Redemption Hills Church

Pastor's Note

Thu, 01 Oct 2026 16:45:53 +0000

3 MIN READ

Be Excellentand Trust in the Lord

Trusting God was never meant to be a cover for mediocrity. It's the freedom to give your very best - and leave the outcome with Him.

Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

I once worked with a Sales executive who would sulk, whimper, and whine over his mediocre sales performance. He presumed those who performed better than he in the industry must have engaged in some sort of underhanded business practice. He would mask his discontentment with that common refrain, "I'm just trusting in the Lord." I would think to myself, "You can trust in the Lord, but you need to buck up and go to work."

01Trust Isn't an Excuse for Mediocrity

This man constantly rehearsed the faults of more successful people in the industry to make himself feel better. I never saw him open a trade magazine or attend a seminar until he was fired. He wasn't motivated to gain a first-rate understanding of our products and develop new applications and ideas for our customers.

He, like many people, only "trust the Lord" to cover up for mediocrity. If any one point of the Bible repeats itself more than the rest, it must be this idea of trusting God. "Trust…and lean not on your own understanding."

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You can trust in the Lord, but you need to buck up and go to work.

02Build an Understanding - Then Don't Lean on It

But does this mean we fly blind and haphazardly through life? Of course not! Implicit in not leaning on your understanding is that you have taken the time to build an understanding upon which you do not rely. We need to be self-aware so we can grow and learn. This will lead to a greater level of personal knowledge - while leaning on God's understanding and not our own.

God doesn't want bumbling businessmen or mediocre homemakers who don't develop the highest level of understanding in their field of expertise. God says to trust Him. He also says don't lean, or depend, on your own understanding. To not lean on it, you must have one.

The idea of accepting mediocrity is a false use of what God is saying. He wants you to build the finest understanding of whatever field you pursue, whether science, business, theology, the arts, music, medicine or anything else.

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To not lean on it, you must have one.

You don't think home-making isn't a major league job to God? Richard Kerr says, "The most creative job in the world involves fashion, decorating, recreation, education, transportation, psychology, romance, cuisine, literature, art, economics, government, pediatrics, geriatrics, entertainment, maintenance, purchasing, law, religion, energy and management. Anyone who can handle all those has to be somebody special. She is. She's a homemaker."

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Be excellent, the very best you can be. God loves knowledgeable experts. They bring Him honor.

03Give Your Best, Then Trust the Lord

The risk is to understand something so well is that we stop trusting God. It's a delicate balance. There can be tension in the understanding. Learn everything you can, but always trust the Lord for direction. Trust Him with 100 percent of your soul, mind, and strength.

Once we use every reasonable effort to understand our situation and give our personal best, then we don't fret one snippet or iota over the outcome. We "trust in the Lord." By looking to God as the source of our supply and not to people, we fulfill the challenge: Proverbs 3:6, "In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths."

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If We are Saved by Faith, Why are Good Works Crucial?

Mon, 28 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Real Answers to Tough Questions

Class 1: Is There Absolute Truth?

Redemption Hills Church - Adult Sunday School

Pastor Stu • September 13, 2026

A few years back I sat on a panel at Metro State with Dr. Doug Groothuis, and afterward a group of students told me something I've never forgotten. One said, "I like a lot of the Christians I meet, but they all think they have a corner on truth, and they all think alike. It's too constricting. I value my freedom too much for that." If I could sum up the room, it was this: Christians claim absolute truth, and absolute truth destroys freedom.

That's not just a college-campus idea. The Supreme Court said almost the same thing in 1992, in the Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision, when it declared that liberty means the right to "define one's own concept of existence, of meaning, and of the mystery of human life." Not discover truth. Define it. Create it.

So what do we say to that? Three things, and they all come straight out of John 8:31-38 and Romans 6:16-18.

Absolute truth is knowable. Jesus tells the Jews who'd believed in him, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:31-32). The Pharisees bristle - they're descendants of Abraham, they say, never enslaved to anyone. But Jesus isn't talking about Rome. He's talking about a slavery to sin that only truth can break.

Here's what's striking: that's the exact opposite of how our culture thinks. Jean-Paul Sartre said all truth is relative, that any claim to truth is really just a power play to control people. Nietzsche, his teacher in this, said the same - every "truth statement" is manipulation dressed up as conviction. And notice, that's precisely the charge Jesus levels back at the Pharisees. Their truth claims, he says, were never really about God. They were about control - control over people, and ultimately an attempt to control God himself, which is why they wanted him dead.

But here's where it falls apart for Sartre and Nietzsche: if you insist that every truth claim is just a grab for power, you've just made the biggest truth claim of all. You can't escape it. Everybody makes truth claims - the question was never whether we make them, but what's in them. C. S. Lewis put it this way: you can't go on "explaining away" everything forever, or you explain explanation itself away. A completely transparent world is an invisible one. At some point you have to see something.

And what's in the truth claim matters enormously. Think about the families at Emanuel AME in Charleston, who stood up in court and forgave Dylann Roof - the man who murdered their loved ones - before he ever asked for it. Nobody looked at that grace and said freedom was being crushed. Because the truth they were living out was the truth of a man dying on a cross for his enemies, praying forgiveness over the people killing him. That truth claim didn't suppress freedom. It's the only thing that could produce that kind of mercy.

Which brings us to point two: absolute freedom is always limited. "Everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin," Jesus says (John 8:34). Paul says it plainly in Romans 6:16-18 - you're always serving something, either sin, which leads to death, or obedience, which leads to righteousness. Once you're free from sin, Paul says, you become a slave of righteousness. That should sound strange. Free indeed, and yet a slave?

Think about anyone in this church who's genuinely gifted - a musician, an athlete, a craftsman. None of them got there by doing whatever they felt like whenever they felt like it. They restricted their freedom - hours of practice, discipline, repetition - and that restriction is exactly what opened up a deeper, richer freedom to actually use the gift. Freedom was never the absence of restriction. It's the presence of the right restrictions, the ones that fit who you actually are. Is a bird with a broken wing free? Is a fish free out of water?

Which leads to the last point: absolute truth and freedom reside in One. When I got married, I lost the right to make small decisions unilaterally - forever. That's not a flaw in marriage; that's what love does. The more intimate the relationship, the less independent you get to be. Jesus says at the end of our passage, "I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father" (John 8:38). Truth and freedom aren't abstract ideas. They live in a relationship with the Father, through the Son.

C. S. Lewis wrote that if you want to keep your heart safe, you can wrap it in hobbies and lock it away from every entanglement - but in that casket it won't stay safe. It'll go unbreakable, impenetrable, and ultimately unable to love at all. A healthy love always costs both people something. And here's the wonder of the gospel: God adjusted to us first. In the incarnation, in the cross, Christ said, "I will adjust to you. I will serve you, even at the cost of my own life." Paul writes that "the love of Christ compels us" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Once you see what he gave up for you, giving up your own autonomy to follow him doesn't feel like loss. It feels like the freest thing in the world.

Friends, Jesus said it plainly: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." That is the absolute truth.

To the Glory of God, Pastor Stu. Please remember to come to next week's class if you are not volunteering.

Scripture References

John 8:31-38

Romans 6:16-18

2 Corinthians 5:14

The Return of the King of Kings

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Kingdom of Christ

Revelation 20:1-10

Revelation 20 is often called the most debated chapter in the book, yet its message to the church is one of deep comfort. Rather than following chapter 19 in time, it rewinds to the beginning of the church age and shows the whole present era from another vantage point: Christ is reigning now. At His first coming, Satan was bound, not stripped of all activity, but restrained from deceiving the nations and gathering them in a final assault against God's people. Because of that binding, the gospel advances across the world as eyes are opened and people turn from darkness to light. Believers who die, even as martyrs, do not fall into unconsciousness; they enter the presence of Christ and reign with Him in what John calls the first resurrection. Near the end of the age Satan will be released, and the nations will quickly follow him, revealing that the human heart does not improve on its own. But his final rebellion will be crushed in an instant when Jesus returns. God wins, and Jesus reigns, today and forever.

Takeaways

Jesus Christ is reigning now, and the present church age is the season of His kingdom rule.
Satan is bound so that he cannot stop the gospel from reaching the nations.
Believers who die in Christ enter His presence immediately and reign with Him.
The human heart does not evolve upward; only the gospel of Jesus can change it.

