Riverbluff Church Sermons

Until recently, whenever I’d hear the word “BREAKTHROUGH”, I would almost always celebrate. The context for that word being used seemed to always mean something good was happening for someone I cared about! This week we continue our journey with Nehemiah. If you’ve read through his story in the book that bears his name, you know that he ultimately has a “breakthrough experience” after receiving some very bad news. From Nehemiah’s life we can learn and follow a pattern that leads to breakthrough when bad news finds its way into our lives. Join me as we study God’s plan to transform Bad News into BREAKTHROUGH! Pastor Joe Still

REBUILD! RESTORE! REVITALIZE! REPAIR! RECOVER! REVIVE! REFRESH! Those great words excite my heart and capture my mind. They are Gospel Words! In these days of tension, turmoil, and tragedy, I think most of us have some place in our life where we’d like to see one of those words find traction. That’s why we’re beginning a new series in the book of NEHEMIAH that we’re entitling REBUILD! The book of Nehemiah is a testament to God’s faithfulness to His people regardless of their circumstances. It has a wonderful message for contemporary Christ-followers. God is building His church and not even a global pandemic can prevent His work from going forward. We’ll see the importance of God's Word, the reality of opposition, God's power to restore broken lives and the need for prayer. I pray you’ll make plans to join each week of this series as we see God’s plans for RENEWAL and REVIVAL for those who trust in Him! Pastor Joe Still

Well it is that time of year once again…BACK TO SCHOOL! I remember the start of school as a kid.  Looking back there seemed to be an annual rhythm.  Math class is a good example of that rhythm.  Seems like we’d always take the first several weeks of school and review the last few mathematic skills we learned the year before and then we’d begin adding new challenges and learning new skills. This Sunday we are going back to school to review a most important skill for Disciples of Jesus.  It is called PRAISE! Biblical Praise is not a syrupy-christian-cliché, or a “bury your head in the sand” life-strategy.  In Praise we lose our “glass half-empty”, pessimistic worldviews.  Praise burns off the “fog” of oppression that clouds our hearts and minds. In this moment in time, I think we could all use a little refresher course on PRAISE! -Pastor Joe Still

In this era of pandemics and pandemonium, I’ve heard many people speak of how hard it is to find something good happening around us. Could it be that the good we’re looking for is waiting to be done by us? James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote these words, “ to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin. (James 4:17) I love the cadence of the KJV in that verse! Since we are all in need of seeing something good, we are going to look at the GOODNESS OF JESUS in this message. We also have a very special guest joining us to talk about a good thing we can do! Pastor Joe Still

Though known by several names; The LORD’S SUPPER, The EUCHARIST, HOLY COMMUNION, is the one way JESUS instructed HIS disciples to remember HIS sacrifice for them. This Sunday we will bring our REFLECT series to a close and share in the Life of our LORD by coming to His Table together. -Pastor Joe Still

Are you currently walking through a challenge or facing a great struggle? Is there something you’re wrestling through and you don’t see a way out, unable to see a way around or over the obstacle in your life? Do you feel you’ve come to a dead end where your back is against the wall and you see absolutely no way out? In Exodus Chapter 14, GOD’s chosen people, the entire nation of them, find themselves in just such a moment. GOD then gives them HIS plan to deliver them. Their part in that plan was two simple words. “BE STILL!” In this message, Pastor Joe Still reflects on how our deliverance can come as we embrace that two-word command from our GOD of all Grace!

In this message, Pastor Joe Still shares from his Sabbatical Journey into Psalm 46:10. Psalm 46:10 “BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD”  In our previous message, we began a new series entitled REFLECT.  We began the series reflecting on the Heart of God.  In this message I want to take us on the other half of that journey and explore what can happen, when in that stillness of Knowing God, we come to know more about ourselves and our Father’s Heart specifically for us. -Pastor Joe

What makes you tick? What’s at the core of who you are? What drives you to do the things you do? What is your heart? These are great questions to ask ourselves to help us rightly calibrate our lives. Socrates said: To know thyself is the beginning of wisdom! If you’ve ever seen a counselor, you know that it can be difficult to describe yourself to someone else. At times, knowing the truth about ourselves can be challenging. Though HE has many attributes, GOD has no difficulty knowing and describing who HE is at the core of HIS Being. HE has no difficulty knowing HIS own Heart. HIS self-description is the most often quoted passage by the writers of the Old Testament and had the greatest influence on the writers of the New Testament. Knowing the Heart of GOD can give you a strength, and a hope, and a peace, like nothing else in this life. Praying for you, Pastor Joe Still ____________________________ Thanks for joining Riverbluff Church in our Worship Celebration! Connect with us: http://

On July 4th, our country celebrates 245 years of Independence as a sovereign nation.  That freedom was declared in a document crafted by the hands of men and we know it as our Declaration of Independence.  That document is considered to be one of our nation's great treasures. For those of us living in America who follow Jesus, we have an Independence that merits greater celebration than our national sovereignty.  We have an Independence, declared not by mere men, but by the GOD of all creation.  It is the greatest Independence of all! In this message Pastor Joe Still explores GOD’s Great Declaration of our Independence.

