River City Church | Messages

Do you ever feel like you don't have enough money, time, or energy to be generous?

What if generosity isn't about how much you have, but about how you choose to live with what God has given you?

In Week 5 of our Enough series, "The Whole Thing," we explore how generosity reveals our priorities, how mature love expresses itself through action, and how Jesus' generosity becomes the pattern for our own lives.

Through 2 Corinthians 8:1–9, we discover that generosity isn't reserved for people who have more than enough. The early church demonstrated that even in difficult circumstances, God's grace makes joyful generosity possible.

Simplicity creates room for generosity. And generosity is one way we participate in what God is doing in the world.

IN THIS MESSAGE:

• Why generosity isn't dependent on abundance

• How our priorities shape our capacity to give

• What the early church teaches us about generosity

• Why mature love is generous

• How Jesus models sacrificial generosity

• What it means to live as people made new by God's grace

THREE QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

1. What place does generosity have in how my life is ordered?

2. Where is love for others visible in my life?

3. What does Christ's generosity change about the way I understand my life?

Generosity isn't something we do to earn God's love. It's how we learn to live because we've already been loved, reconciled, and made new through Jesus.

SCRIPTURE REFERENCES:
2 Corinthians 8:1–9; Acts 11:27–30; 1 Corinthians 16:1–4; 1 Corinthians 13:1–3; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:16–18

ABOUT RIVER CITY CHURCH:

Our mission is to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and in our community.

JOIN US IN PERSON:
2032 Central Plaza, New Braunfels, TX
Sundays at 9:15 AM and 11:00 AM

Learn more: https://rcnb.org

Follow the River City Church podcast for weekly messages that encourage you to grow in faith and live out God's love in your everyday life.

What if living generously isn't about having more, but about making room for what God has already provided?

We often think generosity requires extra time, money, or energy. But what if the real obstacle isn't how much we have, but how much of our lives is already consumed?

In Week 4 of Enough, we explore the connection between simplicity and generosity through 2 Corinthians 9:6–11.

God doesn't call us to give out of guilt or obligation. Instead, He invites us to experience the freedom of generosity—trusting His provision and making ourselves available to meet the needs of others.

When we simplify our lives, we create margin. And that margin gives us the freedom to respond when opportunities to love and serve others arise.

Together, we'll consider three important questions:

1. What do I have that someone else needs?
2. What would it cost me to meet that need?
3. What does "enough" look like?

Generosity isn't just about money. It's about recognizing the time, resources, abilities, and opportunities God has entrusted to us—and choosing to use them to make a difference.

Scripture: 2 Corinthians 9:6–11; 2 Corinthians 8:1–3

Series: Enough | Week 4
Message: The Available Thing
Date: October 18, 2026

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and in our community.

Join us Sundays in New Braunfels, Texas, or online at rcnb.org.

What if the things weighing you down aren't necessarily bad things?

Life is full of good responsibilities, meaningful opportunities, and expectations. But when we try to carry everything, even good things can leave us exhausted, distracted, and overwhelmed.

In Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus invites those who are weary and burdened to come to Him and find rest. But His invitation isn't simply to escape responsibility. It's to learn a different way of living—one shaped by humility, simplicity, and the freedom to recognize our God-given limitations.

In Week 3 of Enough, we explore the difference between the responsibilities Jesus calls us to carry and the unnecessary weight we place on ourselves.

Through Hebrews 12:1–2, we're reminded that not everything weighing us down is sinful. Sometimes even good things can keep us from faithfully running the race God has given us.

What if finding rest isn't about having less responsibility, but learning to carry only what Jesus has given us?

Together, we'll discover how following Jesus frees us from the pressure to do everything, please everyone, and prove ourselves—and how accepting our limitations allows us to live with greater peace and purpose.

Scripture: Matthew 11:28–30; Hebrews 12:1–2; 1 Corinthians 10:23

Series: Enough — Week 3
Message: The Heavy Thing
River City Church | New Braunfels, Texas

Reflect: What am I carrying that Jesus hasn't given me?

We believe God has called us to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God's love in our lives and in our community.

