The River Church Sermons

Challenge Ideas: Quick Dip - Listen to the podcast about Sabbath on The Art of Following Jesus Page (https://riversouthbay.org/jump-in/the-art-of-following-jesus). Buoy Swim - Listen to the podcast and do the worksheet. Pier to Pier - Listen to the podcast, do the worksheet, and utilize an additional resource listed on the podcast description. I almost didn’t want to tell you what I’ll be teaching...

Jesus’ words in Mark 2:27 reveal to us a true gift from God...the Sabbath. Yet, if there is a gift from God that many of us choose to reject it is the Sabbath. “Stop work and rest” that’s impractical. “One day off from work” I cannot afford to take time off. Our culture does not honor a break from our productive lives. Yet, the Sabbath is a gift from God that we need to receive. It is a gift that...

We all want the efforts of our lives to mean something--we want to live lives of purpose, passion and impact. But can't we all also think of people who are full of passion to change the world while oozing ugly, self-righteous pride? And in a world with so many needs and in which certain types of contributions are glorified while others are ignored, burn out often feels inevitable. So as we learn t...

Spiritual Giftedness is referring to different spiritual gifts or talents given by the Holy Spirit to all believers in order to serve others and experience the body of Christ working together. These gifts are God's supernatural strength and ability showing up in our lives in various ways.

In this topic of the Holy Spirit, we discuss the mission of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and as a part of the Godhead. In John 14 verse 16, Jesus tells us of an "advocate" that he will ask the Father to provide us with forever. In this session, we give practical tools on how to invite our Heaven sent helper and advocate into our daily lives. View the worksheet and other resources for The Art...

Following Jesus is a wonderful journey that encompasses all of our lives. And one of the best parts of this journey is that we are in it together! It is wonderful to be a part of the people who are following the words and ways of Jesus of Nazareth, allowing him to change our values, goals, and lifestyles! This week we will be focusing on the topic of "honor." I am sure many parents are hoping the...

As a follower of Jesus, and having enjoyed the power of His forgiveness, honor is a part of the fabric of who we are, our new identity in Christ—it is a gift that we can give to others and enjoy the blessing of joy it brings to us. Join us as we take a peek at HONOR. View the worksheet and other resources for The Art of Following Jesus on our website: https://riversouthbay.org/jump-in/the-art-of-f...

Grace is the unfettered love of God that is available to all. It says, "You are forgiven, you are loved, you are important to me.” It seasons life in a way that brings out the true flavor of what God has for our delight. Without it, we are held in bondage to retribution, retaliation, and unforgiveness. Without it we would live in a world where you get what you deserve, only that what is earned. Th...

Challenge Ideas: Quick Dip - Listen to the podcast on Grace on The Art of Following Jesus Page (https://riversouthbay.org/jump-in/the-art-of-following-jesus). Buoy Swim - Listen to the podcast and do the worksheet. Pier to Pier - Listen to the podcast, do the worksheet, and utilize an additional resource listed on the podcast description. In this adventure of following the words and ways of Jesus,...

Communion is arguably the most beautiful and special act that Christians do together. It symbolizes the sacred union that we have with Jesus Christ because of his death, and it shows the unity we have with each other as we belong to Christ. We partake of the same loaf of bread (unless we are gluten free...) showing our communal relationship. This life changing practice finds its home in the regula...

Growing up the table was the place that held our family together the strongest. We met each night formally around a beautiful walnut table with inlaid cherry that my father had made years earlier than my birth. It sat in a formal dining room where rich and intimate conversation about life and our dreams took place. We caught up and got to know each other around that table. We were truly a family a...

Many of us associate worshipping the Lord with raising our hands above our head and singing songs of praise at church on Sunday mornings. Some of us enter into this physical posture and spiritual place with ease, while others find it uncomfortable or awkward. While this is definitely one form of worship, there are actually many other ways that we can enter into worship. Things like dancing, creati...

Challenge Ideas: Quick Dip - Listen to the podcast "Worship" on The Art of Following Jesus page. Buoy Swim - Listen to the podcast and go through the worksheet, "Worship the Lord". Pier to Pier - Listen to the podcast, go through the worksheet, and use one of the additional materials listed on the podcast description. I remember riding up a lift at Mammoth with a wild-eyed, bearded-awesome-outdoor...

