The Kingdom Perspective

Christ Redeemer Church
  • 4.8 (20)
  • Christianity

The Kingdom Perspective is the official podcast of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. The podcast exists to disseminate the thought-provoking teaching of CRC to the wider public. If you like what you hear, please pass these on to your friends. Find out more about our church at our website: christredeemerchurch.org.

  1. 2d ago

    Early Christians and the Care for the Weak

    Hello! This is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective!   Early Christians were known for their care of the weak and frail. This contrasted deeply with the callous culture in which they lived.   For example, the Law of the Twelve Tables, the earliest codification of Roman Law (c. 450-451 BC) required fathers to kill any deformed child. Though this Law was no longer in force during the rise of the church, its basic ethos continued to influence Roman culture. As a matter of fact, one historian notes that in one Roman village, “archaeologists found one hundred skeletons of infants less than a week old in the sewers under the Roman baths. The babies were ‘unwanted’ or ‘inconvenient’ and so were literally flushed down the drain” (Why You Think the Way You Do, p. 34).   Christians refused to participate in such practices. Following Holy Scripture, they knew that every human was made in the image of God, regardless of how weak, deformed, or “unwanted”. Moreover, since they held that God Himself had become a real human (bodily!) in Jesus Christ, the value they placed on the human body was elevated to previously unknown heights. The Gospel of Matthew speaks of the conception and birth of Jesus Christ saying: “that which is conceived in Mary is from the Holy Spirit” (Matthew 1:20). At the center of the gospel story is God Himself taking on human flesh, becoming a weak and helpless infant, even a hidden embryo.   This radically altered the way Christians viewed the weak and frail and, thus, drove them to reject not only the common practice of infanticide, but also the common practice of abortion.   As modern historian Rodney Stark put it: “…perhaps above all else, Christianity brought a new conception of humanity to a world saturated with capricious cruelty and the vicarious love of death....”   “…what Christianity gave to its converts was nothing less than their humanity.” ~Rodney Stark as quoted on PBS Frontline: “From Jesus to Christ”   Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.   “Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet:      “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son,       and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus..” ~ Matthew 1:18-23 (ESV)   Sources to consider: Law of the Twelve Tables https://www.britannica.com/topic/Law-of-the-Twelve-Tables   The Rise of Christianity: A Sociologist Reconsiders History by Rodney Stark (Princeton University Press 2020).   The Patient Ferment of the Early Church: The Improbably Rise of Christianity in the Roman Empire by Alan Kreider (Baker Academic 2016).   Why You Think the Way You Do: The Story of Western Worldviews from Rome to Home by Glenn S. Sunshine (Zondervan 2009).   The Didache (Chapter 2).

  2. 4d ago

    What Does the Bible Say About Racism?

    Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.   What does the Bible say about racism and ethnocentrism? A whole lot!   The Bible tells us that we all have a shared origin and identity. God made each of us in the image of God. The Apostle Paul explains it this way: God “made from one man [i.e., Adam] every nation” and He did so…that they should seek God and perhaps find Him” (Acts 17:26-27). And so, there is no such thing as a superior race or people group. Even when God chose Abraham to create the nation of Israel, He explicitly says He did so that all the people groups on the earth might be blessed. Ultimately, this is fulfilled in the Jesus, who died to secure the promise of Abraham to all the nations (Galatians 3:6-16). God is no respecter of persons.   This brings us to our second point. The Bible tells us that Christ will redeem people from every nationality, people group and language—a multitude so vast that no one will be able to number them! On that final day, there will be “full representation” of all humanity at God’s table.   Heaven will be a multiethnic and multicultural place—a diversity of humanity like the world has never seen, all unified in the worship of the one true God who died to save us.   Those that refuse to embrace this, and certainly those that oppose it in their racism and ethnocentrism, are not fit for heaven. They must be transformed, for they are at best tacit enemies of God’s grace.    Are you growing in your love of the diversity of God’s people?   That’s something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.   The next day Peter started out with them, and some of the believers from Joppa went along. The following day he arrived in Caesarea. Cornelius was expecting them and had called together his relatives and close friends. As Peter entered the house, Cornelius met him and fell at his feet in reverence. But Peter made him get up. “Stand up,” he said, “I am only a man myself.”   While talking with him, Peter went inside and found a large gathering of people. He said to them: “You are well aware that it is against our law for a Jew to associate with or visit a Gentile. But God has shown me that I should not call anyone impure or unclean. So when I was sent for, I came without raising any objection. May I ask why you sent for me?”   Cornelius answered: “Three days ago I was in my house praying at this hour, at three in the afternoon. Suddenly a man in shining clothes stood before me and said, ‘Cornelius, God has heard your prayer and remembered your gifts to the poor. Send to Joppa for Simon who is called Peter. He is a guest in the home of Simon the tanner, who lives by the sea.’ So I sent for you immediately, and it was good of you to come. Now we are all here in the presence of God to listen to everything the Lord has commanded you to tell us.”   Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism but accepts from every nation the one who fears him and does what is right. You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, announcing the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all. You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached— how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.    “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a cross, but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen. He was not seen by all the people, but by witnesses whom God had already chosen—by us who ate and drank with him after he rose from the dead. He commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”   While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit came on all who heard the message. The circumcised believers who had come with Peter were astonished that the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out even on Gentiles. For they heard them speaking in tongues and praising God.   Then Peter said, “Surely no one can stand in the way of their being baptized with water. They have received the Holy Spirit just as we have.” So he ordered that they be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked Peter to stay with them for a few days. ~Acts 10:23-48 (NIV)

