Roots & Fruit
Summer 2022
Hopes for Redemption Hill Church
August 28, 2022 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Jeremiah 29:4–14
Last Sunday, Pastor Bill talked about his hopes for the church as we look ahead. Our church is heading into a new season together. Now that we are over a decade into this work, Redemption Hill is not a church plant, we are a church. Even more, Redemption Hill has had the privilege of investing into other church plants and planting efforts. Coming through a few difficult and tumultuous years together has shaped everyone of us, and our church as well. On Sunday we returned to a text that has been very familiar through the planting and establishment of Redemption Hill Church, Jeremiah 29:4-14. We saw what God's people are called to in whatever place they find themselves.
The Lord's Work in the Lord's Way
August 21, 2022 • Pastor Bill Riedel • Acts 1:9, Matthew 28:18–20
This Sunday we will continue our Roots & Fruit series as we look at what it means to do the Lord's work in the Lord's way. We talk a lot about church as a family and a community. There is more to being a church, though. We are called by God to be His people, carrying the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ into this world, empowered and led by the Spirit to good witness and work. Way too often, though, serving in a church can start to lose its lustre and feel like a grind, or we feel the draw to sit back and enjoy without much personal cost. Jesus is building His Church, and we get to join Him. Let's make sure we do it His way.
The Importance of the Local Church
August 14, 2022 • Pastor Jon Parks • Titus 2:11–14
Jon Parks is a Pastor of Village Church East Belfast. Pastor Jon was involved from the very beginning of the plant, though not as its pastor. His brother Lucas was the planting pastor. Over time, though, God called Jon into pastoral ministry and the church affirmed his gifts and qualification for that ministry role. In summer 2020, Lucas moved away from Belfast and took a new role in a different church. Pastor Jon has continued as a key leader and pastor for Village. Redemption Hill has supported the work in Belfast for over a decade through financial support and many other ways that we have partnered together. It is difficult not to be consumed by ideologies and perspectives that surround us, allowing other thoughts to take precedence over the gospel in our lives. DC is our culture’s Athens, where people “spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new” (Acts 17:21). 90 minutes of church per Sunday, on its own, is not going to reshape our lives. And yet, the church is essential to shaping our spiritual lives and perspectives. Pastor Jon will help us see the importance of prioritizing our local church. He will highlight the difference between empty moralism and gospel transformation, setting a vision for the importance of our local church in helping us to keep Christ at the center as we stumble toward maturity together. In some ways, this sermon will serve as a capstone for all that precedes it in this series, emphasizing the rhythms of worship, community, and mission that are all centered on, shaped by, and driven by the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Empowered Membership
August 7, 2022 • Pastor Eric McPherson • Ephesians 4:11–16
Redemption Hill is committed to intentionally equip members of the church, empowered by the Holy Spirit, to do the work of ministry. Redemption Hill equips and resources members to pursue their passions and gifts as they join Jesus on His mission in our city. Ministry at Redemption Hill is deeply contextualized and reliant on the Holy Spirit to wake up sleepy Christians, save nominal Christians, and reach lost people with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this sermon, Pastor Eric will emphasize the priesthood of all believers from Ephesians 4:11-16. Read over the passage this weekend and pray for Eric as he continues to prepare to preach.
Gospel-Shaped Community
July 31, 2022 • Pastor Eric McPherson • Acts 2:41–47, Galatians 6:1–2
Acts 2:42-47 shows the impact of God’s people coming together in community. The impact is felt internally as members of the body are cared for and encouraged in tangible and intangible ways (Gal. 6:1-5). It is also felt outwardly as our city experiences God’s love and grace through His people, the church (Acts 2:42, 5:14, 11:24). Redemption Hill Church is a community of people who gather together to worship Jesus, live life together, support each other, and spill into our city for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God. It is the privilege and calling of the church to make disciples and teach people what it is to follow Jesus. This will happen best in the context of relationships and authentic community, as mature followers of Jesus come alongside those who are younger in their faith, and as members come alongside those who are hurting or in need (2 Tim. 3:10-16). It is the responsibility and calling of Redemption Hill Church’s leaders to foster a culture of discipleship by teaching and equipping God’s people to be His Church (Eph. 4:12-16). As part of training people to be disciples of Jesus, the church must be active in discipline (1 Cor. 5-6). In this Sunday's sermon, Pastor Eric will emphasize the essentials of biblical community, particularly focusing on the ways this is beautifully reflected in Redemption Hill Church, while also calling us to even greater expressions of it.
