Riverside Community Church St. Charles: Recent Episodes
Riverside Community Church: St. Charles, IL
How can we be sure that God loves us when there is so much suffering, evil, and death in the world? That is a question that most people have asked at some time - and it is not an easy question to answer. In John 11, Jesus comes face to face with death in his friend Lazarus. This passage demonstrates how Jesus’ love for his friends can give us hope in the face of death. Jesus shows Himself to be the resurrection and the life.
Sometimes we assume the only things that a real are things that we can see. But how can we know for sure that there is an unseen or invisible God? In this message, Pastor Paul shares how the testimony of creation, Jesus, changed lives, and fulfilled prophecy can give us certainty to trust in God even when we cannot always see Him. 1 Peter 1:8-12 reminds us how much we have that points us to God as revealed through Jesus Christ.
Many people will say that they believe in God, but it is very important that we understand which God we believe in. Christianity is unique in that we worship a Trinitarian God that is revealed in the Bible. The Trinitarian nature of God is not just useful doctrinal knowledge - the Trinity demonstrates that the Christian God is an abundant, loving, life-giving God. We have the opportunity to delight in the Trinity which will change our lives.
One of the greatest tools that God has given us for evangelism is prayer. But too often our prayers are more comfortable, ceremonial, and convenient. In this message, guest speaker Dee Duke reminds us of the importance of praying for the lost in a way that is costly to us. He reminds us how important it is to pray together as the corporate body of Christ.
We all have our ups and downs in life - and the two are often in tension in our lives. In the first message of this new series on 1 and 2 Peter, Pastor Paul talks about how Christians are guaranteed unimaginable glory in the future through Christ, but also present grief in the world through trials. 1 Peter 1:1-7 points us towards Jesus for hope to endure trials as we wait for glory.
Our world is obsessed with physical beauty, but Proverbs 31 gives us a picture of what true beauty looks like according to God. This true beauty is shown in the character traits of both a godly king (Proverbs 31:1-9) and a godly wife (Proverbs 31:10-31). This chapter stands as a summary of Proverbs since the key to this true beauty is found in “the fear of the LORD.”
In order to truly have a deep knowledge of God we need to have a humble evaluation of ourselves in comparison to God. In Proverbs 30, Agur shares a collection of wise sayings and observations about God and about God’s world. He shows that the knowledge of God is a humble posture before God and a proper awe and reverence for God, His Word, and His world.
Good leaders are not easy to find. There are a lot of bad leaders to avoid in this world, but what does a good leader look like? The Bible uses the imagery of shepherds for leaders, and Jesus shows us what it looks like to be a good shepherd who cares deeply about his flock. Good under-shepherds are those who consistently point people to Jesus and follow Him.
One of the key parts of growing in godliness as Christians is our need for humility. Jesus demonstrates what true humility looks like in the incarnation and crucifixion, and He invites us to follow His example as Christians. In this message, Pastor Paul takes a look at what the book of Proverbs has to say about humility and how that echoes what the rest of Scripture says.
We all want to grow in our godliness, but what does that actually look like? Proverbs has much to say about godliness and this message focuses on four specific areas: righteousness and justice, and goodness and kindness. God wants us to make progress towards Him and towards better reflecting our God who is right, just, good, and kind in the way He interacts with us.
Lee Strobel says that the “resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best attested event of the ancient world.” Over the years, many have sought (and found) reason proof for the resurrection. But Scripture also talks about what the resurrection itself proves for believers. Because Jesus was raised from the dead, we can have confidence in who Jesus says He is and what He has done.
We live in a visual culture where seeing is valuable, but what if we only think we are seeing things clearly? In John 9, Jesus heals a blind man and as his eyes open he slowly begins to see who Jesus really is: the light of the world. Contrasted with that, we also see how the people who think that they can see clearly are actually blind to who Jesus is and what He was sent to do.
Jesus speaks about money more than nearly any other topic and the Bible as a whole has over 2,000 verses addressing money. This is not because money is important to God but because it is important to us. God wants us to have a proper relationship to money. Proverbs has lots of wisdom about wealth, how we work for money, and what we put value or worth in most.
The world seems to be getting even more and more divided and, unfortunately, the church itself is not free of fights and quarrels. But the book of Proverbs has lots of wisdom about the characteristics and consequences of fights and quarrels. God wants His people to be people who reconcile division and His word gets to the heart of our desires that cause our fights and quarrels.
In our social media lives we all may have hundreds of “friends” - but what is true friendship and what does it look like? God has lots to say about friendship in the book of Proverbs. Two key aspects of deep friendship are steadfast love and faithfulness. These are also key attributes of who God is. Jesus shows us perfectly what it means to be a true friend to others.
