Rio Vista Church Sermons

Our study of Isaiah opens in chapter 6 with his vision of God. Isaiah reacts to seeing the Lord "high and lifted up" on his throne by declaring himself a sinner and unworthy to be there. After Isaiah's sins are atoned for, God gives him a mission.

God gives a pair of visions, first to a Roman centurion named Cornelius and then to Peter. The result is the church reaching out to Gentiles for the first time. The Gospel is for everyone! Who is your "Cornelius" today?

The apostles gathered in Jerusalem, where Jesus had told them to wait for the Father to send the Holy Spirit. When he did, it was in dramatic fashion, visible to those gathered in the room and audible all over town. Then Peter delivered his first sermon.

The story of Peter's Restoration teaches us that even when we fail him, God still wants us and calls us to follow him. Even as Peter had to confess that his love for Jesus didn't match Jesus' love for him, Jesus still wanted Peter to care for his sheep.

On the Sunday morning following the Resurrection, Peter and John are told about the empty tomb by Mary and the other women. They run to it, discover that it's true, and shortly thereafter Jesus appears to them in person and in the flesh.

After Jesus was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Peter followed they took Jesus to the home of the high priest. As Peter waited outside by the fire, he was questioned about being a follower of Jesus and denied three times that he even knew him.

Who do you say that I am? Jesus asked his disciples this question and Peter's answer formed the basis upon which the church was built. What are the modern day applications from this iconic moment in Peter's life?

Jesus comes walking on the water as the disciples are caught in the midst of a storm. Peter comes to join him and although his faith fails in the storm, Jesus is faithful to catch him before he sinks.

Our series on the Life of Peter begins with the story of his calling. Will Buschmann, Director of Student Ministries, challenges us with the question of whether we, like Peter in this story, are willing to value Jesus above all else.

In the series conclusion of Desiring the Kingdom, Pastor Tom considers the story of four lepers, people considered outcasts in their time, discovering God's provision for the people and sharing what they found. What are we doing to share God's provision?

The Syrian army surrounded the city where Elisha was living and demanded that he be turned over. Elisha prayed and the Lord struck the entire army with a delusion the Bible described as blindness. Pastor Tom asks what form of blindness might afflict us.

Pastor Mason Brown brings us a message on the life of Naaman the Leper, a man who had everything the world says you want, but couldn't get rid of the spot on his skin until he came before God. What spot might God be using to drive you to a higher purpose?

Teaching Elder David Richardson leads the study of a chapter that details a series of miracles performed by the prophet Elisha. The nature of the miracles and the order in which they occur is a clear and intentional foreshadowing of Jesus Christ.

Moab rebels against Israel and once again, the king of Israel asks the king of Judah for help. Judah's king, Jehoshaphat, proves he didn't learn anything from the last disastrous outing. How can we avoid making the same mistakes over and over?

Elijah is about to be taken up to heaven by God. Elisha will be assuming the mantle of Elijah, that is, taking his identity in some sense. By the power of God's Spirit we are to take the identity of our master also--the identity of Jesus. Will we do this?

Our study comes to the end of the wicked king Ahab, which comes to pass in part because he listens to the wrong people. Pastor Tom answers the question of how we can find God's will for us, so we don't listen to the wrong voices also.

Naboth was a righteous man, by all appearances, living in Jezreel. He runs afoul of the entitled and wicked king Ahab, the ruthless queen Jezebel, and the cowardly leaders of his city. It's a story of unfairness, full of contemporary applications.

What is the good life? Co-Director of Student Ministries Will Buschmann asks that probing question as he looks at Elijah's calling of Elisha to the prophetic office. Can we see the good life as yielding to whatever God has called us to do?

Elijah returns to Jezreel after defeating and killing the prophets of Baal. Queen Jezebel swears she will kill Elijah, which causes him to run and experience something of a meltdown. God comes and ministers to him physically, emotionally, and spiritually.

Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a contest proving which god was real—Baal or Yahweh, the God of Israel. (Spoiler alert! It was Yahweh.) One of the most dramatic stories in all of the Bible and one that Pastor Tom makes contemporary for us.

Today we meet the prophet Elijah. Bold and brash, he was not afraid to confront the enemies of the Lord. He delivers a message to King Ahab, the wicked king of Israel, that Yahweh would withhold rain, for years, to prove he is the true God.

This week surveys ten kings of Israel, just one of which did what was right in God's eyes. The others worshiped idols. Pastor Tom asks us to think about what idols we might have and offers some sage advice on how we might discover what they are.

Solomon is gone and we're on to what transpires with his son Rehoboam and the rival king Jeroboam. Both have the chance to choose wisely and both fail that test. All of this happens according to the will of God. Who is to blame when things turn out bad?

This week mark's the end of Solomon's story as it is recorded here, and it's not a happy ending. Pastor Sam reviews Solomon's life, begun in promise and ending in disobedience, in a eulogy that serves as a warning to everyone who thinks they cannot fall.

As we come near the end of Solomon's story, we see more evidence that his heart is somewhere else except with the Lord. Despite all the advantages he had, Solomon suffered from loving the wrong thing. This week, we ask ourselves: who do WE love?