Join us Sundays!
In Person: 9:15 AM & 11:00 AM
Online: 9:05 AM & 10:50 AM (Central)

🌐 https://rivercitynb.com

What happens when too many good things compete for our time, attention, and devotion?

In Luke 10:38–42, Martha is doing something good—welcoming and serving Jesus. But somewhere along the way, serving becomes distraction, frustration, and blame. Mary makes a different choice: she sits at Jesus’ feet and receives from Him.

In Week 2 of Enough, we explore what Mary and Martha can teach us about competing demands, distraction, and simplicity. Simplicity isn’t primarily about doing less, owning less, or getting our lives perfectly organized. It’s an inner freedom that comes when the many things in our lives are ordered around the one thing: the presence of Jesus.

Scripture: Luke 10:38–42; Matthew 11:28–30
Series: Enough — Week 2

Reflection Questions

• What are the “many things” competing for your attention right now?
• What might anxiety, frustration, anger, or blame reveal about those competing demands?
• Where might you have more freedom to choose than you’ve realized?
• What helps you recognize when you’ve become distracted from the one thing?
• What could returning your attention to Jesus look like in the life you’re living right now?

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

Join us Sundays at 9:15 & 11:00 AM in New Braunfels, Texas.

What is organizing your life right now?

We often think simplicity means having less to do, owning fewer things, or finally getting everything under control. But Jesus points to something deeper: the issue isn’t simply what fills our calendars or our homes—it’s what has our hearts.

In the opening message of Enough, Pastor Jason Powers looks at Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6 and the freedom that comes when our lives are organized around one thing. A divided heart can turn even good things into competing masters, leaving us constantly chasing more while never feeling like we have enough.

Enough is more about perception than possession. Our hearts follow what we treasure, and while we can have Jesus and other things, only one can be our master.

The question is not simply, “Do I have enough?”

It’s: What is organizing my life?

Scripture:
Matthew 6:19–24, 31–34
James 1:17
Philippians 4:12–13
Philippians 3:7–8

Series: Enough
Message: One Thing
Speaker: Pastor Jason Powers

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

Learn more, connect, or take your next step at RCNB.org.

Join us Sundays
In Person — 9:15 & 11:00 AM
Online — 9:05 & 10:50 AM CT

What we truly believe doesn’t just shape what we say—it shapes the way we live.

In “Shaped By Truth,” Pastor Jason concludes Peter’s Life & Letters by looking at Peter’s warning about false teachers, scoffers, and the voices that can pull our attention away from Jesus and toward fear, control, money, power, pleasure, and self-rescue.

Peter reminds us that following Jesus means more than agreeing with what Jesus said. Our lives should increasingly reflect His life. When we reinterpret Jesus to justify what we already want—or begin believing that God isn’t working because He isn’t working on our timetable—we can slowly lose sight of the eternal reality He has promised.

The lie says: No one is coming to save you, so you have to save yourself.

The gospel tells a different story: Jesus has already come to rescue us.

God’s waiting isn’t wasted time. His patience gives people space to repent, grow, and experience salvation. Our calling is to keep our eyes on Jesus, live peaceful and faithful lives, and continue growing in His grace while we wait.

Reflection: Who told you that you had to rescue yourself? Who told you that waiting wasn’t worth it—and why did you believe them?

Scripture:
2 Peter 1:8–9
2 Peter 2:1–3, 10, 14, 20–22
2 Peter 3:3–9, 14–18
Philippians 4:12–13
2 Timothy 3:16–17

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

Join us Sundays in New Braunfels at 9:15 AM & 11:00 AM, or online at 9:05 AM & 10:50 AM CST.

What if waiting isn’t dead time—but the very place where God is keeping His promise?

In “I Will Make You,” Pastor Aaron Powers explores 1 Peter 5:1–11 and 2 Peter 1:3–11 through the story of Peter’s transformation. More than thirty years of failures, suffering, and restoration reveal the faithfulness of Jesus to His promise: “Follow me, and I will make you.”

