Riverway Church Sermon Podcast

We grow & develop out of what we are connected to, just as fruit grows from a tree. As we follow Jesus, our connection to Him develops spiritual fruit in our lives. It’s proof of the life that is growing inside of us.

Patience grows like a fruit. It can be developed and grow to become something sweet & delicious. Even though choosing patience can feel like fighting a daily battle, Jesus invites us to stay close to Him so that He can help us win the battle for patience.

Peace develops from an internal place, not from the circumstances around us. God sees every situation in our lives. He wants us to learn & grow through our life experiences, and to fully trust in His faithfulness.

God's peace comes to us as we trust Him to work for our good in the middle of our circumstances. He promises to surround us and protect us, and we receive His peace by resting in that promise.

We all desire to live a life of happiness, to be able to enjoy what makes us feel alive and fulfilled in life. What is the difference between our feelings of happiness and an expression of deep, genuine Joy? Can we choose to live with Joy, even during times that we lack happiness?

There are intentional steps we can take to move towards a life of Joy and freedom, and those steps draw us closer to God's desires for us. The closer we are to God, the more we look like Him, the more we live like Him, and the more we experience the Joy that He genuinely desires to give us.

At times we are all in search of proof. We seek evidence of whether something is true or not. In life, our behavior and the way we choose to live is proof of our beliefs and character. This shows more about who we are than we can even begin to communicate in words.

As we follow Jesus, our lives change and show evidence of that. Jesus Himself said that others would see the proof that we are His followers. How might we live in a way that shows the proof that His life & His love are filling us up, from the inside out?

Evil really exists in our world, and God wants us to be properly equipped to stand firm when it attacks us. Not only does God provide us His protection against the attacks of evil, but He gives us weapons to actively fight back at it.

His word & His promises cut through the lies that come at us, and keep our mind protected by His truth. As we equip ourselves with that truth, we are strengthened to defeat evil when it comes at us.

God sees every part of our lives. He knows what we have lived through, what we are experiencing, and what we will go through in our future.

He invites us to hold on to the promise that He will always be faithful to care for us in every area of our lives. God is the one who can truly give us the peace that we are desperately seeking, as we trust in His example of faithfulness towards us.

Daily choices have great power in determining our life's direction - Our relationship with God is something that becomes stronger through our daily, intentional choice to follow Him.

When we remember all that Jesus has done for us and make Him the foundation of our life, His truth and His power begin to change our everyday lives. As we choose to live in a way that honors God, we guard ourselves against attacks of evil.

We can’t escape the brokenness in our world. Pain, suffering, and sorrow are all around us, and we question why they continue to exist.

Do suffering + evil have a source? Can we begin to understand the battle that we are fighting, against an enemy that wants to see us broken & defeated? Let us stand firm with our faith in God, whose power is great enough to overcome evil.

Jesus' ministry of serving others was the foundation of the church. As Jesus sent His followers across the earth, they carried His mission + His example of servanthood out to new people & into new situations.

As we follow His example, what will we be known for? Will we, as a Church, carry on Jesus' mission of reaching out to those around us?

God wants to speak directly to our hearts, to counsel us in the ways we are living and the choices we are making.

His guidance & instruction are there to help us, bless us, and protect us. He desires to lead us into the best life that He has for us!