River Christian Church

08/04/2026

Fixing the Broken
Zech 1-5
“Then he said to me, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel, saying. ‘Not by might nor by power, but by My Spirit,’ says the Lord of hosts.”
For 70 years the nation of Israel had been exiled from the land and in bo***ge to Babylon. Life seemed hopeless as Babylon maintained control. However, there was a flicker of Hope when Darius had defeated Babylon, and the words of the Prophet Jeremiah had predicted that after 70 years the nation would return to the land. As Zechariah comes on the scene, there was the hope of the return that had been prophesied by Jeremiah. But how was Israel going to obtain their freedom? They had no military, no political clout, nothing that would enable them to obtain permission to return to the land.
This brings us to the same issue we are confronted with today. How do we find hope in a world without hope? How do we fix broken lives? How do we fix a world marred by conflict, disunity, and confusion? The same questions the people of Israel asked are the same questions we face today. But it is more than just global and political; the brokenness of our world affects us individually as well. We face the uncertainty and struggles of life, and something deep within us cries for help and answers, yet they seem elusive. The more we try to fix our lives, the more we are confronted with how unfixable life seems. We wrestle not only with questions on a global level but also on a personal level.
The answer that God gave Israel is the same answer we need in our own lives. First, we cannot find the answers to life by our own power. This word refers not just to physical strength but also to the physical things of life we rely upon, including our wealth and property. We often think that if we get enough money, prestige, and influence, we can solve our problems and be free from the pressures of life. But wealth is deceptive, and power and status are an illusion. The more we have, the more empty we feel inside. The recognition we receive from others only makes us feel emptier. The second word can also refer to physical strength, but it can also refer to mental strength. Just as wealth is an illusion, intellectual and mental capacities are also an illusion. Friedrich Nietzsche suffered from severe mental health issues. William James Sidis is regarded by many as the smartest person who ever lived. He passed the entrance exam at Harvard at age 9 and by age 11 was lecturing at Harvard, but he died a penniless recluse at age 46. The greatest thinkers of our world are powerless to change the world.
However, we are not hopeless, for God provides the answer for effective and lasting change and hope. It is found in the presence of God’s Spirit. God can accomplish what humanity cannot. If you are looking for answers in life, do not look to the world, to the great thinkers of our culture, or to the powerful politicians, for they will fail. Instead, look to God, for he never does.

07/31/2026

When God Shouts for Joy
Zephaniah 1-3
“The Lord your God is in your midst, a victorious warrior. He will exult over you with joy, He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” (3:12).
Reading through the prophets is often difficult because it seems the prophets continually beat the drum of God's judgment. One of the greatest mistakes people make is believing that God will not judge us or condemn our sin. However, through the prophets, God makes it clear that there will come a day of judgment when God condemns sin and those who practice it.
However, as dark as the prophetic messages may seem, there is also interwoven throughout the prophets another message. It is a message of hope and affirmation for those who seek him. God never judges unjustly. He does not overlook sin. However, he also never judges those who have set their hearts upon him. Thus, we find in the prophets the delight God has for his people. This confronts us with the question, “Who are those that God delights in and will experience the blessing and salvation of God?” This is the most fundamental question we must ask. While God judges the proud, those who set themselves up as God or worship other gods, he delights in the humble and lowly. This is not a reference to one’s economic or social status, but to the attitude of the heart. In 3:12, we see that God saves and protects the humble. The person who is humble recognizes their moral and spiritual condition apart from God. The humble person recognizes their sin and unworthiness before God so that they no longer rely upon their own righteousness or trust in their own moral reason. They recognize the futility of sinful man to gain any merit before God. As a result, they rest solely upon God’s grace for their salvation. This is further highlighted by the word lowly. The lowly are those who have nothing to offer. The spiritual lowly recognize that they have no merit to gain favor with God. The humble and lowly realize that salvation is not based upon our merit or worthiness, but solely upon God’s grace. Instead of trusting themselves, they surrender completely to God.
When we recognize our spiritual and moral bankruptcy and trust only in the mercy and grace of God, how does God respond? The answer is found in 3:17. This verse presents a picture that is impossible for us to fully comprehend. When we trust in God, “He will exult over you with joy. He will be quiet in His love, He will rejoice over you with shouts of joy.” This should arrest our attention. The God of the universe shouts for joy because of us. Elsewhere we are told to rejoice because of God’s salvation with shouts of joy, but here the God of the universe shouts for joy over us! It is beyond our comprehension that the God of the universe would experience exuberant joy because of us. But this is what he does when we trust in him. If we refuse to accept his salvation and refuse to obey him, we should be terrified. But when we trust in him, we can find joy, for instead of his anger we experience his unrelenting joy over us. When we trust in God, he does not just remove his threat of judgment; he shouts for joy in the throne room of heaven as a loving father shouts for joy for his children. When you surrender your life to God and submit to him, God does not just indifferently write your name in his book of life, he shouts for joy!!!!

