Redlands Christian Reformed Church

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 14Preacher: Phil PoppingFrom time to time we all make silly decisions. Most of the time they're a bit of a 'whoops' moment and we don't worry about them too much. This week we see a series of foolish decisions, but when they're made by a king, the consequences are much more impactful. How can we learn from this?

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 13Preacher: Jono DeenickAs we have made our way through 1 Samuel, we have seen on a number of occasions the call to live in obedience to God. Saul was called to this just last week, and yet in our passage today we see him fail. But rather than just being another example of rebellion against God, we have an opportunity to see why he failed. To see the excuses he gave himself. This is helpful for us as we long to follow our loving Saviour and live in obedience to Him.

Text: 1 Samuel 12 Preacher: Phil Popping Blurb: Every day we wake up and go about our business, rarely stopping to think about who it is that rules our lives. It's easy to become familiar with both God and the grace he has extended us, but this week the people are mentally and spiritually arrested by the fresh knowledge of the God they serve. It is a picture to make us both tremble and praise!

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 11Preacher: Jono DeenickIt is very easy in our day to day lives to write God out of the story. It's not usually a deliberate thing, but as we march on getting everything done, focusing on what's in front of us, we can forget His place. We can forget that actually, our lives are ultimately for Him and His honour. When we do that, we inevitably slip into error. The same errors that we see in 1 Sam 11. When we remember that this is really His story, we will find comfort, joy and peace.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 10Preacher: Phil PoppingSome people are constantly trying to catch us out. They always find glee in our failure. If God acted like people so often do, we’d be constantly under the thumb of a God who loves to see us fall. Thankfully, this is the opposite of the God we find in Samuel.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 9Preacher: Jono DeenickLast week we saw that the people of Israel rejected God as their king and asked for a king so they could be 'like the other nations.' This week we see God begin the process of giving them a king, but He does so in a surprising way. Quietly through ordering of events to bring the king He has chosen to His prophet Samuel. As He does so, we learn an important lesson about the way God often acts in this world to bring about His purposes, and to protect and grow His people.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 8Preacher: Phil PoppingThese days it seems odd to want a king; they don't really seem to do a lot. But for Israel, they wanted a king to lead them. What does this say about how they viewed their existing king, God?

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 7:2b-17Preacher: Jono DeenickTowards the end of our section last week we saw the Israelites asking, 'who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?' It seems that the Israelites took that to heart because as we begin chapter 7 they mourn their rebellion and seek to turn back to God. As they do we see not only a wonderful example of repentance, but the blessing that it is to turn back to the living God.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 5:1-7:2aPreacher: Jono Deenick Last week we witnessed disaster as the Israelites carried the Ark of the covenant into battle as if it were a magical relic that would guarantee victory. At the end of the chapter the ark as been captured and the line of priests lies dead. So who will rescue God's ark? How will it be restored to Israel? In chapters 5 and 6 we see that God needs not human to rescued Him. Indeed, Israel herself is taught a serious lesson about treating God lightly. So that in the end they ask, "who can stand in the presence of the Lord, this holy God?"

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 4:1-22Preacher: Ben RingMany times throughout the Old Testament, God shows that he is powerfully present among his people. In our text this week, Israel seeks the powerful presence of God, but they seek it wrongly. As a result, they come to the tragic realisation that they have forsaken God and forsaken his presence. Although God departs from Israel, we will come to see that his powerful presence is not lost forever.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 3:1-4:1aPreacher: Phil PoppingIn the last chapter in Samuel, God protected his people by removing evil leaders. This week we see him raising up a new leader for the health of his people. We can learn a lot about godly leadership here, and also how God speaks to us!

Text: Philemon Preacher: Ben Peletier The book of Philemon is somewhat of a hidden gem. Buried away towards the back of our New Testaments, this short letter gives us a window into the world of the early church. The letter itself focuses on the somewhat strained relationship of three men, Paul, the Apostle, Philemon, a seemingly successful and faithful man and Onesimus, a slave. While the letter itself is about dealing with a very real and practical issue, it gives us a foundation to understand what working together for and in the gospel can and should look like. What does it mean for us today to be partners in the Gospel?

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 2:​12-36Preacher: Phil PoppingCorrupt leadership is a big problem when it occurs. This week we're shown a pretty awful picture of what this can look like in the priesthood of Israel. God's solution might seem a little over the top to us. Why does God clear house so thoroughly? What is he hoping to achieve?

Bible Text: Galatians 6:​11-18Preacher: Ben RingPaul ends his letter on the same serious but authentic note that it began, and helpfully reinstates the complex book of Galatians into clear principles. He shows us the underlying motivations which will cause us to drift from the gospel; as well as the one key principle which will keep us living in the grace and freedom of the gospel. If the gospel is a truth we want to live in for our whole lives, we will do well to listen to the one final gospel principle Paul gives.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 1Preacher: Jono DeenickThis week we begin our series through the book of 1 Samuel. We begin with a devout but troubled family. Hannah is childless and provoked and in her distress she cries out to the Lord Almighty. As she does, we learn about a God who not only listens to what we ask but is also aware of what we need. A God who loves us to flee to Him and to call on Him.

Bible Text: 1 Samuel 2:1-11Preacher: Jono DeenickLast week we saw the way God worked in Hannah as she came before him to pour out her heart to Him. She asked that God would give her a child, which she would in turn give back to God. Having received that child and given him to serve God, we now have her song of praise. In it we see the joy that we can have with God when we too humble ourselves before Him.

Bible Text: Galatians 6:1-10Preacher: Juhan KloosterWhen you think about change in the church, what comes to mind? Do you think about building projects, updating a ministry that’s seen better days, or dreaming up new programs? In our passage today, Paul talks about church change, but the focus isn’t on structures, ministries, or processes —it’s on people. In Chapter 4, Paul reminds us that we have been adopted into God’s family and filled with His Spirit. Here in our passage, Paul shows us practically what it looks like to live and work as a team under God's grace. The result is a community daily being transformed into the likeness of our Saviour. Join us as we look at Galatians 6:1–10 and discover what it means to grow together in Spirit-led change.

Preacher: Jono Deenick Text: Psalm 13 Perhaps you have had the experience of crying out to God in distress and after a time wondering if you're just speaking to the ceiling. Is He really listening we ask ourselves? Does He care? Will He do anything? Today we wrestle with this question that even some of the writers of the Bible have wrestled with and discover why we can have confidence that God is a God who hears us.

Preacher: Phil Popping Text: Romans 8:18-30 Blurb: If you could ask God just one question, what would it be? For many people the question we want God to answer is, why all the suffering? Although everyone's suffering is different, we all suffer. How can we reconcile a God of love with a world of suffering?

Bible Text: Galatians 5:​13-26Preacher: Jono DeenickLast week we saw that we are free from the law. Free from judgement under the law and free from trying to win God's favour through the law. Does that mean we can just ignore it all together? That we can live however we want and God doesn't care at all? No, not at all. God rescues us from the present evil age, not just in the sense of forgiving us but by making us new and giving us a new love for Him and trust in Him. What does that new life look like however? We clearly aren't immediately perfect and this week we will see how God has planned for us to grow more and more like our saviour Jesus.