Times have really changed. I've preached the message before the blurb goes out! Ha! Crazy world we live in. We filmed our service today. It's a good one. This week we'll hear the message Sunday at 9am in our living rooms, our new church outposts.

We are looking at Daniel 3, the three tests of true biblical faith. Daniel along with the rest of many other young Israelites found themselves in a different world that now required them to worship a gold image, an idol that King Nebuchadnezzar (not n the spelling bee) had erected, visible for all to see. Idols stand out. Don't they? And they test our loyalty; what is truly worth believing in.

You can put your faith in just about anything, a new job, a relationship, yourself, something you rely on to give you a sense of worth, an object of pleasure. It's what you worship, that you believe in. But will it bring you happiness? Unless that thing is something that will last, it will let you down. That's why what you put your faith in is important. Faith must pass these three tests to be true biblical faith, the kind of faith the young men of Israel had. - Todd

This week at the River Online, we will worship the Lord, hear a testimony and open God's word together. We are in the book of Daniel studying how Daniel handled the pressure when his world got turned upside down. What do you do when everything normal becomes abnormal? We have all been faced with tremendous change. Weddings have been cancelled. People have been let off work. School is over. Graduations are in the air. People face the real and potential danger of this terrible virus that has spread across the world. This is a world turned upside down. What is the Christian's response? Let Daniel be our guide. See you Sunday as we dive into chapter 2 of Daniel. The king of Babylon has a troubling dream and Daniel is the only one who can interpret it. And the interpretation is one of hope and a secure future for those that worship Daniel's God. - Todd

People and crisis will invariably bring out the worst of you or the best of you depending on your emotional health. What leaks out are emotions somewhere on the spectrum caused by jumping into the chasm of relational messiness. What do we do with these emotions? Is it OK for Christians to have emotions? Which ones? In John 11 Jesus enters into an emotional firestorm. He does not come out unscathed. He gets emotionally burned along with his friends. So I wonder if the gospel writer is telling us something about real life that we often miss when we are emotionally closed up inside. If Jesus experienced emotions, shouldn't we? For what purpose? Enjoying people is messy. People are messy. We are messy. Yet when the fire dies down new life emerges.

Todd

In the last few weeks, we've been leaning into a fundamental element of the River Church and, for that matter, of human flourishing-enjoying relationships. In a constellation of messages, we've eagerly reminded ourselves that part of our core design as a species is to live full lives beautifully-immersed in healthy community. We've made our case with a blessed avalanche of biblical, theological, historical, logical, and anecdotal reasons that you and I should venture into rich relationships with God and others.

There is one question, however, that withstands any number of these intellectual and theological arguments: What if I get hurt? This very honest and quite natural hesitation can over time grow into an unbreachable firewall holding us back from living in freedom, joy, and authenticity in our relationships.

This Sunday let's watch Jesus for direction through this potentially-crippling relational roadblock.

James

A supplemental message to the sermon on Sunday, February 23rd.

What I witnessed last Sunday when we were all together, well I just want more of that. I saw people joining together to pray for others they don’t even know who need our prayers. We have people in our community that need us to pray for a miracle. We have many who need our support. We have global issues that need our concentrated prayer. It’s our duty. It’s what the church does or should do well. Then I saw individuals standing up for God and telling a story of God’s faithfulness in their lives. They broke through the fear of speaking in public and just went for it. We all have a story that needs to be told. To hear another’s story boosts our faith. It underscores why we need to assemble together (Heb. 24-25). We all come to church with baggage from the past. Maybe we have been hurt by a rogue view of what church should be like or a message or style that just doesn’t jive with Scripture. But Jesus said in Matthew 16:18, “I will build my church.” What we are attempting to do in the middle of our Enjoy People series is give us a clear understanding from Scripture what the church should be and look like. Churches may look different in 2020 from what they looked like in the 80’s or 90’s. But they will continue to exist and play a profound role, a primary role, in our spiritual development and our mission in the world. So, let’s take another run at this topic again this weekend. Good? If you would, re read Ephesians 2:11-22 the primary passage on the church in the New Testament.

Todd

Let's talk about the church a minute. As flawed and filled with imperfect people as it is, (or even led by a pastor you don't like or respect) the church is the only institution on the planet that has been God ordained to bring Christ followers together for a common cause. Do you believe that? Maybe you do. Maybe you don't because you have been hurt by someone in the church. Maybe a leader or pastor didn't fulfill your expectations. Maybe you have outgrown your need for it. Maybe you grew up in a pastor's home. Ugh. Maybe you have been so badly hurt, you promised yourself you'll never do that again. I'll do my own thing now. Maybe you have found something else or have just given up completely on it. In over 30 years of church ministry, I have experienced personally the pain and hardship of the church. I have been hurt by pastors/supervisors, been taught some really awful stuff, been mistreated (unjustly fired), and have wondered what good is the church. But my hurt and pain will never overpower what Paul says about the church in Ephesians 2:11-22. Christ breaks down the dividing walls between people, rips to shreds animosity and hostility, heals wounds, AND unites all believers (not just your friends) into one to make us better and stronger together. We all want to be better and stronger. You just thought you could do that on your own. Oh, and by the way, have you seen all the research on why it is healthier to be associated with a loving caring group of people?

Todd

Thursday night was one of my favorite evenings all year. The Peninsula high school and Palos Verdes high school basketball teams squared off in their rival basketball games. In a packed house of rowdy students, parents, teachers, administrators, and youth pastors, both teams competed for pride and "hill dominance." Perhaps one of my favorite moments came after the boy's game, which saw the Panthers beat the Sea Kings 66-60. Shortly after the students left with their respective schools one PV cheerleader ran up to her friends from Pen high and enthusiastically greeted them with a warm hug. This struck me as something significant. She was living into the great commandment to love our neighbors as ourselves. Even after a tough lost, she was able to keep a school rivalry in perspective and embrace her friends. She did not allow competition to prevent her from the greater gift of connecting with others.

Last week we learned from James that the purpose of life is to love God and love each other. This Sunday we will continue that conversation to discuss how we are to love each other even when we are uniquely different. We will explore how we are called to be people who seek to understand one another, and in doing so, we are able live life the way God intended us to live.

Matt

This Sunday marks the 13th anniversary of the River Church! To celebrate we're starting a brand-new series. To start the series I'm asking a very not-new question: "What is the meaning of life?" Let's launch this promising new decade with an inspired and inspiring ancient answer!

James

We can look at the world today and say, "What a mess it's in" or we can say, "God what is our role in all this?" Romans 8:14-28 is the perfect spot to be enlightened and challenged to play a role in the final redemptive plan of God for the whole of creation. You've heard the expression, "It's all going to hell in a hand basket." Is it? Ultimately it is not. Sufferings and groanings may last the night as the Psalmist says, but in the morning.....Actually, it says in Psalm 30:5, "Weeping may endure for a night but joy comes in the morning." God is at work and one day will make all things right again. What's out role in all this? In Garden City, John Comer says, "we were put on this earth-because the entire cosmos is this God's temple-to make visible God. (We were created as these little "selems" ,Hebrew for idols or images of God) to show the world what God is like. We are the Creator's representatives to his creation." Paul says in Romans 8:19 that the world is longing, groaning for relief, for renewal, for redemption. What is implied in the passage is that we play a part in that now!

Todd