Redeemer Modesto Sermon Audio

<p>Psalm 18</p>

<p>Jim Applegate | Redeemer Modesto | Psalm 42</p>

<p>Redeemer Modesto | Sermon | Psalm 51 | Jim Applegate</p>

<p>Jim Applegate | Psalm 4 | Redeemer Modesto</p>

<p>Psalm 37 | Redeemer Modesto | Eddie Martin<br><br>DISCOVER new ways to trust in God this week. Meditate on this Psalm and ask Him to reveal new ways to put your hope and trust in Him, building your faith.<br><br>GROW in your faith by finding ways you can experience joy in the blessings God has provided you this week.<br><br>LIVE on mission by affirming your calling that God has given you by seeking and cultivating the gifts He's given you.</p>

<p>Jim Applegate | Redeemer Modesto | Psalm 92</p>

<p>Key Thought: Process your emotions with your face toward God<br><br>Jim Applegate | Redeemer Modesto | Psalm 1</p>

<p>Easter Service - 4.4.21</p>

<p>The elders share the vision for Redeemer and what had transpired in the past year.</p>

<p>Discussion Question 1: What does continuous seasons of suffering lead to?<br>Discussion question 2: Which of Peter’s strategies for dealing with self-pity during suffering could you try this week: Pray earnestly, love deeply, show hospitality, discover/use your gift?<br>Discussion Question 3: Where do find the strength to live out this strategy in continuous seasons of suffering?<br><br>2/6/2021<br>1 Peter 4:7-11<br>Living without Self Pity<br><br>As we travel through 1 Peter, we have seen that he is talking about suffering, more suffering, and suffering again. It’s like he cannot stop talking to the church about suffering. <br><br>The context of the book is a letter to a church that is enduring much suffering. The Emperor Nero is in power over the Roman Empire, and he has used the Christians as scapegoats for his campaign – a sort of common enemy for the people to unite over. As the Christians are being killed, driven from the homes, as their businesses and way of life is being destroyed, Peter says to them “God is at work - respond in kindness”. <br><br>God was setting the people up so that he would receive glory. When you are unkind to people you expect them to be unkind back, but when they respond with kindness it makes you stop and think “this person is different…what is different about them” and in that, they get to tell the story of God’s love. But Peter says that nots always the case. Sometimes instead of someone stopping the unkindness, they actually persecute you worse. Peter says don’t despair, God is actually letting this happen so that he will be glorified all the more. <br><br>The truth is so hard… getting treated poorly when you have done something wrong is expected, but not when you have done something right. <br><br>As we enter this passage, Peter doesn’t relent on this message of suffering… it keeps coming. Peter says “The world is coming to an end” – imagine him with a sandwich board walking around the churches – the situation seems dire, and really hopeless. When you are facing a season of intense suffering, isn’t this how you feel? <br><br>Do you remember the story of Job? He lost his sons and daughters, all his wealth, and his health. His statement in response was “Why is life given to those with no future, those God has surrounded with difficulties?” There is a hopelessness that comes in suffering. Have you experienced that? Are you experiencing it in this season? <br><br>As we look at our text this morning, we want to tackle it by asking three questions. First, what can continuous seasons of suffering lead to? Second, what is a great strategy in continuous seasons of suffering. Third, where do find the strength to live out this strategy in continuous seasons of suffering?<br><br>Take a minute to read our text and ask God to help us understand it.<br><br>Our first question: What can continuous seasons of suffering lead to? Peter tells us “the world is coming to an end”. This is not exactly a hopeful statement but what does he really mean? Is he saying that the world is literally coming to an end – like asteroids are going to hit it or the death star is going to shoot at it? Or is he saying it in the context of “I’m not sure how much more of this I can handle…the world is coming to an end”. <br><br>Like a parent who has been at home all day with her kids, trying to get them to do school online, all the while trying to work themselves, and then having to clean and cook. At some point, if that parent is married and the other parent walks through the door, they will say “the world is coming to an end – you take over before I do something I’ll get put in jail for”. <br><br>When we are in prolonged seasons of suffering, what begins to happen? Psychologists tell us that people who suffer over a long period of time typical turn their suffering inward. Psychologist Steven Stosny, says in Psychology Today that when “pain generalizes, it seems to be about the self – a kind of self-ache. As the alarm of pain intensifies, fixing our focus on distress, we become self-obsessed. Eventually we identity with the pain in a subtle or overt victim-identity”. For those of us without a Ph.D let me tell you what he is saying. People who suffer over a long period of time typically (not all) suffer with pessimistic self-pity. <br><br>The heart begins to say “woe is me, this will never change” or “I will never get out of this”. The heart begins to sabotage itself thinking everything is hopeless. It says what’s the point of trying, it’s only going to break again, or what’s the point of dreaming only to be disappointed again. Peter says it like this…“The end of the world is near”.<br><br>Both secular and Christian counselors agree that self-pity is one of the most dangerous traps that a person can get themselves in.

