Riverbluff Church Sermons

Have you had doubts? Have you ever struggled with unbelief? Have you ever thought, if God really loves me then why? Why am I facing this circumstance? Is God really good? If we are honest, there have been moments when we doubted. I know the Sunday School answer “I’m too Blessed to be Depressed” “I’m too Anointed to be Disappointed”. But on the inside I have some doubts, I have some questions. And we are not alone. The beauty of the Bible is that it addresses these doubts! In this message, Dean Infinger continues in our series “First Encounters” and he will be specifically looking at Doubt and Unbelief.

With great detail, God’s Word provides us multiple accounts of the “First Encounters” Jesus’ followers had with Him after His Resurrection. These accounts are filled with paths of blessings for our lives today that are rich and incredibly relevant! Though we continue our First Encounters teaching series, this Sunday we have a special treat. Pastor Curt Bradford will be here leading us to explore one of those unique First Encounters and guiding us to see the full measure of Hope we can have as we faithfully follow the Risen LORD JESUS!

In 1987 the song “The Hand That Rocks The Cradle Rules The World” was released.  It was tribute to mothers, and the powerfully influential role they play in our lives.  Thousands of extensive studies from all branches of the social and behavioral sciences acknowledge this impact for good or for harm. The scriptures definitively point out the significant role that mothers and other women played in the Gospel ministry of Jesus and the early church. Their role was so significant that they were the first people Jesus trusted with the news that He had risen from the dead.  They were the first eyewitnesses to His Resurrection.  They were the first to have verifiable visual hope that we can have everlasting life in Christ Jesus! In this third message in the series First Encounters, Pastor Joe Still explores from the testimony of scripture, why Jesus first entrusted the message of His Resurrection to moms and other women.

In our day, global peace is highly sought after and yet a most rare commodity. What the Bible calls “Peace”, also known as “Shalom”, is rarer still. It is not just about the absence of war or strife, but about holistic human flourishing. The Bible names Jesus the Prince of Peace. Jesus is the one GOD sent to bring peace on the earth, that holistic, shalom, kind of peace. As a group, the disciples’ first encounter with the risen Jesus was all about how His resurrection would bring biblical peace to them and release it into the world. This Sunday, we will examine this first encounter to understand how Jesus longs to bring His Peace into our lives. In this second message in the series, Pastor Joe Sill shares how to flourish in the Resurrection Peace that Jesus brings.

On that first Easter Sunday, and over the course of the next 40 days, followers of JESUS would have their FIRST ENCOUNTERS with HIM as their Risen SAVIOR and LORD. Those first encounters radically altered the lives of those early followers. They would never be the same! GOD purposefully captured these first encounters in HIS Word, so that our lives could be transformed by these eyewitness accounts of the Risen JESUS. GOD has much hope, and grace, and joy to bring to us from these first encounters, as we follow JESUS today. I’m praying you’ll make plans to engage in this message and for the next several messages, as we explore these FIRST ENCOUNTERS! Pastor Joe Still

This service is a meaningful and sobering prelude to the Easter weekend. It simply means we will focus on the Lord’s Supper and what happened the night before Jesus was crucified. It is indeed a somber time but we need to be reminded regularly of what it cost God to save us.

Over the course of human history there have been many great sentences heard by human ears. I know of none greater than the single sentence recorded in Matthew 28:6; “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said.” It is the best news ever! I pray you will join us and celebrate the great news that “HE HAS RISEN, JUST AS HE SAID.” Pastor Joe Still

This Sunday as we gather, we join with hundreds of millions of Christ followers all around the world to celebrate Palm Sunday. It was that day over 2,000 years ago when JESUS first publicly declared to everyone that He was the long awaited Messiah of GOD. The day is also the first day of the Holiest week on the Christian calendar, culminating in the celebration of our risen Savior and King. JESUS! (I sure hope you’re making plans to be here for that!) I’m praying you’ll engage in this message as we unite with brothers and sisters around the world and take our first step into the spiritual journey that is HOLY WEEK 2022. Pastor Joe Still

