Redemption HOU podcast

Big Ideas - Mark 12:28-34 - The question of God’s love still being available is constant - Jesus responds that there is a most important commandment - If an LGBTQ friend comes out, do they feel safe telling you? - There were NO early Christians who believed the Old Testament was doctrinally authoritative AND took them literally - If we are loving God and loving people, then we are ok. God does not...

Big Ideas - Mark 12:28-34 - You’re not far from the Kingdom of God - Jesus is not afraid of your questions. - His response to the man is, “Keep going!” - You get it. What’s the next step? - How can we stretch ourselves in this? - Don’t obsess with counter examples of the most difficult people to love - Focus on the quality of our love, not perfection - Quality of Love - Loving God and neighbor wit...

Mark 12:28-31Big Ideas - Jesus confirms that there is a most important law - First command - There is one God - We have reversed God's commands. They are not things to do, and then God will accept us. They are things that are a delight for us to do because God already loves and accepts us. Questions - How much do you tend to think of God's commands as things you need to do in order to achieve and/...

Mark 12:18-27Big Ideas - We have a few options for response to the brokenness of the world: 1. Everything is broken, and it always will be 2. Everything is broken, but it's not that bad. Be positive! 3. Everything is broken, but it won't be forever. - We are advocating for #3- The Law of Moses isn't a ceiling. It's a floor. It isn't a cap on how marginalized people should be treated. It's a minimu...

Big Ideas - We’ve all heard people say the Bible means things that are obviously false. - It’s easy to react by thinking that either no interpretation of scripture is trustworthy, or that the only way to know what it means is to go to seminary. - There are lots of good applications of any given passage of Scripture. There are also some bad and unhelpful ones. - The Bible is for YOU. You can read i...

Here’s why we’re sure about “radically inclusive hope.” And here’s how we might even be able to turn it into a lived reality.# Big Idea - The cross not only made peace between us and God, it obliterated the walls between us and one another. - The book of Acts shows repeated instances of the church becoming more and more inclusive, following the direction of God. - Jesus abolished the law. Anyting...

You ever had an apocalyptic meal? Jesus invites us to share a mysterious meal with Him and each other. And this meal could very well mean the end of the world as we know it.# Big Ideas- Communion is one of the most important and helpful things we get to do as Christians- It is spiritual - we consume the presence of Christ, actually participating in him, and remembering the incarnation - that God c...

Big Ideas - God never had to change his mind about you. You’ve always been loved. Here’s why we’re so sure. - Read Ephesians 2:1-10, 3:14-21 - If God is love, then his "judgement" is something good for us. It isn't punishment or disappointment, it is him lovingly making us more whole. - God's wrath is his opposition to the brokenness of the world. It isn't anger toward you. - He will not stop heal...

Big Ideas In order to be reconnected to God, love is the key. This is beautiful and simple and life-reorienting. This week we’re covering a bunch of related ideas to help us start to know the God of love that Jesus reveals. Questions - Are you convinced that spirituality IS love? Why or why not? - Do you think that we are only able to fully experience spirituality through relationship with other p...

The (Entire) Book of Colossians Big Ideas - It wasn’t just the poets. The earliest church was all about love, from the poets to the theologians to the handworkers, from the dreamers to the doers, and everyone in between. - Paul's letters are full of descriptions of his love for people. - Paul is systematic and high minded in his theology throughout the New Testament. Yet it seems that all of his t...

Big Ideas Our religion is Love. Sound like new age mumbo jumbo? This week we’re reading a poem recited by first century Christians, all about Love.1 John Love Poem All’us who are loved—
Let us love
For truly all love is from God And all who now love 
Are fathered by God 
And clearly they’ve come to know God So all who don’t love 
They don’t yet know God
For truly in sum God is love And here’s how...

**Mark 12:1-12**Big Ideas What if we’re held responsible for the histories we’re creating? Yes on a big picture, but also on a micro level. What if you’re held responsible for the history of your street, your workplace, and your neighborhood school? Jesus can help. Questions - If there is more presence of God in our midst, we'll know because we experience more Fruits of the Spirit. Look at the lis...

