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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 Jr Why 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

Nathanael Ballew speaks on Luke 24:33-35 as part of our Did not our hearts burn? series.  An encounter with Jesus is difficult to keep to yourself. When the two disciples finally realise who has been walking beside them, they don't sit around discussing it - they get up and go!  Their journey takes an unexpected turn, from disappointment to excitement, from walking away to running back.  What happens when encountering Jesus fills you with something that simply can't stay contained?  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

Tim Chilvers speaks on Romans 6:3–11 as part of our Did not our hearts burn? series. Is change really possible today? Baptism says yes, it is! 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 Luke 24:25-32 as part of our Did not our hearts burn? series. Have you ever realised something that had been right in front of you all along? A moment when the pieces suddenly come together and you see everything differently? As Jesus walks with the disciples, he opens the Scriptures and reveals a story they thought they already understood - but now from a deeper, truer perspective. This is more than new information. It is a moment of recognition and transformation, as they begin to see Jesus for who he really is. 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

Tim Chilvers speaks on Luke 24:13-24 as part of our Did not our hearts burn? series. “We had hoped…” Sometimes disappointment can make it hard to see what’s right in front of us.  In Luke 24, two disciples are walking away from Jerusalem, carrying broken hopes and unanswered questions - while Jesus himself walks beside them.  This is a story about disappointment, longing and the possibility that we may need more than an answer - we may need our perspective changed.  Could it be that God is closer than we realise, even when he feels furthest away?  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

Nathanael Ballew speaks on Titus 3:12-15 as part of our Unconventional series. Some of the most important people in God's kingdom are the ones whose names we barely know. They quietly help, faithfully serve, generously give, and simply go wherever they're needed. That's how Paul ends his letter to Titus. Not with a grand finale, but with ordinary people living extraordinary lives because of God's grace. It's a picture of a church where everyone has a part to play, whatever their age or stage of life. The same grace that welcomes us into God's family is the grace that keeps us growing, serving, and joining in with his mission. Together, that's what makes the Church unstoppable. 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

John Goodliff speaks on Titus 3:1-11 as part of our Unconventional series. It's easy to see the world as 'us' and 'them'. We can become frustrated by people who think differently, live differently, or reject what we believe. Paul offers a remarkably unconventional alternative. In Titus 3, he reminds us where we all started - not with our achievements, but with God's mercy. Before we're called to do anything for God, we're invited to remember what he has done for us. That changes not only how we see ourselves, but how we see everyone else. People who have been transformed by grace don't approach the world with superiority, but with humility. We can be gracious to everyone because we've never forgotten who we used to be. 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 Titus 2:1-15 as part of our Unconventional series. Most people won't experience the gospel first through a sermon or a debate. They'll experience it through the lives of those who follow Jesus.  In Titus 2, Paul paints a vision of ordinary Christians living in extraordinary ways - not through perfection, but through lives continually shaped by God's grace. It's a picture of faith that is authentic, attractive and deeply compelling. When lives are shaped by grace, they make the gospel beautiful. We're not simply called to defend the good news, but to help people see how captivating it really is. 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

Andy Worthington speaks on Titus 1:5-16 as part of our Unconventional series.  It's easy to separate our lives into compartments. We can be one person on a Sunday, another at work, and someone else entirely at home. But Paul paints a very different picture in Titus 1.  Before he says anything about influence or leadership, he begins with character. Before public ministry comes private integrity. In a culture where image often matters more than substance, Paul invites us to build lives that are held together by something deeper than appearances.  The most compelling witness we can offer isn't perfection, but a life of integrity - where our private lives and our public faith tell the same story.  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 speaks on Titus 1:1-4 as part of our Unconventional series. It's possible to know the truth without ever being changed by it. But the kind of knowledge Paul writes about in Titus isn't simply about learning more- it has the power to reshape the way we live. In the opening of his letter, Paul introduces a hope that transforms the present, a God whose timing is always perfect, and a grace that comes before any demand is made of us. It's an unconventional way to begin… and perhaps that's exactly the point. 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

Nathanael Ballew & Joel Pumphrey speak on Psalm 40 as part of our Wait for it series. Waiting can feel like losing control. We want answers, movement, and certainty - but God often invites us into something deeper: trust. In Psalm 40, David looks back on a season of waiting and discovers that God meets him there. He doesn’t come away with a perfect explanation or a plan to manage the future, but with a heart that has learned to depend on God. And perhaps it all points to Jesus even more than we realise. Surrendered waiting is not giving up or simply accepting what happens. It is choosing to place our hopes, our timing, and our future in the hands of the One who can be trusted. 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

Tim Chilvers speaks on Psalm 130 as part of our Wait for it series.  Do you remember the excitement of waiting for something you knew was coming? The anticipation of Christmas morning, a special day, or a long-awaited moment? You weren’t wondering whether it would arrive - you were watching for it.  In Psalm 130, the psalmist describes waiting for God in the same way. Like a watchman looking for the dawn, he waits with expectation and hope.  Waiting on God isn’t about sitting back until something happens. It’s about keeping our eyes open, ready to see him at work.  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 Psalm 77 as part of our Wait for it series.  Sometimes the hardest part of waiting isn’t the waiting itself - it’s what it does to our hearts. When things take longer than we hoped, disappointment can slowly turn into doubt, and doubt can quietly become cynicism.  But what if waiting could look different? What if we could learn to wait with expectation, hope, and even enthusiasm?  In Psalm 77, Asaph doesn’t ignore his struggles or pretend everything is fine. He brings his questions to God, and then makes a deliberate choice: ‘I will remember.’  Enthusiastic waiting doesn’t come from ignoring what’s hard - it comes from remembering the God who has been faithful before and trusting him with what is still ahead.  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