<p>1/31/2021<br>Human Passions<br>1 Peter 4:1-6<br><br>Key Thought: If you are willing to suffer like Jesus, you will find great freedom to do the will of God.<br><br>In the 1950’s there was a preacher named David Wilkerson who went to preach the gospel in a gang controlled neighborhood in New York. It’s a famous story in which one of the gang leaders, Nicky Cruz, tells Wilkerson “You come near me and I’ll kill you”. Wilkerson’s response was “yeah, you could do that. You could cut me into a thousand pieces and lay them in the street, and every piece will still love you.”<br><br>What Wilkerson is revealing here is that because he is willing to suffer, he has taken away any and all power that Nicky Cruz has over him. Wilkerson looks at this gang leader pointing a switch-blade in his direction and is able to speak love into his life because he has already thought through the possible scenarios of being stabbed or killed. <br><br>Fortunately the story has an amazing ending. When Nicky Cruz realizes that his threats had no power over Wilkerson, he realizes “he is different – no one responds this way”. The end of the story is one of the most famous Christian books of all times, ‘The Cross and the Switchblade’, in which we learn that this violent gang leader, Nicky Cruz, became a believer in Jesus and went on to be a preacher. <br><br>There is a really simple lesson here in this story – because Wilkerson was willing to suffer, he removed all of the power that Cruz had over him. Because he had already thought about the possible consequences and considered the cost, he was able to be a free agent with Cruz instead of running away.<br><br>As we look at 1 Peter 4 this morning, we are going to hear Peter say ‘If you are willing to suffer like Jesus, you will find great freedom to do the will of God’. Peter was talking to a group of people who had suffered greatly – they were dealing with the greatest persecution the church had ever faced – they had been removed from homes, families, churches, many of them had been killed – they had been the recipients of slanderous accusations from the Roman Emperor and had the entire Roman nation. <br><br>Peter has been telling them that even though they are under tremendous persecution, they would submit to the government – even honoring them, and submit to all authorities, and submit to one-another. As they submit, those who are persecuting will say ‘wait a second…these people are different…they are not what Nero has been saying about them…when we are unkind to them they respond with kindness…when we are unjust to them, they respond with justice…when we hurt them they respond by bringing restoration…these people are different. And as they respond, the Christians will ‘silence the ignorant talk of foolish men’ – the slanderous accusations that they had been facing would be silenced. <br><br>Last week we saw that while this strategy is what God calls us to, sometimes the strategy doesn’t go so well – as Christians we respond in kindness, and things get worse. We say that in the moments when it gets worse, that God is not abandoning us, but he is setting up a greater situation for people to see him and bring him glory.<br><br>But Peter is realistic here – he knows that he is calling the church to something that is really hard. Continue to submit when things get worse? Continue to have a humble and kind response when people are walking all over you? This makes no logical sense, in fact it seems foolish, and if we are going to be capable of doing this, we will have to decide ahead of time that we are willing to suffer. This is where we get our key thought: If you are willing to suffer like Jesus, you will find great freedom to do the will of God.<br><br>As we look at our text this morning, we are going to ask three questions:<br><br>1. What does it mean to be willing to suffer?<br>2. What is gained by a willingness to suffer? (2-3 – A life of sin/A life for God)<br>3. What enables us to be willing to suffer? (God’s over it all - 4-6)<br><br>Read the text.<br><br>First, what does it mean to be willing to suffer. Peter tells us ‘since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had and be ready to suffer, too”. What sort of physical suffering did just undergo? We are told in the gospels the numerous suffering that Jesus underwent from the accusations and allegations of the religious leaders, to the rejection of people who were afraid of him, to the torture that he faced on his journey to being crucified (the beatings, the whipping, the crown of thorns), and then his actual crucifixion. <br><br>We are told in the Luke 22 that Jesus sweat blood in the garden before he was taken into captivity, a rare condition called hematohidrosis. Jesus knew the pain that was

