River Oaks Church Sermons

A sermon on the gold image of Nebuchadnezzar by Dr. Ben Shaw. Application questions: What connection do you think the gold image of Chapter 3 has to do with the dream image of Chapter 2? What would Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego indicate by bowing down to Nebuchadnezzar’s image? Why do you suppose the Chaldeans were so interested in exposing the three Jewish men? In what ways are we tempted to b...

A sermon on Nebuchadnezzar's dream and its interpretation, by David Camera. Application questions: If you could, would you want to know the future? If so, what would you like to know, and what would you rather remain unknown? Beginning in 2:4, the book of Daniel is written in Aramaic, the common language of Babylon. What does this fact tell us about the audience of the book and God’s grace of God...

A sermon concluding our Spiritual Formation Weekend by Greg Lanier. Application questions: Walk through these categories of “worldly habits” mentioned in the sermon. Where do you see them play out in your daily life (workplace, etc.)? With which do you struggle the most? Power, use of threats, materialism, manipulation, anger, Godlessness Walk through the “Godward habits” discussed in the sermon....

Application questions: Brainstorm a list of issues that we face today as Christians that require divine wisdom to navigate well. The text says that God gave Daniel and his friends good health and deep wisdom and insight. Does that mean that they were entirely passive over this 3 year process? How does this insight help us as we live our lives? Is the bible presenting the “Daniel diet” as something...

A sermon kicking off our new series on the book of Daniel, by David Camera. Application questions: What are the key aspects of who we are that we use to explain our identity? (e.g.:  where we are from etc.) Who were Daniel and his friends before they were exiled to Babylon? How are they described in the text What had Daniel and his 3 friends just experienced? Who is responsible for the defeat of J...

A sermon on Psalm 148 by David Camera, concluding our summer series on the Psalms. We open our church services with a “Call to Worship.” What is it and why do we do it? The Hebrew word hallelujah means “praise the Lord.” How many times does it appear in this Psalm? Can you detect the different ways it is used? What and who are called to worship in Psalm 148? We are likely familiar with the first q...

A sermon on Psalm 144 by Pastor Cody Brobst. Application questions: Where do you (or where did past generations) feel the world is most out of our control? How does Psalm 144 challenge the way we feel when life is unstable? How could our angst reveal bad/weak theology? We have “10,000 reasons” to praise God. How does starting there inform David’s trust in God in his highs and lows? David is a grea...

A sermon on Psalm 118 by Greg Lanier. Application questions: Make a note of all the repetitions of praises in this psalm. What is the point of such repetition? Spend time discussing situations in your past/present where you have felt like the psalmist (opposed by others, surrounded on all sides, "falling," distress). How did God provide comfort in those moments--even if he did not necessarily deli...

A sermon on the psalm of "darkness," by David Camera. Application questions: Can you describe a situation in your life where you felt alone, helpless or despairing? How did you initially seek help or relief? What was your first instinct? What type of Psalm would you say this is? What is the Psalmist doing? Psalm 88 begins with the Psalmist saying his soul is full of trouble (v. 3) and it ends with...

This sermon is by guest preacher Fernando Rodriguez, our mission partner with Isaiah 61 Ministries in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. It was part of our annual Missions Sunday on August 2, 2026. Application questions: In this story of the paralytic, how would you have responded if you were one of the friends or, indeed, the man himself, when Jesus first forgave sins? In what ways does sharing the Gospel s...

A sermon on Christ as our shepherd in Psalm 23. Application questions: As we go through life, who or what are the options we can trust to lead us? If life is a journey, who is leading you, what path are you on and what is your destination? What are the primary functions of a shepherd? Not all animals need a shepherd. Why do sheep need a shepherd? Do you have a hard time believing you are a sheep?...

A sermon on Psalm 57 by David Camera. Application questions: Can you remember at a desperate time in your life when you cried out to God for help or deliverance? Even while we wait for God’s help, how is prayer a help to us? Why does David pray in this Psalm? What is his situation? Look up 1 Samuel 22:1-5 for a likely backdrop to this Psalm. What was David’s situation? For what does David pray spe...

A sermon on the suffering king in Psalm 10 by David Camera. Application questions: Psalm 10 opens with a question we have all asked, Why Lord? What is the Psalmist confused about here? What type of Psalm is this? (What is the Psalmist doing in the Psalm?) In Psalm 10, who is the cause of injustice? What has led to his oppression? What particular beliefs of the oppressor have encouraged his unjust...

