Blog
Romans 1-4: A Foreign Righteousness
Our church has been studying the book of Romans for the past eleven weeks. We have finished “part one” of the book, and will now be taking a break for the next two Sundays to cover the events of Palm Sunday, Good Friday, and Easter. These events are some of the most...
English Class and the Gospel
I was saved after my 9th grade English class. Truth be told, it was quite a bit later. However, looking back now, there were glimpses of the Gospel even back in Mrs. Taylor’s freshman English Class. This class is where I first heard about indicatives and...
Jubilee Reach Service Day
Before having children and staying home with them, I was an elementary school teacher in the Bellevue School District. In my classroom of 26 kids I had over 10 languages spoken, and in my school, 82 percent of the children were on free or reduced lunch. This meant...
The Songs we Sing
Every Sunday, Redeemer Church gathers together, and as a part of our service, we sing God centered songs of worship. That is not all we do, but it is an important element of our worship service every Sunday. Have you ever wondered, “where do these songs come from?” or...
Chronic Pain and the Gospel
Definition of Chronic Pain: An ever-present experience of distressing and sometimes debilitating physical pain that invades one’s body and severely impacts every single aspect of that person’s life (my definition). When I was asked to write about chronic pain for our...
Discipline and Punishment: Know the Difference
How would you explain the difference between punishment and discipline? You have likely heard attempts to clarify the differences between the two, but if you’re like me, you may still find it slightly difficult to clearly grasp the difference. Executing punishment and...
Finding Rest in the Messiah
“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” -Matthew 11:28 I love an unexpected snow day. There is just something about the quiet and beauty in a fresh dusting of snow that invites us to rest. Have you thought about rest, wanting rest,...
Willful Seasonal Amnesia
It happens every year—football season begins, the weather starts to cool, and Thanksgiving comes and goes; then enters the sentimentalism and nostalgia of the Christmas season. By the middle of November I see "baby Jesus" everywhere—on cards, in stores, on the...
Unanswered Prayer?
How are we to handle the unanswered prayers of our prayers for our children, our spouses, our intimate friends, and even for ourselves? Has God failed to hear us (Isa. 1:15)? Has He heard us and said “No.” (Deut. 28:15, 68)? Has He delayed His response (Jn. 11:6)?...
Who Needs Theology?
Recently, I was studying at my favorite coffee shop, when a man glanced over and noticed the stack of theology books occupying my table. He said, “what are you reading?” I handed him two of the systematic theology books I was reading, and he said “isn’t it amazing...
Honoring the Joy and Grief of Mother’s Day
Mother’s Day used to be much simpler to me. I had a wonderful mom and I truly enjoyed the chance to pause, remember all the ways she loved and cared for me, and tell her I was thankful. But two years ago I lost my beloved mom to suicide, and the Mother’s Day that...
A Prayer for Good Friday
From the Devotional: The Valley of Vision: A Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions MY FATHER, Enlarge my heart, warm my affections,open my lips,supply words that proclaim ‘Love lustresat Calvary.’There grace removes my burdens and heaps themon thy Son,made a...
The Cost of Following Christ
This is a guest post by Zack Chatterton. Zack is a good friend of Pastor Ryan. They served in ministry together in Phoenix, AZ. Zack currently serves as a volunteer leader at Phoenix Bible Church and is an Adjunct Instructor of Christian Ministries at Arizona...
The Grace to Live
At Redeemer, we recently finished a three-week study on the doctrine of sanctification. Sanctification is the formal theological word which describes the immediate act of a Christian being made holy through the forgiveness of sins and the transfer of Christ’s...
Does Church Membership Matter?
If you are a Christian, you should become a member of your local church. Perhaps I’ve already lost some of you by placing a should in that sentence. Why is that? One reason might be that we tend to think of church membership as “not a bad idea, but not all that...
Difficult Teachings of Jesus
Some of the things that Jesus said are hard. How many of us have come across some chunk of red letters in the gospels and discovered something that we either didn’t understand, or didn’t want to understand? We have company. Even a cursory reading of the gospels will...
Marriage and the Gospel
My husband (Tom) and I just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary this past month. It is a beautiful milestone and an incredible evidence of God’s grace and mercy to us, and to our children and grandchildren. We both came from families plagued by alcoholism and...
Marriage Interview: John and Missi Wilson
John and Missi Wilson have been attending Redeemer Church since the very beginning. Through (almost) 17 years of marriage they have learned a lot about forgiveness, repentance, and the hope that comes from the gospel. I recently asked John and Missi Wilson some...
When Friendship Fails
Being a good friend isn’t easy. Friendships thrive when fostered in the presence of intentionality, devotion, and sacrifice. However, these things don’t come easily. Furthermore, there are countless situations that compound the difficulty of cultivating meaningful...
Do You Put God or Country First?
Our current political climate is as intense and polarizing as ever. It seems the right has moved further right, the left has moved further left and the centrists have lost all hope in the political process. Politics & Jesus Political obsession and preoccupation is...
The Puzzle of Christ
Before the internet, video games, and social media provided our source of entertainment, one of America’s favorite past-times were jigsaw puzzles. People enjoyed picking up obscure pieces, finding where they fit in the picture, and putting them into place. But imagine...
2016 Missions Update
Through the generosity of people at Redeemer Church, we were able to support missionaries and organizations that are making an impact in the lives of people beyond our local body of believers. We wanted to make you aware of these ministries so you could pray for them,...
Does The Reformation Still Matter? Part Three: An Interview with Gregg Allison
I recently sat down with Dr. Gregg Allison. Gregg is Professor of Christian Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Many of our Redeemer folks will know Gregg as Lauren Schneringer’s father (Troy and Lauren Schnerigner are members at...
Recommended Reading List 2017
Often the first month of a New Year is when people are bombarded with ideas for accomplishing their New Year’s resolutions. If you are a reader, or desire to be, this is also usually the time of year that recommended reading lists are published and Amazon gift cards...
How Should Christians Respond When The Candidate They Voted For Wasn’t Elected?
In a fallen world, we face imperfect choices. The 2016 Presidential election saw the winning candidate approved and disavowed by nearly equal margins. As Christians, how should we respond? Paul’s magnum opus, Romans, gives us a clear prescription in its 13th...
Church, Stop Saying that You “Don’t See Color”
I’ve recently heard a phrase within the church and it goes something like this: “I don’t see color, I only see souls in need of a Savior.” Maybe you’ve said it before, or maybe you’ve heard other people say it. Good, Jesus-loving Christians have held this mantra for a...
Does The Reformation Still Matter? Part Two
*In celebration of the 5ooth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation: This is part two of a three-part series on why the Reformation still matters today. ----------- Who comes to your mind when you think about the Reformation? Martin Luther? John Calvin? Maybe a...
Does The Reformation Still Matter? Part One
*In celebration of the 5ooth anniversary of the Protestant Reformation: This is part one of a three-part series on why the Reformation still matters today. ---------- The year 2017 is not just another year. Not for Protestant Christians. It’s no more just another year...
Malachi: A New Sermon Series
What if God sent a prophet to tell us “your religion is active, but your affection is absent”? My estimate is that most Christians would understand exactly what that meant. We wouldn’t need any further explanation, because most of us recognize that we tend to go...
Blog Why?
Blogging is a resource today that is utilized by 77% of all internet users, with the leading blog site in the world having 46 million unique visitors every month. More than 50% of all blog readers are between the ages of 21 and 35, and nearly 25% of all time spent on...