Sermon Preview: In the Beginning, Jesus

Words fail us. There are just some areas, some topics, that cannot be described well in words. We can try and it is good and right for us to do our best, but we must live with the tension that our words just can’t quite get us there. This Sunday we begin a series on the Gospel of John. John opens with some of the most important words ever written; they change everything. They soar and penetrate and inspire, but as you read them you can tell he is straining to express what words can barely describe.

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…”

John writes his gospel so that his readers ”may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:31). John writes so that we would see Jesus, his beauty and majesty and unrivaled significance, and thereby place our complete trust in him. This is the doorway to life. Close your eyes and you can see the glory of that light shining under the door. This winter we open the door of John’s gospel.

I can’t wait to worship together.

Pastor David

Redeemer Men's Retreat

Friday-Sunday, March 14-16, Carlsbad Redeemer men, it’s time to sign up for our annual Men’s Retreat. Join us March 14th through 16th in Carlsbad. We will hear from Dr. Vincent Bacote on the topic of Faith & Work: “Our work can be a calling only if it is reimagined as a mission of service to something beyond merely our own interests. Thinking of work mainly as a means of self-fulfillment and self-realization slowly crushes a person.” (Dr. Tim Keller) Contact Cameron Moore, cameron@cameronmoore.com, with questions or to sign up. Registration deadline is February 17th.

South County Parish Gathering

Sunday, January 19, 5:00 pm South County parishioners are invited to join us for our January gathering. We will meet at the home of Jonathan and Mandy Hogan in Ladera Ranch on Sunday, January 19th. We look forward to hearing from Lilian Pahn about School on Wheels, the organization where she works. School on Wheels provides tutoring and support for homeless children in South County (and across Southern California). Prepare to think about ways we can potentially partner with this organization to serve South Orange County.

Beach Cities & Central County Food Drive

This month Beach Cities and Central County parishes are going to begin a Food Drive for Agape Homes of Newport Beach and Costa Mesa. Agape Homes are sober living homes that help people take the next step in their recovery process. We will be collecting food (list below) to distribute to five homes with a total of 38 needy clients. Bags with a food list will be made available for you to pick up at church over the next few Sundays.

On Sunday January 26th we will hold our parish gathering at 4pm at Temple Bat Yahm. Sorting and packing hundreds of cans and food is a service event for families to enjoy with their kids and youth, while connecting with other local Redeemer parishioners. We will also have supplies for our kids to draw pictures and write encourage notes to some of the men and women in the homes.

After our formal gathering time together a few individuals will then drive and drop off the food at each of the five homes.

The specific details and RSVP information are below. We look forward to seeing many of you on January 26th or before in the grocery store as we buy food for the drive.

Details for the Food Drive

Bags will be available before and after the worship service in the chapel hall. Please make sure you grab a bag.

Food Needed: Tuna cans, Chicken cans, Peanut Butter, Jelly or Jam, Chili cans, Ravioli cans, Pasta, Pasta Sauce, Granola Bars, 13 Bean Soup Mix, Mac & Cheese (the kind you only add water), Top Ramen, Pouches of Instant Brown Rice, Pancake mix, Syrup

Please bring food directly to the temple that afternoon. If you are unable to attend the afternoon gathering, you are welcome to drop off food at church in the morning.

Details for the Parish Gathering

When:  Sunday January 26, 4-5:30pm

Where:  Temple Bat Yahm's Library & Youth Lounge 1011 Camelback Street Newport Beach, CA 9266

RSVP:  Click HERE to RSVP for the Parish Gathering.

Contact:  Adam Feichtmann, adamf@redeemeroc.org

 

Sermon Preview: The Visit of the Wise Men

Happy New Year! 2014 has arrived, but Christmas is still here. Sunday is the 12th and last day of the Christmas season. To give Christmas one last celebratory hurrah, before we have to wait another 353 days, we will be opening our Bibles to Matthew 2:1-12 to study The Visit of the Wise Men.

Who were these men? Why were they wise? And why are they in our Christmas nativity scenes if Jesus was 2-years-old when they visited?

Join us on Sunday to find out these answers and to explore how God's wisdom turns the wisdom of the age upside down.

I look forward to worshiping with you.

