Come back to God!

God has given us, the church, the responsibility of telling people about His love for them, His acceptance of them and His desire for them to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 5:19 (NLT) “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

That’s our job! But how do we reach people with the good news of God’s love and acceptance when they are struggling with misconceptions of the church and their own personal struggles with acceptance, trust, brokenness, truth, and tolerance?

One word: GRACE!

Theologically grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve. In other words we don’t deserve forgiveness. We don’t deserve a purpose for our lives. We don’t deserve a future home in heaven. But God loves us and He gives it to us anyhow, that’s grace.

The church has always understood receiving the grace of God, what it has struggled with is extending personal grace to an undeserving world. It’s developed rules and regulations, expectations and standards; and it’s been very judgmental of people who don’t measure up.

It’s amazing to me is that those of us who have experienced the total acceptance and forgiveness and grace of God, that we did not deserve, do not offer that same grace to others; just like Jesus did.

Jesus was absolutely non-condemning. In fact the only time Jesus ever condemned anyone was when they were self-righteous and religiously pious! And that’s exactly what many non churched people think about the people in the church! They think the church is nothing but self-righteous and religiously pious people!

So let's change that! Let's give others the grace God has given to us. Let's love the unlovely, the hurting, the outcasts, the imperfect, the "normal" people, the less than cool crowd, the Hipsters, the old folks, the student's.... Let's love everyone just like Jesus loved us! 

When we love others as Jesus loved us, then we can extend our hand and say, Come back to God!

Welcome To The River!

At The River we work hard to provide a unique environment in which anyone, and we mean anyone can be comfortable.

We seek to provide a diverse, judgment free zone where a lasting, active relationship with God can be discovered and developed at your own pace.

As we grow and develop as a church family we are seeking to continually provide a safe, energetic environment, where everyone feels accepted and respected.

We know that no one is perfect, except God, but we also know that God wants us to continually be in the process of becoming more like Him, so we are here to encourage you to be everything that God created you to be.

Therefore The River is committed to be a place where you can become and belong.

Our Mission: Come as you are, Love Jesus, Serve Others, and Tell the Story!

We are The River!

Faith... Most of the time!

I trust God completely, most of the time... It's a strange thing to live by faith. Several times in my life I have taken pretty big steps of faith trusting God for everything to survive, and God has always met my needs. But then something weird happens; I start to "help" God, I don't know why. It's like I think, living by faith is Ok for short periods of time, but after a while I need to get back into control.

I feel like the Israelites in the wilderness. They trusted God for a while, then they tried to do things on their own. After a while God removes His blessing and they suffer. They realize they have forsaken God so they repent and trust God again and He blesses them again. At least until they forget Him again. It's a cycle that is repeated in the Old Testament over and over again.

What disturbs me is that it happens to me too!

I was reading in 2 Chronicles 15 & 16 about Asa, one of the Israelite king's who loved and trusted God, most of the time. The prophet of God came to him and said, "Listen to me, Asa and all Judah and Benjamin. The LORD is with you when you are with him. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will forsake you." And Asa determined to trust God and God blessed him and all Israel.

But after a while, a problem came up and Asa didn't think of asking God for help, he asked another king to help him out. It seemed to make sense. He had a problem, another king provided an easy solution. It wasn't an evil decision, it made human sense, it's the way things had been done many times before. But he didn't ask God for His help.

Hanani the seer came to Asa king of Judah and said to him: "Because you relied on the king of Aram and not on the LORD your God, the army of the king of Aram has escaped from your hand... When you relied on the LORD, he delivered them into your hand. For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him. You have done a foolish thing, and from now on you will be at war." OUCH! God wanted to give Asa a full blessing and freedom for the Israelites. Asa wanted the same thing, but did it his way, not even realizing he wasn't trusting God.

God wants us to trust Him, lean on Him, and turn to Him all the time, for everything! When we do, He blesses us. When we forget Him and turn to other means to meet our needs, whatever they may be, He removes His blessing and lets us get by on our own.

I NEVER WANT TO GET BY ON MY OWN! I want to trust God every day for everything. But it is so easy to get comfortable and forget. He meets our needs, we are pleased, we give Him praise and then we just sort of forget and when the next problem comes up we try to solve it on our own, but without God's blessing because we didn't ask Him for His help.

I understand Paul's cry of anguish far too much, Romans 7:15 & 24-25 "I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate....Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death? Thank God! The answer is in Jesus Christ our Lord."

Thank you Jesus that you love and died for imperfect people like me. Now Lord help me to always trust you and not forget you. Amen.

Why I love the church and hate the church...

I love the church, it is the body of Christ. So why do I struggle with liking the church?

The church as God designed it is a loving accepting home for any and everyone. Unfortunately that is not what the church seems to be. Honestly, there are many churches who do show grace and acceptance, at least for a while. But for some reason as soon as a person who really needs grace, comes to church, we begin to try to change them. Not that change is bad, it is God's will, but we seem to think God gave US the responsibility to change people. He didn't. That's the job of the Holy Spirit. Our job is to love people, accept them, nurture them, teach His Word to them, encourage obedience, and then love some more; with the same grace God extended to each and every one of us and then leave the results up to GOD! Why can't we get that?

Try to love the unlovely for a while. The back slidden Christian, the self committed atheist or agnostic. Try to love those who are different than you; someone of a different ethnic group, a different lifestyle choice, a different economic class, a different sub culture than you. It's not easy, but it's God's command. We are to love people just like He loves us. Jesus said "Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay his life down fr his friends." John 15:13 (NIV) That's the standard.

It is sad to me that one of the great commands of Christ is that we love one another, but it is that same command that convicts us all and turns the world away from Christ. Let's learn to love like Jesus; totally and completely accepting of all people, no matter what the background, race, lifestyle preference, culture, or actions. We are to love people to Christ and let Him change their lives. That is my prayer for the church. That is my prayer for you.

The Mission of The River-Part 4; TELL THE STORY!

Our Mission is simple:
· Come as you are- No perfect People Allowed. We’re a church for those who have given up on the traditional church but not on God and we are a judgment free zone!
· Love Jesus – That’s why we’re here, it’s what God created us for – to have a relationship with Him by falling in love with His Son Jesus.
· Serve Others - using the gifts and abilities God has given us to serve Him by serving others.
· Today I am wrapping up this series by talking about the fourth part of our Mission – Tell the Story.
God has given every believer the responsibility of telling the story of God’s love for us and what He has done to prove His love for us and provide us with the opportunity to have a relationship with Him.

In fact Paul instructed Timothy in 2 Timothy 4:5 (NIV) “do the work of an evangelist” even though he was not an evangelist.

In fact look at what Jesus told His followers…
Luke 14:23 (LB) ‘Go into the country… and urge anyone you find to come, so that my house will be full.”
Jesus says that’s our job! Bring people to church and to Him!

Institute for American Church Growth put out these statistics about how people first come to church:
= 2% Special needs
= 3% Walked-in
= 6% Pastor
= 1% Home visitation
= 5% Sunday school
= 5% Evangelistic crusade
= 3% Programs
= 79% Friend/relative invited them to come
Jesus says that one of our main jobs as Christians is to go out and tell everyone we meet to come to church and then tell them the Good News about who He is. We are His ad campaign.

Madison Ave discovered this years ago. They discovered that the greatest advertising strategy around is word of mouth.

Jesus Advertising campaign was simple:
Go tell people about Me and bring them into My house.

What did He do to bring them in?
= Did He take out ads in the Jerusalem Times?
= Buy radio time on the popular radio stations?
= Send out postcards via camel express? No.

It was all word of mouth.
Think of TV commercials. Most commercials don’t ask or even tell you to buy their product.
Most Advertising, with the exception of infomercials, is based on word of mouth advertising.

They work tediously to portray an intimate setting where you are privileged to be a fly on the wall to watch a private conversation and hear all the great things a particular product does by "someone just like you."

= Commercials show people talking directly to me telling me of all the good things that their product could do for me.
= Or, you see people having the times of their lives, doing things that could only be enjoyed by people who used a particular product.

Every commercial is less than subtle in telling you about their product without ever yelling at you or condemning you for not using their product. They simply make very strong insinuations that your quality of life would improve if you used their product. And it is all done with the illusion of using someone we know, admire, want to be like, or relate to; personally talking to us.

