Rivercrest Presbyterian Church - Sermons

God is all powerful, fully of glory and unmatched in holiness. Believers are to rest in the One who is greater than all and, with full and gladdened hearts, to recognize and acknowledge God is who He says He is; the King.

Emotions don't change the gospel. For David, confidence in His God is rooted in what is true and not in his feelings or circumstance. Because of His great love towards us, we have a Good Shepherd who came to dwell with us and never forsake us.

Remembering the covenant promises of God we look back at what He's done with unabridged trust, as well as into the future of glory. Christians have many reasons to rejoice because Christ has the victory and enables us to live in love as the assembly of the Church.

A psalm that expresses the humble heart of King David challenges believers today with the question, "Is the Lord always before me?" In a world full of distractions, anxiety and heartbreak, Christians are to cling to the gospel and to Christ as they walk the path of life in Him.

The call of Psalm 3 is not just to express trust. That's easy. It's easy to say that we trust. But it's a whole different animal to actually trust. And that's the message of Psalm 3. It's to trust that the Lord both can and will meet us in it all...that He can and will sustain us in it all.

Stepping through the gateway to the Psalms, we're presented with a picture of the reality of life in all its genuine simplicity, seeing how there are, in the end, Two Ways, Two Peoples, and Two Destinies. 

As we look forward to Christ coming again, Peter encourages Christians to stand firm in the faith and be sober-minded. Believers have an adversary and therefore we must be united as the Church, leaning on one another and Christ. The future hope of restoration, confirmation, strength, and establishment fuels us towards the love of God and one another.

We are reminded of the heart of God in 1 Peter 5:5-7, that we as His children cast our anxieties on Him because He cares for us. In humility and under the mighty hand of God we faithfully follow after Him, knowing that our Heavenly Father will never let us go.

As we sojourn in this life as Christians we aren't left to figure it out alone, but God gifts His church with elders, shepherds of the flock, who are visible reminders of God's faithfulness and guidance. Elders are called to a high calling and therefore Peter instructs the church the importance of knowing what they are to be, as well as encourages them to follow.

As beloved children of God we are promised blessings, not as a result of our good works, but in ways that point us back and draw us closer to our Creator. In every circumstance Christians have assurance of salvation and hope in Christ.

All Christians are called to be hospitable, to love earnestly and to pray; but Peter also reminds us of our spiritual gifts that make us unique. These gifts are to steward God's grace to one another, making the Church a beautiful picture of community and the gospel as we serve in these last days, awaiting the return of the King.

What does it look like when Christians endure suffering in the world? And how are we meant to respond? Peter gives us answers to those questions.

In one of the most mysterious passages of the New Testament, Peter is encouraging believers in their new creation identity and mission to focus on what we know in Christ. This fuels the Church to move forward by faith and hope where one day those are of the past and only heavenly glory in the presence of the Lord remains.

We have been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. This is the basis from which all Christian hope flows, that our God keeps His promises. So, our hope isn't in ourselves, or in our faith, but in His faithfulness. 

The people of God are called to unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart and a humble mind. Towards one another this is edifying and an encouragement as we are lights in this world, but Peter also calls us to engage with the evil in the world. Though it is not easy, by blessing those who are evil to us we proclaim a powerful witness of the gospel.

In the middle of Peter's first letter he addresses wives and husbands. While remembering our identity as believers in Christ, as living stones and a holy nation, we are to live in marriage as God has called us to. Through love, imperishable beauty and honor, wives and husbands are to live so that their spouse notices their gospel transformed life. 

Called to be servants as well as to be rooted in our elect exile identity, Peter is pointing us to the way Christians are to live in an unjust world. With the gospel always before us, we look to Christ as our example to live by, and by grace the world will see His glory in His Church.

The life of a believer as a member of the Church should be a light to the world. This light shines through our good works, but is rooted in our graciously given identity: beloved children of the King.

With foundational elements and truth of gospel proclamation, the Church today through the power of the Holy Spirit, is to be a light to the world. The identity of God's people are secure in His promises.

Christ is the Word of God who is the imperishable seed now in all believers. Therefore, Peter is encouraging the Church today to live as we've been called and to put away relational wreckage. In this we love one another as family with a pure heart, that others who are without Christ may know Him by the way we love one another. 

Our identity directs how we live. For those who trust in Jesus Christ, their identity is secured in His resurrection. In this victory we now live as obedient children as Peter calls us, full of hope and faith to be holy because of the salvation purchased for us in Christ rising from the grave.

Prophets pointed towards the Messiah and looked forward to His redemption and salvation. Believers now, aided by the angels and the Holy Spirit, know Christ as the Messiah and live in the knowledge of His life, death, and resurrection while looking forward to Him fully redeeming all things. 

Jesus is living hope for those who have faith in Him, both in His death and resurrection. He did not stay dead and His promises come to fruition, meaning that the inheritance set before us, one that is imperishable, undefiled, unfading will be kept for us in heaven. Past and future assurance aid the believer in the present, in Christ our living hope.

Peter introduces himself in his first letter as rooted in Jesus Christ. For believers our identity is sealed by the blood of Christ as His beloved. This world is not our home, and living as a Christian will mean rejecting the easy way of the world, but our identity is secure in our Savior. 

Our lament can quickly turn to praise, trust and hope because of the promises of God. Through Christ and His atoning death and resurrection, by faith we can be saved to fullness of joy and pleasures forevermore, knowing we will never be abandoned or forgotten.