Mark 11:1-27-33‘The audacity. What gives you the right?’ Isn’t this what we implicitly ask Jesus whenever we reject one of his simple, clear teachings like love for enemies and concern for the poor? Big Ideas When we say "God is love," if we really mean it, it should invade every part of our lives and worldviews. 1. God loves sinners. 2. God loves the poor. 3. God loves his enemies. 4. God loves m...

Mark 11:1-21Love is the game. We all want the world fixed, and love is the only effective way. Love will judge all our exclusion, self-interest, and violence, even the kind of violence that is merely to enforce our rights of self-interest—because love will judge and overturn all our hate.

Mark 11:1-21Big Ideas - Jesus subverts the expectations of everyone - In order to understand why, we have to look at the Old Testament - Everyone had nationalistic, violent, xenophobic ideas of what the Messiah would do - They expected the Messiah to violently expel the "pagans" from the Temple - Instead, Jesus symbolically casts out those excluding outsiders - The message is that Jesus cares abou...

Mark 10:46-52Big Ideas - This story is our clearest picture of discipleship - Discipleship isn't morals or knowledge. It's sitting down and crying out for help from Jesus. - Mercy is everything - The only people who receive mercy are the pitiful, the needy, the desperate. - That is where we need to practice being. - The people around Jesus tried to quiet the blind man, to keep him from Jesus. - Th...

Mark 10:46-52Big Ideas - This story is our clearest picture of discipleship - Discipleship isn't morals or knowledge. It's sitting down and crying out for help from Jesus. - Mercy is everything - The only people who receive mercy are the pitiful, the needy, the desperate. - That is where we need to practice being. - The people around Jesus tried to quiet the blind man, to keep him from Jesus. - Th...

Big Idea - The entire universe is held together by self-giving love - Everything in scripture is relational. And it must be read in that context to be understood correctly. - Sin is PRIMARILY the destruction of relationships. Not individual moral failures. - The emphasis of scripture is that holiness leads to love in relationships. - Community doesn't make us holy. The Spirit of God gives us holin...

Mark 10:32-45 We’ve gotten Jesus’ glory all wrong. Getting it right is the secret to fixing our souls. Getting it right is the secret to finally having the life-giving relationships we’ve mostly given up on. Questions - If God (the Trinity) has never existed outside of relationship, does that change how important relationships are to you? - When you think about Jesus' sacrifice, do you think about...

Mark 10:17-27Big Ideas - This week we are trying once more to hear the joyful offer of the Kingdom within Jesus' warning about money. - There is no way to experience the Kingdom of God besides being carried there. It is entirely based on dependence. - Riches make it harder to want or practice dependence. - This is why it's compared to a camel and needle. If you're used to carrying yourself, it fee...

Mark 10:17-27Big Ideas - When reading scripture, especially a narrative like Mark, it's important to ask questions like these: - What's the story that comes right before this one? - What's the theme of this section? - Does my reading make sense in light of the bigger context? - In this story, Jesus is continuing from last week when he said, "The only way into the Kingdom of God is to be carried li...

Can We Really Meet God Today? Yes. Even you. Big Idea - The restoration of all things isn't coming in some far off place. It's right here. God is bringing heaven right to your street. - The way he is healing all of creation is through directly experiencing his divine love. - If this is true, we think it's worth giving it a shot. Questions- When you think about Heaven, do you consider the idea that...

Big Idea - This week we are looking at Mark 10:13-16 - The only way into the Kingdom of God is to be carried. - God's glory IS his perfect love. - The secret of the Kingdom is: You are loved. The God of the universe just wants to love you. Questions 1. What do you think God thinks about when he thinks about you? 2. Who does the Kingdom of God belong to? 3. How do you get there? 4. What is your emo...

God’s a divorcé? What the what? Join us this week as we hear a healing message about Jesus and divorce.

God is love. So everything God does is loving. What about hell? Is hell God’s love?