Dear River Reach Family,

But when they stretched him out with thongs, Paul said to the centurion who was standing by, “Is it lawful for you to scourge a man who is a Roman and uncondemned?”

Acts 22:25

There will be times when living for the glory of our Lord and His kingdom will result in direct conflict with earthly authorities. While we should do everything within the bounds of God’s will to avoid conflict, there will be times when conflict is unavoidable. Earthly authorities operate to accomplish their own agenda often without consideration or concern for God’s will for believers. When the earthly agenda impedes God’s will we as believers are forced to choose how best to navigate the conflict for the Lord’s glory. In God’s sovereign will, we may at times find ourselves facing the wrath of the state for following the will of our Lord. What is the proper way for a Christian to navigate these turbulent waters? While our ultimate goal should be to honor the Lord, is there any room to use our citizenship rights for our own personal advantage? In the life of the Apostle Paul, the Holy Spirit leaves us a pattern to follow when navigating these types of legal conflicts. As Paul ends up in Roman custody in the Lord’s will being prepared for a flogging, how will he navigate the tension?

Sermon: “A Time to Use Our Earthly Citizenship Rights” – Acts 22:24-30

Live Streaming Links

• Live streaming to Zoom available for all services
  • Morning Worship: https://zoom.us/j/360308233 (Passcode: 567701)
  • Wednesday Prayer and Bible Study: https://zoom.us/j/225762120 (Passcode: 567701)
  • Backup Plan: If Zoom goes down we will move to Google Meet: https://meet.google.com/qbm-xhcd-vxf

Zelle Online Giving available

If you would like to give an offering through an electronic means, you may now give through Zelle. You will find our church listed under the email address: give@riverreachbaptist.org

If you put in the email address correctly Zelle should recognize the recipient as “River Reach Baptist Church, Inc.” If you have any questions, please contact me.

Prayer Requests:

• Churches in CA facing governmental intimidation and opposition for worshipping the Lord
• Amanda and baby healthy delivery
• Peace and righteousness in our land
• Those who are fighting Covid
• Our missionaries to be encouraged in the Lord
• Our leaders to have wisdom
• Opportunities to share Christ in these uncertain times
• Spiritual growth and strength for each one in our church
• Our nation to repent and turn to God
• Someone that the Lord can use you to lead to Christ
• Someone that the Lord can use you to lead to follow Christ

Blessed to be your Pastor!
Matthew Rowley