<p>1 Peter 3:13-22<br>Good Fear<br>1/24/2021<br><br>Having wrong expectations is a recipe for disaster. If you go into a relationship thinking that this person is perfect and they will never disappoint you in any way…prepare for disaster. If you think money will fix all your problems…prepare for disaster. In the same way, having wrong expectations of your relationship with God is a recipe for disaster.<br><br>Many people expect that with greater obedience that life will get easier, more restful. They think that if I just obey more, seek God more, and follow Jesus better, then my life will have less difficulty and struggle. If this is what you expect out of Christianity, then this is a recipe for disaster, because God has something very different in mind.<br><br>Sometimes God ‘t’s up the ball’ for us in a different way so that we can bring him glory. Sometimes he lets us endure heartache after heartache all for the purpose of setting us up so that an epic story can told about his work of redemption.<br><br>Discussion Questions: Have your expectations of God led to disappointments with God?<br><br>Peter has been telling a group of believers to live in submission to an unjust government, unjust authority, and even to difficult personal relationships. These people had been the subject of unjust persecution under the Roman emperor, Nero, and now found themselves all over Asia, some having lost their entire livelihoods and many their friends and family. <br><br>Nero was slandering and persecuting Christians and telling the government and citizens of Rome join in – go and kill those Christians, go destroy their lives and churches. Nero lied about what the Christians believed and how they acted, in hopes that people would have a common enemy and be united in what he wanted. But as people persecuted the Christians, Peter told them to respond with kindness. As they responded in kindness, people realized that Nero was lying, and that the Christians were way different than they had expected, thus realizing the greatness of God. As public opinion changed, people turned against Nero, and eventually Nero committed suicide. The encouragement of Peter actually worked – God had set up the situation so that the Christians could be seen as different, and God could have an epic story of redemption. But there was a problem…responding in kindness didn’t always get the response they wanted – sometimes things got worse.<br><br>You’d think that Peter would say to them, “as you live in submission, your life is going to get easier”. But what he says is different – he tells that sometimes it gets better (v 13), and sometimes it doesn’t (vs 14). Sometimes you do what is right and people are glad, and other times you do what is right, and people curse you. <br><br>But in this, Peter is telling them not to be discouraged because in actuality, God is still on the throne, and in letting them endure greater levels of persecution, he is just setting them up so that his story of redemption gets even better.<br><br>He tells the people ‘don’t be afraid, don’t be troubled’ knowing that God is up to something – and in having correct expectations, they can joyfully endure, even living in great anticipation of what God is up to. <br> <br>In telling them this, Peter realizes he is telling them something really hard, so he tells them to think about the example of Jesus (v 18-22). Jesus was perfect, treated people perfectly, never said an evil word, never retaliated, but his life got worse and worse until he was eventually crucified, and even then, after he suffered more by preaching to the spirits in prison. Jesus did good – and it got worse.<br><br>What was happening? God was setting up Jesus to do the greatest story of redemption that could ever be told. While we look at it and say ‘that just looks like it is getting worse’, Jesus is looking at it, trusting the will of his Father who loves him, and thinking ‘how is God going to do an epic work of redemption through this?’ And sure enough, we live in the beauty of what Jesus endured, and we are worshipping our savior throughout all eternity…a work of redemption that is incredible. <br><br>If Jesus expected the result of obedience to be a life that was easy, comfortable, and happy all the time, he would have been really disappointed. But God set him up, things went from bad to worse, but in it all, the greatest story of redemption was unfolding. We look at Jesus and glorify God forever…his love, mercy and grace are mind-blowing.<br><br>Sometimes God lets us go through crazy difficult experiences – even letting circumstances go from bad to worse, so that people will have a chance to look at the way we respond and say “there is something different about those people” and in so doing, they will rejoice.<br><br>Throughout

