Rio Vista Church Sermons

Jesus often does things we don't expect. When that happens, it can be difficult to trust him to do what is best. This week we come to a story of Jesus healing a woman who was bent over with a deformed spine. The world saw one thing, but Jesus saw another!

Jesus again teaches on living each day in light of the great and final day that is to come, but he expands that to say we should live each MOMENT of each day in light of that great and final day that is to come. Are we prepared and waiting for his return?

Jesus talked more about money than he did on heaven and hell, combined. Out of 39 parables, 11 were on money. However, money isn't the problem--it's what money represents to us. What place does money occupy in your own Rhythm of Grace?

Jesus said if anyone would follow Him, he must deny himself and take up his cross every day...but what does that MEAN? Deny yourself? Take up your cross? Well, one aspect of it is learning how to live this day in light of that great and final day to come.

Jesus continued his ministry of deliverance by casting out demons, prompting a skeptical crowd to say he did so by the power of Beelzebub. Jesus pointed out how selective their skepticism was. Are we also being selectively skeptical of God?

Becoming a follower of Jesus means becoming a person of prayer. For a lot of us, that's a problem. We don't know what to say or we find it hard to get motivated to pray. Luke records Jesus teaching his disciples both how to pray--and why they should.

There are things you HAVE to do and things you GET to do. You HAVE to go to work, but you GET to go on vacation. Jesus did all that had to be done to provide for our forgiveness and salvation, and now we get to choose to follow him. Easter Sunday message.

Jesus teaches his disciples more about what it will cost to follow him. It requires a one-time decision to get off the fence and prioritize Jesus above all else, and it also requires you to crucify your desires for the things of this earth every day.

J"Whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever will lose his life for my sake will save it." Those words from Jesus to His disciples established a fundamental principle of what it meant to follow Him: we must die to ourselves. What does that mean?

Jesus sends his 12 apostles out to proclaim the kingdom, telling them not to take anything with them. You don't need anything special before doing what God calls you to do. If you give Jesus what you have, He will multiply it to provide what is needed.

Fear is the opposite of faith. What is it that you’re afraid of? Natural disasters? Supernatural demons? Sickness and death? In a series of short stories, Jesus demonstrates he is master over all these things. Faith in Jesus will drive away fear.

The parable of the seed and the sower describes four different kinds of soil, each of which depicts a different state of the human heart, and their individual reaction to the seed, which is the word of God concerning the kingdom of God. Which one are you?

This week we meet a Pharisee who was intrigued by Jesus and cautiously risked a little in meeting him, and a prostitute who was deeply moved by love for the one who had forgiven her sins and was ready to risk everything for him. Which one are we?

When God doesn’t do what we want Him to, we are often plagued by doubt. Does He know what we need? Does He love us? Is He even there? John the Baptist, in prison and waiting to die, was filled by doubt. What did Jesus say to him? What does it mean for us?

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus tells us good roots make a good tree, and we know a good tree by its fruits. He also declares many to be blessed whom we would not: the poor, the hungry, etc. If Jesus alone is enough for you–you ARE blessed indeed!

The Sabbath: A day of rest from your usual work and a day to worship the Lord. Why do we struggle with the idea of rest? Being important and significant comes from Jesus, not from being too busy to rest. The Son of Man is the Lord of the Sabbath!

In this week of Epiphany, we see Jesus in three interconnected stories as he illustrates not just that he brings salvation, but also what kind of salvation that is. He penetrates to the deepest, darkest parts of us and makes us entirely clean.

Luke chapter 4 records Satan tempting Jesus. It is a familiar story to many of us. This week, Pastor Tom Hendrikse shows us that Jesus was tempted by far more than we understand from the text, and that he went through this because we NEEDED him to.

Repentance. Theologians debate whether it is simply a deep sorrow for your sins or a commitment to a changed life. This week from Luke chapter 3 and the story of John the Baptist, we see that repentance is most importantly the path that leads us to Jesus!

12-year old Jesus remained behind at the Temple, prompting a frantic three day search by his family, who thought he was probably dead. When his frantic and upset parents found him, Jesus explained that He was compelled to be about his father's business.

Simeon, a righteous and devout man, and Anna, a widowed prophetess, saw the infant Jesus at the temple. Both proclaimed that Jesus would be God’s provision for the unification of Israel, and then eventually of all God’s people.

Christmas Eve. The night when God entered the world to live with His people. The reality of that night was likely very different from the idealized vision in children’s tales. We look back, with the eyes of our imagination, to that cave in Bethlehem.

Elizabeth and Zechariah, the parents of John the Baptist, were filled with deep longing for a child. Even though God miraculously gave them a son, they learned it was only God himself who could truly satisfy their deepest longings.

Mary sets an example of accepting both your general vocation and your unique vocation for which God has specifically chosen you. Mary didn't settle for mediocrity, and God used that about her. We don't serve Christ somewhere, we serve Christ where we are!

In the Rhythm of Grace, we should be longing for God. But what do we do when God breaks through in our lives? Mary probably had her whole life planned out, but chose to set it aside when she encountered God. Her response was surrender. What will ours be?