River Church - Messages

A new series begins! Mark shares on the life of Moses:• What excuse do I use most often when God calls me?• What is my next step of obedience?We become more available to be used by Him when we focus less on ourselves and more on Jesus.Instagram Video Reference: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DcwJCNqO2HT/?stkn=MTdqZXQ5MWxlNXdkNA==Wait for Me - Zach Williams: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dm-bT_N36a8

4 things about His return:1. It will be visible, glorious, and not secret2. The time is unknown3. It will bring judgement and separation4. Jesus will reign openly with His gathered and resurrected people

What are you prepared to give up to be a disciple of Jesus?

Do you KNOW Jesus? Not ABOUT Him...but do you really know who He is? Right relationship with Him brings transformation on the inside, which brings fruitfulness. Change the tree, and you change the fruit!

The world says, "You are blessed when you behave, and therefore you can belong." But Jesus says, "You are blessed, not because of your situation or what you do, but because of my grace which qualifies you to belong.'

We know the message ABOUT Christ. But do we know the message OF Christ? What is it He commanded? Week 1 of a 5 week series.

Danie Grobbelaar from City Life Church in Durban North brings us a challenging message about ensuring we are in the right place, in the right posture with the right preparation to ride the wave of the Holy Spirit as we allow the work of Jesus to edge out the sinful nature within us.

God chooses the barley loaves of the world (plain, ordinary, average people and circumstances) to accomplish great things! He sees the potential in you and calls it out, rather than what the world has put on you.

"Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.”2 Corinthians 7:10 NIV“Regret is sorrow over the consequences of sin, but not over the sin itself. If there had been no consequences, there would have been no sorrow. There is no sorrow over the sin for what it is in itself, for how it grieves God and violates our relation ship with him. The focus is horizontal… not at all vertical… as soon as the consequences go away, the behaviour comes back. The heart has not become disgusted with the sin itself, so the sin remains rooted!” Tim Keller

The reward for your faith, is seeing with your eyes what you believe in your heart.

"Whatever controls us is really our God… The person who seeks power is controlled by power. The person who seeks acceptance is controlled by the people he or she wants to please. We do not control ourselves. We are controlled by the lord of our life." ~ Rebecca Maley PippertWhat is your oxgoad?

‘You can't go back and change the beginning, but you can start where you are and change the ending.' CS Lewis Mark shares on how the impact of courageous obedience and small acts of kindness can change lives.Music Video Link: https://youtu.be/fAEEc-y1WqEPrayer:Lord Jesus thank you for laying your life down for me, thank you for being the author and perfector of our faith. Thank you for not treating me as my sins deserve. Please help me today to be a shining light to all I come across today. I pray that your Holy Spirit would prompt me and show me whom I can serve. Give me the courage to be obedient and make me secure that even if my kindness is not received, I would know it was for you. I love you Jesus and you deserve all I have, thank you that you are so good to me despite my shortcomings. You are the one that makes me good because you love me. Amen

“I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down his life for the sheep." John 10:11 (NIV)

We are conditioned to believe that our faith is a private matter. We preach a message with our lives... what is that message? Whatever it is, it shows where our hope lies.

Join us this week as we fast together as a church in response to the xenophobia in our country right now. “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you… Therefore honour God with your bodies.” 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

7 Practical Tips for Prayer: Ronald Rolheiser1. Show up2.  Quiet your heart3. Look inside4. Establish a routine and stick with it5. Be honest, vulnerable, and bold6. Let go of anxiety and shame7. Listen for God's voice and accept God's love

This message is for you if...• You're not sure if God has a plan for your life• You're looking for the hand of God in a season of difficulty or hardship• You're feeling like you're coming apart at the seams in the waiting for His promises to be fulfilled• You've heard Him speak promises over you that seem impossible, but you're following Him anyway

Am I living in such a way that I'm storing up treasure in heaven? Or I am I only focusing on this life? The last of 'The Essentials of Faith' series.

“Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope.”1 Thessalonians 4:13 NIV

The most important responsibility a Christian has is to grow in his or her faith in God and His Word! Faith results in a changed life and behaviour - it looks like something!

