Riverbluff Church Sermons

A phrase that was common in our home when our kids were young was “don’t assume”! While our son Taylor was very little, (he’s now 28 and a Tech Sergeant in the USAF), when intending to use the word “assume”, he would instead say “exhume”. Truthfully, when we “assume”, we often dig up things that invite death! Making assumptions without having all the facts has often been the source of much human misery. Rich friendships and even marriages, have been destroyed by assumptions that were made before all the facts were known. Making “assumptions” about GOD, or what HE is doing in a given situation, can lead us into fear, discouragement, and all manner of sorrow and suffering. Jesus came to remove our “need” to make assumptions about GOD. HE came to fully show us the FATHER, and through that revelation bring us lasting joy. In this message, we’ll look at JESUS’ plan for us to flourish in HIS Joy by releasing our failed assumptions about GOD. - Pastor Joe Still

The Friday before Easter Sunday is often called “Good Friday”. It is “good” because it is the day, over 2,000 years ago, when GOD demonstrated how truly Good and unconditionally loving HE is toward humanity. HE demonstrated this by sacrificing HIS one and only begotten SON on the Cross of Calvary. Though you and I were not there physically, the Bible says that our sin was. The Apostle Peter writes that Jesus personally carried our sin in His Body on the cross so that we might die to sin and be made alive to a right relationship with GOD. {1 Peter 2:24} Though there was much sorrow and fear for the Disciples of Jesus on that day, their greatest joy was but three days away. And so it is with us! In this Easter message, Pastor Joe Still presents the beauty of the Good News of Jesus in a clear and relevant way.

Our country’s ongoing obsession with the “Royal Family” of England fascinates me, especially since we fought a war over two-hundred years ago to get them off our backs! Being over two-hundred years removed from those experiences, we in America have no real life experience with Kings and Kingdom rule. I believe that lack of real-life experience, has made it difficult for us to embrace Jesus’ teaching about the Kingdom of God. Without a strong point of reference for Kings and Kingdoms, I think we often miss something that was central to Jesus’ Gospel Message. This Sunday, as we remember and celebrate Palm Sunday, we’ll turn our attention to the great message that Jesus declared as He rode into town that day on a donkey. Jesus was declaring before the people and the rulers of Israel that He was the long awaited Messiah King. They didn’t comprehend what this King’s Kingdom would look like, so they rejected it and missed out on the greatest invitation ever extended to humankind. In this teaching, we look at Jes

Like many of you, I grew up hearing the phrase “practice makes perfect”! Over the course of my life, I’ve invested much time “practicing” several different pursuits, and as of yet, I’ve not become “perfect” at any of them. Have I gotten better at many of them? Sure I have! Along the way I’ve learned that pursuing perfection is not the best use of our time, because according to the Word of GOD, only in JESUS can we be made perfect. This means we no longer need to pursue what JESUS has already done for us in the sight of GOD. So what do I need to pursue? The Apostle Peter, who knew all too well that perfection is only found in JESUS, exhorts us to “Grow in Grace” (2 Peter 3:18). Throughout His Word, GOD gives us pathways for Growing in Grace. I like to call them “Grace-Ways”. These Grace-Ways actually involve “practices”. Not practicing for perfection, but to fully access all the Grace that JESUS makes available for us to flourish even in this broken world. In this message,  we’ll look at “Practices” that he

FLOURISH part 4 - FROM FAILURE TO FLOURISHING Have you ever done something or said something that greatly disappointed someone you loved?  Perhaps promising to be somewhere at a certain time and you weren’t.  Or said, “You can count on me” and they did, but you failed to do your part. Or, said “I’ll never tell”, but you did. Failure, and the disappointment that comes with it, are part of what it means to live in a fallen world.  All of us have failed others and had others fail us.  The deeper the love for the one who failed you, the deeper the disappointment you feel and the deeper the shame of the one who failed.  But with GOD, failure is not a destiny; it is just an event.  In this message, Pastor Joe Still examines a moment of great human failure and how a walk with Jesus can move us from failure to FLOURISHING.

One of the many spaces in our lives that has changed significantly in this Pandemic, has been where and how we work. Many began working from home for the very first time. Some businesses and organizations have actually reported increased productivity from employees in these environments. Some cultural scientists who focus their attention on workplace environments are telling us that those environments, are now, forever changed. That they will never go completely back to normal, but will instead experience a “new normal”. What has not been changed by this Pandemic, is GOD’s plan for work. Some people mistakenly think that “work”, is part of the curse that came, at the “fall of man” in Genesis 3. Actually, “work” existed before the “fall” occurred. GOD assigned work to Adam after putting him in the Garden. It was part of GOD’s “very good” purpose for Adam to flourish in that beautiful place called Eden. GOD’s Word tells us that HIS purposes do not change. HE still plans for work to lead us to flourish, even i

FLOURISH - part 2 - How a Masterpiece Flourishes ______________ Recently, one of the big stories in the news, was an unexpected scientific discovery of life flourishing beneath Antarctica’s floating ice shelf. NBC news reports that finding life thriving in such a harsh environment “has biologists baffled”. Jesus told those who followed Him that they would find themselves living in “harsh environments”.  Jesus also promised that in Him, His followers could flourish in such hostile circumstances. In this message, Pastor Joe Still looks to GOD’s Word to learn how to FLOURISH in a world filled with hostile environments.

