Redemption HOU podcast

Redemption HOU

Weekly messages from Redemption Church of Houston, TX. Radically inclusive hope. For absolutely anyone. https://redemptionhou.com

  1. I Sing Because I'm Free

    Jun 23

    I Sing Because I'm Free

    Jesus Christ introduces a new order of things into the world, not merely an updated order. Enter friction. Let’s be honest - none of us are eager to sign up for the hard life, but what if the inherent friction between the old order of things and the way of Jesus is indeed the way to a full, flourishing, and free life. Related Sermon - Would A God of Love Send Anyone to Hell? Spotify - https://open.spotify.com/episode/5s52OsUXYHBYY2961lCzJW?si=dfcca7a80ab64190 Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/redemption-hou-podcast/id1747381433?i=1000656189377 Prompts: Jesus invites us to follow Him. This is the singular invitation on the table. There is no lite or pro tier, just disciples. What about this might challenge you? What about this might free you? “I sing because I’m happy / I sing because I’m free / His eyes are on the sparrow / so I know He watches me.” This refrain has been sung by people over the years who have had plenty of reason to disbelieve the words coming out of their mouths. Take some time to get honest with God about how these words hit you at the moment. God is cool with honest prayers. Practice: Read and reflect Read Isaiah 60, which opens with a poem about the holy city reflecting God’s light. Then spend some time reflecting. Perhaps grab a writing instrument and a notepad. Have you ever found yourself at the end of your rope - tired and burned out? The light comes from outside of you. The light shines. That is simply what it does. Spend some time reflecting on this and getting curious on how this might allow you to exhale today.

    38 min
  2. God is the point

    Jun 2

    God is the point

    For those of us burned by versions of Christianity which are about behavior management, culture wars, or bigger, better, brighter performances Trinity Sunday is an invitation to re-consider all of it. If we pay close attention, Matthew 28 and the Great Commission reveals a God who is love through and through and who is drawing all of the world into that love. This means the church is mission — the enactment of what all the whole world was made for. For those of us burned by versions of Christianity which are about behavior management, culture wars, or bigger, better, brighter performances Trinity Sunday is an invitation to re-consider all of it. If we pay close attention, Matthew 28 and the Great Commission reveals a God who is love through and through and who is drawing all of the world into that love. This means the church is mission — the enactment of what all the whole world was made for.Prompts + PracticeJournaling Prompts:what do those around you think about Jesus, think about the church? How does your experience of following Jesus and church resonate or challenge those notions?How do you tend to introduce or describe your faith to those outside the church? What does that reveal about how you see yourself as a follower of Jesus?What does inviting others into God’s life stir in you? What might change if you saw this invitation as an extension of God’s invitation into love rather than a sales pitch about eternal damnation?Practice — Generous Invitation:This week consider who around you might need to know they are loved and welcomed by God. What would inviting them into worship look like? Would it be here with you? Perhaps another church or tradition?Consider inviting them to join you Sunday for worship. Or if not that for a meal as an extension of divine hospitality and care for them. Whatever you do, pray. Pray that they would come to hear that they are loved and welcomed into God’s very heart in Jesus Christ. Journaling Prompts: what do those around you think about Jesus, think about the church? How does your experience of following Jesus and church resonate or challenge those notions? How do you tend to introduce or describe your faith to those outside the church? What does that reveal about how you see yourself as a follower of Jesus? What does inviting others into God’s life stir in you? What might change if you saw this invitation as an extension of God’s invitation into love rather than a sales pitch about eternal damnation? Practice — Generous Invitation: This week consider who around you might need to know they are loved and welcomed by God. What would inviting them into worship look like? Would it be here with you? Perhaps another church or tradition? Consider inviting them to join you Sunday for worship. Or if not that for a meal as an extension of divine hospitality and care for them. Whatever you do, pray. Pray that they would come to hear that they are loved and welcomed into God’s very heart in Jesus Christ.

    33 min
  3. It. Is. Done.

    May 18

    It. Is. Done.

    The same God who raised Jesus from the dead is with us and we are with God. So Peter can tell a community like ours, that our suffering in this world should neither surprise us nor derail us from living into God's new reality — our past, present, and future are secured in Christ. Though it may be hard to see here and now, it is done. Journaling Prompts: What feels overwhelming right now? Where does it feel hardest to believe that keeping Jesus at the center makes sense? Christ has been raised and enthroned, but the world is not yet fully made new. How does living in that friction help you make sense of the tension you feel right now? Where are you tempted to resolve the friction prematurely — either by pretending the resurrection hasn't changed everything, or by pretending suffering shouldn't be a thing? Peter is not offering a coping strategy or escape — he makes a cosmic claim to encourage continued faithful resistance. If you took seriously the idea that something decisive has happened in Christ’s death and resurrection, what would change for you this week? Practice — Liturgy as Lab: Make a list of the things you are afraid of. Sit with each one. Ask: is Jesus inviting me toward something here — a person, a practice, a kind of courage? Or is he inviting me to release something — a need to control, a story I'm telling myself, a load that was never mine to carry? Take these to God one by one — not as burdens to be managed, but as cares cast on the One who cares for you, knowing they are already being carried before the throne of God by Christ himself. The whole pastoral logic of the passage is that something decisive has happened in Christ's resurrection (already), and on the basis of that, something will be brought to completion in us (not yet).

    36 min

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Weekly messages from Redemption Church of Houston, TX. Radically inclusive hope. For absolutely anyone. https://redemptionhou.com