God often does His deepest work slowly. When waiting gets long, we can reach for control, drift away, or assume nothing is happening. Peter reminds us that God Himself is at work—restoring, confirming, strengthening, and establishing us. The invitation is to trust His work even before we can see its results.

In this message, we explore letting go of the wheel, holding still, and putting to use what God has already given us. Through Jesus, suffering can shape a life that is unshakeable and unhardened—with a growing capacity to love God and others.

SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 5:1–11
2 Peter 1:3–11
Proverbs 3:34
Matthew 4:21
Mark 1:19

REFLECTION

What is one thing you’re white-knuckling that God is asking you to hand over?

Share this episode with someone who needs the reminder that God is still working in the waiting. Follow the River City Church podcast and continue with us through Peter’s Life & Letters.

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

River City Church | New Braunfels, Texas

RCNB.org

What does it look like to trust God when life hurts—and you’re still waiting for things to change?

In “Shaped By Suffering,” Pastor Jason Powers continues through 1 Peter 2:11–4:19, exploring how we follow Jesus through suffering, injustice, disappointment, and pain. Peter doesn’t call suffering good or promise that faith makes difficult things disappear. He reminds us that what we experience now is not the end of the story.

Our faith is revealed in how we live while we wait. Instead of allowing pain to lead us toward retaliation, bitterness, or giving up, we’re invited to trust God and keep doing what is right. Jesus is our example, continuing in obedience while trusting what God was accomplishing beyond what could be seen.

In this message, we explore obedience when it hurts, freedom from bitterness, and the Body of Christ as God’s provision in suffering. As we love, encourage, comfort, and carry one another, the world gets a glimpse of the hope we have in Jesus.

SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 2:11–4:19
Ephesians 5:21
John 16:33
John 9:1–3

REFLECTION

Where is God inviting you to trust Him in the middle of something difficult?

Share this episode with someone who needs encouragement, follow the River City Church podcast, and continue with us through Peter’s Life & Letters.

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

River City Church | New Braunfels, Texas

RCNB.org

What if holiness isn’t about trying harder, but about being reshaped by the love of God?

In “Shaped By Love,” Pastor Jason continues through 1 Peter 1:13–2:10, exploring how the hope of resurrection changes us from the inside out. Jesus reveals God’s sacrificial love, and holiness becomes our loving response—not merely better behavior added to an old life.

Through Jesus, we receive a new identity, a new source of life, and a growing capacity to love others even when love requires sacrifice. That transformation changes how we face fear, comparison, loneliness, temptation, relationships, and the desire to control our future.

In this message, you’ll hear what biblical holiness means, how repentance gives us a new origin story, and what sacrificial love looks like in everyday life.

SCRIPTURE

1 Peter 1:13–2:10
Philippians 2:12–13

REFLECTION

Where is God inviting you to let His love reshape the way you live?

Share this episode with someone who needs this reminder, follow the River City Church podcast, and continue with us through Peter’s Life & Letters.

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

River City Church | New Braunfels, Texas

RCNB.org

What do you do when the pain of right now feels more real than the promises of God?

In “Born Into Hope,” Pastor Jason Powers begins exploring Peter’s own words in 1 Peter. Writing to believers facing real pressure, Peter reminds them that they are chosen, set apart, protected, and born into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus.

Our struggles are real, but they are not the whole story.

Because Jesus is risen, suffering and death do not get the final word. Faith allows us to borrow joy from the future and live today as people whose resurrection story has already begun.

In this message, discover what it means to live in the tension of the “now and not yet,” why our future resurrection changes the way we face suffering today, and how the hope we have in Jesus can produce a joy that circumstances cannot take away.

SCRIPTURE
1 Peter 1:1–12
1 Corinthians 15:19–22

REFLECTION
Where in your life do you need to remember that right now isn’t the whole story?

If this message encouraged you, share this episode with someone who needs hope today, follow the River City Church podcast, and continue with us through Peter’s Life & Letters.

River City Church exists to be a church for New Braunfels, authentically experiencing and expressing God’s love in our lives and in our community.

River City Church | New Braunfels, Texas
RCNB.org