But Jesus didn't have a Madison Avenue public relations team promoting him. Everything He did was passed on by word of mouth. And His message of love spread like wildfire!

People whose lives were radically changed by Christ told everybody they came into contact with what had happened. Even people, who didn't experience significant life change, saw life change in others and they told others what they had seen!

John and Peter were ordered by the rulers of their time to stop talking about Jesus; but look at what they said…
Acts 4:20 (NIV) “For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”

It's like that really old Faberge' ad, I told two friends and they told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on, and so on, and so on...

That’s how the good news about Jesus Christ spread around the world; word of mouth, one by one, people would tell their friends, neighbors, relatives, and coworkers about Christ.

We have a word for that strategy of word of mouth advertising when it comes to Jesus, we call it evangelism.

That’s how Jesus grew the first church, word of mouth evangelism. Eyewitness accounts, and one on one testimonies.

Now for some reason the word evangelism strikes fear in most people’s hearts. Now before I tell you three ways to talk to your friends about Jesus let’s talk about some...
I. MISCONCEPTIONS OF EVANGELISM.

A. YOU MUST BE AN OBNOXIOUS BIBLE THUMPER.

For many people the term evangelism brings up all sorts of unpleasant images:
· Hellfire and brimstone Bible Thumpers,
· pushy salesman types,
· slick, insincere celebrities,
· money grubbing televangelists,
· bizarre, cult like figures,
· hustlers, con men,
· Jim and Tammy Faye, Jimmy Swaggart, and so on.

Most of us find the hard sell approach impersonal, overbearing, and obnoxious. We tend to mistrust the sincerity of the person talking about Jesus. We feel like we are being sold something; and that doesn’t feel sincere!

If we think this is the only way to talk about Jesus, we will probably want to stay as far away from this role as possible. We fear that people will think we’re religious fanatics.

But you don't have to be a bible thumper, just be yourself.

B. YOU MUST KNOW THE WHOLE BIBLE.

That's like saying before you ever play the game of baseball you have to know all the rules and how to play every position before you even try.

Many of us are afraid that someone will ask us a question that we don’t know the answer to and we’ll look stupid. Or that there is some secret formula that we discover only after we have learned the entire bible and if done right everybody we talk to will beg us to tell them about Jesus.

We think that we must have an answer for every question.

You know what? God doesn't give us all the answers! We're just not supposed to know everything; if we did we would be God!

If you don't have the answer to a question someone asks you, don't panic! Just tell them that if there’s an answer you will get it for them.

Then study the question, or call me or someone else who can answer the question or at least the ability to find the answer if, there is one.

C. YOU MUST BE PERFECT.

You can never lose your temper. You can never do anything wrong.

Let's face it - we’re going blow it; we’re not perfect.

So don't ignore your mistakes, admit them and correct them. Don't hide them, but don't publicize them either.

When you blow it, recognize that it is not an unforgivable sin, work to correct it, ask for forgiveness, and move on.

That’s the beauty of God’s grace. God forgives us and forgets what we did. Our slate is clean before a gracious God. Remember Jesus died for our sins to forgive us.

In contrast to those misconceptions….

D.L. Moody said, “If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced that it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all, there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents.”

It takes average people, just like you and me to spread the Good News that Jesus died to forgive us from our sins. It’s our job to go out into our communities, tell people about Jesus and bring them into His church. It takes average people like you and me; there are no superstars in the Christian Community.
Remember Jesus ad campaign? Go tell people about Me.

Look at these two commands of Jesus:
THE GREAT COMMANDMENT:
Matthew 22:36-39 (NIV) "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR as yourself."

THE GREAT COMMISSION:
Matthew 28:19-20 (NIV) "GO AND MAKE DISCIPLES of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you."

Jesus says, be committed to love God and love our neighbors and then be committed to make disciples, devoted followers of Christ.

If that’s the command of Jesus; then how do we do that? How do we love God and our neighbors enough to tell them about Jesus? Let's look at …
II. THREE KEYS TO TALKING TO YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT JESUS.

A. LIVE WITH A GREAT COMMITMENT

The greatest impact the average Christian will ever make will be through their life and actions.

Many of us have heard about the Sermon on the Mount. It’s where Jesus taught a large crowd of his followers.

A significant part of that message is Jesus explaining to his followers the true nature of their calling. They would be His light to the world.
Matthew 5:14-16 "You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven."

In other words Jesus said let your life be an advertisement for me! Let them see me through you.

Don't hide your Christianity. Make sure you are doing good things, and then when those good things are noticed tell them it's Jesus who is shining through you.

Doing good deeds is a way of loving people into the family of God.
1 John 4:7-8 (LB) "Dear friends, let us practice loving each other, for love comes from God and those who are loving and kind show that they are the children of God, and that they are getting to know him better. But if a person isn't loving and kind, it shows that he doesn't know God - for God is love."

Let me ask you a question: If your neighbors had to depend on you to find out about Jesus, how much would they know?

You live a great commitment by loving people enough to let the light of Jesus shine through you by living in a way that people say, I want what you have.

Your Christianity should be contagious. That’s what we should be - contagious Christians.

A Christian who maintains an ongoing personal contact with a non-believer is far more effective than the polished appeal of an evangelist, because they are able to show their whole life as a witness. Our friends will almost always more easily relate to us than someone they do not know, and the trust that is built up through a relationship helps create open doors for talking to them about Jesus.

So if you want to talk to your friends about Jesus; love them by living a life worthy of imitation and let the light of Jesus shine through you!

Here’s a warning: everything you do is a reflection on Jesus. So
· If you’re loving to your neighbors it’s a good reflection
· If you’re the crab of the neighborhood, it’s a bad reflection
· If you’re happy despite the circumstances, it’s good
· If you’re the complainer…
Think of it like this, if you’re contagious, what will people catch from you?

Once we have a great commitment to live contagiously for Christ, then we need to explain why we live differently…
B. LIVE THE GREAT COMMISSION

We need to be prepared to talk to people about Jesus.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 (LB) "...I solemnly urge you before God and Christ Jesus, ...to preach the Word of God urgently at all times, whenever you get the chance, in season and out..."

There are many different ways to talk about Jesus.

1. The first thing you have to do is tell YOUR story.
So you have to learn how to tell your story. It’s pretty simple really; just take a few minutes and write it out.

Here is a simple three point outline to write out your story. Just write one or two paragraphs on…
What was your life like before you became a Christian?
How did you become a Christian?
How has your life changed since becoming a Christian?
Simply take about one minute for each point and skip all the gory details. Sometimes people get hung up on talking about how bad they were… in detail. It will derail your story.

If you like I can email you a simple worksheet to help you tell your story. Just ask for it on your connection card, and make sure I have your email address.

Once you have told your story you need to be able to tell a person how to become a Christian.

2. There are all sorts of tracts that are published that allow you to simply read it to another person. They’re designed to take you all the way through to a prayer of commitment. They are simple and easy.

3. But my favorite way to talk to people about Jesus is called the Roman Road.

I have memorized several verses in Romans that present the gospel completely. I can use these verses and make a short simple presentation or a longer more complete presentation.

They are
Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 5:8 "But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

Romans 10:9-10 "That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved."
That’s the Roman Road. It’s a simple way to tell the Good news of Jesus Christ. You don't need a Bible handy, you don't need to carry a tract, if you memorize it; it's always there.

David was hiding from King Saul in the desert and he said
Psalm 119:11 "I have hidden your Word in my heart that I might not sin against you." He didn't have a scroll tucked away in his tunic; he had memorized scripture to carry it with him all the time.

1. So we live a great commitment through a lifestyle of love recognizing that we are not perfect, but striving to do all that we can to bring glory to God. Remember, People take your example far more seriously than your advice.

2. And we live the great commission as we back up our lives with words, a verbal presentation.
1 Peter 3:15-16 (LB)"Quietly trust yourself to Christ your Lord, and if anybody asks you why you believe as you do, be ready to tell him, and do it in a gentle and respectful way."

C. Live Strategically

Acts 20:24 (ICB) “The most important thing is that I complete my mission. I want to finish the work that the Lord Jesus gave me—to tell people the Good News about God’s grace.”

In other words, develop a plan to tell the story and talk about Jesus with your friends...

