Rio Vista Church Sermons

For many, perhaps even most, 2010 was a difficult year. And there is no guarantee 2011 will be better. Jesus told his disciples that he was sending them into the world like sheep among wolves. The comfort to both is the same. We have a wonderful shepherd!

Tom Hendrikse relates the story of visiting the cave in Bethlehem were tradition holds that Jesus was born. The transcendent God clothed himself in infant flesh.

Our series concludes with the story of the magi and their journey to find the child who had been born King of the Jews. God teaches us a lot through this story, which is a fulfillment of prophecies made seven centuries before!

We continue in our series looking at the gift and the cost of Christmas by talking about Joseph, Mary's husband. There was a cost to him for this first Christmas as well. How did he respond? What can we learn from him?

Mary was willing to pay any cost to bring forth the gift of God's Son. Even though she could count the people who believed her story on the fingers of one hand, she looked with eyes of faith at what God called her to do, and called herself blessed!

There is a gift and a cost to Christmas, not just for God, but for God's people as well. We are to replicate the gift of God to us in Christ by doing for others what God has done for us: meeting the genuine needs of genuinely needy people.

In Revelation, Jesus sends seven letters to churches, the last one being to the church at Laodecia. This sermon examines that letter and what we can learn from it about radical living for Christ.

The pursuit of happiness. It's the American dream, right? The decision to follow Christ creates a new normal for us, one in which we transition from living for ourselves to living for him. Before you chase your dreams, be sure you have the right dreams.

Series Conclusion. From 2 Peter ch. 3, Tom answers the questions of what happens next in God's plan for the end of this world, what is the real truth about the Rapture, and how should knowing these things affect the way we live?

Examining the prophecies in Matthew 24 in order to better understand whether the book of Revelation refers to what has past or what is yet to come.

A study in Revelation chapters 4 and 5. God gives a vision of Himself to encourage His people.

Our study in Revelation chapters 4 and 5 continues. God chose to reveal certain things about Himself to John and instructed John to write them down for His people. Why? Which people was God thinking of, and how does it apply to us today?

The beginning of a new series in which we take in the vision of God seated on His throne from Revelations chapter 4. This vision has layers of meaning upon meaning, all of which - when we learn them - give us reason to worship a God who is worthy!

The conclusion to our series on gathering for worship. God calls us to not only set aside the hour we gather as holy, but also the entire day.

God makes promises to His people. When we gather to worship Him, we claim those promises and connect with the covenant family. This message also contains a discussion regarding the sacraments and how our church observes them.

When we gather for worship on Sunday mornings, we give our praise and worship to an audience of one - God. We tell and re-tell of His glory, and of His grace and mercy in forgiving us. This sermon explores that telling and re-telling.

We gather for worship on Sunday mornings. Why? What do we want when we do that? How does God view our worship? This sermon makes the powerful point that worship is not about us, but rather worship is about God. He is the audience to our worship.

Carter Brown, director of student ministries at Rio Vista Community Church, preaches on what was learned from the Berlin missions trip.

Doug Souder, president of 4Kids South Florida, brings us a message about the awesome diversity within the kingdom of God. The faces of God's family might look very different from your own. Jesus embraced this and so must we!

All around us, every day, we see the homeless and the hungry. To our eyes, they seem very different from us. But are they? In this sermon, Tom introduces a multi-church initiative for dealing with homelessness in South Florida.

The story of Joseph concludes. He is reconciled to his family, fulfills God's purpose for his life in Egypt, and dies after a long and satisfying life. What the brothers meant for evil, God meant for good. In the end, Joseph was allowed to see that.

The Lord is with Joseph as he languishes in the Pharoah's dungeon. He rises to the top, as the jailor puts him in charge of all things. Joseph still believes God will interpret dreams through him, and he interprets the dreams of two of Pharoah's servants.

Joseph faces personal suffering and injustice. For years, he is in the pit of pharoah's dungeon. Despite that, Joseph never loses his trust in God. And God gives Joseph what he needs to enable him to do his part in the big plan.

Two responses to sexual temptation, Joseph and his brother Judah. Joseph was confident that God had control of his life and refused to give in to sin. Judah was exposed as a hypocrite and learned a lesson about righteousness.

Tom begins a new series on the providence of God, based upon the life of Joseph. Seemingly favored by God, Joseph was crushed by one bad circumstance after another. But he never lost sight of God.