The post January Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post December Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

As the leaves turn and the air cools, we invite you and your family to our Fall Festival! Come enjoy fellowship, fun, and faith with a day filled with games, food, and activities for all ages.

Our celebration reflects the spirit of the original Jewish fall festivals, rooted in God’s Word and His command for His people to gather, remember, and rejoice in His blessings. Each of these festivals, as laid out in Leviticus 23, was a time of community, renewal, and gratitude, reminding us of God’s enduring provision and faithfulness. Today, as believers in Christ, we honor these traditions in the spirit of unity and thanksgiving. Here’s a quick look at their significance:

1. Feast of Trumpets (Rosh Hashanah): The “blowing of trumpets” (Leviticus 23:24) marked a time of remembrance and repentance, a call to wake up and prepare our hearts for God. This festival reminds us that, together, we enter a season of renewal and readiness for the Lord’s work, aligning our lives to His will.
2. Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur): A sacred day of atonement (Leviticus 23:27), symbolizing reconciliation between God and His people. This day reveals the importance of confession, forgiveness, and God’s grace, which brings us back into fellowship with Him and strengthens our bond with one another in community.
3. Feast of Tabernacles (Sukkot): Known as a “time of rejoicing” (Leviticus 23:40), this festival celebrated God’s provision during Israel’s journey in the wilderness. It reminds us of God’s provision and protection, a beautiful symbol of His care and closeness as we walk together in faith.

Through these festivals, God has always encouraged His people to come together, support one another, and rejoice in His goodness. At our Fall Festival, we seek to reflect this spirit by gathering as a community to celebrate His many blessings in our lives.

Bring your family, friends, and neighbors, and let’s honor the spirit of these biblical traditions by strengthening our own community and faith together. We hope to see you there!

Date: TBD
Location: 5768 Sellger Dr. Norfolk, VA 23502
Time: 5pm – 7pm

Let’s come together as a church family to remember, rejoice, and give thanks to our faithful God.

The post Fall Festival 2024 first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post November Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post October Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post September Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post August Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post July Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

Encourage Women: Summer in the Psalms has kicked off as of our last meeting in June. For those of you who could not make it, I wanted to share some thoughts and the vision behind Summer in the Psalms.

On Thursday night, we discussed how the book of Psalms is a book of songs. Songs of praise, songs of lament, songs full of feelings, songs of honesty, songs of questioning, songs of gratitude, and songs of the people of God. We are given this beautiful book in the middle of our Bible as a great gift in our walk with Jesus. As Pastor Pat reminds us often, we have a singing faith! Praise God for that fact! Let’s not forget to put the music to it! At our meeting, we looked at Psalm 100, Psalm 88, Psalm 22, and Psalm 46. Please don’t just gloss over those references as I am often tempted to do. Take a moment and read them. THEY ARE AMAZING!

A few months ago, Psalm 100 hit me on a new level. I called my Dad and talked to him about it. He started reciting it from memory! I have never ever heard my Dad recite it before. He said it was the first scripture he remembers memorizing as a child at his mother’s church. I was so moved to hear my Dad recite this beautiful psalm. What part stands out to you? For me it was the “formula” of how to enter into God’s courts and gates. I just love thinking about these verses.

Psalm 88 gets real…real. Have you ever read it? Have you ever been in that kind of low place? I personally love that this is in the Bible. I’ll stop there and let you read it.

Psalm 22 is quoted from Jesus on the cross. Take a field trip to Psalm 22 and read the whole thing. See what it ends with—tell me that isn’t powerful!

Psalm 46 is a personal favorite of mine. We ended our women’s night listening to this rendition of it.

I also love the fact that David, the writer of many of the psalms is known as a man after God’s own heart. I remember going to a worship night in college called “Seek His Face.” I was confused. I wanted to understand, and I do think my heart wanted to seek His face; but what does that mean? How do I do it? What do you think that means?

In this season at church, we have been memorizing Colossians 3:16 and declaring these words to the congregation at each Sunday worship service,

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms, and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.”

It got me thinking. Of all the verses, why memorize this? Well, I ask you… why? As I’m thinking through all of it, I’ll tell you my thoughts. I would enjoy hearing your thoughts too.

So here’s the challenge. How can we dive deep into the Psalms? How can we engage with the Psalms this summer?

Will you listen to the music of the psalms? Will you sing and dance? Will you draw or paint? Will you create your own song? Will you find a psalter to sing through the songs? Will you read the same psalm over and over? Will you memorize some psalms? Will you listen to a podcast learning about the psalms? No matter what, I hope you will open up your Bible and let the songs be sung to you! I pray the Holy Spirit shows you something refreshing. I pray we would all seek His face and be called people after God’s own heart. You may randomly get a text message from me with something to do with a psalm. I’ll be happy to receive them too. Let’s really think about Colossians 3:16 and see what that could mean for us.

Here’s the summary. Think on this question: how can you intentionally and creatively engage with the Psalms this summer? And then, do it! We will meet again in August to share what God taught us through these few months!

Until then. may His face shine upon you and give you peace!

Sincerely, Sarah

The post Summer in the Psalms first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.

The post June Calendar first appeared on Riverside Baptist Church.