River Bible Church | Dustin Daniels

So John's disciples watched Jesus and His disciples very carefully. And evidently, Jesus forgiving a tax collector and partying with him and his tax collecting buddies — pushed them over a religious and moral boundary that they set up for themselves. Their offense leads to a question about fasting — but it's not really about fasting. Their question is about religion — human works to please a Holy...

Today, we’re going to see how forgiveness leads to discipleship. Today we learn about the testimony of Matthew, our Gospel writer. Everybody loves a good salvation story—and today we’ll learn how Jesus saved the worst sinner in town. How does Matt’s testimony impact you? Let's find out together.

Today we see the crescendo of miracles — Matthew has presented an ascending type of authority — and that authority is the forgiveness of our sins. Now Today, Matthew paint's the picture of what the Jews look like. If the Gentiles have no hope to live a healthy life on Earth and no hope for salvation after they die, then what's it look like for the Jews? Well, we meet a new character today — a para...

Repentance brings us to today's passage. Today's text is part of the sequel to last week's story. After Jesus quiets the storm, He and the disciples reach their destination on the other side of the lake. But as soon as they roll up, something unexpected and terrifying happens. Jesus is met by two demon-possessed men. Now demons can't repent—only people can—however, demons are much better theologia...

Today's passage is famous—if you've been a Christian for any time, you should be familiar with it—the storm on the sea where Jesus calms the wind and the waves. Today we're going to learn two key points — The first lesson is very practical because it deals with fear. The second lesson is theological because it reveals how Jesus is God through His power over creation. Both are important and can be...

If Matthew's Gospel were a symphony, today's passage would be in an interlude. Matthew has revealed three miracles back to back, and now he provides a short break from the action because, after this break, Jesus provides three more miracles before the next interlude. And it's within this interlude that Matthew gives us a short synopsis of two conversations that Jesus had with two men who want to b...

Today, we see Jesus perform another miracle— but it's quite different. So far Jesus healed a leper and saved the life of a Centurion’s servant. But today, Jesus heals Peter's mother-in-law. And we could look at this story from our 21st century entitled perspective and think—well, she deserved to be healed. After all, she’s Pete's mother-in-law! She's in the family. She's got faith! She puts up wit...

Today, if you thought coming to church and the pastor calling you a spiritual leper was weird, it gets even stranger. Last Sunday, Jesus healed someone who was the epitome of the walking dead. Today, Jesus helps someone who the Jews want dead. We meet someone who is enemy number one—and yet He comes to Jesus asking for a miracle. Today's narrative has some vital lessons for us all to apply to our...

To prove that Jesus is Lord, He lives the Gospel that He just preached. He practices what He preaches. But Jesus does so much more than that—we’ll see His divine power in action. Matthew shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that Jesus is God wrapped up in human flesh and bones. Over the next several months, we'll witness nine miracles performed by the Lord Jesus. Each was carefully selected out of pro...

The old adage, ‘to save the best for last,’ fits well. Because when we listen to the Sermon on the Mount, we do not simply hear Jesus’ words—We hear Jesus Himself. He is grace and Truth. He is truth and grace. And his closing example illustrates both perfectly. How does it impact you? In every way possible. Let’s find out together!

So we have two gates and two roads. We have two teachers that bear two very different types of fruit. Today, Jesus introduces us to two different types of people. Now there are all different types of people in the church. Diversity within the church actually makes the church stronger. The more racially diverse a church is, the stronger it can be. The more comprehensive our testimonies, the more un...

Contrary to popular belief, life doesn’t get easier when you are born again. The narrow road is not safe. The narrow road is much more dangerous than the wide road—for all the reasons we discussed last Sunday. Yes, we are free and forgiven by the bloody cross and empty grave—but we still live in a sin-stained and angry world. And because of our fallenness and brokenness, Jesus gives us a new warni...

