River’s Edge Church

As Jesus finishes instructing his disciples, he tells them that their immediate future - and in a sense their lives - will be a mix of grief and joy, until they see him again face to face, and no one will be able to take their joy from them. But what happens when we reject this truth? What happens when we think life has no joy? Or that life should be only joy? 

It can be easy to rush through communion as just “something we do” as part of a Sunday gathering. But in doing so we often miss an opportunity to receive real healing and provision from Jesus in the moment. Communion isn’t just a time to remember a historical act, it’s a moment to receive in real time from the “right now” God.

Jesus says that when the Holy Spirit comes to His disciples, the Spirit will guide them (and us) and into the truth, speak truth over us, and even speak about what is yet to come.

When the Holy Spirit comes into the life of the disciples, it strengthens, encourages, and empowers. Not so with the world. What happens when the Holy Spirit collides with a world set in opposition to Jesus?

What seems almost odd or illogical to us is obvious from Jesus' perspective - as you the carry the Gospel into the world, you are going to face resistance. 

Jesus warns His disciples in advance that they need to expect persecution after He's gone. The world hated Him, it's going to hate us too. 

The entire Gospel of John Jesus only gives His disciples a single command: “as I have loved you, so you must love one another."

This Sunday we took a break from our series through the Gospel of John to seek the Lord and practice lament.

Jesus tells his disciple to "abide in him" in order to bear fruit in the world. This is the foundation for everything else in the life of discipleship. But how do we abide in him? Join us for a panel discussion on this topic. 

Jesus cracks open the Jewish concept of God and reveals something about God's nature that we would not have anticipated. But why does it matter? And what difference does it make in everyday life?