07/30/2026

Where is God when We Cry in Sorrow?
Habakkuk 1-3
“Yet I will exult in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. The Lord God is my strength, and He has made my feet like hinds’ feet, and makes me walk on my high places.”

Habakkuk begins with a cry of despair and ends with a song of praise. What happened, what changed his perspective from hopelessness to praise? How do we likewise find the voice of praise when we cry out in despair?
Habakkuk cries out with a plea we also offer when we are going through times of trial and when we see the injustice in the world, where sin seems to be winning the day. “How long, O Lord, will I cry for help and you will not hear?” The words seem shocking coming from the lips of a prophet, yet they are the very words we often cry when going through times of difficulty. However, Habakkuk’s cry was not just for himself but for the world in which he lived. Everywhere he turned, he saw that sin seemed to be winning the day. He prayed for God to act, to bring justice into the world and to stop the reign of terror and sin. Yet heaven remained silent. Habakkuk could understand the presence of evil, for we live in a fallen world. What he could not understand was the silence of heaven in the face of evil. How could a holy and righteous God seem indifferent to sin when he is “too pure to approve evil” (1:13)?
We struggle with the same paradox. Every time we read the news, we are reminded that evil seems to be in control. People take advantage of others’ misfortunes to line their own pockets by charging exorbitant interest on loans (2:6). They establish their own security through bloodshed (2:9, 12). Instead of worshipping God, they turn to idols of their own making (2:18). We see the same thing in our country today. The rich gain their wealth at the expense of the poor. People in the streets turn to violence to force their rule over others. They kill the unborn because the baby is not financially convenient. In today’s world, those who proclaim God’s moral law are labeled evil, while we give approval to those who embrace sin. As evil increases, we wonder why heaven remains silent.
This is why the message of Habakkuk is so important. Habakkuk reminds us that the idols of man remain silent and powerless, while it is God who speaks. Instead of worshiping false gods of materialism and pleasure that remain silent in the face of our trials, we are to stand in silence before God because of his holiness (2:19-20). In chapter 2, God has spoken and affirmed that he will bring judgment. In chapter 3, we see that the splendor of God covers the earth (3:3-4), and he will come in judgment. Heaven may seem silent, but it never remains silent. There comes a time when God will bring his judgment and restore righteousness.
It is this assurance that gives Habakkuk a new sense of hope and confidence. As the book closes, Habakkuk’s circumstances have not changed. He is still in distress (3:16-17). Life is still marred by struggles and hardship. However, what has changed is his focus. Instead of being overwhelmed by the tragedy of his circumstances, he is overwhelmed by the assurance of God’s salvation. Even in the midst of adversity, he rejoices because God has given him new strength, and he will dwell in the high places with God (3:18-19). When we get frustrated, discouraged, or hopeless because of the sin in the world and the struggles we face in life, we need to remember that God may be silent for a time, but he is not indifferent to our plight. There will come a time when God will bring his salvation, and that is why we can still rejoice in the present.

