New River Fellowship: Recent Episodes
New River Fellowship
We at NRF are a community on mission: submitted to Christ and committed to disciple-making in our lives and our world. We hope that these sermon podcasts encourage you to that end.
In a world that fights for its rights to get what it needs, the church is often no exception. Don’t we use our rights to make the gospel more appealing? How should the church look different? Paul shows unity in Christ means we surrender our rights for His gospel by leveraging our weaknesses & training in His image.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Disciple's Renewal"
Isn't it easy to live united with others today? No? Well, then we need 1 Corinthians 8. Here, Paul opens a discussion lasting through chs.9-10. If 1 Corinthians is all about what unity in Christ looks like, the center of the letter here shows how unity in Christ plays out in pursuing unity with others. Guest pastor Chris Leeper (Director, Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Radford University) shares how we need to be spiritually sensitive to others as ambassadors for Christ.
Is Christ enough for us? We may readily agree to this in theory, but our language/actions/pursuits may say otherwise. How often do we say, “I’ll glorify God when I get _” or “We need to do _ to glorify God?” Paul cautions us that unity in Christ teaches us to glorify God in every season because Christ is enough for us.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Repose"
Okay, we get what unity looks like: but how do we apply it when sin creeps in? What is God doing when He works through the church even in light of sin? Paul will show us today how the church is where sin is addressed through Christ, people are transformed by Christ, & new life is learned from Christ.
After showing us what Christian growth looks like, Paul now turns his attention to two things: what’s the enemy of our growth and unity in Christ, and what’s the “best friend” that helps us hold these things together? It’s clear that humility unites us to live out God’s heart and live with God’s people; and pride destroys this.
Paul builds off of last week to show how the way we handle weakness impacts how we view growth. What does it look like to “grow in our faith?” What is “Christian growth?” He reminds the Corinthians of Christ’s example: God alone gives and defines our growth, with us being the thing He’s growing, because of Christ.
We may know God calls us to join His redeeming work & lead others in doing likewise, but why do so many Christians seem so reluctant? And why do so many Christians seem to be driven by different things? Ruth 4 will show us that God motivates His interceders by being with Him rather than what we might lose on earth.
Paul wrote 1 Corinthians as a letter to a group of Christ-followers divided over how to best interpret/apply Christ to their current situation: sound familiar? He draws from examples of Christ’s life & ministry to show we pursue unity in Christ over functionality or uniformity because what we do & how we do it IS Christ!
Scripture has shown us interceding/standing up for others is good, but in practice many Christians today are in conflict/creating chaos over how we ought to do this. How did Christ intercede for us? The letter of Philemon teaches Christ advocates for us by His love & reconciles us by His sacrifice so we can be with God.
When you think of “Christians in action” today, what comes to mind? Activism? Service? Worship? We know God has good works for us to do & plenty needs to address, but He has one main work that drives them all. Naomi shows us in Ruth 3 God calls us where we are to join His redeeming work & lead others in doing likewise.
Have you noticed that the more you trust something, the more you’re willing to sacrifice for it or share it with others? This echoes something God hard-wired into His image-bearers. Ruth & Boaz will show us today in Ruth 2 God’s people sacrifice & share their lives with others because they trust God fills us with His life.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Fullness in Christ"
Have you ever had someone stand up for you or walk with you through a hard time? Those moments usually stand out for us; & we often want to do this for others, but why don’t we? As we start Ruth 1, her story will reveal how God’s people commit to remind others of our hope in Him even when facing hardship & uncertainty.
As Esther comes to a close, we see how our testimony of faith really comes down to one simple thing: do we trust God? Do we even know just how much our trusting God impacts our testimony? Esther’s story concludes by showing how God does what He promises He’ll do; we lead others to trust Him when we trust Him.
Have you ever felt stressed out trying to figure out what God might be doing in your life? We worry about “finding God’s plan for me”; yet we often make it way harder than it is! Esther’s story today will reveal how God molds the right heart into a living testimony to lead others to be disciples and interceders.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Gospel Way"
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the opposition against you, you’ve probably wrestled with questions like, “Where do I even begin?” or “What in the world should I do!” Mordecai & Esther can relate: today, in Esther 4, they show us God can use a heart willing to be humbled, listen, and lay down its life to intercede for others.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Mediator"
If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by the opposition against you, you’ve probably wrestled with questions like, “Where do I even begin?” or “What in the world should I do!” Mordecai& Esther can relate: today, in Esther 4, they show us God can use a heart willing to be humbled, listen, and lay down its life to intercede for others.
In Esther 3, we meet Haman, King Xerxes’ evil assistant who organized persecuting theJews in Persia. Mordecai & Esther respond as interceders with…worship? How does worship fit into intercession? God calls His interceders to lead others to worship Him because our worship shapes who we are & what we do.
