Redemption Hill Church

This is probably the part of the story that jumps to mind first when we hear Jonah’s name. When we left off last Sunday, Jonah ran from God and ended up being thrown into the sea. In Jonah 1:17-2:10 our man is swallowed by a great fish. As Jonah continued his descent to the roots of the mountains he prayed. We learn a lot about Jonah through his prayer. Read it carefully, all may not be what it se...

This week we begin with Jonah 1:1-16. This story wastes no time before jumping right into it. In this passage we will see three commands that came to Jonah from God: get up, go to Nineveh, and call out. Jonah didn’t really want to go to Nineveh because he didn’t like the people in Nineveh. So, he took off in the other direction and tried to outrun God. For real. On Sunday we will work to get under...

This Sunday we finish the Gospel of John with chapter 21. This chapter brings the third time that Jesus appeared to His disciples. This time, though, they were up in Galilee and had gone out fishing. In the gray twilight of dawn, as they were coming in to the shore, Jesus came. As the scene unfolded, Jesus helped gave them a miraculous catch of fish, but also had a small charcoal fire with fish la...

We will continue in John this Sunday with John 20:19-31. This passage picks up on Sunday evening, the same day that Jesus called Mary by name and sent her to tell the disciples that she had seen Him. Poor Thomas wasn’t with the disciples when Jesus came to them that Easter evening. We have no idea where he was. He could have been out on a walk, or getting a bite to eat. All we do know is that he w...

We will continue in John this Sunday with John 20:1-18 – the resurrection! We get to see the very initial discovery of the open tomb, a foot race to go see it, and a faithful woman who lingers, looking for Jesus, only to be commissioned as the very first person on earth to tell others that He is risen. We are going to dig into this passage to see what God’s Word calls us to

This Sunday we continue the passion story with John 19:17-42. John was the only one of the twelve that was with Jesus all the way through the crucifixion. This passage us brings us up close to the scandal and glory of the cross. Matthew recorded that Jesus “cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” John was close enough to hear that Jesus said, “It is finished.” This Sunday we...

This Sunday we step back into the Gospel of John with John 18:28-19:16. After Jesus was arrested in the dark of night, betrayed by Jesus and abandoned by Peter, He was eventually sent from the High Priest’s house to Pontius Pilate. Pilate was the Roman governor responsible for maintaining order in Jerusalem and the surrounding area. And so Jesus was pulled before the governing power of the city. T...

The hour has finally come. Jesus and His disciples crossed the Kidron Valley from Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. They settled into a familiar place, a garden called Gethsemane. Among the olive trees on the hillside, in the dark of night, a group of guards and soldiers arrived, led by the one Jesus had dismissed from dinner, Judas Iscariot. They came to arrest Jesus. There are only a few details...

We land in John 17, also known as the High Priestly Prayer, as the drumbeat of the cross is getting louder. All of Scripture has been leading up to this hour—and all of Scripture after this, points back to this time. Jesus is preparing Himself for what’s ahead. The Garden of Gethsemane, the betrayal, the humiliation, the violence, unimaginable pain, and death. But first, Jesus goes to His Father a...

This week we get back into it with John 16:1-15. This chapter brings us directly into the night that Jesus was arrested and betrayed. After sharing a Passover meal with His disciples, and dismissing Judas Iscariot, Jesus took time to teach and care for His friends. This “Farewell Discourse” captures Jesus love, care, and hope for His followers. In our passage for Sunday, Jesus talked explicit...

This Sunday we closed out the Dwell series by studying Exodus 31:1-5. This series has worked to set our hearts and focus as a church on God’s call to us to Dwell in our city as An Enduring & Faithful Presence, investing our lives into the good of the city, trusting that in its good, we will find our own as well. We have looked particularly at investing ourselves financially into God’s work thr...

This Sunday will continue with 2 Corinthians 9:11-15. As we continue to look at our call to Dwell as An Enduring and Faithful Presence, we have heard the call to give ourselves first to the Lord, and focused on the shaping influence of God’s grace on our own hearts as we think about resources that God has given us and how to best steward and invest them. This Sunday we continue...

