By Karol Allen Several years ago, I read a newspaper article that put a face on what is now called the loneliness epidemic. It was the story of a woman realtor who spent hours alone traveling to and from properties and waiting in vacant houses for prospective buyers to show up. As I remember, the woman was near retirement age and she was painfully lonely. Her daughter was worried about her. After reading her story, I was, too. I decided to keep the article for a while, think

By Lindsay Wentz It is only a short two feet or less from the human brain to the heart, but there are times in life when that distance feels insurmountable. We might understand theologically that God is good and sovereign, for example, but when we suffer, that truth doesn’t sink in. We wholeheartedly proclaim that the love of the Lord is better than life, but when a very precious thing is taken away, His love feels bitter. As we just discussed in our women’s night dinners, we

By Josh Buttram If you’ve ever tried to help a friend who’s hurting or sat across from someone who keeps making the same mistakes, you know how tricky it can be to figure out what they really need. Do they need encouragement? A listening ear? A gentle push toward change? For years, I’ve longed to speak words that genuinely help others, yet I’ve often found that difficult to do. A turning point came a few years ago in Jon and Elaine Pratt’s Sunday School class, where I was in

By Jan Miller Most of us are probably familiar with the account of creation in the book of Genesis. God made the world and everything in it. And after everything God made, He said it was “good.” But one thing was “not good.” In Genesis 2:18, we read that it was not good “that man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him.” But who is it that is speaking these familiar words? It is the Lord God Himself! And when did He speak them? Before the Fall. So, Adam was not

By Jon Pratt Our local sports radio station, KFAN, conducts its annual Preposterous Statements Contest by comparing ridiculous utterances of athletes, announcers, and coaches to see which of them is the most absurd. For example, one year the winning entry came from a sportscaster who claimed that a basketball team trailing by 12 points had their opponent “right where they want them.” Have you ever shaken your head while reading the Bible when preposterous statements are blu

By Allison Wolff I’ve never thought as much about sin as I have while living with a three-year-old. “Oh yes,” you say. “Those older toddlers can be so mischievous.” You probably assume it’s his sin I’ve been thinking about. Don’t get me wrong, he is a little sinner—my adorable, precocious, sweet little sinful son. But he’s not the only one. In this toddler stage of motherhood, I see Genesis 4:7 play out in the face of my son a dozen (hundred) times a day: “If you do well, wil

By Christa Harrison If my life was a song, our church has been a high note. Of course, church life comes with challenges, but when I reflect on my nine years at Redeemer, I see a lot of good. In a desire to praise God for these things, I thought of the Beatitudes, of how beautifully those verses go together, and thought I’d make a prayer of my own in a similar format. A prayer of thanksgiving to God for the people who make up Redeemer, and I hope it will encourage you—to keep

By Jen Anderson There can be a fog that comes with being a mother to young children. Your body has spent years growing and sustaining babies, enduring the aches and pains of pregnancy, and managing the exhaustion of nursing a baby day and night. Your sleep is interrupted and the list of needs never ends. And in most of these moments, you look down to find someone else’s snot smeared across your pants. Motherhood can also be painfully lonely, and you do a lot that goes unnot

By Mark Patterson As you enter our church foyer, two words appear on a large sign: Known and Loved. Part of our vision at Redeemer is to be a congregation where every member is just that, known and loved. Long before that sign was installed, Mike Flom stood there every Sunday, embodying and living out those two words. I’m certain many of you would say that along with me about our dear friend. In fact, the first two times I met Mike were there in that foyer. Our family walked

By Brittney Westin We are desperate for God. We are dependent on each other. We are determined to go. If that sounds familiar, you’ve likely attended Redeemer Bible Church or have spent some time perusing our website. Indeed, it is the vision statement of our church. One we attempt to live out in our individual lives and our life as a church family. We also attempt to display this vision through our writing, which we did faithfully for several years through our website’s blog

By Elaine Pratt — In a different lifetime, I raised red pom-poms and screamed this into the opposing team’s stand.

By Jeff Waldron — In 1973, the U.S. Supreme Court made a discovery that has haunted our country for nearly 50 years.

By Bryan Johnson — The local church is to be the hub of a Christian’s spiritual life and growth.

By Jeff Waldron — The Prayer. Lord, let this not be mere ritual.

By Elaine Pratt — Literally, the call came the day before that there was a baby, their daughter, ready to be brought home. I was adopted.

By J. Aaron White — I realized that Nietzsche and his nihilistic worldview helped to explain our current cultural moment better than...

By J. Aaron White – Zechariah shows us that, like Joshua, the Savior will remove our sin and clothe us with his righteous robes.

By J. Aaron White — The storyline of Christmas continues to show us that God intends to keep his promise to send a Savior...

By J. Aaron White — Although every firstborn of Egypt would die, God made a way for his people to be saved.

By J. Aaron White — Advent is a special time as we, the body of Christ, contemplate the Incarnation and eagerly await the second coming of o