What the Movie 'Warrior' Teaches Us About Good Friday
Jake Phillips writes about Good Friday and the movie "Warrior"...
Keep ReadingJanuary 31, 2012
"The gospel, applied to our hearts every day, frees us to be brutally honest with ourselves and with God. The assurance of His total forgiveness of our sins through the blood of Christ means we don't have to play defensive games anymore. We don't have to rationalize and excuse our sins. We can say we told a lie instead of saying we exaggerated a bit. We can admit an unforgiving spirit instead of continuing to blame our parents for our emotional distress. We can call sin exactly what it is, regardless of how ugly and shameful it may be, because we know that Jesus bore that sin in His body on the cross. With the assurance of total forgiveness through Christ, we have no reason to hide from our sins anymore."...
January 6, 2012
I'm at a season of life where it seems like it's time to slow down. Nothing is working quite right anymore. I need glasses for aging eyes and anti-inflammtories for aging joints. I forget names and what commonly used household gadgets are called. Solitude invites me to steal away (which I enjoy doing at times!) while a growing family and new church lovingly require me to get even busier than ever. The commercials say Benny and I should be anticipating retirement after all the years of being in the throes of parenting and pastoring. Sometimes I envy those who can....
March 25, 2016 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Reconciliation, art, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, redemption, Warrior, movies, Moby Dick, white whale
Jake Phillips writes about Good Friday and the movie "Warrior"...
Keep ReadingJanuary 19, 2016 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, history, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Catholicism, Benedict Option, BenOp, Know-Nothing party, anti-Catholicism, John F. Kennedy, JFK
Part 2 of a discussion about the Benedict Option......
Keep ReadingDecember 23, 2015 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Hope, Christmas, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Advent, Messiah, Second Coming, I Heard the Bells On Christmas Day, Longfellow, Henry Longfellow, Christmas carols
What can a 19th century poet teach us about the meaning of the Advent season?...
Keep ReadingApril 14, 2015 | 1 Comments | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Sin, the gospel coalition, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Tim Keller, TGC, TGC15, Coming Home, tension, goodness, Old Testament, John Piper, D.A. Carson
Joey Phillips describes just one little gem he learned from listening to Dr. Tim Keller's opening address at TGC15. Thank God for godly, smart pastors, locally and globally. ...
Keep ReadingMarch 19, 2015 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Sin, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, philosophy, Jesus, apologetics, Problem of Evil, Dostoyevsky, Brothers Karamasov, evil
Joey Phillips discusses the problem of evil and how Christians should respond to this objection. It is the most difficult philosophical and apologetic problem we will face. And while the answer might not be satisfactory, it exists. ...
Keep ReadingMarch 12, 2015 by | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, parenting, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, preaching, Great Commission, drowning, ocean, park, courage, Calvinism
Janelle Garrett writes about what she learned regarding evangelism through a near-drowning experience and watching her son play at the park. Evangelism is possible because we aren't alone....
Keep ReadingFebruary 12, 2015 | 2 Comments by | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, gospel, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Jesus, compassion, preaching, Wayne Grudem, St. Francis, Great Commission
Janelle Garrett shows why demonstrating the Gospel is important, but not sufficient. We must also use words. We must declare the Gospel even as we demonstrate the Gospel. ...
Keep ReadingOctober 28, 2014 by Ryan McLaughlin | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, redeemer, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Catholicism, Virgin Mary, Protestantism, salvation by grace
Ryan McLaughlin, a Catholic who came from a Reformed Protestant tradition, writes about 5 misconceptions that Protestants have about Catholic theology. How can knowing these things help us in our dialogue and discussions with Catholics?...
Keep ReadingSeptember 9, 2014 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, Racism, cultural values, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, the gospel, Muslim, redeemer blog, social issues, cultural issues, preaching the gospel, evangelize, church blog, duck dynasty, Islam, ISIS
There are reasons to respect Phil Robertson, the patriarch of the family at the center of AMC’s blockbuster hit Duck Dynasty. He was a good enough athlete to start over 4-time Super Bowl champion Terry Bradshaw while in college even though he didn’t think much about practice. He was, by his own admission, a borderline alcoholic and druggie until he was miraculously sav...
Keep ReadingSeptember 3, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, gospel, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, mission, Eric Garrett, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, the gospel, redeemer blog, steps to disciple making, discipling, making disciples, kingdom of God, evangelize, church blog
Like my good friend Alex Thermenos, you may have thought that last week's post was the final post in this series on making disciples. Now this is understandable. I mean, after touching base with the lost, talking to them, enjoying meals with them at your dinner table, teaching them how the gospel relates to their lives, tying them into the fellowship of the church, and cal...