07/29/2026

The Sermon Jonah Wanted to Preach
Nahum 1-3
“The Lord is good, a stronghold in the day of trouble, and He knows those who take refuge in Him.”
The book of Jonah (written around 798 b.c.) ended with Nineveh repenting of their sins and Jonah frustrated that God would forgive even the worst of sinners. However, as is often the case, when the threat of judgment is abated, people quickly forget God and return to their sin. Such was the case with Nineveh. When Nahum came upon the scene in 662-627 b.c., Nineveh was again facing God's judgment for their wickedness, including their cruel treatment of the people they captured in war. As a result, God again pronounced the coming judgment upon the nation. However, this time there would be no repentance, and they would face complete destruction.
Nahum opens with a picture of God’s judgment that is both terrifying and unrelenting. God is a holy God who will bring judgment upon those who reject him. In vivid detail, we see the severity of God’s judgment and the complete devastation he brings. When God pours out his wrath, even the mountains quake and the hills are melted away. There is no hiding and no avoiding God’s terrible judgment. Such would be the judgment upon Nineveh. So complete would their judgment be that there would be no restoration, no rebuilding of the city or the nation (3:19). Jonathan Edwards, in his famous sermon that started the Great Awakening, warns, “What are we, that we should think to stand before him, at whose rebuke the earth trembles, and before whom the rocks are thrown down?” Yet in the folly of man, we believe that we can escape the judgment of God by our own devices. Edwards goes on to describe our folly, “Almost every natural man that hears of hell, flatters himself that he shall escape it; he depends upon himself for his own security; he flatters himself in what he has done, in what he is now doing, or what he intends to do. Every one lays out matters in his own mind how he shall avoid damnation, and flatters himself that he contrives well for himself, and that his schemes will not fail.” It is this folly that Nahum dispels with the warning of the impending judgment that no one will be able to withstand (1:6).
However, woven throughout the book are some of the most powerful descriptions of God’s grace. While God’s wrath will incite fear in those who reject him, his grace brings security, tranquility, and peace to those who seek him. Even though God pours out his wrath, he remains an unassailable stronghold for those who trust in him (1:7). God is not quick to anger and is willing to offer his grace. In words that point forward to the announcement of Christ’s coming, Nahum reminds us, “Behold, on the mountains the feet of him who brings good news, who announces peace.” Paul would refer back to these words to remind us of the hope of the gospel and the necessity of sharing it with others.
As we look about us, we see a world hellbent on pursuing its own morality and way. People have turned their backs on God and rejected his moral law. Yet God calls us not to be silent but to proclaim the hope and salvation of the gospel. In Romans 10:12, Paul reminds us that all who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. God is not indiscriminate in his judgment; rather, he offers salvation to those who seek him. He also entrusts us with the task of offering his salvation to others. Just as Nahum proclaimed the hope of salvation in the face of judgment in his day, so we are to proclaim that hope to people today (Romans 10:14-15). God will judge, but he will also save and protect those who trust in him.