· I’ve been talking to people about Jesus ever since I moved here. In fact the very first people I talked to were the movers who unloaded our furniture from the moving truck. Today one of them plays a key part in our church.
· I go to the gym 5 days a week and I have developed relationships with several people there. Two families have come to our church as a result of my building a relationship and talking to them about Jesus and our church.
· One guy I have met with several times and talked to him about Jesus. He has not come yet, but He will!
· I have talked to every neighbor on our block and invited them to our church.
· Cathy and I have built a casual friendship with a checker at a grocery store and we have invited her to come and check us out.
I have a plan; and that’s to talk to everyone I can about Jesus and The River. I am intentional and deliberate everywhere I go.

The point is you need to live strategically. You need to deliberately look for opportunities to invite your friends to church and talk to them about Jesus.

You say, Pastor Dave of course you talk to everyone about Jesus and the church; you’re the pastor and it’s easy when people know you’re a pastor!

Not true! I don’t tell people I’m a pastor. When they hear I’m a pastor they think I’m a hired professional!

Who do you think do you think people trust more - the hired professional or the satisfied customer? The satisfied customer!

Your friends trust you. They see changes in your life, they see a difference in your life; and they want to know why? What makes you different?

The apostle Paul said,
1 Corinthians 9:19-22 (Msg) “I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn’t take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I’ve become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life”

Paul lived intentionally! And he related to everyone without condoning their actions or taking on their way of living. He worked to see things from their point of view just so he could talk to them about Jesus.

That’s what it means to live strategically!

One caution... the people your talking to about Jesus must not get the impression that they are your save the world project!
= You invite them as you have earned the right through your relationship.
= You love them with your actions with no strings attached.
= Even though we hope and pray for them to develop a desire to know Jesus, we love them consistently whether they accept the invitation or not.

So live strategically with a great commitment to the great commandment and you will have the great joy of introducing your friends to Jesus!

Maybe today when I talked about the Roman Road, Christianity made sense to you for the first time. Then take the first step, invite Jesus Christ into your life.

OUR MISSION AT THE RIVER – Part 2

Love Jesus – The Foundation of Our Faith

Our greatest desire at The River is to help you discover what it means to love Jesus. We will never push religion, God, Jesus or our church on anyone.

We want to celebrate what it means to be a Christ follower!

So we tell people come as you are, check us out, ask questions, take as much time as you need, but our goal is for you to fall in love with Jesus.

But what does that mean? There are so many misconceptions about what love is that if we're going to really understand how to love Jesus we have to start with understanding what real love is.

Love is a word that we use and misuse in many different ways. We say things like:
· I love my wife.
· I love pepperoni pizza. I hope I feel differently about Cathy than I do about pepperoni pizza or at least maybe more passionately
· I love America.
· I love apple pie.
· I love you.
Same word, different meanings.

What does the word mean? That's the key. If I'm going to love Jesus, I've got to understand what this word is all about.

First let’s look at some popular misconceptions that confuse our understanding of love.

1. Love is only a feeling. I get a feeling, a quiver in my liver, an ocean of emotion, or a tingle in my toes. But love is more than a feeling. It affects my feelings powerfully, but it's more than just a feeling.

2. Love is uncontrollable. A lot of people use words like I feel giddy, my head's spinning, or I'm weak in the knees. It sounds a lot more like being sea sick than love struck, but that's the words that we use to describe love.

We've all heard people say, "I fell in love." Like you're walking down the street one day, tripped, and fell in love. When you say that what you're really saying is, “it just happened, I couldn't help it; I had no control over it.”

That's a dangerous misconception. Because if you can fall into love, then you can fall out of love.

You may not realize it, but you can control love, in fact the Bible teaches that love is controllable. It is actually up to you to determine if you fall in or out of love.

In fact Jesus actually commanded us to love one another.
John 15:12 (NIV) “My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you.”

If He commanded it, obviously it’s something we can control.
That means I have control over when I love and when I don't love. Who I love and who I don’t love.

God’s love, Agape love is a different kind of love than we’re used to. His love is powerful, complete, and unconditional. He loves us and He wants us to love Him back and to love others.

So if love is more than just a feeling and you have control over it, then what does God say about love?

1. God says, Love is a choice.
Colossians 3:14 (NIV) "And over all these virtues, put on love, which binds them all together." Circle "put on love". Love is something that I choose to do. It’s an action that I take. If it were a feeling, or just an accident, then God couldn't command it. But it’s a choice so He can command it and that leads to the second thing God says about love.

2. Love is a matter of conduct. It's how I act.
1 John 3:18 "Let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and truth." Actions -- that's what love is really all about. It's how I act towards another person. You can talk about love until you're blue in the face, but your actions will always determine what is real.

3. Love is what God has for us unconditionally.
Romans 5:8 (TEV) “God has shown us how much He loves us; It was while we were still sinners that Christ died for us.”

When you understand God’s love, it includes a forgiveness capacity that strains anyone’s imagination.

God doesn’t say, “Clean up your act first and then come to Me.” God says, “Come to Me. Receive My love and I will help you clean up your act.”

When we receive God’s unconditional love He forgives us for everything we have ever done.

Luke 24:47 (LB) “There is forgiveness of sins for all who turn to me.”

It’s like this: Imagine that God gave you the ability to remember everything wrong you’ve ever done– every bad thing, every sin, everything you’ve ever done and you had to write it down in a notebook. Some of you are thinking, “That’s a lot of notebooks!” You’re right. Now God says give Me your notebooks and He drops them into a trash can that says “FORGIVEN”. Then He walks you into a party, a celebration. There’s music going and streamers and people are hollering. And it’s a party for you.

That’s what heaven’s like. And Jesus tells us three stories to explain it. He tells us a story about…
a woman who lost a coin,
a shepherd who lost a sheep,
and father who lost a lost son.

Guess what happens when the coin, the sheep and the son are found? They celebrate! God and all the Angels in heaven party!
· He’s not rejoicing because all the problems of the world have been solved.
· He’s not rejoicing because all human pain and suffering are over.
· He’s not rejoicing because thousands have been converted and are now praising His goodness.
He rejoices because that which was lost has now been found. He rejoices because one of His creations has been found.

If you’re here today and you are just checking things out, today’s your day to be found. It’s your day to respond to God’s love and to receive it. God wants to throw a party in your name, today!

John 1:12 (NLT) “But to all who believed Him and accepted Him, He gave them the right to become children of God.”

That’s what a Christian is - a child of God. If you’ve never received God’s love, what are you waiting for?

All you have to do is say, “God, here I am. I want to be your child. I accept your Son Jesus Christ.” That’s what being a Christian is.

So let me make it simple, here are the ABC’s of loving Jesus.

What do I have to do to love Jesus?
A - ACCEPT GOD'S LOVE FOR ME.

This is what we have been talking about. But think about it like this:
Your deepest need in life is to feel totally and unconditionally loved.
· Not for something you could be or should be,
· But loved just as you are, total acceptance.
That is your deepest inner need.

And only God can love you with as much love as you really need. God loves you every second of every minute of every hour of every day of every week of every month of every year.

There's never been a time in your life when God didn't love you. Nobody else can do that. Only God can love you as deeply as you really need.

So if to be loved is your deepest need, and God loves you as much as you need, why people avoid God? Because they don't know what He's like. They don't know how much He loves them.

It's ironic to me that when you need God's love the most is when you tend to run the other way. Guilt causes us to run from God instead of running to God.

That started way back at the Garden of Eden. Adam, after eating the forbidden fruit says, "I was afraid and I hid myself." And people have been afraid and running from God ever since.

I used to have a big sign in my office that said, "If you feel far from God, guess who moved?" It’s not God, God hasn't moved. He's never stopped loving you. In fact He continues to pursue you.

But some of you say, "But you don't know what I've done! I've blown it too much. God can never love me." Wrong.
Romans 8:39 (NLT) "… indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord."

God has never stopped loving you. That doesn't mean He approves of everything you've done, because He doesn’t, but no matter what He's never stopped loving you.

Some say, "I don't feel like I'm a bad person but I just don't think God's interested in me." You're wrong too!

Luke 12:7 (NCV) "God even knows how many hairs you have on your head. Don't be afraid, you are worth much…"

You’re worth much! In fact you ever want to know how much you're worth, just look at the cross!

What’s the starting point? Accept God's love for you.
It's one thing to know about God's love. It's another thing to accept it. You're never going to understand it until you accept it.

