Riverbend Youth: Recent Episodes
RBYouth
RBYouth exists to help students DISCOVER, DEEPEN, and DEPLOY the Good News about Jesus Christ. Follow our podcast for weekly sermons, and other special content!
BOTTOM LINE: God is working with you when you choose to do good work.
GOAL: To encourage students to choose how they respond when they see or experience injustice.
SCRIPTCH: Daniel 3:24-27 NIV, Psalm 139:24a NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Justice says good isn’t good enough.
GOAL: To help students develop and/or strengthen the practical skill of noticing the need for justice around them and encourage them to take steps toward doing good by responding to that need.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 25:41-46 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Love lets people know they matter.
GOAL: To show students that they have worth and value to God.
SCRIPTCH: John 20:11-19 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Love shows up in the low points of life.
GOAL: To remind students of the valuable truth that, because of Jesus, they are forgiven and to help them see that forgiveness is a result of God’s love for them.
SCRIPTCH: 1 Peter 4:8 NLT, Luke 23:32-43 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: How Jesus loved us shows us what love can do.
GOAL: To help students see the ways they view God and to encourage them to see that the Easter story shows us that God is love.
SCRIPTCH: 1 John 4:8b-10 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Without people who make you better, you can miss out on what’s best.
GOAL: To encourage students to see the value in inviting others to speak into their lives, specifically when it comes to dating and relationships.
SCRIPTCH: Proverbs 11:14 NIV
Sage brings the HEAT!
BOTTOM LINE: The pressure to be with someone can cause you to settle for anything.
GOAL: To open students’ eyes to the things they may be excusing, ignoring, or settling for in relationships and to encourage them to be honest with themselves and someone they trust about it.
SCRIPTCH: 2 Samuel 11:1 NLT, 2 Samuel 11: 3 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: Nothing in life should hold you back from the rest of your life.
GOAL: To help students see the potential fallout of obsessive thinking about dating and relationships and to encourage them to choose wisdom to help them shift their focus.
SCRIPTCH: Ephesians 5:15-16 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Who you date may be temporary, but who you become is lasting.
GOAL: To encourage students to see the potential of who they can become, both for themselves and for future dating and relationships.
SCRIPTCH: Proverbs 24:27 NIV, 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 NLT
Brought to you by Pastor Sage Olszewski!
BOTTOM LINE: Jesus is with us in our grief.
GOAL: Really encourage students to look for how God and the people who care about them show up in the middle of their grief. And maybe even how, through people who really care, God is with them in their grief more than they realize.
SCRIPTCH: John 11:1-3, 17-20, 21, 33-36 NLT, Isaiah 46:4-5 NIV, John 16:33 NIV, Matthew 5:4 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Feelings aren't forever.
GOAL: To show students the connection between their thoughts and feelings and to help them recognize that feelings can (and will) change over time.
SCRIPTCH: Ecclesiastes 3:1, 4-8 NIV, Psalm 16:8 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: Quiet the critic.
GOAL: To encourage students to recognize the critical thoughts in their minds and to give them practical, healthy ways to quiet them.
SCRIPTCH: Luke 4:21 NIV, Mark 6:3 NIV, Psalm 37:5 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: Fear is loud, but it is a liar.
GOAL: To give students tools that will help them turn the volume down on fear in their lives.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 8:24-25, 26-27 NIV, Psalm 23:4 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: You are enough.
GOAL: To help students find their value and worth in God, who always sees them as enough.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 10:29-31, Psalm 139:14 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: You create your playlist.
GOAL: To encourage students to see the power they have to recognize and change the thoughts running through their minds.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 6:34 NLT, Matthew 11:28-30 NIV, Psalm 94:19 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: When your family goes through rough waters, your MINDSET can see you through.
GOAL: To help students understand that change is inevitable, but God is constant and God’s presence can comfort us in uncertain times.
SCRIPTCH: Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 NIV, Isaiah 43:2 NIV
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BOTTOM LINE: Your family’s story isn’t finished.
GOAL: To help students understand that problems or pain in their family story doesn’t discount their family from being part of God’s story
SCRIPTCH: (Genesis 25:27-34 NIV) , (Hebrews 11:20 NIV)
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Session 1 of 4 in our series about FAMILY called, "Thicker Than Water."