In this message, Pastor Curt Bradford to open God’s Word. He teaches on Jeremiah 17:5-8 and share two ways God has made grace available to all of humanity.

WHAT IS THE GOSPEL? In this message, Pastor Dave Hardin explains the message of the Gospel and what its ultimate purpose is (to transform lives for the glory of God). He also shares the relationship between the gospel, our gospel identity, and our obedience.

Pastor Curt Bradford leads us in this message, as he shares how we must REMEMBER the spiritual realities that impact our present realities.

The Way of the Harvest Laborer In this message guest speaker Craig Tuck teaches from Matthew 9:35-38. You will hear practical way we can proclaim the gospel right where we live, work, and play.

How do we KNOW JESUS? In this message Pastor Guy Smith teaches from Hebrews 1:1-4. You'll be encouraged to listen to Jesus because of who He is and to follow Him in all we do.

While GOD’s Word has much to say about prayer, it speaks with much greater frequency about praise. For some, praise is thought to be primarily a component of prayer, while to others it is mostly connected to music or singing. While praise can flow in prayer or through singing, the picture the Bible paints of praise is far more immense. One of the great images of praise is described in Psalm 22. There we discover that GOD is “enthroned on the praises” of HIS People. The old King James versions translates it as GOD “inhabiting the praise” of HIS People. Praise is a special place where we as HIS People get to experience HIS Living Presence. In this message, Pastor Joe Still leads us to PRAISE GOD together and find our lives FLOURISHING in HIM!

One of my favorite passages of scripture to meditate on about JESUS, is not found in one of the four Gospels, but in the second chapter of Paul’s letter to the Philippians. It is a beautiful six verse summary of the Gospel of GOD that reveals JESUS, the “King of Kings”, as the most humble servant. (Philippians 2:5-10) JESUS’ life, teaching, ministry, and sacrificial-death flowed from HIS Heart to serve all of humanity. While living as mankind’s greatest servant, HIS Life simultaneously defined what human flourishing could be through a “with GOD life”! Let me encourage you engage in this message, as Jesus shows us how FLOURISHING COMES THROUGH SERVING OTHERS Pastor Joe

Not long ago I read an article that sought to offer some solutions to the problem of over-crowded prisons. It provided the readers with lots of comparative statistics and some of the numbers were quite staggering. That same week I had been reading in Matthew chapter 18, and the thought came, “as staggering as the numbers of people incarcerated might be, it doesn’t come close to the numbers of people whose hearts are locked in a prison of unforgiveness! Far too often, that condition of unforgiveness is born from strife in families, turning spouses against one another, or children against the parents. Jesus said He came to “set the prisoners free”! He has “Kingdom Keys” to give us that unlock the doors to the prison of unforgiveness, and give us freedom to live in the joy of GOD’s Forgiveness. Let me encourage you to watch this message as Jesus shows us how we can FLOURISH IN FORGIVENESS! Pastor Joe Still

Dr. Karl Menninger, who in the 1920’s founded the Menninger Clinics that designed many breakthrough treatments for those who battle mental illness, once stated: “Money giving is a very good criterion, in a way, of a person’s mental health. Generous people are rarely mentally ill.” Millennia before Dr. Menninger made his famous quote, King Solomon wrote in Proverbs 11:25 “The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” God’s plan for HIS People to Flourish, is uniquely built upon HIS intent that they grow in generosity. In this message, Pastor Joe Still shares HOW WE CAN FLOURISH IN GOD’S GENEROSITY.

FLOURISH part 10 - How the Holy Spirit Helps You Flourish - April 25, 2021 When our children were very young, somewhere between two and three, they both went through the “I do it” phase. Most kids go through it. It is a normal part of development where they assert some independence.  In those moments, they did not want our help! Though some of us never seem to break out of that “I do it” phase, help is something we all need in this life.  That is ultimately true in our spiritual lives.  GOD never intended for us to “do it ourselves”.  That’s why HE sent JESUS and it is why JESUS, before ascending back to Heaven, promised that HE would send a HELPER, the HOLY SPIRIT! If we truly want to FLOURISH in this life, we will never do it without the HOLY SPIRIT’s Help!  This week we explore why Jesus told his followers it is better for us to have the Holy Spirit inside us than Jesus beside us. Pastor Joe Still

Psalm 92 is known as a Psalm for the Sabbath. It is a Psalm about God’s people worshipping, overcoming, and flourishing. Verses 12-15 focus on how the LORD’s Righteous Ones flourish. “The righteous flourish like the palm tree and grow like a cedar in Lebanon. They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God.”  Psalm 92:12-13 (ESV) The first and last images given in scripture are of God’s People flourishing in the LORD’s presence in a garden of beauty and plenty. That is the eternal destiny of all of GOD’s people. There is a place where we as HIS people flourish even now. It is when we come into the presence of our LORD to worship and honor HIM together! I hope you’ll join us as we continue in our teaching series—FLOURISH! Pastor Joe