River Oaks Church: Live - Connect - Engage

Discovering and engaging in the God-given purposes for your life. This includes understanding gifts, understanding passions, recognizing needs, and engaging in ministry purposefully based on these foundations.  So, how does James 4:11-12 inform us as it relates to engaging the world? As followers of Jesus, we have a clear mandate - Love God, Love Others! Let's read James 4:11-12 again. 11 Do not criticize one another, my brothers and sisters. If you criticize fellow-Christians or judge them, you criticize the Law and judge it. If you judge the Law, then you are no longer one who obeys the Law, but one who judges it. 12God is the only lawgiver and judge. He alone can save and destroy. Who do you think you are, to judge someone else?  Carey Nieuwhof recently posted the following recently: And that about sums it up. Let's take a close look at our own attitudes and ask God to show us where we need His grace to love more freely and extend grace more fully. His lo...

Does Your Friendship Matter? This past Sunday we looked at why God wants us to have friendships with people who are "on the margin," people who are social outcasts, and simply people who don't know Jesus yet. I wonder what would happen if each of us would commit to becoming friends with just 1 person outside our Christian and Church circle. Someone who needs a friend who will listen. Someone who needs a friend who will point them to Jesus by our words and by our life. Someone who would be willing to work through the hard questions?  You were born to be that person. The one who offers genuine friendship and a safe place for a searching person to find God.  If you missed this week's message, you can watch it here . Let's continue to be in prayer about what God wants us to do, and how He wants us to engage in the opportunity to participate with city churches and ministries in this outreach event. It is a Community Initiative We are not in t...