Trusting In Turbulent Times Series - Mankind, In God's Image

In the wake of the difficult and tense racial justice issues going on in our country this past week, we took a break from normally going through 2 Corinthians in this series to align ourselves with on how Scripture speaks to the topic of race. We take time to remember God’s image in every person, what He has called us to as ministers of reconciliation of the world back to Him, and how the beautiful diversity of race is reflected in His eternity.

Trusting in Turbulent Times Series - Worldly Sorrow VS. Godly Sorrow

2 Corinthians chapter 7 gives some insight into the type of relationship that Paul has with the Corinthian church. It was not always an easy one- Paul had to give some severe words to them. To some relationships, this could cause fractures and distance, from each other and from God. But Paul’s words were from a place of concern for their holiness, for what ways and to what extent they belong to God. And we learn that the right response to this kind of loving advice is not to express temporary sorrow and continue on, but that we are to see it as an invitation to godly sorrow, the kind that brings us to a changed lives living after God’s heart. And we rejoice in the fact that we are invited into this kind of mending of relationship with God through his kindness and forgiveness extended out to us through Jesus.

Trusting in Turbulent Times Series - Things That Last

2 Corinthians chapter 5 gives us an anchor for the motivation and purpose of the Christian life is-and it centers on our reconciliation with God. We are motivated by the God of the universe who sought relationship with us, to the point of the cross. And we are given purpose in our Christian life as we seek for others to have that kind of relationship. Our goals and our inspiration are eternity-driven, not circumstance-driven. While this sometimes results in behavior that may not make sense to a worried and anxious world, it also sprouts within us the kind of hope that very world needs right now. We ask ourselves if we are being made into a new self that is able to be a wellspring of hope for this new kind of world we find ourselves in.

Trusting in Turbulent Times Series - Perspective Is Everything

Each Mother’s Day, a topic that is often at the forefront is the personal sacrifice that each mother makes to see their children flourish. This sacrifice is something that ultimately reflects God’s heart for us as He exercises His tenderness and care towards us in giving Himself over to death for the sake of our eternal life. And in 2 Corinthians 4:7-18, we hear that this same self-sacrifice is what Paul feels towards the Christians in the early church. Even when death is at work temporarily, life is at work eternally as God’s good news goes forth. When we have our perspective focused on this eternal life, the afflictions, no matter their size by the world’s standards, are “light and momentary”. So then, moms, Paul, and God alike make their sacrifices knowing that their pain is ultimately for gain.

Trusting In Turbulent Times Series - The Source of Our Confidence

Even though Paul has made it his life’s mission and work to love and serve people, the relationships that are such a gift to him also bring grief. He faces criticism to come his way about his leadership, and the fact that he doesn’t come with the same kind of credentials as others. Paul uses these criticisms to emphasize some of the greatest truths of the gospel in 2 Corinthians chapters 3 and 4: We are not sufficient in and of ourselves, but we are sufficient because Jesus’ work on our behalf was sufficient. We can have confidence in ourselves because of Jesus’ competence. God made a way for us not only to see His glory in spite of our sinfulness, but allows us to reflect this same glory. Paul emphasizes that there is a freedom in the Lord because of salvation in Christ- in many ways, and for him in particular there is freedom from the criticisms (and the compliments) that people may give him. He understands that anything that he has comes from the mercy of the God who loved us and gave Himself for us.

Trusting in Turbulent Times Series - God of Profit or Life?

The series through 2 Corinthians continues with chapters 2:12-17. Pastor Travis led us through some main themes of the letter: that there is victory even through the suffering, that believers are entrusted with the message of the gospel to others, and that the message of the gospel is to be presented with sincerity and not for profit. Even though the Corinthian church has seen its share of setbacks and suffering, there is a hope that cannot be shaken through Jesus’ ultimate victory that He invites us to share in.

