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Welcome

 

Welcome to Riverlawn Presbyterian Church, where we strive to: purge ourselves of pride by focusing on and glorifying God, teach the truth through fellowship & discipleship, demonstrate a life of love through service to others, and share the gospel of Jesus Christ with those in need. 

Our Mission

 

At Riverlawn Presbyterian we believe that we have a mission to both our local community as well as a global outreach. We want to provide a place where people can encounter Jesus Christ. Riverlawn feels called to minister to families and children in our community.  

Come worship with us this Trinity Sunday/Graduate Sunday

June 4, 2023 at 10:30AM

Chris' Sermon this week is: “Still a Student?!”

Scripture: Jeremiah 29:11-13; Romans 8:28-32

 

Worship Video May 28, 2023

A Center for the Soul

The Psalmist cries out, “Why are you downcast, O my soul?  Why are you disturbed within me?” (Ps. 42:5) Another translation puts it this way: “How collapsed you are my soul, and how you sigh over me.”  Pastor John Ortberg writes in his book, Soul Keeping, “A soul without a center is like a house built over a sinkhole … On the other hand, the soul comes alive when it is centered on God.  ‘Let the morning bring me word of Your unfailing love... for to You I lift up my soul.’”

A certain man tells of how his 3-year-old son used to approach him when he was tired or frightened or just needed to be held.  The little guy would reach out with his arms and say, “Hodja, Daddy. Hodja” – his 3-year-old version of “Hold me, Daddy.”  Years later, his son, now a grown man in his thirties, came home from work and discovered his wife had left him for another man. He was devastated and called his dad and asked if he could come over. Of course he could, so he drove the five hours to his parents’ home, walked in the door, and collapsed into his father’s arms. The father later said, “I could almost hear him crying, ‘Hodja, Daddy. Hodja.’”

When we reach out to God, we are lifting our souls up to be nurtured and healed.  A soul centered in God always knows it has a heavenly Father who will hold its pain, its fear, its anxiety.  Ortberg lays it out for us, “This is spiritual life: To place the soul each moment in the presence and care of God.”  The Psalmist proclaims the need to do just that: “My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.”

It is much harder than it sounds to keep our souls centered on God. We hold on tightly, but often to the wrong things.  But staying centered on God – His Word, His ways – is the essence of life for the soul. Thomas Kelly wrote, “We feel honestly the pull of many obligations and try to fulfill them all. We are unhappy, uneasy, strained, oppressed, and fearful that we shall be shallow ... We have hints that there is a way of life vastly richer and deeper than all this hurried existence, a life of unhurried serenity and peace and power.  If only we could slip over into that Center! We have seen and known some people who have found this deep Center of living …”

“My soul clings to You; Your right hand upholds me.” When God seems distant, “My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.  When can I go and meet with God?” (Ps. 42:2)  Brother Lawrence called this: “Practicing the presence of God,” and the most important part of that practice lay in “renouncing, once and for all, whatever does not lead to God.”

Ortberg suggests that a very simple way to guard your soul is to ask yourself, “Will this situation block my soul’s connection to God?”  As we begin living this question, we find how little power the world has over our soul. “What if I don’t get a promotion, or my boss doesn’t like me, or I have financial problems, or I have a bad hair day?”  Yes, these may cause disappointment, but do they have any power over my soul?  Can they nudge my soul from its center, which is the very heart of God? When you think about it that way, you realize that external circumstances cannot keep you from being with God.  If anything, they draw you closer to Him.

 

                                                                                                        One crying out, “Hold me, Daddy”

                                                                                                        Pastor Chris

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Riverlawn Presbyterian Church

has a gift for you!

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Riverlawn family and friends -

 

I’m excited to share that our church has access to an extensive video library called RightNow Media! 

 

It’s like the "Netflix of Video Bible Studies" and has a HUGE library of faith-based videos that you can access whenever and wherever you want—on your phone, tablet, computer, or on your TV at home. You will have FREE access to thousands of video resources to help you with parenting, marriage, discipleship and more. It includes content for all ages and stages of life, and all of your family members are invited to set up their own accounts as well.

 

Now, let’s create your account! There are two simple steps:

 

  1. Click on the "Get Started" button below to create your private account and start watching right away!

  2. Download the RightNow Media app for smart phone, tablet, Apple TV, Roku, or Amazon Fire TV. 

 

We hope you and your family enjoy this gift from all of us here at Riverlawn Presbyterian Church.

 

In the matchless love of our Savior,

Pastor Chris

 

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Click on the logo above for more details.

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Please show your support and donate to Chris Davis and his team.

Learn more at: www.globallead.world

 

Dear Friends of the Open Arms Foundation,

 

I know that many of you, like me, often find that shopping on Amazon is convenient and affordable.  Now it can also benefit the Open Arms Foundation when you do so!  If you go to Amazon smile and click on the Open Arms Foundation in Cross Lanes, WV as your recipient, 0.5% of the price of whatever you order on Amazon will go toward our organization!  You still buy just as you always would but you give an extra gift to the children in Colombia!  Thanks for clicking one extra time on your computer when you next buy from Amazon!

God bless!

Open Arms Foundation

Please show your support and donate to Enoc & Cristina Hernandez.

Learn more at: www.openarmsfoundation.com

 

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