That means saying to God, "God I know You love me and I receive Your love. I don't want to just know about You. I want to know You."

The Bible says God created you just so He can love you. He knows everything there is to know about you. He knows everything you’ve ever done and He still loves you and wants you to know Him. He still wants to have a relationship with you.

He loves you unconditionally; don’t you think you should love Him back? That makes Him worth our acceptance of Him.

To love Jesus, first I have to accept God’s love for me, then I...
B - BELIEVE THAT JESUS DIED AND ROSE FOR ME.

Psalm 14:1 (NIV) “The fool says in his heart there is no God.”
Let me be totally candid with you here: You have to have more faith to believe that creation happened by accident than to believe there's a creator. When you have a creation there must be some creator.

It takes more faith to not believe in God than it does to believe in God. If I took a watch all apart and put all the pieces in a bag and shook it up - do you think it could come out as a working watch? No way! Somebody had to put it together. And it's an even bigger leap of faith to think the universe happened like that.

Its one thing to believe about a person but it's another thing to believe in a person.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

Some people say, "I believe there's a God." So what?

There’s more to loving Jesus than just head knowledge. It's not just believing about God, it's believing in God. The Bible says even the demons believe that God is real but you're not going to find them in heaven.

I believe Lenin was real but I'm not a Communist. I believe Hitler was real but I'm not a Nazi. I believe in Jesus and I'm a Christian. Why? Because I've committed myself to Him.

The Greek word for believe in means to trust in, cling to, rely on, adhere to, sell out to, commit to.

It's like the chair you're setting on. You say, "I believe this chair will hold me up." It's one thing to say you believe it. It's another to sit down on it. The moment you sit down on it, that's real belief. You relied on the chair to hold you up.

You need Jesus in your life. You need to have a relationship with God, not because you're going to die tomorrow, but because you're going to live tomorrow BUT you’re going to die someday. And only a fool goes through life unprepared for what he knows is going to happen. That's foolish. So be prepared.

So to love Jesus I need to accept His love for me. I need to believe that Jesus died on the cross and rose from the grave for me. And finally to Love Jesus I need to take that final step and…
C - COMMIT MY LIFE TO CHRIST.

Romans 10:9 (NIV) “That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’… you will be saved.”

That’s what separates Christ followers from religious people. Religious people confess their religion; whatever that is… and Christ followers confess Jesus as their Lord.

You say Jesus; I commit my life to You.

You accept His love for you, you believe in your heart that Jesus died on the cross for you and rose from the grave and then you commit your whole life to Christ.

I lived in Atlanta for several years. I served as a youth pastor at a church and then I went out on my own as a youth evangelist. I began speaking at camps and youth groups and I was even booked on a Christian cruise to the Bahamas. Most of the churches who booked me were Southern Baptist churches. They network, once you do a good job for one, they tell all the other Southern Baptist churches and you’re in. Then one day someone asked me, What are you? I said a Christian. They said no I mean are you a Southern Baptist. I said, no I’m a Christian. Now you have to know that most of my ministries had been at Baptist churches and I was originally ordained at a Baptist church. But the truth is I have always disliked being put into a mold; to me a religious title was never comfortable. And I saw this strong religious attitude that said, I’m a Southern Baptist so I’m saved. But I knew a lot of people who claimed to be So Baptist that didn’t know or love Jesus, they were just religious. Shortly after that, all my speaking opportunities dried up. The word was out, he’s not a Baptist! I hate religion!

1 Peter 3:14-15 (GN) "Don't be afraid of anyone and don't worry, but have reverence for Christ in your heart and honor him as Lord."

· How many of you would say "I try to follow the Ten Commandments."
· How many of you even know all Ten Commandments?
· How many of you have seen the Ten Commandments?
· Do you know what the first commandment is?

Exodus 20:6 "You shall have no other gods before Me."
That's number one on God's big ten! The Bible calls the opposite of that idolatry.

Any time you put anything, any person, any career, any job, any decision, any religion, anything in first place in your life instead of God; that's called idolatry.

It can even be a good thing, but if it's in first place in your life where God ought to be, you've made it god.

Any time you put your house, your job, your bank account, your girlfriend, boyfriend, husband of wife - before God that's called idolatry.

1 Peter 3:14-15 (TEV) “Do not be afraid of anyone, and do not worry. But have reverence for Christ in your hearts, and honor him as Lord."

That's not a word we use a whole lot. We don't have lords and ladies and counts in America. This is a democracy. So what does it mean to honor Christ as Lord?

It means let Christ be the manager of your life. Let Him be the boss. Let Him call the shots. He doesn't want to be resident in your life, He wants to be president in your life. You say “God, You be number one." That's what it means to commit to Christ, to make Him Lord. And that’s what it means to love Jesus.

Maybe you feel like things aren't fitting together very well in your life right now. Maybe you're feeling a sense of incompleteness.

You’re wondering why am I here? What’s my purpose?
Is this all there is to life?
If you've had those feelings, congratulations!

Where do you think those feelings are coming from? God!
God is putting a hunger for Himself in your life. He's saying "I love you and I want you to love Me.

He creates a dissatisfaction in your life that says, "There's got to be more to life than this!" Because there is!

There's a God-shaped vacuum in each of us. Nothing else can fill it. If you don't fill it with God, it will fill with something else.

Nothing else can substitute for God.
· It doesn't matter how much human affirmation you get,
· it doesn't matter how many awards you put on your shelf,
· how many achievements you get,
· how many possessions you stockpile,
Because nothing can substitute for God in your life; God says, I love you and I want you to love Me back.

Maybe you made a commitment to Christ a while back, but you got stuck in religion. It’s time to repent. Know what that means? It means to turn around and go the other way.
In other words, turn from religion and turn to Christ.
Stop being religious and start loving Jesus.

That’s why this is a key value and the second part of the Mission of The River, is to Love Jesus. We want you to fall in love with Jesus. He is the answer to all of life’s problems.

At the River we have discovered the keys to living life to the absolute fullest and it is found in a relationship with God who loves you so much he sent His Son to die on the cross for you.

That’s the foundation of our faith. It’s the foundation for life.

COME AS YOU ARE-NO PERFECT PEOPLE ALLOWED!

When I was a kid, my parents used to go to church all the time and my sisters and I went to church with them. I remember going to Sunday School and vacation bible school. I even joined a special program just for boys that my Sunday school teacher led. I don’t remember much about the program except that we went camping.

On my very first camping trip I was 10 years old. We went to a camp with lots of other boys from other churches. It was rustic camping and the first thing we did was lay out our sleeping bags on the grass in a big meadow. I was the last one done, so as I finished I took off running after the other kids. But I didn’t get very far before my leader called me back.

Apparently when I ran after the other kids I stepped on some sleeping bags leaving my footprint. My leader told me that I had broken one of the rules; I had stepped on someone else’s sleeping bag. He explained to me that no one wanted footprints on their sleeping bag. Then he told me that there was a punishment for breaking the rules and he pulled out the bottom of a tennis shoe and proceeded to swat me with it. I don’t remember anything else about that camp.

When I went home I told my parents, I am never going to go back to church again. They saw how hurt I was, they knew I had had some trouble with some of the boys in my Sunday school class; I was the fat kid and they made fun of me; and the worst kid in my class was the son of my Sunday school teacher. See when someone made fun of me at school I just punched them, but at church, that wasn’t the way to do things… after all God was there! So when I was 10 years old my entire family stopped going to church.

I didn’t have much use for church after that.

When I was in 10th grade a girl invited me to go with her to a high school club called Campus Life. They were having something called a burger bash which was basically a free hamburger dinner! Finally someone was speaking my language; free burgers and I was invited by a girl!

I found out that Campus Life was a Christian club for High school students, but unlike my previous church experience - it was a lot of fun. They played games, there were girls, they always had some kind of food at the end, and there was some kind of talk about God. That was cool; I figured that I had gone to church when he was a kid, so I was cool with God. I mean I assumed that I was a Christian because I used to go to church.

I went to Campus Life all through high school. It was a regular part of my life that I looked forward to every week.

High school was good to me. I may have grown up a fat kid but in high school, things changed and I went from being the fat kid that kids made fun of and basically ignored to a really big guy. I started playing football and I found my niche, I was a jock! I just wanted to fit in someplace really bad and finally as a football player I experienced some kind of acceptance.

