June 29, 2013 - Church at Worship

Sermon: "Redeemed" by Bernard Taylor

Pastoral Welcome: Marvin Ponder

Children’s Feature: Betsy Jabola

Scripture Reading: Isaiah 43:1–7, Giselle Schultz 

INTRODUCTION TO THE SERMON

What is God like? Why the Christ event? There are literally dozens of metaphors and similes
in the Old and the New Testament to answer these and related questions; and each explanation
adds some different angle or perspective to our collective spiritual knowledge. Despite
the wide diversity, however, they all have at least one thing in common: they all draw upon
human life situations past or present to answer great spiritual and religious questions, since
we are incapable of thought outside of and beyond our finite boundaries.
For the first millennium of the Christian era the answer to such questions was simply: “To
redeem us.” “Redeem” and related terms (including, “redemption”) occur about 170 times,
depending on the Bible version. When the very close synonym “ransom” is included, the total
is around 200. However, today we seldom hear the word “redeem,” especially in its original
meaning of “to buy back.” In its place is “ransom” —or more commonly in the twenty-first century,
paying—or not paying—the ransom price to redeem (or pay the price for) one or more
hostages.
During that first millennium, in response to repeated desire for more detail, the ransom model
became more and more detailed—and in the process, fantastical. We have sung to (at least)
two different tunes, and will sing again this morning: “Redeemed, how I love to proclaim it!”;
but in the twenty-first century what does it mean to be “redeemed” in the biblical sense?
Bernard Taylor
Scholar in Residence

MEDITATIONS
 
The cross of Christ will be the science and the song of the redeemed through all eternity. – E. G. White, The Great Controversy, 651.
 
No word in the Christian vocabulary deserves to be held more precious than Redeemer, for even more than Savior it reminds the child of God that his [or her] salvation has been purchased at a great and personal cost, for the Lord has given himself for our sins in order to deliver us from them. – E. F. Harrison, Baker’s Dictionary of Theology, 439.