The River Church Sermons

A radical is someone who affects the fundamental nature of something; it is profound, far reaching, and major. This week we are going to hear about a woman who fits this description. She takes a bold step of faith to affect the outcome for herself and her family. There is always risk and cost when we move out in faith. Why did she do this? How did it impact her future? And our future? Janie

Jeremiah was a rascal: outcast for speaking truth to power with his poems portraying impending doom. He was also a renegade: arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for allegedly trying to desert his people. Third, he was a radical: calling his people to turn from their idols and remember the Lord their God. Lastly, Jeremiah was a bullfrog! (Just kidding….though, he is a good friend of mine!) See you Sun...

God’s plan is to put people to His good work, whether you are a rascal, a renegade, or a radical. Whether you believe it or not, you are in God’s sights for ultimate good – for your flourishing, for your neighbors, your family, our nation, the world. God has a plan to put the world to rights, and He does it through people of character who have been spiritually formed through trial. This Sunday we...

My natural inclination is to walk around, by, or even over certain kinds of people. I don't want to do that. I know all people need one thing- Jesus. Then I read John 4 and I am humbled at the intentionality and the simplicity of Jesus' presentation to this woman who is alone at a well in the middle of the day. He simply offered her living water and she took it. Why did she take it? What do we lea...

The final scene fades out, the film overture fills in, and the credits roll. Most of us head for the exit in hopes of beating the crowd. This Sunday, we're going to ask you to just sit for a moment and drink it all in. The credit reel concluding Paul's letter to the Romans just might be the most powerful answer to the biggest question many have asked about this network/gathering/thing we call "chu...

If you heard the words, “I want to tell you what I really think of you”, what would be your reaction? Oh no, here it comes. I’m going to get it now. What if the next words were so encouraging, so uplifting, that you look behind you just to be sure this person was speaking to you. You talking to me? The Apostle Paul, in a rare autobiographical moment, shares his heart with the church of Rome. He af...

I remember being young and feeling powerless. I used to feel weak. I attended a private school during my early years of education and I remember being challenged by a kid half my size. There were a hand full of kids standing around watching. We all stood in a circle in our navy blue slacks and light blue shirts, dark shoes and sweaters looking at each other. He lunged at me and took me down. It en...

Romans 14 is the weaker brother/ sister passage. Paul is not implying that because one of us is weak in faith and the other is strong in faith that somehow one is superior to the other. We are not in competition with one another. Paul extends his concept of love to the one newer to faith. That's the weaker brother/sister. And in this case, this person is still learning to settle into walking in th...

We love the law when it catches the thief, but not so much when its red lights demand we pull over. Paul tells us in Romans 13:1 [our text for Sunday] that we are to “be subject to the governing authorities.” Two words stand out: government and authority. Questions are prompted. Why should we submit to authority? What happens if I just ignore authority? What is the proper role of authority? Are th...

Love—we want it bad! Our Spotify/Pandora/iTunes playlists are full of songs begging for it; for 21 seasons a Bachelor or Bachelorette have been narrowing down options in search of it; and every February 14 th we torment ourselves to get those flowers and restaurant reservations in celebration of it. Its flavors vary wildly from person to person and culture to culture, yet we all seem to be after i...

We begin a new series this weekend - Romans 12-16- Loving Well in a Culture of Pain and Hardship. Our world does not need a lecture. It needs love. People are divided, scared, and uncertain. What's it like to be Muslim in America? What's it like to be gay and desire to know what a relationship with God looks like? What about being single and wanting to be married, divorced and feeling alone, maybe...

The lesson of the cross is a profound paradox: the path to wholeness, growth, and glory is so often one of suffering. Put differently, the cross teaches us that God doesn't waste an ounce of our pain. God is in the business of turning our hurts into glory, our ashes into beauty, our dark nights into a brilliant sunrise. In the days leading up to Easter, we are going to explore this ancient wisdom...

The lesson of the cross is a profound paradox: the path to wholeness, growth, and glory is so often one of suffering. Put differently, the cross teaches us that God doesn't waste an ounce of our pain. God is in the business of turning our hurts into glory, our ashes into beauty, our dark nights into a brilliant sunrise. In the days leading up to Easter, we are going to explore this ancient wisdom...

