Mar 19, 2023
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March 19, 2023
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Holt Venue
Sin, Salt, and Our Savior
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ —truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
“And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, so that you obey its desires. And do not offer any parts of it to sin as weapons for unrighteousness. But as those who are alive from the dead, offer yourselves to God, and all the parts of yourselves to God as weapons for righteousness. For sin will not rule over you, because you are not under the law but under grace.
Therefore, put to death what belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desire, and greed, which is idolatry.
If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Brothers and sisters, if someone is overtaken in any wrongdoing, you who are spiritual, restore such a person with a gentle spirit, watching out for yourselves so that you also won’t be tempted. Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God; this is your true worship.
Holt VenueREO Town Venue
In His Name
John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
“Don’t stop him,” said Jesus, “because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me.
For my part, brothers and sisters, I was not able to speak to you as spiritual people but as people of the flesh, as babies in Christ. I gave you milk to drink, not solid food, since you were not yet ready for it. In fact, you are still not ready, because you are still worldly. For since there is envy and strife among you, are you not worldly and behaving like mere humans? For whenever someone says, “I belong to Paul,” and another, “I belong to Apollos,” are you not acting like mere humans?
For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ —truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away —it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.
“And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
Run from anything that stimulates youthful lusts. Instead, pursue righteous living, faithfulness, love, and peace. Enjoy the companionship of those who call on the Lord with pure hearts.
“There is no doctrine which I would more willingly remove from Christianity than this, if it lay in
my power. But it has the full support of Scripture and, specially, of Our Lord’s own words; it has
always been held by Christendom; and it has the support of reason. If a game is played, it must be
possible to lose it”
-CS, Lewis The Problem of Pain
“Most Christian organizations would like to send their workers to Bible college for five years. I
would like to send our workers to Hell for five minutes. That would prepare them for a lifetime of
compassionate ministry.”
-William Booth
For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Live for Jesus’ name
And whatever you do, in word or in deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Examine yourself, accept others
Love Jesus’ people well
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
“‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’
“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’
“And the King will answer them, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’
REO Town VenueWestside Venue
“For the past several years, I’ve been watching the increase in partisan enmity in the U.S. with growing alarm. Multiple social, cultural and religious factors are converging to create a particularly toxic political stew. America is being pulled apart. This phenomenon is geographic, ideological and spiritual. Thanks to the decades-long “big sort”–a phenomenon outlined by Bill Bishop in his excellent 2009 book–Americans are increasingly clustering in like-minded communities, and surrounding yourself with people who think like you think has a profound effect. As Cass Sunstein articulated, when like-minded people gather, they tend to grow more extreme. His “law of group polarization” holds that people who agree with each other grow more enthusiastic in their beliefs and agreement. If like-minded Second Amendment advocates gather, they grow more opposed to gun control. If likeminded environmental activists gather, they grow more committed to fighting climate change. As geographic separation increases, ideological divisions are magnified. America is becoming extremely efficient at creating superclusters of like-minded citizens… Now, let’s throw in another ingredient–enmity. It is clear that partisan Americans dislike each other a great deal. We live separately, snarling at each other across a growing divide. The result is a politics of fear and rage, where policy differences often take a back seat to the list of grievances that red possesses against blue and blue against red”
“John said to him, ‘Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him because he wasn’t following us.”
“Don’t stop him,’ said Jesus, ‘because there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name who can soon afterward speak evil of me. For whoever is not against us is for us. And whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ– truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward”
John was defining himself and other people horizontally rather than vertically. He was comparing people to people, rather than people to God.
“They came to Capernaum. When he was in the house, he asked them, ‘what were you arguing about on the way?’ But they were silent, because on the way they had been arguing with one another about who was the greatest. Sitting down, he called the Twelve and said to them, ‘If anyone wants to be first, he must be last and servant of all.’ He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in his arms, he said to them, ‘whoever welcomes one little child such as this in my name welcomes me. And whoever welcomes me does not welcome me, but him who sent me”
Find our deepest sense of identity and belonging in him, not in people or groups.
Jesus is not only rebuking them for their misplaced identity he is redirecting their passion toward their true enemy..
“But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall away— it would be better for him if a heavy millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and go to hell, the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to fall away, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to fall away, gouge it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Hell is real, judgement is coming for sin, and you should do everything in your power to escape that judgement.
Your sin is so deep that there is nothing you can do to purify yourself.
Jesus was leading them down a different path.
A path to the cross.
But Jesus says that we ourselves will only remain pure from sin if we get our foundational identity from Him and fight the enemy of our sin first.
“For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt should lose its flavor, how can you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Westside Venue
We’re excited to worship with you this Easter! Whether you call Riv home, or you’re joining us for the first time, Easter is a great opportunity to gather together and celebrate Jesus! Invite your people and join us at our Holt, REO Town, and Westside Venues to celebrate Easter with the Riv fam.
Services will be family style, which just means if you’ve got kids with you you’ll bring them in the auditorium with you.
We’ll also be having baptisms during services this Easter. If you’re interested in getting baptized, or would like more info, click the button below.
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