Riverbend Church

Exodus: Dwelling Place of God

In this message, Andrew explores Exodus 25–27, revealing how God’s detailed instructions for the tabernacle reflect His desire to dwell intimately among His people. The tabernacle was more than a tent; it was a portable Eden, a sacred space where heaven and earth touched, designed not only for God’s glory but for the transformation of His people. Each element, from the Ark of the Covenant to the lampstand, pointed to God’s invitation for communion, beauty, and daily faithfulness. Andrew draws a line from this ancient dwelling place to Jesus, the true atonement cover, who makes relationship with God fully accessible. The call now is for God’s people to consecrate their whole lives—not just religious spaces—as dwelling places for His presence. Holiness isn’t about legalism but about becoming the kind of people who can host God’s glory, preparing both individually and as a community to reflect His love and advance His kingdom in a world desperate for redemption.

Exodus: The Mountain Top

In this message, Michael teaches from Exodus 24, presenting the covenant ceremony at Mount Sinai as God’s invitation for His people to step into deeper relationship with Him. The chapter paints a picture of ascending the mountain into God’s holy presence—the fullness of joy—but making that ascent requires obedience. This obedience isn’t about earning God’s love; it’s about moving into alignment with His goodness, shedding the sin and destructive patterns that don’t belong in His kingdom. Just as Israel said “yes” to the covenant, followers of Jesus are invited to ongoing, daily obedience, trusting that God’s commands flow from His heart of love. Communion with God is not just something we wait for after death—it’s available now through Jesus, who shepherds us into healing, freedom, and life.

Pentecost Sunday 2025

Exodus: The Heart of the Law

In this message, Nic teaches from Exodus 19–23, framing the giving of the law as part of a love story between God and His people, not a list of arbitrary rules. After Yahweh rescues Israel from slavery, He invites them into covenant partnership, preparing them—like in pre-marital counseling—for the vows to come. The law reveals God’s character: compassionate, just, faithful, and deeply relational. Instructions about worship, sabbath, and even servitude are rooted in dignity and care, calling Israel to live differently than the world they came from. These commands are not about earning God’s love but responding to it through relational obedience. God meets His people where they are and leads them toward a life that reflects His heart. This same invitation extends to us—not just to be rescued, but to be transformed, daily, into people who walk in faithfulness and rightly represent the One who calls us His own.

Exodus: Covenant Love & Commandments

In this message, Katy explores Exodus 20 and the Ten Commandments as part of a larger love story between God and His people, not as a legalistic checklist. These commands are given to a people already rescued from slavery, invited into covenant as God's treasured possession and called to live out their identity as a priestly kingdom. The law is revealed as a gift of formation, not restriction—designed to protect love, reflect God's character, and enable human flourishing. From Sabbath rest to relational boundaries, each command teaches how to love God fully and love others faithfully. Rather than keeping a fearful distance, God invites His people into intimacy and mission, forming a community that embodies His rescue and radiates His presence.

Reflection Questions:

Do you know Him? Do you know His rescuing love?

Are you ready to be His treasured possession? 

Instead of keeping a safe distance, will you move in closer and say YES to the identity and mission He’s inviting you into?

Exodus: The Proposal

In this message, Andrew unpacks Exodus 19 as the pivotal moment when Yahweh proposes covenant union with His people, revealing that Exodus is not merely a rescue story—it’s a love story. After delivering Israel from slavery, God invites them into a sacred relationship, offering not just rules, but identity and vocation: to be His treasured possession and a kingdom of priests. This covenant mirrors a wedding proposal, calling for wholehearted devotion rather than passive belief. Though God's holiness is overwhelming, the message of the New Covenant through Jesus is that we are no longer held at a distance. In Christ, we move from trembling at the base of the mountain to bold access in the presence of God. Worship becomes our response to divine love, not out of fear, but from joy and freedom, as we receive both our identity and purpose in Him.

Exodus: The Lord's Work, the Lord's Way

Scripture is from Exodus 18:12-18

In this message, Andrew examines Exodus 18 and the transformation of Moses from an overburdened leader to someone learning to trust God's design for leadership and rest. The chapter centers on Jethro’s timely counsel, which confronts Moses' exhausting attempt to do everything himself—a habit shaped by his past under Pharaoh’s oppressive system. Andrew reveals how Moses, though delivered from Egypt, still carries the lies of slavery in his leadership approach. Through Jethro’s wisdom, God invites Moses—and us—into a new rhythm rooted in trust, humility, delegation, and Sabbath rest. This passage isn’t just about efficiency; it’s about soul-deep reformation, where God peels away old beliefs of performance and worth to reshape His people into those who do the Lord’s work the Lord’s way.

Reflection Questions:

1. In what ways have you been “deformed” by Pharaoh’s system?
Are there lies about your identity or worth that still shape your
behavior?

2. Are you willing to listen to godly counsel, like Moses did with
Jethro? Who in your life is helping you return to Yahweh’s way?

3. Are you letting the wilderness transform you, or are you trying to
survive it on your own?

4. Are you allowing God to renew your mind, or are you still trying
to carry burdens He never asked you to carry?

5. Where is God inviting you to take up a new rhythm, a lighter
yoke, and trust that He’s the one leading the way?

Exodus: Journey into the Desert

In this message, Nic explores how the Israelites' journey through the wilderness in Exodus 16–17 reveals a pattern of grumbling met with divine grace. The provision of manna, quail, and water from the rock demonstrates God's unwavering faithfulness, even when His people complain and doubt. These moments are not just about survival, but about formation—opportunities to learn trust, obedience, and dependence. The victory over Amalek underscores that while God provides, He also invites His people to participate in His work. The striking of the rock prefigures Christ, who was struck to bring living water to His people. In the face of uncertainty, this message calls us to remember God's past faithfulness as the foundation for present trust and future hope.

Exodus: Song by the Sea

Andrew’s message on Exodus 15 highlights Israel’s response to God’s miraculous deliverance at the Red Sea and the deep formation that happens when we worship. Standing at the beginning of a long, uncertain journey, Israel lifts their eyes from survival mode to trusting in Yahweh’s steadfast love to guide them home. Andrew teaches that singing praise is not just reactionary but a prophetic act of trust, where God’s past faithfulness becomes the foundation for future hope. Drawing from the heritage of spirituals born out of slavery, he reminds us that even in uncertainty, worship shapes us into people who believe that the same God who delivered once will do it again. We sing not because we feel strong or have all the answers, but because Yahweh is faithful, His love endures forever, and His promises are certain.

Who Will Roll the Stone Away - Easter 2025

Andrew’s Easter message, “Who Will Roll the Stone Away?” from Mark 16:1–7, centers on the human longing for meaning, resurrection, and rescue from death. Reflecting on our culture’s obsession with delaying mortality through science and self-empowerment, he contrasts that pursuit with the Gospel’s offer of true hope: the stone of sin and death has already been rolled away by Jesus. Andrew challenges the myth of self-sufficiency and secularism, suggesting that DIY spirituality and progress can’t satisfy the soul’s deeper ache for transcendence. Instead, resurrection is offered as the historical and spiritual turning point that brings purpose, identity, and eternal life to all who believe.