Rio Vista Church Sermons

Our study in Luke's gospel concludes with Jesus spending time with his disciples after his resurrection. What he says to them, asks of them, and how it changed their lives is important because he says to us, asks of us, and expects the same from us today.

Following his resurrection, Jesus met two disciples on the road to Emmaus. He showed them prophecies of his resurrection from the Scriptures. This message examines some of those prophecies, showing the resurrection has been planned from the beginning.

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the single most important event in all of history. If it happened as the Bible says it did, then it stands to guarantee all Christians life after death. This message examines the evidence for the resurrection.

The crucifixion of Jesus is darkness and death. Yet without that darkness and death, the light and life of the resurrection would not be possible. On the cross, Jesus swallowed up all your darkness forever so you might have a relationship with the Father.

Jesus going to the cross has encounters along the way, each one is a lesson: God is sovereign and merciful when He chooses to lay crosses on your shoulders; Crosses make no sense if we're living for our own kingdom; There is hope for anyone at the cross.

Jesus is on trial, first before the Jewish ruling council and then Pilate, the Roman governor. They falsely accused Jesus, shuffled him from one fake trial to another, and ultimately condemned him. Do we do any better today? Do we give Jesus a fair trial?

Is there any more infamous failure than Peter's three time denial of Jesus? Thankfully, with Jesus failure is never the end of the story. We explore how Jesus restored Peter as well. Our past failures remind us of forgiveness and turn us back to the Lord.

All of us face temptation; Even Jesus faced temptation in the garden the night before he was crucified. This week we will see how Jesus faced and fought his own temptation, and what that tells us about how we should face ours when it comes.

Everyone defines success differently. I will know it when I see it is the common refrain. Some of the disciples approached Jesus with their own ideas on success and greatness. Jesus makes it plain that success and acclaim are redefined in the kingdom.

Holy Communion. The Lord's Supper. Denominations differ over its practice and even have varying interpretations of its meaning, but it's a sacrament shared by nearly all Christian churches. This week, Luke records its origins with Jesus himself.

After a final public debate with religious leaders, Jesus focuses on his disciples. He tells them something of the path that lies before them, and where it all will end. He tells them (and us) how to live today, in light of the day that is to come.

Do we serve the Lord for his sake or for our own? When something goes wrong, do we look at all we do for God and wonder why he is allowing this to happen? If so, then we are serving him for our own benefit. We already received God's best in Jesus Christ.

Jesus was teaching at the temple in Jerusalem. He told a parable about a vineyard, and conflict between its owner and the people he leased it to. Jesus wants us to know that the time to bear fruit is NOW, and we should all be totally focused on that.

Where do we find peace? Is it from looking within, looking around, or do we find peace by looking above? Jesus rode into Jerusalem as a king would do, and then wept over what he saw: a corrupt system, full of discrimination. Will WE be the ones to change?

You can divide people into three categories: Faithful servants of Jesus, unfaithful servants, and those who reject him entirely as king. In the parable of the Ten Minas, Jesus tells his disciples, and now us, what he expects from his faithful servants.

Real faith shows up in real ways in your real life. That's the message this week in the rhythm of grace. Tom Hendrikse introduces us to Zaccheus who, like the rich young ruler last week, encounters Jesus. This time, the outcome is quite different.

Jesus meets a wealthy young man, a ruler of a synagogue. Moved by the teaching of Jesus, he was willing to risk his standing just to speak with him. Yet he had one thing he could not give up. To follow Jesus, you cannot value anything more than him.

Jesus tells his disciples two parables concerning prayer. First we learn that we should pray and not lose heart. God will answer speedily, although he wears a different watch. Second, we learn to humble ourselves if we want to be exalted in the end.

The end of the world is coming. There are as many interpretations of what the Bible says about it as there are people interpreting it. Because of this, it often becomes a subject we don't talk about. However, Jesus does talk about it and we should listen.

In America we celebrate the 4th of July as the anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, which set forth basic human rights. Jesus speaks about other basic rights: compassion, mercy, and forgiveness. He has sent us to provide these.

Even people who are only slightly familiar with the Bible have heard the story of Lazarus and the rich man. Through it, Jesus teaches us something about heaven..and about hell. The lessons go beyond the obvious though, as we'll find out this week.

Money is important to us, no surprise there. Jesus spoke about money more than any other topic, so he knew that it might come between us. There is one thing to use your money for that you might never have considered--making eternal friendships in heaven.

We believe God loves us…and people just like us, but what about people who are nothing like us? Jesus teaches in parables that God loves even those some of us hate and seeks the one that is lost. We must align our hearts with his and love them also!

How much do we love Jesus? If we want to be his followers, how much SHOULD we love him? Jesus gives us the difficult answer: we should love him to such a degree that our love for our parents and even ourselves seems like hate by comparison.

To follow Jesus means prioritizing him, his mission and kingdom, and everything that he's up to this world, above everything and everyone else. To those who don't accept God exists, that's insanity--life is about THEM. But that's not the Christian vision.