BOTTOM LINE: When it comes to our relationships that are thicker than water, love is more important than anything.
GOAL: To help students discover the way God sees them and to point them toward taking steps to see themselves in a similar way.
SCRIPTCH: John 13:1 NIV, John 13:3-5 NIV, John 13:34-35 NIV
Reyn joins Marc to respond to questions from students, adults, and podcast listeners that came out of our recent series on Hell. Also...follow us on INSTAGRAM if you're cool ;)
Session 2: What it is.
Join us as we listen to guest speaker Marc Lynch teach about the Biblical view of hell. This series will teach students (and their parents!) what hell is, what it isn't, and address some common misunderstandings that many people have around the concept of hell.
Marc Lynch has studied theology, the Biblical texts, and the Biblical languages for many years and is considered by many to be an expert on this topic. We are so thrilled to have him teaching this series!
Session 1: What it isn't.
Join us as we listen to guest speaker Marc Lynch teach about the Biblical view of hell. This series will teach students (and their parents!) what hell is, what it isn't, and address some common misunderstandings that many people have around the concept of hell.
Marc Lynch has studied theology, the Biblical texts, and the Biblical languages for many years and is considered by many to be an expert on this topic. We are so thrilled to have him teaching this series!
This episode concludes our 3 week series titled "Thief of Everything." God made you on purpose for a purpose. Let's discover together who God made you to be!
BOTTOM LINE: Choose to see yourself the way God does.
GOAL: To help students discover the way God sees them and to point them toward taking steps to see themselves in a similar way.
SCRIPTCH: Romans 12:2 NLT, Romans 12:6 MSG
This episode continues week 2 of our 3 week series titled "Thief of Everything." How do we win over the thief of everything? Join us as we discuss the cure to comparison!
BOTTOM LINE: Celebrating is better than comparing
GOAL: To help students choose celebration over comparison and to encourage them to find ways to celebrate themselves and others.
SCRIPTCH: 1 Samuel 18:5-7,9 NIV, Proverbs 14:30 NIV
This episode begins our new series, titled "Thief of Everything." Listen along as we discuss comparison from a faith-based perspective.
BOTTOM LINE: God doesn't compare you to others.
GOAL: To encourage students to trade comparison for a focus on who God made them to be.
SCRIPTCH: 2 Corinthians 10:12 NLT, 2 Corinthians 10:18 NLT, Proverbs 4:23 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: A Party Starter Uses what they Have for the Good of Others
GOAL: To help students discover the ways they can meet the needs of the people around them and to encourage them to take steps to do that this week.
SCRIPTCH: “Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him” (Luke 10:33 NLT)
BOTTOM LINE: : A party starter walks with other people in their pain.
GOAL: To encourage students to practice empathy and show up for others who are struggling.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 1:23 NLT
BOTTOM LINE: A party starter does more than what is asked of them.
GOAL: To encourage students to be the kind of people who do more than the minimum to meet the needs they see around them.
SCRIPTCH: “God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8 NIV). “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles” (Matthew 5:41 NIV).
BOTTOM LINE: You have what it takes to be a party starter
GOAL: To show students what it means to live the full life Jesus came to give us and to encourage them to see they can start living that life right now.
SCRIPTCH: “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full” (John 10:10 NIV).
In this stand-alone message, Pastor Reyn shares a personal message from some Scriptures that have impacted his life, in hopes they will encourage YOU :)
BOTTOM LINE: Boundaries are Good and Boundaries are Powerful
GOAL: Being able to articulate what makes a good boundary, what makes a weak boundary, how you know if you have a boundary, and how do you know where to put one and not to put one.
SCRIPTCH: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 & 10:13, "13 No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it."
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BOTTOM LINE: Confession is good and confession is powerful.
GOAL: To encourage students toward opening up and asking for help, and to guide them in defining the criteria they have for determining who a safe person to confess to might be.
