The River Church Sermons

The God Who Sees

A woman on the run. A meeting in the wilderness. A surprising turn that changes the course of history. Join us as we continue Abraham’s story in Genesis 16 and discover one of the most beautiful names of God in all of Scripture—El Roi, “the God who sees.”

Faith as Deep as Space

We continue our Dangerous Faith series by exploring one of the most beautiful conversations in Scripture. As Abraham wrestles with God's promise to make his family a blessing to the nations, God meets him with reassurance and invites him to lift his eyes toward a sky filled with stars. In that moment, when Abraham is gazing at the galaxies, we encounter one of the defining truths of the Christian faith: faith is trusting the God who always keeps His promises. That trust didn't come easily for Abraham, and it doesn't always come easily for us either. Yet, God is patient with our questions and faithful in every season. My hope is that as we journey through this passage together, God would expand our faith to be as vast as the stars Abraham gazed upon, giving us fresh confidence to trust Him and follow wherever He leads.

Lot is Your Plan B

When God promised Abram that He would make him the father of a great nation, it required him to leave his extended family (Lot) and go to a new destination. The point? No, you can’t stay where you are. That’s what we were hoping for. I’d like to remain where I am please. For God to bless your life, it will require change. So Abram goes. But wait, what is Lot doing in the caravan? He’s the nephew. He’s not part of Abram’s immediate family. That was not God’s plan. So what is Lot doing in the story? It was Abram’s insurance policy. Just in case. Just in case God’s plan A doesn’t work out, I will have a plan B. In the ancient near east, a family was not a luxury but a necessity for survival. But Abram and Sarai had no heirs. That’s where Lot fits in. Bring along plan B in case plan A does not work as planned. In Genesis 12, Abram brings along Lot. In Genesis 13, Lot becomes a royal pain. So Abram draws a boundary line, Lot taking the choice real estate, Abram settling in a less desirable portion of the land. But at least he’s drawn the line. He’s let go of Lot. It’s when Abram sends Lot away, that God speaks for the second time, promising Abram will become a father of a great nation. The realization of the blessing came when Abram ditched his Lot. And the same is true for us.

Promise Meets Famine

Promise meets famine. God made a life changing promise to Abram, Abram took a big faith risk, and then life got rough. "No way to put food on the table for your family" rough. What happens next in this story is not unlike many of our realities. A big, ugly collision between calling, hope, faith, the promises of God, and life in a hard, broken world. I've been wrestling with this for a while. And while I don't have many answers, I've been thinking we could look at the text and sit in the tension together. I'll show up if you do?

The Story and The Step

I'll never forget his words. A group of fellow ministry leaders and I huddled around a professor at the United States Air Force Academy for a seminar on leadership. Summarizing his research on effective leadership, he put it simply: "Every person needs an unsafe cause to live for and a safe community to live with." This is the precise invitation for followers of Jesus that we see in the first text of our summer teaching series through the life of Abraham. Join us this Sunday as we learn from Genesis 12:1-9 and begin looking at the life of "Dangerous Faith" in the life of Abraham.