Riverwood Church Community

Various surveys suggest the majority of churches haven’t taught or practiced ‘evangelism’ for years and that most individual Christians either don’t do evangelism or go as far as to say it’s wrong in today's culture! This message explores why we view evangelism, a cornerstone concept of our faith, with disdain and how we can still fulfill this part of our calling as Christ followers!

Jesus had a very laser-focussed mission statement: to find the lost and save them! (Luke 19:10). But isn’t that 2000-year-old concept outdated and offensive today? With the world being saved by knowledge, money, science, technology, and advancements…is there any need for Jesus? Or might the world be more lost now than ever?

Luke was a physician and a Gentile. To be a Gentile meant you were an OUTSIDER, an OUTCAST, a second-class citizen when it came to the things of God! Yet God used Gentile Luke to write the gospel of Luke, which has a tremendous focus on Lost people/things being found. Welcome to this new series in Luke, which we are calling “So Lost Without you” where we see Jesus seeking the lost and rewriting th...

As we close out week four of our month-long road trip, we have three final destinations! This week, Jesus is preparing to head to the cross and experience the weight of the world on his shoulders... We know how the story ends, but how did Jesus handle the process of being stressed and overwhelmed before the battle was won?

The disciples found themselves being anxious as they traveled toward Jerusalem knowing that Jesus would be killed by the Pharisees and Scribes. This was a road trip like no other. However, as they left the area called Perea they were ambushed by a man who ran up to Jesus and knelt before him. This man’s action resulted in a crowd gathering around him the same way we would gather around a roadside...

As we travel with Jesus through the Book of Mark, instead of just breezing by, we’re stopping at a bunch of roadside attractions! This week, Jesus takes us to the countryside and a tour of a number of agriculturally-themed stories that all have a single element in common: a seed! Join us as we slow down to ponder what Jesus was telling us through these parables!

With the invention of the automobile came the birth of the great ‘road trip’ pastime! However, town folk weren’t satisfied to have people whizzing by with their new cars and money! They needed to figure out a way to slow those people down so they would spend some time and money in their town. Thus was born the ‘roadside attraction’! This series will be traveling with Jesus to discover some surpris...

As we journey through the steps of Jesus in Matthew 21-25, we encounter an emotionally charged moment in the temple that sets the stage for a strong message Jesus has for his followers….that faith should never be lost in sentiment.

In a strange but poignant location, Jesus asks his disciples this question, “Who do you say I am?” If your answer to that question is the same as Peter’s, following Jesus is the next logical step. But what does that really look like? In this message, we dive into Jesus’s question and also the challenge He gives to those who have made the choice to follow him.

Matthew sought to bring his audience's attention to the various challenges Jesus encountered while implementing God’s Kingdom agenda on earth. Yet despite the challenges, He kept the focus on his mission and went to enormous lengths to help others see and understand the effects of the Kingdom of Heaven.

If you were an inventor or someone who manufactures stuff, you would have a particular love for ‘prototypes’! Prototypes are ‘early renditions’. They are ‘samples’. They are ‘test runs’! Well, in this message, we watch an ancient prototype come to life in a profound a powerful way! We also learn that what Jesus taught about the Kingdom of Heaven is about as backward, upside-down and difficult as a...

This message kicks off another year-long Chapter-a-Day reading challenge through the New Testament with a study of Matthew 1-5! Matthew is on a mission! He wants everyone to know exactly who Jesus is and the significance of His coming. So, he breaks the incredible, hard-to-wrap-your-mind-around-it story in the opening chapters of the New Testament!

A moment in history needs to be pretty significant to be awarded the title ‘The Great’! The Great Awakening! The Great Depression! The Great Recession! ...and now, we’re living through The Great Resignation! In this message, we examine the effects of The Great Resignation and ‘shrinkflation’ on our souls and our church as we study Nehemiah’s step-by-step guide to launching a fresh start!

What if the enemy has more faith in what God wants to do through the young generation than we do, which he why he works so hard to silence them and we passively allow that to happen? Well, this week our youth are raising their voices and sharing with us their stories, lessons from scripture, and inspiration to challenge us to greatly pursue a relationship with Jesus.

This message explores two powerful dynamics of the ‘tabula rasa’ (fresh-start) process: seeing the options and possibilities, and actually making a decision! Now, it’s hard to make a decision without fully understanding what you’re signing up for! Seeing as this series is about a tabula-rasa for our church, the message lays out the fresh-wording of our 12 Riverwood DNA statements and values, in an...

Tabula-rasa is a gutsy, gritty, realistic form of a ‘fresh start’! So many ‘fresh-start’ experiences are charged with whimsical emotions and expectations, but not tabula-rasa! Tabula-rasa is a fresh-start that will have you feeling the pain of scraping the slate clean. Just what many of us are in need of!

So? How is your peripheral vision? Do you tend to have keen awareness of what is happening away from the main characters and the main action? Do you pick up irregularities that live out near the edges? This message rewinds the Palm Sunday action from Luke 19 and attempts to study the dynamics of the day found in the periphery! It turns out there may be more to Palm Sunday than what you’ve come to...

Have you ever wondered about the Holy Spirit job description? Why was it crucial that the Holy Spirit be present within our world? Join us as we look at the Holy Spirit's intention for the human race and how he would like to intervene in the life of every believer to produce the fruit of Self-Control.

We are accustomed to doing things our own way and change can be hard to do! Change requires our time, our energy, and our effort and often comes when we have no to little choice! However, God has given us His Holy Spirit to bring about Godly change in us However how do we engage this person of the Holy Spirit to bring about the change we so desperately need? Let’s look into Ephesians 3 where we wi...

As we’ve gone through this series we’ve learned all about how the Spirit produces fruit in our lives. But what happens when we look at our lives and realize the Spirit isn’t working in our lives and maybe we’re the ones getting in His way? This week we’re putting our lives to the test, looking for signs that we might be getting in the way of the Spirit at work. As well as venturing into what it me...

If there are two characteristics the majority of people believe they carry with them, they most certainly are ‘I’m right’ and ‘I’m good’! In this message, we examine the concept of ‘truth’ in the context of the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit! What are the various theories and who is right? Then we’ll take some time to explore the fruit of the Spirit called ‘goodness’! Are you really good?....

This week we take a look at how our understanding of God’s Spirit can be framed through three important passages in the Bible and dig into discovering the meaning of true Spirit-infused kindness.

When you think of the activity of the Holy Spirit in the Bible, what is the first passage of scripture that comes to mind? Acts 1 & 2? Or was the activity of the Holy Spirit occurring long before that? We’ll go on a walk thru the Bible to examine the role of the Holy Spirit throughout the Bible, and then dive into examining ‘patience’ -a ‘fruit' or evidence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the li...

So? How well do you know the Holy Spirit? We’ve been looking at messed up ideas people have of the Holy Spirit and this message explores Messed Up Idea #4 – The Holy Spirit is Tame and Accommodating! We then will return to Galatians 5:22 to examine the real meaning of the ‘peace’ that the Holy Spirit produces in the life of a Christ-follower!

If our study this week teaches us anything, it’s that many Christians have a messed-up view of the Holy Spirit and of joy! This message dives into the Bible for a more accurate and healthy perspective on both!