Redemption Hill Church

Flowing right out of the same context of John the Baptist asking Jesus if he really was the one he had waited and hoped for, Jesus continued teaching. The last two verses of Matthew 11 are one of the anchor points that I look to in what Jesus invites us into if we follow him. This Sunday is for all who feel weary and weighed down by life, sin, wickedness, and darkness both in our world and in our...

Chapter 11 starts a new section in this Gospel that will show us the ways that Jesus’ ministry was questioned, doubted, and challenged. We expect that from some, but things take a surprising turn in our passage for Sunday as John the Baptist, Jesus’ own cousin, had doubts about him. So, this week is for all who wrestle with doubt, whether you have been around church your whole life, are new to fai...

God has been at work within the human race throughout all of human history, at first, preparing people for the coming Messiah and then, teaching us how to have an interactive relationship with Him. There was a point in history when God had decided the world was ready for Jesus. That moment was announced by John the son of Zechariah the priest. From the time of Malachi, after 400 years of silence,...

At our Christmas Eve service, Pastor Bill reminded us that Jesus’ coming is good news for all people. -------------------------------------------  Connect with us on Social Media ⁠ Website⁠ | ⁠Instagram⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠Threads⁠ | ⁠Facebook⁠ ⁠⁠⁠ | ⁠Vimeo⁠ -------------------------------------------  Download our App ⁠Apple App Store⁠ | ⁠Google Play Store⁠

When the Old Testament prophets speak of the kingdom of the coming Messiah, they point to his throne established and upheld with justice and with righteousness. This week we come to the end of our advent series in the book of Malachi. The end of Malachi is the sentencing phase of a courtroom drama; it's about the final judgment of sin and the promise of restoration for those who repent. The fi...

We have already seen that Malachi confronted the complacency of God’s people and their leaders, the priests. It meets us right where we are because we, too, are waiting for the coming of Messiah, though in our case it’s for the return of Christ. In the meantime, the promises of God haven’t all come to fruition. It’s easy to feel like the things God asks us to do just aren’t “working” – at least no...

Last week, Pastor Bill kicked off the season of Advent with our first of four sermons in Malachi. Because Advent is an annual reminder of God’s presence in the darkness and waiting, Malachi is perfect for Advent. He is the last of the prophets that God spoke through before 400 years of silence. Nobody likes waiting! It's especially difficult to wait when you don't know how long it's go...

Through the end of the year we get to shift our focus to Malachi: The Sun Will Rise. The Minor Prophets (called that because they are shorter, not less important) are some of the least-read portions of the Bible for many Christians. They are perfect for Advent, though, because they address God’s people in and after the exile. Malachi, in particular, is the last of the prophets that God spoke throu...

This is part 3 of Jesus’ instructions to the disciples. The first third of the chapter showed us what the marks of Christ’s Kingdom are that His people bring with them into the world. The second portion was filled with warnings about the dangers of following Jesus – that His followers will be attacked, betrayed, and rejected. This week we will see the Cost of Discipleship. Jesus is a divisive figu...

Matthew 10 gives us the initial commission that Jesus gave to the 12 disciples. In the first third of the chapter we saw the Signs of the Kingdom as the proclamation, teaching, and ministry of Jesus was given to, and extended through, His disciples. As we continue with Matthew 10:16-31 this Sunday, we will see the Dangers of Discipleship. It remains critically important to discern between what is ...

Over the next three weeks we will see the initial call of the 12 disciples, who would later become the Apostles who led the early church. Matthew 10 is the initial base of instruction to the 12. It’s a kind of manual for Christian discipleship. Throughout the chapter we will work to sort out what is descriptive for the 12 disciples at that moment in history versus what is prescriptive for us as di...

This Sunday we get to hear from Pastor Andrew Elder, who planted  Village Church South Belfast . Redemption Hill has been invested in church planting in Belfast since 2012. There are now two churches in the capital of Northern Ireland that we have as brothers and sisters across the sea. Pastor Andrew has been to RHC in the past, and I’m always glad to have him back with us. He plans to preach from...

