WS Update: At the Table
Theologian Robert Karris said that if you read through the Gospel of Luke, you’ll see that “Jesus is either going to a meal, at a meal, or coming from a meal.” Jesus is always eating with people! It’s no small thing that when Jesus chose a sign for his people to remember him by, he…
WS Update: Prayer
Imagine for a moment that you’ve been given the location of a buried treasure. You’ve been told where it is and given everything you need to dig it up. This treasure is vast: not only would it change your life, but with it you could do a great deal of good in the world. And…
WS Update: The Stars of Our Future
A few years ago, one of our church’s youth ministry volunteers told me that serving with youth was a lot like being Alan Shepard. He explained: Shepard was “the first American in space. His job was at times exhausting, overwhelming, and loud. But he saw the stars, as they say. And more specifically, he saw…
WS Update: The Indispensability of Community
A few weeks ago in The New Yorker, Al Pacino shared a story that vividly reminded me about the indispensability of community. He described a time when he was young and, on his way home from a baseball game, got mugged and had his glove stolen. He was alone when it happened. As he remembered…
WS Update: Encountering God
In his classic and helpful book, The Knowledge of the Holy, A.W. Tozer wrote, “What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” It’s a revealing question: what comes into your mind when you think about God? Yesterday we began a four-week sermon series called Encountering God. During…
WS Update: Welcome Back!
Exciting things are happening this week! Take advantage of these opportunities to connect or reconnect over the next seven days as we kick off the ministry year at Redeemer West Side! We have gatherings for people of all ages, whether you are new to Redeemer or Christianity, or you’ve been part of the community for…
WS Update: Fall Relaunch and New Staff
This is the final week when the slower August vibe resonates on the West Side, while restaurants have seats available, the park is inviting, and coworkers are on vacation (maybe the boss is on vacation, too). In one week, all of that changes. The New York City switch flips to “on” and everything roars back…
WS Update: Kingdom Treasures
All summer, we’ve heard Jesus’ stories about the Kingdom of God. These parables, as we’ve seen, both reveal and hide what the Kingdom is about by couching their meaning in tight allegories. These stories are unique in many ways — their style, goal, message, and effect — from any other form of ancient literature. According…
WS Update: Does Jesus Care How You Vote?
Of course he does, just like he cares about everything that we do. But, how do we discern our approach to American politics, given the complexities of our two-party system? And what if “my party” is not biblical enough and “the other side” has several biblically valid aspects to its approach, even when we disagree?…
WS Update: Learn to Study the Bible
Whether we are reading the Bible on our own or in a group discussion, we want to know that we are reading the passages correctly. What does it mean? How does it impact my life? Many people have asked us for training on how they can read their Bible better, no matter how much or…