Today we’re introduced to Esther & Mordecai, two heroes of the faith who demonstrateChrist-likeness in the midst of…a wicked place? How can we show respect & obedience to others even when things aren’t good? Esther 2:5-23 reveals how God can use our obedience & respect to Him & others to intercede for others.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Fifth-Day Morning: The Giver"
We’re going to dive into several examples from scripture to help answer this question: what does it look like to intercede for others? How do we step up to help others be right with God? Starting in Esther 1, we’ll see how injustice comes from centering on power, production, & self; God intercedes to restore our focus to Him.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Throne of God"
As we’ve walked through Jonah, seeing how God views us in our sin, one question remains: how does God handle our sin? How can He be both just & merciful? Buried in the obscure ending of Jonah 4 is His clear message for us: God doesn’t disqualify us from Him by our sin; He offers us Himself because He made us.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Truth in Jesus"
On the last day of the year, we tend to get a little "reflection"-oriented. What happened to/in us last year? What will the new year hold? Guest preacher Andrew Cook shares some deep insights into the song of Mary (Luke 1:46-55) as to how God's nature and goodness can transform our past, present, and future.
After getting out of the fish’s belly, Jonah finally gets to Nineveh with the gospel. Jonah’s message, though, also reminds God’s own people He’s extended the same message to them: & they forgot it! Jonah 3 shows how God offers the lost a life of being transformed into His image through compassionate discipleship.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Morning Needs"
If God is after meeting wickedness with reconciliation, what’s our responsibility? Simple: repent…although, what does repentance look like? What do we mean when we say, “repent?” Jonah 1:17-2:10 reveals a repentant heart calls out to God, recognizes its brokenness, & desires His presence so it can love God AND others.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Contentment"
Building off of Jonah 1, Elder John Marshal dives into practical application of God's heart for the lost. If God really does meet our wickedness with reconciliation, what does this look like? How do we take His heart and apply it in context of our world today? Luke 15 offers a powerful & profound challenge from the life of Christ to guide how we ought to live out God's heart toward the lost.
We start a familiar story challenging our traditional perspective on this tale: who is this story about? Jonah? Israel? Nineveh? Jonah 1 reveals God telling His people about how He views the lost: He meets our wickedness with reconciliation; we cling to our righteousness because we want Him to punish other’s wickedness.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Requests"
Looking back over all the sacrifices, let’s ask the question one more time: why does God want His priests to do all this stuff? What’s His goal for them? As we look back at the context of the priesthood instructions, we’ll see that God’s goal for His priests is to bring others into His presence. Simple: don’t forget this! NRF Value #6: The Power of Prayer
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Act of Approach"
As God starts to work through fitting us back into His design, that means all our sin is going to be revealed. Inevitably, that means guilt & shame will start popping up. How does God prepare to deal with this? By making sure His priests remind everyone God makes valuable things & restores His value to what sin has stolen. NRF Value #5: The Image of God in Ourselves & Others
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Grace in Trials"
“Reconciliation” is a fancy church word, but what does it look like to be made right with someone? We like to point out where others are wrong, but is this what God’s priests were to do? Leviticus 4:1-5:13 reveals God’s priests lead everyone in fitting back into God’s design by leading all to let God fix our brokenness. NRF Value #4: Reconciliation to God & Others
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Mercy"
As we’re learning to lead in gratitude & life, something begins to happen to us. God’s atoning work & our grateful praise changes who we are: but what does this look like? Leviticus 3, the peace offering, shows us that God’s priests lead others to be at peace with God & pursue His peace between ourselves & others. NRF Value #3: Transformational Unity in Christ
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Love Shed Abroad"
As the burnt offering taught us to present others as holy & pleasing to God by Christ’s sacrifice, what else do we do as God’s priests? Leviticus 2, the grain offering, shows us that God’s priests remind themselves & others that following Him is worth the cost of sacrificing our lives. NRF Value #2: Sharing & Experiencing God
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "God Enjoyed"
Diving into everyone’s favorite book, Leviticus, we’ll examine the sacrifices God gave to Israel to remind us of the values God has called NRF & His church to have. Today, Leviticus 1 will show us God’s priests present others as holy & pleasing to God by offering a pure sacrifice of life. NRF Value #1: Christ is our Life
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Fourth Day Evening: God All-Sufficient"
As Matthew closes with a familiar passage, we’ll see the Great Commission in context of the whole gospel. Jesus’ final charge in Matthew comes in light of all of who He is. Matthew 27:62-28:20 will conclude that because of Christ, God calls us to engage others to make disciples in unity with Him.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Christ is All"
Within all the desperation surrounding Jesus’ final breath on earth, everyone’s motivations begin to come to light. Matthew answers the question, how can we tell if we’re being motivated by God or not? Matt.27:1-61 reveals God doesn’t use guilt or pride to motivate us in His kingdom; He uses our seeking His presence.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Second Day Evening: Bounty"
Matthew’s been focused on God’s kingdom over thepast few weeks, but he pauses from “what we do” in God’s kingdom here in ch. 26 to remind us of what His kingdom is founded on. Today, we’ll see that God’s kingdom is founded on His Word; His Word comes from His nature, which means it’s not about us.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Scriptural Convictions"
In Matt. 24, Jesus reminded His disciples what He was calling them to be ready for. Now, in ch.25, Jesus tells them how they can be ready: how did they know if they were enduring in His love for others no matter what? We grow in God’s kingdom by knowing God, serving out of His sacrifice, & tending to the least of these.
Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Jesus My Glory"
In one of Jesus’ final teachings with His disciples, He gives them a last reminder of what He is preparing them for as workers in His kingdom. This will then form their ministry. Today He focuses on what they’re to be ready for: Jesus calls us to prepare to live like Him by enduring in His love for others no matter what.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Sixth-Day Evening: The Mediator"
As we’ve been seeing God’s kingdom is centered on His humility & power, we’re also seeing how self-righteousness worms its way into our faith. Jesus will teach us today how self-righteousness centers our faith on our experiences, pursuits, works, & ourselves; Christ’s righteousness gathers us into life with God.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Continual Repentance"
The power of Jesus’ kingdom starts to rub some of the earthly authorities the wrong way: the Pharisees, Herodians, & Sadducees all struggle to understand what Jesus’ kingdom is all about. Jesus shows us today how His kingdom focuses us on who we are, who God is, and who we were made to be.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Journeying On"
As Jesus & His disciples enter Jerusalem, we see a glimpse of a king entering His kingdom. After teaching about His humility, Jesus shows how it directs His kingly power. Today, we’ll learn how Jesus’ power yokes us to God’s nature, restores us to God’s design, constrains us to God’s presence, & changes our hearts.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Great God"
Entering His final moments with the disciples before Jerusalem, Jesus continues to show them what humility looks like. We’ll see how without humility, we pursue division over reconciliation; make people our problem, not pursuit; center the story on us, not God; & take control for instead of surrendering control to Jesus.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "God Enjoyed"
Diving back into Matthew, Jesus unpacks 2 images to show what following Him looks like: what it means to be a child of God, & what humility look like. We’ll see God’s children are humble: surrendering control to Christ, removing ourselves to glorify God, and pursuing the lost & reconciliation with others for eternity.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Meeting God"
Our guest pastor today, Dr. Eliu Camacho Vazquez, brings to us over 40 years of experience in pastoral ministry & evangelism in bilingual contexts. He shares with us what the New Testament defines "bold faith" as and helps guide several points of application for how we can live boldly in our homes, churches, and communities.
Our guest pastor today, Bob Jackson, is a dear friend and former NRF interim pastor with over 25 years in pastoral ministry and church planting. He brings to us a challenging reminder today of God's calling on our hearts as believers today.
If it’s true that faith in Jesus focuses on changing hearts, not regulating actions, what does this look like? How do we know if our hearts are changed? This is where Jesus reveals to His disciples the Holy Spirit’s work: the Holy Spirit changes our identity, mission, & life; we receive the Spirit’s work through surrender & trust.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Sincerity"
By the time we get to Matt.15, people are seeing who Jesus is & what His kingdom is all about. But the question still remains: if Jesus is this kind of Savior & Lord, what does faith in Him look like? Matthew shows us that faith in Jesus focuses on changing hearts, not regulating actions; in doing so, we bring people to God.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Colloquy on Rejoicing"
In the middle of Matthew’s gospel account, and coming after several chapters as Jesus teaches on what His kingdom looks like & how we join it, is one of the clearest reminders Jesus gives as to who He is. We see today that Jesus is our Savior who delivers us, our Lord who directs us, and our sole Messiah who redeems us.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Christ Alone"
Jesus taught others about what His kingdom does last week when He revealed He came to bring peaceful mercy, fill us with God’s Holy Spirit, and direct us by God’s word. But how do we work in the Kingdom? In Jesus’ kingdom, we plant seeds, grow as trees, but don’t pull weeds: because seed work changes the heart.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Minister's Evils"
Last week we saw people were struggling to understand who Jesus was & what His Kingdom is all about because of their physical perception. But what is Jesus’ kingdom about? What does it do with us? Today we’ll see Jesus’ kingdom brings peaceful mercy, fills us with the Holy Spirit, and directs us by God’s Word.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Grace Active"
As Jesus & His disciples begin to work, people have a hard time grasping Jesus as the Messiah. Where does this come from? How did even John the Baptist start doubting Jesus? Matthew 11:1-30 shows us today how life in the Spirit isn’t bound by our physical perception because the Spirit’s work molds our physical work.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Spirit of Jesus"
As Jesus sends His disciples out, we’ll ask 3 big questions today: 1) what is Jesus calling His disciples to do? 2) How is He calling them to do it? 3) What promises does He give to them? We’ll see that life in the Spirit brings physical & spiritual healing constrained to God’s heart & upheld in Christ’s life.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Sixth Day Morning: The Gospel"
Pastor Jordan dives back into Matthew this week to note how, before Jesus sends His disciples out to practice what He’s shown them so far, He reminds them one final time of what He’s come to do & why they can trust it. Matthew 9:9-34 challenge us to recall how life in the Spirit changes hearts before it changes works because changing hearts through faith brings transformation.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Fullness"
Our guest preacher today, Dr. Stuart Quartemont, has over 30 years of experience in the medical & mission field. As a surgeon, physician, missionary to Nigeria, and lay leader, he is a living example of how God brings both physical & spiritual healing to us through Christ. Teaching from 1 Corinthians 12-14, he encourages us to unlock & develop our spiritual gifts, focusing primarily on one of the harder-to-understand gifts: the gift of prophecy.
