Our First Worship Gathering - What a Great Night!

This past Sunday was our first-ever Worship Gathering for Riverwood Church - and what a GREAT evening it was!  The music was excellent, the kids had a blast, and Jesus was the center of it all. (Okay, we admit, the service wasn't without a few minor issues. We had microphone issues, video issues, and the service went longer than planned. No one's perfect!)  But all in all, it was a great first "date."  If you want to see some photos of the evening, head over to the photo album on our Facebook page.

The teaching for the evening was from John 4.  We looked at the "blind date" the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well had with Jesus.  We ultimately saw that this woman, who had tried to satisfy her inner thirst with marriage and men, needed something different.  Jesus didn't give her 3 steps to a better marriage.  Rather, He gave her HIM.  She didn't need another husband - she needed a Savior.  She didn't need another lover - she needed her Creator. She needed her inner thirst satisfied, and that only could come through the "living water" of Jesus.

Every person on earth is just like the woman at the well.  You may or may not have a relationship addiction like she did, but you have brokenness in your life.  We all have things that we are embarrassed by, whether they be from our past, a current addiction, or inner thoughts.  And like the Samaritan woman, you don't need some simplified 3-step plan that will help you live a cleaner, more moral life.  What you need before any plan is Jesus.

So the teaching for our first Worship Gathering had only one point - Jesus.  (Which makes sense, because we want to be a Jesus-centered community of Grace, Truth, and Trust!)

A huge thank you goes to the churches and individuals who helped out Sunday night:

• Redeemer Church in Cedar Falls for leading us in worship through song,
• The BE[cause] young adult group from New Covenant Bible Church in Cedar Rapids for set-up, ushering, cleaning, and other behind the scenes work
• The high school youth group from New Covenant for leading Kids Creek,
• Grace Baptist Church in Waverly for lending us their portable sound system
• Vineyard Community Church in Waverly for lending us equipment for both the Worship Gathering and Kids Creek.
• and much more.

Because of these people and churches, it was a great night.  But it is worth reminding you, our reader, as well as ourselves, that Riverwood did not start simply to put on a good worship service.  Riverwood is about connecting the spiritually disconnected with Jesus.  This is about inviting people to be Jesus-followers who love like Jesus loved, live like Jesus lived, and leave behind what Jesus left behind.  So while it was great to get public Worship Gatherings started, we have a long way to go!