In a COVID-19 world being contagious is a bad thing - but what if being contagious as a Christian meant we spread the good news of Jesus to people who need the life found in Christ? In Acts 2:37-47, we see how the early church was contagious and grew in number every day because the Christians were devoted to God’s word, fellowship, breaking of bread, and to prayer.
Americans love their freedom, but what is true freedom? Jesus famously said that “the truth will set you free,” but what does that actually mean? In John 8:31-59, Jesus shows us how to be truly free from slavery to sin. He shows us what it means to trust God and “keep” His word. He shows us how to become and live as free sons and daughters of our heavenly Father.
Our mouths and tongues can tell a lot about how healthy we are both physically and spiritually. Jesus said that “what comes out of [our] mouth is what defiles [us]” (Matthew 15:11). The book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the sins of gossip, flattery, and boasting, and how each can cause deep damage in our lives, the lives of others, and the life of the local church.
Nobody wants to be lied to, but do we really take seriously how much we tell the truth ourselves? Proverbs has a lot to say about lying or bearing false witness. Satan is the “father of lies” and we align ourselves more with him than God when we lie or shade the truth. God is a God of truth who cannot lie, and He wants us to be people of integrity who detest lying as much as God does.
On average, we speak about 16,000 words each day - how well do we choose those words? Words are powerful. Words can hurt and they can heal. Words can bring life and they can bring death. God’s Word in the book of Proverbs has a lot to say about the wisdom of using the right amount of words and power of using the the right kind of words to build people up.
Jesus is light for those who are blind - both blind to the truth and blind to who Jesus truly is. The Pharisees were looking for a Messiah who would come in glory and power - they were "theologians of glory." But Jesus the Messiah is revealed in the crucifixion, when the light of the world seems to be overtaken by darkness. John is a "theologian of the cross" who shows that Christ crucified ("the Son of Man lifted up") is the surest revelation of who God is in Jesus.
What the world needs more than anything right now is people who understand the power of prayer. We often forget that the power revealed at Pentecost in Acts chapter 2 is preceded by a prayer meeting that happens in Acts chapter 1. What the church needs to recapture is that prayer is the prelude to power. We want to imitate the early church in their passion for prayer.
Some of us have been caught in sin, some of us are afraid of being caught in our sin, and others are too busy pointing out the sins of others to recognize their own sin. We are all condemned as guilty because of our sin. But the good news of the gospel is that Jesus was condemned so we can be caught by His grace, not enslaved to our own sin. We can be truly freed by grace.
People need hope - and perhaps we need hope in 2020 more than we ever have before. During this season of Advent, we look to the hope that God brings to the world. That hope is both a temporal and an eternal hope that is found in the person of Jesus. When God-given temporal hope is properly received, it can make us even more expectant of the eternal hope we have.
Most of us are afraid of something and that fear influences how we live our lives. We can be afraid of our circumstances, we can be afraid of what other people think, or we can let our fear of God influence our other fears. Proverbs says that “the fear of God is the beginning of wisdom” and the proper fear of God can help us let go of our other improper fears.
If you’ve grown up in the church or been a Christian for a while, it can be really easy to assume you fully know who Jesus is. But in John 7, we see Jesus’ own brothers, the Jews, and even the prominent religious leaders all misunderstanding who the Messiah is and what He came to do. Even Christians can misunderstand Jesus and need to be reminded of the truth of the gospel.
We live in a very divided world and a very divided country. How can we overcome our divisions and display unity as the church when people are more divided than ever? Paul tells us that humility is needed for the church to display the unity the world needs right now. Jesus both showed us what true humility looks like and empowers us to humble ourselves and follow Him.
The world may seem out of control, but in the book of Proverbs God calls us to be people characterized by self-control - in our mind, our mouth, and our body. But this isn’t something we do on our own. Self-control is a fruit of the Spirit, and we need to be constantly connected to God and understand how His grace teaches us (and enables us) to lives marked by self-control.
We live in a time of great uncertainty where people need faith more than ever before. But how do we find that faith? This message from two missionaries shows how we need to look to God through prayer, expect Him to show up, and give Him the glory when He answers prayer. We need to remember that our citizenship is in heaven and look to certainty from Christ alone.
What makes the church so great? As we look at the beginning of the church in the book of Acts, we see four things that are central to the greatness of the church. Those things are a clear sense of purpose, a recognition of the power of the Holy Spirit, maximum participation by those in the church, and a people who are committed to praying without ceasing.