<p>1/17/2021<br>1 Peter 3:8-12<br>The Good Life<br><br>Have you ever baked something and left out a certain ingredient? When I was in high school I worked for Taco Bell. Those were the days of brown pants and orange shirts – I wish I had kept that uniform. On one occasion I was in charge of making the beans – at that point it wasn’t a reheat situation, but rather one of putting beans, water, salt and other things into a huge pressure cooker. This particular time I put in all the ingredients except for the water. After about an hour, I had a huge pot of smoking beans…it was a sad day at Taco Bell. <br><br>When you are baking, are all the ingredients important? Are some ingredients more important that others? What can you leave out and still enjoy the taste of what you are making?<br><br>We are in one of those sections today in which Peter is going to give us a list of ingredients to wrap up this section on submission…but it is not a list in we get to pick and choose a few things that we like, but rather if the recipe is going to work, you need all the ingredients.<br><br>Here’s our outline: 1. What is Peter ‘baking’? 2. What are the ingredients? 3. Why do we need all the ingredients?<br><br>1. What is Peter ‘baking’? Peter is actually baking what we might call a recipe for “the good life”. Quoting from Psalm 34, he says “Whoever desires to love life and see good days”. <br><br>Peter has been teaching the church that in order to have a good life, you have to live in submission to one-another; you have to eat submission pie. In other words, you can’t just do what is right in your own eyes and have a good life – you have to be submissive – that is the way that God created life to be. <br><br>Over the past couple of weeks we’ve seen the devastating consequences of people who don’t want to live in submission, even in the highest levels of government. The unwillingness to live in obedience to the way our society is structured resulted in the loss of life, and even more confusion for our black brothers and sisters – it is heartbreaking. <br><br>If you look at the way that God created in Genesis, there is an order, there is a surrender, and people who ignore or avoid that order and that surrender end up with very broken and lonely lives. Even if you are not a believer in God, you know that when you submit, when you work within the rules of society, when you respect the people around you, when you respect your employer and those that are you in relationship with, it makes for a much better life. <br><br>Consider examples like submission to traffic laws, or business laws – we all know society functions well when each person lives in submission to one-another. This is what Peter is saying. <br><br>And just to be clear, Peter isn’t saying this because he lives at an easy time in history where it is easy to bake submission pie. Peter is preaching to a church that has seen some of the greatest levels of persecution and hardship in history – unjust subjection from the narcissistic Roman Emperor Nero which as a result they are now scattered all over Asia, having lost everything. But what he is calling them to do hasn’t changed. <br><br>In fact, he has gone from saying submit to the emperor, to submit to your earthly masters (employers), to submit to each other as husband and wives, and now he is using a catch all phrase – “All of you”. If you had thought you had been excluded from submission, he just included you. <br><br>What is Peter baking – what are the ingredients for? The “good life” – an enjoyable life with many happy days by baking ‘submission pie’. <br><br>Discussion Question: How does living in submission to one-another make for a good life? <br><br>2. What are the ingredients of ‘submission pie’? Peter lists out seven ingredients here in verses 8-9, and all of them are necessary. Let’s look at these ingredients.<br><br>Sympathy. The first ingredient to submission pie is sympathy. Sympathy is the ability to have compassion for someone else. It’s the ability to have your emotions stirred as you see someone’s needs. Sympathy is what you feel when Sarah McLachlan SPCA commercials as they are showing all the faces of sad cats and dogs. <br><br>Sympathy is a very powerful tool that brings about hope and healing to almost any relationship. Recently Heather and I went to a conference in which they introduced me to the idea of sympathy by using the phrase ‘compassionate curiosity’. They did this exercise with us that helped us to sympathize. They asked us to share out loud about the silent voices that we each hear in our heads. As Heather was sharing the voices in her head, some that she learned in childhood and some that she has picked up in our marriage, I was so full of sympathy and it made me want to work so muc

<p>1/3/2021<br>1 Peter 2:18-25<br><br>As Christians, we believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. It was written by men, but those men were directed by God. The Bible was written over thousands of years by authors that did not have anything in common except the voice of God. <br><br>Even though we believe it is the word of God, often times we have a hard time submitting to what it says. Often this is because someone has taught it wrong or used portions of it out of context for their own gain. Sometimes it is because we have interpreted it through the lenses of our common day vantage point and misunderstood what it is truly saying. But sometimes we have a hard time submitting to what it says because it says hard things – things that seem foolish to us.</p>

<p>As we start, take time to read the text and pray.<br><br>What we celebrate at the Christmas season is Jesus – Peter tells us that Jesus is a ‘living stone, rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious. As we come to Jesus, it is hard to understand who is He, and what it means to be relationship with him. One of the ways in which we realize that God invites us to know him is that he sets up metaphors that help us understand who he is, and who he wants to be in our lives. One of these metaphors is found in this section of 1 Peter, namely a ‘cornerstone’. A cornerstone is a rock that became the foundation for the building – it not only was strong enough to anchor the building, but it also was the stone that aligned the rest of the building. In our time together today we want to look as three questions.</p>

