River of Life Church - St Joseph

This week we continue our Fighter series talking about the idea of not using Jesus as a tool or weapon to push our own agendas forward. Both in Bible times and in our world today, people will often try to use Jesus as a means to their end. Jesus always resisted this. The call of Christianity has always been for us to follow Jesus rather than trying to get Jesus to follow our ways. As we look at Jo...

This week we continue our Fighter series by talking about the idea that we cannot put non-biblical prerequisites or expectations on what it means to be a Christian. In the time of the early church, they struggled with a controversy over this same type of idea. There was a group going around saying that people had to do extra things in order to be able to accept Christ or to be a "real" Christian....

This week we begin a new series talking about how Christians should engage with the culture around us. We aim to answer the question: How should Christians act in a world that is so divisive, politically charged, and filled with conflict? Too often the reactions of Christians seem to add fuel to the fires of culture rather than speaking hope to it. In this sermon, we look at the fight that God had...

This week we wrap up our mini-series, For, by talking about the fact that every one of us is saved for the Great Commission. As a part of us accepting Jesus and joining the Body of Christ, God has called each of us to reach both our neighbors and the nations. This sermon discusses that point and then moves to how we can practically live out the Great Commission by praying, giving, and going. 

This week we start a new mini-series called "For" where we are going to be talking about what we are saved FOR. Many Christians know and can articulate what God has saved them FROM, but sometimes Christians can struggle to understand what God has saved the FOR. For us to mature in our faith, we have to move fully into what God has saved us FOR. In this series we will get into what that means for u...

This week we talk about maturing in our seeking process. Using the idea of a pyramid that we move from lower levels to higher levels, Pastor Tyler highlights that there are different levels of maturity that our seeking needs to move through. The story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10 serves as the backbone for today's message as we wrap up our series on seeking God. 

This week we dive into the idea of seeking God first in our lives. What does it mean to seek him first like it talks about in Matthew 6:33? We break down that idea to show that Jesus was talking both about seeking God first in priority and in the process of our lives--both of which have strong implications for how we live out our faith day to day. 

This week we continue our series on seeking God by talking about some characteristics of truly seeking him. There can be various aspects of our lives that can either hold us back from seeking God or that can hinder us from seeking him the right way. We dive into the story of 1 Kings 19 where Elijah seeks God after receiving some distressing news. In the middle of that mess, he is able to press thr...

What does it mean to seek God and why should we seek him? In this series, we are going to look at the answers to those questions. This week we begin by showing that we have the responsibility and joy to seek God with all our hearts, and that he shows up when we do. Then we transition to talking about a very specific way to seek God: fasting. It's a great way to kick off our new year by giving effo...

This week we finish off our Gifts of Christmas series by talking about probably the greatest gift that Jesus brought when he came: love! This is a family service for us, so we have the kids in our normal service. Because of that, the message is geared for BOTH kids and adults. Each point starts with Pastor Tyler talking to the kids and ends with Pastor Tyler bringing the point home for adults. 

This week we explore what it means that Jesus brings us the gift of light through his coming on Christmas. This idea has so many wonderful layers to it and beautifully expresses what Jesus does in our lives through his presence. With Jesus, we can have light even when things seem dark. 

This week we continue our Gifts of Christmas series talking about the gift of peace. This sermon focuses on the idea that we can truly experience God's peace in us. Because of Christ, we no longer have to live in inner turmoil or conflict. Instead, we can experience his peace deeply in our souls and then join his mission to spread peace to the world around us. 

This week we begin a new series entitled The Gifts of Christmas. Obviously, the greatest gift of Christmas is Christ coming, but with is coming he also provided us with secondary gifts that are a part of the Christmas story. This series will focus in on those gifts and we will start with the gift of joy!

This week we wrap up our Family Matters series by talking about how to begin pursuing healing from a dysfunctional family history or a difficult family situation that someone is currently going through in their life. We explore the story of how Jacob, who had a very dysfunctional family history, was able to receive healing and a new identity from God from an unexpected situation. 

This week we continue our series on God's plan for the family by discussing parenting. Scripture is clear that there is one over-arching priority that all parents should have: to help their children grow spiritually. In this sermon, we discuss that idea and four things that can get in the way of parents prioritizing the spiritual growth of their kids. 

This week we cover the topics of singleness and marriage. Both are important! We start by talking about how singleness is a blessed state where we can experience a special connection to God and freedom to operate in his kingdom. From there, we move to the topic of marriage. Marriage is the foundation of the family and the closest earthly relationship we are supposed to have. God has massive plans...

This week had a guest speaker Kelli Patrick come and share a powerful word about reaching our city for Jesus. Kelli works with students to help empower them to share their faith in their schools, and the word she brought this week is a timely one for us to consider as we look to reach those around us with the gospel. 

This week we being a new series on God's plan for the family. We begin this series by looking at what the Bible says is God's purpose in creating families and also what God wants families to accomplish. It doesn't matter if you are married with kids, single with no kids, come from a great family background, or have a tragic family story, understanding God's plan for the family can help you underst...

This week we are doing a standalone sermon about the idea of being dependent on God. It's not comfortable to live where we are forced to depend on God, but spiritually that is how we should be living all of our lives. This sermon talks about how we should embrace true dependence on God and that powerlessness is an invitation to go back to seeking the Lord. 

This week we hear from St Cloud Chi Alpha missionary, Erin Olson, as she speaks on the topic of being an admirer of Jesus versus being a follower of Jesus. (Hint: we need to be followers, not admirers!) Erin shares some of her personal story that highlights when this change occurred for her while also showing how scripture drives home the truth of what our spiritual lives should look like. 

This week's sermon is a standalone sermon asking this question: what is your first response when you are faced with adversity or opposition in your life? The answer according to scripture is that our first response should always be prayer. When we want to take ground, we pray first. Where do you need to take ground in your life? Your first step should be to pray about that area. 

This week we cover the outward-facing goals that God has given our church. These goals all stem out of our mission to have one more person growing in Christ. We want that happen locally, globally, and in the next generation. This sermon discusses these goals while also laying out scripturally why they are important.  **The file for our Vision week 3 sermon got corrupted and we were unable to salva...

This week we move forward with our vision series talking about what we consider the "lifeblood" of our church: discipleship. Every body needs blood to function and exist. In the church, we discipleship has to be the core of who we are. We discuss what discipleship looks like and how the church helps with the discipleship process of its members. 

This week we spent some time talking over the vision that we believe God has for our church. This sermon covers where we are, where we could be, and what needs to happen for us to get there--including the mindsets that we need to adopt as a church for us to grow to where God wants us to be. 

This week we close out our series on the Gospel of John by talking about Jesus' death, resurrection, and ascension. While the story may be familiar to you, John emphasizes certain portrayals of Jesus during the final days of his earthly life that bring out some beautiful truths for us today. Jesus is the Saving King and because of him, we have eternal life with God that starts now and lasts foreve...