Jesus concludes the Sermon on the Mount today with one final characteristic as to what His life, life in the Spirit, looks like. He adds selflessness to mercy & goodness in Matthew 7:1-29 to show how Jesus’ life in the Spirit is a life of selflessness; because letting God be God brings true reconciliation to all.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Self-Noughting"
Guest preacher Nick Alley continues our journey through Matthew today, diving into the different signs and healings Jesus performs in Matthew 8:1-9:8 to show us how Jesus is our Healer.
Using Jeremiah 2:13 as his foundation, Worship Elder John Marshal traces a thematic journey throughout scripture of how we are called to be satisfied in God. Building off of what we've been seeing about Jesus in Matthew over the past few weeks, John teaches us why God desires us to be satisfied in Him and a few practical ways we can find satisfaction in God.
As Jesus starts to unlock for His audience what the life of the Spirit looks like in the Sermon on the Mount, we saw last week that it starts with mercy. Matthew 6:1-34 will build on this today to show us that Jesus’ life in the Spirit is a life of goodness; goodness trains us to be generous, forgiving, and peaceful.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The All-Good"
Who is Jesus? Matthew seeks to answer this question for his audience of former Jews desperate for encouragement to cling to Christ. He begins his gospel with the genealogy and birth narrative of Jesus to show Jesus Christ has the right to redeem & reign over us because He pursues God’s covenant of reconciliation.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Christlikeness"
We saw last week that Jesus saves us to a life directed & transformed by the Holy Spirit to advocate reconciliation for others to God. But what does this look like? Matt.5:17-48 starts to answer this with mercy: that Jesus’ life in the Spirit is a life of mercy because practicing mercy changes us into God’s image.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Grace of the Cross"
As we celebrate the life given to us in Christ this Easter, what does this life look like? Matthew 1-4 has shown Jesus to be our Spirit-filled King & Redeemer; so, what does His life look like? Matthew 4:23-5:16 reveal that Jesus saves us to a life directed & transformed by the Spirit to advocate reconciliation for others to God.
Catch the message from our Good Friday service as we, in celebration-of-life-service style, reflect on who was Jesus of Nazareth: and how we received Him.
So, if Jesus is the humble shepherd King to deliver us as the Messiah through relational transformation, then what did this practically look like? What did Jesus’ ministry look like? Matthew 4:1-22 will introduce us to Jesus’ ministry; that His ministry knew & trusted in who God was to bring life to others by being with them.
So, if Jesus is a humble, shepherd king to deliver God’s people, then what does His deliverance look like? What does it look like that Jesus is our Redeemer? This is what Matthew focuses on in ch.3: that Jesus delivers us through relationally transforming us into God’s image; not through just fixing others from sin.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Openness"
After declaring Jesus has the right to redeem & reign over us because of how He pursues God’s reconciliation in Matthew 1, the gospel author then gives us an example of what this right to reign looks like. Matthew 2 shows Jesus came as a humble, shepherd king to deliver God’s people; not a prideful inciter to control life.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Third Day Evening: Before Sleep"
Our author concludes their letter today with a powerful charge to application for their audience: what does it look like to endure all things through faith in Christ and in God’s image? In light of Hebrews 1-12, Hebrews 13:1-25 shows us that we bear God’s image as we love others well, clinging to our eternal hope in Christ.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Seventh Day Morning: God's Good Pleasure"
The author of Hebrews continues to show how we live out our great hope in Christ, building off of the call to testify God’s reconciliation through faith in Christ with a charge to endure through faith. Heb.12:3-29 reveals enduring through faith in Christ disciplines us in God’s image so that we bear God’s image in all things.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Earth & Heaven"
Hebrews 11 begins the closing action of Hebrews, where the author makes their application of what we do with this great hope we have in Christ, beginning with the testimony of our lives. Heb. 11:1-12:2 shows us that God testifies His reconciliation through faith, not His law; therefore, we testify faith in Christ, not His law.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Joy"
Hebrews 10 offers a summary of the past images of Christ fulfilling the OT law, showing simply how Jesus is greater than the Law itself. And why? Because God established His reconciliation through His Person, not His Law; because His person (Christ) reconciles our broken humanity.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Fullness in Christ"
After Hebrews 7-8 show Jesus as our eternal & present reconciliation, Ch. 9 challenges our idea of what Jesus’ sacrifice looks like, making the distinction between forgiveness & transformation to show us Jesus’ sacrifice forgives us from sin and transforms us into God’s image; which together reconcile us to God.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Convicting Spirit"
Wrapping up Hebrews 7 and beginning Hebrews 8, the author gives some commentary on why understanding Christ’s priesthood is key for their audience. Heb. 7:23-8:13 encourages us how Jesus is our eternal and present reconciliation who brings us into God’s presence both now and forever.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Present Salvation"
The author continues discussing Christ’s priesthood as we move into Hebrews 7 this week to bring encouraging hope to their audience, the former Jews in the early persecuted church. Heb. 7:1-22 shows us today how Jesus is our perfect reconciliation who brings both God’s peace and righteousness together to us.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Resting on God"
In the middle of Hebrews, the author pauses from all these different theological discussions on why Jesus is greater to circle back around to their main point for the book: trust that Jesus really is greater. Today, Hebrews 5:11-6:20 will show us that God desires to mature our faith through trust over knowledge to bring us into His covenant life.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Assurance"
Hebrews 4:14-5:10 expands on the imagery of Jesus being greater than Moses to show how the priesthood of Jesus is better than the priesthood under Moses’ brother Aaron. Why is the idea of priesthood still important today? We’ll see how Jesus’ priesthood sympathizes with weakness & intercedes for others before God; therefore, we abide in His grace and example.
