Ask God to Change the World

Just like in Jesus' day there are crowds and multitudes of people all across the world who are dying - physically and spiritually. the kingdom of the enemy is still strong but the kingdom of God is stronger. According to Barna research and other statistics, a little over a billion people claim to be followers of Christ, carrying on the teachings of Jesus and announcing the Good News about this Kingdom. Matthew records in his gospel account that Jesus went to the towns and the villages teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. Matthew says that Jesus healed every kind of disease and illness, and when he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

When I traveled to Cambodia in August I saw great crowds of people who fit this description - confused and helpless; but you don't have to travel across the world to see this, right? Watch the news, look at communities in disarray after a disaster hits, spend an afternoon downtown and watch people as they run to and fro like mice stuck in a cage. You can see it in their eyes or the blank look on their face - I've been there, you've been there - it's the look of spending all our waking energy on keeping busy, trying to fulfill some purpose or just searching for that purpose.

Thank God that he had compassion on us and became our shepherd, gently leading us to quiet streams and still pastures - in other words - no matter what adversity comes our way having a peace in our lives knowing that we belong to something greater than all that's around us; someone greater than we could begin to comprehend. Jesus said to those that followed him - and to those that still follow him - "The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields." He didn't just say to them go (although he did say go many times); he told them to pray for God to send more workers into the fields.

Riverside is a place where we gather to love God and love others. Loving God means that we commune with him, we have a daily and ongoing relationship with a living God - and the acting out on that relationship is worship. Loving others means that we have fellowship with those who are the body and are the hands and feet of Jesus to those who have not yet found his Kingdom. We are committed to being a body that is whole and balanced with Christ as the head of his church.

We do much on a regular basis to accomplish this simple model of loving God and loving others. We gather frequently for worship through the message, giving, prayer, fellowship and the arts. We go frequently to serve the least, the last and the lost regionally, nationally and globally. Since our conception as a church in Penn Hills and Oakmont we've been a mission's supporting and sending church. But God is also saying to us, pray.

Each month, usually the second Sunday evening at 6 p.m., we are gathering to fulfill this call - to pray for Pittsburgh, to pray for the United States and to pray for the world. Please consider joining us for an hour of prayer each month and watch the bulletins and website of dates and times of our prayer gatherings. We'll spend some time receiving information and updates on various regional, national and global missions opportunities and reports that we are taking interest in as a church and we'll pray. It is important to God that we pray regularly; and it is vital to the world that we are faithful to do so.
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The next mission's prayer gathering happens Sunday, November 11th at 6 p.m. in room 105. Click Here to Read more!

Making a Global Impact, Locally

This past Saturday the choir from Riverside Community Church met for the morning to impact the world here in Pittsburgh. We took a ride downtown to the World Vision Gifts in Kind warehouse in Sewickley (right outside of Pgh) to volunteer with the sorting of a shipment of clothing. We at Riverside have been sending various volunteers and small groups to the warehouse over the past year (mostly on Saturday mornings) to volunteer our time - in some small way - to make a difference all over the world. Each time we are able to sort thousands of pieces of clothing, books, supplies, etc. In other words- a 3-hour commitment at the warehouse with 10-20 volunteers on any given Saturday morning will literally affect thousands of people across the world.

World Vision is a very large organization, and we've not only finacially supported them but we've been able to support them with resources and volunteers. World Vision at any given time is at work in over 100 countries. They have ongoing community development programs, sponsorships and temporary disaster relief efforts. For more information on the Gifts in Kind warehouse in Pittsburgh, visit http://www.worldvision.org/get_involved.nsf/child/gik_IDC?Open&lid=pittsburgh&lpos=main.
Click Here to Read more!