Redeemer Community Church

ABOUT ELIZABETH WOODSONElizabeth Woodson is a Bible teacher who is passionate about equipping followers of Jesus to understand rich theological truths of Scripture. She is the author of Embrace Your Life: How To Find Joy When the Life You Have Is Not the Life You Hoped For and From Beginning to Forever: A Study of the Grand Narrative of Scripture. She loves helping people internalize their faith and connect it practically to everyday life. ABOUT TALKBACKSOur Talkbacks are great opportunities to see how our faith engages with the world around us. This summer, we're excited to have four evenings that discuss how the gospel changes how we think about race, politics, the world, and our stories.Each Talkback, we get a chance to hear from a speaker for about 45 minutes before spending about 45 minutes in a Q&A. We encourage you to come with questions! 2023 SUMMER SERIESJune 7 • The Gospel & Race with Isaac AdamsJune 28 • Faithfulness in a Polarized Society with Justin GiboneyJuly 19 • The Big Three: Non-Negotiables from Believers in Persecution with Nik RipkenJuly 26 • The Gospel as a Better Story with Elizabeth WoodsonMORE INFOFor more info, visit rccbirmingham.com/talkbacks

Matthew 6:9–13 (Listen) 9 Pray then like this:   “Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name.110   Your kingdom come,  your will be done,2    on earth as it is in heaven.11   Give us this day our daily bread,312   and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors.13   And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from evil.4 Footnotes [1] 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence [2] 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done [3] 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow [4] 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen (ESV)1 John 3:1 (Listen) 3:1 See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (ESV)

ABOUT NIK RIPKENNik Ripken, alongside his wife and three children, served as missionaries for over 32 years primarily in North Africa and the Middle East. Nik is one of the world’s foremost experts on the persecuted church and is the author of a number of books, including The Insanity of God and The Insanity of Obedience.ABOUT TALKBACKSOur Talkbacks are great opportunities to see how our faith engages with the world around us. This summer, we're excited to have four evenings that discuss how the gospel changes how we think about race, politics, the world, and our stories.Each Talkback, we get a chance to hear from a speaker for about 45 minutes before spending about 45 minutes in a Q&A. We encourage you to come with questions! 2023 SUMMER SERIESJune 7 • The Gospel & Race with Isaac AdamsJune 28 • Faithfulness in a Polarized Society with Justin GiboneyJuly 19 • The Big Three: Non-Negotiables from Believers in Persecution with Nik RipkenJuly 26 • The Gospel as a Better Story with Elizabeth WoodsonMORE INFOFor more info, visit rccbirmingham.com/talkbacks

Matthew 6:5–8 (Listen) The Lord’s Prayer 5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. 7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. (ESV)

Matthew 6:5–13 (Listen)The Lord’s Prayer5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:   “Our Father in heaven,  hallowed be your name.110   Your kingdom come,  your will be done,2    on earth as it is in heaven.11   Give us this day our daily bread,312   and forgive us our debts,    as we also have forgiven our debtors.13   And lead us not into temptation,    but deliver us from evil.4Footnotes[1] 6:9 Or Let your name be kept holy, or Let your name be treated with reverence [2] 6:10 Or Let your kingdom come, let your will be done [3] 6:11 Or our bread for tomorrow [4] 6:13 Or the evil one; some manuscripts add For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever. Amen(ESV)Luke 11:1–4 (Listen)The Lord’s Prayer11:1 Now Jesus1 was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” 2 And he said to them, “When you pray, say:   “Father, hallowed be your name.  Your kingdom come.3   Give us each day our daily bread,24   and forgive us our sins,    for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.  And lead us not into temptation.”Footnotes[1] 11:1 Greek he [2] 11:3 Or our bread for tomorrow(ESV)

Deuteronomy 6:4–24 (Listen) 4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.1 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. 10 “And when the LORD your God brings you into the land that he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give you—with great and good cities that you did not build, 11 and houses full of all good things that you did not fill, and cisterns that you did not dig, and vineyards and olive trees that you did not plant—and when you eat and are full, 12 then take care lest you forget the LORD, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. 13 It is the LORD your God you shall fear. Him you shall serve and by his name you shall swear. 14 You shall not go after other gods, the gods of the peoples who are around you—15 for the LORD your God in your midst is a jealous God—lest the anger of the LORD your God be kindled against you, and he destroy you from off the face of the earth. 16 “You shall not put the LORD your God to the test, as you tested him at Massah. 17 You shall diligently keep the commandments of the LORD your God, and his testimonies and his statutes, which he has commanded you. 18 And you shall do what is right and good in the sight of the LORD, that it may go well with you, and that you may go in and take possession of the good land that the LORD swore to give to your fathers 19 by thrusting out all your enemies from before you, as the LORD has promised. 20 “When your son asks you in time to come, ‘What is the meaning of the testimonies and the statutes and the rules that the LORD our God has commanded you?’ 21 then you shall say to your son, ‘We were Pharaoh’s slaves in Egypt. And the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. 22 And the LORD showed signs and wonders, great and grievous, against Egypt and against Pharaoh and all his household, before our eyes. 23 And he brought us out from there, that he might bring us in and give us the land that he swore to give to our fathers. 24 And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. Footnotes [1] 6:4 Or The Lord our God is one Lord; or The Lord is our God, the Lord is one; or The Lord is our God, the Lord alone (ESV)