Adam Feichtmann

North County Parish Project

Saturday, January 11th, 8:00 am - 12:00 pm Redeemer North County Parish is invited to  join Fullerton Mayor Doug Chaffee and our neighbors in an effort to beautify our city. This project involves the partnering of volunteers and city crews to re-landscape a key section of the Euclid corridor.

Location

Department of Motor Vehicles, Fullerton 909 W. Valencia Dr., Fullerton, CA (Corner of Euclid St. & W. Valencia Dr.). Participants can park in the DMV parking lot.

Schedule

8:00 am – 9:00 am – Gather and Registration 9:00 am – 9:30 am – Introductions and Orientation 9:30 am – 11:30 am – Landscape Planting Project 11:30 am – 12:00 pm – Wrap-up and dismiss 12:00 pm – Lunch for volunteers at Giovanni's (922 Williamson Ave, Fullerton, CA 92832)

Contact Drew Duncan with questions, aduncan@waxie.com or see the attached flyer for more details.

 

Sermon Preview: Sweeter Than Honey

I hope you all had a very merry Christmas and are still able to celebrate the birth of Christ with family and friends during these 12 days of Christmas. One of the highlights of Christmas for me was the chance to savor the sweetness of great food and drink around the table with my family. For most of us, we have been blessed to acquire tastes for food and drink, as well as gain wisdom in our tastebuds to know when certain foods or drinks fall short. In Psalm 119:97-104, our Scripture passage for this Sunday, we have the chance to learn how God forms our tastes to savor what he loves and to have the wisdom to know when something falls short of its original design...To delight in tasting the sweetness of God's Word, and to have disgust for the false ways and teachings that invade our lives.

I look forward to worshiping with you this Sunday as we study and savor the sweetness of God's Word together.

Adam Feichtmann

Quote: John Piper

[bgsection pex_attr_title="" pex_attr_subtitle="" pex_attr_undefined="undefined" pex_attr_style="section-light" pex_attr_bgcolor="f4fafc" pex_attr_image="" pex_attr_imageopacity="0.1" pex_attr_titlecolor="3ea5ce" pex_attr_textcolor="82acbd" pex_attr_bgimagestyle="static"]

“ We taste the sweetness of God as he meets us in his Word.” - John Piper

[/bgsection]

Christmas Eve Service

Tuesday, December 24th, 5:00 - 6:00 pm Come experience the joy and drama of Christmas with Redeemer Church.

What to Expect

Expect to sing the great Christmas songs you love, hear scripture that will open up the joy and drama of Christmas, and find the encouragement you need. Even if you have not been to a church in years, or ever, you will find Redeemer a comfortable place to enjoy the Christmas season with the whole family.

Click HERE to see our Order of Worship for our annual lessons and carols service this Christmas Eve.

Location Information

Redeemer Orange County Morgan Chapel at Temple Bat Yahm 1011 Camelback Street Newport Beach, CA 9260 contact@redeemeroc.org (949) 553-2060

Sermon Preview: Waiting for a King

Sing it with me, “All I want for Christmas is my… King to come!?! I don’t think that’s how it goes.

In our final sermon on the Minor Prophets we will look at the promise God makes to his people to send them a King. I know that when we think of Kings we think of fantasy novels and global celebrities, but we really do want a King. Really. In all of our longings for a secure future, in all of our desire to have clear direction in our life, our hopes for comfort and safety; in all of this what we really want is a good King.

I know that it is not the first thing that rolls off our lips when we reflect on what we want, but the truth is we are all longing for a King. The good news is that he has come and he is coming.

I can’t wait to worship together.

Pastor David

 

“Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!

Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!

Behold, your king is coming to you”

—Zechariah 9:9

 

"The Church is not promised success; it is promised the peace of Christ in the midst of tribulation, and the witness of the Spirit given out of the Church’s weakness and ignorance.  For the future it has Christ’s promise: 'It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom' (Luke 12:32). And for the present it has His assurance: 'Be of good cheer; I have  overcome the world! (John 16:33).'"