That’s all I really wanted was to feel accepted. Unfortunately, as an athlete you’re accepted as long as you play well, make a mistake and everyone turns on you. So my acceptance in High school was partially due to athletics and partly due to fear. I thought that if people feared me they would accept me, so I became a bully; I made the kids pay for making fun of me and I began pushing other people around, getting in fights, and acting as tough as I could.

But that wasn’t really satisfying. That wasn’t real acceptance. People weren’t my friends because they liked me, it was self preservation. It didn’t matter to me, I wanted to be accepted and I was willing to do anything to at least think people liked me.

My senior year of high school my campus life club went on a water ski trip to Lake Havasu for spring break. A whole week camping, hanging out in the sun, water-skiing, BBQ every night and girls in bikinis, what more could a guy want!

But as great as those things were that wasn’t the highlight of my week. For the first time in my life I felt totally accepted. I didn't have to be a bully, or a jock, or funny, or anything. They cared for me just because I was there. There were 150 kids there who were happy, I mattered to them and not just because they didn't want to get beat up.

They had a speaker on this ski trip who was a USC offensive lineman and he had just been drafted by the New England Patriots. He was also the Captain of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes at USC.

He spoke about God as a loving, caring God who accepted everybody for who they were. I wanted this relationship with God he was talking about but I had this effeminate view of Christians. None of the really tough guys I knew were Christians, and being tough was a significant part of my life. I was very interested in how this huge All American Linemen could play football, a really tough sport, and be a Christian.

One night after He finished speaking I asked to speak with him alone. We sat on a log and talked. I asked him "How can you be a Christian and be a football player? After all football was a violent sport. And I loved the violence: I played to win at all costs, even if that meant playing dirty."
He said football is a game - not a way of life. He said you can’t live your life as if it was a football game, and you can't play football as if it was your life.

And He told me that the most important thing I could ever do with my life was to begin a relationship with God who loved and accepted me so much that He sent His Son to die for me on the cross.

That week I asked Jesus to be my Savior, and for the very first time I experienced complete and total acceptance.
· For the first time in my life I found peace and fulfillment.
· For the first time I began to understand the joy and unconditional acceptance the other kids were experiencing and that I had been looking for.

That began a lifetime of changes in my life. But it almost didn’t happen. I almost gave up on God because the church had treated me badly.

Unfortunately, I’m not the only one who has a story of rejection, un-acceptance or hurt by the people in the church.

Over the past several decades huge numbers of people have left the church because of being rejected as not good enough, being hurt, broken trust and irrelevance.

But it shouldn’t be that way! We have the keys to the kingdom of God. God has entrusted us with the responsibility of telling people about Him, His love for us, and how He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross just so we could have a relationship with Him.

Our American culture has shifted away from the church. And now we live in a postmodern society that not only doesn’t understand the church, but they don’t understand God. And many of those who do have some kind of understanding of God have given up on the church.
But again, that’s not the way it’s supposed to be!

There is so much misconception of what the church is supposed to be that it has buried the truth of what God designed the church to be. So when we try to tell people about who God is and how He loves them, they get hung up on the church.
· All they think about is that the church just wants their money,
· Or the church wants to make people be just like them,
· Or the church is full of a bunch of rules and regulations.
They are willing to find out about God, most Americans say they believe in God but their view of the church stops them cold.

They don’t trust us to tell them that their misconceptions of church are wrong, especially since they can walk into many churches where the very thing that turned them off is still going on.

Maybe you’re one of those people who have been turned off by the church. I will make you a promise, The River will be different! Listen why I explain what will make us different.

God has given us, as the church, the responsibility of telling people about His love for them, His acceptance of them and His desire for them to spend eternity with Him in Heaven.

1 Corinthians 5:19 (NLT) “So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!”

That’s our job! But how do we reach people with the good news of God’s love and acceptance when they are struggling with misconceptions of the church and their own personal struggles with acceptance, trust, brokenness, truth, and tolerance?

One word: GRACE!

Theologically grace is God giving us what we don’t deserve. In other words we don’t deserve forgiveness. We don’t deserve a purpose for our lives. We don’t deserve a future home in heaven. But God loves us and He gives it to us anyhow, that’s grace.

The church has always understood receiving the grace of God, what it has struggled with is extending personal grace to an undeserving world. It’s developed rules and regulations, expectations and standards; and it’s been very judgmental of people who don’t measure up.

It’s amazing to me is that those of us who have experienced the total acceptance and forgiveness and grace of God, that we did not deserve, do not offer that same grace to others; just like Jesus did.

Jesus was absolutely non-condemning. In fact the only time Jesus ever condemned anyone was when they were self-righteous and religiously pious! And that’s exactly what many non churched people think about the people in the church! They think the church is nothing but self-righteous and religiously pious people!

You say, how is the church self-righteous?
· I was at a church board meeting one time where they spent thirty minutes discussing what to do about a couple who came to church… wearing shorts!
Think about this, have you ever noticed how some people treat those who are different than they are?
· Those who have chosen to decorate their bodies with tattoos or piercings?
· How would you react to discover that the person sitting next to you in church was an alcoholic, a drug user, struggled with pornography, had an abortion, struggled with a sexual addiction or homosexuality, was living with someone they are not married to, or they had a prison record?
· How would you treat a Jew, a Mormon, an atheist, a Jehovah Witness, a Buddhist, a Muslim, Christian Scientist, a witch or a warlock?
· How about someone who is African American, Hispanic, Asian, Iraqi, Iranian, or Pakistani?
· What about a street person, a poor person, under privileged?
For years the church has turned away people who desperately need the love and acceptance that God offers. Instead they have condemned, criticized, and ostracized.

Or the church opened its arms to them and once they started attending or indicated that they were spiritually interested they dumped a bunch of rules and expectations on them and turned them off.

Part of the problem is the church has misunderstood part of the Great Commission.
Matthew 28:19-20 “Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you.”

Some think that teaching them to obey means that it’s our job to make people obey, to force obedience; often times forcing them to obey God even before they know God personally.

That’s not our job; that’s the job of the Holy Spirit!

So you have to ask yourself, what would Jesus do with the kind of people I just mentioned?

I know that sounds trite, but think about how Jesus treated the outcasts, the sick, the demon possessed, and the prostitutes. What did He do? HE LOVED THEM UNCONDITIONALLY!

He said in Matthew 11:28-30 (Msg) “Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you’ll recover your life. I’ll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you’ll learn to live freely and lightly.”

Jesus said the answer to life’s problems, burdens, and issues is to come to Him, lay them on Him, and learn to live freely and lightly. You can’t do that under rules and regulations!

He said I won’t put anything heavy or ill fitting on you who are already struggling; instead He says I will show you grace, I will give to you freely what you do not deserve! Forgiveness from their past, a purpose for today, and a future home in heaven!

If that’s what Jesus would do, then so should we! The question is how? How do we show grace to others, no matter what their background, problems, or issues are?

We do it just like Jesus. We tell people; just come as you are! There are no perfect people at The River in fact there are no perfect people allowed at The River. So come as you are!

God doesn’t expect us to change anything to come to Him. He just says come as you are, and when He says that He means:
· You don’t have to dress a certain way or look a certain way
· You don’t have to Act a certain way
· You don’t have to Fit a certain lifestyle
· You don’t have to give money
· It doesn’t matter what your religious background is, your class or your socio-economic position.
Jesus says come as you are! Bring your baggage, your issues, and your problems. God loves you just as you are and we should do the same!

In fact…At The River we are working diligently to create a come as you are culture.

What our world needs more than anything else is real grace, not just talk about grace – but grace that seeks out people who are far from God and accepts them just like God does.

We want to create a culture at The River that is tolerant, loving accepting of people no matter what their background is, who or what they are, what they believe, or how the look or dress.

We will be completely loving and accepting…, just as God is, and just like God we will love people enough to help them be transformed into the image of His Son Jesus Christ.

In other words: come as you are; but once you know Jesus don’t plan on staying that way!
Romans 12:2 (CEV) “Don’t be like the people of this world, but let God change the way you think. Then you will know how to do everything that is good and pleasing to him”
Circle “let God change the way you think”

It’s God’s job to change people through the power of the Holy Spirit, not ours; and when God is ready to change a person, He will! Our job is to love them before, during, and after that happens!

So how do we do that? How do we practically practice this all accepting grace, just like Jesus did?

