The Kingdom Perspective

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to the Kingdom Perspective. What exactly is the intersection between science and the Bible? The word science comes from an old Latin term for knowledge. When we speak of “science” we speak of a particular method of obtaining knowledge and the collective/generational wisdom that comes from following that method. Bibli...

Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to the Kingdom Perspective. Death and disease are unavoidable in this fallen world. And whether we like it or not, they are a stark reminder of both our frailty and the frivolity of our way of life. The world is not the way it’s supposed to be! We see the futility of life all around us, and this difficult reality can drive us to...

Transcript: Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.” What is our purpose as human beings? God designed us to glorify and enjoy Him. We do this by faithfully obeying His commandments. God designed us for Himself and only to the degree we are obeying His commandments are we actually free. Therefore, when we obey the commands of God out of lov...

Transcript: Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.” God designed us for love and only to the degree we obey that commandment are we actually free. But this requires work. Loving God and others does not come naturally to our selfish hearts. To become a loving person will mean perseverance, discipline and training. Think of it in terms of a...

Transcript: Hello this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.” What is freedom? Biblically speaking, freedom is defined by our ability to fulfill our design. In other words, we were made for a specific purpose and to the degree that we are fulfilling that purpose, to that degree we are free. A fish is designed for water and to the degree that it rema...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.” As modern Americans we tend to think of freedom in what the philosophers call “negative” terms. By that they mean, we define freedom by our ability to do what we want without interference from others, especially from some authority (e.g. governmental, parental, etc.). However, this is no...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to “The Kingdom Perspective.” Philosophers speak of two different kinds of freedom. The famed thinker Isaiah Berlin (1909-1997) put it this way: 1) Negative Liberty/Freedom FROM and 2) Positive Liberty/Freedom TO. “Negative Liberty” or “Freedom From” can perhaps best be seen in the political freedom we enjoy in the U...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic? We must be careful to humble ourselves before the cross of Christ, so that we can experience the exaltation of His grace. You see, Jesus is a god who by His very nature shows us both the seriousness of o...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic? We must be vigilant to live not in judgment of others, but in service of others. In his letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul details a conflict in the early church over differing opinions on types of f...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? We should lean into the freedom of the “obligation of love”. Now, putting “obligation” and “freedom” together may sound strange, but not if you are thinking in a truly Christian manner. In Romans 13 Paul...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? We need to lean into the paradox of Christian freedom. The great Martin Luther in one of his most famous works, “The Freedom of a Christian” (1520), begins his piece with two seemingly contradictory stat...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? We should be very cautious in how we use our freedom. True freedom is not defined by “rights” (i.e. me getting what I want without interference from others) but by obeying God’s command to sacrificially...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus pandemic? We must determine not to be driven by a selfish understanding of freedom, but by how the Bible defines freedom—which is, loving obedience to God’s commandments, especially the command to love one’s neigh...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should we do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic? We should prepare mentally and emotionally for a marathon and not a sprint. Sprints require a short burst of energy; marathons require endurance. There are many indications that this pandemic is going to...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. Over the past several months of the COVID crisis you, the people of CRC, have rallied to serve your neighbors in the Upper Valley and beyond. Together, you have given record amounts to relief efforts and served to meet countless needs. In today’s Kingdom Perspec...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. Over the past several months of the COVID crisis you, the people of CRC, have rallied to serve those in need in the Upper Valley and beyond. Together, you have given record amounts to our benevolence fund and served to provide meals and supplies to front line wo...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. Over the past several months of the COVID crisis you, the people of CRC, have rallied to serve those in need in the Upper Valley and beyond. Together, you have given over $10,000 to relief efforts and served in various capacities to provide meals and supplies to...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. How should we respond to the differing personal opinions brought about by re-opening our society post-COVID? We should be careful not to judge one another but seek to accept and love one another in our various opinions. The Bible invites us to love one another b...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. How should we respond to what the COVID isolation has done to our public worship? We should feel like something is missing. God has not destined for us to worship in this scattered manner. We are embodied, communal creatures. God made us flesh and bone, and He m...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. What should we as a church do in the face of the coronavirus? We should give thanks! The Scripture commands us: “give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus” (1 Thessalonians 5:18 NASB). Likewise, give “thanks always and...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. How should we respond to the differing personal opinions brought about by opening our society post-COVID? We should not judge one another but seek to accept and love one another in our various opinions. According to Scripture, one of chief ways that we are to lo...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. What should you do in the face of the coronavirus epidemic? We should take inspiration from reports of our fellow brothers and sisters in China. In the early days of the epidemic, reports from the Chinese churches began to leak out of Wuhan. Listen to the follow...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of the Kingdom Perspective. How should we respond to the coronavirus stay-at-home-order and the church not being able to gather? We should let this cause us to long all the more for our fellowship with one another around the Lord’s Table. The Lord Jesus Himself instituted the ordinance or...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. I’m recording this in a cemetery, because today, in the United States, it’s Memorial Day. It is the day that we celebrate those who have given their lives for the service of others. In a very profound sense, the reason why we are able to celebrate with family and friends today is because others have paid the ultimate price t...

Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to a special-edition series of The Kingdom Perspective. What is the cure for the anxiety brought on by the COVID crisis? The cure is to fix our mind on the character and promises of God. Listen to the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 26:3-4 ESV): “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in...