to go about it? Over these four weeks, we will seek to answer this question and help you move toward spiritual maturity with Jesus. Join us this weekend as we explore how our spiritual renewal leads us to put away our old habits and patterns and put on new attitudes and actions that look like Christ.

Most of us want to grow spiritually, but how exactly are we supposed to go about it? Over these four weeks, we will seek to answer this question and help you move toward spiritual maturity with Jesus. Join us this weekend as we explore how our spiritual renewal leads us to put away our old habits and patterns and put on new attitudes and actions that look like Christ.

Most of us want to grow spiritually, but how exactly are we supposed to go about it? Over the next four weeks, we will seek to answer this question and help you move toward spiritual maturity with Jesus. Join us this weekend as we see how embracing our identity in Christ transforms us from the inside out.

Humans have an innate desire to connect with the divine, and this leads people to pursue spirituality through a variety of paths. In this section of Colossians, Paul deals with missteps which lead people into false spirituality that limits the freedom and fullness of their experience of life in Christ.

Last week in our study of Colossians we looked at one of the most Christ exalting passages in all Scripture in which Paul described Jesus as the cosmic creator who also died for you and me. It’s incredible, mind-blowing truth. But if we’re honest there’s often a disconnect between what we know intellectually about Jesus and our daily experience of life with Jesus. This week we’ll see the importanc...

Who is Jesus to you? Many people think of Jesus as a positive influence, a great philosopher, a wise friend, a freedom fighter, or a kind humanitarian. In this famous passage, we see Jesus the cosmic Christ who is far more than a good human — he is a divine human. We learn that we need to know who Jesus really is and what he’s done for us so that we can discover who we really are and all that Jesu...

Where do you seek “the good life”? Romance? Career? Kids? Sports? Money? Attention? But what if you discovered that these things only flourish fully when lived in light of the greatest thing? In Colossians, we see Jesus Christ exalted above all else. When our lives are connected to Christ, we are “made alive together” to experience new humanity, new freedom, new identity, new character, new relati...

When you consider hospitality, you probably have a single event in mind — a meal, a party, a get together with friends. In the Bible, we see an invitation from God to enjoy his eternal hospitality forever. There is no invite more valuable, no provision more ready, and no celebration more extravagant — yet the consequences are great for those who refuse to come to the table of God’s grace.

Jesus was known as the friend of sinners. As we follow Jesus’ example, this role shapes both our beliefs and our practices. In this sermon, we will explore how you and I can befriend those around us in deeper, more meaningful ways.

Relationships start with a simple reality: someone has to go first. Whether it is a walk across the room, a message to get together, or asking for a person’s name, someone must initiate. This week, we watch Jesus as he initiates a new connection with Zacchaeus, a man who most considered an unlikely candidate for friendship with Jesus.

In our busy-sick world, hurry and worry often distract us from the most important things like love of neighbor, which requires us to stop and take notice of another person’s worth. This week, we will see the power of giving our full attention to others.