Redwood Church Preaching

Reforming our nation seems impossible from a natural perspective, because the electoral system is rigged against God’s law. But the church has overturned kings and kingdoms in the past, when the levers of power available to it were even smaller. This is because our power does not come from political maneuvering, but liturgical action. It is through psalm-singing that we wield God’s sword to execute vengeance on nations and bind their kings. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

God provides strict qualifications, which we must discern, before he permits us to set up any man as a judge for ourselves—whether in “institutional politics,” or “influencer politics.” But how can we obey his command to “perceive” and “know” that the men we choose really are fitting candidates, if we have no relationship with them? How can we tell if a man has substance, fears God, loves truth, and hates profit? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Christians should only ever use their vote to endorse a man or party that Christ would endorse as his representative. Electing Satan’s sons can only ever invite God’s judgment—and will never bring about righteousness or advance Christ’s kingdom. Christians are not free to vote for evil, even if it is the lesser of two, and our disobedience in this has caused the name of Jesus to be blasphemed in our nations. Though there is the appearance of wisdom in the pragmatic voting philosophy, true wisdom is justified of her children. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Do you feel like your sin makes you a disappointment to God? But Psalm 149 tells us that he delights in us. There is no sweeter thing than to feel the pleasure of God shining down on us, and this is the reason given that we should praise him. Because God is glad when we come to worship, we sing anew the songs he has given us. Our window for praising God in the flesh is closing, so make the most of it! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

God has given us nine acrostic psalms, yet modern songwriting sensibilities do not include this form. Why would God make alphabetical lines a priority for poetic expression? Why limit himself to having his message dictated by the order of the Hebrew alphabet? What profound truth does the form and nature of this poetry communicate about God’s love for his covenant people? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Being discipled by chick flicks and pop songs, we tend to think of love as the initial flames set ablaze when we meet the person of our dreams. But the “flame of Yah”—true love as God designed it—is a cultivated fire from start to finish. To keep this marital fire burning brightly, Song of Songs depicts key elements of romance which we can cultivate in our own marriages. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

If Song of Songs is truly named, then it is the best and most important song ever written. Yet the modern reader finds its poetry awkward, unsatisfying, and confusing. What help does God offer through this song for cultivating romantic affection in our own marriages—and how can we train our modern ears to find it profitable? Three elements contribute to poetic excellence, and help us to discern the value in Solomon’s work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Psalm 47 is a psalm that grounds all of time, drawing history together into a meaningful whole. Always it has been true, always it is true, and always it will be true. It is the great foundation of the past; the great promise of the future; the linchpin of yesterday, today, and tomorrow: King is God over the nations; very ascended is he. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Despite the celebrations, Christmas is a time of many mundane hardships and difficulties — from annoying relatives to stretched finances. Since it is easy for us to feel set-upon and inconvenienced, it is helpful to reflect on how the first Christmas is a story of stress and anxiety, confusion and unknowns for Mary and Joseph, who had their expectations, hopes, and plans for their lives completely upended. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

We might expect that when Gideon leads Israel out of enslavement to Ba’al worship, he will reestablish true worship. But turning from worshiping false gods leads easily into the other ditch of worshiping God falsely. Scripture describes both errors as “whoring”—and this is not mere metaphor. Religious whoring leads naturally into marital whoring. Such whoredom is a seed that always bears bitter fruit, and so it is with Gideon, whose legacy will be civil war through his b*****d son of a Canaanite slavewife. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Despite God’s miraculous salvation through Gideon, Israel fails to recognize Yahweh as their true savior and lord. They therefore seek to establish a dynasty through Gideon. Though he rebuffs them, his nerve seems to fail. He won’t be king—but he will try to uphold God’s kingship in a way that God never commanded: through a new “office” of “priest-judge.” Thus he ultimately subverts and destroys God’s rule, leading Israel into a snare which still appears in many forms throughout the church today. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Although Gideon’s actions seem impulsive and erratic, carefully comparing them to God’s law reveals that they are thoroughly moderated by spiritual wisdom. He responds to every challenge appropriately: to the Ephraimates with patience and love; to Sukot and Penuel with zeal and justice; to the kings of Midian as an avenger of blood. Rather than being driven by his emotions to enact cruel personal vengeance, he is driven by the Spirit to enforce justice as demanded by Torah. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