Trusting in Turbulent Times Series - Our Comforter

This Easter is almost certainly unlike any in our lifetimes. We are more physically scattered than any before, but as we discuss in 2 Corinthians 1:3-11, there is a hope and comfort that extends beyond the physical and anchors itself in the fact that God can, has, and will raise the dead. Echoes of the empty tomb fill this passage, as Paul encourages a people who are facing sufferings and afflictions. When we contemplate the resurrection, our primary source of comfort, and leave behind the secondary sources of comfort, we can see meaning in the grief. When we tap into this source of comfort, we are empowered to connect with others by coming alongside them in support to strengthen them. As we come to understand how Christ endured the heaviest grief for all of us and rose victorious, we are now empowered to labor alongside others to bear the griefs of this world.

For The Valley Series - Palm Sunday: Celebrating Christ

This week, we look at Palm Sunday and see the celebrating that is going on as Jesus enters Jerusalem (Matthew 21:1-16). The people really are celebrating for the wrong reason- they think that political salvation is coming to them in the form of Jesus. Little do they know that their celebrating is for something far greater- their eternal salvation from the punishment of sin. It is a profound moment as Jesus enters into suffering willingly, as the joy that God has in making a way for us to know Him outweighs the pain that must come to pave that way. On this side of the cross, we can now celebrate for the right reason- that when Jesus comes into Jerusalem, we have a person to anchor our hope in and to lay our burdens on. We can celebrate that Jesus came for us, and we can celebrate others as we see that Jesus came for them too. As we contemplate the value that Jesus sees in each person, we can better care for the needs, desires, and eternities of those around us.

For The Valley Series - Christ's Ambassadors

In our second week of 2 Corinthians 5: 14-21, we focus move our focus from our motivation for the Christian life to the realities of what that Christian life is (verses 17-21). It is a life that has been reconciled with the God of the universe, and therefore seeks to bring that reconciliation to all people and all things. A life that has gone from being led by the old to being led by the new. It’s a life lived as an ambassador of Christ- one representing His priorities, desires, and intentions. These things flow out of a life that is clothed in the righteousness of Christ, a garment we are able to wear because of how he exchanged it for our covering of sin.

For The Valley Series - Led By Love

As we continue to meet virtually and things around the world come to a halt, we are reminded of the motivation for Christian ministry for those who believe in and follow Christ in 2 Corinthians 5 (verses 14-16). While we may feel a natural fear for our earthly lives in these times, the gospel reminds us that Jesus died the spiritual death we should have died, so that we wouldn’t have to. This act of love urges us, compels us, to reach out to a world with the offer of one who is strong enough to conquer our fears, even of death, and loves us enough to free us from the debt we owe because of sin. Christian ministry involves seeing people in light of the eternity that is written on all of our hearts.

For The Valley Series - Living Biblically

This week, we explored how we can be For the Valley by being a people who operate out of a place of rest- that in doing so, we are less distracted, less concerned about our own status and appearance, and more fully able to invest in those around us. We saw how the book of Hebrews, in chapters 3 and 4, compares Christ-followers to those who followed Moses in the Old Testament. Although the people alongside Moses saw what amazing things God had done, they eventually “hardened their hearts”- they stopped believing that, no matter what they were up against, God was strong enough and that He was for them. This turned them against one another and cost them their God-promised rest. Jesus, as a better and more perfect Moses, has made a way for us to enter a more lasting rest that God offers us. But the same thing threatens that rest- disbelieving or being distracted from the fact that God hasn’t abandoned us with our problems, our shame and our sin. We can “strive to enter” His rest as a part of the fight of the Christian life- both with individual practices of spiritual nourishment but also in encouraging others against sin’s deceit.

Riverbend Community Church
795 Roble Rd
Allentown, PA 18109

 

Questions? Reach out by
info@riverbendonline.org

Call (610) 674-0106

Text (610) 595-9156‬

Gatherings held Sunday at 9 and 11 AM

Livestreamed on Youtube at 11 AM. Search “Riverbend Gathering Live”