Redemption Hill Church

These chapters are packed full of vitally important and foundational realities. On Sunday we will focus in primarily on 3:1-12 and the scene at the burning bush, and 6:1-10. Up to this point in the story, the Israelites lived in a world that made it feel like God was distant or at least uninvolved - a world much like our own. In chapter 3 everything changes as God does directly speak and begins to...

This chapter introduces us to Moses, who will be an important figure in the rest of this story. As the chapter closes there is still a sense of God's absence that we saw so clearly in chapter 1, but there is also a glimmer of hope. This chapter is important for us because every one of us wonders at some time if God really hears us when we pray. We can feel alone and unheard. The end of chapter 2 w...

This Sunday we will walk through Exodus 1. As the book opens, the Israelites are in Egypt, the land that God had placed Joseph in to provide for his brothers and their families. But that was 400 years ago. And things had taken a turn. The Israelites had become enslaved by the Egyptians. The Egyptians were ruthless slave masters and the Israelites lives were bitter with hard service in building pro...

This Sunday we begin a 2-week series that explores the foundational mission, values, and vision for Redemption Hill. We have learned so much about the Church and the movement of the Spirit through the book of Acts that leads directly into the application of those principles to our church today.

It's always bittersweet for me when we close out a series. On the one hand, I have loved walking through this with you and have learned so much. I have hope that we have been shaped as a church to be more Spirit-led and to see our part in the story God is writing as the Word advances through the church of Jesus Christ. On the other, it's hard to say goodbye.

In this passage, Paul makes it to Rome at last. That doesn't mean it was easy, though. When we left off, he and the others aboard the ship had made it safely to land after a shipwreck. We see that they had landed on the island of Malta. There are clear themes of hardship and hospitality throughout this section. In all of it, we will see that God's promises bring us freedom, and our ability to trus...

On Sunday we had the privilege to hear from Pastor Lucas Parks. Lucas is a dear friend of RHC. We have partnered alongside the Village Church Belfast for six years now. This past year they planted a new congregation, leading our expanded partnership with Village East, and Village South Belfast. This past year was also a difficult one for Lucas and his family, as he was diagnosed in the fall of 201...

This passage is the most detailed nautical narrative in any ancient literature. It is a gripping story of sailing, a storm, disagreements on board, and an eventual shipwreck. Through it all, Paul shows an incredible sense of calm, focus, decisiveness, and confidence. He had faith that Jesus would bring him to Rome, even if it wasn’t quite the path he, or anyone else, imagined. This is an important...

In this passage, Paul encounters his 5th  trial and interrogation. This time it is in front of King Agrippa. We will focus in on Acts 26:13-32. In the face of intimidating circumstances, Paul is strikingly bold and focused. He is also incredibly winsome, taking the opportunity to proclaim the Risen Savior Jesus to Festus, Agrippa, and all who will listen. It's an incredible example of what it...

Last week we saw Paul on trial before the Sanhedrin in Jerusalem, and transferred to a Roman court in Caesarea. This week we will see what happens when he stood on trial before Felix, and later Festus. Two years later. That's right. The Apostle Paul sat in prison in Caesarea for two whole years awaiting a decision on baseless charges. It can't help but feel like a waste of his incredible giftednes...

Leading up to this passage, Paul was attacked by a rioting crowd in the Temple courts. The Roman guards came through to save his life, but still arrested him. In this passage, Paul is put on trial before the Sanhedrin, a religious council that is the very council that was responsible for the death of Christ. Paul was thrown back into prison and as he sat alone in the middle of the night, Jesus met...

Paul finally made it to Jerusalem and stepped into a culturally divided context where the heat was getting turned up. As he tried to navigate the tensions of the day, it ended up being personally costly, but he was able to speak the beauty and hope of good news into a culturally heated context. There is massive crossover for us as we navigate the divides of our time and see the realities that we m...

This Sunday we will jump into the fourth and final section of the book of Acts. The major theme of this section is that The Story Continues. The same Spirit continues to advance the Word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are part of the story God has written and continues to write. Acts 21:1-16 starts off Paul's journey back to Jerusalem. It's a crazy section. People around Paul claim to b...

As Paul headed back toward Jerusalem he stopped off to meet one last time with the elders of the church in Ephesus in Acts 20:13-38. It's an emotional scene that shows the tenderness between the Apostle and this church. It also shows us something of the calling to serve in leadership in local churches. We will see this week what the focus needs to be to keep a planted church on mission.

This Easter’s sermon comes from Acts 20:7-12, continuing our current series in Acts with a dramatic story of a young man named Eutychus who fell from a window and was brought back from the dead. The raising of Eutychus is only a shadow of the glory of the resurrection offered to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will see that God sees our suffering and sorrow, and that death does not hold...

This Sunday we will continue our series with Acts 19:21-20:6. This passage is a riot. Literally. After two years in Ephesus, Paul's ministry was recognized as a threat to the social and economic order of the city. It shows us that the gospel truly does turn the world upside down. This passage will help us to assess the broader cultural idolatry of our city and to see the divergent paths of the Way...

This Sunday, we continue our series with the beginning of Paul's 3rd missionary journey in Acts 18:24-19:20. This passage shows us a young upstart preacher who needed correction, a deficient understanding of repentance and baptism, and demons that whooped a group of brothers and sent them running down the street naked. In all of it, we see a distinction between ministry done from our own understan...

In this passage Paul goes into the city of Corinth. Corinth was a notorious place, a financial and trade center and a city that offered its proud inhabitants anything and everything they could wish for. Paul ended up spending 18 months there planting a church, but it took a vision from God to give him the confidence to stick it out in the face of opposition.

This Sunday we come to a passage that has been foundational for Redemption Hill Church since the very beginning. Even before our church had a name, when it was just an idea, Acts 17 and Paul's time in Athens shaped what would be our approach to life and ministry in this city. I continue to believe that DC is our culture's Athens - a place of education and learning, where ideology is openly discuss...

This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 17:1-15. This passage shows Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. The gospel turned the world upside down. And the advance of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ always calls for a response. It stands upside down and against the kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of our own hearts. The result, as we see in these two cities will either be jealousy and...

This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 16:16-40, which shows the impact of the gospel in Philippi. The ups and downs of Paul’s journey continued, and still things just didn’t go as he would have liked or planned. But this passage shows us that the power of the gospel can change lives and overthrow systems even in a great city. It’s an important passage for us as we continue to live and work...

Paul's second missionary journey continued, but nothing went quite like he hoped. Along with Silas and Timothy, after the Spirit forbade them to go to the cities they had planned on, he ended up in Philippi. Throughout it all, even with clear closed doors, the travelers continued forward, trusting that God was directing their path wherever it led. We will see that God is good and sovereign, and th...

In the aftermath of the Jerusalem Council Paul and Barnabas headed back to Antioch to teach together. They agreed to go out from there to revisit the churches they had planted together on their first journey. Not all went as they planned, but God was able to work in and through them even in the midst of it.

This Sunday we come to a watershed moment for the Early Church. The Apostles Peter, James, and Paul came to a point of conflict that could have threatened to divide the entire church. The future posture of Christianity was hanging in the balance. So, a council was called in Jerusalem, gathering the Apostles, the Elders, and the people of the Jerusalem church together. There is much to mine in this...

This Sunday we will continue our series with Acts 14:20-28. Last week we saw that the Apostle Paul was dragged outside of the city and left for dead. This week we see his response. He got up and went back into the city. It's an unpredictable move that showed his passion for the work God had called him to. Not only that, Paul proceeded to go back through every city that he and Barnabas visited on t...