Sermons

Posted: 24 Apr, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this second installment in the There Is series, Steve talks about the mission of the church. Why do we do what we do? What are we as a church doing to accomplish our mission? From small groups to lunch after church, everything we do is designed to accomplish our mission to be disciples and make […]

Posted: 17 Apr, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

This is the first of a four-part series called “There is.” Our “There is” campaign is a rallying call, to not just be a group of people who meet together on Sunday mornings, but, to be one body with one faith, following one God. It is based on this verse: There is one body and one […]

Posted: 26 Mar, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

As the completion of the Disciple trilogy (Don’t Miss the Duh Moment and Follow were the first two), Steve talks about the thrill of following Jesus. Life with God is an adventure, not a chore!   Download

Posted: 13 Mar, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

    Download Handout

Posted: 28 Feb, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

“‘Come follow me,’ Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.” – Matthew 4:19 NIV84 When God calls us to something, sometimes there isn’t any debate about whether or not it’s the best thing to do. It’s a duh moment! In this message, Steve talks […]

Posted: 13 Feb, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

If God treated us with grace before we were saved, how much more will he show grace to us now that we are his Children? “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” – Romans 5:8   Download Handout  

Posted: 30 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

Now that we’ve wrapped our Disciple the Heart series, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed by the amount of effort it takes to live a life devoted to Jesus. In this message, Steve talks about how God thinks of us. Does our performance dictate whether or not God approves of us? Can he be […]

Posted: 17 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

As we wrap up our series on the commitments that help Christians live all out for Christ, Steve addresses a very important topic. As Steve addresses the issue of controlling your thought life—specifically when it comes to sexual purity—he reminds us that this is an issue that is very important to God that we should pay […]

Posted: 03 Jan, 2016 | Author: Steve Nelson

Each of us has our own unique path in life, but suffering is not unknown to any of us. Not only do we have past hurts, but we have a span of life looming in front of us which is undoubtedly seasoned with unknown types and intensities of grief. In this message, Steve shares some […]

Posted: 26 Dec, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

“All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making […]

Posted: 12 Dec, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

Merry Christmas from the Rio! In this message, Steve talks about how, before the first Christmas, the world eagerly waited for the Lord’s first coming—and also about how we now wait for his second coming to take us all home. “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” – Psalm […]

Posted: 05 Dec, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

“For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” – Hebrews 12:11   Download Disciple the Heart resource 7 – Learn – Taking Correction Handout

Posted: 21 Nov, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

Our human plan for reaching the world is not working. However, God has a plan to reach the world, and we know that it does work. However, in order for it to work well, we have to be doing things God way. In this message, Steve takes a look at God’s way of reaching the world—through the […]

Posted: 07 Nov, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this message, Steve speaks about the importance of discovering God through His Word. “Take to heart all the words I have solemnly declared to you this day, so that you may command your children to obey carefully all the words of this law. They are not just idle words for you—they are your life. […]

Posted: 25 Oct, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this first message in our series “Disciple the Heart,” Steve talks about the importance of committing to follow Jesus—not sometimes, not halfway, but all in. “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.” —Luke 9:23 Handout Disciple the […]

Posted: 11 Oct, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

Steve shares with us a moving sermon on humility. “Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.” —Romans 12:16   Download

Posted: 26 Sep, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this sermon, Steve talks about the “performance evaluations” in Revelation 3. What would God tell us if he were to evaluate our church?   Download Handout: Evaluation – Churches in Revelation

Posted: 12 Sep, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this sermon, Steve talks about leadership and the exciting news that Dove Cranson is being recognized as a pastor at the Rio!   Download   Church Leadership – Handout

Posted: 30 Aug, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this final part of the Knowing Jesus sermon series, Steve takes a look at three things that stop us as a church from working together as a team: sin and selfishness that entangles and disqualifies, failure to work as a team and to see what is small as being part of something bit, and indifference […]

Posted: 16 Aug, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this message, Pastor Steve speaks about the life of Paul and draws out some important lessons we can learn from his life. “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.” – Philippians 4:9   Download Handout: […]

Posted: 03 Aug, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

We often wear ourselves out trying to change all of our bad behaviors. But according to the passage we’re looking at in Philippians and other passages throughout the Bible, we can not only change our actions, but our thinking as well.   “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is […]

Posted: 25 Jul, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

God calls the church to unity—an unconditional, tightly-bound unity. So what do we do when we meet people who we don’t naturally get along with? How does God call his saints to respond when faced with a difficult relationship? “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.” […]

Posted: 11 Jul, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

“Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus.” — Philippians 3:13-14   Download […]

Posted: 28 Jun, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

This next teaching in our series covering Philippians takes a look at a scarcely mentioned character in the Bible—Epaphroditus. By looking at the way Paul speaks of Epaphroditus, we can get a better understanding of what it looks like to live a live committed to the gospel.   Download Handout

Posted: 14 Jun, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In modern Christianity, the words “die to yourself” are thrown out frequently. The basic concept is simple: die to your flesh so that you can live by the Spirit. We know that this is the right thing to do, but do we clearly know why? Why is it important to die to ourselves? Are there […]

Posted: 31 May, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this next passage in Philippians 2, we take a look at verses 12 & 13, which tell us to “continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose.” But what does that mean? We […]

Posted: 16 May, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

As we continue our series through Philippians, we’re going to take a look at the place of suffering in a Christian’s life. Suffering is very real, not only in the sense of the persecuted church, but also in the sense of the day-to-day struggles and battles that we face regularly. These sufferings, in whatever form, […]

Posted: 02 May, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

In this intro to our new sermon series over the book of Philippians, we take a look at what it means to know Jesus—and what life looks like if you don’t know Jesus. “And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able […]

Posted: 18 Apr, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

As Christians, we often tend to be skeptical when something amazing happens. We are quick to label these things as coincidence and slow to attribute them to God. But skepticism is good, right? After all, just because you got over your cold doesn’t mean that God has miraculously healed you, right? Well, maybe. But what […]

Posted: 05 Apr, 2015 | Author: Steve Nelson

The Bible tells us that we will reap what we sow (Galatians 6:7-9). It’s a basic concept that’s not too hard to understand. But why do some people do evil things and not seem to reap any negative consequences? And why is it that some people make the right choice and do not get a […]