SCRIPTCH: "This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." (1 John 1:5-9 NIV), " Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ." (Galatians 6:2 NIV)
BOTTOM LINE: Technology is Good and Technology is Powerful
GOAL: For students to be able to define what sexual integrity looks like for them as they engage with technology and to identify at what point along the way they need to “flee” in a different direction.
SCRIPTCH: 1 Corinthians 6:18-20 NIV
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BOTTOM LINE: Sex is good and sex is powerful.
GOAL: To help students make decisions with sexual integrity as the goal.
SCRIPTCH: Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”
So God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Then God blessed them and said, “Be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and govern it”. Genesis 1:26-28a NLT
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BOTTOM LINE: YOUnity
GOAL: To encourage students to see that unity is something they can proactively be a part of creating and pursuing in the world around them.
SCRIPTCH: John 17:20-23 NIV
In this new series called, "Before I Go," we'll look at some of the things Jesus said before He died. We begin with a new look at Communion.
BOTTOM LINE: REMEMBERING Reminds Us Of What Jesus Has Done, Is Doing, And Will Continue To Do
GOAL: To encourage students to build the muscle of remembering and to encourage them to practice that skill in order to remember what Jesus has done and is doing in their lives.
SCRIPTCH: Luke 22:19-20
Rodnei Williams brings an encouraging message, rooted in the book of Judges, about how God can use unlikely people to accomplish great things.
BOTTOM LINE: God can use you even when you feel disqualified
GOAL: To remind students that they are worthy
SCRIPTCH: Judges 3:12-30
BOTTOM LINE: See people the way God sees people.
GOAL: To help students take a step toward those who are different than they are and to encourage them to approach all people in their lives with the love of God.
SCRIPTCH: John 4:7-9 NIV
BOTTOM LINE: Let GOD determine your view of you.
GOAL: To point students toward finding their value in God and to encourage them to love themselves the way God loves them.
SCRIPTCH: Luke 15:1-7 NIV
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BOTTOM LINE: Knowing Jesus = Knowing GOD
GOAL: To encourage students to take a step toward loving God by getting to know Jesus and following His example in their lives.
SCRIPTCH: John 14:9 NIV; 1 John 5:3 NIV
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New Series Alert! + A corresponding daily devotional (Se below for details:)
BOTTOM LINE: Keep faith simple.
GOAL: To help students focus their faith on what Jesus says matters most: loving God, loving others, and loving themselves.
SCRIPTURE: Matthew 22:36-40 NIV
To read the daily devotionals that go along with this series, download the YouVersion Bible app on iOS or Android, or visit Bible.com. Just search for SIMPLIFY in the Reading Plans section to get started. Then encourage your students to join you in reading the daily devos as you all walk through this series together!
We ended last Sunday on a cliffhanger, with the prophets proclaiming one day Heaven & Earth will be forever united. We learned that in the Bible Heaven & Earth are not always separate spaces, and can overlap in the same exact space; called a Temple. This Sunday our focus will shift to the New Testament and the good news which was proclaimed in Mark 1:15 "The time is fulfilled! God's kingdom is arriving! Turn back, and believe the good news!". In other words "The time has come when Heaven & Earth will overlap again.", and this was Jesus' ravonte topic. In fact "Kingdom" Is one or the most trequent words Jesus speaks in the Gospels. This Sunday we're gonna find out why.
BOTTOM LINE
Reshape our focus of Christianity from "leaving earth to get to heaven" to "bringing heaven to earth"
SCRIPTURE
Mark 1:15, Matthew 6:9-13, Luke 17:20-21, John 2:18-21, Acts 2:1-13, Ephesians 2:19-22, 1 Corinthians 6:19-20
GOAL OF SMALL GROUP
To get students actively thinking on their role, individually and collectively, as the new temple of God.
Sources for this series include: NT Wright, Tim Mackie, The Bible Project, & Dr. Richard Feynman
Our very own Marc Lynch kicks off a new 2-part mini-series on the Biblical significance of a Temple. The overall style of this 2-week mini-series will be different than what we've historically been used to. The focus is more educational, with the goal of re-shaping the mental model most of us have of the function of the Jewish Temple.
BOTTOM LINE: Reshape the cartoonish ideas we have of Heaven and Eden; to a Biblical understanding of each.
