Identity Trumps Motherhood: Sermon Recap
Bob Putman reviews Benny's sermon from this past Sunday about motherhood and identity. How God sees us is infinitely more important than how anyone else sees us, including ourselves. ...
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....
May 14, 2015 by Bob Putman | Category: Sermon Review | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, parenting, Identity, motherhood, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, complementarianism, gender, Mother's Day, Genesis, creation
Bob Putman reviews Benny's sermon from this past Sunday about motherhood and identity. How God sees us is infinitely more important than how anyone else sees us, including ourselves. ...
Keep ReadingDecember 4, 2014 | 1 Comments by Eric Garrett | Category: Holiday Specials | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, events, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Eric Garrett, Identity, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, church blog, Redeemer Church of Lake Nona, Christmas music, Redeemer Lake Nona, Redeemer Church at Lake Nona, Christmas season, busy, martha, anxiety, stress
Well here it is...the holiday season. The traffic's getting busier, the office seems a bit more cheery, and, I confess, I'm playing Christmas music most of the time I'm in my car (at least until a few days before Christmas after I've overindulged in it). I've gotta say that I love this time of year. I love that many of us consciously spend more time with those we love. I l...
Keep ReadingAugust 28, 2014 | 4 Comments | Category: Women's Issues | Tags: homemaking, ladies, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, ministry, bible, gospel, church life, Sheree Phillips, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, Identity, lee vista, family, odyssey, lee vista church, cultural values, redeemerchurch, redeemer, redeemer blog, women, mundane, cultural issues
At age 60 I remember the days when church women’s ministries were focused on Titus 2: 3-5 which in part teaches women to be “keepers at home.” In fact, I was one of those pastor’s wives who taught this passage in our own church’s women’s ministry. Honestly, I benefited from this. I gained a vision for my home as the primary focus of my gifts and ministry. I lea...
Keep ReadingAugust 26, 2014 by Bob Putman | Category: Identity Series | Tags: royal priesthood, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, evangelism, bible reading, bible, Lake Nona Churches, Idolatry, Identity, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, Gospel-centeredness, The church
For hours our group of foreign and Chinese teachers drove south through rice paddies and terraced tea hills to the famed Yellow Mountains of east central China. My initial fascination worn thin through endless unfamiliarity, I felt I had been dropped on another planet and wished I could switch off my senses. But we kept driving and entered the town of Mt. Jihua (pronounced...
Keep ReadingAugust 7, 2014 | 2 Comments by | Category: Women's Issues | Tags: ladies, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, bible, gospel, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Hope, parenting, Idolatry, trayvon martin, Identity, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, social issues, motherhood, women, kingdom of God, The church, image of God, cultural issues
Our culture gets it wrong when it comes to women and image. That is no surprise, and much has been said on the topic. Recently the Huffington Post did a piece on what tabloids would look like if they treated men the way they treated women. Westminster College has a well-researched article about beauty standards, women in the media, and how women internalize the “thin-bea...
Keep ReadingAugust 5, 2014 | Category: Church Values | Tags: Gospel-centeredness, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, ministry, bible, gospel, church life, Lake Nona Churches, Identity, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, The church, church ministry, church identity
If you've been around the church world long enough, you've probably heard someone somewhere talk about being "gospel-centered" - gospel-centered preaching, gospel-centered worship, gospel-centered counseling, gospel-centered everything. And you've probably had one of a number of reactions to these pretentious-sounding assertions of unique commitment to the gospel reactions...
Keep ReadingAugust 4, 2014 | 2 Comments | Category: Sermon Review | Tags: redeemerchurch, sermons, lee vista church, lee vista, Jesse Phillips, Identity, Faith, mission, Lake Nona Churches, gospel, bible, bible reading, lake Nona, Lake Nona Church, Redeemer Church, lakenonachurch, the gospel, sermon review, redeemer blog, Israel, kingdom of God, kingdom of man, book of Daniel, Age of Heroes
“Israel and Hamas broke their ceasefire today and resumed fighting. This means the war has now gone on for…let me just check my watch here. Is it July 31st? Ok that means the war has been going on for…3000 years.” That joke (roughly) was how Stephen Colbert began his show on Friday, and it was either hilarious or insensitive. But it was also illustrative of a far m...
Keep ReadingJuly 29, 2014 | Category: Identity Series | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, bible, gospel, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Hope, Identity, lee vista, Suffering, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, redeemer blog, love, 1 Peter
The gospel does two things for us when we suffer: it comforts us, and it calls us. In my last post, I surveyed the glorious hope our identity in Christ gives us in the face of suffering:...
Keep ReadingJuly 28, 2014 | Category: Sermon Review | Tags: Redeemer Church, Benny Phillips, Lake Nona Church, blog, lake Nona, gospel, grace, Lake Nona Churches, Hope, Scripture, Spirit Filled Church, Faith, Identity, lee vista, lee vista church, theology, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, Age of Heroes, redeemer blog, Joshua, sermon review
Yesterday’s message from Pastor Benny Phillips continues with the "Age of Heroes" series. I am thankful to God for this message of inspiration, hope, and redemption. We were reminded of God's immense power in how God uses His people to overcome many obstacles that are seemingly insurmountable. It is amazing how the gospel is connected to every story in scripture. Many of...
Keep ReadingJuly 22, 2014 | 3 Comments | Category: Identity Series | Tags: Identity, Suffering, Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, bible, Orlando Church, Lake Nona Churches, Scripture, In Christ, Who You Are in Christ, lee vista, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog, joseph
The suffering in our lives keeps us from doing and experiencing many good things, and it often teaches us bad things. Suffering has the tendency to pervert our perception of the world around us. Children who grow up abused often have uniquely distorted views of God, self, and others. Those who suffer traumatic experiences in any stage of life often have difficulty engaging...
Keep ReadingJuly 15, 2014 | Category: Identity Series | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, Lake Nona Churches, Identity, Who You Are in Christ, lee vista, Adoption, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, redeemer blog
In my last article, I described our core identity in terms of being God's image-bearers, but if you survey the New Testament, you'll find its overarching understanding of our identity in Christ is that we are sons, co-heirs, siblings of Christ destined to become like Christ. So, we must ask the question: is the New Testament replacing the Old Testament image-bearer motif w...
Keep ReadingJuly 8, 2014 | Category: Identity Series | Tags: Redeemer Church, Lake Nona Church, lake Nona, community groups, grace, Lake Nona Churches, Community, Idolatry, Idol, lee vista, Fighting the battle of temptation, lee vista church, redeemerchurch, redeemer, lakenonachurch, Identity, 4th of July
Identity is who you are. It tells you what you are worth, why you are here, and how you should live. It provides roles and boundaries for your relationships; it provides goals and parameters for your lifestyle; it gives significance to your thoughts, desires, and behavior. Identity is something that can and should be ascribed to each of us by God alone, and the identity He...
Keep ReadingMarch 21, 2014 by Benny Phillips | Category: Redeemer Church News | Tags: Who You Are in Christ, Identity, In Christ, lake Nona, Lake Nona Church, Lake Nona Churches, Benny Phillips
Our identity, he taught, is not defined by our roles. But our God-given roles guide us in how we are to live out our identity in Christ....
Keep Reading