Valley of Vision Prayer: "The Broken Heart"
Guest speaker Darrell Cook (Senior Campus Minister, Baptist Collegiate Ministries at Virginia Tech) starts us back in our Hebrews journey. In Hebrews 3:16-4:13, we see how Jesus is greater than the condition of our hearts. When we strive to enter today into His rest, His works, and His Word, we experience how God reconciles the broken condition of our hearts to His image through Christ.
In Malachi 2:17-3:15, we saw God calling His people to trust that His reconciliation work is worth the sacrifice of faith. As Malachi’s prophecy draws to a close in Mal. 3:16-4:6, God shows Israel why trusting His covenant is so important. We trust God’s reconciliation work so He can bring us into His presence, grace, and life.
In Malachi 2, God reminded His people who they were to Him; priests who make peace and partners who bear faithful fruit. Once we remember who we are, we can now understand & see what God desires of us. Malachi 2:17-3:15 shows us that God calls His people to trust His reconciliation work is worth the sacrifice of faith.
The message of Malachi began with God confronting our idolatry of identity by reminding us of our value to and identity in Him in Malachi 1:1-14. As we continue into Malachi 2, God will start to literally spell out for His people who He made them to be. Today, we’ll see how God made us to be priests who make peace and partners who bear faithful fruit.
In December, we’re going to pause Hebrews to walk through the Old Testament prophet, Malachi. Malachi’s message for the people of God relates well to the anxious, identity-driven culture we struggle with today (even in our own hearts!) Today, we’ll see in Malachi 1 how God confronts our idolatry of identity by reminding us of our value to and identity in Him.
Hebrews 3 continues with our Exodus imagery today to show us how Jesus is greater than Moses. Where last week the Exodus images reminded the early church that Jesus is greater than godly power/production/self, the language this week points to another powerful reminder. Hebrews 3 shows us that God’s people are a house built in Christ; therefore, we humble ourselves to be reconciled to Christ’s design.
As we move into Hebrews 2 today, we’ll see a familiar theme from Exodus emerge. Whereas in Hebrews 1 we were called to take on Christ’s image as God’s children instead of the image of His servants (angels), Hebrews 2 builds on this to warn against the power/production/self life: that God’s people cling to who Jesus is to remind ourselves His reconciliation work is greater than godly power/production/self.
Today, we begin a journey through the book of Hebrews to build off of our Exodus study. Exodus showed how God designed His people for life with Him, but it left us with the question, “how do we get back into His design permanently?” Hebrews presents Christ as the fulfillment of God’s OT design; today, we’ll see God’s people adopt the image of His Son, Jesus Christ; not the image of His ministering angels.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision.
We saw last week how God desires elders to shepherd themselves and others in God’s heart and Word through a life of humble discipleship from several of Paul’s pastoral letters. Today, we’ll look at the calling of the first deacons in Acts 6 to see how they complement elders in leadership; that Deacons assist the Elders in uniting the church into God’s image through serving the flock’s physical needs.
Last week we saw the heart God desires of those who lead His church in Eph. 4; that leadership in God’s Kingdom calls us to live out God’s heart so others learn to bear His image. This week, we’ll study the role of Elder, as Paul outlines it in his letters to Timothy & Titus. The common themes show how elders are to shepherd themselves & others in God’s heart & Word through a life of humble discipleship.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision
Building from Covenant Renewal Sunday, we’re going to walk through a quick mini-series on leadership. If we’re going to be living out our mission / vision / values of discipleship, what does it look like for our church’s leadership to match this? How do we lead others into God’s image? Ephesians 4 shows us that leadership in God’s Kingdom calls us to live out God’s heart so others learn to bear His image.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision
Pretty much exactly what the title says! We've understood the concept of faith in America historically in terms of "revival," but scripture seems to talk about faith more in terms of "covenant." Why is this distinction important? Is it even important? We'll take a 30,000' overview of Exodus to see how the Old Testament presented faith in terms of covenant and what that means for us, the church, today; namely, that God’s people live with a heart striving to reconcile Creation to Creator through worship, trust, and relationship.
Closing Prayer from The Valley of Vision.
As the book of Exodus draws to a close, Moses provides a perfect summary to his narrative of the foundation of God’s people. Mirroring a pattern seen throughout the entire book, Exodus 40 makes sure we see one last time God’s design for His people. Exodus 40 reveals that God reconciles His people and anoints them with His Spirit to bear His covenant fruit.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision
Exodus 38 revealed the testimony of our faith: when people look at our lives, they should see a story of our faithfulness to pursue bearing God's image and His faithfulness to fulfill His reconciliation promise. This week, guest preacher, Andrew Cook shares with us how Exodus 39 keeps this testimonial language going in light of discipleship. Exodus 39 shows us that discipleship is a rhythm of reminding us where we came from and pointing us forward to the hope we have in Jesus Christ.