  3. Oct 8

    The Heart of Hospitality

    Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.    Hospitality is demanding. It requires us to give sacrificially of ourselves. At the core of hospitality is a discipline of heart, mind, and action. It requires you and me to have a new mindset—to work at getting outside ourselves (our perspective, preferences, hurts, grievances, etc.) into the world of “the other”. It is to be considerate and kind, looking at and appreciating life from another’s perspective (Philippians 2:1-5).   Now…such hospitality does not come naturally. It must be developed and practiced. The more you do it, the more you will become it (Philippians 2:12). BUT it is not merely an issue of our work either; it first requires seeing and being transformed by God’s work for us (2 Corinthians 3). Gospel hospitality requires a supernatural level of love and patience, and so, we cannot do it without continually drinking deeply of the well of God’s grace…for us. We love because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). This means that we grow in patience, to the degree we see how patient Jesus continues to be with us. We grow in kindness, to the degree we see how kindly Jesus deals with us. We grow in our ability to forgive and forbear to the degree we continually see the greatness of God’s forgiveness and forbearance of us.   And so, my dear friends, fix your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter our faith!   Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.   “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” ~ Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)

  4. Oct 6

    What is Hospitality?

    Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.   When we think of the idea of “hospitality”, we usually think of wining and dining. Images of nice houses, fine meals, and throwing parties that impress our friends and neighbors comes to mind. A whole segment of our economy has developed around what we call the “hospitality industry”, which makes a business out of increasingly impressive hotels, restaurants, and venues.   Now, I have nothing against nice hotels and restaurants—and certainly nothing against nice homes and good meals! However, the biblical idea of hospitality is much different than all this. The New Testament word translated hospitality is made of the Greek words for “lover” and “stranger”. Someone who practices biblical hospitality is a “lover of strangers”. In other words, they are doing the hard work of making outsiders feel welcomed. Thus, hospitality is not merely for those with means, but those with very little means. It is for all people. It doesn’t matter how much you have; what matters is how much of that you give. It’s not about impressing others with how valuable you are; it’s about impressing others with how valuable they are.   It's not surprising then that hospitality is a character requirement of church leaders (1 Timothy 3:2), and of Christians in general (Romans 12:13). If God loved us when were strangers, wandering from Him, then how can we not do the same for others.   Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.   “Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.   Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’ To the contrary, ‘if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.’ Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” ~Romans 12:9-21 (ESV)

  5. Oct 1

    The Mindset of Gospel Culture

    Transcript: Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.   Arguably the most basic thing to a church culture is the shared mindset or attitude of its members. It is not so much the stated mission or strategy of a church that matters as much as the vibe its members give off, especially as they gather. This vibe flows from the shared mindset—the deep often subtle beliefs and feelings that each person has toward themselves, others, and ultimately God.   Now, the gospel calls us to have a peculiar mindset. Paul exhorts the believers in Philippi saying “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5). And what is that mindset? To do “nothing out of selfish ambition (politicking for status) or vain conceit (self-glory). Rather, in humility value others above yourselves….” (Philippians 2:3 NIV). We are to understand and value the perspectives and preferences of others above our own.   Now, this is deeply counterintuitive and fraught with the challenge of self-justification. We tend to flatter ourselves we are doing the “others-centeredness thing” better than our neighbor—that our self-sacrifice in loving others is greater than their self-sacrifice in having to love us. But, of course, this is the very opposite of the gospel mindset.   This is why our minds must be saturated and shaped by Jesus’s shocking sacrificial love for us. We need to be daily struck in the gut by this truth (gut could be another possible translation for “mindset”). If Jesus, who is in very nature God, did not think highly of Himself, how in the world can I?   And that’s something to think about, daily, from The Kingdom Perspective.   “Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!   Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” ~Philippians 2:1-11 (NIV)

  6. Sep 29

    Why Were Christians Persecuted?

    Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. Rome was the most pluralistic civilization the world had ever seen.1 The Empire was comprised of people from all sorts of backgrounds, cultures and religions. So, this raises the question: Why then were Christians so singled out as a threat? Well, the answer is simple: they refused to declare the state and its leader ultimate. Under the authority of Rome, you could worship any god you please. Rome didn’t care which of the gods you preferred, so long as you also worshipped Rome and its Emperor. Now, these early Christians had nothing against human government. They believed and taught that it was established by God (Romans 13:1) and was necessary for good order (Romans 13:2-5; 1 Timothy 2:1-5). They had nothing against obeying human laws and kings. They simply refused to worship them, as their ultimate authority. Just like faithful Jews before them, they refused to bow down and swear absolute allegiance to any earthly king or man-made god.This meant that they could not obey any human dictate that forced them to disobey the dictates of heaven. However, this was a huge problem to Rome. In the mind of Rome, the universal and absolute worship of the Emperor guaranteed the continuation of Pax Romana—the Peace (stability) of Rome.Historian and scholar Justo Gonzalez summarizes why Christians and their Jewish counterparts were seen as such a threat: “In that atmosphere, Jews and Christians were seen as unbending fanatics who insisted on the sole worship of their One God—an alien cyst that must be removed for the good of society.”2 To the early Christians, Jesus was the Lord of all, or He was not Lord at all.Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgment. For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer. Therefore one must be in subjection, not only to avoid God's wrath but also for the sake of conscience. For because of this you also pay taxes, for the authorities are ministers of God, attending to this very thing. Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whom respect is owed, honor to whom honor is owed.”~ Romans 13:1-7 (ESV)References: 1. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire by Edward Gibbon (1776).“Roman Religion” by Donald L. Wasson in World History Encyclopedia (2013). Accessed online at https://www.worldhistory.org/Roman_Religion/.2. The Story of Christianity, Vol. 1 by Justo Gonzalez (Harper One: 2010). Thank you for listening to and supporting The Kingdom Perspective! The Kingdom Perspective is a ministry of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. To hear more episodes you can subscribe on Apple Podcasts. To donate or to find out more about the ministry and resources offered by Christ Redeemer Church visit www.christredeemerchurch.org.

  7. Sep 24

    Your Sin vs. God's Grace

    Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective.Your sin is no match for the riches of God’s grace. Where sin abounds, grace super-abounds!You may be overwhelmed by the seriousness of your sin and the debt you owe God’s justice. You may be filled with shame at the spiritual and moral crimes you’ve committed. You may be embarrassed for your continued struggle against sin and its effects in your life. But at the very moment that you put your faith in Jesus’s work for you on the cross, at that very moment, all the riches of heaven were transferred into your account. In the words of St. Paul, God blessed you “with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). In yourself you were a pauper in the kingdom of sin, but in Christ you’ve become a prince in the kingdom of heaven, with all the riches of your Savior now at your disposal.God in His grace spared absolutely no expense when He chose to redeem you. He was under no obligation to redeem you. But when He freely chose to do so He broke the bank. He did not redeem us with the leftovers of His love. He did not redeem us with the hand-me-downs of heaven. Rather, He found the most valuable thing that He had, His beloved Son in whom His soul delights, and He gave Him freely, fully and gladly for us.This is why we sing of “amazing grace” and “amazing love”. Though we see echoes of such love in this world, they are but echoes, dim reflections of a love that is essentially foreign to this world, but overflowing from the throne of Christ.Christian, God demonstrates His own unique love for you in that while you were still a sinner, Christ died for you (Romans 5:8). Something to think about from The Kingdom of Heaven.“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.” ~ Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV)

  8. Sep 22

    Tertullian’s Defense

    Transcript:Hello, this is Pastor Don Willeman of Christ Redeemer Church. Welcome to The Kingdom Perspective. The early church was distinctive for many reasons, but one of the most powerful was the quality of loving community found among in it. Tertullian, the 3rd century church leader, wrote a number of works defending the gospel in the face of persecution (see, To the Gentiles and Apology). In one of his more famous statements, he directs his pagan detractors to look at the quality of love among Christians, as compared to its lack among the pagans. He writes:“Look . . . how they love one another (for they themselves [pagans] hate one another); and how they are ready to die for each other (for they themselves [pagans] are readier to kill each other).”Tertullian knew that the love of Christians for one another was incredibly powerful and persuasive. Not surprising, since this is exactly what Jesus taught.In His famous prayer recorded in John 17, Jesus not once but twice says that it is this unifying love among Christians, in spite of their many differences, that shows to the world the truthfulness of the gospel. Jesus prays:…that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me. [And again a few verses later, Jesus prays…] The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. (John 17:21-23 NASB, emphasis added)The quality of our relationships as followers of Jesus Christ is our strongest and clearest witness. Twentieth century thinker Francis Schaeffer called this love, “the final apologetic”—that is, the final proof of the veracity of the gospel. The kindness, mercy and grace of genuine love may be in short supply in the world, but it must not be in the church. Is your life dripping with love toward your fellow Christians?Something to think about from The Kingdom Perspective.“Sanctify them in the truth; Your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I also have sent them into the world. For their sakes I sanctify Myself, that they themselves also may be sanctified in truth.“I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word; that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.The glory which You have given Me I have given to them, that they may be one, just as We are one; I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.“O righteous Father, although the world has not known You, yet I have known You; and these have known that You sent Me; 26 and I have made Your name known to them, and will make it known, so that the love with which You loved Me may be in them, and I in them.”~ John 17:17-26 (ESV)

See All (377)

Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
20 Ratings

About

The Kingdom Perspective is the official podcast of Christ Redeemer Church of Hanover, NH. The podcast exists to disseminate the thought-provoking teaching of CRC to the wider public. If you like what you hear, please pass these on to your friends. Find out more about our church at our website: christredeemerchurch.org.

Information

  • Creator
    Christ Redeemer Church
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    377
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Christ Redeemer Church