There was a line from a song in the 70’s that went “feelings whoa whoa whoa feelings, whoa whoa whoa feelings, again in my life”.  The song was all about feeling our feelings. (They just don’t write songs like that anymore.) Dr. Dallas Willard who has written at length on the subject of how our feelings shape our souls, points out that; “Feelings are a primary blessing and a primary problem for human life. We cannot live without them and we can hardly live with them.”  Dr. Willard goes on to say, “Feelings are good servants, but they are disastrous masters.”  Though our feelings can at times present great challenges in our lives, they are also central to our spiritual formation and soul health. Please consider this my personal invitation to you to engage in this message as we explore God’s plan to restore our souls by renovating our feelings. Pastor Joe Still

Every renovation project that I ever worked on with my dad in his construction business always had some great challenge to present itself.  It’s just the nature of renovation work. The same is true with the work of Soul Renovation that JESUS desires to do in us. One of those great challenges involves our minds! I pray you'll engage in this message as we look deeply at one aspect of GOD’s Plan to Renovate our Ruined Souls by transforming our minds. Pastor Joe Still

I have been deeply impacted by the writings of Dr. Dallas Willard. Thus far, in the 21st century, I believe him to be the greatest writer and thinker on the topic of “what it means to be a Disciple of Jesus”! In his book, THE GREAT OMMISION, Dr. Willard writes, “Jesus brings us reliable information about who we are, why we are here, and what the humanly appropriate motives are for doing whatever we do. First, He informs us that we are by nature unceasing spiritual beings with an eternal destiny in God’s great universe. We will never stop existing, and there is nothing we can do about it.” Dr. Willard so aptly explains that every person who is, or has ever lived, is an everlasting soul! GOD’s Word declares the bad news that every soul has been ruined by sin; but that is not the end of the story. Additionally GOD’s Word proclaims the Good News that for those who trust JESUS as LORD, that HE is their Shepherd and HE Restores Souls! Consider this your special invitation to engage in this message,  as we explor

In “The Heart of the Matter part 2”, Pastor Joe Still explored Jesus’ first recorded miracle at a wedding in Cana of Galilee, where He transformed water into wine. We said that as miraculous as that is, it pales in comparison to the miracle that Jesus continues to perform every day, the transformation of a human heart! In this message, we continue to see HOW JESUS PERFORMS A MIRACULOUS WORK OF HEART, and how He can do that in you!

I don’t think anyone has ever accused me, to my face, of being an “art snob”. Most would probably never describe me as “artsy”. In general, I’d not use those descriptors in a “bio” of myself, but that doesn’t mean I’m never moved or captured by a great work of art. There is a print of a great painting that hangs in my office, it is Rembrandt’s THE RETURN OF THE PRODIGAL SON. While it has hung there for years, at times, I still find myself deeply moved by it, and once again caught up in that great story Jesus told to help us know the true heart of our Heavenly Father. So yes, I guess I could say that I am a lover of great art! I know of no greater work of art, than the “Miraculous Work of Heart” that Jesus longs to do in every human soul. That is why we began a new series of messages last Sunday titled The Heart of the Matter. This week we’ll study the first recorded miracle Jesus performed, found in the second chapter of John’s Gospel. There we’ll learn HOW JESUS PERFORMS A MIRACULOUS WORK OF HEART. Past

The greatest opportunity, the greatest invitation, ever given to human beings, is to do life together with GOD. It would be a life, where the LORD is my shepherd and I can live without want. A life Jesus said, that would never thirst again. In His own words, Jesus says that those who would give themselves to Him would receive a “living water”, the Spirit of GOD Himself, that will keep them from ever being thirsty—being driven and ruled by unsatisfied desires—and this “water” will become a spring of life-giving water gushing up into eternal life. That it could become “rivers of living water” flowing from the center of a followers life out to a thirsty world. In this message Pastor Joe Still explores this life Jesus said He came to give.