Exodus 37 showed us that discipleship involves bringing life under God’s design as the Holy Spirit works out God’s image in us. This puts life into the perspective of testimony: when people look at our lives, what testimony do they see? Exodus 38 shows us that discipleship involves our faith testifying about our faithfulness to pursue bearing God’s image and His faithfulness to fulfill His reconciliation promise.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision.
Exodus 35-36 have shown us about how the Holy Spirit disciples us & others to keep the Sabbath and build the temple. But what exactly is this discipleship? What does it look like? How does it take place? The picture of discipleship in the closing chapters of Exodus is simply this: that discipleship involves bringing life under God’s design as the Holy Spirit works God’s image out within us.
Closing Prayer from The Valley of Vision
Exodus 35 begins the “closing action” of the narrative, and it opens up an important question: what does it look like to carry out God’s covenant? As Israel is faithfully restored to God’s covenant in Ex. 34, what does it look like for them to now walk out their faith? Ex. 35:1-29 shows that covenant life with God is a rhythm of Sabbath-keeping and temple-building enabled and directed by His Holy Spirit.
Wrapping up the golden calf narrative, we’re humbled to watch how God chooses to respond to Israel’s sin. In the midst of catching His people in the middle of infidelity to the highest, most offensive degree, what does God do? Exodus 34 will show us how God responds to our sin by introducing Himself to us, inviting us to covenant with Him, and drawing us near through His Messiah.
As we continue on in the golden calf narrative, a dramatic shift takes place. Just as a lightbulb goes off in a cartoon to show when someone finally “gets it,” we see the lightbulb go off for Israel and Moses as they finally get who God called them to be / what He set them aside to do. Exodus 33 will show us today that we were made to be in God’s presence; therefore, we work toward restoration in God’s covenant.
Exodus 32 is a familiar story for many; the golden calf is a powerful image in the Exodus story. But have we stopped to consider what’s really going on here? At what should be the most intimate point in the story between God and His people, we see…complete idolatry. This moment teaches us a lot about who we are, who God is, and His Messiah. From Ex. 32, we see that our sinful default is an unfaithful bride-to-be; but our God is a gracious God, and His Messiah is a faithful interceder.
Join us as we learn that God calls His priests to a life of discipleship; discipleship reminds us of God's narrative for our lives.
Closing prayer from The Valley of Vision.
Exodus 27:20-28:43 moves our focus today from the tabernacle to the priesthood. In this we learn more about who God has made His people to be in the midst of a world that doesn't know Him. Followers of Christ fulfill the roles of both tabernacle and priesthood today (1 Pet. 2:9), so this also directly applies to us! We'll see how, as God's priesthood, we are called to represent His image before and intercede on behalf of His creation.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "Penitence"
As we wrap up the tabernacle blueprints today, our focus is going to shift a little more outward (just like the blueprints do!). Exodus 26 revealed how God designed the tabernacle as a physical & spiritual place, after His image, for Himself to dwell among His creation and reveal His righteousness. Today, Exodus 27:1-19 shows how God designed the tabernacle as a place of His reconciliation and gathering for His creation.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "God's Cause"
As we dive into the tabernacle blueprints, we see what it looks like for God's people to live in His presence. Exodus 25 showed that living in God's presence requires a sacrifice of life, and how He promises us His righteousness, presence, & life in return. Today, we'll see how God designed the tabernacle as a place for Him to dwell among us in His righteousness. You could say that God made the tabernacle with an Intentional Design, Purpose, & Righteousness.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Cry of a Convicted Sinner"
Exodus 24 showed us last week how trusting God leads us to adopt His image as our own and to live life in His presence. But we see a turning point in the narrative here in Exodus 25: as God called Moses to come into His presence on the mountain, He now begins to teach Moses how to show Israel what it looks like to live in His presence. From Exodus 25, we see that living in God's presence requires a sacrifice of life; God promises His righteousness, presence, and life in return.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Divine Will"
Note: the first few minutes is our charge to our graduating seniors. Skip ~5 minutes in for the sermon
We saw in Exodus 23:10-33 last week how God calls His people to trust Him and brings about reconciliation and transformation in their daily life. Then, we heard this past week about multiple mass shootings in our nation, and the report uncovering the systematic covering-up of sexual abuse claims in the SBC came to light. This leaves us (as it left Israel) with the question, "What does it look like to trust God?" While we can't fully answer all of that in one sermon, God does leave us part of the answer as He concludes this section of giving the law to Moses. From Exodus 24, we see that trusting God leads us to adopt His image as our own and to live life in His presence.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "The Deeps"
At this point in the Exodus story, we've seen God introduce His covenant in Exodus 20, reveal how Israel was to value His image among themselves in Exodus 21, and teach them to reconcile their image to His in Exodus 22. Now, God reminds the people of why He's revealed Himself to them and what His end goal is for them in Exodus 23. Today, from Exodus 23:10-33 we see that God reveals Himself to His people so that we ultimately trust Him, which leads to reconciliation and transformation.