ABOUT JUSTIN GIBONEYJustin Giboney is an attorney and political strategist in Atlanta, the co-founder and president of The AND Campaign, co-host of the Church Politics Podcast, and the co-author of Compassion & Conviction: The AND Campaign’s Guide to Faithful Civic Engagement.ABOUT TALKBACKSOur Talkbacks are great opportunities to see how our faith engages with the world around us. This summer, we're excited to have four evenings that discuss how the gospel changes how we think about race, politics, the world, and our stories.Each Talkback, we get a chance to hear from a speaker for about 45 minutes before spending about 45 minutes in a Q&A. We encourage you to come with questions! 2023 SUMMER SERIESJune 7 • The Gospel & Race with Isaac AdamsJune 28 • Faithfulness in a Polarized Society with Justin GiboneyJuly 19 • The Big Three: Non-Negotiables from Believers in Persecution with Nik RipkenJuly 26 • The Gospel as a Better Story with Elizabeth WoodsonMORE INFOFor more info, visit rccbirmingham.com/talkbacks

Matthew 13:44–46 (Listen) The Parable of the Hidden Treasure 44 “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field. The Parable of the Pearl of Great Value 45 “Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls, 46 who, on finding one pearl of great value, went and sold all that he had and bought it. (ESV)Philippians 1:18–22 (Listen) 18 What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice. To Live Is Christ Yes, and I will rejoice, 19 for I know that through your prayers and the help of the Spirit of Jesus Christ this will turn out for my deliverance, 20 as it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honored in my body, whether by life or by death. 21 For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. 22 If I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell. (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 11:7–12:14 (Listen) 7 Light is sweet, and it is pleasant for the eyes to see the sun. 8 So if a person lives many years, let him rejoice in them all; but let him remember that the days of darkness will be many. All that comes is vanity.1 9 Rejoice, O young man, in your youth, and let your heart cheer you in the days of your youth. Walk in the ways of your heart and the sight of your eyes. But know that for all these things God will bring you into judgment. 10 Remove vexation from your heart, and put away pain2 from your body, for youth and the dawn of life are vanity. Remember Your Creator in Your Youth 12:1 Remember also your Creator in the days of your youth, before the evil days come and the years draw near of which you will say, “I have no pleasure in them”; 2 before the sun and the light and the moon and the stars are darkened and the clouds return after the rain, 3 in the day when the keepers of the house tremble, and the strong men are bent, and the grinders cease because they are few, and those who look through the windows are dimmed, 4 and the doors on the street are shut—when the sound of the grinding is low, and one rises up at the sound of a bird, and all the daughters of song are brought low—5 they are afraid also of what is high, and terrors are in the way; the almond tree blossoms, the grasshopper drags itself along,3 and desire fails, because man is going to his eternal home, and the mourners go about the streets—6 before the silver cord is snapped, or the golden bowl is broken, or the pitcher is shattered at the fountain, or the wheel broken at the cistern, 7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it. 8 Vanity4 of vanities, says the Preacher; all is vanity. Fear God and Keep His Commandments 9 Besides being wise, the Preacher also taught the people knowledge, weighing and studying and arranging many proverbs with great care. 10 The Preacher sought to find words of delight, and uprightly he wrote words of truth. 11 The words of the wise are like goads, and like nails firmly fixed are the collected sayings; they are given by one Shepherd. 12 My son, beware of anything beyond these. Of making many books there is no end, and much study is a weariness of the flesh. 13 The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man.5 14 For God will bring every deed into judgment, with6 every secret thing, whether good or evil. Footnotes [1] 11:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath”; also verse 10 (see note on 1:2) [2] 11:10 Or evil [3] 12:5 Or is a burden [4] 12:8 The Hebrew term hebel can refer to a “vapor” or “mere breath” (three times in this verse); see note on 1:2 [5] 12:13 Or the duty of all mankind [6] 12:14 Or into the judgment on (ESV)

Ecclesiastes 7:1–4 (Listen) The Contrast of Wisdom and Folly 7:1   A good name is better than precious ointment,    and the day of death than the day of birth.2   It is better to go to the house of mourning    than to go to the house of feasting,  for this is the end of all mankind,    and the living will lay it to heart.3   Sorrow is better than laughter,    for by sadness of face the heart is made glad.4   The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning,    but the heart of fools is in the house of mirth. (ESV)Ecclesiastes 7:10–14 (Listen) 10   Say not, “Why were the former days better than these?”    For it is not from wisdom that you ask this.11   Wisdom is good with an inheritance,    an advantage to those who see the sun.12   For the protection of wisdom is like the protection of money,    and the advantage of knowledge is that wisdom preserves the life of him who has it.13   Consider the work of God:    who can make straight what he has made crooked? 14 In the day of prosperity be joyful, and in the day of adversity consider: God has made the one as well as the other, so that man may not find out anything that will be after him. (ESV)Ecclesiastes 7:23–24 (Listen) 23 All this I have tested by wisdom. I said, “I will be wise,” but it was far from me. 24 That which has been is far off, and deep, very deep; who can find it out? (ESV)Ecclesiastes 8:14–17 (Listen) Man Cannot Know God’s Ways 14 There is a vanity that takes place on earth, that there are righteous people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the wicked, and there are wicked people to whom it happens according to the deeds of the righteous. I said that this also is vanity. 15 And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. 16 When I applied my heart to know wisdom, and to see the business that is done on earth, how neither day nor night do one’s eyes see sleep, 17 then I saw all the work of God, that man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. However much man may toil in seeking, he will not find it out. Even though a wise man claims to know, he cannot find it out. (ESV)Ecclesiastes 9:11 (Listen) Wisdom Better Than Folly 11 Again I saw that under the sun the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, nor bread to the wise, nor riches to the intelligent, nor favor to those with knowledge, but time and chance happen to them all. (ESV)