In this sermon from Sept 2024, we presented the vision for building our own facility in Riverside. This message was immediately followed by an exercise with our architect/designer, so there are references to that exercise throughout.
The Jerusalem council writes a letter to send back to the Gentile believers in Antioch, and send it by the hands of Paul, Barnabas, Judas, and Silas. The Gentile believers were overjoyed when they received the letter, because it welcomed them as brothers and sisters in Christ!
After Paul and Barnabas return from their missions trip, they are met with a bit of hostility from local church leaders who say these new Gentile converts need to follow the laws of Moses if they want to belong to the church. Paul and Barnabas get into a heated argument with them, and they all agree to take this one to Jerusalem for some answers.
Vision Sunday Fall 2024 – What is the mission statement of the Church? What even IS the Church? River City belongs to a long line of people who gathered in local churches around the world, united by the Spirit of Jesus.
We've all been in situations where we needed rescued. Maybe your situation was dire, maybe it wasn't all that life-threatening. But either way, we know the thrill of deliverance; the joy of rescue. Psalm 40 celebrates the deliverance of God, even though the battle isn't yet won.
In this sermon on Psalm 92, Josh Krueger, one of our Men's Ministry leaders, uses the metaphor of three lenses—mirror (self-centered), magnifying glass (focused on others' flaws), and telescope (focused on God)— and challenges listeners to examine their perspectives. True spiritual growth and peace come from surrendering to Jesus as the Most High, not just as King, and living with a heart open to God’s will.
We all suffer. We all go through hardship and pain, or as the Dread Pirate Roberts says in The Princess Bride, "Life is pain, and anyone who tells you otherwise is selling something." Andrew Brooks, River City's Student and Youth Director, teaches from Psalm 44 and uncovers the truth that orienting our hearts around God's word before we suffer is what drives us through the challenges of suffering. If we're oriented around what is true before hardship comes, it's much easier to re-orient ourselves in and after the moment.
The author of Psalm 49 is seeing the power of money used against him, through bribes and manipulation. It's a riddle to him, but he comes to the conclusion that as powerful as money is here on this earth, it cannot cross the line into eternity. Death is the great equalizer where we all stand (rich or poor, master or slave, influential or unknown) before God on level ground, and Yahweh himself is the only one who has the power to redeem us from death.
God doesn't only seem to tolerate evil, he seems to just let it go. He seems to let the evildoers get away with murder, while those who trust the Lord end up suffering or being persecuted. In Psalm 37, David sees the same thing and gives us a blueprint to follow.
When you sin, how quickly do you repent? David held on to one of his sins for over a year! And his words in Psalm 32 are that it ate him up. He was physically affected because of his sin. Finally he couldn't take it anymore, and stopped trying to cover up his own sin. He confessed it and found that when he did – the LORD covered his sin for him! So he tells us: "Don't do what I did! Repent IMMEDIATELY!"