The River Church Sermons

Someone needs to. The world is in desperate need of someone to do the right thing. We have become a world of bad news. But, so much good is happening, it’s just not making the headlines. And most of it by good people, many who are followers of Christ who chose to do something good in the world as opposed to those who cause problems. Peter tells us in our passage what it takes. Three things. The Wo...

Dr. W Gruden writes in his systematic theology, “Because there is sin that still remains in our hearts even though we have become Christians (Rom. 6:12-13; I John 1:8), our sanctification (fancy work for spiritual growth) will never be completed in this life.” Yet, Peter says to us straight up, “Be holy in all your conduct.” (I Peter 1:15). And to add to this haunting task, “You shall be holy, for...

The born again movement began in the mid 70s with three important events. Chuck Colson’s prison born again conversion post watergate, President Jimmy Carter’s self identification as a born again Christian and Billy Graham’s book, How to be Born Again. This movement changed the landscape of the Christian religion and catapulted it out of the dark ages. Hippies were coming to Jesus. Can you imagine...

There's an important framework from both our life with Jesus and--in God's good design--the psychology of motivation: our identity directs our energy. How we think of ourselves tends to shape how we actually live. So what kind of identity will lead to the most flourishing? More to the point for those committed to following Jesus: who does God say that we are? And what implications does that have f...

As we turn the corner into another calendar year, my first instinct as an optimistic preacher is to celebrate the high points of 2023 and anticipate the graces and glories of 2024. But, what about all the hard parts? What do we do with the pains and disappointments? Join us as we have an honest, year-ending conversation with the scriptures about putting pain in its proper place.

“Oh, come, let us adore him, Christ the Lord.” This line from a timeless Christmas hymn captures exactly our posture for the entire service at the River Church of the South Bay. Whether in the afterglow of the children’s play at 10:30 or following a few worship songs sung with the backdrop of the Pacific Ocean at 8:30, let’s adore the King of it all! Let us recognize what those shepherds, magi, an...

If someone were to ask you, why did Jesus come to earth, what would you say? To save the world from their sins? To guide us as a moral teacher? To turn things around on earth? We’ve established that Jesus came to be king and bring God’s kingdom to earth through his followers, both Jewish converts and Gentiles. I want to look at Matthew 1, John 1:14 and John 3:16 and answer this question specifical...

Here’s how I landed on that title for our Christmas series - Finally Jesus. Jesus was not plan B in God’s way of thinking. He didn’t have a plan A, the garden and then something went wrong and he had to think of another plan. “Oh, I know, I’ll send Jesus and see if that works". Jesus was not some additive in a string of historical events. We have creation, then fall, then Israel, then exile, then,...

This week we are going to explore a well known parable about a compassionate Samaritan. You are probably well aware of the story, especially if you grew up in a church environment. But, we are going to let it speak to us afresh as we are invited to see if we are truly the type of person that exerts themselves generously in care for others. This parable is deeply convicting and compelling, and ulti...

Happy Thanksgiving to all! Plans are underway for how we’ll gather with family to express gratitude for God’s gifts of abundance. Many of us brought our Hunger Heroes grocery bags, donating needed food for the Watts Powerhouse community. This is what Jesus wants us to do. He knows we can be part of the overwhelming and complex problem of ending world hunger. The world currently produces enough foo...

It’s another not so rare moment where Jesus interacts with someone outside of his countrymen. Jesus, the Rabbi, the Jew, the Messiah, the rightful King of the true kingdom leaves his own country of origin and enters the land of the final remnant of the Phoenician civilization and affirms the faith of a syrophonecian woman and her demon possessed daughter. A loaded situation. He crossed multiple ba...

"Ugh... I find Christianity to be deeply uninspiring." My new acquaintance meant no insult as her voice carried authentic frustration with her experience of Christianity. Though she had intellectual questions about faith, her main issue with the Christian message she had heard to that point in her life was not that she found it rationally unconvincing; her main issue is that she found it personall...

