WS Update: Strong in the Lord
In his short and wonderfully helpful book, Safe and Sound, David Powlison wrote, Scripture treats spiritual warfare as a normal, everyday part of the Christian life, and so we should as well. It’s not about spooky special effects. It’s about how we think, feel, live, desire… Spiritual battles are real, and God’s people are not…
WS Update: RWS Congregational Meeting
This coming Sunday, May 4, we have a congregational meeting for Redeemer West Side. The meeting will begin at 12:45 pm and last about half an hour. There’s more info just below, but let me mention: if you’re a member of Redeemer West Side, please prioritize joining this meeting. Not only will you hear about…
WS Update: Trusting God When Life is Hard
Going through hardship and suffering impacts your faith. Sometimes suffering draws people closer to God. Sometimes, suffering—especially chronic suffering, disappointment after disappointment—makes God feel really far away. One of the urgent questions in spiritual life must be: How can you continue trusting God when life is hard? We’re starting a new sermon series this Sunday:…
WS Update: Good Friday and Easter
In her book about Jesus’ death on the cross, Fleming Rutledge wrote: Christianity is unique. The world’s religions have certain traits in common, but until the gospel of Jesus Christ burst upon the Mediterranean world, no one in the history of human imagination had conceived of such a thing as the worship of a crucified…
WS Update: Easter and Sacrificial Giving
At the heart of the gospel is a generous and self-giving God who gave everything that was dear to him – even his own life – to heal us from our broken condition and restore us to wholeness. As one biblical translation put it: “The Word [Jesus] became flesh and blood, and moved into the…
WS Update: Vulnerability and Being Seen
Vulnerability is a central part of a meaningful relationship. Despite the risks, opening ourselves up to others is how we can experience the transformative power of grace and truth as we build authentic connections within a Christian community. Our upcoming conference speaker, Curt Thompson, writes, “vulnerability is not something we choose to be; it is…
WS Update: Confession and Community
Yesterday’s sermon from Psalm 32 focused on the spiritual practice of confession. One of the reasons why the regular practice of confession is so important for Christians is that real community isn’t possible without it. In his wonderful book, Life Together, Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, He who is alone with his sin is utterly alone… Sin…
WS Update: Growing in Generosity
The most amazing act of generosity was God sending his Son, Jesus, so that we might live through him (1 John 4:9). One way that Christians respond to God’s generosity is to live generously themselves. To give sacrificially of their time, their energy, and their money to honor God and to serve others. On Sunday,…
WS Update: Repentance
Yesterday was the first Sunday of Lent. Throughout history, Lent has been a season during which Christians and churches engage in spiritual self-examination and renewal. Lent invites us to see the real ugliness of our sin and, even more, the wonder and beauty of Jesus’ amazing grace. Over the next few Sundays, our sermons will…
WS Update: Our Neighborhood through God’s Eyes
A few years ago, I joined my Community Group for a prayer walk in the Upper West Side, and I was surprised by my experience. I thought I knew my neighborhood well, but I was learning to see it differently – not just through the eyes of a consumer. I started to notice people and…