The River Church Sermons

Generally no one likes a show off. In fact, there is something in us that kind of rejoices when a "show off" gets "shamed up". C'mon now tell the truth. It doesn't make you a bad person, just a person with bad thoughts sometimes- like me! However, in Proverbs 27 it's said, "let another man sing your praises and not your own mouth, even a stranger and not your own lips. Come join us this Sunday as...

I love, love, love the wonder of Christmas, but also find intoxicating the buckle-up drive of starting fast and fresh in the New Year. My unrealistic idealism has softened over the years, but I still set good goals and strive to see them accomplished. But as I seek renewal in my walk with Jesus, it is ironic that Christmas grace can so easily turn into New Year's duty and law. Why do I keep on try...

“Prepare the way for the Lord!” These are the words of the prophet anticipating the coming of God’s chosen King. We worship the King Jesus at Christmas and celebrate the fact that he was born to Mary and Joseph over two thousand years ago. Christmas has come and gone, yet Scripture tells us Christ will come again. Prepare the way! As we look forward to a new year, a new beginning, new diets, new i...

Dec. 24 Christmas Eve Devotional by The River Church of the South Bay

Of the many things I love about Christmas, near the top of the list is the fact that it sets the table for reflection on the past year. Where have I been in these last 12 months? Where do I find myself this Christmas and how does it compare to Christmases of the past? Where have I invested my life, relationships, mind, materials? Importantly, what's the status of my spiritual health? This year I'v...

In Mere Christianity, CS Lewis writes, “If the whole universe has no meaning, we should never have found out that it has no meaning: just as, if there were no light in the universe and therefore no creatures with eyes, we should never know it was dark. Dark would be without meaning.” Stay with me. Read that again slowly. Why does the world have no meaning? Because there is a contrast. Darkness and...

The Christmas season always brings so much joy and warmth for me, with the anticipation of the little family traditions and celebratory moments: decorating a Christmas tree, walking through the Christmas light section in South Torrance, eating lots of my Nana's famous English Toffee, and watching lots of football. And this Christmas I get to celebrate with Sterling. I’ve heard there is nothing lik...

December 2, 2018 What kind of gift un-wrapper are you? a. The kind who folds and saves the paper, careful to peel the tape up without ripping anything. b. The kind who tears it all off ... and gets stuck on that huge lame bow that's been triple knotted (who triple knots a bow anyway?!) c. You have to wait for everyone to tell you three times to open your gift because you like to watch everyone els...

Who's hot right now? What's trending? Who's the game-changer? Front-runner? Paradigm-shifter? Leading Innovator/Expert/Entrepreneur? What will make my resume pop? How can I distinguish myself in the workplace/classroom/community? Am I Ivy League? Top tier? Avant-garde? How am I different? Fresh? Eye-catching? How many likes did that get? What's my legacy? Does this sermon blurb outdo my last one??...

I am a task-oriented person. I love projects and getting things done. I make lists and check things off with the joy of accomplishment—sometimes I even go back and write down what I have already done just so I can create a box and check it off my to-do list. Nehemiah was also a “get ‘er done” guy too. He was the right leader to rally the people and rebuild the wall around Jerusalem. But he knew hi...

November 11, 2018 Neh 8:10 is a well known verse: The joy of the Lord is my strength." How is joy our strength? How can we be stronger people because of joy? The answer lies within Neh 8. Strength comes when we find our joy not in our circumstances but in what we know is true of us according to what God says about us. Yet, we'll never know unless we pick up and read. People read a lot of things, t...

Many years ago I heard a speaker say these words: "Leaders are most challenged by two things, finishing well, and replacing themselves." I never forgot those words. I wondered when they would apply to me. Maybe some day in the future. Yet, I don't think you wake up one morning and say to yourself, "Today is the day I finish well and replace myself." I think it is something you live for. Paul menti...

It is one thing to conceive and start a great project; it is another to finish it. Great projects need great finishes. But all too often leaders and dreams fizzle before the job gets done. Fatigue, discouragement, and distractions can slow, and even stop us in our tracks. Nehemiah has shown us what it looks like to step into a calling from God and give great energy to rally people around a grand v...