“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptised every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”Acts 2:38 ESV

Dead works are outwardly righteous acts done to impress people or God. Good works are a result of faith and done out of a response to God's saving grace and love. Michael Pretorius shares the importance of repentance from dead works as an essential of our faith.

Without well built foundations, a building can not stand. A new series laying the essential foundations on which our faith will stand. “This Jesus is the stone that was rejected by you, the builders, which has become the cornerstone.”Acts 4:11 ESV

"God's judgement was grace and mercy. God's verdict was guilty, but forgiven ... Perfect love is God's precious gift to us. The Pearl without price." ~ Peter Habberton

We are made by the Lord, for His glory - a diverse people working together in harmony with one another, for Him alone. One body, many parts, driven by love.

Your 'Yes!' could be the depending factor on someone else's healing. When you say 'Yes!', expect nations and history to change.

Jesus wants to get to my deeply held beliefs, not only to change my behaviour, but to change who I am... because who I become is the only thing I can take to heaven one day. Jesus is more interested in who I am becoming as a disciple to Him, than what happens to me.

Praise opens prisons!

“He told them this parable: “No one tears a piece out of a new garment to patch an old one. Otherwise, they will have torn the new garment, and the patch from the new will not match the old. And no one pours new wine into old wineskins. Otherwise, the new wine will burst the skins; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, new wine must be poured into new wineskins. And no one after drinking old wine wants the new, for they say, ‘The old is better.' ”” Luke 5:36-39 NIV

'Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, left the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness...' Luke 4:1Are we going to be led willingly or reluctantly?

“Because of your low expectations for what He can do in your life, you're not treating Him as a King. You're not preparing the way.” Tim Keller

Luke 2Vs 1 in those days…Vs 6 the time came…Vs 21 when it was time…Vs 22 when the time….Vs 38 at that very moment…Jesus is never late. Nor is he early; he arrives precisely when he means to.

“For nothing will be impossible with God.”Luke 1: 37 (ESV)

The 3rd and final week of this series explores the sensitive topic of tithing. Why it's important, what we believe about it and, most importantly, what the Bible says about it.

In everything Jesus did, He flipped the world on it's head!“...whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants  to be first must be your slave - just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20: 26-28

Are you the chicken or the pig? Are you involved with, or committed to the things of God? The 1st of a 3 part series.

Jesus was fully God, and fully man. (Philippians 2:5-11)This Christmas, we look into the deity and humanity of Christ... celebrating His coming and the reason for it all. All He wants for Christmas, is you.

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”1 John 4:10 NIV

How do we live a joyful life?1. Give thanks!2. Get close.3. Guard your mind.

How do we become people of peace? What keeps me from peace? What's the difference between a Peacekeeper and a Peacemaker?

How are we waiting? What are we waiting for? Who are we becoming while we wait? The first message of our Advent Series.

We are not defined by how we feel or how we fail. Do you want your mat to be your identity? Or do you want to do something about it and choose to get off it, so Jesus can bring healing and walk with you on your journey to freedom and restoration.

We serve a God of order, not chaos... which is why He has set up His church with structure that works. Find out what that looks like and how a Biblically founded church operates. Are you coming to give, or only receive?

“I used to tell people that “I was just a sinner saved by grace.” But I no longer say that. True, I was once a sinner who repented and believed and as a result was saved by grace. But now I am a child of God, healed of my spiritual sickness, “set free from sin and a slave to righteousness” (Rom 6:18). That is to say, my fundamental identity is that I am a child of God, a new creation.”John Wimber

Is Escapeville or Excuseville keeping you out of the Promised Land?

Who is he? Where is he? Why do we need him and how do we live our lives with him?

Which room are you being drawn into?

'Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.' ~ Proverbs 4:23

Dave walks us through scripture, sharing with us all the ways that life with Jesus is better in so many ways!

The moon "shines" at night because its surface reflects sunlight, not because it produces its own light. In the same way, our lives should reflect the Son, Jesus Christ, and the light His character brings to the world.

Shelley shares with us, a heartfelt teaching from Psalm 126 on how God longs to lead us out of captivity into HIS promises. The ‘too good to be true' promises of God that bring joy and the life & freedom that come from desert places.