Riverbend Church

05/24/2026

05/17/2026

Deuteronomy 30:19
Good News Translation
I am now giving you the choice between life and death, between God's blessing and God's curse, and I call heaven and earth to witness the choice you make. Choose life.

John 15
1“I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. …
4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
… 6If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples.
….
11 “These things I have spoken to you, SO THAT My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.

12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.

13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.

Luke 15
11 Jesus continued: “There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, ‘Father, give me my share of the estate.’ So he divided his property between them.
And so the story goes…

The son went his way to live the high life…Spent all his inheritance and soon found himself destitute. Starvation brought new perspective…”when he came to his senses” …and he determined to return to his father, humbled.

… 20 So he got up and went to his father.

“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
21 “The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
22 “But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. 23 Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate.
24 For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.

Wherever you have been,
wherever you are,
wherever you go,
The Father is waiting for you to choose Him.
Choose Jesus,
Choose life!

05/10/2026

Mother’s Day 2026

When You Thought I Wasn't Looking
Connie Back

When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you hang up my first painting on the refrigerator, and I wanted to paint another one.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you feed a stray cat, and I thought it was good to be kind to animals.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw you make my favorite cake for me, and I knew that little things are special things.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I heard you say a prayer, and I believed there is a God I could always talk to.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I felt you kiss me goodnight, and I felt loved.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I saw that you cared, and I wanted to be everything that I could be.
When you thought I wasn't looking,
I LOOKED....
and wanted to say thanks for all the things I saw when you thought I wasn't looking.

Proverbs 31:30
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.

A Mother who fears God…
Speaks truth in Love…
And teaches her children to do the same …
Is priceless and to be greatly praised.

Moms, grandmas, sisters and aunts…Keep living the life and pointing your little and not so little ones to Jesus.

Sons, daughters, grandsons, granddaughters, nieces and nephews…
Watch, listen and learn.
Give honor where it is due…Rise up and call her blessed, she who has given you life.

Children are the most vulnerable among us.
And God saw fit to design the perfect creature for the job of loving and nurturing them.
A mother’s love is the closest to a 1 Cor 13 love there is.

4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails.

Children…
Love them with a mother’s love.
Love them…by nurturing and speaking truth into them.
By leading them, guiding them, walking and talking and listening to them.

05/03/2026

Find your Home … Abide in Me

Psalm 61
1 Hear my cry, O God; listen to my prayer.
2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
I call as my heart grows faint;
lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the foe.
4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
and take refuge in the shelter of your wings. b

Psalm 91:1
Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
yashab: to sit, remain, dwell …find your home

He who remains/sits/lives finds shelter/protection in God…
will rest peacefully in His shadow under His wings.

04/19/2026

A Letter to be Read by All – Christ in me.
2 Corinthians 3
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everyone. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.

The Message translation...2 Cor 3 1-3
Does it sound like we’re patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we’re not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it—not with ink, but with God’s living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives—and we publish it.

In Paul’s day letters were a primary means of communication, and here, he depicts the believers themselves as “living letters”, displaying Christ in the way you live your daily lives.

You are being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit within.
Writing His Word on your heart.

God Himself has placed in your heart the desire to live a life
in covenant and communion with Him.
To serve and worship Him alone.

“But this is the new covenant I will make with my people,” says the LORD.
“I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts.
I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jer 31:33