Riverside Church

Riverside Church

By Riverside Presbyterian ChurchReligion & SpiritualityChristianity
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Riverside Church episodes

  • The Fifth Commandment (1) The Basic Thrust of the Command

    Read: Exodus 20:12
    Matthew 15:1-9

    “Now I want to remind you of the biblical context. God did not give his people the Ten Commandments as the way of salvation. He gave them to his people after he had already delivered them from Egypt. In our context, we must understand that keeping the commands is not the way of salvation; it is the way that saved people are called to live for the glory of God and for their true well-being. We should never think of God’s laws as the way to be saved.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: The Ten Commandments

    41 min
  • A Wisdom Sampler

    Read: Ecclesiastes 10:12-20

    “The overall insight is that words are very, very important. They can win us favor or they can consume us. So, we must be careful and thoughtful about our words. That means that we will use fewer of them and seek to have the words that we do use reflect biblical values and priorities. Our words should be used to glorify God and to be a blessing to other people.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes

    39 min
  • Suffering for the Sake of Christ

    Read: 2 Corinthians 12:1-10

    “The call of the gospel is a call to embrace a life of suffering due to persecution. It is assumed that all followers of Christ will be persecuted to some extent and being willing to experience that suffering is an essential part of the response to the gospel as it is presented in the New Testament. That is explicit and unmistakable in Jesus’ call to follow him. “[W]however does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.” To follow Jesus is to follow a Saviour and a Lord who was a magnet for persecution and the assumption is that his followers will be as well.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    41 min
  • The Under-Valuing of Wisdom

    Read: Ecclesiastes 9:13 – 10:11

    “The truth behind all of this is that how we live matters to God and not only the big things, but also how we deal with angry bosses or dull axes. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and one of the fruits of wisdom is that you sharpen your axe instead of hacking away with a dull axe. Sharpening your axe is pleasing to God. Acting like a fool is not even when it comes to cutting down trees.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: Ecclesiastes

    40 min
  • The Meaning of the Fourth Commandment (5) Jesus, Lord of the Sabbath

    Read: Matthew 12:1-14

    “Jesus’ intention is wonderfully expressed in Mark’s version of this story, where Jesus says, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath.” What a wonderful sentiment is expressed in those words! The Sabbath is a gift. It is intended to be a day of joy and rest focused on the worship of God. It was never intended to be a burden. The Pharisees had made it such, but Jesus condemned that approach and as the Lord of the Sabbath gave us his authoritative interpretation.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: The Ten Commandments

    40 min
  • The Meaning of the Fourth Commandment (4) Rest for Everyone

    Read: Exodus 20:8-11
    Deuteronomy 15:1-18

    “The Fourth Commandment is a transition between the first table of the law which is focused on our duty toward God and the second table of the law which is focused on our duty towards our fellow human beings. It requires that we set a day apart for the worship of God, but it also requires that the people who work for us and the weaker members of society share in the blessings of the Sabbath. The concern is that those who have the money and the power to have other people working for them, do not require those people to work for them on the Sabbath day. So the Sabbath is both about our duty towards God and our duty towards other people.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: The Ten Commandments

    39 min
  • Personal Greetings and Final Remarks

    Read: Romans 16

    “The letter closes with a reminder of the strength that God gives to his people through the gospel. We are involved in the great struggle between God and Satan and good and evil. That great struggle is both inside of us and all around us. The good news is that God strengthens his people – he brings about the obedience of faith. The struggle is real. The struggle is hard. But God in Christ gives the strength to persevere and to overcome and he brings about the obedience of faith. That is the encouragement.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: An Overview of Paul’s Letter to the Romans

    44 min
  • Encouragement, Harmony and Concluding Remarks

    Read: Romans 15

    “The Christian life is profoundly corporate. We live in a time that is profoundly individualistic, but that is very much contrary to the teaching and the emphasis and the concern of the Scriptures and of the gospel. Being a believer in Jesus has an individual aspect to it that is vital, of course. We must believe as individuals and we must have a personal relationship with the Lord. But from a biblical perspective it is never just about me and Jesus. By believing in Jesus we become members of his body and that had huge implications for the nature of the Christian life.”
    — Rev. Jerry Hamstra

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    Sermon Series: An Overview of Paul’s Letter to the Romans

    43 min

About Riverside Church

From the publisher's feed

This podcast includes sermons delivered at Riverside Presbyterian Church in Cambridge, Ontario. Join us for morning and evening worship services each Sunday. Visit Riverside online at…