It is enjoyable going to see a film with drama, conflict, and a nice resolution that helps us leave the theatre with a sense that our lives are going to work out all right. But if the story of Jonah were put to film, it ends with no such resolution. In fact, it doesn’t really end, and if you read it, you’ll find the last punctuation is a question mark. It is possible that the whole narrative leads...

The saga of Jonah continues. He’s a wee little man that discovered you can’t run from God. How about this? Once there was a man named Jonah... you are wondering what rhymes with Jonah. On a beach without a Corona? From a small town near Pamona? Or something like that. In all seriousness, I do plan to share a clean limerick that I wrote about Jonah. It tells the story of his apprehension and God’s...

We’ve read the story of Jonah before. We know he disobeys God, gets thrown overboard and swallowed by a fish, and ultimately ends up in the place he was avoiding. But what is God's part in this story? Let’s look at the story of Jonah with eyes fixed on Him as we discover a relentless love that won’t let Jonah go (or stay!).

I've quoted it before and I'll quote it again, but it was the Scottish philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre who said, “I can only answer the question 'What am I to do? ' if I can answer the prior question 'Of what story or stories do I find myself a part?'” We can only navigate the ups and downs of life with resilient meaning if we understand what story we're a part of. For followers of Jesus, understan...

I am going to lay it all out on the table. I hope it’s not your first time at The River. I’ve been at this thing called ministry now for about thirty years. I’m going to say what I’ve been thinking but have been afraid to say about where I feel the church is at today and our spiritual maturity. I’m using the story of the widow who gave her only two lepton, mites, and threw them into the temple tre...

Speaking of being a generous person, I often hear, I’ll be generous when. I actually don’t really hear that but I can honestly say, I know that’s what a lot of people think even if they don’t say it. It’s written all over their lives. I’ll be more generous when I get a little more ahead. Next year. But next year never seems to arrive. What if I told you that the Bible makes a case for those of us...

You know the story (or at least you can imagine it). Someone teaches on how Scripture calls us to be generous, an urgent financial need is presented--the "Big Ask"--a certain percentage of the group contributes financially to the cause, a need is met and everyone walks away unchanged, no more filled with love for God or others from having given. While it's certainly appropriate for followers of Je...

I want you to do something radically different than maybe you were raised to do or heard you should do. Think of all that you have that God has given you to enjoy (I Timothy 6:17b). Your time, your health, and your wealth. Now think about the rest of your life. What is your best guess how long you will live? The American average is 77 years of age. I’m planning to 80. After that is gravy. Now that...

Let's take a step back from our 4-month series on spiritual disciplines and talk about why we are focusing on the disciplines in the first place. Why are we giving so much attention to the practices of prayer, scripture, simplicity, and generosity? The answer to this question lies in one of Jesus' most famous teachings in the Sermon on the Mount. In this magnificent sermon, Jesus gathers his disci...

Ok, so we have reached the end of our Simplicity series. Simplicity is a practice that makes you more spiritually mature, just as spending time in the Word of God, praying, and being generous (that’s our next series). As we conclude this practice, we decided to talk about the simple church. Simple doesn’t just apply to the Christian, it applies to us as a whole. And what do we mean by simple churc...

For many in the South Bay, the default pace of life is frenetic--work hard, play hard, family life, the list goes on. In other words, the default pace of life for many of us is at odds with the kind of simplicity that is at the sweet spot of following Jesus. For others in the South Bay, life no longer moves so fast--some are in a season of life with more freedom of time. But even for those among u...

Will the robots take over? When should I expect hoverboards? What is crypto and can I get my money back? How do I unmute myself? Can they tell if I’m “sharing” a Netflix account? If you’re like me, you have questions about technology. Here at the River Church of the South Bay, we have answers. OK, so we might not discuss the above inquiries, but join us as we adventure further into our “Simplicit...

If your heart is beating in 2023, your body and mind can give testimony that we live in an increasingly complex and crowded world. There are more beautiful opportunities and rushing demands than our bodies and calendars can manage. Yet, we keep on drinking from the fire hose of information, social media, schedules, hurry, excursions, demands, and temptations [tell your shame-gremlins to shut up; t...