Application for This Week

This week, live as a citizen of a kingdom that is already here. When the news feels dark or opposition to your faith feels heavy, remember that Satan is on a leash and that Christ's kingdom is advancing through His church. Share the gospel with confidence, knowing the Lord is the One who opens eyes. Grieve the believers you have lost with hope, because they are with Christ. And look to Jesus, not to human progress, as the only One who can change hearts, including your own.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: Reigning with Christ Now

Revelation 20:6 (ESV)

"Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection! Over such the second death has no power, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years."

Reflection Question

How does knowing that Christ reigns now, and that believers who die reign with Him, change the way you face suffering, loss, or your own mortality?

Prayer Prompt

Lord Jesus, thank You that You reign today and that death has no final power over those who belong to You. Give me hope as I remember believers who have gone before me, and steady my heart to live faithfully under Your rule.

Devotion 2: From Darkness to Light

Acts 26:18 (ESV)

"…to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."

Reflection Question

Who in your life needs their eyes opened to the gospel, and what step could you take this week to share Christ with them?

Prayer Prompt

Father, thank You that Satan cannot stop the advance of Your gospel. Open the eyes of those I love who do not yet know You, and give me courage to speak of Jesus with boldness and gentleness.

Devotion 3: The Real Problem Is the Heart

2 Corinthians 4:4 (ESV)

"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God."

Reflection Question

Where have you been tempted to put your hope in better circumstances, programs, or progress rather than in Christ's power to change the heart?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, I confess that my heart is prone to wander and cannot change itself. Shine the light of the gospel into the hidden places of my heart, and make me new by Your grace.

Devotion 4: God Has Fixed a Day

Acts 17:31 (ESV)

"…because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead."

Reflection Question

How does the certainty of Christ's final victory and judgment shape the way you endure opposition and the urgency with which you share the gospel?

Prayer Prompt

Righteous Judge, thank You that the day of Christ's victory is fixed and sure. Help me rest in Your justice, stand firm when I face opposition, and call others to repent while there is still time.

Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 19:11-21
Romans 8:22-25
1 Thessalonians 4:13-18
Titus 2:13-14
Revelation 6:2
Revelation 1:14
Revelation 2:18-23
Revelation 12:3
Revelation 13:1
Isaiah 63:1-6
John 1:1-14
Revelation 17:14
Revelation 15:6
Isaiah 49:2
Isaiah 11:4
Psalm 2:9
Revelation 14:19-20
Proverbs 18:10
Ezekiel 39:4, 17-20
1 Samuel 17:46-47
Revelation 20:10
Revelation 20:14-15

Daniel's Profecies | Oct 4th

Sun, 27 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Daniel's Profecies - Daniel 7-12

KEY PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 10:31

BIG PICTURE QUESTION: How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and
obeying Him.

CHRIST CONNECTION: Daniel’s visions pointed to the truth that God is more powerful
than all earthly kingdoms. Jesus, the Son of Man, rules over the kings of the earth, and His
kingdom will never end. One day, all who trust in Him will be with God forever.

STORY POINT: Daniel’s visions showed that God’s kingdom will last forever.

AT HOME:

How do Daniel’s visions remind us that God is always in control?
Discuss how Daniel’s visions showed that earthly powers are limited. Even though kingdoms of this earth may rule, they only do so because God allows it. They don’t have full power like God. One day, God will destroy all the evil earthly kingdoms.
Read Dan. 7:27
How can we live in God’s kingdom?
Tell kids that only those who trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord can live in His kingdom. Share how sin separates us from God, but faith in Jesus cleanses us from sin and makes us right with God. Discuss how God’s people are born again through faith in Jesus and the life-giving power of the Spirit. Read John 3:5.
How should we live, knowing one day King Jesus will return?
Guide kids to conclude that if we have trusted in Jesus as our Savior, we will live differently. We will be more concerned with eternal things, knowing that one day, King Jesus will return. Believers bring God glory by trying to obey His commands and living in ways that show they love Him. Read Col. 3:1-4.

The Traditional Olympics

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 11:37:12 +0000

The Traditional what?...That's right: The Traditional Olympics.

As the fall semester rounded the corner, I had to find a way to help students really plant their feet here. I want RHC Youth to be a place where students really feel like it's theirs. And after a summer of infrequent attendance and a busy season of development at RHC, I thought a fun competition would be a great way to get kids invested throughout the week, not just attend on Tuesdays.

And thus The Traditional Olympics was formed! An 8-week competition is easy to scope out but what theme would be worth initiating the 2026 school year? What sort of buy in would it create? I'm certainly not a fan of cheesy creative decisions nor do we need to always reinvent the wheel. So there it was, not a new theme but a...traditional...one. A theme that's been around since the dawn of scripture.

God has designed us specifically. He created both man and woman - two complimentary beings of equal value to each other and to Him. Men and women have different strengths, characteristics, and biblical roles - truths that have been thrown down the garbage disposal in today's culture. If students were going to invest in this ministry, plant their feet into this competition, then a piece of their identity was coming with it. Let it then be placed in the truths of God's design.

The Traditional Olympics therefore coincides with an 8-week sermon series titled Designed. Part 1: Designed to be Complimentary, and Part 2: Designed to be Set Apart. We are bringing it back to the basics, initiating this season in identity, and recognizing that competition is good for the blood.

How Can Christians Make Absolute Claims About God?

Mon, 21 Sep 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Real Answers to Tough Questions

Class 2: How Can Christians Make Exclusive Claims About God?

Redemption Hills Church - Adult Sunday School

Pastor Stu • September 20, 2026

Friends, today's question is one I hear all the time: how can Christians claim to know the true religion? Isn't claiming to have absolute truth just divisive? I'll surprise you and agree - religion does tend to divide people and create strife. It creates a slippery slope in the heart that can lead to judgment, stereotyping, and even violence. So how do we address that? There are two ways that won't work, and one that will.

Work to have religion weakened and disappear - that's the first way that won't work. The enlightened crowd has long believed religion would just evolve out of existence as we got smarter. Except the facts say otherwise. Major world religions are growing, not shrinking. The scholar Alistar McGrath put it memorably: the twentieth century's greatest and most distressing paradox was that its worst intolerance and violence were committed by people who believed religion itself was the source of intolerance and violence. Why does religion keep surviving? Jesus said it plainly in John 3:7-8: "The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes - so it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit." Religion is going nowhere, because we are made in God's image to worship. That need is indelible and intrinsic.

Confine religion to the private realm - that's the second way that won't work. The idea sounds tidy: keep your beliefs at home, keep them out of the public square, and we can all get along. Except you can't actually pull that off. Even Nicodemus, a Pharisee coming from his own faith position, couldn't leave his beliefs at the door when he questioned Jesus at night (John 3:9-12). Marriage law, human dignity, right and wrong - every law rests on some faith-based answer to the big questions of life. Nobody operates without one, whether they call it faith or not.

Everybody has a set of exclusive beliefs. Say it with me: everybody has a set of exclusive beliefs. The secularist, the Buddhist, the atheist down the street who insists he isn't religious - all of them. So don't ask who has exclusive beliefs. Ask this instead: which set of exclusive beliefs will result in inclusive, loving, transformative, peaceful behavior that's an agent for reconciliation in the world?

Consider the beliefs of the gospel that are unique to Christianity alone - that's the third way, and it actually works. Today's passage, John 3:1-15, shows us three things about Christianity that no other religion shares. First, Origin of Salvation. John 3:13 says the Son of Man descended from heaven. Muhammad, Buddha, Confucius - every other founder was only a man. Jesus came already God. Second, Purpose of Salvation. Nicodemus came to a Rabbi in the flesh, in John 3:2, and Jesus didn't come to help you escape this material world - he came to redeem it, body and soul. Third, Method of Salvation - grace. Jesus told him, "unless one is born again… born of water and the Spirit" (John 3:3-8), and later, "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness… whoever believes in him may have eternal life" (John 3:14-15). Every other religion says perform well enough and God will bless you. The gospel says the opposite - you're saved while you're still a mess, on the basis of nothing you've done.

It's the exclusive beliefs of Christianity that if you take them into your heart will turn you into the very thing the world so desperately needs. If you're not saved by your own performance, you've got nothing left to be proud of, and nobody to look down on. That's exactly why the early Christians - despite holding wildly exclusive beliefs - were the ones crossing every line of race and class in a brutal, stratified Greco-Roman world. Exclusive beliefs? Absolutely, without apology. But the right exclusive beliefs lead to humility, not pride; to love, not judgment; to peace, not violence.

To the Glory of God, Pastor Stu. Please remember to come to next week's class if you are not volunteering.