We know that God satisfies our longings…but how often do we think about this in terms of being satiated with fat? Reflecting on his experience of sacrificial worship, David longs for these ordinances—and for what they represented. Yet in the new covenant age, we are given a spiritual banquet of fat things that are even better than the table David shared in. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

When Gideon’s success against Midian provokes Ephraim to contend jealously against him, he does not respond with rebuke, but with tenderness. Yet when the Israelite cities of Sukkot and Penuel contend against him, he has no mercy, instead promising to destroy them. Though the contrast seems jarring, his responses demonstrate his wisdom, insight, and righteousness, informed by the humility, subtlety, and holiness of the Spirit that is upon him. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Since we are lights shining in earthen vessels, and our worship is with instruments and singing to God, making a loud shout, there is a clear connection between our spiritual warfare, and Gideon’s physical battle. Like Gideon, we too must cross into the world to pursue the enemy, completing the victory Christ began by routing their camp at the cross. Like Gideon, we execute judgment at the waters of baptism. And, like Gideon, we must strike the heads of our enemies… This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

God has pity on us because he knows we are like weak and foolish children. Thus, Christian fathers are “children raising children,” and should model God’s pity toward their own children. A father’s insight into his children’s weakness should make him slow to anger, and willing to put his desire for adult peace and orderliness to death. Though we must discipline, we must not be disciplinarians—rather, we should imitate our Father in heaven, saying, “This is my son, in whom I am well pleased.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Though the covenant promise with Father Abraham is instituted through circumcision in Genesis 17, it is only ratified after he is willing to sacrifice the only son through whom this promise can be fulfilled. This event is a paradigm of Christian fatherhood, which flows from the Father himself. Many features of the text converge to instruct us in following both Abraham and God in sacrificing our sons; and in “seeing” God’s provision by faith, and “seeing to it” that their eyes are directed the same way. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Cut off from the sanctuary by Saul, David thirsts to meet with God again in the worship of the saints. Yet for many Christians, the opposite is true: they feel closest to God in private, and experience little of his glory and power in church. Why is this, when God’s work in our lives is concentrated and manifested in the gathered body? Why is the modern church service so far from the glory David thirsted for, when he experienced only the shadow, and we have the substance? And how can we recover a drive like David’s, to experience God’s covenant love in church? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Gideon knows the Midianite camp is given into his hand, but how shall he receive the victory? Why does he choose this strange method of warfare? The “sword of Gideon” involves no swords—instead horns and torches and pitchers. When he attacks, he does not advance upon the camp, but stands still. His strategy reflects the spiritual principles it is based upon, liturgically resonating with the cutting of God’s covenants. And it is a method God continues to use in the New Testament. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

If Gideon is afraid to go into the camp of Midian, God offers him yet another sign to help his unbelief: a dream recounted by a Midianite. The power of this sign is not in the dream itself, but in Gideon’s faith to discern its meaning. God continues to work through such dreams at times, and scripture explicitly tells us that these private revelations will be dark and riddle-like. Here we receive help for understanding the symbolic language of such dreams, and interpreting their meanings. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Now that Gideon has successfully made war on the idolatry of Israel, he is ready to make war on Midian. Yet, outnumbered four to one, God tells him his army is too big. Holy war cannot be fought, except by men who believe, so two thirds of the army must be sent away. This remains true within the church. Yet still the people are too many, so God refines them a second time, until they are outnumbered 450 to one. But why does he use the lappy-dog test? Why does Gideon need an army of 300 dog-like misfits? And what is the significance for us in the church? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Wicked rulers operate by cloaking their violence in the terminology of righteousness. Though they are preparing a path of violence, they want to appear benevolent and good. As in David’s day, so in ours, where terms like “climate justice,” and “Maori rights” are used to legitimize theft and the threat of violence. Our solution should be the same as David’s, but the church cannot act effectively without unity over the limits of the state’s right to bear the sword. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

The Spirit clothes Gideon—a word used especially for priests being invested with the garments of their identity as God’s servants. Yet suddenly, he seems to get cold feet and asks for two strange miracles. Why would someone with the Spirit act this way? Comparing Gideon’s words to Abraham’s in interceding for Sodom reveals that this is not faithless act, but a faithful one—and the sign of the fleece is not a hasty or foolish request, but a public display with a priestly logic and clear meaning. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