07/23/2026

The Song of Victory
Micah 7
“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my Salvation. My God will hear me. Do not rejoice over me, O my enemy. Though I fill I will rise, Though I ddwell in darkness, the Lord is a light for me.” (7:7-8).
Having proclaimed a series of judgments in the first part of the book, Micah now ends with a song of praise and thanksgiving for God’s victory. Like Micah, we live in a world that seems broken and divided. Every day we read the news and are confronted by a number of ominous headlines. But even more troubling is that, in our own lives, we often face struggles that seem overwhelming. We seem to have no victory in our struggle with sin. Every day we are confronted with the reality that our world is broken. Cancer strikes and destroys indiscriminately. We struggle with relationships with others. We lose our jobs or are confronted with mounting bills. We look around us and cry out, echoing the cry of Micah, “Woe is me! For I am like the fruit pickers, like the grape gatherers. There is not a cluster of grapes to eat or a first-ripe fig which I crave. The godly person has perished from the land, and there is no upright person among men” (7:1-2). We get discouraged because life seems overwhelming and the world seems to have abandoned God.
However, just when it seems as if Micah has given in to complete despair, he breaks out in a song of victory. The book concludes not with the despairing words of one who has lost hope, but with the words of praise of one whose hope has been restored and whose soul has been reinvigorated. As dark as the night gets, there is always the breaking forth of the sun in the morning. Despite the despair of the world, Micah turns back to his faith and trust in God. He reaffirms that he will keep his focus on God and wait with bated breath for God to act on his behalf. But these are not the words of one who lives in denial of life’s struggle. He recognizes that there will be times when he falls and when the darkness of life’s circumstances overwhelms him. Nevertheless, because of God’s activity, he knows that he will rise again, and even in the darkest circumstances, the promises and purpose of God will give him hope and a radiant light. Micah does not call for a change of circumstances but reminds us that our need is for a change of focus. Instead of looking at all the troubles around us, we are to look to God. God will shepherd and care for his people because we are his and his alone (vs 14). God never abandons us but will always come to our aid. Even when he disciplines us because of our sin, he will still demonstrate his unfailing love for us (vs 18), and he will give us victory over our struggles with sin (vs 19).
When life becomes hard, instead of falling into despair, remember God, for he never forgets you. No matter how difficult the day before us, he will continue to guide us and protect us. His unseen hand always remains over us.

07/21/2026

Judgement and Grace
Obadiah and Jonah
“I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and one who relents concerning calamity.” Jonah 4:2
One reason people do not like to read the Old Testament, especially the prophetic books, is that they seem so dark and foreboding. The continual pronouncement of coming judgment becomes unrelenting. From the prophetic passages, people conclude that the wrath and severity of judgment conflict with Christ's message that God is gracious and abounding in mercy. However, we often miss one very important truth. All the judgments pronounced in the prophets came before the events rather than after them. Such is the case with the pronouncement of Obadiah of God’s impending judgment upon the nation of Edom for their violence and spiritual arrogance. Rather than follow God, Edom rebelled against God and even rejoiced when Israel was led into captivity. However, God pronounces judgment upon them and warns of the coming Day of the Lord, when He will bring judgment upon the nations. The Day of the Lord (Obadiah 15) in the Bible refers to the end of the age when Christ will return and bring salvation for His people. It is also a day of severe judgment in which God pours out His wrath upon sin. However, Obediah was not proclaiming what had already taken place, but what will take place.
Thus, we are left with the question, “Why did God always pronounce the judgment before the actual event?” The prophet Jonah knew the answer, and because he knew it, instead of going to pronounce judgment upon Ninevah (located in modern-day Iran), he fled in the opposite direction to Tarshish (probably located in southern Spain). He did not flee because he was fearful of the Assyrian people putting him to death for announcing judgment. He fled because he knew the heart of God. While God will bring judgment upon sin, Jonah also knew that no matter how evil people are (the Assyrians were the most feared nation because of their brutality toward the people they conquered), God would still demonstrate His grace and compassion if they repented (Jonah 4:4). He did not flee because he was afraid they would brutally mistreat him for pronouncing judgment; he fled because he knew that if they repented, God would forgive.
Although it is not explicitly stated, whenever God pronounced judgment, there was an opportunity for forgiveness if the people heeded the warning and repented of their sin. This is why the warnings of judgment came before the event. God is not cruel, vindictive, or harsh. Nevertheless, He is holy and just and will judge sin and sinners. However, He is also loving and gracious and will forgive even the worst sinner who repents and seeks Him. People are condemned to hell not because God is vindictive, but because they refuse to repent, turn from their selfish pride, seek God's forgiveness and submit to God’s sovereign reign in their lives. In the New Testament, we see Christ coming to offer grace and forgiveness to all who seek Him. Yet we often ignore the warnings He gave in the same breath as His judgment of sin and sinners who refuse His offer of grace. No matter how sinful we are, He extends His offer of grace. The only reason we face the condemnation of God is that we refuse to accept this offer. When you read the prophets, take their warnings to heart and remember that God is just and holy and will judge sin. But also recognize that the pronouncement of judgment was also an offer of grace and forgiveness if we repent, turn from our sin, and seek him.

