The River Church Sermons

We celebrate the resurrection of Jesus by encountering it from the perspective of those women who first discovered the empty tomb. Through their eyes, let's recapture the majesty, meaning, and great surprise of that world-changing first Easter.

In the maelstrom of our historical moment, we crave respite. Nations and neighborhoods seek refreshment. As a species, we seem socially, psychologically, and spiritually parched. Where do we go and to whom do we turn? We can look around for an agency, politician, or novel movement to bring stability and shelter, or we can look back to the time-proven wisdom of Jesus of Nazareth, the greatest teach...

Sometimes the Scriptures are confusing. There are a lot of laws and rules, stories and promises. Can someone just simplify it for us? In Jesus' day, Rabbis were often asked to summarize the teachings of the Scriptures. One prominent Rabbi, Hillel, had a student come up to him and ask him if he could summarize the Torah while he stood on one foot. What I like to call the flamingo question. Hillel r...

We are thrilled to welcome Stefan and Suzanne Von Ruti, two of our amazing mission partners. They will share their insights into what God is doing in the Western Church, especially concerning Unstoppable Faith, and its implications for us! We deeply appreciate having such an extraordinary voice from beyond our community to guide us in discerning the Spirit's direction. Fully Committed to God’s Mis...

What are the things this week that have kept you up at night or woken you up in the morning? Do you worry about health, a relationship(s), your finances, job, safety, or kids as you go about your day? Sometimes I think there is nothing the Bible could possibly say to lessen those worries, but I have been praying that the words Jesus has for you and for me would have a real impact on our hearts and...

Jesus says to pick the right treasure and pursue it with everything you got. It’s in Matthew 6:19-24. So, the basic idea is whatever you choose to live for kind of sets the course of your life and determines which master you will serve. Honestly, there isn’t much of a choice. One rots, rusts, and is stolen from you, the other rocks. You can think about it, but not sure why. Here’s the problem. We...

In a place like the South Bay, it's not difficult for us to see the ugliness of self-righteous religion. And though it may come as a surprise to some, Jesus actually beat us to the punch by about 2,000 years in his critique of self-righteous and self-serving religious practice. Yet Jesus' critique goes deeper, showing us that unless we really understand the problem of self-righteousness and intent...

Murder, adultery, divorce, fraudulence, vengeance, and hatred. Talk about cultural issues of our day. Someone once said, if we simply ALL obeyed one of God’s commandments, just one, we’d be a heavenly society. Think about that. No murder. Or no divorce or adultery. Wow! What a society that would be. Well, that has come and gone. We need another solution, and Jesus has it. It’s His antidote for all...

It's all about Jesus. Plain and simple. It always has been and it always will be. All of life is about him. All of history is about him. All of the Scriptures are about him. And how we live our lives should be all about him. As we continue our journey into the Sermon on the Mount, the great Preacher on the Mount will show how his fulfillment of the Scriptures leads to a new righteousness he will d...

Imagine walking into a room that feels dull, lifeless, and dark. Now imagine flipping on a light switch, and in an instant the mood changes, the darkness is gone. Like turning on the lights, Jesus says we have the power to bring life, hope, and change wherever we go. Do you know people like this? Would you consider yourself one of them? Let's talk about how our influence can shape the world—and wh...

When someone hashtags #blessed on social media, what kind of photos usually accompany this label? A great vacation? A perfect family photo? An expensive new purchase? Jesus has a few things to say about those who are #blessed according to His paradigm and it's quite a bit different than ours. If you are someone who is longing for, praying for, awaiting God's blessing in your life, this one's for y...

The Sermon on the Mount is said to be the most well known and least observed. Jesus had been proclaiming that the kingdom of God is at hand. Then at the right time, he sat his disciples down with hundreds of onlookers gathered and spoke of a new world dawning. Enter in and your life will begin a transformational process that only God himself can do. It speaks of the humble, the poor, those persecu...

This week we will explore some of the most profound words of Jesus. The words he spoke to his disciples when he met them in the hidden room. The words that gave his disciples new life and sparked the life of the church. What are his words I am speaking of? "As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you." These words commissioned his disciples into a new life and a new way of living. Let's dive in...

Whether we realize it or not (and mostly, we don't) each of us live our lives in an environment that forms us. We live as part of a culture and subcultures. We have relationships. We have habits. We consume information and entertainment. As we think about how to see God produce His kind of life in us by His grace through His Spirit, what kind of environment is best suited for the fruit of His Spir...

We're starting off the New Year asking an essential question: when it comes to following Jesus, what actually produces true, heart-level transformation? And, as we learned last week from 2 Corinthians 3:16-18, the burning core to the answer of this question is straightforward--we're transformed in and through the presence of God in the Holy Spirit. Yet, if you're like me, this raises even more que...

Even for those of us who don't make resolutions, each of us come into the New Year with aspirations for what we hope will come in 2025. And our social media feeds and favorite thought leaders are ready with helpful content for implementing new habits and accomplishing goals. But when it comes to following Jesus, what actually produces true, heart-level transformation? How does the life of Jesus ge...

Luke 2:11 says it all. Essentially God came near. In the city of David, the Savior of the world is born, Christ the Lord. A person. A particular individual, God in human form has come near to us. We could never find God, as hard as we look, without Jesus. You could spend your whole life searching for God and never find Him, unless you look in the manger.

More than any other holiday or season, Christmas is filled with singing! What other has its own genre of music where top artists put out the same 10 Christmas songs?! Christmas should be filled with singing! For there is no better way to respond to the Christmas narrative than to sing songs of joy and wonder! This is what Luke records for us in his Gospel account. In Luke's nativity narrative, key...

In Luke 2:1-20, the heavens become visible, angels, powerful heavenly beings appear to reveal the exact first time of the gospel of Jesus Christ. A heavenly message for an earthly realm. People say the gospel is a human fairly tale. Yeah sure. Watch manly shepherds, common to most dangerous terrain surrounding Jerusalem. These men were used to dangers we know nothing about. Armed with a staff, the...

It was C.S. Lewis who famously said, "It would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased....

Confession: I have been listening to Christmas music since late July. Additional confession: I’ve actually been listening to Christmas music since March. As it turns out, the Scriptures have me beat by more than two millennia! Join us as we begin our advent season with a teaching series entitled, “Advent - Christmas Canticles and Carols.” As a church, we are going to devote the next four weeks to...

Can I just say... last weekend was POWERFUL! To get to know, to share, and to pray with each other was meaningful, encouraging, and holy. This week we'll continue talking about how this love of God in us overflows from the church to our neighborhoods, the South Bay, and beyond. It's another weekend you won't want to miss!

Graham Vermooten has been in missions for over 40 years. He speaks at conferences and travels consulting non profit mission start ups, to level up and become sustainable where possible. He has inspiring stories and will share from a passage out of the gospels that reveals to us what it takes to walk on water. Peter wanted to be like Jesus. Little did he know it would require him to take the next s...

We are all being formed into something. Spiritual formation is not a choice, it is a reality. We are all becoming someone through the sources we expose ourselves to, the people we are around, and the goals we direct our lives towards. So, if we are all being formed, the question then becomes who we are formed into? Executive coaches and psychologists have helpfully noted that we become the summati...

A recent New York Times piece detailed the goals and game plan of one young professional pursuing self improvement. It was the sort of immaculately strategized daily schedule that would make the most goal oriented among us giddy with excitement, the sort of thing one would assume to produce dazzling results. Except, the culminating line of a detailed list of personal goals, strategic planning, and...