Riverwood Church - Waverly, IA: Sermons

Many Americans think "bigger is better," including when it comes to church. "If you have a bigger attendance, you must be a more successful church." The book of Philippians shows us you can find joy in sending others to teach the Gospel, not just keeping people in your church. Pastor Erin Bird of Riverwood Church talks about how there can sometimes be more success when you show the Gospel globally than if you just worry about how many people attend a particular church.

Some humans will hear about various dangers in life, whether smoking cigarettes, eating too much sugar, or driving a motorcycle without a helmet, and proceed to ignore them. Why? Because they believe the "rules" of life don't apply to them. Sometimes, Christians will do the same thing. They will hear the "rules" of the Bible, but think they don't apply to them. What they don't realize is that these so-called "rules" don't exist to make life miserable, rather, they exist to bring them joy. Listen in as Pastor Erin Bird walks us through Philippians 2:12-18, showing how gospel-motivated obedience can lead to genuine joy.

Want to know the secret to great relationships? Believe it or not, the book of Philippians holds the secret. So if you long for great relationships at home, work, school, or church, this message from Pastor Erin Bird as part of our Genuine Joy series will give you the inside scoop.

This week, we kick off a study of the New Testament book of Philippians by looking at Acts 16. Listen in to meet the first three people who helped start the church in the ancient city of Philippi when they decided to follow Jesus.

For many people, there is a strong sexual desire that leads them to engage in sexual activities that traditional Judeo-Christian teaching says is wrong. But what does the Bible really say about sex? And does God actually care about how we use our bodies for sexual pleasure? In this second message of The Everyday Gospel series, Pastor Erin Bird sensitively tackles the tough topic of sex, showing from a Biblical perspective why God has a right to tell humans what they should and should not do with their bodies. Because it turns out the gospel story of Jesus' death on a cross even affects what happens between the sheets.

In 2019, the Riverwood family will be looking at how the Gospel affects multiple areas of life. We will look at how the life & death of Jesus affects our view of self, our view of money, and our view of time. But before we get to any of that, we will be looking at how the Gospel affects our relationships. And in this first week of the series, Riverwood's Teaching Pastor, Erin Bird, tackles the topic of marriage.

Most people naturally share that which pleases them. We typically don't hesitate to share about a movie we enjoyed, or a great new restaurant we visited. Guest teacher and Riverwood "missionary" Patrick Ray, a church planter from North Minneapolis, shows us from John 1 that when people met Jesus, they got excited and couldn't help but tell others. If you are a Jesus-follower, may this message inspire you to find joy in Jesus, so you, too, can share Him with confidence.

Just as the decorations at a party can serve as clues as to what type of party you are at, the Bible is filled with clues that God has established a theme in life of sending people to bless others. In this final message in the "Dangerous Prayers" series, Pastor Erin Bird shows us God's sending theme by taking us through multiple passages of the Scripture, inspiring Jesus-followers to pray "Lord, Send Me." Are you ready surrender everything to God and let Him send you to bless others?

If you've ever been lost, whether while hiking or driving, you know that sometimes in order to go forward, you have to first go back. In our spiritual lives, sometimes in order to go forward in our faith, we need to go back in a sense, to allow God to break us, to remove some things in our lives, such as selfishness or sinful patterns, so that He can mold and shape us into who He sees us to be. In this second part of our "Dangerous Prayers" series, Pastor Erin Bird shares through Jeremiah 18:1-6 as well as through his own life story, how painful the breaking process can be, but also how necessary it can be. If you are the type of person who wants to follow Jesus closely, listen in to "Lord, Break Me."

A dangerous prayer isn't one that asks God to put you in dangerous situations. A "dangerous" prayer is a bold prayer, a prayer that completely surrenders your life to God. A dangerous prayer isn't about ruining your life, but if God answers it, your dangerous prayer will upend your life. In this series, we will look at three dangerous prayers. In the last week, we will pray "Lord, Send Me." But before a Jesus-follower can be sent, they need to be surrendered. And so in the second week, we will pray "Lord, Break Me." But that is a scary prayer! And so this week, to prepare our hearts to be lovingly broken, we look at David's prayer "Lord, Search Me."

Have you ever had a chance to meet someone famous? If so, perhaps you were at a loss for words, or perhaps said something silly, or embarrassed yourself by acting differently than you normally do. But what would it be like to meet Jesus? Listen in as guest teacher, Shane Klein, walks us through Hebrews 4:14-16, seeing Jesus as our Great High Priest.

We all long for peace. From birth to death to multiple points in-between, we long for calm in the midst of the chaos of life. But all of our attempts to find peace usually end up temporary and ineffective. How do we find true lasting peace? In this final message in the Advent series A Son is Given, Pastor Erin Bird shows from Colossians 1:19-20 why Jesus was given the name "Prince of Peace" more than 700 years before He arrived that first Christmas Day, and how you can find a peace that surpasses understanding.