SCRIPTURE: Genesis 2
GOAL: To get students actively thinking about Heaven, Eden and the relationship between Heaven & Earth.
BOTTOM LINE: You weren't meant to be the one who keeps it all together.
GOAL: To point students toward shifting their focus to Jesus this Christmas.
SCRIPTCH: Matthew 2:1-3, 8 NIV & Philippians 2:5b-7 NRSV
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BOTTOM LINE: You're not alone when life gets messy.
GOAL: To encourage students to find joy in God’s presence with them this Christmas no matter what their holiday season looks like.
SCRIPTCH: Luke 2:6-14, 16-20 NIV
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This week at RBYouth, we take a different look at the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-32), and discover that we are loved by our Heavenly Father more than we could possibly imagine
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Sometimes, for one reason or another, friendships END. Let's talk about some things that can be helpful when that happens!
BOTTOM LINE: Being a friend means walking away friendly.
SCRIPTCH: Acts 15:36-41 (NIV)
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BOTTOM LINE: The friends you choose impact the future you will have.
SCRIPTURE: The righteous choose their friends carefully, but the way of the wicked leads them astray (Proverbs 12:26).
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BOTTOM LINE: Being a friend means serving your friends.
GOAL: To encourage teenagers to think about what being a goodfriendtootherslookslike.
SCRIPTCH: So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him (John 13:4-5 NLT).
Do to others as you would like them to do to you (Luke 6:31 NLT).
INSTAGRAM: http://instagram.com/rbyouth/
YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC72blIqXT5qqWxFbHPMrJLg
BOTTOM LINE: Build your faith on what matters most.
GOAL: To point teenagers toward making Jesus the foundation of their faith.
SCRIPTCH: There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men. The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay (Matthew 28:2-6 NIV). And if Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith (1 Corinthians 15:14 NIV).
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BOTTOM LINE: You can trust Someone before you know everything.
GOAL: To help teenagers realize that their questions don’t have to keep them from growing in faith; being curious can actually grow their faith.
SCRIPTCH: The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-17 NIV).
“You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37 NLT).
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BOTTOM LINE: As you explore science, your faith can expand.
GOAL: To give teenagers the space to wonder and process their views about faith & science and to encourage them to see how learning about one can help them understand the other.
SCRIPTCH: In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1 NIV). Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37 NIV).
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BOTTOM LINE: The Spirit helps you see the good in life.
GOAL: To show teenagers how the Spirit can change the way they see others and the world around them.
SCRIPTCH: "So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them" (Genesis 1:27 NIV). "Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (Romans 8:5 NIV).
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BOTTOM LINE: Following the Spirit leads to experiencing the good life.
GOAL: To show teenagers how the Spirit can change the way they see their own lives and experiences.
SCRIPTCH: Galatians 5:22-25; Galatians 2:20 (NIV)
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BOTTOM LINE: If you want to live the good life, you have to understand what the good life really is.
GOAL: To encourage teenagers to dive beneath society's surface level definitions of words like "love, joy, peace" and to see God's better version of the fruit
SCRIPTCH: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a NLT).
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BOTTOM LINE: Stay in step with the Spirit and be transformed.
GOAL: To help teenagers see that growth and transformation are possible in the areas that matter most when we commit to life with the Spirit.
SCRIPTCH: But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23a NLT).
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Reyn brings a message on the importance of how we spend our TIME at the RBY Lock-in 2022!
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Rodnei finishes out the series by talking about the "where" and "when" of worship.
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BOTTOM LINE: Be Kind To Yourself
GOAL: To help students recognize unhelpful thoughts they have about their bodies and to encourage them to choose to be kind to themselves in place of those thoughts.
SCRIPTURE: Search me, God, and know my heart: test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me (Psalm 139:23-24a NIV).
I will praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well (Psalm 139:14 NIV).
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You get to decide what your years of being young will be about. In this series finale, Pastor Reyn Harpole aims to point students toward choosing to make the most of their time in middle/high school.
Scripture: 1 Timothy 4:12, "12Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity."; 1 Timothy 6:20, "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge." (NIV)