The answer comes in what is referred to as the Great Commandment. Jesus was asked, what’s the most important commandment?

Matthew 22:37&39 (NIV) “Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus gives us two key values that ought to permeate our lives. If we are going to treat others like Jesus would then we have to learn to live these two commandments. First we must learn to…
1. love God with all our whole being

Matthew 22:37 (NIV) “Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.
Jesus says that a person’s total being must be involved in loving God. Nothing must be held back because God holds nothing back in loving us and He proved that by sending His Son to die on the cross for us.

Jesus used the words “heart,” “soul,” and “mind” to express the different and dimensions of our love for God. In other words He said we are to Love God with our whole being.

If we are going to love God with our whole being we cannot separate the heart from the soul or the mind.
· That would be like saying, “I will love God today with all my heart… while my soul and mind are otherwise occupied”.
· That’s not loving God, that’s just fooling ourselves into thinking we’re loving God.
The heart, soul, and mind must all function in harmony if we are going to love God with our whole being.

Let me explain these three functions of loving God:
· Heart refers to our emotional response. When we think about love, we usually stop with emotions. The roles of “soul” and “mind” become clear when our emotions or heart fail us.
So what do we do with the command to love God if we don’t feel like it? That’s where our soul and mind comes in.
· Soul includes the willful, decision-making part of us. Loving God with our soul covers those times when we love God apart from our feelings. Kind of like when we forgive someone who did us wrong while part of us still feels like taking revenge.
· Mind refers to the intelligent component of our love for God. In a world where faith is often described as characteristic of people who don’t think, Jesus’ says it’s important to engage our mind as a central aspect of what we believe.
Of course, loving God with our mind covers much more than just thinking about God, It takes into account being obedient to Him and His Word. Our soul and mind prove our love for God as we think through His commands and act accordingly.

Get this: the word for love here in the Greek refers to agape love, a totally unselfish love; a love of which we are only capable of with the help of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit helps us love him with our heart, soul and mind.

Jesus said we’re to love God with our whole being and we are to
2. love others for who they are

Matthew 22:39 (NIV) Jesus also said, “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Think about it like this: We all love ourselves, some more than others, and as we love ourselves - we give ourselves grace.

That means we accept ourselves, with our flaws, faults, and failures. When we make a mistake, we say oops, I made a mistake, my bad! And we move on.
· We don’t beat ourselves up,
· We don’t ignore ourselves,
· We don’t put ourselves down.
· We don’t gossip about ourselves.
· We accept our mistakes.
We know we are different - and we accept our differences.

Jesus says, this is the second most important thing you can do. First you love ME then you love others. He places an extremely high value on loving others, second only to loving God!

How are we to love others?
· We accept them for who they are.
· We care about them even when they are different.
· We accept them and love them even when they make a mistake either on purpose or by accident.
· We accept them and love them even if they live a different lifestyle, values, skin color, or appearance.
We love others by accepting them just as they are.

And we’re in luck! God gives us a whole chapter on how to love others. Here’s a portion
1 Corinthians 13:4-8 “Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous, it does not brag, and it is not proud. Love is not rude, is not selfish, and does not become angry easily. Love does not remember wrongs done against it. Love is not happy with evil, but is happy with the truth. Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong. Love never ends.”

I don’t have time to go through all this to help us understand all the nuances of love - so let’s focus on just the last part:
“Love patiently accepts all things. It always trusts, always hopes, and always continues strong. Love never ends.”

Basically, God says if we are going to love others as we love Him, we will accept everyone hoping for their best in Christ, and we love intensely never giving up.

That’s why the mission of The River begins with COME AS YOU ARE.
· That means we will accept you just as you are hoping and praying for your best… and your best comes when you discover God loves you!
· We say, no perfect people allowed, because there are no perfect people!

We don’t expect you to be perfect, we’re not perfect, you’re not perfect; and that’s OK! I’m not Ok, you’re not Ok and that is perfectly OK!
· It doesn’t matter who you are, what you have done, or what you are doing.
· It doesn’t matter what your background is, what your lifestyle is, or what you do for a living.
The only thing that matters is that God loves you unconditionally and so do we!

So come as you are; we want to help you to discover who Jesus is and what He has done for you. Take your time; investigate the claims of Christ and Christianity.

I am thoroughly convinced that whoever does that will begin a relationship with God through His Son Jesus Christ.

Prayer and Fasting

Acts 13:2-3 (GW)"While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, 'Set Barnabas and Saul apart for me. I want them to do the work for which I called them.' After fasting and praying, Simeon, Lucius, and Manaen placed their hands on Barnabas and Saul, and released them from their work in Antioch."

Matthew 17:20-21 (NASB) "... for truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you. 'But this kind does not go out except by prayer and fasting.'”

We are only a week away from beginning the next phase of launching The River (Our Preview Services begin Sunday, February 22). This is the end of phase one and the beginning of phase two... and so far God has supremely blessed! We have been experiencing God's awesome blessings and miracles. And I have been absolutely humbled by His faithfulness.

Now it is our turn to show our faithfulness. Normally God says "you first", but so far, based on what we have experienced, as God has blessed our socks off, we have simply watched Him show His grace and power as He has been establishing The River; having churches commit to helping us plant, gathering an awesome staff, and developing a committed core group of faithful believers.

So what are we to do? The Bible is clear, there is nothing we can do to make anything happen, it is only God that empowers, blesses, and grows. But there is ample teaching in the Bible that says we have a part in releasing His blessings. One significant thing we can do is pray and fast! Honestly, I don't understand in my own finite human mind (and my hungry body) how fasting works; however I do know that Jesus says, when I faithfully pray AND fast it empowers my prayers and releases God to do what He really wants to do.

What is fasting? Simply it is refraining from food. All through Scripture we see examples of fasting; fasting when seeking God's will, fasting to humble oneself before God, fasting to honor and worship God, fasting to sacrifice, etc.

As we enter phase two of launching The River I am calling on all our prayer partners to consider this Wednesday (2/18) as a day of fasting and prayer. I am not asking you to put on a monks robe and go to a Monastery in a self debasing way. Just fast, refrain from food, not water, and as you go through your normal day - pray! As you feel hungry let that be a reminder for you to pray. Pray when it comes to your mind. Pray during what would be meal times. You will be surprised at how often you will think about praying when you are fasting.

Will you commit to pray and fast with us this Wednesday? Please send me an email to let me know. I want to pray for you too!

Here are several things to bring to God in prayer for The River as we prepare to launch phase two.
-Pray that we can reach out to the non-churched people in our area; both those who have left the church for some reason and those who have never known God and lead them into a life changing relationship with Jesus.
-Pray that we can help people discover their God given shape and begin to equip them to serve Him, by serving others in and through The River.
-Pray that God would supernaturally charge all our advertising, newspaper inserts and handouts, so it is noticed and people respond by coming to The River.
-Pray that as people come onto the school property they would sense a spirit of love, caring, acceptance, and God's Spirit.
-Pray that we will fill up the school auditorium with people! Immediately forcing us to go to 2 services - even before Easter!
-Pray that we will bring Glory to God through every facet our services ; song, media, drama, teaching, announcements, communion, and the offering.
-Pray that as we plan our services we will experience the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to be creative, biblical, and point people to Jesus.
-Pray that God would spiritually supercharge our services with joy, encouragement, fun, discovery, and multiple challenges to new commitments to Jesus.
-Pray that we can develop a committed set up/take down crew that will view their hard work as serving the Lord not just a job.
-Pray for safety from the evil one. That God will bind him and not allow him to interfere, influence, or destroy anyone or any thing that is a part of The River.
-Pray for our staff: Don Steinke-Pastor of Connections, Dave Rowe-Pastor of Care, Kason Wedel-Worship Leader, Phil Eastman-Youth Director. Susie Tilton-Children's Director.
-Pray for all our volunteers who serve in hospitality, greeting, worship team, set up/take down, tech crew, children's ministry, youth ministry, and media.
-Pray for the staff at Seven Oaks Elementary School - that our use of their facilities will being blessings on them and their classes, and that they would recognize God's blessing.
-Pray for our finances. That God will continue to provide for our every need, and that our people will learn the value of giving.
-Pray for Cathy. Cathy was finally able to go to the Dr this past week. She has been given medication that prayerfully will begin to help her get back on track physically. She also did several lab tests and that suggested that there may be some other more serious physical problems. She has been referred to another Dr that she will see this week. We are praying for a miracle, we are praying for her complete healing either with the Dr's or not.
-Pray for me. I went back to the Dr on the blood clots in my leg and I have been referred to a vein specialist who I will see next week who will hopefully remove the veins. I am also scheduled for a full physical this week. Pray for a healthy outcome and no surprises!