As we pick up the story again, Jesus is still at the party at Matthew’s house. He answered challenges from the religious leaders about why he ate with tax collectors and sinners. He also answered challenges from John’s disciples about fasting and how Jesus’ work connected to the Old Testament and to religious traditions of the time. Jesus was then approached by the synagogue ruler (think Lead Past...

When we left off, Jesus was enjoying a meal at Matthew’s house. Matthew happens to be our author, and he was a tax collector. That led the Pharisees and religious leaders to sneer at Jesus and question his disciples about why their teacher would eat with tax collectors and sinners. The setting for our passage on Sunday is still at Matthew’s house. Having been questioned by the Scribes and Pharisee...

As we continue in Matthew throughout the fall and see the outworking of Christ’s  Upside-Down Kingdom , we will shift gears this week by looking at a prophecy spoken by Jeremiah hundreds of years before the birth of Christ. In Jeremiah 23:1-8, God declares disaster upon Judah’s wicked kings through His prophet Jeremiah because of their stubborn rebellion in forsaking the covenant. But because of h...

Last week we saw the power of Jesus on display over nature, evil, sickness, and sin, proving that Jesus is the Son of Man prophesied in Daniel 7. He is sovereign over all things and worth following. This week we will see what it takes to follow Jesus as we continue our series The Upside-Down Kingdom with Matthew 9:9-13. This passage is personal for our author, Matthew, because it is the story of J...

When life feels out of control, and the wind and waves of sorrow and suffering are battering us, it is hard to trust that God is sovereign and watching. This week we will continue our series The Upside-Down Kingdom with Matthew 8:18-9:8. In it we will see the sovereign authority and power of Jesus over the natural world, the spiritual world and dark powers, sickness and death itself, and over the...

As Jesus came down from teaching on the mountain, crowds of people followed him. In chapters 8-9 we see the values and kingdom that Jesus proclaimed put into action. In our passage this week we will see the signs of the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus healed the sick and leprous, welcomed outsiders, and fulfilled the Law and Prophets. This passage will help us to see what all who follow Jesus as their Ki...

The passage this week is the final of three binary alternatives that Jesus laid out – two paths, two trees, and now two houses. More accurately, the focus is two foundations. Every one of us is building something in our lives. We have an ultimate telos, or goal, that underlies our work, relationships, and efforts. We spend a lot of our time focusing on how we are building and what we are building....

This Sunday we will continue our series in the Sermon on the Mount with Matthew 7:15-23. It’s the second of three choices that we face as Jesus closed this section of teaching. We left off with a choice between  Two Paths , with two gates, roads, crowds and destinations. This Sunday we see  Two Trees . It’s a warning to beware of false prophets and those who play around with spirituality and relig...

As part of the Ordination Service, we will hear from Pastor Steve Gee, who was invited by Nathan to give the charge. The sermon on will be a charge to Nathan as a pastor, but it will still be a sermon. What I mean by that is that God’s Word will be preached and the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ proclaimed. As Nathan receives his charge, it will also be a charge to us, the church. Pastors...

Jesus closed out this section of teaching with three illustrations, three choices that lie before us. The first is the path of our lives. Jesus is so often talked about as being a great teacher. Passages like this make us face both the inclusivity and exclusivity of his teaching. Everyone is welcome. Anyone can come into the narrow gate to the narrow path that is hard and leads to life. But it is...

A.W. Tozer said in his book, Knowledge of the Holy, “What comes to mind when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” Matthew 7:7-12 draws our attention to our relationship with God Himself. We will explore what it means to ask, seek, and knock. We will wrestle with the question of why we pray, or whether it is even worth it to pray. We will see that Tozer’s observation is true. W...

When I think about the most well-known Bible verse, I can’t help but wonder if it is “Judge not, lest ye be judged.” It’s kind of a way to say that no one has the right to question anything about us or anything we think, say, or do. It’s a kind of proverbial biblical way to tell others to leave us alone. That happens to be in our passage for this Sunday, Matthew 7:1-6. On Sunday we will look at th...

We live in a city that is known for its ambition. People in DC from all walks of life have a level of hustle and an uncommon pace. It’s important to step back at times and take stock of our lives. What is your ambition? What is it that drives you? What keeps you up at night, or consumes your thoughts in quiet moments? All of these are symptoms to get at the reality of our hearts. This Sunday we wi...