Dads make a huge difference in our lives. Their presence or absence affects us far more deeply than we may realize. The love of a good daddy can make all the difference. Did you know that Jesus displays love like a perfect dad? Listen in to this third message in the Advent series A Son is Given to discover why Isaiah called Jesus "Everlasting Father."

Have you ever had an initial impression of someone only to discover you were totally wrong? You might have made a wrong assumption about their age, education level, or importance at work. Throughout history, large swaths of humanity have made the same mistake about Jesus. They have thought of him as just another human, or a wise sage, or even a great prophet from God. But those assessments are WAY off. Listen in to this second message in the A Son is Given Advent series to be reminder or even to discover that Jesus isn't just a great human, but rather the Mighty God.

If you've ever found yourself in need of some advice or insight, because you were unsure of what to do, what you needed at that moment was a counselor. Approximately 700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah the prophet called Jesus a "Wonderful Counselor." Listen in as Riverwood's teaching pastor, Erin Bird, explains how to seek after Jesus to be your "Wonderful Counselor" during Advent and beyond.

If you are like most people, you don't want to be seen as a bothersome pest, whether at work, home, or in your relationship with God. And yet, Jesus invites His followers to persist in prayer, almost to the point of seeming like a spiritual pest to God. In this last message in the ACTS of Prayer sermon series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us see why persistent prayer isn't bothersome to God, but rather honoring and glorifying. So listen in to learn the importance and power of proper supplication.

It's that time of year - Thanksgiving! In this devotional message, Luke Anderson (one of Riverwood's Elders)† teaches through Psalm 100 on why we should give thanks, to whom we give thanks, and how we might express our thanksgiving.

Have you ever had a problem in life that, in the moment, seemed overwhelming, but years later, as you look back at that moment, you realize it wasn't that huge of a deal? That's perspective. In this second message in the ACTS of Prayer series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us see how the letter A (Adoration) in the ACTS model of prayer gives us perspective. And that perspective leads us to the letter C - Confession. And Confession leads us to connecting deeper with our Creator.

For many people, prayer is awkward, hard, confusing, or boring. Recognizing this, Pastor Erin Bird is using the month of November to teach the Riverwood family about the ACTS model of Prayer in an effort to help us connect with God. And in this first message, he takes us to Psalm 34 to tackle the topic of Adoration.

The Lion King had the "Circle of Life," but the True King invites you into the "Circle of Love." What is this circle? Listen in to find out, and learn how it can radically change your life and relationships.

Our American culture LOVES to talk about love. But do we truly understand what true love is and what we are supposed to do with it? In this sixth message in the 1 John series, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through one of the most famous passages from the book of 1 John, and helps us see not only God's intense love for us, but what He wants us to do with that love.

Just as a dolphin is designed to swim and an eagle is designed to soar, all Jesus-followers are designed to do something. But the only way a Jesus-follower can do this one thing is to understand who they are as part of God's family. So if you are a Jesus-follower, listen in. And if you are NOT a Jesus-follower, listen in as well to know what it is God will expect of you if you do become a follower of Jesus.

The famed "bad guy" of the end times is supposed to be "the Antichrist." But who is this "man of lawlessness"? And when will he show up - or has he already appeared? In this week's non-scary message from 1 John, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through the end of chapter two and beginning of chapter 4, looking at what the Antichrist values, and how Jesus-followers can be sure to not fall for anti-christ teaching.

As part of our Celebration Sunday, guest teacher Bob Westfall taught from Colossians 1:24-29, reminding Riverwood's new elders (and all of us) that "Being precedes Doing." Listen in to this fantastic message that will encourage you to just "be with Jesus."

To become an expert on a particular subject, you have to study it in detail. This type of study requires you to hear and read the same material repeatedly until you practically have the subject memorized. And when you have the subject memorized, it becomes a part of you, affecting the way you think and what you talk about, making you an expert. If you are a follower of Jesus, what if the subject you knew in and out was the gospel? What kind of effect would that have on your life? More importantly, what kind of effect would that have on the lives of those around you? Listen in to this third part in the 1 John series with Pastor Erin has he talks about how to fulfill the "New Old Commandment" in 1 John 2:3-17.

To be human means to be a hypocrite. And that's a problem, because hypocrisy is a sin, and sin cannot be in the presence of a perfect holy God. So what is a human to do? In this week's message, we look at the challenging yet encouraging words written by the Apostle John so long ago that let us know we do not need to be trapped in the darkness of our sin and hypocrisy.

