Redemption Church Christchurch Audio Sermons: Recent Episodes
Redemption Church Christchurch
John 18:15-27 | Rhys Lamont | 04 February 2024 Church Camp 2024 | Session 03 | Sunday ServiceAnd We Saw His Glory - Portraits of Christ from John 18:1-27
John 18:1-9 | Rhys Lamont | 03 February 2024 Church Camp 2024 | Session 01And We Saw His Glory - Portraits of Christ from John 18:1-27
John 18:10-14 | Rhys Lamont | 03 February 2024 Church Camp 2024 | Session 02And We Saw His Glory - Portraits of Christ from John 18:1-27
We are currently taking a break from our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark, in order to bolster up our understanding of what the Bible teaches about events that will take place in the future. The purpose of this topical series of teachings, is to provide a helpful overview of the doctrine of last things, so that we can better understand what Jesus teaches, when we get back to Mark chapter 13. In this week’s study, building upon the foundation of the kingdom of God, the Biblical Covenants, and Israel & the Church, we will be looking at the subject of the Millennium. The subject of the Millennium relates to Christ’s future kingdom reign on the earth. There is disagreement among Christians as to the nature of His kingdom reign, so we will be looking at the three main systems of thought (Amillennial, Post-Millennial, and Pre-Millennial), while identifying the view that we hold to here at Redemption Church.
We are currently taking a break from our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark, in order to bolster up our understanding of what the Bible teaches about events that will take place in the future. The purpose of this topical series of teachings, is to provide a helpful overview of the doctrine of last things, so that we can better understand what Jesus teaches, when we get back to Mark chapter 13. Last Sunday, we moved onto the second broad category of eschatology, which we can call, “Comic Eschatology”, where we considered the central, overarching theme of the Bible, which is the Kingdom of God. In this week’s study, building on the subject of the kingdom of God, and the Biblical Covenants, by looking at God’s future plans for both Israel and the Church.
We are currently taking a break from our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark, in order to bolster up our understanding of what the Bible teaches about events that will take place in the future. The purpose of this topical series of teachings, is to provide a helpful overview of the doctrine of last things, so that we can better understand what Jesus teaches, when we get back to Mark chapter 13. Last Sunday, we moved onto the second broad category of eschatology, which we can call, “Comic Eschatology”, where we considered the central, overarching theme of the Bible, which is the Kingdom of God. In this week’s study, building on the subject of the kingdom of God, we will be looking at the Biblical Covenants, which are the vehicles through which God has chosen to fulfil His kingdom purposes.
We are currently taking a break from our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark, in order to bolster up our understanding of what the Bible teaches about events that will take place in the future. The purpose of this topical series of teachings, is to provide a helpful overview of the doctrine of last things, so that we can better understand what Jesus teaches, when we get back to Mark chapter 13. Over the past two weeks, we have looked at the first broad category of eschatology, ‘Personal Eschatology’, which covered areas such as death, the intermediate state, resurrection, hell and heaven. Whereas this coming Sunday, we are moving onto the second broad category of eschatology, which we can call, “Comic Eschatology”. The first topic of ‘Cosmic Eschatology’ which we will be considering this Sunday, is the subject of the Kingdom.
We are currently taking a break from our verse-by-verse study through the Gospel of Mark, in order to bolster up our understanding of what the Bible teaches about events that will take place in the future. The purpose of this topical series of teachings, is to provide a helpful overview of the doctrine of last things, so that we can better understand what Jesus teaches, when we get back to Mark chapter 13. Last week, we began our study by looking at “Personal Eschatology” - what the Bible teaches about what will happen to us personally when we die - where we covered the subjects of death and the intermediate state. In this week’s study, we will be concluding the division of “personal eschatology”, by looking at the subjects of the resurrection, hell and heaven.
As we come to chapter 13 in our study of the Gospel of Mark, we come to a point in the passion week of Jesus, in which He spends the entire chapter explaining events which would take place at a future time. The disciples of Jesus, along with most other Jews, were very familiar with what the Old Testament Scriptures said about God’s plans for the future. They knew that God would send the Messiah, who would save His people, and who would establish a literal kingdom from which He would reign, all in fulfilment of Old Testament prophecy. They were also familiar with what the Old Testament referred to as “The Day of the Lord” - a time when God would judge the nations. It’s on the basis of their familiarity, that Jesus launches into His teaching in Mark 13. However, among Christians today, there often isn’t the same prophetic understanding. It’s with this in mind, beginning this coming Sunday, we will be starting a topical teaching series called,“Things To Come”, in which we will be studying what the Bible teaches about future events. In doing so, the aim is to better prepare us for studying Mark 13.
Nine Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. As we come to this 10th and final Core Value, we are reminded that the Bible teaches that Christ’s final command is to be our first priority. To proclaim the good news about the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus to everyone who will listen is not an additional option in the life of a believer, but it is to be a central focus. In saying this, for 99% of Christians, evangelism is a terrifying part of the Christian life, which means that it is often neglected, or replaced with other “church” related activity. But it doesn’t need to be this way - nor should it be. Christ is aware of our natural fear of man, so to help His people overcome their deficiencies in evangelism, He gifts certain men to the church as Evangelists, who He uses to equip the church for the work of this ministry. So that as believers, we can both confidently take and make opportunities, to share with others the hope that is in us.