There are a lot of different voices calling out for our attention each day - how do we know how to discern which voice(s) to trust in which voice(s) to ignore? In Proverbs 8-9, we see how wisdom points to Jesus and lookslike following and trusting in Him. Knowing Jesus is a powerful way to learn to recognize the voice(s) of wisdom in our lives through Scripture, prayer, and counsel.
Following Jesus is not always easy (as some people like to suggest). In the end of John chapter 7, we see a few reasons why following Jesus can be hard. But we also see why we should follow Jesus and why following Jesus is always worth it (even when it is hard). There is no other place that we can find words of life other than in the person of Jesus Christ - that is why we follow.
The Bible is full of warnings to stay away from things that will only bring death or destruction rather than life. In Proverbs 6:23-7:27, Solomon warns of the devastation that adultery brings. God says that sex within the proper boundaries (marriage) is “very good” but God warns us of the devastation of adultery because He wants us to know real love and avoid the pain sin brings.
Though we may not always see it, many people have a pain that will not go away in their lives. The Christian life is not one without suffering, but Christ gives us a unique perspective on pain. In Christ, we can truly embrace our suffering because we know that Jesus identifies with us in our suffering and pain. Jesus is a wounded healer that can transform our sufferings for His glory.
Work is a part of most everyone’s daily life - but what is a biblical understanding of work? Work is not actually a result of the fall - God made us to be workers, because God is a worker. How we approach work actually matters to God. Solomon gives us lessons about the dangers of laziness and shows us a good work ethic from nature, and also talks about seven things that God hates.
We all need food to live but what if there was food that we could eat that would truly satisfy us and give us eternal life? In John 6, Jesus calls Himself the “bread of life” and teaches what He means by that. Jesus uses the background of the Exodus, Passover, and manna (“bread from heaven”) to points out how He can give eternal life to those who trust in Him.
We live in a culture that is obsessed with sex but doesn’t really know what God created sex to be. In Proverbs 5, Solomon gives us a glimpse of the dangers of sex but also the beauty of what God intended for sex within marriage. Sex is about more than what our culture limits it to, it is about a deep intimacy with another person that God designed within the bounds of marriage.
Wisdom is often passed down from parents to their children. In this section of Proverbs, Solomon shares from his father, David, how important wisdom is to our lives. He then brings light to the dark paths of the wicked that wisdom wants us to avoid, and shows how God’s wisdom can transform our hearts so we can find life in walking with God on the path of the righteous.
What we value most really demonstrates what we place our trust in for our lives. In Proverbs 3, Solomon shows how important it is for us to trust the wisdom of God. God’s wisdom is far more valuable than anything we can own or buy. Proverbs teaches us to see the wealth and life that is found in knowing God, trusting Him, and obeying the wisdom He gives us in His word.
We all have deep needs that we look to a myriad of things to fulfill. Jesus’ miracle of feeding the 5,000 shows us how God is more than able to satisfy our needs, but it also challenges us to recognize the difference between our needs and our wants. Jesus invites us into a relationship with Him where we willingly give of ourselves (in spite of our needs) to serve others sacrificially.
In a world with lots of different and conflicting information it can be really hard to know who to trust and where to find guidance for our everyday lives. We can be tempted to only trust ourselves, our feelings, and our experience. But Proverbs 3 teaches us to look to God and His wisdom - we can trust God more than ourselves to give us guidance that leads to life.
What you treasure or value most says a lot about what your heart really loves. Proverbs teaches us that wisdom is more valuable than hidden treasure that many people spend their lives seeking. God desires to give wisdom to those who are searching for it - God’s wisdom will guide people down good paths and into the promises of God’s provision, protection, and presence.
We often mistake knowledge for wisdom, but wisdom is not the same thing as knowledge. Pastor Paul defines wisdom as “the skillful application of knowledge to life.” But Proverbs doesn’t just talk about wisdom in general, it talks about wisdom that comes from God, which is different from worldly wisdom. Proverbs teaches that knowing God is the beginning of true wisdom.
Most Christians would agree that reading the Bible is important, but we do not always talk as much about how we read the Bible. What is the Bible really about? Sometimes we can make the Bible more about us than about God. Jesus makes the bold claim to the Jews that they can “search the Scriptures” and still miss what the Bible is about: namely, the life found in Jesus.
We are all influenced by many different people in our lives and in our Christian walk with God. At the end of Colossians, the apostle Paul names several people who have ministered alongside him and influenced the ministry at the church of Colossae. This is a good reminder for us to be aware of and imitate the hidden figures who have influenced our relationship with God.
Those of us who are a part of the church can often miss some of the basics of church life - the call to continual prayer and gospel witness to those around us. In Colossians 4:2-6, the apostle Paul reminds us how important it is for the church to be praying for each other and our missionaries, and living and speaking in such a way that people see the beauty of the gospel.
