Riverside Church Sunday Message

TEACHING SERIES: This Little Light of Mine SERMON TITLE: Clinging on For Life BY: Nathanael Ballew DATE: Sunday 11th June 2023 ‘BIBLE PASSAGES: Revelation | Chapter 2 | Verses 8-11 EXCERPT: Going through hard times can be one of the biggest barriers to faith in Jesus. And sometimes when followers of Jesus suffer, questions start emerging about whether God is there, or at work. For these ancient fo...

TEACHING SERIES: This Little Light of Mine SERMON TITLE: Love That Shines BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 4th June 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: Revelation | Chapter 2 | Verses 1-7 EXCERPT: In the UK, what is the church known for? In a recent survey (talkingjesus.org), the most common positive responses were: friendly, caring, hopeful and generous. And yet, at the same time, the church is also known for being...

TEACHING SERIES: This Little Light of Mine SERMON TITLE: Where to Look? BY: Sarah Auger DATE: Sunday 28th May 2023 ‘BIBLE PASSAGES: Revelation | Chapter 1 | Verses 1-20 EXCERPT: When you sit in the dark for long enough, your eyes become accustomed to it. It doesn’t seem so dark anymore. Perhaps the same is true for our society? Have we become so accustomed to one way of life that we get used to it...

TEACHING SERIES: What are You Running From? SERMON TITLE: What Does God Thinks of My Enemies? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 14th May 2023 ‘BIBLE PASSAGES: Jonah | Chapter 4 | Verses 1-11 EXCERPT: This whole book is aimed at those who think that God loves us – our country etc – and therefore is against our enemies. It’s a powerful drama confronting the racism, nationalism, sectarianism, tribalism i...

TEACHING SERIES: What are You Running From? SERMON TITLE: Is Change Possible? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 7th May 2023 ‘BIBLE PASSAGES: Jonah | Chapter 3 | Verses 1-10 EXCERPT: What does ‘repentance look like in practice? Nineveh was a brutal and horrific enemy…we are meant to identify with Jonah about wanting them to be wiped out. And yet, here in chapter 3, they seem to repent. What is true re...

TEACHING SERIES: What are You Running From? SERMON TITLE: Does God Really Hear Our Cry? BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 30th April 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: Jonah | Chapter 1, verses 17 to Chapter 2, verse 10. EXCERPT: Inside the fish, Jonah prays. It is noticeable, though, that Jonah doesn’t really acknowledge or confess his sin. It’s almost as if he is more interested in his own rescue, than admitting hi...

TEACHING SERIES: What are You Running From? SERMON TITLE: What are You Running from? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 23 April 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: Jonah | Chapter 1 | Verses 1-16 EXCERPT: The book of Jonah is not about the fish! It’s actually a mirror on our culture and our hearts. It’s about any group of people/person that we think ‘they deserve God’s justice & judgement more than they deserve his...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: We need to Talk BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 16 April 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 5 | Verses 13-19 EXCERPT: Surely confession can’t be that important? The journalist Dorothy Dix was quoted as saying “confession is always weakness”; but is this really true or might confession be one of the most powerful things we can do? How often are we really hone...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: The Power of Prayer BY: Nathanael Ballew DATE: Sunday 2nd April 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 5 | Verses 13-19 EXCERPT: How should we pray and does it even work? The Christian author Pete Greig said, in response to the question of who prays nowadays “Everyone prays. Even non-Christians pray. The difference when Christians do it is they are climbing in...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: Facing Suffering BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 26th March 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 5 | Verses 7-12 EXCERPT: How do I walk through suffering? For many believers and unbelievers one of the biggest questions we continually wrestle with is “how can a loving God allow suffering?” and yet suffering lies at the very heart of the Christian story. Rebecca M...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: But Why? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 19th March 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 5 | Verses 1-9 EXCERPT: How can I show God’s heart for justice? At a time in our society where the gap between the rich and poor seems ever widening God calls us to live in a counter-cultural way, not trusting in or trying to gain the things the world puts value in such as...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: The Issue with Submission BY: John Auger DATE: Sunday 12th March 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 4 | Verses 1-13 EXCERPT: How is submission to God a good thing? A recent article in Christianity Today explored the negativity that surrounds the word submission. Many people associating it with control, abuse of power, inequality and a lack of freedom. Howe...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: The Story Is Not Finished BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 5 March 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: Acts | Chapter 16 | Verses 6-15 EXCERPT: Have you ever missed the end of a movie and never found out what happened? You’re left hanging and wondering. Seeing how the story ends changes how you see the story beforehand. What if the same is true in life? In the book of Acts, w...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: Wisdom In A World Of Information BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 26th February 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 3 | Verses 13-18 EXCERPT: How do you cultivate Godly wisdom in your life? With the internet and world of social media we have information and knowledge at the ends of our finger tips now more than ever however, as Charles Spurgeon said “wisdom is t...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: The Things That I Say BY: Sarah Thomson DATE: Sunday 19th February 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 3 | Verses 1-13 EXCERPT: Why do the words I say matter? It’s said that for every 1 negative word that is spoken to us we need 10 positive words to cancel it out. Our words have really powerful consequences so maybe there isn’t such a thing as a little whit...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: Doing or Believing? BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 12th February 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 2 | Verses 14-26 EXCERPT: What’s more important my faith or my works? C.S.Lewis once said “Regarding the debate about faith and works: It’s like asking which blade in a pair of scissors is most important. Throughout church history many have argued that James se...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct SERMON TITLE: Watch Out! BY: Damilola Makind DATE: Sunday 5 February 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: Daniel | Chapter 1 | Verses 1-8 EXCERPT: Scams are never pleasant experiences, but sometimes they come with unexpected theological depth! In this talk, Damilola leads us to consider what the experience of Daniel and his friends in Babylon speaks to us as Christians in the west today....