// Closing Prayer: Valley of Vision, "A Disciple's Renewal"
Diving back into Exodus this week, we've arrived at everyone's favorite section... the laws. In light of our Colossians study, the apostle Paul showed how the Old Testament Law revealed our need for Christ, foreshadowed who Christ is, and gave us confidence in Christ as our life. Today, as we start in Exodus 21:1-32, we'll see how living in God's restoration leads us to value one another because God values His image in mankind.
As Colossians reveals Jesus Christ as the Messiah of the Old Testament, how does this relate back to our study of Exodus? What's the connection between the OT Law and the Messiah? How should we regard the OT Law if we have Christ as our Messiah? This was a major debate in the early church (and still is today!); a debate Paul addresses in Colossians. Throughout his letter, Paul shows how the Law revealed our need for Christ, foreshadows who Christ is, and gives us confidence in Christ as our life!
As Paul draws his letter to the church at Colossae to a close, we see a fitting summary to his discussion on who Christ is, what He's done for us, and what this means for us. Paul revealed how, because Jesus Christ is our standard for righteousness, we are to make His resurrection our life in Colossians 2:16-3:17. Now, in Colossians 3:18-4:18, Paul summarizes how, with Christ as our life, we mutually submit to others, remain steadfast in prayer, and reflect Christ in all things.
As Paul writes to show who Jesus is and what that means for His followers, he established last week in Col. 1:24-2:15 that Jesus Christ is the knowledge of God's mystery; therefore, we are to establish our lives in pursuing Him. This week, we'll see from Col. 2:16-3:17 how Christ is the standard of righteousness for our lives; therefore, we make our life in Christ's resurrection.
The letter of Colossians was written by the apostle Paul as a defense of who Jesus was and what it meant for those who followed Him. Considered by some as the most Christological book in the Bible, it offers a great parallel to our study of Exodus. In Colossians 1:24-2:15 today, we'll see how Jesus Christ is the knowledge of God's mystery; therefore, we are to establish our lives in pursuing Him.
We've been seeing glimpses of the Messiah in Moses in the Old Testament. Now, as we prepare our hearts for Easter, we're going to read through Colossians and see the fulfillment of these glimpses in Christ. Today, as we read through Colossians 1:1-23, the apostle Paul will show us how Christ is the one who has set us free: free from the power of sin & brokenness.
Exodus 18:1-19:20 gave us 5 pieces of the picture of what God’s Messiah does: how God sent His Messiah to 1) lead us to glorify Him; 2) to equip us as His image-bearers; 3) to establish His covenant with us; 4) to consecrate us; and 5) to draw us to Himself. In Exodus 19:21-20:26, God puts the pieces together in Moses, the one who fulfills the Messianic figure for Israel. In this, we see a clear picture of how God desires His people to respond to His Messiah: that God fulfills His delivering & redeeming work through His Messiah; we respond with righteous worship.
As we study Exodus 18:1-19:20, an image starts to form of the Messiah God would raise up for His people in the person of Moses. The first piece of the picture we’re given comes from Exodus 18:1-27: that God sent His Messiah to lead us to glorify Him and to reconcile us as His image-bearers. Now, in Exodus 19:1-20, we see another part of the Messiah’s work revealed in Moses: that God sent His Messiah to establish His covenant with us, consecrate us, and draw us to Himself.
As Exodus 15 –17 reveal how the people of Israel are learning to praise God and walk in His ways to bear His image, the narrative shifts a little to focus more on the development of a different character over Exodus 18:1-19:20: Moses. Being God’s anointed one to deliver and redeem His people, Moses gives us glimpses into why God sent His Son Jesus Christ. From Exodus 18:1-27, we see that God sent His Messiah to lead us to glorify Him and to reconcile us as His image-bearers.
As the Israelites struggled to adapt to their new life in the wilderness with God, we saw in Exodus 15:22-16:30 how God was at working to mold them as His people. He molded Israel through listening to them, providing for them, refining them, and renewing them; and He does the same works through us today. This molding work continues in Exodus 16:31-17:16, as we’ll see how God molds us as His people by growing our reliance on Him & our remembrance of Him.
In Exodus 15:1-21, we got a glimpse into the worship of Israel with their praise of God as He delivered and redeemed them from Egypt. Now, the Exodus narrative shifts to show how God began the long work of molding His people into His image. Exodus 15:22-17:16 reveal several cycles of God doing this work, and we’ll look at Exodus 15:22-16:30 today to see how God molds us as His people by listening to us, providing for us, refining us, and renewing us.
Over the past few chapters, we’ve seen God showing the people of Israel His work of deliverance and redemption (Ex. 12:29-13:16) and teaching His people to trust this work (Ex. 13:17-14:31). Now, as the people of Israel stand fully delivered and in the presence of God, we see them led by Moses to respond in the way that would give glory to God: by worshipping Him. Israel’s worship shows us how we ought to respond to God’s deliverance and redemption works: that we respond to God’s deliverance and redemption by praising who He is, what He’s done, and what He will do.