"What if there's not enough? What if I run out? What if this half-empty cup runs dry? In different seasons of life we've all asked these questions. They are perfectly rational. Applied with wisdom these concerns can even lead to healthy planning and conservation. Too often, however, these questions operate with a dark side in our lives. The fear of not having enough has haunted so many of the desp...

Murphy's law - if anything can go wrong it will go wrong. Ever feel that way? It's just gonna. Ever buy a depreciating asset like a car, a boat, a plane or a prosthetic? It's all good at the start. Everything seem to be humming along. But something will go wrong. Something's gonna go wrong. Just wait. Too many moving parts. The same for home improvement projects. Same in God's economy. It doesn't...

"God's on line 2 and He says He wants to talk to you about a job." Let yourself into this imaginary scenario for a moment. God is calling you for a job. What would you be thinking? What joys, excitements, or fears would be racing through your mind as you sipped some water, cleared your throat, took a deep breath and picked up line 2? Now He's talking to you about a project for which you have, in y...

I remember building our family cabin in Idaho over 38 years ago. My dad had bought some land overlooking the Tetons, recruited some high school buddies for the summer and headed out in the summer of 1980. It was a log home so the logs were cut, numbered and delivered. All we had to do was assemble them. We worked together toward a common goal, the construction of what would be for close to 35 year...

Prayer and planning are not polar opposites, but instead work together. Jim Pennington is the senior pastor of Temple Church in New Bern, N.C, and helped pull about 30 people from floodwaters in the opening hours of Hurricane Florence. Part of his interview with the New York Times included this insightful quip, "It's easy to say, 'I love God,' but put on your boots, get your hands dirty." Nehemiah...

So you think you are a hot shot business owner? Teacher of the year? Coach of the century? Best parent ever? You got nothing on Nehemiah. Living during post war defeat and complete annihilation, Israel is in ruins and so are the people. Morale is low. It's 5th century BC. How do you rally the troops? I know. It takes one individual with a vision for his people to rebuild from the ruins. In 52 days...

How do we create a growing culture of discipleship in and through the River Church? Creating a culture starts with one person at a time, growing closer to Jesus and showing others how to do the same. That means you and that means me. That means ALL OF US! A disciple, is simply someone who believes in Jesus and seeks to follow him in his or her daily life with all of their being. Obviously, in Jesu...

Let's talk about Jesus. Jaroslav Pelican remarks that "Jesus of Nazareth has been the dominate figure in history of Western culture for almost twenty centuries. So, in response to this reality, Dallas Willard asks and answers this question: "So what explains the enduring relevance of Jesus to human life?" His answer? "He matters because of what he brought and what he still brings to ordinary human...

August 26, 2018 This weekend we finish I Peter. In the final section (5:6-12), Peter identifies three battlegrounds we all face - the battle over humility, the battle over anxiety, and the battle over the Adversary, the devil. In fact, I find that these three battlegrounds are all related. Satan's desire is to take us out. Either we succumb to pride, anxiety or the devil's direct assault on our fa...

It is cute watching a teacher play "follow the leader" with her first-grade students. It is exhilarating obeying the commands of a white-water rafting guide. It is terrifying when a fire fighter yells, "follow me," to residents of a burning building. It was brutal waiting and hoping search teams could rescue all the boys and their coach from the Thailand cave. Leading and following is common, crit...

August 12, 2018 We're in a series covering the New Testament epistle 1 Peter entitled "Victory". This Sunday we'll see how followers of Jesus are "winning" even when it doesn't look that way (1 Peter 4:12-19). Peter tells his audience they shouldn't be surprised if they find themselves sharing in the suffering of Jesus. Look at the life of Jesus: he suffers with his hurt and broken people even to...

Lately my kids have been into Netflix cooking shows—I have no idea why, but it’s a nice break from Disney Junior. It seems like every episode there’s always that one aesthetically-brilliant culinary creation that impresses the judges and audience alike right up to the final (and always definitive) leg of the inspection, namely, the taste test. During that test, if you see the judges cringe, then i...