Scripture References

John 3:1-15
John 3:7-8
John 3:9-12
John 3:13
John 3:2
John 3:3-8
John 3:14-15

Heaven's Hallelujah Choir

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Heaven's Hallelujah Choir

Revelation 19:1-10

This week's study invites us into an extraordinary scene: heaven itself bursting into worship. After the certainty of God's judgment against Babylon in Revelation 17-18, chapter 19 opens with a resounding "Hallelujah" as the redeemed and the heavenly hosts praise God for his salvation, his sovereign reign, and his righteous judgments. We hear voices "small and great" join together, celebrating not only what God has done but who God is. At the heart of this worship stands the picture of the Bride of Christ, made ready for the marriage supper of the Lamb - an image of the intimate, covenant relationship between Jesus and his people. The chapter closes with a piercing reminder: worship belongs to God alone, and the invitation to the wedding feast calls for a personal response of faith.

Takeaways

True worship is the response of a heart that has grasped both who God is and what he has done.
Worship is open to everyone, regardless of status, wealth, or reputation - God calls "small and great" alike to praise him.
God's sovereign reign over history, even amid the chaos of a broken world, is reason enough for unwavering praise.
The Church is the Bride of Christ, made ready for glory both through her own faithful obedience and through the gift of God's grace.

Application for This Week

This week, let the truth of Revelation 19 shape the posture of your heart. Before you rush into your normal routines, pause and consider what you are truly worshiping - your comfort, your reputation, your plans - or the God who alone is worthy of "salvation and glory and power." Respond to his invitation not with hesitation but with wholehearted devotion, remembering that you have been invited to the greatest feast that will ever be held.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: The God Who Alone Deserves Hallelujah

Revelation 19:1-2 (ESV)

"After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, crying out, 'Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God, for his judgments are true and just; for he has judged the great prostitute who corrupted the earth with her immorality, and has avenged on her the blood of his servants.'"

Reflection Question

What competes for the "hallelujah" of your heart this week - what are you tempted to praise or trust in more than God?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, you alone are worthy of salvation, glory, and power. Forgive me for the ways I have given my praise and trust to lesser things, and turn my heart back to you as the true object of my worship.

Devotion 2: Praise from Small and Great

Revelation 19:5 (ESV)

"And from the throne came a voice saying, 'Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.'"

Reflection Question

Where might pride or a sense of insignificance be keeping you from wholeheartedly praising God?

Prayer Prompt

Father, thank you that worship is not reserved for the mighty or the accomplished but is a gift for all your servants. Humble my pride, lift my discouragement, and give me a heart that fears and praises you freely.

Devotion 3: Confident Praise in a Chaotic World

Revelation 19:6 (ESV)

"Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out, 'Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns.'"

Reflection Question

What circumstance in your life right now tempts you to doubt that God is truly in control?

Prayer Prompt

Almighty God, when the world around me feels chaotic and uncertain, remind me that you reign over all things. Let my worship rise louder than my worry, and let my life bear witness to your sovereign care.

Devotion 4: Made Ready for the Marriage Supper

Revelation 19:7-8 (ESV)

"Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure - for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints."

Reflection Question

Have you responded to Christ's invitation with genuine repentance and faith, or are you still delaying your RSVP?

Prayer Prompt

Jesus, thank you for graciously clothing me in righteousness that is not my own. Help me to live in faithful obedience this week, not to earn your love, but because I am already loved and invited to your feast.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 19:1-10
Psalm 16:11
Ephesians 2:8-10
Isaiah 34:9-10
Matthew 22:2
Revelation 17-18
Revelation 22:8-9

Daniel in the Lions' Den | Sept 19 & 20

Sun, 20 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Daniel in the Lions' Den - Sept 19 & 20

KEY PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 10:31

BIG PICTURE QUESTION: How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and
obeying Him.

CHRIST CONNECTION: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to anything but God. When we trust in Jesus and God brings us from death to life, we turn away from worshiping anything else. Jesus is Savior and Lord over our lives.

STORY POINT: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the gold statue, and
God rescued them.

AT HOME:

Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue?
Discuss how Nebuchadnezzar was prideful, and he wanted people to worship him. By
commanding people to bow down to the statue, he demonstrated that he wanted to be in control. Remind kids that only God is worthy of worship. Idolatry is a sin. Discuss ways we might be tempted to bow down to modern-day idols (put other things or people before God). Read Lev. 26:1.
Why does God allow His people to face scary, challenging, and uncertain times?
Remind kids that God does everything for His glory and our good. Explain how we might not always understand why we face a difficult circumstance, but we can trust God is in control and working for the good of those who love Him. Share how sometimes He uses challenging times to help us remember to trust Him, depend on Him, and point others to Him. When people see Christians faithful to worship God in difficulty, it is a powerful witness to God’s goodness and grace. Remind kids that God allowed Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Read Gen. 50:20.
Why is obeying God always best?
Tell kids that obeying God is always best because God knows what is best for us, even when we might not understand it. Share how following God may not always be easy, but we can trust He will lead us to life. Jesus always obeyed God because He trusted God’s plan. We can trust God’s plan for our lives, knowing that He gave Jesus to save us, and in Jesus we have everything we need. Read Rom. 8:31-32.

The FORGE Giveaway

Thu, 17 Sep 2026 15:32:06 +0000

Thank You for Helping Build The FORGE!

We recently shared a special video on social media announcing the winners of our FORGE Community Survey giveaway!

After hearing from so many members of our community through the survey, we drew two names, and each winner received a $50 gift card! We were so excited to have the opportunity to give these gifts as a small way of saying thank you for taking the time to participate.

But more importantly, thank you for sharing your voice with us. Your feedback is helping The FORGE better understand the real needs of individuals and families in our community. Every response gives us valuable insight as we prayerfully consider the programs, resources, and partnerships that can make a meaningful difference.

We are incredibly grateful to everyone who participated and helped us take another step toward our vision of people flourishing and hope restored through a caring community.
Thank you for being part of building The FORGE! ❤

Why There's No Future in the World You Love

Tue, 15 Sep 2026 17:06:19 +0000

A Funeral for a Prostitute: Why There's No Future in the World You Love

Some mornings never leave you. Twenty-five years ago this month, on a Tuesday not so different from any other, the pastor woke up a little later than usual, turned on the television, and watched smoke pour from a tower in New York. He remembers turning to his wife and saying something he didn't fully understand the weight of at the time: "The world is a different place today." Within the hour, the stock market shut down, businesses across the country went dark, and a nation that had felt invincible discovered it wasn't. Churches filled that Sunday like no Sunday in American history. People wanted answers. For a season, the whole country got its priorities straight - and then, almost as quickly as it came, that clarity faded and life went back to normal.

That story isn't just a memory. It's a preview. Revelation 18 tells us that what happened on a smaller scale that September morning is going to happen again - except this time on a scale the whole world will feel, and this time there will be no going back to normal. The chapter serves as nothing less than a funeral for a prostitute: the fall of Babylon, the great commercial, economic, and political power that has seduced the nations since the Tower of Babel. And its message is as simple as it is sobering - there is no future in worldliness.

God Severely Judges the Notorious Prostitute

John's vision opens with a mighty angel announcing Babylon's fall, and Revelation 18:3 explains why: "For all nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her sexual immorality, and the kings of the earth have committed immorality with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxurious living." Babylon isn't just a city - she's a system, an idolatry of money, pleasure, and self that has shaped nations since Genesis 3, when humanity first decided independence from God looked better than dependence on Him.

Her sin, at its root, is pride - what one theologian called the sin that makes every other sin look like a flea bite by comparison, and what another described as the mother that gives birth to all the rest. From that pride flows sensuality, greed, and a love of pleasure that crowds out any real love for God. And her judgment, when it comes, is total. Revelation 18:8 promises that "her plagues will come in a single day, death and mourning and famine, and she will be burned up with fire, for mighty is the Lord God who has judged her." The world may seem to get away with it for a while. It never gets away with it forever.

The Earth Greatly Laments Over Her

Three groups watch Babylon burn and mourn - not for the people harmed by her sins, but for what they've lost. The kings who profited from her weep. The merchants who traded in her luxuries - gold, silk, spices, even human lives (Revelation 18:13) - weep, because "no one buys their cargo anymore." The sailors and shipmasters who carried her wealth across the seas weep, because in a single hour, everything is laid waste (Revelation 18:17-19). All three groups are idolaters in the end, loving the money and the things Babylon produced instead of loving the God who produced all things.

"Good things that become God things become bad things."

