AFTERWORDS: A Riverview Church Podcast

This week, Jason talks with all four teachers to unpack one of the most layered stretches in Acts, where a single passage could have turned into a dozen different sermons. The conversation explores how pastors decide what to emphasize, how audience and venue shape application, and why disagreement, blocked plans, and hardship can still be part of God’s direction. The group digs into Paul and Barna...

Alex fills in for Jason again and dives deep with Noel into Acts 15 and why it represents a pivotal, make-or-break moment for the early church. Noel unpacks how the Jerusalem Council wrestled with grace, law, unity, and cultural difference, and why that tension still matters today. The conversation explores how good preferences can quietly turn into expectations and even requirements, often withou...

In this episode, Noel and Alex dive into the challenges of living authentically in a culture that often tries to "neutralize" the edges of Jesus to fit a personal or social algorithm. They discuss the biblical account of Paul in Lystra, exploring what it means to truly deny oneself and prioritize Christ over the modern idols of politics, money, and comfort. The conversation also touches on the cos...

Jason sits down with Hezekiah and James to debrief Christmas Eve at the venues and talk about what made the night feel like a full-family celebration. From there, the conversation moves into Acts 13, including the very real geography of Paul’s journey and why seeing “scripture in stone” changes how you read the text. They wrestle with how the early church balanced planning with Spirit-led pivots,...

In this episode of the AfterWords Podcast, Jason sits down with Tony and James to talk through their Acts messages, starting with the church in Syrian Antioch as a strategic, multicultural “launching pad” for the gospel. They trace how persecution in Acts repeatedly backfires on the opponents of the church and becomes “rocket fuel” for the spread of Jesus’ message, often through unnamed believers....

Jason and Noel unpack a pivotal passage in Acts where baptism, obedience, and the gospel’s expansion collide in real time. They talk through Riverview’s decision to offer spontaneous baptisms whenever they appear in Acts and share stories of lives changed on the spot. The conversation widens to Peter, Cornelius, and the uncomfortable work of letting go of deeply held beliefs when God does somethin...

In this conversation, Jason talks with Tony, Jordan, and Hezekiah, and unpacks Acts 9:32–10:8. They start by exploring how each wrestled with finding the “thread” that ties together a set of seemingly disconnected stories. They discuss the purpose of miracles, why they often weren’t for the person healed, and how that shapes the way we think about suffering and unanswered prayer today. The group d...

In this episode, Jason and Noel unpack Saul’s surprising transformation in Acts 9, exploring how a man who seemed spiritually flawless—and deeply dangerous—could be so radically redirected by Jesus. They discuss Saul’s early influence, his role in the persecution of the church, and why his conversion required such extraordinary trust from the first believers. Noel explains how Scripture frames mis...

This episode of the Afterwards Podcast starts with a lighthearted debate about Christmas decorations—real vs. fake trees, timing, and “country living”—before pivoting into a deeper conversation about two consecutive weeks of baptisms across Riverview’s venues. Jason, Tony, Justin, and Jordan share stories of planned and spontaneous baptisms, including students at MSU, families driving in from out...

This week, Noel recaps a whirlwind weekend that included church planters, Harley rides, and the unexpected guest star of the morning: a spider swimming in his water cup. Jason and Noel unpack the message from Acts 8, exploring why Philip went to a place everyone assumed was irredeemable—and how God upended those assumptions. They dive into persecution, joy, baptism, Simon the Sorcerer, and why ear...

In this episode of the Afterwards Podcast , Alex and Noel talk about the message from Acts 7 and how Stephen’s boldness, forgiveness, and faith in the face of death challenge believers today. Noel explains how Stephen’s sermon before the Sanhedrin exposed Israel’s history of resisting God’s work, connecting it to how the church today must fight comfort and remain open to being sent out. They discu...

In this episode of the AfterWords Podcast , Jason and Noel unpack Acts 6, where rapid growth in the early church led to tension, complaints, and the creation of a new leadership structure. They discuss how the apostles handled the challenge of unmet needs without losing focus on prayer and preaching, and how that model still shapes church life today. The conversation ranges from coffee cleanups to...

