Riverside Church Sunday Message

Tim Chivlers speak on Judges 10:6-16; 11:1-11, 29-40 as part of our Escaping the Cycle series. Some stories are difficult to read because they remind us just how far things can go. Jephthah's story takes us into some of the darkest territory in Judges, where the cycle of sin and brokenness produces consequences that are impossible to ignore. And yet, right in the middle of it, we find one of the most tender glimpses of God's heart in the whole book: “He could bear Israel's misery no longer.” Judges doesn't let us minimise the horror of our brokenness, but neither does it leave us there. Beneath the shame is a God who sees our misery and is moved with compassion. Bible passage: Judges 10:6-16; 11:1-11, 29-40 At Riverside we are on a journey together to help people get to know Jesus and grow as his followers across Birmingham and beyond. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, you're so welcome in this community. Find out more about Riverside Church & plan your visit: riverside-church.org.uk

Sarah Auger and Nathanael Ballew speaks on Judges 2:6-19 as part of our Escaping the Cycle series. At Riverside we are on a journey together to help people get to know Jesus and grow as his followers across Birmingham and beyond. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, you're so welcome in this community. Find out more about Riverside Church & plan your visit: riverside-church.org.uk 

Judy Moore speaks on Judges 6:1-16 as part of our Escaping the Cycle series. When we're ashamed of who we've become, hiding can feel like the safest option. We shrink our expectations, keep our heads down and convince ourselves that we're not the person we once hoped to be. Gideon is hiding when God calls him a “mighty warrior”. The contrast is almost comical - Gideon certainly doesn't see himself that way. But God sees something he can't yet see in himself. What happens when God meets us not as we see ourselves, but as he sees us? And what if the person we think is least likely to be part of the rescue is exactly the person God wants to use? At Riverside we are on a journey together to help people get to know Jesus and grow as his followers across Birmingham and beyond. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, you're so welcome in this community. Find out more about Riverside Church & plan your visit: riverside-church.org.uk

“In those days Israel had no king; everyone did as they saw fit.” Judges 21:25"To concentrate on our rebellion, defection, and folly is to forget that the centre of the Christian religion is not our sin but our Saviour.” Cornelius Plantinga JrWhy do we keep doing the things we don't want to do? We promise ourselves we'll change, we try harder, we start again - and somehow end up back where we started.The book of Judges is full of stories that feel disturbingly familiar. Israel finds itself caught in a cycle of rebellion, suffering, crying out and rescue, only to fall back into the same patterns again. Different people, different circumstances, but the same story.And perhaps that's why Judges still speaks so powerfully today. It exposes our inability to rescue ourselves, but it also points us towards the One who can. This is not ultimately a story about Israel's failure, but about God's relentless grace and our desperate need for a better rescuer.

Sarah Auger speaks on Luke 24:36-49 as part of our Did not our hearts burn? series. The disciples have seen Jesus alive, but the story isn't finished. When Jesus appears among them again, he speaks peace into their fear and promises power for what comes next. Luke 24 ends not with the disciples settling into a comfortable faith, but with a community being prepared for a new chapter - one in which they will carry the good news into the world. What does it mean to live in the age of the Spirit, where the presence of Jesus brings both a peace that holds us and a power that changes us? At Riverside we are on a journey together to help people get to know Jesus and grow as his followers across Birmingham and beyond. Whoever you are, whatever you believe, you're so welcome in this community. Find out more about Riverside Church & plan your visit: riverside-church.org.uk