—Lesslie Newbigin (unpublished paper dated 1962)

Praying for Dave & Mary Gothi

Members of our Redeemer family, Dave and Mary Gothi, will be traveling extensively over the next few months for their marriage ministry, The Significant Marriage (TSM), and their ministry with St. Catherine's orphanage in India, Sunshine Kids International (SKI). Please pray for them in the following ways:

  • Pray for safe travel.
  • Pray for time with family, especially for time with Mary's 95-year-old aunt and with their grandson, Jaden, who has diabetes.
  • Pray God would bless each marriage ministry weekend.
  • Pray for their Sunshine Kids International mission trip.

Gothi's Travel Schedule:

  • December:  Indiana with family
  • January:  Germany leading TSM with expats;  London for TSM and SKI development meetings; Travel to India
  • February:  India leading TSM in Mumbai, SKI Happy Feet show, and mission trip
  • March:  Indiana with family; Chicago leading A New Beginning (a retreat through Family Dynamics  for troubled marriages)
  • April:  Return home to CA for the SKI silent auction

Angel Tree

Until Sunday, December 22, Sign-ups in the Fellowship Hall This year Redeemer continues our tradition of participating the Prison Fellowship Angel Tree program. Families can reach out to the children of inmates by giving them gifts on behalf of their parent who is incarcerated. Praise God that all of our children this year are sponsored! You can still share the love of Christ with children of prisoners this Christmas by helping with delivering gifts. Contact Lauri Fusco, laurifusco@cox.net, if you want to help. Remember that gifts need to be turned in Sunday, December 22nd.

Sermon Preview: Waiting for a Priest

Waiting for a Priest, Zechariah 3:1-10 Christmas morning with little kids, just hopping with excitement and joy. If you let them they would dive head first into the presents, and rip through the paper and packages in an instant. I also love the comedy of their honesty. Get them a present they don’t like or don’t know what to do with and they will tell you, maybe even just throwing it aside with a confused shrug to see what is next. They haven’t yet learned the subtle art of accepting a gift you don’t like without offending the giver.

God has a wonderful gift for you. Are you ready? Rip open the package and take a look. He got you a priest! Excited? Do you like your new gift? Maybe like me you kind of shrug at this gift with a confused look. What is a priest for? Why would I want that? I can think of some other things I might have liked better.

This Sunday we continue our look at the book of Zechariah. The people of God have returned from the exile and God has given them a gift. A priest. And not just them, but us as well. God has given us a priest and it is better than you can imagine.

For all those who feel like they don’t measure up. For all those who feel like you are hopelessly on the outside. For all those who fear they don’t have the endurance to keep up with those racing around them. This sermon, this gift of a priest, is for you. There really is no better gift. Trust me.

I can’t wait to worship together.

Pastor David

Sermon Preview: Will We Wait Forever?

Here is a four letter word that you never want to hear… “wait”. The Advent Season, the four weeks leading up to Christmas, is about waiting. Waiting reveals us. Consider the last time you were forced to wait. What did that experience tell you about yourself? Waiting also reveals God. It is often through waiting that God shows himself to us. Are you using the season of Advent to learn how to wait for God? We spent the fall studying the minor prophets and we conclude our study this Advent with three weeks on the book of Zechariah. Zechariah is often quoted in the New Testament and speaks powerfully into a season of waiting. This Sunday we will focus on Zechariah 7 and 8 and ask the question, “Will we wait forever?” As our waiting reveals us, in our waiting God reveals himself and shows us that in him we have all that we need and more.

I can’t wait to worship together this Sunday.

Pastor David

Beach Cities/Central County Parish Service Gathering

Mika Christmas Store

If you live within the Beach Cities or Central County neighborhood parishes, please plan to join us as we volunteer at Mika's Christmas Store for low income families in Costa Mesa. Children 10 years & up are welcome to volunteers with parents or relatives.

When: Saturday December 21st, 8:00 am - 6:00 pm (3 volunteer shifts)

Where: The Crossing, 2115 Newport Blvd, Costa Mesa

What: Volunteer to be a Gift Wrapper or a Personal Shopper.

How: The 8am-12pm shift is full, please click HERE to sign up for one of the other 2 shifts: 11am-3pm or 2pm-6pm.

You can also donate gifts to the Christmas Store. If you are interested in making a contribution, please follow the guidelines below.

*If you have any questions please email Adam Feichtmann directly at adamf@redeemeroc.org. 