James and John pose a very sensible request to the man they are convinced is God's miracle-working, truth-revealing, freedom-fighting agent on this earth. In his Gospel, Mark lets us sit in on the conversation (Mark 10:35-38): James and John: "Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you." Jesus: "What do you want me to do for you?" James and John: "Grant that we may sit, one on your r...

I’m a starter. It’s much harder for me to finish things. I start books. I start home improvement projects. I buy bags of dried fruits and nuts and often don’t finish them. That one drives my wife nuts (no pun intended). But one thing I have seemed to figure out is how to keep moving forward in my faith. I’m not done yet but I’m still at it. My faith in Christ began years ago as a young adolescent...

Is there a greater refreshment and joy than receiving mercy and kindness from a friend you have wronged? Forgiveness and its protection fill us with hope and a spiritual vitality that overflows our cities like tributaries in a dry and thirsty land. One of the things I love best about The River Church is the way you all take the mercy and hope of Jesus into your neighborhoods, schools, coffee house...

We talk about leaving a legacy. Don’t we? But what does that really mean? We hope it's more than money. Right? We hope we are leaving behind a pathway for our kids, a contribution to our church and faith in Christ, an impact in the lives of others that will outlive our relatively short lives. But how and what constitutes a good legacy? In Josh 13-19, we are re-introduced to Caleb, one of the two s...

Have you ever really needed to make a move on something in your life? To get after it? To finally roll off your blessed tuchus and lean into some serious movement in your life? This week we are going to learn a lesson from the people of Israel as they behold God making some big, fat, unmistakable moves in their reality. This Sunday, get on up, grab that coffee/tea/bowl of Trix, and bring a list of...

This week I attended a small gathering to hear the story behind the “Woman In Gold”, the Klimt painting of Adele Bloch Bauer which was painted in Vienna in 1907. Our honored guest was Peter Altmann, one of the few remaining heirs to receive a portion of the proceeds from the sale of the Klimt paintings just a few years back. He told a wonderful story of his mother who fought for years to recover t...

Chuck Swindoll once wrote a book entitled, "Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back." I always liked that idea, forward momentum yet a few steps backward along the way. It seems to make more sense to me. I have that old book somewhere. Maybe it's in the garage. Maybe it's in the storeroom in a box. I may not be able to put my hand on the book but I will never forget its impact when I read it nearly 20...

Marathon runners know what it is like “hitting the wall” near mile 18, regretting they skimped on hydration at the first water station. I remember hitting the wall once, but it was the center field fence, in between the ball and my glove as I sprinted to catch before it became a home run. I “bonked!” When you move forward into your preferred future, it’s inevitable you will confront immovable wall...

“Sooooooo he wants us to stack rocks and do what to our whats!?!?” That question had to be trending on whatever version of twitter the tribes of Israel used. At least that’s what I’d be asking. Why the bizarre rituals? Why the strange monuments? Why the stacking? Why the cosmetic surgery? Why all the divinely-prescribed weirdness in Joshua 4–5? Heck, while I’m writing, I’ll ask a bigger question:...

There comes a time in every person's life when they decide to cross an uncrossable barrier and press into a new day. On that rainy Spring morning, Joshua led the people across the Jordan River. The waters were overflowing onto its banks. God held back the waters just as he had done over 40 years ago on the shore of the Red Sea. Joshua instructed his priests to carry the ark of the covenant to the...

Joshua 2 is the second message in our new series: Moving Forward with God. It’s the story of Rahab and her faith. She is a Canaanite woman who is identified as a prostitute. She is a member of this Jericho community. The men sent to spy out the land, the promised land, the land of rest, meet Rahab and she she readily acknowledges her faith in their God. She has a lot to lose in this transaction. W...

This year, 2017 marks the beginning of our second decade as a church. What does God have for us? I believe it is something bigger and better. But rather than a destination, a building or a new program, it is a person. It's more of God in our lives. This is what the Israelites didn't see in the story of Joshua. God asked Joshua to lead the people to the promised land, the land of Canaan that was to...