As we spend the next several weeks with Jesus’ conclusion to the Sermon on the Mount, we’ll begin to hear a certain underlying theme — Essentially, Jesus is saying, You’ve heard my sermon, now what are you going to do with it? In other words, it’s decision time. Jesus demands a verdict. His sermon and his conclusion are not words to ignore this morning. It is a matter of life and death. The Sermon...

Who is adequate to be poor in spirit? Who is sufficient to live a life of complete humility? Who is faultless within the purity of their heart? How on earth can we live up to these impossible standards? We can’t. But what we can do is be forgiven. We need to be cleansed and purified from all these things. We need divine help and God’s grace more than we need our next breath. Practically speaking,...

Judge not, that ye be not judged. This is one of the world's favorite verses. If you ask an unbeliever if they know any Bible verses, they may quote this one. Why? According to the world — our culture — the mindset says that no one has the right to judge — or, more specifically, to condemn — anybody else. People will defend their behavior and ask, “Who gave you the right to judge me?” That is a gr...

One out of every ten verses in the New Testament is on money. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables that Jesus taught deal with money. There are five hundred verses on prayer, less than five hundred on faith, and over two thousand on money. Why so many verses on money? Because we tend to live by sight rather than faith. We need every single one of those verses to be reminded of who our Heavenly Fat...

Very few people know how to handle success and prosperity well. No one is immune from mishandling money. That’s why Jesus calls money a master. If somebody is a master, that also means somebody is a slave. As the prophet, Bob Dylan once said, “You’ve got to serve somebody.” No one wants to serve wealth. We want wealth to serve us! So, you cannot serve God and money, but you can serve God with mone...

Today is Resurrection Sunday/Easter. We are here today to worship our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Today, we will study the death, burial, and resurrection from the Gospel of Luke. And we will focus on an interesting conversation that Jesus has with two disciples as they are walking to a town called Emmaus on Sunday morning.

Today, Jesus expounds on where we left off last week. We learned that where our earthly treasure is — our heart — our desires will be with that treasure. In other words, our treasures, desires, motives, and agendas are so intertwined — they are inseparable. Why is that? And can you undo what has already been tied together? What is the key to changing our minds towards money and our possessions? If...

Over the next several weeks, Jesus talks about money, anxiety, judging others, and the constant need for prayer. He then ends this section of His sermon with the Golden Rule. So that’s the plan for the next several months. Today, however, let’s dive into what Jesus teaches about earthly treasures and possessions.

We have much to learn from Jesus’ teaching on fasting. The big picture when it comes to fasting is that fasting is to simplify our life so that we may focus more clearly on our spiritual walk with the Lord Jesus. Although Biblically speaking, fasting generally refers to denying ourselves food for a short period of time — There are other things in our lives that we can deny ourselves of — for the s...

We don’t have to look far in Scripture to see how God’s people are tempted. No one is immune from temptation. Starting with Adam and Eve — Moses, Abraham, King David, King Solomon, Jonah, the Apostles — Even Jesus was tempted! So we have a lot to learn about temptation today. And I pray that the Lord will use this sermon to lead and guide you on how to deal with your own private temptations—Biblic...

Today, we move from physical nourishment to spiritual nourishment. We will look at verse twelve and fourteen-fifteen today and learn how forgiveness nourishes our eternal souls. It's been said that forgiveness is the key to happiness. It's been said that forgiveness is man's deepest need and highest achievement. Both statements are true. Let's now turn to the Word of God and find out how and why f...

How do we properly pray for ourselves? We all pray for ourselves, but are we doing so properly? We all have a bad case of the normals jumping into prayer, bypassing God’s glory, neglecting our sins, and telling God what to do. Over the next several weeks, Jesus takes us on an incredible journey showing us key elements that He wants us to focus on within our personal prayer life. What are those ele...

Today we are going to look at God’s Kingdom in verse ten. What does it mean when we pray, Your Kingdom Come. Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven? What are we actually praying for? Let’s find out!