Christmas Gift Baskets

Families with children 9 years & younger will be making Christmas gift baskets and cookies to pass out to our neighbors.

When: Same day, 10am - 12pm (Only 2 hours instead of 4)

Where: Morwood Home in Costa Mesa

How: Click HERE to sign up.

 

 

 

Advent at Redeemer

Come experience the joy and drama of Christmas with Redeemer Church.

What to Expect

Expect to sing the great Christmas songs you love, hear teaching that will open up the joy and drama of Christmas, and find the encouragement you need. Even if you have not been to a church in years, or ever, you will find Redeemer a comfortable place to enjoy the Christmas season with the whole family.

What is Advent?

Advent is the four weeks leading up to Christmas and is a time to anticipate and experience the joy of the season.

  • Advent Worship services: Dec. 1st, 8th, 15th and 22nd at 10am
  • Christmas Eve service: Dec. 24th from 5pm-6pm.

Location Information

Redeemer Orange County Morgan Chapel at Temple Bat Yahm 1011 Camelback Street Newport Beach, CA 9260 contact@redeemeroc.org (949) 553-2060

Sermon Preview: The One Necessary Thing

This Sunday is the first Sunday of Advent, a season of waiting. Hopeful waiting. Expectancy. Longing. Things are not right within us nor in the world around us, so we wait. We wait for the arrival of King Jesus. The word “advent” comes from the Latin word adventus, meaning “coming” or “arrival.” During Advent we remember the first coming of Jesus and we long for his second coming. Robert Webber explains Advent as, “a corporate spiritual journey that calls for expectant waiting and readiness for the coming of the Christ. When the Church travels this journey and treats it as a discipline of life and prayer, the joy of Christmas is immeasurably intensified.”

Talk with your family about how to incorporate Advent into your celebration of the Christmas season. Also consider purchasing an Advent devotional that will guide you through the season like Dietrick Bonhoeffer’s, God is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas or Seeking God's Face: Praying with the Bible through the Year. Seeking God's Face is not exclusively an Advent devotional, but contains a great section on Advent.  Both are available on Amazon.com and at the Redeemer book table.

Advent Calendars aren’t just for kids. Available at the Redeemer book table is an Advent Calendar with adult-geared devotionals, poems, hymns, and verses, and it's stylish enough you will actually want to hang it where everyone can see it.

We all need to learn to wait. You will be surprised by the power and health that comes from learning to wait on Jesus. Make good use of the Advent season.

Pastor David

Campus by the Sea: Save the Date!

Friday- Sunday, February 7-9, 2014 Does this sound interesting to you? An evening cruise on the Catalina Express, a weekend in a secluded canyon on the Island, time with other men from Redeemer, and helping maintain a unique Christian camp ground. If so, you should reserve February 7th through 9th on your calendar. We leave Friday evening and return Sunday early afternoon.  We have taken numerous work crews over to Intervarsity's Campus by the Sea on Catalina Island for almost 10 years and the response of the participants has always been very positive.  It's a great time of bonding and a feeling of accomplishment.  Contact Bob Norling at bobnorling@sbcglobal.net if you are considering participating.  He would like to know if how many are thinking of participating so he can coordinate with the staff regarding the types of projects we'd work on.  The only cost will be the roundtrip fare on the Catalina Express.  The fare is $72.50 ($66 if you're over 55).  Let us know if you'd like to go but the cost is an obstacle.  The Camp provides great meals and rustic accommodations.  We supply the muscle for a variety of maintenance project.  Although we work hard on Saturday, we always find some time for a little fun while there as well.  This is a great service opportunity and a fun time with the men of Redeemer.

Quote: Martin Luther

[bgsection pex_attr_title="" pex_attr_subtitle="" pex_attr_undefined="undefined" pex_attr_style="section-light" pex_attr_bgcolor="f4fafc" pex_attr_image="" pex_attr_imageopacity="0.1" pex_attr_titlecolor="3ea5ce" pex_attr_textcolor="82acbd" pex_attr_bgimagestyle="static"]

“Faith takes hold of Christ, enclosing him like a ring encloses a gem.” - Martin Luther

[/bgsection]

Connect with us on Social Media