Flourish - part 1 - Our Father's Hand in our Flourishing ___ FLOURISH! That is such a great word that is filled with hope. Everyone that I know, in some way, longs for a life that flourishes. If we have children and grandchildren, we have great hope that life for them will flourish. At Riverbluff we often pray for human flourishing in our city. No one takes greater delight in our flourishing than GOD our FATHER! In fact, HIS plan for our lives has flourishing as its great aim. HE has a great growth plan for our flourishing that HE oversees directly and engages personally. FATHER-GOD is so “hands-on” in this process that Jesus describes HIM as the Vinedresser or Gardener of our lives. GOD has made everything in HIS great creation, and HIS intent is that it would flourish. For anything to flourish, it must produce fruit. Our Heavenly FATHER’s plan for each of us is not to just bear fruit, but that we would bear much fruit that remains. In GOD’s economy, that’s what it means for us to flourish.

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD – Part 6: HOW JESUS BRINGS “ORGANIC” CHANGE Vegetable gardening can be hard work; but some fresh slices of a vined ripened tomato, between white bread with some Dukes mayo, on a warm summer day, is a great reward for the labor. Though we haven’t had a vegetable garden in years, I’m still amazed at the beauty and wonder of “organic growth”! It is a process that defies the natural order of decay. When Jesus clarified for His disciples who He was and how life in Him could overcome the “natural decay” of our souls, He described an organically growing life. In His “I AM THE VINE YOU ARE THE BRANCHES” teaching recorded in John 15, Jesus shows us how a “decay conquering” life, can only be found in an intimate organic connection with Him. Watch now as we learn from Jesus how to let Him be our source of life in a world of constant decay! Pastor Joe Still

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD – Part 5: HOW JESUS BRINGS LIFE TO WHAT’S DEAD IN YOU When you hear the word “Resurrection”, what first comes to mind? Is it Easter? Or, maybe the 2nd coming of Christ? While those must be the greatest of earthly events; when we think “Resurrection” our first thought should not be of an event, but of a Person, the Person of Christ. In trying to clarify the truth about Himself and about the Resurrection, Jesus said, “I Am The Resurrection”! If we only see Resurrection as an “already happened”, or “can’t wait until it happens” event, we’ll miss out on what Jesus wants to do in our lives right now. As The Resurrection, Jesus desires to raise up anything that we’re dead in right now! In this teaching we’ll look to God’s Word and see: HOW JESUS BRINGS LIFE TO WHAT’S DEAD IN YOU! Pastor Joe Still

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD – Part 4: How Jesus Becomes the Good Shepherd for Our Souls ROBBED! If you’ve ever been robbed, you know the feelings of personal violation and the concerns for personal security. Kathy and I have been robbed twice in our nearly thirty-eight years of marriage. Though the circumstances were very different each time, the aftermath of feelings were very similar. Jesus knows how this world, in all its brokenness, seeks to rob life from us, “to steal and kill and destroy”; not only in our physical lives, but our spiritual and emotional lives as well. Jesus came into this world, to be our GOOD SHEPHERD, to give us life, real and abundant life! Join me as we learn together how to let Jesus be the life-giving Good Shepherd to our souls! Pastor Joe Still

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD - Part 3: How Jesus Overcomes Your Darkness “DARKNESS”! That word can often bring fear to our hearts. As children, we’d need a night light to give us peace so we could rest. As adults, though the “darkness” of night can still stir fear; other kinds of “darkness” bring us greater concerns. In our broken world, we see the “darkness” increasing at alarming rates and we fear for our children. As we age, we fear the “darkness” of disease that might attack our minds. This battle with “Darkness” is paramount in the STORY OF GOD, as found in HIS Holy Word. Dealing with “Darkness” is the first recorded act of GOD known to humanity. (Genesis 1:1-5) Jesus taught that ultimately, GOD would sends all of evil into and inescapable “Darkness” from which there is no return, while GOD’s Children will dwell with HIM in HIS Marvelous Light for all of eternity. We all, everyone on the planet, battles our own personal darkness from which Jesus came to set us free. It is a battle we fight every day. I pray y

