Sermon text: Matthew 7:15-23

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Thus far in recent weeks we have started to progress through the primary themes or vision that should guide how our church discerns through the decisions that we make. Our starting point is the power of God. Nothing we do has any merit unless its source and its power is God himself. Next we discussed what it means to be a church that God uses to plant seeds that germinate. We can acknowledge God's growth potential all we want, but ultimately we must unleash it in our lives. We must step back and allow the Word of God to sprout in us. We must run towards new life in Christ. But that is not enough either. A sprout is just a beginning. We must also grow, develop and mature into Christian disciples . . . followers of Jesus Christ that pick up our cross and go after him each day. We study God's Word, we communicate with God through prayer, we spend time with other believers and we share our story with others through evangelism. But what is the result of all this? What do we become or what do we produce? The Bible says that we become mature plants that produce fruit. But what is the fruit that we produce?

Lets read our passage this morning to get us going. Matthew 7:15-23.

Sermon text: Philippians 3:12-21

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Dana told me she is tired of hearing about plants and I promise I won't have another botany lesson, but this morning we are moving forward in our imagery. God grows things. At some point, whether in an instant or gradually, a seed is planted and is germinated in our lives. It's growth potential is unleashed. The Holy Spirit enters us and we begin to be recreated into something new. A sprout springs forth, but there must be more.

I was in optimist club speaking contests when I was a kid and I will never forget the ending for my 8^th grade speech. I paraphrased someone who I can’t remember and said, “it only takes a spark to start a fire . . . and I have the rest of my life to kindle it.”

When we come to know Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes upon us. The Spirit dwells in us and guides us. In the New Testament the Spirit is associated with fire. It desires to burn through us.

Sermon text: Luke 8:4-15

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Last week I introduced you to the starting point for this series of sermons on our vision for Riverside. I shared that I believe that visions that we set and decisions that we make must come out of our relation to revelation, the biblical story. We say that we are a biblical church. Our denominational history started with a bunch of people asking repeatedly, “where is it written” in the Bible before making choices. So last week I shared that my jumping off point for us was taking our name Riverside and the rich agricultural language of the Bible and asking what does it teach us about what kind of church and people God has called us to be. Our conclusion last week is that the discussion must begin with God. That God grows things. That God not only grows our personal faiths, but He grows our fellowship, and our impact on our community. We cannot manufacture these things, but will be successful or faithful to the extent that we let God be God. To the extent that we participate, or become co-workers in what He wants to do.

Sermon text: 1 Corinthians 3:1-5

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Last summer I gave a sermon entitled, “Who is Riverside?” We introduced several things. One was intentional discipleship, another was Discovery Hour, and a third was a full-time Youth Director. All of these things have become increasingly developed this past year. Though we chose not to institute a discipleship program, we did encourage you to enter into discipleship relationships with one another. Many are doing this. And some disciples have begun discipling others. Discovery Hour has grown. Though not everyone is taking advantage of this opportunity, those that are taking part have consistently reported that it is making a difference in their lives. Finally, we hired Becky Wellner as our first full-time Youth Director. Her dedication and ministry to our Jr. and Sr. High students has helped to solidify our priority of helping our children to mature into faithful followers of Jesus Christ.

This year we will have 5 sermons on Riverside and particularly who we want to try to be as a people of God. Visioning is extremely important for any group of people, but it is particularly important for a church because it is our communal discernment of what God wants to do with us. Proverbs 29:18 says, “where there is no vision, the people perish.” The word “vision” there is not just some goal, but it is revelation. Where there is not foundation upon God and his revelation, Word to us, we will perish.