God bless you!
Thank you for your prayers. We love you and appreciate all your prayers and support.

God's Love and Protection

"A thief comes to steal and kill and destroy. But I came to give life—life in all its fullness" John 10:10 (ICB)
"Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. " 1 Peter 5:8

I so appreciate God's love for us and how He has kept us safe and continued to bless us. We have had very little interference from the evil one. Yes Cathy and I have struggled with a couple of health issues, but all in all, God has blessed and the enemy has been restrained. Now I think part of this is because the Devil doesn't understand faith. I think he probably sat back like so many others and thought, who would go to Idaho, with no money, no church, and no people? Why would anyone make such a scary and silly decision? Well, like I said, the Devil doesn't understand faith. I think he sat back expecting us to fail, God to fail us, or for us to give up; not a chance! God has blessed and part of His blessing has been His restraint of the Devil and his followers! Thank you Lord for Your protection!

However, I must say he has taken notice of us, I am beginning to see his attacks on our church staff and some of our people. Now, understand, I am not a "the Devil is under every rock" kind of guy. But I know he is real, and I know he is dangerous. I have seen him work to take apart churches from the ground up. He is powerful, but only as powerful as God allows! For God is still in control! He is sovereign and He loves us! Praise the Lord!

We are coming down to the home stretch, so to speak, as we start The River, beginning with 7 preview services leading up to Easter Sunday when we will have our Grand Opening. Pray for us. Pray for God's continued blessings. Pray for God's continued protection from the evil one who hates the idea of another church reaching out to the unchurched and people far from God. Pray for us to know and understand what God is doing here and to have the wisdom to follow Him.

Pray for the staff of The River:

Dave Griewe - Lead Pastor
Don Steinke- Pastor of Connections
Dave Rowe - Pastor of Care
Kason Wadel - Worship Leader
Phil Eastman - Youth Director
Susie Tilton - Children's Director

God has miraculously assembled a talented and gifted staff with a huge heart for reaching the lost and seeing them grow in Christ. They truly Love the Lord and want to see people come to Christ and grow.

Pray for us as we get ready for regular Sunday services beginning on February 22, just two weeks away! Pray for people to step in and get involved, particularly in set up and take down. We are excited about opening the church with a full ministry and staff to provide leadership for each area. Pray for creativity as we program to reach the non churched and pre-believers in our area.

Praise God for His unimaginable gracious gifts and blessings! He has really blessed us every step of the way as we have followed Him preparing to give birth to The River!

Thank you for your prayers!

God is blessing!

PLAYING IT SAFE - NOT!

You can’t please God by playing it safe. You say, I’ve got my cushy, comfortable life here and I’m going to coast the rest of my life. If you’re coasting right now, guess what? You’re headed down. You’re not improving your life, it’s deteriorating.

Why does God say you can’t please Me if you’re playing it safe? Because God wants you to learn to trust Him; Trust is faith.

One of the great lessons of life is learning to trust God. You can’t trust God if you never take any risks. In order to have faith you have to take some risks. God says if you’re not taking any risks in life, if you’re not doing anything that stretches you, then you don’t require faith. And if you don’t require faith in your life you are being unfaithful.

Romans 14:13 (KJ) “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin.”

Hebrews 11:6 “Without faith it is impossible to please God.”

God says I want you to learn to trust Me. It’s one of the great lessons of life. The only way to do that is putting yourself out on a limb. Never be afraid of going out on a limb. That’s where the fruit is. Don’t be afraid to rock the boat if God’s in it with you. He’s going to help you, He’s going to protect you.

If you want to please God, If you want to live life abundantly, if you are ready to grow in your faith, quit playing it safe and take a giant leap of faith.

God would rather have you attempt to do something great and fail than attempt to do nothing with your life and succeed.

We have taken on a huge goal of starting a new church. Most people aren’t willing to try something that’s risky. Everybody wants to success but they want it the easy way. If you talk to anyone who is successful in any area they will tell you they made it because they took a risk, maybe calculated, maybe not, but they took a risk and that led to their success.

If you have lost your joy; or you’ve lost your enthusiasm for life; There’s no spark. You just don’t feel totally alive any more. Maybe it’s because you’re playing it safe.

Step up, step out, live for God, and quit playing it safe!

Prayer Mail 9-26-08

Dear Friends,

"So you must be brave. Don't give up! God will honor you for obeying him."
2 Chronicles 15:7 (CEV)

My wife has this verse pasted on her computer screen. It's one of several verses that she leaves there most of the time. She is great at finding encouragement from God's Word. This verse is particularly powerful for us as we have taken a risk and stepped out in faith, uprooting our lives and moving to Eagle to plant a new church. We gave up everything we had, moved from our children and their husbands and our grand kids, with no security or guarantee of the future, just trusting and believing that we are being obedient to God's call. We have been here for a couple of months, working quietly but diligently while looking forward to what God is going to do with us here at The River. Finally, last Wednesday night we had our first information meeting; a meeting to gather people we have been talking to about starting a new church. Let me put this in perspective; when I started Desert Horizons Church, after 5 months we had our first meeting and we had two people show up. This week after 2 1/2 months we had 12! God is awesome!

God brought several different people with different backgrounds to come and check us out. I shared my testimony and the journey that led us to Idaho. Then I shared two key values and our mission statement. All 12 people indicated great interest and excitement about being a part of something new for the Lord.

One man I invited from my gym talked to me after the meeting. He said that when I invited him, he wasn't sure if he was going to come or not, but when he looked at our brochure he read on the front cover one of our key values, "No perfect people allowed". After reading that he said he had to come and find out what we were all about. He said he is a Catholic, who loves God but not the church! (Another key value for us: "We are a church for those who gave up on the traditional church but not on God"). He was very excited about finding a church that emphasized grace and forgiveness. I heard a very similar comment from another man who attended; he was one of the men who helped move us into our home back on July 1.

Cathy and I are so blessed that God is working like He is. We have had a quiet confidence and faith that God would provide, and He did. Now we are looking forward to October 8 when we begin our weekly bible Study and begin to develop our core group.

This Sunday I will be speaking at both services at Eastwind Community Church and meeting with their board to share my vision so they may consider providing financial support for the next year. The following week their pastor will meet with people who live in or around Eagle (about a 30-40 minute drive to their church) and he will be encouraging them to come and help us get started. The following Sunday I will be at a meeting at First Baptist Church where their pastor has invited people to come to an information meeting and he will challenge them to consider being a part of our church plant and I will share the vision God has given me for The River. Honestly, I have never been around pastors who were so kingdom minded that they were willing to give away their people for the sake of build the kingdom of God! It is refreshing and an absolute blessing! May God bless them!

Our next step is beginning our Bible study on October 8th. We are praying for a good turnout.

I will attend a Regional Pastors Conference next Monday through Wednesday. I am looking forward to meeting other ABC-NW pastors and sharing the vision of The River with them.

Our Crown Small Group study has begun and I am very excited about the truths we are encountering and learning. It's a real blessing to attend a group and not lead it! I am praying that we can begin crown small groups at least three times a year. The truths, if practiced, are absolutely life changing!

Prayer requests:
Pray for me as I speak on Sunday and a positive response from the people at Eastwind Community Church and from their board.
Pray for a positive response from the people at First Baptist.
Pray that God would send a solid core of committed believers from both churches providing the core group that will provide a spiritual and financial foundation for The River.
Pray for wisdom for me as I seek God concerning putting together the right team of pastoral leaders for The River. I am hoping to make some significant decisions in the next two weeks. God has led me to two excellent and Godly men who may form the core of ministry leadership for The River.
Pray for God to lead us to someone who is qualified and trained to start and run a children's ministry and another person to lead a youth ministry.
Pray for God to provide His person that can lead our worship ministry and band.
A note on Cathy:
This has been a much better week for Cathy. Last week was one of the worst, and this week has been one of the best! It seems that she is not in as much pain, the physical therapy seems to be working! We know there will be good days and bad days, we are praying that her good days begin to out number the bad ones and that she will be totally healthy soon. One of our big concerns has been she is struggling with speech and memory issues. Cathy has always had a near photographic memory but that seems to be affected. We had renewed a prescription her OB gave her after her hysterectomy and I read all the possible side effects and it seems that everything she is struggling with could be related to the medication she has been taking! It did not create her nerve and soft tissue damage but it may be hindering her healing and creating other issues (speech, memory, and unusual body pain). So Sunday she stopped taking it and we are waiting from her Dr. Please keep praying for her healing. Even if the medication has caused problems she needs for her nerves and soft tissue in her neck to be "regenerated" according to the PT, or what we call HEALED.


