Riverwood Church - Waverly, IA: Sermons

Dads make a huge difference in our lives. Their presence or absence affects us far more deeply than we may realize. The love of a good daddy can make all the difference. Did you know that Jesus displays love like a perfect dad? Listen in to this third message in the Advent series A Son is Given to discover why Isaiah called Jesus "Everlasting Father."

Have you ever had an initial impression of someone only to discover you were totally wrong? You might have made a wrong assumption about their age, education level, or importance at work. Throughout history, large swaths of humanity have made the same mistake about Jesus. They have thought of him as just another human, or a wise sage, or even a great prophet from God. But those assessments are WAY...

If you've ever found yourself in need of some advice or insight, because you were unsure of what to do, what you needed at that moment was a counselor. Approximately 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah the prophet called Jesus a "Wonderful Counselor." Listen in as Riverwood's teaching pastor, Erin Bird, explains how to seek after Jesus to be your "Wonderful Counselor" during Advent and beyond.

If you are like most people, you don't want to be seen as a bothersome pest, whether at work, home, or in your relationship with God. And yet, Jesus invites His followers to persist in prayer, almost to the point of seeming like a spiritual pest to God. In this last message in the ACTS of Prayer sermon series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us see why persistent prayer isn't bothersome to God, but rather...

It's that time of year - Thanksgiving! In this devotional message, Luke Anderson (one of Riverwood's Elders)† teaches through Psalm 100 on why we should give thanks, to whom we give thanks, and how we might express our thanksgiving. 

Have you ever had a problem in life that, in the moment, seemed overwhelming, but years later, as you look back at that moment, you realize it wasn't that huge of a deal? That's perspective. In this second message in the ACTS of Prayer series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us see how the letter A (Adoration) in the ACTS model of prayer gives us perspective. And that perspective leads us to the letter C -...

For many people, prayer is awkward, hard, confusing, or boring. Recognizing this, Pastor Erin Bird is using the month of November to teach the Riverwood family about the ACTS model of Prayer in an effort to help us connect with God. And in this first message, he takes us to Psalm 34 to tackle the topic of Adoration.

The Lion King had the "Circle of Life," but the True King invites you into the "Circle of Love." What is this circle? Listen in to find out, and learn how it can radically change your life and relationships.

Our American culture LOVES to talk about love. But do we truly understand what true love is and what we are supposed to do with it? In this sixth message in the 1 John series, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through one of the most famous passages from the book of 1 John, and helps us see not only God's intense love for us, but what He wants us to do with that love.

Just as a dolphin is designed to swim and an eagle is designed to soar, all Jesus-followers are designed to do something. But the only way a Jesus-follower can do this one thing is to understand who they are as part of God's family. So if you are a Jesus-follower, listen in. And if you are NOT a Jesus-follower, listen in as well to know what it is God will expect of you if you do become a follower...

The famed "bad guy" of the end times is supposed to be "the Antichrist." But who is this "man of lawlessness"? And when will he show up - or has he already appeared? In this week's non-scary message from 1 John, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through the end of chapter two and beginning of chapter 4, looking at what the Antichrist values, and how Jesus-followers can be sure to not fall for anti-christ...

As part of our Celebration Sunday, guest teacher Bob Westfall taught from Colossians 1:24-29, reminding Riverwood's new elders (and all of us) that "Being precedes Doing." Listen in to this fantastic message that will encourage you to just "be with Jesus."

To become an expert on a particular subject, you have to study it in detail. This type of study requires you to hear and read the same material repeatedly until you practically have the subject memorized. And when you have the subject memorized, it becomes a part of you, affecting the way you think and what you talk about, making you an expert. If you are a follower of Jesus, what if the subject y...

To be human means to be a hypocrite. And that's a problem, because hypocrisy is a sin, and sin cannot be in the presence of a perfect holy God. So what is a human to do? In this week's message, we look at the challenging yet encouraging words written by the Apostle John so long ago that let us know we do not need to be trapped in the darkness of our sin and hypocrisy.

As humans, we long to be accepted by others. We want to connect with people through the things we enjoy, whether a favorite hobby, sports team, musician, movie, or something else. Because we find meaningful connection through these things, we often make them the most important things in life. But what if God has something else for you that can lead to meaningful connection with humans AND with Him...

If someone asked you, "What's your greatest struggle?" you might be tempted to respond something like "gossip," or "lust," or "overeating," or "spending too much money," or something else. No matter what your answer, though, THAT is not your greatest struggle. To learn what your greatest struggle actually is, listen in to guest teacher Patrick Ray, who explains from Hebrews 10:11-14 what our bigge...

In America, we are quite independent as people, and many Jesus-followers bring this same independence into their spiritual growth. However, the writer of the biblical book of Hebrews encourages Jesus-followers to NOT go it alone in their pursuit of Christlikeness. In this first message in the two-week "Grow in Groups" series, guest teacher Andrew Boone unpacks Hebrews 10:19-25, showing God's call...

There's a lot of confusion about what a church elder is expected to do. Do they manage budgets? Do they oversee the pastor and staff? Do they manage the projects of the church, or oversee the administrative details, or simply control all the happenings of the church? In this third and final message in the Elders series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us answer the question "What is an elder supposed to ac...

Last Sunday, we heard why a church would want elders to lead them. But who should these elders be? The most outspoken guy in the church? The bank president who has proven to be a success and great manager? The lady who has been a part of the church the longest or served on every other committee? In this week's message, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through the qualifications the Apostle Paul gave to T...

There are SO many types of church governance out there in Christendom: deacons, councils, boards, dictatorships, church staffs, and more. So why is Riverwood choosing to move to an elder form of leadership? In this first message in a three part series, Pastor Erin Bird explains why he believes Riverwood will benefit from installing elders to help continue the mission of inviting the spiritually di...

For many Jesus-followers, engagement with the spiritual disciplines can be tiring, frustrating, and difficult. Whether it is prayer, Bible reading, fasting, or something else, they find themselves drifting toward comfort and disengagement, eventually quitting the spiritual discipline altogether. But what if your best days are found on the other side of your spiritual funk? In this final message in...

No one accidentally wins an Olympic gold medal. It takes tremendous work and sacrifice to obtain something of such incredible worth. Likewise, to grow to love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived often requires great sacrifice. In this seventh part of the Disciplined, Pastor Erin Bird teaches from two parables the Jesus told to show the power of sacrifice. If you want to have an amazing rela...

Money. Yep, we're going there. The topic of finances is quite the sticky topic to discuss in church. And yet, if you want to love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived, you have to wrestle with the topic. In this sixth part of the Disciplined series, Jacob Tews helps Jesus-followers see the beauty of living generously, particularly when it comes to the area of finances. So listen in to be cha...

If you were to ask a random Christian to name some spiritual disciplines, "serving" would probably not be one of the first disciplines listed, if at all. And yet serving is an incredibly important discipline because it helps to change our selfish hearts. So listen in to learn how the discipline of serving can help you grow spiritually, as well as learn who you are to serve.

Ever felt like prayer is boring? Or have you felt like you couldn't pray because of sin in your life and/or past? Or maybe you're simply afraid to pray because it has just been so long since you've tried to talk with God and you fear He might be a bit upset that you've been ignoring Him? In this masterful sermon on the spiritual discipline of prayer, guest teacher Patrick Ray walks us through Roma...