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD part 2: How Jesus Heals Your Harried Heart January 17, 2021 As I have had opportunity to visit in many homes over my nearly 40 years in ministry there’s a phrase that I’ve seen time and time again. Sometimes it is on a refrigerator magnet, or embroidered on a pillow, or cross stitched in a picture frame. The phrase is “GOD BLESS THIS MESS”! That’s a prayer I find myself quickly whispering often in these last days. Interestingly, that’s one of the great desires of our LORD Jesus. He came to “Bless the Mess”. He came to show us how to live so the mess doesn’t end up managing us; but, like so much of what Jesus came to accomplish, this part of His plan is so very misunderstood. Jesus has a plan to heal hearts harried by the mess of this world, whether it was a mess of our own making or that of another. That plan is rooted in who HE is. To have access to that healing you must know HIM for who HE says HE is. That’s the goal of our teaching series, “JESUS MisUNDERSTOOD”. We want to all

JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD - Part 1: Bread of Life, John 6 Have you ever felt misunderstood, felt like a person or a group of people really didn’t "get" where you were coming from? 2,000 years ago, a man walked among us named Jesus. Ever since, people have debated, “who this Jesus really is”. In His day, Jesus was often misunderstood; even by those who followed Him. 2,000 years later Jesus is still very often misunderstood; sometimes even by those who seek to follow Him. So who is He? Most everyone seems to have some opinion about who Jesus is. Some base their opinion on what others have written about Jesus, some base their opinion on what others have told them about Jesus, and some base their opinion on what they’ve seen on the History Channel! But who did Jesus say He is? That's the question we’ll explore together in our series JESUS MISUNDERSTOOD, as we look at the 7 "I am" statements made by Jesus in the gospel of John. We’ll see Jesus declare to the world exactly who He is. Having a clear understanding on

HAPPY NEW YEAR! I continue to pray for you, the prayer I prayed over you on Christmas Eve. I pray you that you will have a Romans 8, No Condemnation, No Fear, No Despair, No Withholding, No Abandonment 2021! The last message that I shared with you in 2020 came from the Revelation that Jesus gave to the Apostle John, while he was isolated on the Isle of Patmos. Like John’s isolation, we too are beginning a New Year experiencing isolation because of the Pandemic. I have personally drawn much strength this past week from one statement Jesus made that is recorded by John in Revelation 21:5, “Behold, I am making all things new.” This Sunday, with Jesus Words in mind, I want us to explore how we can all begin anew in 2021. Jesus desires to make something new in you, for you, and of you, in this New Year. Pastor Joe Still

Christmas. HIS Coming... Raised Satan's Rage. part 6 - December 27, 2020 by Riverbluff Church

Christmas Eve at the River. Candlelight, Carols, and Communion.

MERRY CHRISTMAS! The GOD of Christmas and of all Creation longs for people to know HIM. HE desires that we know the truth about HIM, so HE revealed HIMSELF, since we could know HIM no other way. When GOD took on flesh in Jesus, HE befriended a man we know as the Apostle John. Through his writings, we know that John wholeheartedly loved Jesus and knew that Jesus deeply loved him. Inspired by GOD, John wrote the most concise and profound description of GOD, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8 & 16) John also wrote the best-known verse in the Bible. It describes the great lengths, this GOD who is love, would go to so that we might personally know HIM and love HIM. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." (John 3:16) A love that great requires a befitting response! In Matthew’s account of the Christmas story, Pastor Joe Still shares how we can learn much from formerly pagan Astrologers about what a proper response to GOD’s L

When was the last time, while reading, watching, or listening to the news you became overwhelmed with joy?  That isn’t a common occurrence for most of us.  Sometimes news may bring joy to some people while simultaneously bringing sorrow to others.  Like the news during election coverage. So, when was the last time you learned of news that was broadcast that brought joy to everyone? Is that even possible?  Could a news broadcast bring joy to all people, in all places, in all generations? It has happened! The Gospel of Luke records GOD sending the greatest News Anchor in all of human history with the greatest news that was actually so good that it can bring joy to “all the people”; every person from every place, in every generation.  That news is “JESUS has come”! In this message by Pastor Guy Smith, we focus on the JOY that HIS COMING makes available to everyone.  Let's to explore the “Good News of Great JOY that will be for all the people”!

Christmas – HIS Coming Guides Us in the Way of Peace December 6, 2020 In this message by Pastor Dave Hardin, we continue our Advent Journey through our Sermon Series, “HIS COMING…”! This week as we light the Candle of Peace, we turn our attention to how HIS COMING BRINGS US PEACE! One of the many people Matthew introduces in his account of the Christmas story is Joseph, Jesus’ adopted earthly dad. He was an ordinary man, a carpenter from Nazareth, but he had an extra-ordinary encounter with an Angel sent by GOD. When Joseph heard the words of the angel, he knew that his role was not simply to care for Mary, but to help raise the child who would bring about peace for all humanity. “For He will save His people from their sins.” This child would be the way GOD would bring peace between Himself and man, through the forgiveness of sins. This “Christmas Peace” within Joseph would sustain him in caring for Mary and raising Jesus. He was able to be at peace within himself because he was about GOD’s Kingdom w