This week on the AfterWords Podcast , Jason sits down with Jordan, Tony, and James to talk about Acts 5 and what it means to obey God rather than people. They unpack what faithful obedience looks like when authority and conviction collide, how the apostles found joy in suffering, and why Gamaliel’s words still echo in the church today. Along the way, they imagine the Book of Acts as an action movi...

Jason and Noel open with a conversation about Riv’s decision to stop passing the red buckets. They unpack why the shift lowers guilt, improves service flow, and still calls people to conviction-driven generosity even if the budget dips. From Acts 4–5 they contrast Ananias and Sapphira’s deceit with Jesus’ generosity, argue that every sin is foremost against God, and urge us to more loosely hold ou...

Jason and Noel talk about Acts 4, beginning with a running pineapple-pizza joke that frames a larger point about unity and “buckets of belief” (orthodoxy vs. preferences) and why many church fights are trivial. The episode contrasts American discomfort with real persecution abroad and argues that bold witness grows from re-scaling our “pittance” of suffering against the “weight of glory.” Practica...

In this episode of The AfterWords Podcast , Jason and Noel start lightheartedly—with new Riverview merch and some good-natured teasing—before diving deep into Acts 4. They explore how Peter and John’s boldness before the Sadducees reveals the tension between human control and divine truth, and how the Holy Spirit empowers ordinary people to speak with extraordinary courage. The conversation unpack...

In this episode of the Afterwards Podcast, Jason and Noel dive into a message from Acts 3 that sparked more feedback than usual. They discuss why the early church’s devotion in Acts 2:42 wasn’t meant to be an end but a launching point for sharing Jesus outside the walls of the church. The conversation explores the river-versus-lake metaphor, how to recognize and engage with people in everyday plac...

This week on the Afterwards podcast, Jason sits down with Tony, Justin, and James to reflect on Acts 2:42–47 and how the early church compares with our modern experience of church. The conversation covers everything from the romanticized view of the first-century church to the challenges of living out devotion, fellowship, and mission in today’s culture. They talk about why community is necessary,...

This week’s episode of Afterwards brings together five teachers for a wide-ranging conversation on Peter’s first recorded sermon in Acts 2. The group unpacks how Luke recorded the message, what it means that “with many other words” Peter kept going, and how oral tradition and the Spirit’s inspiration shape our understanding of scripture. They also wrestle with whether baptism is part of salvation,...

In this episode of the Afterwards Podcast, Jason and Noel record from Jacksonville, Florida while attending a conference. They unpack what it really means for a church to be Pentecostal—united in prayer, empowered by the Spirit, and focused on the gospel. The conversation dives into common confusions about the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, and how spiritual gifts function in the church today....

In this episode of the AfterWords Podcast , Jason and Noel dive into Acts 1:12–26 and wrestle with what it means to find meaning in a passage that at first seems sparse. They unpack how the disciples responded after seeing the risen Jesus face to face, why replacing Judas mattered, and how Scripture plus prayer gave them a plan. Along the way, they discuss the role of the Holy Spirit, the dangers...

In this episode of AfterWords, Jason and Noel reflect on the launch of Riverview’s new teaching series, called One More. They talk about "why Acts?" as well as the excitement of returning to Michigan State’s campus with a packed service. They also discuss the vision behind the “One More” theme, the unstoppable story of the church in Acts, and the role of eyewitnesses and the Holy Spirit in shaping...

In this episode of AfterWords , Jason and James reflect on the final message of the Upvote series, which explored the ultimate question: what happens after we die? They discuss how the Bible speaks to eternity, heaven, and misconceptions about the afterlife, and why it can be so difficult for us to grasp eternal realities. The conversation ranges from the challenges of teaching topical sermons to...

In this episode of AfterWords , Jason sits down with Hezekiah to unpack his recent message from Acts 17, where Paul addresses the people of Athens about the “unknown god.” They discuss what sets Christianity apart from other religions, why the difference is ultimately about Jesus, and how to navigate conversations in a world full of competing beliefs. They explore Paul’s approach to evangelism, th...

In this episode of AfterWords, Jason and Noel dive into a challenging and often controversial topic: the biblical distinctions between men and women. They reflect on the message from the weekend, discuss the cultural and theological tensions surrounding gender roles, and explore why Riverview Church holds a complementarian view. From clapping quirks to 10,000-word sermon drafts, they unpack the se...