Summary: When Christ tells us how to pray in Luke 11, we realize that we turn towards the absolute sovereignty of God in absolute persistence, making us dependent on the Spirit in our lives. When we consider RHC in 2013, we can apply this approach for both congregational goals and our own ministry goals within the congregation. Will we be a people obedient to the Father, who hunger to see the City within a City multiply in the greater Medford area and throughout the world?
Summary: In the parable of "The Good Samaritan", Jesus ultimately tells us that everyone and anyone who is in need is our neighbor. In the parable, we are shown how the Samaritan goes to extraordinary lengths in showing compassion and mercy towards the beaten and broken man. The only way to live out the neighborly love exemplified in this picture, is to prioritize our relationship with Christ and to listen to Him speak through the learning of His Gospel.
Summary: It is our sin that separates us from a perfect and holy God, and the just punishment of that sin is eternal spiritual death spent apart from Him. The Israelite's practiced the Day of Atonement annually in order that they may repent of the nation's sins against God. Now that Christ has come, lived the perfect life, died on the cross, and rose again, we can rest on His once and for all atonement that has defeated sin, and made it possible to live in eternity with God!
Summary: The Incarnation was the beginning of Jesus' mission on earth, which was to bring salvation to mankind. Likewise, when we are born again, we follow Christ's example and begin a mission of our own.Let's accept this mission with joyful humility, and labor to spread the word of God through faithful prayer and proclamation!
Summary: Sometimes we can't comprehend the suffering that we see and experience in this world. But if we deny ourselves and fully submit to God's will for our lives, we are promised that these sufferings will eventually end. When His kingdom comes, we will bask in the perfect and eternal glory of Christ!
Summary: Deitrich Bonhoeffer said, "Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of the church. We are fighting today for costly grace." Costly grace is what Jesus lays out in Luke 9 as he calls people to the radical cost of following him. The cost of Christ is the cost of his cross. Amazingly, the rewards are even greater! *Apologies for the abbreviated audio. We only captured the end of the sermon.
Summary: Luke shows us that Jesus has power and authority over the natural and supernatural forces in existence. His disciples react in amazement, the demons cower in fear, and Jairus falls to his knees at Jesus' feet. If we, like Jairus, are falling to our knees in worship, then we should be moved to proclaim Christ's name to our friends, family, and the world!
Summary: We are called to hear, follow and obey Christ. To do this, we need to rightly hear with the ears of our hearts, not just logically accept what Christ has to say. Jesus teaches of four soils that we can become after hearing the truth of His word. Those who hear well will be like the good soil, living transformed lives that bear good fruit and shine the radiant light of Christ's love to the world!
Summary: How do we view the authority of Christ? Luke shows us several people who place their hope and faith fully in Christ because they recognize Him as Lord. Since we can see God's faithfulness to us in His word, let's devote ourselves to Him and display our faith everyday!
Summary: People often view the church as being judgmental and hypocritical. However, Jesus denounces both in Luke 6 and calls His followers to live with integrity by following His word and deeds.