Last week we finished our sermon series, “Rebuild” from the book of Nehemiah, and in last week’s sermon Pastor Joe mentioned that Nehemiah was not the end of God’s story. In this message Pastor Dave Hardin will take a look at how the book of Nehemiah reveals God’s overarching plan of redemption, and how that plan continues to unfold in the New Testament through the promised Redeemer, Jesus Christ. In the book of Nehemiah we can see the continuing pattern of Israel’s disobedience toward God, and his Law given through Moses, despite God’s mercy toward the nation of Israel. The book of Nehemiah ends with further examples of Israel’s disobedience as it closes out the Old Testament Scripture. But, as the New Testament begins, we see God acting in mercy once again. This time though, God’s mercy is demonstrated not just to the people of Israel, but to anyone who would truly believe in the person and work of Jesus Christ for their right standing with God. This is the continuing story of God’s saving redemption thr

In this message, Pastor Joe Still brings us to the end of our journey through the book of Nehemiah. We’ll see that the old saying “all’s well that ends well”, sadly, does not apply to this story. This story closes on a pretty sad note. So what should we take away from this kind of ending. What do we do as God’s people, when in our own story things take a turn for the worse? Where do we go? As we conclude our study in Nehemiah and learn how to press on after “hitting the wall” that you built!

Acts of great personal sacrifice that provide for the needs of others, not only captures our attention, they usually capture our hearts. We are drawn to acts of great selflessness because they stand in such stark contrast to our common experience of human selfishness. These acts call to us that we can be more! As Pastor Joe Still leads us to continue in our study in Nehemiah, we come to chapters 11 and 12. Here we’ll see an incredible act of selflessness that leads to great glory and honor being lavished on GOD and we’ll learn how our acts of personal sacrifice can be used of GOD to transform others!

In his book COVENANT & KINGDOM, Mike Breen describes these two themes as the “genetic code—the ‘double helix’ of DNA running through the Bible”. I believe he is right. These two themes can be found woven in the whole of GOD’s Word. While some may describe “Covenant” and “Kingdom” as “theological words”, their more common counterparts are “Relationship” and “Responsibility. “Covenant” A.K.A. “Relationship” is our guide on how to abide in GOD; while “Kingdom” A.K.A. “Responsibility” is all about our service to GOD. In this message, Pastor Joe Still leads us in our journey through the book of Nehemiah we’ll see the critical role “Covenant” plays in rebuilding the people of GOD. We're also ordaining four men who have recently decided to engage a new covenant with GOD and with our church, the covenant of being a Deacon at Riverbluff. It is an important day in the life of these men and their families as well as the life of our church. You’ll certainly want to be a part of this day!

Life is a gift from GOD! In John 10:10 we read the recorded words of JESUS, “…but I came to give life—life in all its fullness.” John 10:10 (NCV).  “Life” is central to the message of JESUS’ Gospel. Now look at the context of those words from JESUS. “The thief comes to steal and kill and destroy, but I came to give life—life in all its fullness”. John 10:10 (NCV) The destruction of “Life” as GOD intended, has always been the aim of the Evil One.  We can see that work of destruction in the beginning of human history, back when GOD created human beings to bear HIS Image.  That destructive work has grown exponentially in our day and continues to disguise itself with lies of “good intentions”. In this message, Pastor Joe Still leads us to celebrate “Life” as GOD intended and explore together how we might defend it in our day.  Joining us is Dr. Brian Miller from Medellín, Colombia who runs a crisis pregnancy center in that city called ESTHER’S HOME.  Dr. Miller shares with us about the Life-giving Gospel work

When Martin Luther launched what has become known as “The Reformation” he began his famous “95 Thesis” with these words: “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, ‘Repent, He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance”. Repentance is not a “one & done” event in the life of a Christ-follower. It should be an everyday, all of life experience. In this message Pastor Joe Still provides us with a “tool” that unlocks repentance, leading to a life of Continuous Breakthrough!