It's not money that's the problem - it's the love of money. Cars, football, capitalism itself - none of these are the enemy. The danger is what happens when the good things God makes become the god things we worship. As Ecclesiastes 4:4 puts it, so much of our striving is really just envy of our neighbor - "a striving after wind." Keeping up with the Joneses, building a bigger balance sheet, dying with the most stuff - Revelation 18 says plainly: none of it has a future.

Angels Rightly Sing of Her Utter Destruction

But the chapter doesn't end in mourning - it ends in worship. "Rejoice over her, O heaven, and you saints and apostles and prophets, for God has given judgment for you against her" (Revelation 18:20). A mighty angel throws a stone like a great millstone into the sea and declares that Babylon will be thrown down with violence and found no more - an echo of Jeremiah, who six hundred years before Christ instructed his servant Seraiah to tie a scroll of judgment against Babylon to a stone and sink it in the Euphrates. What was prophesied centuries earlier finds its final fulfillment here. The music, the craftsmanship, the weddings, the light of every lamp - all of it silenced, because Babylon was the source of blood-guilt against the prophets, the saints, and everyone who ever spoke God's truth into her world.

"There is no future in worldliness."

So the question isn't really about Babylon. It's about us. Do you love the things of this world more than the One who made them? Whatever you've been collecting - possessions, status, security, applause - is any of it able to survive the fire? First John reminds us that if we love the world, the love of the Father is not in us. And Revelation 18 puts a face on where that road ends.

There is another way. The invitation isn't to try harder or to feel vaguely spiritual - it's to repent: to confess, to grieve the sin honestly, and to turn back to Jesus. He is the only security that doesn't collapse when the towers fall. He died for sinners who had built their lives on the wrong kingdom, and He rose again to prove that His kingdom - not Babylon's - is the one that lasts. Whoever puts their trust in Him will not share in Babylon's funeral. They'll share in His victory.

Scripture References (ESV)

Revelation 18:1-24
Revelation 17
Revelation 13
Genesis 3
Jeremiah 51
Ecclesiastes 4:4
1 John 2:15

A Funeral for a Prostitute

Mon, 14 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

A Funeral for a Prostitute

Revelation 18:1-24

This week's message walks through Revelation 18, where a mighty angel announces the fall of "Babylon the great" - a symbol of the world's corrupt economic, political, and spiritual systems. Like the shockwaves of a national tragedy, Babylon's collapse shakes kings, merchants, and sailors who had built their identity and security on her wealth and pleasures. Yet where the world weeps, heaven rejoices, because God's judgment against evil is right and true. The passage warns against loving money, pleasure, and status more than God, and calls His people to come out from worldly attachments and place their hope fully in Christ.

Takeaways

Worldly systems built on pride, pleasure, and greed will not last, no matter how secure they seem
God calls His people to "come out" - to separate from sin rather than share in it
What the world weeps over losing, heaven rejoices to see judged
Lasting security is found only in Jesus Christ, never in wealth, status, or human systems

Application for This Week

This week, take an honest look at where you've placed your confidence - a bank account, a career, a reputation, a comfortable routine. None of these can hold the weight you're asking them to carry. Let this passage loosen your grip on what is passing away, and tighten your grip on the One who remains forever faithful.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: Fallen, Fallen

Revelation 18:1-2 (ESV)

"After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority, and the earth was made bright with his glory. And he called out with a mighty voice, 'Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has become a dwelling place for demons, a haunt for every unclean spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable beast.'"

Reflection Question

What in your life have you built up as unshakable that, in truth, is destined to fall?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, show me anywhere I've trusted something other than You for security. Strip away my false confidence, and help me place my hope in what cannot be shaken. Amen.

Devotion 2: Come Out of Her

Revelation 18:4-5 (ESV)

"Then I heard another voice from heaven saying, 'Come out of her, my people, lest you take part in her sins, lest you share in her plagues; for her sins are heaped high as heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities.'"

Reflection Question

What would it look like this week to "come out" of a habit, relationship, or mindset that quietly pulls you toward the world instead of God?

Prayer Prompt

Father, give me the courage to separate from what dishonors You, even when it's comfortable or familiar. Make me quick to hear Your voice calling me out. Amen.

Devotion 3: The Vanity of Worldly Ambition

Ecclesiastes 4:4 (ESV)

"Then I saw that all toil and all skill in work come from a man's envy of his neighbor. This also is vanity and a striving after wind."

Reflection Question

Where has comparison or competition quietly become the engine behind your effort, rather than love for God and others?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, forgive me for the times I've worked and strived out of envy rather than love. Reorder my ambitions around Your glory, not my own. Amen.

Devotion 4: The Sound of Silence

Revelation 18:21 (ESV)

"Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying, 'So will Babylon the great city be thrown down with violence, and will be found no more.'"

Reflection Question

What noise or busyness in your life would grow quiet if you stopped chasing what the world offers?

Prayer Prompt

God, help me hold this world loosely, knowing that everything it offers will one day be silenced. Fill the quiet with a deeper hunger for You. Amen.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 18:1-24
Ecclesiastes 4:4
Revelation 17

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego | Sept 12 & 13

Sun, 13 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Shadrach, Meshach, Abednego - Daniel 3

KEY PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 10:31

BIG PICTURE QUESTION: How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and
obeying Him.

CHRIST CONNECTION: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down to
anything but God. When we trust in Jesus and God brings us from death to life, we turn away from worshiping anything else. Jesus is Savior and Lord over our lives.

STORY POINT: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to worship the gold statue, and
God rescued them.

AT HOME:

Why do you think Nebuchadnezzar built a gold statue?
Discuss how Nebuchadnezzar was prideful, and he wanted people to worship him. By
commanding people to bow down to the statue, he demonstrated that he wanted to be in control. Remind kids that only God is worthy of worship. Idolatry is a sin. Discuss ways we might be tempted to bow down to modern-day idols (put other things or people before God). Read Lev. 26:1.
Why does God allow His people to face scary, challenging, and uncertain times?
Remind kids that God does everything for His glory and our good. Explain how we might not always understand why we face a difficult circumstance, but we can trust God is in control and working for the good of those who love Him. Share how sometimes He uses challenging times to help us remember to trust Him, depend on Him, and point others to Him. When people see Christians faithful to worship God in difficulty, it is a powerful witness to God’s goodness and grace. Remind kids that God allowed Jesus to die on the cross for our sins.
Read Gen. 50:20.
Why is obeying God always best?
Tell kids that obeying God is always best because God knows what is best for us, even when we might not understand it. Share how following God may not always be easy, but we can trust He will lead us to life. Jesus always obeyed God because He trusted God’s plan. We can trust God’s plan for our lives, knowing that He gave Jesus to save us, and in Jesus we have everything we need. Read Rom. 8:31-32.

Is There Absolute Truth?

Sat, 12 Sep 2026 19:00:00 +0000

Real Answers to Tough Questions

Class 1: Is There Absolute Truth?

Redemption Hills Church - Adult Sunday School

Pastor Stu • September 13, 2026

So what do we say to that? Three things, and they all come straight out of John 8:31-38 and Romans 6:16-18.

Friends, Jesus said it plainly: "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." That is the absolute truth.

To the Glory of God, Pastor Stu. Please remember to come to next week's class if you are not volunteering.

Scripture References

John 8:31-38

Romans 6:16-18

2 Corinthians 5:14

Daniel Obeyed God | Sept 5 & 6

Tue, 08 Sep 2026 12:35:21 +0000

Daniel Obeyed God - Daniel 1

KEY PASSAGE: 1 Corinthians 10:31

BIG PICTURE QUESTION: How can we glorify God? We can glorify God by loving Him and
obeying Him.

CHRIST CONNECTION: Daniel was faithful to obey God, even in the small matters like eat-
ing the correct foods. Jesus was faithful to obey God in every way. When we trust in Jesus as Savior, God credits us with the perfect life Jesus lived.

STORY POINT: Daniel was faithful to God, and he was blessed with wisdom.

AT HOME:

What are some situations where you might be faced with doing something that doesn’t honor God? How can Christians stand firm in their faith?
Answers will vary. Discuss how we will all face times when we will need to make a choice to obey God or disobey Him. Share how we might be tempted to lie to avoid getting into trouble or be tempted to follow friends who make bad choices. Remind kids that God is faithful, and He will help us honor and obey Him when we turn to Him for help. Read 1 Cor. 10:13.
What are everyday examples of how we can obey God and glorify Him?
Discuss how Daniel honored God by obeying Him in a small matter, like eating food. Remind kids that we can glorify God in everything we do, such as how we speak to others, what clothes we wear, trying our best in school, and so on.
Read Col. 3:17,23.
How can our obedience to God point others to Him?
Share how God can use our obedience to make us stand out in the world, helping others see how God has changed our hearts to live in ways that are different from the world. Discuss how our good works can be used to bring glory to God.
Read Matt. 5:16.

