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_outlinePast, 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 will not walk in it.’ Jeremiah 6:16 (ESV)
History is a great teacher,
· LEARN from others mistakes
· REFERENCE it to stay on course.
But A BAD Master!
62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:62 (ESV)
26 But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. Genesis 19:26 (ESV)
THE PRESENT – The Place Where…
· I can LIVE OUT my faith.
34 “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:34 (ESV
Even though I am free of the demands and expectations of everyone, I have voluntarily become a servant to any and all in order to reach a wide range of people: religious, nonreligious, meticulous moralists, loose-living immoralists, the defeated, the demoralized—whoever. I didn't take on their way of life. I kept my bearings in Christ—but I entered their world and tried to experience things from their point of view. I've become just about every sort of servant there is in my attempts to lead those I meet into a God-saved life. I did all this because of the Message. I didn't just want to talk about it; I wanted to be in on it! 1 Cor. 9:19-23 (Mes)
· My FUTURE is born.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:13-14 (ESV)
Example – Hezekiah.
· He started WELL!
2 He was twenty-five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty-nine years in Jerusalem. His mother’s name was Abi the daughter of Zechariah. 3 And he did what was right in the eyes of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. 4 He removed the high places and broke the pillars and cut down the Asherah. And he broke in pieces the bronze serpent that Moses had made, for until those days the people of Israel had made offerings to it (it was called Nehushtan). 5 He trusted in the LORD, the God of Israel, so that there was none like him among all the kings of Judah after him, nor among those who were before him. 2 Kings 18:2-5 (ESV)
1 In those days Hezekiah became sick and was at the point of death. And Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz came to him, and said to him, “Thus says the LORD: Set your house in order, for you shall die, you shall not recover.” 2 Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD, 3 and said, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before you in faithfulness and with a whole heart, and have done what is good in your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly. Isaiah 38:1-3 (ESV)
· But he finished WEAK.
The time will surely come when everything in your palace, and all that your fathers have stored up until this day, will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the Lord…."The word of the Lord you have spoken is good," Hezekiah replied. For he thought, "There will be peace and security in my lifetime." Isaiah 39:6,8
THE FUTURE – WHERE WE FINISH
17 “‘And in the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams; Acts 2:17 (ESV)
How Can I Finish Strong?
1. Keep my Eyes on GOD’s WORD
2. Have a Healthy RELATIONSHIP with the past.
3. Make Christ the unchallenged CENTER of my life!
4. Commit to die FACING the future.