04 Preparing God's People for Service
River Church Sermons
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03 Grasping God's Greatness
River Church Sermons
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02 The Incomparable Christ - From Death to Life
River Church Sermons
The Incomparable Christ Pt. 2: From Death to Life By Louie Marsh, 1-18-2026 Top 10 Preaching Rules 10: Any illustration can be massaged to fit any sermon. 9: If a story is funny enough, it doesn't have to fit the sermon. 8: A sermon that is "too short" is rarer than Bigfoot at a photographer's convention. 7: The kid who screams and throws a fit every week will wait until the quietest, most focused and serious moment of your sermon to let 'er rip. 6: The member who always gripes that you don't preach enough on (pick one) baptism/faith/giving/witnessing will be out of town the week...
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01 The Incomparable Christ - My Standing in Christ
River Church Sermons
The Incomparable Christ Pt. 1: Our Standing In Christ By Louie Marsh, 1-11-2026 1) Who & what I AM. “1Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To the saints who are IN EPHESUS, and are faithful IN CHRIST JESUS: 2Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 1 1-2, ESV) Intro. Verses 3 - 14 have been called a Hymn of Grace. They are a statement of our spiritual blessings in Christ. These verses are one long, complex sentence in the Greek. According to Purdue University: Run-ons, comma splices, and fused...
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01 Coming Into Focus
River Church Sermons
New Year’s Sermon Coming Into Focus By Louie Marsh, 1-4-2026 Intro. 5 Cartoons, last one about being perfect just as I am. 36 He also told them a parable: “No one tears a piece from a new garment and puts it on an old garment. If he does, he will tear the new, and the piece from the new will not match the old. 37 And no one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. 38 But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins. 39 And no one after...
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01 The past, Present & Future
River Church Sermons
Past, Present & Future Louie Marsh, 12-28-2025 Verse: 17 O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. 18 So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. Psalm 71:17-18 (ESV) THE PAST – A Great Place to Visit but don’t LIVE THERE! 16 Thus says the LORD: “Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We...
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03 Christmas Songs - Simeons Song
River Church Sermons
Christmas Songs Pt. 3: Simeon’s Song By Louie Marsh, 12/21-2025 Intro – last cartoon, lights out together 1) Worth WAITING for. “25Now there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon, and this man was righteous and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was upon him. 26And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.” (Luke 2:25–26, ESV) “12It was revealed to them that they were serving not themselves but you, in the things that have now...
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02 Christmas Songs - Zachariah's Song
River Church Sermons
Christmas Songs Pt. 2: Zechariah‘s Song By Louie Marsh, 12-14-2025 67 And his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied, saying, Luke 1:67 (ESV) Zachariah praises God for the birth of his son, John the Baptist, and the Messiah to come. 1) God VISITING us. “68“Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited…” (Luke 1:68a, ESV) “14Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14, ESV) 2) God REDEEMING us. ...
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01 Christmas Songs - Mary's Song
River Church Sermons
Christmas Songs Pt. 1: Mary’s Song By Louie Marsh, 12-7-2025 In response to the situation at hand Mary recited a song which praised God’s favor on her and her people. “The Magnificat,” as the song is called, consists almost entirely of Old Testament allusions and quotations. The same is true of the songs of Zechariah and Simeon. Mary’s song has similarities to Hannah’s song. 1 Sam. 2:1-10 – First four verses on the PPT 1) Gratitude – for a PERSONAL relationship with God. “46And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, 47and my spirit rejoices in God my...
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07 Wise Up - The Foolishness of God
River Church Sermons
Wise Up! Pt. 7: The Foolishness of God by Louie Marsh, 11-30-2025 Today we want to talk about a kind of foolishness everyone needs to have in their life - the foolishness of God!! 1. Christianity appears to be FOOLISH “18For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18, ESV) 2. God DESIGNED it that way. “27But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28God chose what is low and despised in the world,...
info_outlineTHE FIVE FACETS OF THE GOSPEL
Part Five, The Gospel Demands
By Louie Marsh, 9-28-2025
· The Gospel Events - The Death and Resurrection of Jesus
· The Gospel Witnesses – Scripture, Apostles Eye-Witness Testimony
· The Gospel Affirmations - Jesus is Lord - Jesus is Savior
· The Gospel Promises - Forgiveness of sins – the gift of the Holy Spirit
1) The First Gospel Demand
· Repent!
“37Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” 38And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” (Acts 2:37–38, ESV)
“19Repent therefore, and turn back, that your sins may be blotted out,” (Acts 3:19, ESV)
“30The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,” (Acts 17:30, ESV)
o Repentance means to have a "CHANGE of mind or heart."
o Used in Greek army for our phrase "ABOUT FACE!"
· What do I repent about?
o All my SINS in general.
o DISBELIEF about Jesus in particular.
“21testifying both to Jews and to Greeks of repentance toward God and of faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Acts 20:21, ESV)
Our main change of mind is about Christ, from rejecting Him to Accepting Him!
· My repentance shows through my BAPTISM.
The first sign of real repentance is following the command of Christ to be baptized. If you're still arguing about it – ask yourself who’s really in charge? If it’s Jesus then why not just do it?
“18And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)
· My repentance shows through my LIFESTYLE.
“7But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8Bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” (Matthew 3:7–8, ESV)
Quote from Dr. Rene Padilla..
"This new reality places men in a position of crisis-they cannot continue to live as if nothing had happened; the Kingdom of God demands a new mentality, a reorientation for all their values ...repentance is much more than a private affair between the individual and God. It is the complete reorientation of life in the world- among men- in response to the work of God in Jesus Christ."
2) The Second Gospel Demand
· Submit to Christ as Lord!
This is the real goal of repentance - to turn away from a self directed life and toward a Christ directed one! That's why as a Christian repentance continues to be a vital part of our lives - we must do it every day! All Gospel preaching in the NT led to this point!
3) Savior VS Lord Question
John Stott wrote this in 1975,
"They distinguish sharply between the acceptance of Jesus as Savior and the surrender to Him as Lord, and they even promulgate the grotesque notion that to insist on surrender in addition to acceptance is to distort the Gospel. Well I honor their conscientious desire to protect the Gospel from all perversions...Further we must be careful never to define faith in such a way as to ascribe to it any merit. The whole value of faith lies in its object (Jesus Christ), not in itself. Nevertheless, saving faith in not an acceptance of Jesus Christ as Savior in within a kind of mystical vacuum, and without any awareness either of the Christ being accepted or of the concrete implications of this acceptance. Saving faith is a total, penitent and submissive commitment to Christ, and it would have been inconceivable to the apostles that anybody could believe in Jesus as Savior without submitting to him as Lord."
· I must adopt a BIBLICAL Balance
“7But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:7–9, ESV)
We're not talking perfectionism here. That's why forgiveness and repentance are so vital. Neither are we saying it's o.k. to get fire insurance alone. To accept Christ in truth is to struggle with making Him and Him alone Lord of all your life.
Jason Sacks said, "If you're not going live like a Christian then don't call yourself one!"