As Christ Loved the Church
/Pastor JT preaches a homily before the wedding of Justin and Bina Bentley, looking to the example of Christ to see how we ought to love each other in marriage.
recent Sermons from The River
Spiritual Generations: Social Justice
/Pastor JT preaches on the importance of having a holistic faith and practicing Christianity in a way that takes social justice seriously.
Spiritual Generations: Conflict, Curiosity, Conversion
/Pastor JT looks at Paul's evangelistic efforts in Athens recorded in Acts 17 and looks at how we can model our evangelistic efforts after his example.
The Ordinary Life
/Chris Meckley preaches on Romans 5:1-11. He looks at the importance of "Ordinary Time" in the church calendar, and how the "ordinary" life for the Christian should be a life of mission to the world around us.
Spiritual Generations: The Missional Heart of the Trinity
/Pastor JT examines the ideas of sending and submission as they appear in the Trinity, and looks at how we are also called to be sent and to submit to God.
Spiritual Generations: Impress Them on Your Children
/Chris Meckley preaches on Deuteronomy 6 and looks at how our biological generations fit into God's plans for Spiritual Generations. What responsibilities do our families and churches have towards our children?
Spiritual Generations: Apostolic Israel
/Pastor JT looks at several Old Testament passages, outlining God's apostolic plans for Israel to be a light to the nations, and also shows how this plan continues for us today.
Spiritual Generations Challenges to Mission
/Jack McDonald, one of our deacons, continues our series on Spiritual Generations by sharing some of his own experience in the mission field in Bolivia.
We Want to See Jesus
/Claire Andrews, one of our Directors of Discipleship, preaches on John 12. Have you ever thought about who in your life wants to see Jesus (whether they know it or not)? She points out that God can and will use even us to glorify and point others to himself.
Spiritual Generations: The Missionary Heart of God
/Pastor JT continues our series on Spiritual Generations by looking at three infamous stories in Genesis. He shows us how God has the grace to meet with a runaway couple, a jealous brother, a wayward, drunken patriarch, and with us.
Spiritual Generations
/Pastor JT kicks off a new series, "Spiritual Generations," by talking about what spiritual generations are and by showing what our responsibilities are as individuals and as the Church in growing these generations.
Joy, Suffering, and the Holy Spirit
/Mary McDonald, one of our deacons, preaches a sermon on Joy, Suffering, and the Holy Spirit, looking especially at her own experiences with the Virginia Tech massacre 10 years ago.
Good Friday: Don't Flinch
/On Good Friday, Chris Andrews preaches about the temptation to bypass the pain of Good Friday to get to the celebration of Easter, a temptation that Jesus himself faced in the garden. But the Cross and the suffering that it brought was and is necessary to our Christian life.
(This sermon was not recorded, but you can find a manuscript HERE)
Palm Sunday 2017
/Pastor JT preaches on Jesus' Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem days before his crucifixion.
True Resurrection
/Dr. Peter Walker (Trinity School for Ministry) joins us and preaches on the resurrection of Lazarus and what it means for us to be resurrected to new life in Christ.
God's Sacrificial Love for Us
/Jack McDonald preaches on the story of Jesus' temptation in the wilderness and shows us that, although we can learn from Jesus' example in this passage, even more this story should lead us to marvel at the extent and power of God's sacrificial love for us.
Ash Wednesday
/Pastor JT preaches on Ash Wednesday, Lent, and repentance during our joint Ash Wednesday service with New Life.
The Shape of the Church
/JT preaches about how we are to be as the Church. The church should be a family, a field, and a temple, with the goals of maturity, productivity, and quality.
How to (and how NOT to) Resolve Conflict
/JT talks about how to resolve conflict and how NOT to resolve conflict according to the Bible, looking especially at passages from Matthew 5 and Matthew 18.
True Worship
/JT preaches through Isaiah 58 and looks at the importance of true worship as opposed to empty religiosity.