The River Church

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 7 | God's Goodness and Severity

In this week's sermon, Pastor Billy will lead us through the reading of 2 Samuel, chapter 6. In this chapter, we see David bringing the Ark of the Covenant of God back to the City of David on a cart pulled by oxen. Along the journey, one of his men acts irreverently when trying to catch the Ark of God from falling, and is struck dead by God. David realizes that he, himself, is not worthy of bringing the Ark back to his home city since he did not follow God's proper instructions for moving the Ark. He also becomes so fearful of God that he decides to take it aside to the house of Obed-edom and leave it there. But after hearing about how blessed Obed-edom was while having the Ark with him, David came to understand that God still wanted to be with his people. And so, he brings the Ark back to his city and worships God even more for His love and forgiveness.
2 Samuel 6:1-30

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 6 | David Becomes King

In this sermon, Pastor Mike will be preaching on Saul's death, Israel's search for a new king, and David's continual faith in God's promise, even though he could taken things into his own hands. We will see David show Christ-like love to Saul, even after he dies. And we will also see that though God's promise for David to be king took some time, it eventually came true.Mentioned Verses:2 Samuel 1:11-12,Matthew 5:44, Romans 12:172 Samuel 2:1,2 Samuel 2:8-10,2 Samuel 5:1-3

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 5 | The Downfall of Saul

In today's sermon, Pastor Mike will preach from the book of 1 Samuel, chapters 28 and 31. In these chapters, the Philistine army is about to attack, and Saul is not getting any word from God on what to do. Saul had so much fear of losing his kingdom to David, that instead of repenting, turning to God, and trusting him, he decides to search out a Spirit Medium for instruction. 
 
Included Verses:1 Samuel 28:3-201 Samuel 31:1-131 John 4:18Matthew 16:24-26

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 4 | Holding Back, While Holding On

In today's sermon, Pastor Joel will read from the 24th chapter of 1 Samuel. In this chapter, David had the perfect chance to kill Saul, the King of Israel, who was also hunting him down. But instead of taking the shortcut to become King and killing Saul, he trusts God's plan for his life and values his relationship with God more than his desire to become King.

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 3 | The Danger of Letting Jealousy In

In this week's sermon, Pastor Joel will be teaching from the book of 1 Samuel 18, about the jealousy Saul had towards David as he started living in his palace. Saul's jealousy started out small, but, it eventually grew into hatred, and then action, which was to try to kill David. Pastor Joel will give some examples of how jealousy can spring up in our lives. But we will also see how everything we need has been provided for us by God, such as eternal life, His love, and more.
Included Verses:1 Samuel 18:1-29James 3:13Romans 82 Corinthians 5:171 Peter 1:4

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 2 | David vs Goliath

In today's sermon, Pastor Mike will be preaching on the battle between David and Goliath. God had prepared David for this battle by giving him experiences to trust Him in His protection. Such as when God protected him when he fought a bear that tried to steal his lamb, and in a lion attack. He allowed David to become skilled with the slingshot, which gave him a tool to defeat Goliath. We will also see that Jesus has given us everything we need to succeed in a challenge.

Goliath Come Out To Play | Week 1: God Looks at the Heart

In our new series "Goliath Come Out To Play", we will look at the life of David - His mistakes, his wins, and his relationship with God. Today, Pastor Mike will preach about the anointing of David, before he officially becomes king, and we will see how God looked at the heart of David, rather than his appearance, before allowing him to rule Israel as a king. Read From:1 Samuel 16:1-13

Knees to the Ground - Week 4 | The Lord's Prayer

In our last week of our 'Knees to the Ground' series, Pastor Mike will explain each part of the Lord's Prayer, such as how it helps us view God as our father while also honoring him as holy, how it helps align our will with His, and how it shows us ways Jesus can interact and help us in our lives.

Knees to the Ground - Week 3 | Unanswered Prayers

In week three of our series on prayer, Pastor Mike will discuss some reasons why our prayers remain unanswered. Some of the reasons include the fact that God knows more than we do, and he knows that we may not be able to handle the 'yes' yet, and that we need more time to grow. Or, it may be for our own good, such as God protecting us from danger. However, sometimes we may never know the reason why a prayer goes unanswered. But, we can always trust that God's grace will be sufficient for our day.

Knees to the Ground - Week 2 | Fire on the Mountain - Elijah vs the prophets of Baal

In this episode, Pastor Mike will teach on 1 Kings chapter 18. Specifically, about Elijah's confrontation with the Prophets of Baal. We will learn how we can apply the lessons learned from this story to our lives, such as by asking ourselves: Who are we putting our trust in? Are we faithful to God in the places He has placed us? And are there areas in our lives that we need to be refreshed?