Eight Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. As we consider this 9th Core Value, it is interesting to note, that the words “disciple” and “discipline” come from the same root word. In order to be a disciple of Jesus, there must be a willingness to have our thinking corrected, to become more in line with the Word of God. This ordinarily happens as we read the Bible, and as we listen to the Bible being taught. However, there will sometimes be instances when a person is not receptive to this passive form of correction, and the result is that their lives, along with the witness of the church is adversely affected. When these situations arise, Scripture gives clear details for how other believers in the church are to respond. Out of love and care for the person, other believers are to encourage them to correct their thinking with God’s Word, while following the biblical process if the person is resistant to the truth. Through the practice of biblical church discipline, believers are restored, the church is strengthened, and the Lord is glorified.
Seven Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. As we consider this 8th Core Value, we realise that it is unrealistic to think that there will never be any issues for people to work through within the church. In fact, many commands in Scripture would not make sense, unless there was an expectation that conflict would sometimes arise (e.g. forgive one another; bear with one another). While Christians are notorious for falling out with one another, we are committed to pursuing biblical, loving communication in times of conflict and disagreement. When a person is considering to leave a church, it is important that this is for the right reasons, and done in the right way, in order to minimise division and maximise unity. There is an expectation that loving, biblical communication with the church elders will be taking place before, during, and after a decision is made to leave a church. The rest of the fellowship also has a responsibility to respond correctly in these times also.
Six Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. Last Sunday, we looked at the importance of embracing role distinctions between men and woman, and how this relates to leadership within the home and within the church. Whereas this coming Sunday, we come to our 7th Core Value, which is, “Following God’s Blueprint For Discipleship Within The Church & Home”. As with every area of Christian life, Scripture is sufficient in the instruction it gives us concerning discipleship. In this study, we will be examining what Scripture teaches about the responsibilities of discipleship within the home, and also responsibilities within the church. And what we will see, is that the church does not replace the home, and the home does not replace the church. Instead, both families and the greater church body are to work together in the discipleship of one another, along with the next generation.
Five Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. Last Sunday, we looked at the subject of the priority of the local church, whereas this coming Sunday, we will be looking more closely at the aspect of leadership within the church. When we look to Scripture, we see that God has ordained two main offices of leadership within the local church to declare and defend the truth of His Word, which are elders and deacons. An elder is a God-appointed spiritual leader who is called to protect, feed, lead, and care for the flock of God. A deacon is a God-appointed spiritual leader who has been called to oversee the practical & welfare needs within the local church. Both of these offices of church leadership require that men are Biblically qualified, as they work together to best serve members within the church.
Four Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. So far, we have looked at sufficiency of Scripture, the interpretation of Scripture, and the application of Scripture, making the connection between God’s glory and our sanctification. Then last Sunday, we looked at the priority of the local church, as one of the primary means through which God sanctifies believers. In this week’s study, we will begin looking more closely as to how the local church is to function, starting with God’s purpose for leadership within the church. We will be looking at the various offices of church leadership, their function, their purpose, along with the qualifications required for a man to be considered as a leader within the church.
Three Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. We began by considering the sufficiency of Scripture, followed by the interpretation of Scripture. Then last Sunday, we looked at the application of Scripture, as we made the connection between our sanctification and God’s glory. In this week’s study, we will be looking at one of the primary means of a believer’s sanctification, which is the local church. In this study, we will be defining what the local church is, the purpose of the local church, the essential & non-essential elements of a biblically functioning church, along with the responsibility of every believer to be committed to a local church.
Two Sundays ago, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church. We began by identifying that Scripture is sufficient to fully equip us for a life of faith and service. Then last Sunday, we identified that God’s Word can only equip us to the degree in which we rightly understand it, therefore, correct & consistent interpretation of God’s Word is essential. However, as we’re going to identify in this week’s study, a correct understanding of Scripture can only benefit us to the degree in which it is rightly applied to our lives. We are told in Scripture that we are to be doers of the Word, and not just hearers only. Yet at the same time, we don’t have the power to change ourselves, any more than we have the power to save ourselves. In this study, we will be looking at the priority of spiritual growth, along with how it actually takes place.
Last Sunday, we began a 10-part teaching series through the Core Values of Redemption Church, beginning with the doctrine of the sufficiency of scripture. However, although Scripture is sufficient, it can only equip us to the degree in which we correctly understand the truth it presents. Therefore, correct and consistent interpretation of the Bible is vital for true spiritual growth. The method of interpretation that best helps us to arrive at the author’s original intended meaning is called the literal method, also known as the grammatical-historical method. Although a passage of Scripture can have multiple applications, it can only have one true interpretation. We make it our aim to arrive at the correct interpretation, so that we can arrive at the correct application for how the truth relates to our lives.
This coming Sunday, we are beginning a 10-part teaching series on the core values of our church at Redemption. Our core values lay out the blue-print for how God intends for His church to function according to Scripture. In this first teaching, we will see that the Bible teaches that Scripture is the authority, it is clear, it is necessary, and it is sufficient. When it says that the Scripture is the authority, it means that to disbelieve or disobey any word of Scripture is to disbelieve or disobey God Himself. When it says that Scripture is clear, it means that the Bible is written in such a way that its teachings can be rightly understood by everyday believers. When it says that Scripture is necessary, it means that the Bible is essential for knowing the Gospel, maintaining spiritual life, and knowing God’s will. And when it says that Scripture is sufficient, it means that the Bible alone is all we need to know what God is like; to come to a saving faith in Christ; and to be completely equipped for a life that is pleasing to God.