As Paul headed back toward Jerusalem he stopped off to meet one last time with the elders of the church in Ephesus in Acts 20:13-38. It's an emotional scene that shows the tenderness between the Apostle and this church. It also shows us something of the calling to serve in leadership in local churches. We will see this week what the focus needs to be to keep a planted church on mission.
Death to Life
April 21, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Easter’s sermon comes from Acts 20:7-12, continuing our current series in Acts with a dramatic story of a young man named Eutychus who fell from a window and was brought back from the dead. The raising of Eutychus is only a shadow of the glory of the resurrection offered to us in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. We will see that God sees our suffering and sorrow, and that death does not hold the final answer.
Ephesus: A Riot
April 14, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage is a riot. Literally. After two years in Ephesus, Paul's ministry was recognized as a threat to the social and economic order of the city. It shows us that the gospel truly does turn the world upside down. This passage will help us to assess the broader cultural idolatry of our city and to see the divergent paths of the Way of this world and the Way of Jesus.
Ephesus: The Spirit and the Power of God
April 7, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we continue our series with the beginning of Paul's 3rd missionary journey in Acts 18:24-19:20. This passage shows us a young upstart preacher who needed correction, a deficient understanding of repentance and baptism, and demons that whooped a group of brothers and sent them running down the street naked. In all of it, we see a distinction between ministry done from our own understanding and power, versus the Spirit-filled power of God brought to bear. This will be a fun one to explore together.
Corinth: Keep on Speaking
March 31, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
In this passage Paul goes into the city of Corinth. Corinth was a notorious place, a financial and trade center and a city that offered its proud inhabitants anything and everything they could wish for. Paul ended up spending 18 months there planting a church, but it took a vision from God to give him the confidence to stick it out in the face of opposition.
Athens: The Gospel to the Marketplace
March 24, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we come to a passage that has been foundational for Redemption Hill Church since the very beginning. Even before our church had a name, when it was just an idea, Acts 17 and Paul's time in Athens shaped what would be our approach to life and ministry in this city. I continue to believe that DC is our culture's Athens - a place of education and learning, where ideology is openly discussed in the marketplace, and it is filled with inhabitants who "spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new." I am eager to open this text up together and to see what we can learn as we continue to work to bring good news to this great city.
Thessalonica & Berea
March 17, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 17:1-15. This passage shows Paul's ministry in Thessalonica and Berea. The gospel turned the world upside down. And the advance of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ always calls for a response. It stands upside down and against the kingdoms of this world and the kingdoms of our own hearts. The result, as we see in these two cities will either be jealousy and violence, or eagerness for God's Word.
Ministry in Philippi
March 10, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we continue our series with Acts 16:16-40, which shows the impact of the gospel in Philippi. The ups and downs of Paul’s journey continued, and still things just didn’t go as he would have liked or planned. But this passage shows us that the power of the gospel can change lives and overthrow systems even in a great city. It’s an important passage for us as we continue to live and work in DC, with great hope to see God at work in our city.
Called to Help
March 3, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Paul's second missionary journey continued, but nothing went quite like he hoped. Along with Silas and Timothy, after the Spirit forbade them to go to the cities they had planned on, he ended up in Philippi. Throughout it all, even with clear closed doors, the travelers continued forward, trusting that God was directing their path wherever it led. We will see that God is good and sovereign, and that His leading will lead to unforeseen opportunities to join Jesus in good work.
Sharp Disagreement
February 17, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
In the aftermath of the Jerusalem Council Paul and Barnabas headed back to Antioch to teach together. They agreed to go out from there to revisit the churches they had planted together on their first journey. Not all went as they planned, but God was able to work in and through them even in the midst of it.
The Jerusalem Council
February 10, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we come to a watershed moment for the Early Church. The Apostles Peter, James, and Paul came to a point of conflict that could have threatened to divide the entire church. The future posture of Christianity was hanging in the balance. So, a council was called in Jerusalem, gathering the Apostles, the Elders, and the people of the Jerusalem church together. There is much to mine in this pivotal passage. As we walk through it together, we will see what is essential to the gospel, and something of how to handle things that we hold important but that are less essential.
Beaten but not Destroyed
February 3, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This Sunday we will continue our series with Acts 14:20-28. Last week we saw that the Apostle Paul was dragged outside of the city and left for dead. This week we see his response. He got up and went back into the city. It's an unpredictable move that showed his passion for the work God had called him to. Not only that, Paul proceeded to go back through every city that he and Barnabas visited on their journey. Remember these are all cities that they had been run out of! Beyond the resilience of these men in their ministry, we will also see the beautiful reality that gospel proclamation and the advance of God's Word leads to church planting as people's faith is strengthened, disciples are made, Elders are trained and appointed, and the church is gathered to celebrate God's goodness and grace.
Idolatry
January 27, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This passage shows the continuation of Paul and Barnabas' first missionary journey, as they went on to a city called Lystra. There Paul healed a crippled man, similar to the beginning of the ministries of both Jesus and Peter. The people of the city started to worship the two men as gods before making a quick turn against them. This passage shows vividly that when we idolize, we will demonize.
Religion and Irreligion
January 20, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
This section shows us the ways that people responded to Paul and Barnabas as they preached the gospel in various cities. They preached to Jews and Gentiles, and got responses that ranged from belief and repentance to plots to kill them. The passage shows us the ways that our hearts are prone to respond to the gospel.
Scripture has been Fulfilled
January 13, 2019 • Pastor Bill Riedel
Paul and Barnabas continued their journey to a city called Antioch in Pisidia. There they focused first on preaching the good news of Jesus to the Jews in the city, which was a pattern for all of Paul's ministry. This passage is unique in that it captures Paul's sermon, and illustrates for us the approach that he took as he preached about Jesus in synagogues. We will see an emphasis in this passage that God keeps His promises and His Word to us.
