This past weekend we announced a big change we’re making at Riv; we’re switching our default Bible translation from the ESV to the CSB.

When it comes to growing toward Jesus, there is no substitute for reading the actual Bible, and then adjusting your life according to the truths found within it. But there are resources available that can supplement and deepen your understanding and application of the Bible.

When I think about what God is able to do in our lives by the power of His Spirit, through the wisdom of the Bible, because of the shed blood of Jesus, I am motivated to dive back into the Bible.

God, in His perfect righteousness, provides not only for those who follow Him, but also for all of mankind.

When we’re faced with a task that seems insurmountable and makes us feel unqualified or even scared, often the hardest thing to do is to just get started! For many, approaching God’s Word can feel this way. We feel confused as to where to start, and how to understand what we have read.

Let’s face it. Praying can be hard. Sometimes we need some practical steps to help us out.

There are a lot of important questions to ask yourself when reading the Bible and one of the most important is: “Is this passage descriptive or prescriptive?” Descriptive simply means, “describing something that happened” (like me telling you I broke my collarbone falling off a bike). Prescriptive simply means, “telling me to do something” (like

One of my friends likes to say that everyone goes though “need to know” and “need to grow” moments.  At these critical junctures, we often need help processing various questions about our faith and how it intersects with what we are going through.  When asked, I often find myself recommending the same resources again and

I often hear statements like, “The Bible is so old, how could it really apply to us now?” or “How could modern people take this collection of ancient writings seriously?” What do we do with the popular notion that the Bible has become obsolete, that it is no longer relevant, authoritative, or that its power

If you want to be obedient to the Lord, you’ve got to fall in love with God’s word. – Steve Sommerlot At the church where I grew up, the other kids and I joked that every single question asked in Sunday School and Youth Group could be answered one of five ways: God, Jesus, the

In case you somehow haven’t noticed, Riv is a big church. It’s several-thousand-people big. It’s one body, three venues, five services big. God’s blessed us in many ways with our size, like putting us in a strategic position to reach out to Greater Lansing and St. Petersburg, Florida and Monterrey, Mexico…but the big size does