River Church Sermons

Finishing the Story Pt. 8: Be the Spiritual Squeaky Wheel By Louie Marsh, 10-25-2026     1) Admit it – prayer is HARD.   " 1 And he told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart.  (Luke 18:1, ESV)   " 12 Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." (Romans 12:12, ESV)   2) We often wonder, does God even CARE?     2 He said, "In a certain...

Finishing the Story Pt. 6: No Limits! By Louie Marsh, 10-18-2026     1) Disciples shouldn't look for LOOPHOLES.   " 21 Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" 22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. " (Matthew 18:21–22, ESV)   The Babylonian Talmud (Yoma 86b) records a...

Finishing the Story Pt. 5: Who's Seeking Who? 10-11-2026   1) True greatness is HUMILITY.   " 1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" 2 And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them 3 and said, "Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. 4 Whoever humbles himsel...

     40 th  Anniversary    40 Years of Faithfulness     By Louie Marsh, 10-4-2026     1) God was faithful from the very beginning.   3  A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;  Isaiah 42:3 (NIV)       3  What if some were unfaithful? Does their faithlessness nullify the faithfulness of God? 4  By no means! Let God...

Finishing the Story Pt. 4: Who's On First? By Louie Marsh, 9-27-2026   " 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. 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 bou...

Finishing the Story Pt. 3 – Weak When Strong By Louie Marsh, 9-20-2026 1) The Kingdom of God is wherever Jesus is  LORD.   " 18 He said therefore, " What is the kingdom of God like?   (Luke 13:18a, ESV)   The Kingdom of God in the New Testament refers to the sovereign rule, reign, or kingship of God—His active, dynamic authority exercised over creation, human lives, and history—rather than primari...

Finishing the Story Pt. 2 – Do I Have a Hard Heart? By Louie Marsh, 9-13-2026   " 3 And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the...

``Finishing the Story - Parables of Jesus Part 1: One Firm Foundation By Louie Marsh, 9-6-2026   Parables (short illustrative stories teaching a moral, ethical, or spiritual lesson, often through comparison or analogy) are extremely old—at least around 4,000–4,500 years, with roots in oral tradition that are almost certainly older.   They overlap heavily with fables (especially animal ones with mo...

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Final Orders Pt. 6: Stay on Course with Christ By Louie Marsh, 8-23-2026   1) I  REMEMBER  God is always with me.   " 32 Behold, the hour is coming, indeed it has come, when you will be scattered, each to his own home, and will leave me alone. Yet I am not alone, for the Father is with me. " (John 16:32, ESV)    Even when I don't feel Him!   Someone studied the lives of thousands of spiritual gian...

Final Orders Pt, 5: Live By the Spirit's Power By Louie Marsh, 8-16-2026     How Do I Live By the Spirit's Power?   1) ASK  Him to fill my life.   16  And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another  Helper, to be with you forever , 17  even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you...

Final Orders Pt. 4: Handling Rejection By Louie Marsh, 8-9-2026   1)  UNDERSTAND  its source.   ·  The world hates me because I'm  DIFFERENT.   18  "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19  If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.  John 15:1...

Final Orders Pt. 3: Staying In Jesus Louie Marsh, 8-2-2026   Intro – August special days   1) I must REMAIN  in Christ   1  "I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2  Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3  Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4  Abide...

How To Live the Legacy Pt. 2: Living with Change Louie Marsh, 7-26-2026   Change graphics – show 'em   At the end of chapter 13 Jesus tells the disciples that He's leaving – this doesn't sit well with them. They've given up everything for him, left family, friends, businesses for him. The authorities know who they are and aren't happy with them either – so they are faced with a real challenge. Cha...

Final Orders Pt. 1: Love Like Jesus Louie Marsh, 7-19-2026   Famous Last Words -   Friends applaud, the comedy is finished. ~~ Ludwig van Beethoven, composer, d. March 26, 1827   I am about to -- or I am going to -- die: either expression is correct. ~~ Dominique Bouhours, French grammarian, d. 1702   Waiting are they? Waiting are they? Well--let 'em wait. In response to an attending doctor who at...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 11: Great Is Your Faithfulness By Louie Marsh, 7-12-2026     1) I need to HONESTLY  assess myself & situation.   " 1 I am the man who has seen affliction under the rod of his wrath;  (Lamentations 3:1, ESV)   Jeremiah's Life…   ·        Darkness is OVERWHELMING  him.     2 he has driven and brought me into darkness without any light; 3 surely against me he turns his...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 10: Playing the Long Game By Louie Marsh, 7-5-2026   The Setting…   " 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the tenth year of Zedekiah king of Judah, which was the eighteenth year of Nebuchadnezzar. 2 At that time the army of the king of Babylon was besieging Jerusalem, and Jeremiah the prophet was shut up in the court of the guard that was in the palace...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 9: Living God's Plan By Louie Marsh, 6-28-2026     1) The historical setting:   " 1 These are the words of the letter that Jeremiah the prophet sent from Jerusalem to the surviving elders of the exiles, and to the priests, the prophets, and all the people, whom Nebuchadnezzar had taken into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon. 2 This was after King Jeconiah and the queen...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 8: I Am the Clay By Louie Marsh, 6-21-2026     1) Following Jesus can get STRANGE.   " 1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 "Arise, and go down to the potter's house, and there I will let you hear my words."   (Jeremiah 18:1, ESV)   " 2 As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, "Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, 3 the...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 7: Real Spiritual Warfare By Louie Marsh, 6-14-2026   1) Ever felt like God has TRICKED  you?   " 7 O Lord, you have deceived me, and I was deceived; you are stronger than I, and you have prevailed. I have become a laughingstock all the day; everyone mocks me.   8 For whenever I speak, I cry out, I shout, "Violence and destruction!" For the word of the Lord has becom...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 6: My Deceitful Heart By Louie Marsh, 6-7-2026   1) I must LEARN  to trust in God alone.   " 5 Thus says the Lord: " Cursed  is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 5: The Precious from the Worthless By Louie Marsh, 5-31-2026   When Life Doesn't Make Sense:   Backstory of this passage – Malawi – and why this translation,   1) Be completely HONEST  with God.   " 15 You who know, O Lord, Remember me, take notice of me, And take vengeance for me on my persecutors. Do not, in view of Your patience, take me away; Know that for Your s...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 4: Honest to God By Louie Marsh, 5-24-2026   Jeremiah complains to God about the evil in Israel   1) I must be both honest and RESPCTFUL  towards God.   " 1 Righteous are you, O Lord, when I complain to you; yet I would plead my case before you. (Jeremiah 12:1a ESV)   " 2 "Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning. 3 Oh, that I kne...

Life Lessons from Jeremiah Pt. 3: Faith of the Heart By Louie Marsh, 5-17-2026     1) The truth HURTS.   " 4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. 5 Thus says the Lord: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? 6 They did not say, 'Where is the Lord who brought us up from...

Life Lessons From Jeremiah Pt. 2: Be On Mission By Louie Marsh, 5-10-2026   IF I'M GOING TO SERVE GOD…   1) It helps to know WHAT I'm supposed to do!   See, I have set you this day over nations and over kingdoms, to pluck up and to break down , to d estroy and to overthrow , to build and to plant ."  Jeremiah 1:10 (ESV)   The three pairs of verbs-pull up/tear down, take apart/demolish, build/plant...