As we continue to look at our call to Dwell as An Enduring and Faithful Presence, we have heard the call to give ourselves first to the Lord, and seen what it looks like to give God’s way. This Sunday we continue with a call to give in abundance. The call in Scripture is not an exaction or some kind of church tax. God calls us to give out of what we have and to do so generously. A lot of our postu...

This Sunday we will continue with 2 Corinthians 8:10-24. Chapter 8 begins with the all-of-life calling that we give ourselves first to the Lord. In this passage, Paul gave directions to the church in Corinth about how to handle money, and how money would be handled as Titus came to take the collection for the church in Jerusalem. It gives us important guidance on how we ought to Give God’s Way.

This Sunday we head to 2 Corinthians 8:1-9. Chapters 8-9 are the most extended teaching we have in the entire New Testament on handling money and, more specifically, on giving to God’s work. Money is an uncomfortable topic for many, maybe even you! I get it. There are all kinds of reasons it can be uncomfortable, but money is an important topic. Often, the desires of our hearts can be seen most cl...

Throughout Scripture, we see that God’s presence dwells with His people. Like Moses at Mount Sinai, we don’t want to go anywhere if God’s presence isn’t with us (Exo. 33:12-16). We also want to follow the call to dwell in our city, building houses, planting gardens, and investing into the good of the city (Jer. 29:4-7). In our own lives, we experience God’s presence in the Spirit, through Christ....

As Jesus continued His final teaching to His disciples, called the Farewell Discourse, He had just finished a powerful metaphor of the Vine and the Branches, and He called His disciples His friends. Now, in John 15:18-16:4, Jesus makes it clear that following Him is not going to be easy. In fact, after His departure from them, the disciples’ lives are going to be much more difficult. He warns them...

This Sunday we will continue in our series in John’s Gospel with John 15:1-17. In it we will see the way that Jesus used a powerful and memorable metaphor of the Vine and the Branches. We have a tendency to root ourselves into all kinds of sources of life and encouragement, but Jesus is the true vine. We will explore together what it means to remain or abide in Him.

As the Farewell Discourse continued, Jesus told His disciples that when He left them, they would do even greater works than He had done. That’s a big task! Don’t forget all that they had seen Jesus do. The call to do the Father’s works isn’t left to the disciples to figure out and do on their own, though. Jesus promised that they would have the power and help of the Holy Spirit within them. We wil...

After calling His disciples, from the very beginning, to follow Him, Jesus now tells them that He is going to a place they cannot follow. Peter, Thomas, and Philip are all confused. Their questions and pushback are helpful for us as we try to understand what it means to follow Jesus.

This Sunday we begin what is called “The Farewell Discourse” in John. After Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and Judas left the room to go and betray Jesus. These are the final teaching Jesus gave His disciples on his final night with them. These passages contain some of the most important teachings of Jesus, and John recorded it for us. This section has been loved and held by Christians across ev...

After Jesus identified Himself as the Light of the World, who will draw all people to Himself, we see the One who created and sustains all things get down to His knees to wash His own disciples’ feet. All the way through John’s Gospel we have seen different aspects of who Jesus is, like facets of a prism. This passage shows the glory, beauty, and brilliance of Jesus as both Lord of all and Servant...

Chapter 13 takes a turn to the passion of Jesus, taking us into the upper room on Thursday evening as Jesus and the disciples celebrated Passover together. Before we turn to that part of the Gospel, though, we see Jesus cry out. These few verses seem to give a summary of all that has come up to this point in John's Gospel. The world we live in is dark. It is confusing, impossible to navigate, and...

This Sunday we continue our series with John 12:27-43. This passage will help us take a long look at glory. There is a stark difference in the glory of humanity and the glory of God. We will explore our own tendencies and desires, and what kind of glory our lives reflect. We will also see that the glory of Jesus is in the cross, which turns the world upside down.

This Sunday we continue our series with John 12:12-26. The Triumphal Entry is typically held for Palm Sunday in the spring time. Does that mean we hit the wrong equinox? No! The rest of the Gospel of John focuses on the last week Jesus spent in Jerusalem leading to His death and resurrection. John was there for it all. He was the only one of the disciples that was present all the way through the c...