This past Sunday we looked closely at the truth that God is the God Who Sees.  We spent a great deal of time looking at the passage in Genesis 16, where Hagar literally calls God the God who sees ME!  Its a powerful story, that brings powerful revelation when you fully grasp the truth that God knows where we’ve been and where we are going.  God sees the pain and hurt we have experienced in our lives or that which we may be experiencing now.  He sees when we’ve been mistreated, and in the middle of all of that He has a plan for our lives. A plan to bring us out, and a plan to ultimately open our eyes so we can see a new direction for our lives, even if the past doesn’t make sense.

God also sees what’s in our hearts, those things that we tried to hide, that we think no one else can see.  Things that He wants us to let Him see, so He can heal us, change us, turn our attention from in an effort to change our lives permanently for the better.

If you missed this past week, be encouraged with the simple truth today, that God is the God Who sees YOU!

If you’d like to follow along with us, this week we are discovering the truth that God is the God who Provides.  Read along with us ahead of time in Genesis 22, and take time to be with us this Sunday to learn just a little bit more about who. . .

God Is

Well, we’ve decided to not let that be the case at RiverChurch.  This Friday we’re starting 20//20 a monthly gathering for folks in their 20’s.  We’ve even opened the age to some of the folks that are on the brink of their 20’s.  What is it?  Its an informal time to gather, fellowship, and spend some time growing together, building community, and receiving back just a little portion of what they give here at RiverChurch every week.

Each months gathering will look a little different, but this month we’re kicking it off with a beach volleyball night and we can’t wait for this Friday night to get here.   Friday, 8.20 @ 6:20 we’ll be playing volleyball at the Marina Pointe Court – just before you head up Big Ridge from HWY 153.

If you’d like more information, or you plan to attend, drop an RSVP email to info@riverchurch.me

See you there.

Do you know who God Is?  Sure you know He’s a divine being up there, out there somewhere.  You probably know that He’s called Father, Jehova, Creator, and you can probably list all kinds of Sunday School answers about His character; love, merciful, gracious, forgiving, just.  But do YOU know who God is?  Do YOU know for yourself?

At RiverChurch we are looking into the pages of Scripture to discover truth for ourself, about who God is.  As a community of faith, we’ve grown tired of having someone else tell us who God is, and we’re on a journey to find out for ourself.

We began the series by looking at the importance of understanding the name of God.  As we understand the importance of His name, we understand His character and the power that is demonstrated with that character.

We’d love for you to join us this week as we walk through Genesis 16 as we discover that God is Jehovah Roi . . .

The God Who Sees

Why don’t you join us this Sunday @ 10a @ RiverChurch.

Hey RiverChurch family

Can you believe it’s almost time for us to celebrate our first Easter together?

We hope you’ll invite all your friends to come celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ with us on Sunday, April 4th at 10am.

More information to follow about the weekend’s events

Hey RiverChurch folks – Daylight Savings Time starts THIS weekend!! So make sure that you set your clocks FORWARD one hour.  If you don’t you’ll show up an hour after we’ve already started, and you don’t want to miss the last week of “The Loser”

We’ll see you there @ 10

I don’t know much about sailing.  I know the conditions certainly have to be perfect, and I know that there is a great deal of preparation in making sure the sails are set just right before launching out to sea.  I think I would enjoy the preparation part, but the part I would enjoy most, which is what I presume most “sailors” would say is their favorite part is when the wind hits those sails and the boat truly launches.  I imagine there is no more breathtaking feeling to stand below massive cloth panels with wind and to glide across the water.

Another item on my “bucket list” was to plant a church.  A life giving church that was committed to truly being the church that Jesus created during his time on earth.  After nearly six months of preparation, last week we finally raised the sails, and launched RiverChurch officially out into the city of Chattanooga.

Now if you’re a church planter reading this, when I say the word “launch” you will certainly have a prescribed set of images that may run through your head.  At least images of what you’ve heard a church plant launch should be like:

An energetic worship service, with lights, smoke machines, a rockin band of 20 somethings in Aerropostle shirts and pointy shoes, nifty giveaways for the guests, all preceded by a huge community wide marketing blitz letting people that your church, a different church from the other 50,000 in your city, is coming and its “gonna be cooler than all the others.”

Well the launch of RiverChurch was probably nothing close to that.  We did the community blitz a week before, just letting people know we were new to the neighborhood and would love to get to know them.  We left them a couple pieces of candy, with the expressed wish that we could find a way to make their lives a little sweeter, (cheesy? Maybe.  Effective? Likely.)