Are You a Babylonian?

Sun, 06 Sep 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Are You a Babylonian?

Revelation 17:1-18

Revelation pictures the world we live in as Babylon - a seductive prostitute riding a terrifying beast, drunk with the blood of the saints, and offering the whole world a golden cup filled with abominations. She is beautiful, powerful, resilient, and organized, and she has captivated the hearts of ordinary people in every generation, including our own. Yet Scripture is clear that Babylon's story ends in ruin: the very kings who once loved her will turn and destroy her, and the Lamb who is Lord of lords and King of kings will conquer forever. The question every generation must answer is not whether Babylon is enticing, but whether we will worship her or worship God.

Takeaways

The world's seduction is real, but it leads to death, not life.
Evil systems rise, fall, and rise again throughout history, yet none of them can outlast God's sovereign plan.
Following Jesus may cost everything, including our lives, but "to live is Christ, and to die is gain."
The Lamb's victory is certain - those who are called, chosen, and faithful share in it.

Application for This Week

This week, take an honest inventory of what "gold cup" the world is offering you - comfort, approval, wealth, pleasure - and bring it before God in prayer. Ask Him to loosen its grip on your heart and to renew your love for Him above every counterfeit the world offers.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: The Seduction of Babylon

Revelation 17:1-5

"Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, 'Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk.' And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: 'Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.'"

Reflection Question

What "golden cup" does the world hold out to you most often, and how does it disguise its true cost?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, open my eyes to see the world's seductions for what they truly are. Keep my heart from being captivated by anything that competes with my love for You, and draw me back to Yourself whenever I begin to drift.

Devotion 2: The Cost of Faithfulness

Revelation 17:6a

"And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."

Reflection Question

Where might faithfulness to Christ cost you something this week, whether small or great, and are you prepared to pay it?

Prayer Prompt

Father, give me courage to remain faithful to You no matter the cost. Remind me that to live is Christ and to die is gain, and let that truth steady my heart in every trial.

Devotion 3: When Evil Turns on Itself

Revelation 17:16-17

"And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled."

Reflection Question

How does it change your perspective on today's headlines to know that even the world's chaos is unfolding under God's sovereign control?

Prayer Prompt

Sovereign God, thank You that nothing in this world - not even its evil - escapes Your control. Help me to trust Your purposes even when the world feels unstable or frightening.

Devotion 4: The Victory of the Lamb

Revelation 17:14

"They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful."

Reflection Question

What would change in your daily life if you lived each day fully convinced that the Lamb's victory is already certain?

Prayer Prompt

Jesus, thank You that You have already won. Let the certainty of Your victory give me courage today, and help me to live as one who is called, chosen, and faithful to You.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 17:1-18
1 John 2:16-18
Proverbs 6:32-33
Isaiah 49:26
Philippians 1:21
Revelation 16:16
Revelation 19:11-21
Ezekiel 23:11-35

Bowls of Wrath, Robes of Righteousness: Judgment and Hope

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 19:50:14 +0000

Bowls of Wrath, Robes of Righteousness: What Revelation 16 Says About Judgment and Hope

Talk of the world's end has become something of a cottage industry. Turn on the news and you'll hear it from climate activists warning the planet has only so many years left, or catch it on a street corner from the guy with the sandwich board announcing the end is near. Everybody, it seems, has a theory. So what does the Bible actually say?

Scripture never suggests human existence on earth will simply stop. What it does say is that human history in its present form will come to an end - and it gives us a fairly clear shape of how. There will be ever-increasing demonic activity, ever-increasing idolatry and immorality, and ever-increasing persecution of the church by a world system that hates God and His truth. At some point, Satan will orchestrate one last global assault on the church. And Jesus will return in the clouds, with the armies of heaven behind Him, to destroy His enemies and bring final judgment on all who have resisted, defied, and blasphemed His name.

That is exactly the territory Revelation 16 covers - the last of the three sevenfold judgment cycles in Revelation, following the seals and the trumpets. These three series aren't strictly sequential events stacked at the very end of history; they're better understood as recurring patterns describing the kind of judgment and upheaval that mark the entire span between Christ's first coming and His second. The sixth and seventh bowls, though, do carry us all the way to the finish line: the Second Coming and the end of history as we know it.

The First Four Bowls: Judgment on a World in Rebellion

John sees seven angels sent out with bowls of God's wrath, and the pattern is unmistakably drawn from the plagues of Exodus. The first bowl brings painful sores on those who bear the mark of the beast - an echo of the boils that afflicted Egypt (Exodus 9), and a reminder that anyone who worships something other than the one true God stands under His judgment. The second and third bowls turn the sea, then the rivers and springs, to blood - recalling the plague on the Nile (Exodus 7:17-21). An angel affirms in verse 5 that this judgment is just: it falls on those who "have shed the blood of saints and prophets." Persecutors of the church do not get away with it. They may not face retribution in this life, but they will stand before God's throne eventually, and His judgment will be in perfect harmony with truth. The fourth bowl scorches people with the sun's fierce heat - and even then, Revelation tells us plainly, they cursed God rather than repent.

Bowls Five and Six: Darkness, Deception, and Armageddon

The fifth bowl plunges the throne of the beast into darkness, an image drawn from the plague that rebuked Egypt's sun god (Exodus 10). It's both literal and symbolic - the spiritual darkness and confusion gripping a world dependent on idolatry, producing anguish so severe people gnaw their own tongues.

The sixth bowl dries up the Euphrates, clearing the way for "the kings from the east." Three unclean spirits, described as looking like frogs - echoing the Exodus plague of frogs (Exodus 8) - go out from the mouths of the dragon, the beast, and the false prophet to deceive the world's political powers and assemble them for battle at a place called Har-Magedon. It's the ancient plain of Megiddo, and by now it has become shorthand - the way we might say "Gettysburg" or "Waterloo" - for the final, decisive collision between good and evil, God and Satan, Christ and Antichrist. In the middle of describing this global conspiracy, John pauses for a word of warning to believers: stay awake.

"Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!"

Revelation 16:15

The imagery of nakedness is a picture of spiritual shame. The exhortation is simple: don't be caught unprepared, and don't be talked out of the truth by a world selling counterfeit peace and prosperity.

The Seventh Bowl: "It Is Done"

The seventh angel pours out the last bowl into the air, and a voice thunders from the throne: "It is done!" What follows is cosmic upheaval - lightning, thunder, the greatest earthquake in human history, cities collapsing, islands vanishing, mountains disappearing, hailstones weighing what amounts to a hundred pounds each. "Babylon the great" - every political, economic, and religious system that has set itself against Christ and His kingdom - finally drains the cup of God's wrath. It's the last word on every human attempt to build a kingdom without Him.

Clothed in the Only Righteousness That Will Do

So where does that leave us? With a question every reader eventually has to answer: when you stand before a holy God, what will you be wearing? Not literally - but what will you be trusting in? Your own righteousness? Your good works? Your good intentions? None of those will hold up. Christians stand in God's presence, now and forever, clothed only in the righteousness of Jesus Christ - a righteousness that isn't earned but received by faith. As Paul put it to the believers in Philippi:

"Be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith."

Philippians 3:9

That righteousness is available today. It doesn't matter how much or how little you feel you have to offer - the offer of salvation through faith in Christ stands open right now, to the six-year-old and the ninety-six-year-old alike. And for those who already belong to Him, Revelation 16 is a call to live wide awake: to see every day as a chance to give a cup of water, a coat, a word of love to someone who needs it - not because we've earned anything, but because He loved us first.

Scripture References (ESV)

Revelation 16:1-21
Exodus 7:17-21
Exodus 8
Exodus 9
Exodus 10
Revelation 7:16
Joel 2:11
Zephaniah 1:14
Zechariah 14:2-14
Revelation 3:18
Revelation 17:16
Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 23
Nahum 3:5
Isaiah 20:4
Jeremiah 51:25-26
Zechariah 4:7
Ezekiel 38:19-22
Philippians 3:9

The Bowls of God's Wrath

Tue, 01 Sep 2026 10:00:24 +0000

The Bowls of God's Wrath

Revelation 16:1-21

In Revelation 16, John describes the final and most severe series of God's judgments - the seven bowls poured out on a world that has given itself over to idolatry, immorality, and rejection of God. Each bowl echoes the plagues of Exodus, showing that God's justice is consistent throughout history. Even in the face of undeniable judgment, people refuse to repent, revealing the depth of human hardness of heart. The chapter builds to the final battle at Armageddon and the declaration "It is done," reminding believers that history is moving toward a certain end under God's total sovereignty - and that everyone will one day stand before Him clothed either in their own inadequate righteousness or in the righteousness of Christ.