"God’s word is our personal handbook, His love letter to us, and our True North as we navigate life. God’s Word sharpens us, and firmly roots us in our faith, fortifying our foundation. The Psalms say, His Word as a follower of Christ, is “a lamp to our feet and a light to our path”. Psalm 119:105" View the worksheet and other resources for The Art of Following Jesus on our website: https://rivers...

Challenge Ideas: Quick Dip - Listen to the podcast called Experience the Word (God's Word) on The Art of Following Jesus page (https://riversouthbay.org/jump-in/the-art-of-following-jesus). Buoy Swim - Listen to the podcast and go through the worksheet, "God's Word", under the "Resources" tab. Pier to Pier - Listen to the podcast, go through the worksheet, and go through the entire gospel of Matth...

"Prayer is not a duty to be performed but a privilege to be enjoyed, says E.M. Bounds. Prayer is about connecting our heart to His through conversation. Mother Theresa describes prayer as, not asking, but putting oneself in the hands of God, at His disposition, and listening to His voice in the depths of our heart." View the worksheet and other resources for The Art of Following Jesus on our websi...

Challenge Ideas: Quick Dip - Listen to the podcast called Talk to The Father (Prayer) on The Art of Following Jesus page (https://riversouthbay.org/jump-in/the-art-of-following-jesus) and pray The Lord's Prayer. Buoy Swim - Listen to the podcast and pray The Lord's Prayer in steps, "chewing" on each verse and engaging with the scripture. Pier to Pier - Listen to the podcast, pray The Lord's Prayer...

We are living in a time experiencing a tremendous leadership void. Questions like, “Where are the good leaders?", "Where are the men and women of character to lead the way?", "Who should we follow?", are gnawing on our souls. We desperately want to put our faith and trust in someone who can lead the way forward. I want to suggest we look to the one who is the source of all strength, the source of...

This Sunday morning, we come to a powerful conclusion to our series, “5 Words from Jesus to the Modern Jesus-Follower.” Do you remember the first four words? Love, Hardship, Identity, and Hold On. The final and fifth word turns the screws pretty tight on the church in Laodicea, and probably for us as well. The word from Jesus to us is “hot,” referring to a white-hot faith. All the words so far pro...

“2020. I like the sound of that! It’s gonna be my year!” These were the words floating from my lips on January 1st. That beautiful day I went on a scenic beach run, I nostalgically listened to a “Hit Songs of the 2010’s” Spotify playlist, and I playfully pondered the excitement and promise of 2020. Goodness gracious did this year take a detour! [Note: my original draft of this blurb included a sho...

This week at the River, we are exploring yet another word from Jesus to our River Church families and friends. That word is “identity". It comes out of Rev. 2, the letters to the church in Pergamum and the church in Thyratira. Who you are and whose you are make up the two components of identity. Everyone has one. We have an online identity. We have emojis that look like us or how we want others to...

"Jesus knows." Growing up as a church kid in a couple old-school, fundamentalist-style churches I've heard this phrase used plenty of times. Normally it was deployed by a well-meaning Sunday school teacher, youth pastor, or camp speaker to set up a spiritual surveillance apparatus aimed at behavior modification. Don't be naughty..."Jesus knows." This Sunday, however, we are going to re-encounter t...

In Revelation 2-3 Jesus speaks to Christians at 7 different churches in the province of Asia and has 7 words for all followers of Christ. Word #1- First Love. Jesus tells the church of Ephesus that they lost their first love. You gotta get your love back if you lost it. It’s easy to be in and out of love. Often, we are afraid to let someone love us. Sometimes we don’t even realize when our heart i...

One of my greatest privileges in life is to be the one who introduces my friends to Jesus- Jesus, my Lord and Savior. I’ve been doing it for years. I have never stopped to describe what that’s like, why I really do it, and whether I should or shouldn’t. I have always approached life from an inner core reality that who I am on the inside is what I live on the outside. Telling people about Jesus is...

The conversation on racism and ethnic inclusion in America and in the church is not comfortable. It’s a conversation that gets messy. It’s a conversation that can be all-too-easily co-opted or invalidated by various outside agendas to score quick political points. Nevertheless, as I will seek to show from the heart of our own sacred scriptures as followers of Jesus, it is a conversation I (we) can...