Riverside Church

“There is no celebration of the birth of Christ that is in line with biblical priorities that does not have the overturning of sin by Jesus at its heart. The problem of all problems, both in each of our lives and in the world in general, is sin and the blessing of all blessings is the fact that God send Jesus and Jesus came to deliver us from the curse and the power of sin.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“What Peter is saying is that we must prioritize what will matter on that day. Having lived a life of holiness and godliness will matter on the day when heaven and earth will be dissolved. What really matters now is what will matter then and that is what is to determine how we live as we wait for the coming day of God.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“The key from a biblical perspective is that the abuse of authority is sin and it must be dealt with as sin. A related perspective is that God cares greatly about people who are suffering abuse at the hands of other people. Psalm 146:7 says that God “executes justice for the oppressed.” The oppressed are those who are mistreated by others particularly the weak who are suffering at the hands of those who are stronger than they. A wife who is suffering because a husband is misusing his authority is in an intolerable situation from a biblical perspective and such a situation should not be allowed to continue.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“Our natural tendency, apart from salvation, is to prioritize the joys and pleasures of this world apart from God. That is the tendency of our sinful nature. We focus on God’s gifts and ignore God himself. The things of this life dominate our thoughts and our efforts, and God is ignored or neglected. But when we are saved, we come to see that fullness of life is rooted in our relationship with God.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“There is a profound trust and submission behind recognizing that since God is who he is, it is impossible that in the end it will not all be beautiful and God’s way with the world, what he did and what he allowed, will demonstrate “the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God!” (Romans 11:33) And so our job is to leave governing the universe to God and just focus on the only wise way of life in the light of who God is, “Fear God and keep his commandments.””

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“In connection with male headship in marriage, it is important to underscore the emphasis in the opening chapters of the Bible on the basic equality of man and woman. Both are equally made in the image of God. We also see that when Adam receives his wife from the Lord, he is so thrilled that he sings a love-song. It is the first love song in the history of the world and so it does not sound very romantic to 21st century ears, but it is poetry and so we can legitimately consider it a love-song when Adam said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman because she was taken out of Man.” (Genesis 2:23). Adam is the head, but he also treasures his wife and cherishes her. And that love is the necessary context in which leadership is to function.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“The world is a wonderful place and the possibilities are endless and God has given us appetites and desires and Ecclesiastes is saying that you should follow them and see where they lead. There are, of course, sinful desires and appetites and Ecclesiastes is not encouraging you to follow those, but we are created with hearts that seek satisfaction and fulfillment and pleasure and joy. That belongs to our humanity. We have desires to learn things and experience things and accomplish things. There are things to do. Places to go. People to meet. Relationships to nurture. Experiences to try. Subjects to investigate. Skills to learn. Tastes to experience. God created the world and pronounced it good and there are ways to participate in life and its potentials that are in harmony with God’s intention and Ecclesiastes is saying that when you are young you should seize the day.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“Wherever we have authority over others, we are to use that authority in a way that reflects how God uses his authority and that means that it must be a blessing to those who submit to it. God is good. God is love. God punishes the wicked, but his nature is to bless, and his use of his authority reflects that fact. Because of sin, authority sometimes means punishment, but the overall purpose must always be righteousness and goodness and so our use of authority must always be a blessing for those who submit to it. That is rooted in the fact that we are made in the image of God.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra

“We are saved so that we can invest our lives so that we can make something of them for the glory of God. That is a risky business because we may fail, or disaster may strike, but God does not want us to be so careful that we just exist, live as safely as we can, and making nothing of the opportunities and possibilities that God has given to us.”

— Rev. Jerry Hamstra