Takeaways

God's judgment against sin is real, righteous, and unfolds throughout history, not only at its end.
Refusing to repent, even in the face of undeniable judgment, reveals the hardness of the human heart.
The final battle between good and evil is already under God's total sovereign control.
Everyone will one day stand before God clothed either in their own righteousness or in Christ's.

Application for This Week

This week, take an honest look at where you may be relying on your own goodness instead of resting in Christ's righteousness. Ask God to soften any place in your heart that has grown hard, and commit to staying spiritually watchful in a world full of distraction.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: God's Justice Is Perfectly True

Revelation 16:5-7 (ESV)

And I heard the angel in charge of the waters say, "Just are you, O Holy One, who is and who was, for you brought these judgments. For they have shed the blood of saints and prophets, and you have given them blood to drink. It is what they deserve!" And I heard the altar saying, "Yes, Lord God the Almighty, true and just are your judgments!"

Reflection Question

Where do you struggle to trust that God's judgments are truly just, especially when justice seems delayed?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, when injustice around me feels overwhelming, remind me that You are holy and true in every judgment. Give me patience to trust Your timing rather than demanding my own. Strengthen my faith in Your perfect justice.

Devotion 2: A Hardened Heart

Revelation 16:10-11 (ESV)

The fifth angel poured out his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness. People gnawed their tongues in anguish and cursed the God of heaven for their pain and sores. They did not repent of their deeds.

Reflection Question

Is there an area of your life where you've grown numb to conviction instead of turning toward repentance?

Prayer Prompt

Father, soften any place in my heart that has grown hard toward You. Give me a spirit of genuine repentance rather than mere discomfort. Thank You for Your patience with me as You draw me back to Yourself.

Devotion 3: Staying Ready

Revelation 16:15 (ESV)

"Behold, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake, keeping his garments on, that he may not go about naked and be seen exposed!"

Reflection Question

What practices help you stay spiritually alert and ready for Christ's return, and where have you grown spiritually drowsy?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, keep me spiritually awake and watchful in a world full of distraction. Clothe me in the righteousness of Christ so I am never found ashamed. Help me live each day ready for Your return.

Devotion 4: Clothed in His Righteousness

Philippians 3:9 (ESV)

And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness of God that depends on faith.

Reflection Question

Where are you tempted to rely on your own goodness rather than resting fully in Christ's righteousness?

Prayer Prompt

Jesus, thank You that my standing before God rests on Your righteousness, not my own effort. Help me release my grip on self-reliance and trust fully in what You've accomplished. Let my life be marked by faith in You alone.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 16:1–21
Exodus 7:17–21
Exodus 8
Exodus 9
Exodus 10
Revelation 7:16
Joel 2:11
Zephaniah 1:14
Zechariah 14:2–14
Revelation 3:18
Revelation 17:16
Ezekiel 16
Ezekiel 23
Nahum 3:5
Isaiah 20:4
Jeremiah 51:25–26
Zechariah 4:7
Ezekiel 38:19–22
Philippians 3:9

RHC Kids Memory Verse | 1 Thess 5:17

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 13:47:45 +0000

RHC Kids Memory Verse | 1 Thess 5:17

This week, we are encouraging our children the powerful reminder of how we can stay connected to God each day.

Prayer should be part of our moment-by-moment daily lives. We can talk to God anytime, anywhere, and in every circumstance. Sometimes I choose to talk to God out loud throughout my day. It helps me captivate my spiraling thoughts in that moment. My children also benefit because they hear me turn to him in all circumstances. I do not have to carve out a perfect moment but rather every moment is perfect when you are speaking to God.

Younger Children:
Never stop praying. —1 Thessalonians 5:17

Older Children:
Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. —1 Thessalonians 5:17-18

As you practice these verses together at home, encourage your children to look for opportunities throughout the day to simply talk with God out loud. At bedtime, in the car, around the dinner table, or during a difficult moment—remind them that God is always near and always listening.

Let's pray and give thanks together this week!

All Will Be Judged

Sun, 23 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Revelation 15:1-8

This week's sermon moves through Revelation 15, where heaven pauses before the final outpouring of God's wrath, and connects that vision to a deeper truth: grace only means something because judgment is real. Sin carries a genuine, weighty cost, and because God is both just and loving, that cost could not simply be waved away - it had to be paid. At the cross, Jesus took upon Himself the wrath His people deserved, satisfying God's justice while displaying grace beyond calculation. The saints in Revelation 15 sing not because judgment is over, but because they have been delivered through it, standing safely on the other side of wrath through the Lamb who bore it for them.

Takeaways

Divine wrath is not loss of control - it is God's righteous, holy response to sin.
Forgiveness and grace only carry weight because sin carries a real, deserved consequence.
At the cross, God's justice and God's mercy were both fully satisfied in Jesus.
The victory song of Revelation 15 belongs to those delivered through Christ, not those who escaped judgment on their own.

Application for This Week

This week, let the weight of what Jesus absorbed on your behalf sink in. When you're tempted to treat grace as ordinary or sin as harmless, return to the cross and remember what it actually cost. Let gratitude, not fear, be the fruit of remembering God's wrath - because for those in Christ, that wrath has already been spent.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: The Wrath That Makes Grace Real

Romans 1:18 - "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth."

Reflection Question

Where in your life have you been tempted to soften or explain away the reality of sin's consequences?

Prayer Prompt

Ask God to give you a right fear of His holiness, not to frighten you, but to help you see grace clearly. Thank Him that His wrath was not left unanswered but was fully absorbed at the cross.

Devotion 2: Love While We Were Still Enemies

Romans 5:8 - "but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Reflection Question

How does it change your view of God's love to know He loved you before you ever turned toward Him?

Prayer Prompt

Thank God that His love was not a response to your worthiness. Ask Him to help you love others the same way - before they've earned it.

Devotion 3: Mercy Beyond What We Deserve

Psalm 103:10-12 - "He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us."

Reflection Question

Is there a sin you're still carrying guilt over, even though God has already removed it from you?

Prayer Prompt

Thank God for removing your transgressions as far as the east is from the west. Ask Him to help you release guilt He has already released you from.

Devotion 4: A Song for the Delivered

Revelation 15:3-4 - "Great and amazing are your deeds, O Lord God the Almighty! Just and true are your ways, O King of the nations! Who will not fear, O Lord, and glorify your name? For you alone are holy. All nations will come and worship you, for your righteous acts have been revealed."

Reflection Question

What "song" is your life singing right now about who God is?

Prayer Prompt

Praise God for His just and true ways, even in what you don't yet understand. Ask Him to make worship the natural overflow of your gratitude this week.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Revelation 15:1-8
Romans 1:18
Romans 5:8
Romans 3:21-26
Psalm 103:10-12
Psalm 111:2-4
John 10:17-18
Revelation 16:7
Revelation 6:9-11
Ephesians 2:8-9

Pastor's Note

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 16:42:02 +0000

3 MIN READ

Be Excellentand Trust in the Lord

Trusting God was never meant to be a cover for mediocrity. It's the freedom to give your very best - and leave the outcome with Him.

Proverbs 3:5

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding."

01Trust Isn't an Excuse for Mediocrity

"
You can trust in the Lord, but you need to buck up and go to work.

02Build an Understanding - Then Don't Lean on It

"
To not lean on it, you must have one.

"
Be excellent, the very best you can be. God loves knowledgeable experts. They bring Him honor.

03Give Your Best, Then Trust the Lord

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Why the Great Commission Was Never Optional

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 14:31:32 +0000

Disciples Making Disciples: Why the Great Commission Was Never Optional

There is a version of the Great Commission many of us have quietly rewritten in our own hearts, even if we'd never say it out loud. The real one, in Matthew 28:18-20, is unmistakable: Jesus, with all authority in heaven and on earth, commands His followers to go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing and teaching them to observe everything He commanded. The version many of us actually live by sounds more like this: go and make converts, offer them the optional discipleship package, teach them the things you'd suggest, if they're interested. We chuckle at the rewrite because we recognize ourselves in it - too many of us are content to show up on a Sunday and call that good.

