River Valley Rockford Blog

Getting Sex Right

Sunday we tackled a tough but relevant topic:  sex.  At the heart of the message was the biblical truth that God designed sex to be deeply joyful, passionate and wonder-filled.  Yet, the attraction of sex and lust outside of marriage is powerful and terribly flawed.  Many people struggle to believe the right thing and behave the right way.  I am passionate about this topic because I hate seeing people duped into living a lower life than what God wants.  Many people settle for second-rate pleasure because they refuse to trust God:  they don’t wait to experience sex until marriage, they don’t protect their eyes from erotic images and pornographic videos, and they don’t work to make their marriages safe, intimate, and passionate.

Dreams of River Valley People

At the end of our InLife series on April 5, 2009, we taught and thought about dreams. Then people wrote down their dreams and posted them for others to see. These touched me deeply. God truly created us to live incredible lives. What would our world look like if we all worked diligently toward our dreams? Most of these are too large to for us to do alone. They are God-sized, and they require God to empower and assist. But, that is what he loves to do.  Here they are to inspire you:

Experience The Treasure

This message series called The Treasure intrigued me before it ever started.  For months I prepared for it with this one guiding question at the top of my research page:  Besides heaven, what are the perks of salvation?  I put the “besides heaven” in there not because it is minimal but because it is familiar.  Everyone knows that heaven is a primary perk of salvation.  Avoiding hell is a primary incentive often teased out by preachers and evangelists, especially by those who sweat and beat the pulpit.  And it is no slouchy perk.  Hell is a real and terrible place, and heaven is apparently going to be much more relaxing and a lot cleaner.  But everyone knows that and many want to know why salvation is so great for this life, the one on earth.  As I thought about that, I noticed a whole herd of believers who couldn’t articulate much of an answer to such questions.  Which, for me, meant they probably weren’t living in the perks themselves.  That seemed like a sad thing.  Sort of like inheriting an amusement park but being told you can’t ride the roller coasters until you die.  What a bummer.

Your OMTL Stories

During the One Month to Live series, we have tried to learn and live out four universal principles: to live passionately, to love completely, to learn humbly and to leave boldly. Many people have made some positive and even risky decisions during the last 30 days. Your story can be encouraging to other people's lives. Please click "comments" below and share a part of your story.

Wakeboarding Video

Hey Everyone!  I know we posted the "One Month to Wakeboard" video up here a couple of weeks ago.  Thanks so some weirdness from YouTube, we've decided to go ahead and host the video up on our own site.  Go ahead and click the picture to find the video one our Media Page.  Enjoy!

One Month to Live: Enter the Story

Recently I told the church about the terrifying time I was chased from the house by a scar-faced man slashing a knife. I barely escaped out the back door and barricaded it shut. Catching my breath, I eventually leaked out a smile and shouted, “This was the best haunted house ever!” I’m inviting you to the same experience right now.

It isn’t a haunted house to which you are invited, but it is to the same intentional suspension of disbelief, to the same potential emotional-state change. A haunted house is fun only if you get scared. And the only way to get scared is to stop criticizing the obvious make-up scar and the fake headless horseman. You have to allow yourself to believe it could be real. You have to suspend your disbelief. Then the fun begins.

You are invited to do the same right now with this scenario: you have been told you have one month to live.

Broken Cisterns

If there were a fresh, spring water fountain available, why would we want a cistern? I’ve been consumed with this question since Sunday. Here is God’s powerful accusation in Jeremiah 2:13, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
Why would someone do that?

The spring water is there free of charge. Just bend down and drink. No maintenance required. No cost charged. Just take it and relish the refreshment—ahhh.

Lights Out!

I thought this morning was beautiful.  In having the electrical power go out during the service, I was reminded of the pure power of God's people gathered together in worship. 

Today, Rodney talked about "evangelism" (and his sandwich making skills).   For many of us, evangelism is a tricky and difficult thing . . .

Answers From the 'Worship Why-Fi'

So last Sunday technology failed us at River Valley.  No, a GPS unit didn't make us drive into a lake, but we weren't able to get any of the text messages you sent in during the service.  As it turns out, we received more questions during last weekend's service than any 'Why-Fi' weekend so far. 

Our bad.  So as a way of saying sorry, Heather Camacho (one of our Worship Leaders here at RVCC) and I have sat down and written up answers to ALL of the questions you wrote in.  Hit the link below to check them out . . .

Worship

Sunday we discussed worship and its role in the Christian life.  Our question was:  "Do I need to go to church to be a Christian?"  Alex creatively answered by asking us the question:  "Do we have to shower in order to be human?"  No, but...

Then Alex spent some time defusing some myths about worship - reassuring us that we do not need to be people we are not, or feel things we do not truly feel.  We highlight the authentic nature of worship, heard Matt Sand's testimony about what God does in worship, and then spent some time worshiping. All the while, we were reminded that worship is an essential part of the Christian life and the life of a church community. 

So, what do you all think?  How does worship impact your life?  Do you find yourself falling into the myths Alex talked about?  Do you have a testimony like Matt's about the power of God's Spirit made real in worship?  Let's keep talking...