Throughout Scripture, King David is described as a man after God’s own heart. Chasing after God was David’s life pursuit. He sought after the heart of God with a passion most can’t even come close to matching. He chased God’s heart out onto a battlefield where he met the giant Goliath. He chased God’s heart into Jerusalem, where he found the throne God designed specifically for him. He chased God’s heart in worship, leaving behind a book of Psalms that inspires people even to this day. In (almost) everything he did, King David pursued the King of the Universe.

So, what does that mean for us? Sure, we may not be kings, but our pursuit isn’t all that different from David’s. We want to know God. We want to chase God’s heart. What does that look like in our day? How can we be sure that we are pursuing and chasing God’s heart with all of our heart? In our eight-week sermon series, “Pursuing God,” we’ll see what David has to teach us about our own pursuits. As we look through David’s life, we see an honest picture of what it really means to pursue God in the messiness of life. In our trials and triumphs, in our sorrows and our celebrations, we can chase after God just like King David did. The best part is that when we pursue God in that way, we find out He’s the One who’s been pursuing us all along!

Selected Quotes:

"God isn't looking for a kingly stature; He’s looking for a kingly soul. It’s not about height; it’s about heart."

"Here’s the good news: God judges you by the heart. Doesn’t matter what you look like. Doesn’t matter how you dress. Doesn’t matter what your BMI is. He sees through make-up. He isn’t impressed by fancy clothes. God sees straight through to the heart. He sees what’s happening on the inside."

"David was chosen by God because he chose God."

"We pursue Him because He pursued us."

Series Intro:

Throughout Scripture, King David is described as a man after God’s own heart. Chasing after God was David’s life pursuit. He sought after the heart of God with a passion most can’t even come close to matching. He chased God’s heart out onto a battlefield where he met the giant Goliath. He chased God’s heart into Jerusalem, where he found the throne God designed specifically for him. He chased God’s heart in worship, leaving behind a book of Psalms that inspires people even to this day. In (almost) everything he did, King David pursued the King of the Universe.

So, what does that mean for us? Sure, we may not be kings, but our pursuit isn’t all that different from David’s. We want to know God. We want to chase God’s heart. What does that look like in our day? How can we be sure that we are pursuing and chasing God’s heart with all of our heart? In our eight-week sermon series, “Pursuing God,” we’ll see what David has to teach us about our own pursuits. As we look through David’s life, we see an honest picture of what it really means to pursue God in the messiness of life. In our trials and triumphs, in our sorrows and our celebrations, we can chase after God just like King David did. The best part is that when we pursue God in that way, we find out He’s the One who’s been pursuing us all along!

Pursuing God | 4.8.2018 | rivervalleychristian.org/pursuing

Selected Quotes:

“Notice that Jesus doesn’t yell at Thomas. He doesn’t chastise this doubting believer. Instead, He simply gives the proof. He shows the nail-scarred hands.”

“Don’t let your doubt dominate you. Don’t let it hide in the darkness. Get it out there. Admit it to God. Ask questions. Look for answers. If you do nothing else, offer up this prayer. 'I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief!’” (Mark 9:24)

“We are here to help one another. When I doubt, I have people around me to support me. More than that, they can help me wrestle with my doubts. What God is doing in your life reminds me that God is still working even when He seems absent in my life. That’s part of why we’re together as a church."

Series Info:

Most people today find it easy to be skeptical. How could we not be? We all know what it’s like to be let down. We’ve all experienced the pain of disappointment when things didn’t work out quite the way we thought. So, we tend to take everything we hear with a grain of salt. We hedge our bets so that we can keep from having our hopes destroyed. We tell ourselves that a little bit of skepticism can be a good thing. We don’t want to be naive. We don’t want others to take advantage of our gullibility. We don’t want to let our guard down only to get hurt again.