This is the third and final message in the series on the life of a disciple, and it lands on the sharpest question of all: not just what a disciple is, but how disciples are made.

What a Disciple Actually Is

Webster's 1828 dictionary - written by a man who took his definitions from a culture still shaped by Scripture - defines a disciple as a follower, an adherent to the doctrines of another. The word adherent matters: it means sticking to something, glued to it. To be a disciple of Christ is to be glued to Him, not casually associated with Him. Notice, too, how the Great Commission ends: with "Amen." That word isn't a polite sign-off - it means let it be established. Jesus is declaring that His followers will go and make disciples, and will stick to Him like glue while doing it.

Jesus Set the Pattern

Look at what Jesus did with the twelve. He led, guided, and taught them, walked with them, told parables and explained what they meant. He demonstrated truth through action, loved them, was patient and encouraging - and He was also, at times, blunt. When Philip asked Jesus to simply show them the Father, Jesus didn't soften His answer: "Have I been with you so long, and yet you have not known Me, Philip?" (John 14:7-11). When the disciples woke a sleeping Jesus in a storm, panicked, He didn't comfort their feelings first - He asked why they had such little faith, then calmed the sea (Matthew 8:23-27). And when Peter rebuked Jesus for predicting His own death, Jesus turned and said, "Get behind Me, Satan" (Matthew 16:21-23). None of that came from a lack of love; it came from a refusal to let comfort stand in the way of truth. Our culture has grown so sensitive about how things are said that we're losing the truth itself under a pile of careful words. Being discipled means hearing hard things without walking away - and some who heard Jesus's hard sayings did exactly the opposite (John 6:60-69). Peter's answer to Him - "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life" - is the posture every disciple needs.

Real Discipleship Takes Time - and It Costs Something

Jesus, who is God, could have implanted every bit of knowledge and faith the disciples ever needed in a single day. Instead He walked with them for three and a half years. Almost nothing meaningful in life happens in a moment - a wedding day is the culmination of years of knowing someone, and a graduation is, in a sense, a receipt for years already invested. Discipleship works the same way: a two-way relationship where both sides give something up - time with the other person, in reading, prayer, and study, and less time for television, scrolling, or whatever hobby fills the hours. Nothing else offers what discipleship offers: a deeper knowledge of the God who loves us.

Sometimes what God's Word asks of us doesn't match what our culture has taught, and the temptation is to pull back rather than trust. A woman who lived nearly a hundred years - who as a girl crossed the plains in a covered wagon and later watched a space shuttle launch - once admitted she'd been afraid the first time she rode in a car, afraid she wouldn't be able to catch her breath. Silly to us now, since we grew up around cars. But when God's Word asks something unfamiliar of us - about money, marriage, submission, sacrifice - it's that same fear talking. God does not lie. If it's true, we can trust it, even when it feels like getting in the car for the first time.

Parents, Take Note

Your first and most important disciple-making field is your own children. Proverbs 22:6 doesn't call for an hour on Sunday morning; it calls for training - the same patient, daily investment Jesus modeled with the twelve. Children need daily discipleship, not just protection from every hard thing.

Both a Disciple and a Disciple-Maker

"Meditation is the activity of calling to mind and thinking over and dwelling on and applying to oneself the various things that one knows about the works and ways and purposes and promises of God."

- J.I. Packer

Notice the difference between thinking and dwelling. Thinking can happen in five minutes; dwelling turns something over again and again, sometimes for weeks, until it becomes something we actually apply. That's the posture behind 2 Timothy 2:1-4, where Paul, writing from prison near the end of his life, tells Timothy - his son in the faith - to be strong in grace, to endure hardship like a good soldier, and to commit what he's learned to faithful people who will teach others also. A distracted soldier is a dead one; we can't entangle ourselves so fully with this life that we lose focus on the mission.

This is why the "us four and no more" mentality has to go. We're not meant to hold what we've learned to ourselves, or to think of discipleship as something we eventually graduate out of. It's a both/and calling - even after decades with Christ, we still need mentoring, even as we mentor others.

"Ignorance of God, both of His ways and of the practice of communion with Him, lies at the root of much of the church's weakness today."

- J.I. Packer

Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33). That's where disciple-making begins - staying hungry to know Him, and willing to help someone else do the same.

Watch the full message: Disciples Making Disciples →

Scripture References (ESV)

Matthew 28:18-20
John 14:7-11
Matthew 8:23-27
Matthew 16:21-23
John 6:60-69
Proverbs 22:6
2 Timothy 2:1-4
Matthew 6:33

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RHC Kids Memory Verse | Phil 4:4

Tue, 18 Aug 2026 13:08:37 +0000

RHC Kids Memory Verse | Phil 4:4

This week, we are encouraging our children to memorize a verse that reminds us not once but twice that we should rejoice in our Lord ALWAYS.

Choosing to rejoice isn't dependent on having a perfect day or getting everything we want. Paul reminds us in Philippians that when we choose to rejoice in Him it transforms the rest of our thoughts and actions.

As you practice this verse together at home, talk with your children about what it means to rejoice in the Lord. Help them recognize that even when we are disappointed, frustrated, or having a difficult day, we can still choose to celebrate who God is and all that He has done for us.

Younger Children:
Rejoice in the Lord always. — Philippians 4:4

Older Children:
Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. — Philippians 4:4

Our prayer is that these words become deeply rooted in our children's hearts, giving them a lasting foundation of joy that isn't dependent on their circumstances.

Let's rejoice together this week!

Making Disciples

Sun, 16 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

Making Disciples

Matthew 28:18-20; John 14:7-11; Matthew 8:23-27; John 6:60-69; 2 Timothy 2:1-4; Proverbs 22:6

Jesus' final words to His followers weren't a suggestion - they were a command to go and make disciples. Yet it's easy to quietly edit that command into something softer: make converts, offer an optional package, treat His words as advice rather than instruction. This week's message traces what real discipleship looked like in Jesus' own ministry - patient, personal, and sometimes bluntly honest - and what it looked like in the men who followed Him: attentive, questioning, and committed even when corrected. Discipleship was never meant to be a once-a-week event. It's a costly, lifelong relationship of being shaped by Christ and shaping others.

Takeaways

Jesus discipled through presence and patience, not through quick information transfer - and He didn't shy away from hard truth.
True disciples follow, observe, listen, ask questions, and stay committed even when corrected.
Discipleship always costs something - time, comfort, convenience - and is never optional for a follower of Christ.
Discipleship begins in the home and continues for a lifetime of both being mentored and mentoring others.

Application for This Week

This week, take an honest look at where discipleship is actually happening in your life - not just on Sunday, but in your home, your relationships, and your private time in God's Word. Ask who is pouring into you, and who you are pouring into. If no answer comes to mind, let that be the starting point for this week's prayer and action.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: The Call to Follow

Matthew 4:19 (ESV)

"And he said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.'"

Jesus' invitation to His first disciples wasn't complicated, but it was costly - it meant leaving nets, boats, and familiar routines behind. Following Jesus still means that today: a willingness to leave behind whatever competes with wholehearted devotion to Him.

Reflection Question

What would it look like this week to follow Jesus more closely than you did last week?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, help me hear Your call to follow and respond without hesitation. Show me what I'm still holding onto instead of You, and give me the courage to let it go.

Devotion 2: Bearing Fruit as a Disciple

John 15:8 (ESV)

"By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples."

A disciple isn't identified by good intentions but by fruit - a life that visibly reflects Christ's character and love to others. Bearing fruit isn't something we manufacture; it flows naturally from remaining close to Him.

Reflection Question

What fruit is evident in your life right now, and what does its presence or absence tell you about your closeness to Christ?

Prayer Prompt

Father, I want my life to bring You glory through real, visible fruit. Keep me abiding in You, and prune away whatever keeps me from growing.

Devotion 3: Passing on the Faith

2 Timothy 2:2 (ESV)

"and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men, who will be able to teach others also."

Discipleship was never meant to stop with one generation. What has been taught to you in faith is meant to be entrusted to someone else, who will in turn entrust it to another.

Reflection Question

Who is God calling you to entrust what you've learned to, even in a small way?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, give me courage to share what You've taught me with someone who needs it. Help me not to keep Your truth to myself, but to multiply it faithfully.

Devotion 4: Meditating on God's Word

Psalm 1:2-3 (ESV)

"but his delight is in the law of the LORD, and on his law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf does not wither. In all that he does, he prospers."