07/20/2026

https://youtu.be/I8WK3JK-WLE

Finding hope in the reality of death.

07/15/2026

When Famine Strikes
Amos 6-9
“Behold, days are coming declares,” the Lord God, “When I will send a famine on the land, not a famine for bread or a thirst for water, but rather for hearing the words of the Lord.”
In an age of the internet, podcasts, and social influencers, it is easy to find people who say what we want to hear and affirm what we want to believe. The vast amount of information available online has ushered in a new phase, “confirmation bias.” Confirmation bias is when we seek out information that affirms what we want to believe and reject or ignore information that challenges what we believe. But confirmation bias is not new; it has plagued people since the beginning of time and afflicted the people of Israel during the time of Amos. When Amos warned the people of God’s judgment because of sin, instead of listening to him, they accused him of promoting insurrection against the king (7:10). Instead of changing and turning from their sin, they accused Amos of being a charlatan who was not fit or called to be a prophet. Because of their refusal to listen to Amos’s warning, God warned the people that if they continued to reject His prophets, He would send a famine on the land, not a famine of food, but a famine of the prophetic message of God. God warns the people that if they continue to reject His message and warnings about sin, there will come a time when God will no longer send a prophetic message at all. Instead of having the word of God to give them guidance and direction, they will be left to their own sinful and distorted thinking.
However, the greatest tragedy is not when God sends a famine on the land, but when we create our own famine by failing to listen to His word. In the TV show “Alone,” which follows the plight of individuals who seek to live off the land in harsh environments, one contestant was pulled from the competition because he was suffering from severe starvation and malnutrition. Yet he had 33 halves of dried fish left unconsumed. He lost the game not because he lacked food, but because he did not eat the food he had. The same is often true of us today. We have unlimited access to hear God’s word. According to surveys, 88 percent of American households have a Bible, and the average home has 4.4 Bibles. The Bible is not just available in print but can be accessed through the internet and a number of free apps for our phone. Like the contestant on Alone, we have an abundance of Bibles accessible to us, yet we are spiritually dying from spiritual malnutrition. We are facing a spiritual famine of our own making. Even when we do read the Bible, we accept only the teachings that conform to our thinking and ignore those that confront us with our sin. We affirm the verses that speak of the existence of heaven while ignoring the warnings about the existence of hell. We fall prey to the greatest deception of all, the deception of our own spiritual bias.
The challenge we face in our spiritual lives is not only reading the Bible but also accepting its message. Amos warns that part of God’s judgment is that “they will go to and fro to seek the Word of the Lord, But they will not find it” (8:12). But even more tragic is when we stop seeking, when we ignore the Bible even when we have access to it. Make it a habit to dig deep into the Bible, not to confirm it to our own views, but to allow it to change and mold us to conform to God’s standard.