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct Sessions 4: Remove the Plank BY:  Tim Chilvers DATE:  Sunday 29th January 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 2 | Verses 1-13 EXCERPT: Christians are called to be people who love not to judge. A recent study of people aged 16-29 in the United States found that 90% considered Christians to be judgmental people and for many this was a barrier to them attending churches or...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct Sessions 1: Living the Word BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 22 January 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 1 | Verses 19-27 EXCERPT: How does the Bible impact your everyday life? In the Christian series we looked at the trust we can have that the Bible is true but how can engaging with the Bible in your everyday life make a difference to how you live? In the midst of busy li...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct Sessions 2: How Much Is Too Much? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 15 Janaury 2023 BIBLE PASSAGES: James | Chapter 1 | Verses 1-18 EXCERPT: How do you face temptation & show perseverance? Every week we seem to be reading a news scandal of yet another celebrity affair or celebrity evading tax payments but even in our own lives we face daily temptations both big and small. God...

TEACHING SERIES: Distinct Sessions 3: The Book Of James BY: Sarah Auger DATE: 15 January 2023 PASSAGE: Overview of the book of James. EXCERPT: What difference does following Jesus make in our lives? Are the lives of Christians the same as everyone else? What would change if we really took Jesus’ words seriously? As we begin this teaching series in the book of James we find answers to many of these...

Description: TEACHING SERIES: Christian TITLE: Session 8: How To Make The Most Of My Life? BY: Judy Moore DATE: Sunday 27 November 2022 BIBLE PASSAGES: Luke Chapter 24, verses 28-35 Psalm 96 EXCERPT: So what? It’s perhaps the most important question to end this teaching series on. After all is said and done, what do we do with all we have explored? What if, in light of Jesus, the rest of our lives...

Description: TEACHING SERIES: Christian TITLE: Session 7: Can We Get Heaven On Earth? BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 20 November 2022 BIBLE PASSAGES: Luke Chapter 13, verses 22-30 Luke Chapter 16, verses 19-31 Psalm 49 EXCERPT: ‘Get the hell out of here.’ It’s a phrase that people sometimes say in a fit of rage. But what do we mean? Is there such a thing as ‘hell’ and ‘heaven’. Are they places you...

TITLE: Revive Us! BY: Tim Chilvers DATE: Sunday 13 November 2022 BIBLE PASSAGES: Psalm 85 Welcome: What's true of Riverside Church when we meet together in-person is still true of us online. We are on a journey together to help people get to know Jesus and grow as his followers across Birmingham and beyond. Riverside is a church made up of people from a diversity of backgrounds and experiences all...

Description: TEACHING SERIES: Christian TITLE: Session 6: Can We Change The World? BY: Nathanael Ballew DATE: Sunday 6 November 2022 BIBLE PASSAGES: Luke Chapter 24, verses 46-49 Psalm 84 EXCERPT: The late Christopher Hitchens once wrote, ‘Religion poisons everything.’ Is that true? What if the problem isn’t ‘religion’ itself, but people. Jesus’ greatest criticisms were directed at the religious l...