As humans, we long to be accepted by others. We want to connect with people through the things we enjoy, whether a favorite hobby, sports team, musician, movie, or something else. Because we find meaningful connection through these things, we often make them the most important things in life. But what if God has something else for you that can lead to meaningful connection with humans AND with Him?

If someone asked you, "What's your greatest struggle?" you might be tempted to respond something like "gossip," or "lust," or "overeating," or "spending too much money," or something else. No matter what your answer, though, THAT is not your greatest struggle. To learn what your greatest struggle actually is, listen in to guest teacher Patrick Ray, who explains from Hebrews 10:11-14 what our biggest struggle actually is, and how being part of something like a Growth Group can help you radically overcome that struggle.

In America, we are quite independent as people, and many Jesus-followers bring this same independence into their spiritual growth. However, the writer of the biblical book of Hebrews encourages Jesus-followers to NOT go it alone in their pursuit of Christlikeness. In this first message in the two-week "Grow in Groups" series, guest teacher Andrew Boone unpacks Hebrews 10:19-25, showing God's call to all Jesus-followers to make Jesus-centered relationships an intentional part of their spiritual growth.

There's a lot of confusion about what a church elder is expected to do. Do they manage budgets? Do they oversee the pastor and staff? Do they manage the projects of the church, or oversee the administrative details, or simply control all the happenings of the church? In this third and final message in the Elders series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us answer the question "What is an elder supposed to actually do?" by looking at 1 Peter 5:1-5.

Last Sunday, we heard why a church would want elders to lead them. But who should these elders be? The most outspoken guy in the church? The bank president who has proven to be a success and great manager? The lady who has been a part of the church the longest or served on every other committee? In this week's message, Pastor Erin Bird walks us through the qualifications the Apostle Paul gave to Titus about who would make a great elder for a church.

There are SO many types of church governance out there in Christendom: deacons, councils, boards, dictatorships, church staffs, and more. So why is Riverwood choosing to move to an elder form of leadership? In this first message in a three part series, Pastor Erin Bird explains why he believes Riverwood will benefit from installing elders to help continue the mission of inviting the spiritually disconnected to find and follow Jesus.

For many Jesus-followers, engagement with the spiritual disciplines can be tiring, frustrating, and difficult. Whether it is prayer, Bible reading, fasting, or something else, they find themselves drifting toward comfort and disengagement, eventually quitting the spiritual discipline altogether. But what if your best days are found on the other side of your spiritual funk? In this final message in the Disciplined series, Pastor Erin Bird teaches from James 1:2-4 about the power of perseverance, and how your greatest days and spiritual maturity will be found through the struggle of the disciplines.

No one accidentally wins an Olympic gold medal. It takes tremendous work and sacrifice to obtain something of such incredible worth. Likewise, to grow to love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived often requires great sacrifice. In this seventh part of the Disciplined, Pastor Erin Bird teaches from two parables the Jesus told to show the power of sacrifice. If you want to have an amazing relationship with God, listen in for how you can grow spiritually through three different disciplines of sacrifice.

Money. Yep, we're going there. The topic of finances is quite the sticky topic to discuss in church. And yet, if you want to love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived, you have to wrestle with the topic. In this sixth part of the Disciplined series, Jacob Tews helps Jesus-followers see the beauty of living generously, particularly when it comes to the area of finances. So listen in to be challenged and inspired to enter into the spiritual discipline of giving.

If you were to ask a random Christian to name some spiritual disciplines, "serving" would probably not be one of the first disciplines listed, if at all. And yet serving is an incredibly important discipline because it helps to change our selfish hearts. So listen in to learn how the discipline of serving can help you grow spiritually, as well as learn who you are to serve.

Ever felt like prayer is boring? Or have you felt like you couldn't pray because of sin in your life and/or past? Or maybe you're simply afraid to pray because it has just been so long since you've tried to talk with God and you fear He might be a bit upset that you've been ignoring Him? In this masterful sermon on the spiritual discipline of prayer, guest teacher Patrick Ray walks us through Romans 8, showing us why we shouldn't let shame or fear or boredom keep us from this God-given gift called prayer. So if you want to grow in your conversations with God, listen in to this fourth part of the Disciplined series.

You may not realize it, but you are almost always worshipping. The question is: who or what are you worshipping? In this third part of the Discipled series, we look at how easily we worship the things of this earth instead of the One who made the earth, and how to go about changing that. So listen in if you want to grow as a worshipper of God.

Relationships are hard. Hang out with someone long enough, and you will inevitably get hurt, whether through their words or actions. And when we get hurt, we often want to pull away from the relationship. However, humans were created as relational creatures. So we want to be in relationship, and yet we get hurt by those relationships. So how do we live in this tension? Listen in to learn how to allow the spiritual discipline of community help you grow to be more like Jesus.