True meditation on Scripture isn't a quiet mind emptied of thought - it's a mind actively dwelling on and applying God's Word. That kind of steady rootedness produces lasting fruit and stability, no matter the season.

Reflection Question

What would change in your week if you meditated on God's Word daily instead of occasionally?

Prayer Prompt

Lord, plant me like a tree beside streams of living water. Teach me to delight in Your Word and to return to it again and again this week.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

Matthew 28:18-20
Matthew 28:19a
Matthew 6:33
John 14:7-11
Matthew 8:23-27
Matthew 16:21-23
John 6:60-69
2 Timothy 2:1-4
Proverbs 22:6

Behold the Lamb: The Call That Changes Everything

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 21:35:20 +0000

Behold the Lamb: The Call That Changes Everything

Two words have altered the course of history more than almost any others: follow me. They toppled empires, rescued sinners, strengthened martyrs, and built the church - and they are still Jesus's invitation to every generation, including ours.

This week begins a short three-part series on the life of a disciple, and it starts at the beginning: how does someone actually become a follower of Jesus in the first place? The answer is found in John 1:35-51, a passage that reads simply on the surface but carries some of the deepest theology in the New Testament. In just sixteen verses, four different people meet Jesus in four different ways - one through a friend's testimony, one through his own brother, one through Jesus's direct pursuit, and one through honest skepticism. There is nothing formulaic about it. What ties every story together is not the method, but the mover: Jesus is the one doing the calling.

Following Jesus Begins with God's Revelation

When John the Baptist saw Jesus walk by, he didn't say "follow me." He said, "Behold, the Lamb of God" (John 1:36). That distinction matters enormously. John had spent his ministry pointing people toward the coming Messiah, and when the Messiah finally arrived, John didn't gather a following for himself - he redirected every eye toward Christ. He understood, as he'd later say plainly, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30).

That's the pattern for every genuine call to follow Jesus: it begins by looking away from ourselves and fixing our eyes on Christ. And that seeing isn't something people stumble into through cleverness or philosophy. Paul writes that "faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ" (Romans 10:17). No one reasons their way into the kingdom. God reveals himself through his word, and the Spirit opens eyes to see it. That truth strips away any room for pride - salvation was never a transaction we initiated. It was, and is, entirely a gift.

Following Jesus Results in Gospel Witness

The moment Andrew met Jesus, he couldn't stay quiet. He found his brother Simon and said, "We have found the Messiah" (John 1:41). Nobody commanded Andrew to evangelize. He simply couldn't help himself - treasuring Christ naturally produces speech about Christ.

That's the pattern that has carried the gospel across two thousand years: not primarily through platforms or crowds, but through ordinary believers introducing one person at a time to Jesus. Andrew never preached to thousands or wrote Scripture, yet he brought his brother - who became the rock the church was built on. Philip did the same for Nathanael, saying simply, "We have found him… Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph" (John 1:45). His theology was still developing. His words weren't perfect. But faithfulness, not eloquence, is what God uses to draw people to himself.

Following Jesus Depends on Sovereign Grace

Look closely at how Jesus finds Philip: "Jesus found Philip and said to him, 'Follow me'" (John 1:43). Jesus does the finding. This is the comfort underneath the whole passage - Christ seeks and finds his sheep, because left to themselves, sheep don't find their own way home. As Paul put it, quoting the Psalms, "None is righteous, no, not one… no one seeks for God" (Romans 3:10-11).

"Dead people don't choose."

That blunt line captures the heart of it. Scripture is consistent that the initiative belongs to God: "You did not choose me, but I chose you" (John 15:16); "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). None of this erases human responsibility - Philip still had to obey - but behind his willing steps stood Christ's effective call. Even Peter, unstable and impulsive, was chosen not because of anything commendable in him, but because grace transforms ordinary, unworthy people into disciples. That should free every believer from both pride and despair. It was never about being deserving. It was always about being called.

Following Jesus Results in Being Conformed Into His Image

Jesus doesn't just love people as they are - he loves them too much to leave them there. When Nathanael approached, skeptical that anything good could come from Nazareth, Jesus told him, "Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you" (John 1:48). Nathanael was stunned. Jesus already knew him completely - his doubts, his history, his future - and called him anyway.

"Come and you will see."

That was Jesus's answer to two curious disciples who asked where he was staying, and it remains his invitation today. Following him isn't first about activity; it's about communion, staying with him, being known by him, and slowly being remade into his likeness. Notice the progression across these sixteen verses: Jesus is called the Lamb, then the Messiah, then the one Moses and the prophets foretold, then the Son of God and King of Israel. Understanding deepens the longer someone walks with him - and it never stops, not for Andrew, not for Peter, not for anyone still following him today.

Jesus closes the passage by pointing back to Jacob's ladder in Genesis 28: "You will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man" (John 1:51). Jesus is declaring himself the bridge between heaven and earth - the one through whom every prayer ascends and every grace descends.

The call to follow Jesus has never changed. It isn't a call to religion, morality, or church activity. It's a call to a person - the Lamb of God, the Messiah, the Son of Man, the only mediator between God and humanity. He is still calling. He still finds people in the most unexpected places, still gives them new names and new identities, and still says to anyone willing to listen: come and see.

Watch the full message here: The Call to Follow Jesus

Scripture References (ESV)

John 1:35-51
John 3:30
Romans 10:17
Romans 3:10-11
John 15:16
John 6:44
Genesis 28:10-17

The Call to Follow Jesus

Sun, 02 Aug 2026 13:00:00 +0000

The Call to Follow Jesus

John 1:35-51

In this passage, we witness the first gathering of Jesus' disciples, and no two of them come to Him the same way. One hears a testimony and follows. One is invited by a brother. One is personally sought out. One wrestles with doubt before believing. Yet every road leads to the same Savior. Behind each different story stands one glorious reality: Jesus calls His own. Salvation begins with God-Christ seeks sinners before sinners seek Christ, and grace always precedes faith.

Takeaways

Following Jesus begins with God's revelation, not human reasoning or willpower.
Genuine conversion naturally produces a desire to introduce others to Christ.
Christ's call rests entirely on His sovereign grace, never on our potential or performance.
Following Jesus is a lifelong process of being conformed into His image-He already knows us completely and calls us anyway.

Application for This Week

This week, remember that your story doesn't have to look like anyone else's. Whether you came to faith gradually or suddenly, through a friend's invitation or your own wrestling with doubt, the same grace that called the first disciples is the grace that holds you now. Let that truth free you from comparison and fuel you to gently point someone else toward Christ.

Four ideas to reflect on this week:

Devotion 1: Come and See

John 1:38-39

"Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 'What are you seeking?' And they said to him, 'Rabbi' (which means Teacher), 'where are you staying?' He said to them, 'Come and you will see.' So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour."

Reflection Question

What are you seeking from Jesus right now-comfort, answers, purpose, or simply Him?

Prayer Prompt

Ask God to reveal Himself to you today, not just as an idea to understand but as a person to know. Thank Him that His invitation to "come and see" is still open. Ask for the desire to abide with Him, not just learn about Him.

Devotion 2: Unable to Stay Silent

John 1:40-42

"One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, 'We have found the Messiah' (which means Christ). He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, 'You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas' (which means Peter)."

Reflection Question

Who in your life might God be prompting you to quietly bring to Jesus, the way Andrew brought Peter?

Prayer Prompt

Thank God for the person who first introduced you to Jesus, whether through words or example. Ask for courage to do the same for someone else this week, trusting that ordinary faithfulness is exactly what God uses.

Devotion 3: Chosen, Not Choosing

John 15:16

"You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you."

Reflection Question

How does it change your view of yourself to know that God's call on your life began with His initiative, not your merit?

Prayer Prompt

Praise God that your standing with Him rests on His sovereign choice, not your track record. Ask Him to help you rest in that security rather than striving to earn what He has freely given.

Devotion 4: Fully Known, Still Called

John 1:47-48

"Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, 'Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!' Nathanael said to him, 'How do you know me?' Jesus answered him, 'Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.'"

Reflection Question

What is one area of your life you've assumed might disqualify you from following Jesus closely-and how does His complete knowledge of you change that?

Prayer Prompt

Thank God that nothing about your past or your struggles surprises Him. Ask Him to help you live today in the confidence that His love for you preceded your performance and will outlast your failures.

Primary Scripture references from the sermon:

John 1:35-51John 1:35-39
John 1:40-42
John 1:43-46
John 1:47-51
Romans 10:17
Romans 3:10-12
John 15:16
John 6:44
Luke 19:10
Genesis 28