Oct 03, 2021
Live Stream
October 3, 2021
Thanks for joining us today at Riv! Check out the links above to stay connected with what’s going on.
Holt Venue
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, in view of the mercies of God, I urge you to present your bodies as a living sacrifice.
Live in harmony with one another.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility consider others as more important than yourselves. Everyone should look not to his own interests, but rather to the interests of others.
Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,
who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,
he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Irenic: favoring, conducive to, or operating toward peace, moderation, or conciliation.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
“If you are going to enter into the suffering of those who have been traumatized, you have to learn how to sit with and listen to fear, anger and great grief with compassion and understanding. You will also have to learn how to do it for far longer than you prefer.”
– Diane Langberg, PhD Psychologist
Any part of us that feels strong emotion, passion, or suffering – especially “the capacity to feel suffering.” The Lord has privileged us to have great capacity for feeling passion, emotion, affections. Indeed, this is inherent because all people are created in the divine image.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
“But I say to you who listen: Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you. If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. If you do what is good to those who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that. But love your enemies, do what is good, and lend, expecting nothing in return. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of the Most High. For he is gracious to the ungrateful and evil. Be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord.
But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Holt VenueMSU Venue
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation. Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
Secular Humanism: A worldview around humanism with regard in particular to the belief that humanity is capable of morality and self-fulfillment without belief in God.
“Modern secular people would say that the thing we need to be saved from is the idea we need to be saved. The thing we need redemption from is the idea that we need redemption and the only sin is to tell people that they sin. Which means the only way to be free is to actually liberate yourself from Christianity. Which means our modern secular culture is not just post-Christian, in some ways it’s
actually very Christian because it has all the Christian values, but it wants them without God.”
– Pastor Tim Keller
How does the Church live within this type of social hostility in our present and future society?
The Church should be filled with peacemakers, not measured by how we treat our kin, but by how we treat our enemies.
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse. Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Are these the Norms that we have set here within Riverview?
The harmony that we are called to have with fellow Christ followers, we extend beyond the Church and into the world.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes. If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
When faced with evil, the reaction should be honorable in a watching world.
눈치 (nuunchi) – Emotional intelligence
Qualifier #1: if peace is possible
Qualifier #2: if you can stretch peace to as far as you are able
In a growing secular age, the Church is called to actively meet hostility with peace.
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him.
If he is thirsty, give him something to drink.
For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head. Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
The peaceful way of Christ can soften the heart of humanity.
“There is mainstream culture, celebrities, fashion, music, modish political activism and a message of self-love, but with a twist of Christianity. Most people stick with mainstream culture because they can have all those things and pre-marital sex. We can see the ‘…with a twist of Christianity’ trend elsewhere. Falwell was representative of the right-wing,
business-oriented evangelicals who offer capitalist self-enrichment and
hubristic jingoism…with a twist of Christianity. Then there are progressive Christians of whom Nadia Bolz-Weber is an extreme example, who promote the usual left-wing causes…with a twist of Christianity. While different in beliefs, such people share patterns of thought: the former believe secular individualists mysteriously share God’s wishes for what should be done with money while the latter think that secular progressives
mysteriously share God’s wishes for what should be done with bodies.
So, if Christianity is such an inessential add-on, why become a Christian? I am not religious, so it is not my place to dictate to Christians what they should and should not believe. Still, if someone has a faith worth following, I feel that their beliefs should make me feel uncomfortable for not doing so. If they share 90 percent of my lifestyle and values, then there is nothing especially inspiring about them. Instead of making me want to become more like them, it looks very much as if they want to become more like me.” – Ben Sixsmith, The Sad Irony of Celebrity Pastors
Westside Venue
Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.
Love your enemies, do what is good to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat you.
Rejoice with those who rejoice; weep with those who weep.
Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud; instead, associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own estimation.
Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Give careful thought to do what is honorable in everyone’s eyes.
When he was insulted, he did not insult in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten but entrusted himself to the one who judges justly.
If possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.
Romans 12:18
 :
Friends, do not avenge yourselves; instead, leave room for God’s wrath, because it is written, Vengeance belongs to me; I will repay, says the Lord. But If your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For in so doing you will be heaping fiery coals on his head.
Do not be conquered by evil, but conquer evil with good.
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.
For if, while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, then how much more, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life.
Westside VenueWe’re excited to gather and worship with some of Riv’s worship bands at our Holt Venue on October 22!
Click below for more info.
MSU Venue
Put on your favorite flannel and come hang with us Sunday, October 17 after service for a fall favorite! Our MSU Venue will be going to Old Country Orchard and Cider Mill for an afternoon of apple and pumpkin picking, fresh cider, and warm doughnuts. Rides will be provided!
Click below for more info.
MSU Venue