The implementation of God’s grace in the life of believers is both liberating and motivational. We know that many Christians are missing out on the fullness of their Christian walk with Christ because they have never learned the message of being free in Christ! Now for some, the teaching of grace makes them nervous because Gods grace makes us free and many pastors, teachers, and leaders don’t feel that believers can fulfill their Christian duties without more “controls” or structure to guide them. The fact is...Christ has made us free; and while the Apostle Paul warns in Galatians that we are not to use our liberty as a license to sin, nevertheless we are free!
We at Riverstone want to teach this freedom to all believers. Not so we would be free to sin, but rather free to be all that we are in Christ, to live free, to serve freely, to share in relationships that promote a proper functional view of God, and the grace he has given to his children.
As we understand the Grace of God and implement its truth in our lives, we become motivated to share the truth of Gods redeeming love and message of hope. Christ died so that we may be free from sin, its enslaving power, its consequence and eternal separation from the love of God. Grace doesn’t motivate us by compulsion, competition, or controlling forces that are part of some evangelistic program, but rather grace motivates us by an absolute, unwavering commitment to Christ through love! In a mature relationship with Christ, we cannot help but to convey the love of God and implore men, women, and children to come to Jesus. Being made free, to live our lives without condemnation, or fear of rejection, Christ has granted me the freedom to be myself, to be immersed in the love of God, to have an abiding fellowship with God...how could we not share this message. So we share, we grow, and we invite others to know him and serve him.
Jesus said that we are to go and make disciples... and we are committed to fulfilling this commission by equipping the saints through teaching truth from one person and generation to the next. A disciple is “one who follows and learns from another as a pupil” (Donald McKim). Riverstone is committed to a duality of teaching and learning as a continual means of maturing believers. We know that discipleship is critical to the perpetuation of the next generation of believers and individually and collectively we share in this responsibility.
The fellowship of Christian’s is essential for growth and encouragement. We at Riverstone are committed to developing deep, meaningful relationships. Unfortunately, all to often, many Christians attend church and never realize all that God would have them experience in the mutual bond of relationship. In order to develop these relationships, we need fellowship; which means we spend time together, actually get to know each other. Imagine that? We like the early church in Acts2:42 are committed to the same common goals...”They were devoting themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.”
Come and let us worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness! What could possibly be greater than experiencing the unadulterated joy of worshipping God in song, praise and an assembly that gathers to hear his word! Real worship is never boring, dull, or dry, but is full of excitement, hope, joy, and anticipation of what God is going to do next in the lives of his people. We are committed to every worship service being filled with an expectation that God is going to participate and inhabit the praise of his people. Nothing compares to being in the presence of the Lord and joining believers who seek his face and a fresh word. We want you to join with us in worship!