Rio Vista Church Sermons

God appears to Solomon a second time and promises that he will inhabit the Temple, consecrating it as his dwelling place on the earth. But God also gives Solomon a solemn warning. How did Solomon respond? What IS a wise response to God?

Solomon presides over dedication of the Temple. In his prayer, Solomon anticipates a day when God's people will turn away from him. Solomon asks God to take them back when they repent. Pastor Tom connects that with the story of the prodigal son.

The Ark of the Covenant was brought to the completed Temple. No other religious artifact was more important to Israel than the Ark. Co-director of Student Ministries Will Buschmann brings us a look at the meaning behind its design and its contents.

The Temple contains elements that seem unusual to modern day Christians. However, each of these elements has rich meaning, not only for the people of that day but for all believers today as well. Pastor Sam Kastensmidt walks through them all.

God asked Solomon what he wanted and Solomon asked for wisdom. This pleased God so much that he not only gave Solomon wisdom, but also great wealth. This week's message examines what Solomon, in his great wisdom, had to say about wealth.

Wisdom begins with humility. You can't begin to live skillfully until you understand that you don't have all the answers. Pastor Tom Hendrikse challenges us to look for those areas where we are living out of alignment with the wisdom of the Lord.

Have you recognized your need for King Jesus? And if you have, are you standing on the sidelines of the spiritual battle before you? Or are you engaged in it?

Adonijah, son of King David, attempts to seize control of the kingdom. He goes along with the serpent (Satan) that we see at work in Genesis chapter 3. Will you commit to the Lord and to slaying your serpents this year?

Pastor of Marriage Ministry Charlie Halleran brings us the message during the Sixth Week of Advent.

Co-Director of Student Ministries Will Buschmann opens God's word for us during the Fifth Week of Advent.

God is the only source of perfect, unconditional love for us, and down through the ages, he has used shepherds as the agents to announce his love for his people. On the first Christmas, 2000+ years ago, it was those shepherds who first heard about Jesus.

In the Old Testament, God's Spirit was said to come upon people, and you knew the result would be dramatic. The effect of God's Spirit on Mary and Elizabeth certainly was as well. We should all long for the same thing to happen with us.

God interrupted Mary's plans on that first Christmas. Her response was to submit without question or complaint. When God interrupts our plans, how do we respond? Do we submit, like Mary, or do we carry on with our own goals and ideas?

The nation of Israel had gone without a prophetic voice for over 400 years, and Israel had been the home of God’s prophets throughout their history. God’s Word connects us to him, in whom we find life, and away from man-made religions that lead to death.

Jesus unites us to demonstrate his love. If we come together to love one another, the world will take notice. This week in our "Undivided" series, we consider the story of four men who would stop at nothing to show love to a fifth.

Jesus unites us for a purpose. We aren't called merely to carry his name but also to carry out his mission. This week in our "Undivided" series, we examine the purpose for which we are called and hold our lives up for comparison.

Jesus reconciles us both to himself and each other. Our differences pale in comparison to the greatness of Christ. Unity is not uniformity, and it's not optional. The church is the only entity in the world where the only thing we have in common is Christ.

The final week in our series looks at the Apostle Peter’s life after Herod arrested him, intending to have Peter killed. The church’s response to this persecution was to pray earnestly, and God answered their prayers, freeing Peter from prison.

Jacob and Leah had a dysfunctional marriage at first. The Bible says that Jacob hated Leah because her father Laban had tricked him into marrying her. Weary from her struggle, Leah leaned on God, who turned dysfunctional into honorable.

Jonah and the big fish are among the best-known stories from the Old Testament and one of its most unusual. However, Jonah's story is really about priorities and obedience, choosing God even over your people, and misplaced anger.

Elijah was someone who knew about ups and downs in life. His story has fight and flight, certainty and indecision, and courage and fear. Although we find ourselves in different situations, Elijah's lessons from God are also useful to us.

Hannah is a woman of deep faith who finds herself in a difficult situation. Unable to bear children, persecuted by her husband's other wife, she pours out her heart to God. God answers, and what she receives from God, she offers back to Him in worship.

The wife of Manoah isn't named in scripture, but she is far from anonymous. Through her, we learn that our mission is not to promote our own name but to reveal the greatness of the name of the Lord.

Ruth was brave, hard-working, and devoted to her mother in law, Naomi. But those aren't the only labels she carried. Amid hardship, she meets Boaz, and the tale becomes one of redemption. Jesus redeems us from the labels we have as well.

Moses was many things to Israel, and none more important than being a mediator between them and God. Jesus is a far greater mediator between God and us. Because of him, we can be reconciled to God as adopted children.