A sermon on Psalm 2 by Dr. Ben Shaw. Application questions: How do we plot against the Lord, even unintentionally? In what ways do we consider the word of the Lord to be bondage? How do we demonstrate in our daily lives that we serve the Lord and subject ourselves to the reign of Christ? Do we pray for the coming of his kingdom, recognizing that that coming includes both blessing and judgment? Ref...

A sermon on the "amor of God" in Ephesians 6:10-24, by Greg Lanier. Application questions: Why does Paul end this letter by discussing spiritual warfare and the “schemes of the devil”?  How often do you think about spiritual warfare? Do you see Satan and power of darkness as a real enemy in your day-to-day?  Read Isa 59:14-20. How is God depicted as a mighty warrior? Where do you see elements of t...

A sermon on Paul's teaching on servants/masters and vocation by David Camera. Application questions: Do people have a generally positive or negative view of work today? What are some unhealthy and even sinful ways we can view work? How are we to serve those in authority over us according to Paul? Look up Leviticus 25:39-46; Deut. 15:12-18 and 1 Timothy 1:10. How is the slavery mentioned here diffe...

A sermon on obedience to parents by David Camera. Application questions: Describe your home-life growing up.   What was most important to your parents?  How did they discipline, or not?  What did you learn from their example, either positively or negatively?  Were you an obedient or rebellious child and how did your parents deal with you?  How do you see the influence of your parents on you today?...

A sermon on biblical submission by Cody Brobst. Application questions: How does the idea of “submission” as a positive thing affect your view of difficult texts in Scripture? Where did the negativity around this come from?  Why does Paul go out of his way in v. 22 to name your “own” husbands?  As Christ humbly yields to the church, so she submits “in everything” to her husband. What does this not ...

A sermon on Paul's exhortations about mature Christian "walking" by Pastor Greg Lanier. Application questions: Where are you most allured by what the world has to offer? How does Paul’s statement, “the days are evil,” correct this temptation to put hope in the world?  Some English translations (rightly) render v16 as “redeem the time.” Why is Paul's word choice interesting? What does it mean that...

A sermon on the Christian walk by David Camera. Application questions: How would you explain your identity to someone? (Who are you?)  What has the Apostle been teaching about since 4:1? To whom are these verses directed?  How is 5:1 connected to 4:32?  How does Paul describe Christians in this section? How should our identity impact our activity?  Why should Christians imitate the character of Go...

A sermon on the new life in Christ by David Camera. Application questions: If someone asked you why we should pursue a holy life, how would you answer?  How does 4:25-32 flow from vs. 4:22-24?  Why do you think there is so much on the use of our words in this section?  List the pairs of vices and virtues Paul commands us to "put off and put on.  Read Psalm 4. What is David's situation? In light of...

A sermon on the defeat of death and the hope of resurrection by Cody Brobst. Trigger warning: The introduction to this sermon discusses the death of an infant. Also, an illustration is used that deals with suicide.   Application questions: Why is facing the reality of death generally difficult for us? Think of personal examples of people in your life whom you have lost and the reasons it was hard....

A sermon on the nature of the resurrection body by Rev. David Camera. Application questions: What analogies does Paul draw to prove the reality of a future resurrection of our bodies? If you had to describe our resurrection bodies from this passage, how would you describe them? Since we will bear the full image of Jesus when we are resurrected, his body is the pattern of our future bodies. Look up...

A sermon on the reign of Christ (with focus on Reformed approaches as part of our Spiritual Formation 3.0 weekend) by David Camera. Application questions: What elements need to be in place if you are to have a kingdom? In Jesus’ first sermon in Mark 1:14-15 he said “repent for the Kingdom of God is near.” What did he mean by the Kingdom of God and its being “near”? How do we become members of his...

A sermon on how Christ's resurrection defeats the enemy of death (past, present, future), by Greg Lanier. Application questions: The resurrection ‘tradition’ cited in 1 Cor 15:3-4 mentions “according to the Scriptures” (twice). What passages does Paul engage in this text? Why is it important to note which sections of the OT they come from? (Hint: Law...Prophets...Writings) Revisit verse 22. Now re...