Keep ReadingAugust 29, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, mission, Eric Garrett, lee vista, Judgment, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, steps to disciple making, discipling, making disciples, Gospel-centeredness, church blog
This is what making disciples of Jesus all boils down to. In fact, there is a real sense in which this is the only absolutely necessary step in the process to making disciples. Everything about this process hinges on whether or not our lost friends, family members, co-workers, and neighbors, by God's sovereign grace, place their trust in Jesus, and Jesus alone, for their p...
Keep ReadingAugust 22, 2014 by | Category: Evangelism | Tags: girls, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, evangelism, gospel, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, parenting, mission, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, making disciples, motherhood, women, mundane, image of God
My sister’s baby had a fever, so I ran by her house the other week to pick up two of her kids and take them with me on my errands to give her a little break. They were prattling on like little girls do, talking about nothing and everything. On our way home, we were listening to a local Christian radio station and Everfound’s “God of the Impossible” came on. Now, I...
Keep ReadingAugust 20, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, Community, Eric Garrett, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, steps to disciple making, making disciples
In reading last week's post, some of you may have wondered how by yourself you could ever teach your lost friends, family members, neighbors, and coworkers "all" that Jesus has commanded us (see Matt. 28:18-20). If that was you, there's good news: you don't have to do this alone. In fact, you shouldn't. The wonderful truth about our witness to the lost is that it is a comm...
Keep ReadingAugust 13, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, bible, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, mission, lee vista, lee vista church, lakenonachurch, discipling, making disciples, kingdom of God, evangelize, evangelism
Over the last few weeks, I've been painting a picture of how we can practically apply our wonderful responsibility of sharing the gospel with the lost in a simple, step-by-step approach. By following these steps I believe each of us can obey Jesus' radical call to make disciples by simply interacting with the lost people who are already in our lives in intentional, Jesus-i...
Keep ReadingAugust 6, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Fellowship, Lake Nona Church, blog, food, lake Nona, bible, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, mission, lee vista, outreach, lee vista church, lakenonachurch, steps to disciple making, making disciples
Who would you invite into your home for dinner? Perhaps more significantly, who would you not invite over for dinner? If we're honest, most of us probably have some real restrictions on who makes it to our dinner table. It's one thing to have people come over for a large event, it's another thing to have a few people over for the game, but we tend to reserve our dinner tab...
Keep ReadingJuly 30, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, Lake Nona Churches, mission, lee vista, lee vista church, lakenonachurch, the gospel, discipling, making disciples
Last week, we discussed the importance of engaging with the lost with the intent of making disciples of Jesus. We talked about how we need to make it a priority to prayerfully and intentionally touch base with those around us, just as Jesus did. Just as Jesus "looked up" towards Zacchaeus as he passed through Jericho on his way to Jerusalem (see Luke 19:5) we must take the...
Keep ReadingJuly 24, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, bible, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, steps to disciple making
Last week, I introduced a seven-step approach to making disciples that I believe can serve as a helpful, step-by-step way for us to follow Jesus in fulfilling his Great Commission. By way of reminder, here is the basic approach....
Keep ReadingJuly 16, 2014 | 1 Comments by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, gospel, Lake Nona Churches, Eric Garrett, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, steps to disciple making, discipling, making disciples
If you've been with us at Redeemer Church for a bit, you may have heard us use the term "disciple-making disciple" as a way to encapsulate what we believe is our role as followers of Jesus in our God-created, fallen, yet redeemed and soon to be restored world. As I've explained elsewhere, as we seek to follow Jesus in his mission of redemption for the world, we are to draw...
Keep ReadingJuly 9, 2014 by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, community groups, church life, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Community, Eric Garrett, lee vista, odyssey, lee vista church, sermons, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, Jonah, sermon review
For those of you who were not present to hear Jesse's message on Sunday, please do yourselves a favor and listen to it here. It was simply and profoundly inspiring. As he reminded us about God's relentless and merciful pursuit of us in our wanderings and rebellion, my soul was stirred afresh as I was reminded of the wonder and the power of God's great love for us, for me....
Keep ReadingJuly 2, 2014 | 1 Comments by Eric Garrett | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Benny Phillips, Lake Nona Church, evangelism, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, Eric Garrett, charismatic, lee vista church, propelled, Acts Series, lakenonachurch
On Sunday, we completed our inspiring series through the book of Acts. In this second volume of Luke's theological history of the birth of the Spirit-filled church, we've seen over and over again the Holy Spirit indwelling and propelling the church forward to extend the bounds of God's kingdom. And as we were reminded about on Sunday, all of this came on the heals of God...
Keep ReadingFebruary 19, 2014 | Category: Evangelism | Tags: Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, evangelism, Lake Nona Churches, Eric Garrett, lee vista, lee vista church
I was recently asked to succinctly describe my burden for Redeemer Church: I want to see God birth in us a rich culture of disciples who make disciple-making disciples....
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