Katy explores the opening vision of Revelation to counter the anxiety often associated with "End Times" theology, presenting the book as a discipleship manual for the present rather than a terrifying prediction of the future. Written to a persecuted church facing the terror of the Roman Empire, the text serves as an "apocalypse" or unveiling of spiritual reality, revealing Jesus as the central figure of history who offers hope instead of fear. The imagery of Christ—featuring white hair symbolizing ageless wisdom, bronze feet representing a steady foundation, and eyes of fire signifying purifying judgment—establishes His supreme authority over all earthly powers and empires. By declaring Himself the "First and the Last" and the holder of the "keys of death and Hades," Jesus assures believers that He has conquered the ultimate enemy, inviting them to replace the need for control with trust in His finished work. Ultimately, this revelation calls the church to witness as a non-anxious presence, fixing their gaze on the "Living One" who steadies the soul against the threats of the world.

In this message, Andrew calls the community to rekindle a God-centered life by rebuilding the inner altar of prayer and devotion so that attention, desire, and identity are reordered around intimacy with God rather than idols or self-reliance. Drawing from John 17, the Gospels, and the early church in Acts, the message emphasizes that prayer is not a supplemental discipline but the primary work through which dependence on the Father, alignment with His will, and spiritual power are formed, as modeled consistently by Jesus himself. A God-centered life is described as one shaped by what it beholds, where sustained prayer, waiting, and abiding cultivate transformation, clarity, and courage for obedience. The church is invited to recover this pattern through practices like communal prayer, the 24/7 prayer room, and resisting the pull of comfort, visibility, and human ambition in favor of being known in heaven. The ultimate vision presented is a people rooted in Christ, living from prayerful dependence, and carrying forward the ministry of Jesus with humility, authority, and hope.

Andrew calls the community to a God-centered life rooted in continual restoration of the inner altar, arguing that true spiritual renewal begins not with self-improvement but with turning the heart fully toward the Lord. The message traces the biblical theme of altars as meeting places between God’s presence and human worship, showing how divided allegiance and modern “high places” subtly displace devotion, and how restoration comes through repentance and grace rather than striving. Drawing on revival history, the prodigal son, and Paul’s teaching in 2 Corinthians, it emphasizes that transformation flows from being with God, not merely asking God for outcomes, as unseen formation shapes love, freedom, and Christlikeness over time. Practices like sustained prayer are presented as counter-formation that reorient life away from self-centeredness toward communion with the Father, where God removes the veil, heals shame, and progressively reshapes people into his image. The overall vision is a life absorbed in God’s love, marked by faithful presence, renewed devotion, and enduring spiritual fruit that emerges from abiding rather than control.

Andrew reflects on Psalm 46 to lead the community in looking honestly back on the past year and forward into the next, emphasizing that God is a present refuge and strength amid real instability rather than a promise of ease. The message names the temptation to reframe, bypass, or escape pain and instead calls for remembering—biblical reflection that brings the full truth of one’s life into God’s presence—as the way suffering becomes wisdom and faith is renewed. Drawing on Israel’s practice of marking deliverance in Exodus and the ongoing wilderness that followed, it highlights how remembering God’s past faithfulness retrains hearts shaped by fear and self-reliance. The teaching frames growth not as automatic but as formed through reflection, stillness, and trust, culminating in a communal practice of Examen that invites gratitude, honesty, release of fear, and discernment of a next faithful step. The overall vision is a people grounded in God’s presence, deepened in communion, and moving into the future with resilient hope, confident that restoration flows not from control but from abiding refuge in the Lord.

Katy reflects on Zechariah’s song in Luke 1 to reveal the nature of God’s love as it is unveiled in the Advent story. The passage shows a movement from silence to praise as Zechariah, disciplined through waiting and unbelief, emerges with renewed faith that treats God’s promises as already fulfilled; his song places personal blessing within a much larger redemptive story centered on God’s covenant faithfulness, the coming Messiah, and the role of John as a preparer rather than the focus. The love described is portrayed as stronger than human weakness, pictured through the “horn of salvation” that signals God’s power to rescue, defeat evil, and free people from fear so they can live in holiness. This love is also attentive and enduring, marked by God’s decision to “visit” His people after generations of silence, not merely arriving to rescue but remaining present. The progression of the Holy Spirit’s work—from coming upon individuals, to being with God’s people in Jesus, and ultimately dwelling within them—underscores that divine love is active, personal, and lasting, guiding people out of darkness into peace and anchoring hope in a future secured by God rather than by self-sufficiency.

Benjamin Joyce, Riverbend's newest Elder, teaches on the unconditional Joy that Jesus brings.

In this message, Andrew teaches that true peace is not the fragile calm created by controlling circumstances but the deep, resilient shalom that comes from attachment to Jesus. The contrast between “the peace the world gives” and the peace Jesus gives runs throughout the message: worldly peace depends on control, escape, or improved circumstances, while biblical peace flows from salvation, God’s presence, and trust in His faithfulness. Mary’s song in Luke 1 becomes the model of whole-person shalom—her body, mind, and spirit rejoicing in God despite poverty, vulnerability, and uncertainty. Mary's peace is grounded in identity (“the Lord’s servant”), God’s mercy across generations, and confidence that God is restoring the world. Attempts to manufacture peace through optimization, avoidance, or lifestyle upgrades ultimately heighten anxiety, whereas Scripture and attachment theory agree that human beings require a safe, faithful presence—someone bigger, stronger, wiser, and consistently kind. Jesus fulfills that need as Immanuel and the Prince of Peace, making peace not a feeling but a person we attach to. The call is to relinquish self-secured peace, identify where control, escape, or circumstances still dominate, abstain from those strategies, and practice simple rhythms of connection with Jesus so that His peace—rather than the world’s—guards the heart.

In this message, Andrew teaches that Christian hope is a confident expectation grounded in God’s character and promises, not a curated emotional “vibe,” and he uses the story of Zechariah in Luke 1 to show how true hope is formed, tested, and fulfilled. People naturally live within layered and competing stories—God’s story of redemption alongside cultural narratives of self-rescue, consumption, image, and control—and that these rival hopes subtly shape where we place our trust. Zechariah becomes a model of faithful endurance in disappointment, holding to God’s promises even when his own long-held longing for a child remained unmet, yet his reaction to Gabriel reveals how deferred hope can make the heart resistant to receiving concrete answers. Advent announces God’s interruption of every blended story by stepping into the world through the incarnation, replacing self-help stories with the saving presence of a real Savior whose coming brings a hope that does not disappoint. The way forward is to identify rival hopes, detach from the daily habits that reinforce them, and re-aim your trust toward Jesus through practices that retrain the heart to live in one story, under one King.