<p>12/13/2020<br>Text: I Peter 1:22-2:3<br>Holiness Over Circumstances<br><br>Key Thought: If you are needy, you act one way, but if your needs are met, you act another.<br>One of the great debates in religion is “what do I need to do to purify my soul?” Some think it is<br>confession and hail Mary’s. Some think it is purgatory. Some think we are already pure, perfect<br>just the way we are. Some wonder why we need our soul’s to be purified?<br><br>In this section, Peter talks about this issue, but his take on it might be different than you<br>think. It might be easiest to understand by answering three questions: Why do we need to<br>purify our souls? What purifies our souls? What is the outcome of purifying our souls?</p>

<p>Key Thought: If you know the gospel, going into the refiners fire (suffering) doesn’t turn you into ashes, it turns your faith into something more precious than pure gold. <br><br>Have you noticed that everyone in this world suffers? Suffering is relative to each individual, but no one escapes it. I remember watching the Bill Gates documentary “Inside Bill’s Brain” and wondering if a billionaire suffers. Sure enough, you hear the story of his broken relationship with his partner Paul Allen that never got set right, even while Paul was dying of cancer. You can’t escape suffering, and Peter knows it – it is a constant theme mentioned over 15 times.<br><br>But what Peter reveals is that suffering is a like a fire that either turns you into ashes or refines you into something more precious than gold. Like an athlete that sacrifices and suffers in training (the dietary restrictions, the muscle cramps, the time and energy), yet turns that suffering into a gold medal. <br><br>Unlike the athlete, the suffering that the scattered church went through due to persecution of Rome…it wasn’t voluntary. But what made this suffering to turn their faith into something more precious than gold instead of into ashes? What makes the difference? <br><br>It was their relationship with Jesus…their understanding of the gospel. Here’s the key thought today: If you know the gospel, going into the refiners fire (suffering) doesn’t turn you into ashes, it turns your faith into something more precious than pure gold.</p>

<p>Key Thought: Hold fast in circumstances by holding fast to the identity God gave. <br><br>No doubt as Peter writes this letter to the scattered churches that he is cognizant of their circumstances. Peter refers to the recipients as scattered (exiles) and mentions suffering at least fifteen times in this letter making it the major theme. Peter is also known as the Apostle of hope; while John predominantly wrote about love and Paul wrote predominantly about faith, Peter writes about hope. The circumstances that the church was in because of the Romans persecution of the Christians was of great concern, but as you notice with a reading of the letter, it is not the main theme. While he validated their suffering, he didn’t focus on the circumstances. The main theme is the hope that is found in Jesus and the new identity that Christians have been given in him.<br><br>As we look at these next few verses we will see the identity given, the identity lived out, and the identity looking forward. The identity refers to the person who the Christian has become because of faith in Jesus – a total transformation of who they are.</p>

<p>11/15/2020<br>Text: 1 Peter 1:1-2<br>Title: The Circumstances of 1 Peter<br><br>Key Thought: Jesus is not surprised about the circumstances you are in, but predestined them for his glory, your joy, and the edification of the community. <br><br>Tap the link at the .pdf for teaching notes!</p>

<p>Matthew 4:18-20 | Orphan Sunday | Danny Conner</p>

<p>Eddie Martin | Redeemer Modesto | Matthew 9:27-34</p>

<p>Redeemer Modesto | Dan Howard | 2 Cor. 3:3</p>

<p>Key thought: When we engage in partnerships, we should first remember that God engages in a partnership with us.<br><br>Four questions to ask when engaging in partnerships: <br>1. Do we remember our truest identity as ‘child of God’? <br>2. Do we remember our endgame?<br>3. Who will influence who?<br>4. Do we remember that God engages in partnership with people like us?</p>

<p>Key Thought: Living out our faith full of compassion and conviction leads to Christ-likeness. <br><br>Scripture: Exodus, Matthew, Ephesians, Judges 17-21, Luke 15, John 1:14</p>

<p>Pastor Jim teaches on James 2:14-26 and talks about how Christians are called to be a light during this season.</p>

<p>2 Samuel 9</p>

<p>Romans 16:25-27 | Redeemer Modesto | Jim Applegate</p>

<p>Sermon based on Let Justice Roll Down by Dr. John M. Perkins</p>

<p>Key Thought: Our Relationship with God Changes our Relationship With Fellow Believers<br><br>Check out the Postservice Wrap on the Redeemer Media tab!</p>

<p>Key Thought: Our relationship with God changes our relationships with our neighbors.</p>

<p>Romans 12:9-21 | Jim Applegate</p>

<p>Romans 11</p>

<p>Redeemer Modesto | Dan Howard | 1 Samuel 1:1-28</p>