Thank you for your prayers. We couldn't make it with you! Keep on praying!
God bless,

Dave

Giving Grace

"It wasn't so long ago that you were mired in that old stagnant life of sin. You let the world, which doesn't know the first thing about living, tell you how to live. You filled your lungs with polluted unbelief, and then exhaled disobedience. We all did it, all of us doing what we felt like doing, when we felt like doing it, all of us in the same boat. It's a wonder God didn't lose his temper and do away with the whole lot of us. Instead, immense in mercy and with an incredible love, he embraced us. He took our sin-dead lives and made us alive in Christ. He did all this on his own, with no help from us! Then he picked us up and set us down in highest heaven in company with Jesus, our Messiah." Ephesians 2:1-6 The Message Translation

I constantly praise God for His GRACE! God in His incredible mercy does not give us what we deserve, and in His grace He gives us what we do not deserve, forgiveness, freedom, and a future home in heaven! Thank you LORD!

The grace of God is a key driving factor for my desire to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ. I want everybody to know what God has done for every one of us if we just accept His gift. That's why The River will be a church where Grace is not just given but experienced. We will love everybody, just as God does. We will accept anyone from any background, just as God does. But we will not be satisfied to let them stay far from God and His will, we will do all we can to be used by God to lead others into a life of transformation. That is why at the Rive we say, "No Perfect People Allowed!" Our mission is simple, "COME AS YOU ARE, LOVE JESUS, SERVE OTHERS, AND TELL THE STORY". Obviously that is a power packed statement, but we will do all we can to help people far from God to discover God, grow in their relationship to God and others, and then turn around and tell others about what He has done for them.

Serving Him,

Dave Griewe

Our Journey To Plant a Church

About a year ago, Cathy and I began to sense that God was making some major changes in our lives. With our daughters raised and gone, we felt God asking us to take a new step of faith. It was rather unsettling, sensing that God had something different for us; we had grown comfortable in our home, our church, and in Las Vegas. We had no idea what that change was going to be, but we quietly began praying and seeking God’s Will as He gently tugged on our hearts.

We visited Boise last fall for what we thought was a visit to check out Boise State University for our youngest daughter, Emily. The last thing on our minds was packing up, leaving the rest of our family in Las Vegas and moving to plant a brand new church! It caught us completely by surprise; but God used that initial trip to plant a seed in our hearts for the people and community of the Treasure Valley. Honestly, we didn’t know what to do with our desires at that time. Neither Cathy nor I discussed it openly with each other. We both thought it was just a silly idea in the back of our minds. But as we prayed and committed to seek God’s will, the desire continued to grow intensely. When we moved Emily into the BSU dorms in January, we drove the entire ten hours home talking excitedly about the strong pull we both had for the community. We still didn’t know what to do about it, honestly it confused us greatly. We knew we had a wonderful church family in Las Vegas that loved us dearly and that we loved ministering to.

Beginning last January we prayed, fasted, and sought the prayer support of close friends, pastors and family to help us discover what God’s next steps would be for us. Immediately after Easter, I sensed God very clearly telling me: Dave-go plant a church in the Treasure Valley!

Why? Idaho is currently the third fastest growing state in the United States. The Treasure Valley is the fastest growing area in the state and is expected to grow by 40% in the next ten years, to over one million plus. According to the Southern Baptists, nearly 90% of the people in the Treasure Valley do not have a personal relationship with Jesus. Statistics continue to prove that new church planting is the quickest and most effective way to reach people with the Good News of Jesus Christ.

In an exploratory trip to Boise last Fall, Cathy and I met with several pastors, most notably Bruce Young of First Baptist Church, Mark Traylor of East Wind Community Church, and Jim Steinert of Second Baptist Church. God had already been preparing them for our meeting. Each shared that they, along with some other pastors, had been praying about planting a new church! God bound our hearts together and each pastor committed their support. They next question was where would we plant a new church? I met with business people and pastors and every single one agreed the place with the greatest opportunities and need was Eagle! I went back to my church in Las Vegas and shared God’s new call for my life and began making plans to move to the Treasure Valley.

We rented a house in Eagle and moved in it on June 23rd. We have had our house on the market in Las Vegas since April. Knowing that we are trying to sell it during the worst housing market downturn ever in that area we decided to move to Idaho on faith leaving our home in God’s hands. We have it listed as a short sale and we are praying that God sells it before we lose it, but whichever way it goes, we are at peace. We trust that God is in control. We raised partial support before we left Las Vegas and we are living on that and our savings until we get the River started and it is able to support us.

We are excited about the opportunities to further the kingdom of God here in Eagle. God continues to open doors, but we cannot do this alone. We are asking you to partner with us, as your pastors have, through prayer and support.

Specifically:
· We need your prayers! If you will pray for us we will send you a weekly “Prayer Mail” email. It generally comes out the end of every week.
· We need your financial support. Church planting costs money! There are many needs that are unmet right now and there are even bigger needs in the near future. Here are several ways you can help meet those needs. You may support us on a monthly basis or you may choose to donate towards specific needs; i.e. office expenses, advertising, health insurance, rental space… If you are interested in financially supporting The River let me know and I will show you how.
· One of the greatest ways you can support us to join us! Again there are several options available to you: You may choose to make a commitment to help us in the start up phase. You may choose to make a one or two year commitment to The River or you may choose to make the River your new church home!
· We need God’s people to fill vital leadership roles for The River. Specifically we need leadership over connections/small groups, Worship/Youth, Children, and Administration. These are all key and vital roles that need to be filled if we are going to effectively reach non churched people and minister to the whole person and their family.


God bless you!
Serving our Savior,

Dave and Cathy Griewe

Taking Risks

I'm a risk taker. When I was younger I would take on any kind of risk, no matter how dangerous (or stupid) it might seem to be. Now that I have a few years under my belt, my risks are more calculated and a lot less physically dangerous! It seems, I may have grown up, at least a little bit! Actually, the risks I enjoy taking today are predominately God inspired. I am not the kind of person who enjoys the status quo or just getting along, or just getting by. That's boring to me. I love trying to figure out what kind of risks God wants me to take, and then taking them.

Planting a new church in Eagle, ID is one of those HUGE risks that God has led me to take. It was a risk to leave my Church in Las Vegas along with a regular paycheck. It was a risk to talk to people about supporting us as missionaries to plant a new church. And it was a risk to move to to a community we had never lived in before with the purpose of planting a church with the vision of reaching unchurched people with the Good News of Jesus. BUT we are here. With some financial support, our personal savings, and a call from God to "Go therefore into all the world..." Meaning we are to go into Eagle to tell people who are far from God about a God who loves them so much He sent His Son to die for them!

This is risky business! What if fail? What if we run out of money? What if we never get started? the first step is always the hardest... But we have done the work God's Word says to do when making risky decisions: I researched the Treasure Valley to see if a new church aimed at reaching unchurched people was needed, the answer is ABSOLUTELY! I analyzed what it will cost me in time, money, emotions, energy and effort. And we decided the risk was worth the rewards of seeing people become Christ followers and grow in their new faith. I developed a strategy; seeking wise counsel, anticipated problems, and we have prayed and prayed from the very first moment. And God gave us a plan. We announced our intentions to our home church in Las Vegas, to our friends, and family and anyone else who would listen, as a statement of faith saying we believe God wants us to plant a new church in Eagle! And now we are taking steps of faith. We left our home in Las Vegas and rented a home in Eagle. I have met with some godly pastors who totally support us planting a new church, and now we are completely trusting God for the results.

There is something absolutely freeing about living by faith, knowing that there is nothing I can do that will make this church successful. It is God, He is the One who makes us able to do all that we do (2 Cor. 3:5 NCV). That's true freedom!