I can tell you more about the specific details of our launch, but let it suffice for me to say that the launch of RiverChurch was certainly not textbook.  In fact, one friend told me sometime ago that I was going about this whole churchplanting thing in a very unconventional way.  That bothered me at first, but I’m cool with it now.

No, our launch Sunday was primarily attended by the 25-30 people that had comprised our launch team and then about twice as many guests and people who were meeting us for the very first time.

Launch Sunday for RiverChurch was more about launching our individual lives into our own worlds, fulfilling the Great Commission.  It was kind of like untying the ropes of multiple sailboats, and launching them out into the spiritual waters of our city, rather than one large mother ship.  That day we focused on the fact that we’ve been called to make disciples and in fulfilling that Commission we will find our purpose.

For those who were new to our gatherings, which had been in existence for several months before, we invited them to become a follower of Christ, if they weren’t one, and challenged them to set sail as well, living a life as a disciple who makes disciples.

It was an exciting day.  It was a cold day.  Two days prior snow and ice fell on our community, forcing nearly every other church in the city to cancel services or meet at an alternative time.   But for us launch Sunday was as much about a community of faith recommitting to be launched back out in a cold world that needs our light, as it was about opening our doors, and flipping on the neon lights that would say,  “Yes, We’re Open”

Unless you follow us on Facebook, or twitter, our launch may have come and gone, and you may have never felt a tremor effect from it.  But that’s okay.  Last Sunday was launch Sunday for RiverChurch, Last Sunday a fleet of disciples were launched into their community for the purpose of making disciples, guided by the principles of loving God & loving others.   And as unconventional as it was, I believe Chattanooga will never be the same again.

Our first official community impact event, City On A Hill, was a hit.

Thanksgiving brought us the opportunity to provide several families with full thanksgiving meals, complete with frozen turkeys, dressing, vegetables and even dessert.

A couple of weeks later we invited some families to join us for a special Birthday Celebration for Jesus, and sent Christmas gifts home with them for their kids to open on Christmas morning.

If 2010 looks anything like the last half of 2009, then its going to be a great year for RiverChurch.  Check out some of our memories here:

• City On A Hill
• Help Hillcrest Day
• First Worship Gathering
• Vision Meeting

At 8:30 we’ll be working at Hillcrest Elementary School for our second Help Hillcrest Day.  Last time we did some sprucing up on the outside of the building, and we’ll continue where we left off this Saturday with painting some of the railing along the sidewalks as well as clearing out trash and overgrown bushes that have confiscated some valuable parking area.  We’ve even got a few projects on the inside as well.  We’re really excited about supporting this school within our community, and they seem excited to have us around to support them as well.

Then Saturday night we’ll be pulling together the people who have committed to help get RiverChurch off the ground for a RE/GROUP Meeting.  We’ll be talking about the Vision of RiverChurch, and how the Launch Team members see themselves fitting into that vision.  We’ll be making plans for our official launch in January as well as talking about some other great stuff coming up this year.  This meeting will follow our normal time of Saturday night worship together, only I MAY teach a shorter sermon, we’re still not sure that’s even possible. :)

At any rate its going to be a great day.  So if you’ve been wanting to partner with RiverChurch or just come along and help us out a little, we’d love to have you at either of these important events.

We’ll see you there.

-    Hamilton County High School Prayer Walk – We’ll be gathering at Central High School tonight, Tuesday 8.18 at 7p  to pray for our local High School.

-    Help Hillcrest Day – We’re going to be working around the grounds of the Hillcrest Elementary School, cleaning, raking, painting, repairing windows, etc.  We would love for you to join us as we help spruce up this local elementary school.  We’ll be getting together at 8:22 on Saturday 8.22.  Hillcrest is just off of Highway 153 exit 5B.  After you get off of the Highway you’ll see the school up on the hill to your left.

Directions to RiverChurch @Fifty Eight Commons:
Highway 153 to exit 5A.

At the first traffic light turn left.

The Fifty Eight Commons will be on the immediate right.

The Fifty Eight Common sits between the Exxon station on the left and Sonic Drive-In on the right.

Enter the building at the front middle entrance down the hall to suite 103.

Saturday night is our very first service and we would love to have you join us. We’ll meet at 6p at the Fifty Eight Commons.  We’ll worship together, spend some time in the Word, and even offer a special time for kids ministry as well.

Dress is casual, so come and celebrate with us.

Can’t wait to see you there.