Podcast
Redwood Church Preaching
Hosted by Redwood Church · EN
14episodes
Episodes
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Psalm 111, God’s acrostic love for his people
Mar 2100:37:12Tap to summarizeGod has given us nine acrostic psalms, yet modern songwriting sensibilities do not include this form. Why would God make alphabetical lines a priority for poetic expression? Why limit himself to having his message dictated by the order of the Hebrew alphabet? What profound truth does the form and nature of this poetry communicate about God’s love for his covenant people? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Good kissing & glorious dancing (Song of Songs part 2)
Feb 1300:40:38Tap to summarizeBeing discipled by chick flicks and pop songs, we tend to think of love as the initial flames set ablaze when we meet the person of our dreams. But the “flame of Yah”—true love as God designed it—is a cultivated fire from start to finish. To keep this marital fire burning brightly, Song of Songs depicts key elements of romance which we can cultivate in our own marriages. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Tuning the modern ear to biblical poetry (Song of Songs part 1)
Jan 3100:43:57Tap to summarizeIf Song of Songs is truly named, then it is the best and most important song ever written. Yet the modern reader finds its poetry awkward, unsatisfying, and confusing. What help does God offer through this song for cultivating romantic affection in our own marriages—and how can we train our modern ears to find it profitable? Three elements contribute to poetic excellence, and help us to discern the value in Solomon’s work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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The truth that grounds every new year, and time itself
Dec 2700:33:40Tap to summarizePsalm 47 is a psalm that grounds all of time, drawing history together into a meaningful whole. Always it has been true, always it is true, and always it will be true. It is the great foundation of the past; the great promise of the future; the linchpin of yesterday, today, and tomorrow: King is God over the nations; very ascended is he. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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The inconvenience of Christmas
Dec 2000:29:28Tap to summarizeDespite the celebrations, Christmas is a time of many mundane hardships and difficulties — from annoying relatives to stretched finances. Since it is easy for us to feel set-upon and inconvenienced, it is helpful to reflect on how the first Christmas is a story of stress and anxiety, confusion and unknowns for Mary and Joseph, who had their expectations, hopes, and plans for their lives completely upended. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Judges 5, part 2: the active work of God in every event of our lives
May 24, 202500:42:12Tap to summarizeIsrael’s victories are not won by military strategy or strength of arms, but by the intervention of God’s presence with his hosts of angels. This is plainly depicted in Barak’s battle with Sisera, revealing a world not governed by mechanical, natural forces, but personal, spiritual agents. How does this affect our view of providence, and what is and (is not) possible? Rather than asking “what can I do in this situation?” and running a simulation in our heads, we should simply ask, “what should I do?” and leave the rest to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Judges 5, part 1: how the church should write victory psalms
May 17, 202500:42:16Tap to summarizeWhereas in one part of the church, singing anything but the Bible’s psalms is viewed as worldly progressivism, and in another part, singing psalms at all is viewed as backward primitivism, in fact scripture reveals the need to continually write new psalms. After going to war and defeating their enemies, Deborah and Barak model the proper response: a victory psalm commemorating God’s help. But what is the pattern of such a psalm? Does it look like contemporary Christian music? Old hymns? Or something else? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Judges 4, part 3: Yael, deceiver and piercer of the serpent
May 10, 202500:47:34Tap to summarizeYael, the lady of a house in league with the Canaanite king, defies her husband by deceiving and slaying Sisera, the principal of the Canaanite army. What should we make of Yael’s treatment of Sisera? Is she a liar and a murderer? Or is she indeed blessed among women? And if so, what is the implication for women in the church, and spiritual warfare? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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Jesus’ arguments against anxiety, part 4
May 3, 202500:28:25Tap to summarizeJesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His fourth argument is against the futility of worry: that we cannot make ourselves grow in any way by it; rather the opposite. When we worry, we could be doing literally anything else of value, and the outcome would be better. We should therefore give our anxiety to the One who can do something about our problems. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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How are we to let go of rage and forgive our enemies?
Apr 26, 202500:36:29Tap to summarizeScripture tells us we are to participate in Christ by forgiving our enemies — sacrificing ourselves and our anger, knowing that ultimately God is the one sacrificing us for the sake of shaping us into his image. Yet the New Testament doesn’t give much practical instruction in how. This is because the Psalms already do. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com
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