07/14/2026

Seeing our nation through the lens of God.
Amos 1-5
“Hate evil, love good, and establish justice in the gate! Perhaps the Lord of hosts may be gracious to the remnant of Joseph” (5:15).
In a politically divided world, it is easy to see the faults of the other political party but remain ignorant of the sins of our own party. We tend to look at our nation through the lens of the party with which we affiliate. However, political lenses are always distorted. We condemn the other party while overlooking the sins that are perpetrated by the party we affirm. This was the fault of Israel. They were quick to judge and condemn the governments and people around them while justifying their own actions.
The book of Amos begins with the condemnation of the nations surrounding Israel for their sin. God condemns the nations for four particular sins. First, God condemns Syria for the aggression and violence it inflicted upon Israel in the invasion recorded in 2 Kings 13:1-9. Instead of promoting peace, it treated people with cruelty and inhumanity. The second nation condemned is the Philistines for their enslavement of those they conquered. In many of their incursions into the southern area of Israel, they would take captives and sell them into slavery to the Edomites. The third nation he condemns is Tyre for violating the pacts it had made with Israel. Like the Philistines, it took captives and enslaved the people of Israel even after it had claimed to be at peace with them. Last, God condemns Edom (descendants of Esau), who had continually attacked Israel and inflicted violence, especially upon pregnant women.
Having considered the nations around Israel, God then pronounces His judgment upon Judah and Israel. Like the nations around them, they had failed to keep the commands of God and had mistreated and taken advantage of the poor. Furthermore, they had embraced sexual perversion. But the final act of rebellion was their refusal to listen to God's prophets. A nation in rebellion seeks to silence the messengers of God.
As we read through the sins and judgments of the nations around Israel and the nation of Israel itself, we see parallels to our own country and the sins of our nation. Like the nations around Israel, we turn a blind eye to the poor. Just as the nation of Edom committed violence against the pregnant mother by killing her infant, so we commit violence against the unborn through abortion. God condemns Judah and Israel for their sexual perversion, and so he holds our nation accountable for embracing sexual perversion today. When preachers denounce the sins of our nation, we also ignore their message and seek to silence them. The troubles we see in our nation are not the result of economic downturns, corrupt politicians, global warming, or any other cause; they are the warnings of God for our nation to turn back to him.
However, there is hope. In Amos 5, God calls the people to seek Him and to submit again to His word. Throughout chapter 5, God calls the nations to uphold God’s righteousness once again. But this requires us to look at our nation, not through the eyes of our political parties, which condemn the other while justifying themselves, but through the lens of God’s moral law and truth. Instead of looking to our favorite political party for solutions, we need to look to God and His word. When we start to do that, we will have hope as a nation.

07/13/2026

The Grace and Justice of God
Joel 1-3
“The Lord roars from Zion and utters His voice from Jerusalem, and the heavens and earth tremble. But the Lord is a refuge for His people and a stronghold to the sons of Israel. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.” 3:16-17.
The Day of the Lord has always posed a challenge for the student of the Bible. It speaks of a time when God will pour out the devastation of His judgment, as well as a time of salvation for His people. It is a day of terror and a day of hope. The Day of the Lord encompasses events in the past as well as those still to come. Joel begins with the pronouncement of God’s coming judgment upon the nation of Israel. In 1:1-2:17, the message is similar to that of the other prophets, a pronouncement of coming judgment upon the nation for its sins. Throughout the prophets, we find warnings of God’s impending judgment because of the people’s sins. For God to leave sin unpunished would mean that He is a God who tolerates sin. To allow sin to go unpunished is to give tacit approval of it. God is righteous and pure, and He cannot allow sin to remain without justice. In 1:4, we see the severity and completeness of God’s judgment. To fall under the hand of God’s judgment is to face unrelenting terror as God pours out His wrath. This judgment is unrelenting and complete. However, the warning of judgment is not just a pronouncement but a call to repentance. God is just and will judge sin, but He also offers His grace and forgiveness if we are willing to turn to Him. This repentance must be genuine and complete. It involves the willingness to change at the very depths of our soul.
The Day of the Lord is not just a pronouncement of judgment but also a pronouncement of salvation. For those who seek Him, it is a time when He will pour out His Spirit upon them. This found its ultimate fulfillment in the coming of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2. God not only calls us to live a life of righteousness but also provides His Spirit to empower us to live for him. When we seek Him, God strengthens and protects us. God is not indifferent to our condition or struggles but is actively engaged in our lives. He is our refuge, a powerful fortress that protects and watches over us (3:14-17). Therefore, we do not need to be afraid of the circumstances around us. It is easy to lose sight of God and to start to focus upon the circumstances or uncertainty of our day, whether it be the uncertainty of the world events, or the uncertainty of our own personal life. With God, there is no uncertainty, nothing unknown, and no circumstance beyond His ability to guard and protect us so that we enter into His kingdom through His salvation. Therefore, we no longer need to be fearful of any circumstance we will face (2:21).
As we look at the circumstances of the world, or the circumstances in our own lives, we can rest in the fact that God is in control and he has ordered the days and circumstances to accomplish his eternal purpose. Therefore, we can rest in the security of God’s control. When life seems overwhelming, remember that God has given us His promise of a coming day when He will restore all things back to Him.