For the summer of 2018, Riverwood Church is taking a look at the topic of spiritual disciplines. Over 9 weeks, the Riverwood family will look at nine different disciplines Jesus-followers can engage in. However, there is a danger to this topic. In this opening message in the Disciplined series, Pastor Erin Bird helps us learn what the inherent danger is with spiritual disciplines, how to avoid this danger, and the reason Scriptural intake is a foundational discipline for those who want to grow spiritually and follow Jesus.

What should a church family really look like? How should a church family operate? What should a Jesus-follower be willing to give up for the sake of others within the church family? In this final message in the "& Jesus" series, guest teacher Andrew Boone takes us to Romans 15 to challenge Jesus-followers to critically think about how they are to live within a church family. Listen in to this encouraging & challenging message that all Jesus-followers need to hear.

When it comes to the role of conscience in the Christian faith, things can get a bit sticky. The conscience of one Jesus-followers allows him to enjoy a beer while the conscience of another Jesus-follower won't let her even walk into a bar. Does this mean God is unfair? Or that one of the Jesus-followers is wrong in his or her conviction? Join us as Pastor Erin Bird walks us through this difficult issue by studying Romans chapter 14.

Oftentimes, when a person feels stressed or uncomfortable in life, he or she will seek out pleasure to bring some relief. But sometimes, the pleasure they seek keeps them from the life they truly want. In this sixth part of the & Jesus sermon series, Pastor Erin Bird walks through Romans 13:11-14, which shows Jesus-followers that life on this earth is not the time to fill up with as much pleasure as one can get. Rather, it's time for something far more meaningful and important. Listen in as we look at the topic of "Pleasure & Jesus."

Most people see the government as a bureaucratic nightmare that is focused on getting and keeping power. How should a Jesus-follower respond to the government, especially when government leaders make decisions that a Jesus-follower might disagree with. The answer might surprise you. Listen in as we learn from Romans 13 how a follower of Jesus should approach his country's government.

Many people within our American culture think of marriage as an emotional and sexual prison. Why else do 41% of all marriage experience emotional and/or physical infidelity? And why else would 74% of men and 68% of women be willing to have an affair if they knew they wouldn't get caught? Clearly, marriage is viewed by many as a shackle. But rather than be a jail that keeps us from joy, what if God designed marriage to not only fill us with joy, but to help us become more like Jesus? Whether you are married or not, learn how God designed for husbands and wives to operate within marriage.

In our modern American culture, some people view kids as trouble, or annoying, or just something to be ignored. But have you ever considered how God views kids? In this third message in the & Jesus series, teaching pastor Erin Bird shows us from Romans 12 and Ephesians 6 why we need to love and honor kids if we are going to be followers of Jesus.

The story of Batman isn't just a comic book story or a super hero story. It is actually a revenge story. It is a story about Bruce Wayne getting revenge upon crime for taking his parents from him when he was a kid. Living inside of you is an inner Batman - a character that wants revenge whenever something or someone is taken from you. This inner Batman makes us feel strong, but he actually robs us of having amazing, healthy relationships. If you want to have the type of relationships that you dream about, then your inner Batman has to die. In this second part in the & Jesus series, our teaching pastor, Erin Bird, walks us through Romans 12:9-21, showing us how to help our inner Batman die so the image of Jesus can rise within us.

Have you ever had to make a decision that those around you thought was absolutely crazy, but you knew beyond a shadow of doubt was the right thing to do? Some times, that's what it looks like to follow Jesus. An unbelieving world thinks a Jesus-follower is nuts for some of the things he or she believes God is calling them to do. How does a Jesus-follower make these difficult decisions in the face of such questioning? Listen in to this first part in our & Jesus sermon series from Romans chapter 12 as Pastor Erin Bird helps you answer that question, whether you are a follower of Jesus or not.

Many people in our American society are familiar with the Easter story, even those who don't go to church. But do these miraculous events from over two-thousand years ago mean anything for people living in 2018? In this Easter message entitled Glorious Day, Pastor Erin Bird shows how the physical resurrection of Jesus points to a spiritual resurrection that God wants to do within you, changing you at your core.

Most people in life spend their time trying to be happy. They selfishly focus on whatever they believe will make life easier, more pleasurable, or more memorable. But then there a few people who seem to devote the majority of their time to helping others. They are incredibly Unselfish. How do they do it? By having a shift in their motivation. In this message, Riverwood's teaching pastor, Erin Bird, walks us through Colossians 3:1-17, helping us see how to make a shift in motivation in our spiritual lives that will help us not fall into a pit of selfishness, but a life filled with compassion, love, and peace.