In response to God’s overture of fellowship, Gideon makes two offerings. Careful comparison to the Torah gives us insight into the nature of both priests and saviors in God’s kingdom. Although our worship differs in substance, it remains true that God raises his altar by tearing down Satan’s strongholds and building on their ruins; that he calls us to sacrificial service that can pit father against son; that he uses our idols as kindling for the fire of sacrifice in our hearts; and that the courageous obedience of one man can break the power of fear over an entire body of people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Like Israel before Midian, the true Israel has no power in the land of the West today. How does salvation come in such times? What kind of man does God choose? Gideon seems to be a small, doubtful loser. Why is he threshing in a winepress? What is the significance of the angel turning to face him? What does it mean that he asks to feed the angel—or that the rock eats the food? And how do these things apply in the church age? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His fifth argument is about clothing, exegeting the beautiful yet brief life of the middle Eastern desert flower to prove that God will clothe us sufficiently for our far greater callings. But what are the implications of Jesus’ argument for us, in a world where clothing is cheap and available? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

The mindset of fearing Canaanite gods, and allowing their altars to remain, seems alien and inconceivable to us—we have no gods or altars of this kind. But have we none of any kind? To the contrary, many hold sway in our lives, and we often convince ourselves that it is in our best interest to let them remain. We even offer fearful sacrifices to them. One such god is especially prevalent in the lives of modern Christians. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Does God delight in the death of the wicked? Should we? In the same way that we are instructed to seek his vengeance, we are also called to celebrate it. Though there is a danger in this becoming fleshly, yet there is still a pure way for us to laugh righteously at the calamity of the wicked. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

In Deborah’s song, she recounts the angel of Yahweh cursing those who did not help God in battle. If we are to be holy as he is, should we follow his example? What is a curse, who is qualified to pronounce one, and when is it appropriate to do so under the new covenant of grace? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Psalm 32 describes how to be happy, proved from David’s experience, and then taught to Israel. As long as we cover our sin, its weight crushes us with sorrow, but when we confess, God lifts our iniquity and gives us happiness. Yet this is not just an offer of forgiveness and joy; it is a command, to be heeded freely lest God have to “take our reins.” This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Israel’s victories are not won by military strategy or strength of arms, but by the intervention of God’s presence with his hosts of angels. This is plainly depicted in Barak’s battle with Sisera, revealing a world not governed by mechanical, natural forces, but personal, spiritual agents. How does this affect our view of providence, and what is and (is not) possible? Rather than asking “what can I do in this situation?” and running a simulation in our heads, we should simply ask, “what should I do?” and leave the rest to God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Whereas in one part of the church, singing anything but the Bible’s psalms is viewed as worldly progressivism, and in another part, singing psalms at all is viewed as backward primitivism, in fact scripture reveals the need to continually write new psalms. After going to war and defeating their enemies, Deborah and Barak model the proper response: a victory psalm commemorating God’s help. But what is the pattern of such a psalm? Does it look like contemporary Christian music? Old hymns? Or something else? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Yael, the lady of a house in league with the Canaanite king, defies her husband by deceiving and slaying Sisera, the principal of the Canaanite army. What should we make of Yael’s treatment of Sisera? Is she a liar and a murderer? Or is she indeed blessed among women? And if so, what is the implication for women in the church, and spiritual warfare? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His fourth argument is against the futility of worry: that we cannot make ourselves grow in any way by it; rather the opposite. When we worry, we could be doing literally anything else of value, and the outcome would be better. We should therefore give our anxiety to the One who can do something about our problems. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Scripture tells us we are to participate in Christ by forgiving our enemies — sacrificing ourselves and our anger, knowing that ultimately God is the one sacrificing us for the sake of shaping us into his image. Yet the New Testament doesn’t give much practical instruction in how. This is because the Psalms already do. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Contrary to popular belief, we can and must forgive even those who wrong us unrepentantly. Repentance is not a necessary precondition for forgiveness — but, in fact, forgiveness is a necessary precondition for repentance. The doctrine of the cross helps us to understand how and why — and the scriptural distinction between forgiveness and reconciliation. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His third argument is that God provides food for all creatures through various means — even birds who don’t have to work for it. Since we are of superior worth, we should trust that God will provide our food also, through the means he has ordained for man: work. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

