River Notes

On Sunday January 22^nd we studied Nehemiah’s prayer on Sunday morning. One key application from this prayer is praying God’s promises like Nehemiah (1:8-9). Praying God’s promises ensures our prayer are biblical, God’s get all the glory and many times are more effective. Check out this blog 365Promise.com. This gives you a promise each day. Use this promise to guide your prayer time with God.

Intellectual Courage

 Many times Christian live in intellectual fear, we are afraid the truth claims of the Bible will not stand up to the rigors of academia, and scientific research. I found this sermon by Michael Ramsden helpful in overcoming intellectual doubts about Christ and the Bible.

JasonR

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday. There is much that can be said, and is certainly being said about his passing. One thing most would say is that it is the end of an era. For me the era is that of the youthful fascination of computers. When kids like me found endless wonder in the great mysteries of what could be done, and people like Steve Jobs tinkered in their garages trying to figure what could be done next. That has given way to the business of computers, the commonness of it, the bureaucracy. From a wild frontier, to just another business tool, another story for the kids about ‘back in the day’.

As we get older, we accumulate these ‘end of eras’, the passing of people and the times of our lives. With each one, a new wisdom, a new sense of maturity. When Read the rest of this entry »

Below is a helpful list to help us understand what Pride is. The list is taken from a sermon delivered by John Piper Are You Humble Enough to Be Care-Free? (I peter 5:5-7) and is designed to support the message given at 3Rivers on Aug 28, 2011

• Pride is Self-satisfaction

Hosea 13:4-6 (NIV)
⁴ “But I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt. You shall acknowledge no God but me, no Savior except me. ⁵ I cared for you in the desert, in the land of burning heat. ⁶ When I fed them, they were satisfied; when they were satisfied, they became proud; then they forgot me.

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Marriage could be defined as an “intimate relationship with our best friend.” Creating that closeness is difficult in the best of situations, however when a couple does not share a common love for Jesus it can be even more difficult.   Here is a sermon that I have found helpful in understanding how to help women make a marriage work when their husbands don’t love Jesus. Women of Valor for Non-Promise Keepers

I trust this sermon is helpful.

Life Together is built on truth (This information was an extra handout from the Message on Sunday May 15th)

The Bible gives us a tremendous amount of guidance on how to do life together. A key factor in doing life together well is to live by the principles given us in God’s word. Our culture give us plenty of guidance some good some worthless. I would encourage you to do life together built on truth. Built on the Bible. “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NIV) Read the rest of this entry »

In the Sermon Sunday January 30 I mentioned the Joshua Project.  The “Joshua Project seeks to answer the questions that result from the Great Commission’s call to make disciples among every nation or people group: Who are the ethnic people groups of the world? Which people groups still need an initial church-planting movement in their midst? What ministry resources are available to help outreach among the least-reached?” (From the website). As you consider your part in fulfilling the great commission this website might help.

Can we trust the bible? In the sermon on Sunday January 16^thI mentioned that we have to be honest about our doubts to help develop our faithin God. I believe at times we think if we talk about doubts we will be ridiculed or if we have doubts we are alone. The reality is doubts are common and need to be discussed so that we can get real answers and pursue a more honest faith. One common doubt and many times the core issue is our trust in the Bible. “Can we trust the Bible to be God’s genuine words”. I am writing this to refer you to a great bible teacher RC Sproul. He began a series January 10^th titled “Hath God Said”. These audio broadcast are lectures that will help you understand God’s revelation and purpose for his word -the Bible.

If it would be simpler and more convenient you can listen to RC Sproul on 660 AM or KCRO.com at 6am, 11:30am, and 8pm (where I heard it). In case you didn’t know Mike Lennon’s (one of our Elders and all around tech guru) is an engineer at that station.

Hello, hopefully most of you have heard that 3Rivers has a Financial Peace University course starting January 19th. You can find a good preview, and description of the individual classes at http://www.daveramsey.com/fpu/preview/. You are welcome to attend the first session without materials as a trial. If you would like to attend, materials can be purchased from daveramsey.com or can be ordered through the church. If you have ever attended FPU before, you can re-attend at any time at no cost. If the cost of course would be a hardship, let us know and we will try and find assistance for you. Please contact Crash or Autumn if you need more information.

So why would you want to attend Financial Peace University or recommend it to someone?

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Leadership is hard. Just know that up front.

Some would mislead you in this, some would misunderstand this, so let me be clear, leadership is hard. Leadership isn’t about the blue sky days when you just get to ride in the parade waving and smiling with a title on your sash, with adoring fans waving as you pass by cheering for the days of peace and joy under your reign. If it was all blue sky days, we wouldn’t need leaders. Leadership is about the dark days, stepping up to face the storms, to help get those who are with you to safely to the other side. Read the rest of this entry »