And yet, the problem arises when we take this same attitude of skepticism and apply it to faith. We can read the promises in the Bible with a mindset of skepticism that keeps them from feeling real. We can come into the church with an attitude of skepticism that keeps us from true community. It’s hard to trust God when you’re always expecting to be let down. It’s hard to get to know others more deeply when you always have your guard up. Either our skepticism and our faith will learn how to be compatible, or they can eventually become combustible.

As we approach the Easter season, we’re going to spend a few weeks looking at the Bible’s ultimate skeptic — the disciple known as “Doubting Thomas.” In the weeks leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Thomas showed himself to be quite the skeptic. He had some trouble wrapping his mind around what God was up to. Looking at his doubts and disbeliefs can give us a window into our own skepticism. How do we balance faith and doubt? How can we let go of our skepticism and hold tight to our Savior? Perhaps we can see the answers to those questions a little differently once we see them through the eyes of the original skeptic.

One King, Three Audiences. Listen as we study how each of Jesus' three audiences on Good Friday revealed something about his character and purpose.

What is the church? What role can the church play in today's world? What is RVCC called to be in Oldham County?

Listen to this message from February 5, 2017 as Brandon unpacks what and who the people of God are called to be. This message is from "Day One" - a 5-week series from January/February 2017 - that explored "the basics" of what it means to be a church that follows Jesus. You can find the entire series by scrolling back through our podcast feed.

In the fall of 2017, we spent 5 weeks celebrating 20 years of RVCC's ministry to Oldham County and examining the values that define who we are and what we do as a church. Listen to this message from October 8, 2017 as Brandon casts vision for how God is leading us to be his faithful witnesses to our community.

Wondering what we've been praying for in 2018? Listen to this message from New Year's Eve 2017 as Brandon helps us look back on 2017 and look forward with expectation for what God will do in 2018.

Selected Quotes:

"You see, the way to life isn’t a roadmap; it’s a relationship. It’s not about following a program; it’s about knowing a person. It’s not about who we need to become; it’s about who Jesus already is.”

"Jesus doesn’t say 'Get up here on my level.' He says 'I will come to get you.'"

"Jesus doesn’t say 'Find your own way.' He says, 'I am the Way.'”

"What we find in Jesus is that God comes down the mountain to get us. He doesn’t leave us to carry the load. He comes to get us. He carries the load for us."

Series Preview:

Most people today find it easy to be skeptical. How could we not be? We all know what it’s like to be let down. We’ve all experienced the pain of disappointment when things didn’t work out quite the way we thought. So, we tend to take everything we hear with a grain of salt. We hedge our bets so that we can keep from having our hopes destroyed. We tell ourselves that a little bit of skepticism can be a good thing. We don’t want to be naive. We don’t want others to take advantage of our gullibility. We don’t want to let our guard down only to get hurt again.

And yet, the problem arises when we take this same attitude of skepticism and apply it to faith. We can read the promises in the Bible with a mindset of skepticism that keeps them from feeling real. We can come into the church with an attitude of skepticism that keeps us from true community. It’s hard to trust God when you’re always expecting to be let down. It’s hard to get to know others more deeply when you always have your guard up. Either our skepticism and our faith will learn how to be compatible, or they can eventually become combustible.

As we approach the Easter season, we’re going to spend a few weeks looking at the Bible’s ultimate skeptic — the disciple known as “Doubting Thomas.” In the weeks leading up to the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus, Thomas showed himself to be quite the skeptic. He had some trouble wrapping his mind around what God was up to. Looking at his doubts and disbeliefs can give us a window into our own skepticism. How do we balance faith and doubt? How can we let go of our skepticism and hold tight to our Savior? Perhaps we can see the answers to those questions a little differently once we see them through the eyes of the original skeptic.

The Bible says that we are "blessed" in our places of weakness. How can this be? Listen as Brandon unpacks how God transforms our ideas of strength and weakness.

This excerpt can be found in "Defeat" from our "A Skeptic's Guide to Easter" series. This sermon was preached at RVCC on 3/18/2018.