While many people’s work has been disrupted by COVID-19, we see in John 5 that God has never stopped working. Since creation God has been working to bring life and true judgment (or justice) to the world. Jesus follows after God the Father and heals a sick man on the Sabbath to demonstrate that He is working just like His Father - He is willing to die so that we can live.
Work is often seen as something we must do in order to live, but when we look at the biblical story in Genesis 2-3, we see that God is a worker and He made humanity to be workers alongside of Him. Our work and our attitude towards work is an opportunity to worship God and to live in deep relationship with God and those around us.
The parent-child relationship is one of the most important relationships. The Bible uses the imagery of a Father for God and children for God’s people constantly. So understanding what the Bible says about how children relate to their parents and how parents relate to their children is essential for family life, but also gives a glimpse into our relationship with our heavenly Father.
Sin has broken many of our relationships, including the closest relationships of our families. Those who are married know how hard it can be to love and relate to each other as God calls us. But thankfully God hasn’t just given us an example of love and submission in Jesus, but through the gospel, God has given us the power to change and submit and love in our marriages.
We all want to be able to see proof of the things we believe in, but sometimes God asks us to trust Him even if we don’t see any proof initially (or at all). We may want signs and wonders, or to see specific answers to our prayers, but God wants us to trust His word. Jesus demonstrates why we can trust Him with our lives because He alone is the one who can truly give us life.
Change involves more than just stopping sinful behaviors, it involves growing more into the image of Christ - which means we start to bear a family resemblance to Jesus. This isn’t just a change of behavior, but a change of heart. Only God can change our hearts, and this happens by letting the word of Christ dwell with us through teaching, admonishing, and singing about Christ.
We all want to change - but changing is always harder than we imagine. In Colossians chapter 3, Paul begins to talk about what it looks like for Christians to truly change to be like Christ (sanctification). He talks about how important it is for us to focus on Christ (3:1-4), things we are to put off in our lives (3:5-11), and things that we are to put on as we grow closer to Christ (3:12-17).
For those who have put their faith in Christ, the Bible calls us new creations - we have moved from death to a new life that is found in Jesus Christ. We can easily be tempted to go back to former ways that do not have Christ at their center. In Colossians 2:11-23, Paul cautions us against legalism (outward rules), mysticism (spiritual experiences), and asceticism (extreme self-denial).
We are all thirsty for something, but most things we try to find life in only satisfy us temporarily - they never really last. In His encounter with the Samaritan Woman at the well, Jesus breaks down all the barriers the woman puts up and He gets to what she truly is longing for. Jesus offers her what she is seeking to find in other broken places: the water of life that can truly satisfy.
How do we distinguish between the wisdom that comes from God and the wisdom that does not come from God? In Colossians 2:8-10, Paul says that some philosophy (love of wisdom) is empty because it does not point to the fullness found in Christ. True wisdom points to Christ, who is fully God and created the world and holds the world together.
On Easter Sunday, the angel at Jesus’ empty tomb gives the women there three instructions: “do not be afraid,” “come and see,” and “go and tell.” These instructions are still fitting for Christians today who want to live out their faith in response to Jesus’ resurrection. Jesus invites us to come to Him without fear, with all our questions, and then tell others about the life found in Him.
We all follow someone, but we may not always realize who we are really following. Most Christians would recognize that we want to follow Jesus above anyone else - but how do we actually do that? In this passage, John the Baptist shows us how to follow Jesus and then John the Evangelist shows us why we should be following Jesus rather than anyone else.
Sometimes it can be very hard in our Christian life to take lessons we’ve learned intellectually and actually live them out experientially - to get things from our head to our heart and then to our lives. One of the ways that God often helps us really learn these lessons is by taking us through trials that show where we are weak and need God’s strength to help us.
Most people live their lives trying to avoid as much suffering as possible, but if we look at the life of Jesus we find something very different. Jesus came to earth to suffer and to serve us, and this is the call He gives to those who follow Him. We need to learn how to reorder our way of thinking about suffering and our view of what serving looks like - especially in our current circumstances.
Global pandemics like COVID-19 can easily make us wonder: where is God in all of this? Why would God allow this? And what should our response be to the Coronavirus? In this message, we are reminded that God is still in control amidst all the chaos and uncertainty and that we have an opportunity as Christians to respond in love towards our community around us.
We, like Nicodemus, often think we understand new life and are in the light. In John 3:1-21, Jesus slowly shows that Nicodemus is actually deceiving himself. But the grace of God is that rather than condemning someone like Nicodemus, Jesus enters into the darkness and brings light into his life. He shows that new life comes from God above and is not based on anything we can do.