As the Israelites started to leave Egypt, we saw God set up two key reminders for His people: that He works to deliver and redeem His people, and we are called to remind ourselves and others of His work. As Moses continues in Exodus 13:17-14:31, we see the Egyptians pursue Israel to take them back. Israel is wrought with fear; why is this happening when God is supposed to be delivering and redeeming them? In the back-and-forth between God & His people here, we see that God teaches us to trust His deliverance & redemption as He reveals our salvation & reclaims His glory.
The final plague and institution of the Passover in Exodus 11:1-12:28 displayed God’s restoration work in 4 movements: how our restoration requires sacrifice, how God provided the sacrifice for us (in the form of a lamb), how we receive God’s sacrifice, and how we share His testimony. As the plague unfolds, and the exodus of God’s people from Egypt takes place, we continue to see this theme fleshed out.
Exodus 9 showed us what God’s power looks like in terms of delivering His people: that God works His restoration through redemption over destruction; and redemption requires us to be present with God. As we continue in the dialogue between Moses and Pharaoh today, we now see in greater detail what does our response to this power look like. Exodus 10 reveals two large ways we struggle with responding to God’s power with worship, where we struggle to worship God because worshiping Him requires repentance and sacrifice to remain in His presence.
Acts and Exodus parallel nicely together, with both depicting the formation of the people of God. The opening section of Acts sets the tone for the whole narrative of the rest of the book, and it’s crucial to understand if we as a church are to live out the same vision for God’s people seen in Exodus (and all throughout scripture). From Acts 1:1-2:12, we are reminded that God empowers the church with His Holy Spirit through the work of prayer to bear Christ’s witness.
Pastor Ronnie Brown starts our new year encouraging us with ways we can make lasting change
In Exodus 7, we started to see God revealing the contrast between life with Him and life without as we watched Moses and Pharaoh’s reactions to the work God was doing in the first plague. Now, as we read about the 2nd through 4th plagues, we see God revealing something else in His restorative work. From Exodus 8, we see that God reveals His power & His presence to us as He works out His restoration.
God began to address His people’s struggles with restoration in Exodus 6, reminding them of His nature (who He is), our identity (who we are to Him), and His ultimate work of restoration (what He’s doing). In Exodus 7, we see God beginning to do His delivering work, and it reveals a contrast in the life He has for us and the life we often are so content to choose. Moses and Pharaoh highlight these contrasting lifestyles, showing that life with God through Christ brings freedom, restoration, and worship; life without God brings self-reliance, hard hearts, and brokenness.
In Exodus 5, we see some of our struggles with wrong and unhelpful assumptions when it comes to God’s restorative work. In the responses of Moses and the Israelite foremen to the hardness of Pharaoh’s heart, we saw that we wrongfully assume we will gain earthly comfort, maintain earthly standing, or bear immediate fruit in God’s restoration work. God addresses His people in their struggles in Exodus 6, reminding them of several key truths to move us away from such unhelpful assumptions. From Exodus 6, we see that God reminds us in our sinful struggles of His nature, our identity, and His ultimate work of restoration.
Exodus 4 leaves off with Moses beginning to undertake God’s restorative work, but things don’t look so good for the Israelites in Exodus 5. Yet God’s restoration plan is going exactly as He told Moses it would (Ex. 3:16-22)…so how do we reconcile these two realities? The account of Exodus 5 shows us how we tend to respond to God’s restoration plan with some false assumptions. In this we see that we wrongfully assume we will gain earthly comfort, maintain earthly standing, or bear immediate fruit in God’s restoration work.
Exodus 3 and 4 read together as the narrative of God calling Moses to undertake His restorative work. Exodus 3 revealed that God’s restoration begins with knowing who God is and entering into His presence to worship Him. Exodus 4 continues to reveal what our restoration looks like, teaching us that God’s restoration begins with submitting to God’s authority over our lives and living faithful to His revealed will.
Exodus 2 introduced us to the person of God’s restoration: the consecrated image-bearer who would bring God’s justice and deliverance to His people. From this, we saw that we ought to reflect God’s image, stand for the preservation of life, and trust His deliverance. Exodus 3 begins the narrative of God calling Moses to undertake His restorative work, revealing to us in the process what our restoration is founded upon. From Exodus 3, we see that God’s restoration begins with knowing who God is and entering into His presence to worship Him.
Exodus 1 introduces us to the reality that God is faithful to restore His creation and that we, as His people, are called to trust His restorative work. Right away in Exodus 2, we are introduced to God’s literal carrying out of His restorative work: of what God did to make restoration possible to His people. And it didn’t start with some grand act that got everyone’s attention immediately: it started with a single person, an image-bearer of God. Exodus 2 shows us God made His restoration possible through a consecrated image-bearer who would bring justice and deliverance to His people.
The book of Exodus picks up where the book of Genesis leaves off: with the establishment of God’s people as a nation among other nations. The book of Exodus is the story of the formation of God’s people, building off of the story of God’s covenant told in Genesis. The narrative woven throughout Exodus teaches us about what it means to be the people of God. From Exodus 1, we see that God is faithful to restore His creation: His people are called to trust His restorative work.
At New River Fellowship we are a community on mission: submitted to Christ and committed to disciple making. So what is our call as a disciple? How does being a follower of Jesus change how we live?