Seeing Beauty in the City
July 24, 2022 • Pastor Doug Logan • Acts 18:9–10
Dr. Doug Logan is the President of Grimké Seminary in Richmond, VA, and the Dean of Grimké Urban. He is also the Associate Director of Acts 29, and currently serves as the Pastor of Church Planting at Remnant Church. Pastor Doug has been a longtime friend of Redemption Hill Church, and we are glad to welcome him back to preach this Sunday, as he casts a vision for Seeing the Beauty of the City. DC has a unique history and culture. As we come to understand this context more fully, it will shape our church and ministry. We always need to have an eye toward ongoing growth in our understanding of the context into which God has placed us. Dr. Doug Logan will preach from Acts 18:9-10 to help us understand the importance of context and seeing the good and beautiful aspects of our city for the sake of our witness and work here
Evangelism & Gospel Witness
July 17, 2022 • Pastor Michael Martin • Philemon, John 13:34–35
We were honored to have Pastor Michael Martin join us last Sunday. He planted Learning To Live Fellowship, (LTLF) in Inglewood, California and served on the pastoral team at Oceanside Christian Fellowship (OCF) in El Segundo, CA. He now serves at Senior Pastor at Stillmeadow Church in Baltimore. Michael has had significant involvement in the work of church health and church diversity both while serving locally as a resource and nationally in denominational work with our denomination, the EFCA. As a recording artist, Pastor Michael has been fortunate to have music he has written heard in a variety of venues in Christian and secular formats. He considers music an amazing means of speaking truth and joy into any life. His current project is JOY lifeStories vol. 2 He is proud of the fact that Gail, his wife of over 35 years, still seems to like him. They have a daughter, son, son-in-law and 3 grandsons. Raised in a large, loving, extended family in Flint, Michigan; his upbringing in the church has shaped many of his values and commitments today. We long for true revival – that the Spirit of God will move in power and use the Church as witnesses to the resurrection and hope of Jesus Christ. Redemption Hill will speak the gospel as the words of life and hope that it is, calling all people to turn to Jesus in belief and repentance, praying that God will turn people’s hearts and ignite their passions for His glory. Pastor Michael Martin preached out of the book of Philemon, working to ignite a passion to reach people in our own city. We can entrust ourselves and our safety fully to God, knowing that He has many in this city who are His own. This sermon will help people work out some of the fears or hesitancy they have when it comes to evangelism and help them see their place in God’s work of saving people.
Gracious Hospitality
June 26, 2022 • Pastor Eric McPherson • Luke 5:27–32
Redemption Hill is a family that graciously welcomes people into loving community. At its core, the gospel is a celebration that welcomes all people into the family of God through Jesus Christ. Redemption Hill is a family that is generous, thoughtful, and warm, welcoming people into community and celebrating God’s grace together. Pastor Eric will walk us through Luke 5:27-32 and will show the difference between a scarcity mindset in our lives and church and a generosity mindset. It will also explore the nature of true hospitality, which is welcoming strangers into community, not simply putting on good meals. We are called to follow Jesus’ model in our own lives, welcoming “tax-collectors and sinners” rather than staying in holy huddles.
Discipleship
June 12, 2022 • Pastor Cedrick Brown • Luke 9:23–27
This Sunday Pastor Cedrick Brown, the founding pastor of Commitment Community Church in Lindenwold, NJ, will be preaching for us. He also serves as Co-Superintendent of EFCA East, our district in the EFCA. Cedrick was born and raised in Compton, CA. He played football, including as a pro on the Philadelphia Eagles. He has been married to Lisa for over 30 years and they have three adult children. Discipleship is more than mere information transfer; it is walking with Jesus. Luke 9:23-27 tells us that it is taking up our cross daily to follow Christ. Pastor Cedrick will teach from this passage on the costliness of discipleship – what it means to have a cross to bear as we follow Jesus. He will also preach the impact of following Jesus as a community rather than on our own, showing that we are not made to pursue Jesus in isolation.
Multiplication for Mission
June 5, 2022 • Pastor Andrew Elder • Matthew 28:16–20
This Sunday brings our next guest preaching, Pastor Andrew Elder. Andrew serves as Pastor of Village Church South Belfast, which was planted out of Village Church East Belfast. Redemption Hill has been a partner in the work in Belfast for more than a decade, from the very beginning of our church and theirs. Pastor Andrew has a tender heart for people and passion to reach the lost. His sermon out of Matthew 28:16-20 will focus on the value and impact of multiplication of ministry. Beginning with Community Groups, it will address the fears and pain points of multiplying, but also the impact and vision to make it happen. It will also explore the importance of church multiplication, highlighting our long-term investment into church planting in resources, coaching, training, and help.
Roots & Fruit
May 8, 2022 • Pastor Bill Riedel • 1 Corinthians 3:5–9
This Sunday I will introduce the series, preaching on the theme of Roots & Fruit that can be traced as a thread through the entire biblical storyline. I will also introduce the preachers we can look forward to hearing this summer. I will start with 1 Corinthians 3:5-9 and we will touch down in a number of passages along the way. It’s bittersweet for me to say that this is my last Sunday with our church before I head out on a sabbatical. I have been overwhelmed by the kindness of our church in pursuing this opportunity and the grant that we received to make it possible. It is a great opportunity for me and my whole family to be refreshed and to make memories to last a lifetime as we get extra time together. After the past few years, the timing could not be better. I hope to return in August rested, with renewed energy and vision for the days ahead. We will be with our Redemption Hill Church family in spirit throughout, and by the time August rolls around, I’m sure we will be eager to get back with you all. - Pastor Bill