After 20 years, a new generation has been raised up by Deborah to war against evil—led by Baraq, the lightning-man, to fight the lightning-god Ba’al. While modern readers haughtily interpret Baraq as a man of defective faith, he has the trust in God (along with the confidence of 10,000 peasants) to engage a humanly suicidal strategy to defeat 90,000 Canaanite soldiers, consuming them as fire from heaven on the mountain of Tabor. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Because Israel has failed to represent God’s father-rule into the world, its own fathers are unable to rule. For as long as it takes to raise a child for battle, they are thus without a savior — and a married woman under authority must judge them. Yet through grace, this curse turns to a blessing, as Deborah the holy mother raises up a spiritual son as a warrior-savior. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Jesus distilled his wisdom about worry into seven simple arguments in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. His second argument is that rightly ordering our concerns in a proper hierarchy is foundational to cultivating peace about the future: placing the lesser things beneath the greater, and taking care to how they fit together in our lives. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Shamgar and Ehud are a study in contrasts: Ehud is Hebrew, Shamgar is Canaanite; Ehud smote a people of the land, Shamgar a people of the sea; Ehud struck one head, Shamgar 600 bodies; Ehud used a weapon for intimate and personal assassination, Shamgar a tool for impersonal killing at arm’s length. There is a clear picture here of the progression of the power and peace of the gospel from Israel to the nations, from Jesus to the Church, from reformer to evangelist, and from warrior to worker. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

What is the relationship between the story of Ehud and Eglon…and the story of the church? What enduring principles does this story exemplify, and how do they inform the way Christians should live today? Should we expect God to still raise up men like Ehud — men of daring and deceit? What would they look like, and how would they act? To answer this question, we must understand how the symbols of Israel’s history are visible words which have a “future tense” — which must now be translated into the “perfect” tense of the church age. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Worry is fundamental to the human experience, and our worldly cares and concerns often unsettle us. Jesus, the man with perfect mental health, knew what it took to deal with anxiety—and he distilled this wisdom in seven simple arguments against anxiety in his Sermon on the Mount. We can follow these arguments to reason our way out of anxiety, and into mental fortitude. The first is that anxiety oppresses those who are mastered by earthly concerns; therefore, we must submit ourselves to the inevitable loss of earthly things in the providence of God. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Whereas the story of Othniel frustrated us with its lack of detail, now the story of Ehud frustrates us with its details. What are we to make of the scatological humor, deceit, and assassination in this first “real” story of one of Israel’s saviors—a type of Christ? From the left-handed “son of the right hand” to the fattened Eglon (“calf”), every element of this narrative reveals through physical history the patterns of spiritual warfare we ourselves are engaged in. In fact, the text uses so many strange words to tell its story that you cannot help but notice: it is as much sacramental as martial. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Who are God’s sheep, and how does he feed them? And what is different about the pastures of God, compared to the world’s? While all those baptized into the Church are called to respond to the food of God’s word, not all are eternally elect. Some will harden their hearts — yet are still exhorted as sheep. This can only be understood through the doctrine of covenantal election. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

In the book of Judges, why is the first story of an actual judge so short on details? Because it is crafted to teach us how to read the more detailed and difficult stories that are to come. It establishes a clear paradigm for interpreting these—lest we imagine the judges as crazed vigalante superheroes. It also establishes what is at sake—the victory of Aram over Israel, the world over the church, Babel over Jerusalem, a wicked giant over Christ. Finally, it establishes the manner in which God ensures this will not happen—by raising up saviors anointed by his Spirit, and appointed by his people. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Psalm 137 expresses Israel’s grief in exile and longing for true worship. Though contextually bound to Babylon, the psalm applies to the church today as we seek worship that pleases God, mourn sin, trust in divine justice, and anticipate the perfect worship of heaven. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Worship should shape us—not be reshaped to our comfort. Psalm 137 calls believers to unashamedly embrace God’s justice, long for his kingdom, and trust his sovereignty in judgment. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

Israel’s failure of warfare leads to two major compromises: bonds with their enemies and idolatry. The same failure and compromises are present in the new covenant age. The church today feels overrun by the world because we shrank back from our spiritual warfare—and now cannot even recognize the enemy because of the bonds we have formed and the false gods we serve. This became very obvious during covid, where the church conceded the state as god. But the same compromises and idolatries occur with education, voting, taxation, and many other issues. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com

An exposition and application of Psalm 132. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit redwoodchurch.substack.com