Following Jesus In This Political Moment

How should we respond as Christians after the election?

January 24, 2021 • Dr Zack Eswine

Some people are excited and celebrating after the election. Others are anxious and concerned with the state of our leaders. How should we be responding and relating with one another after the election? We listen to the words of Jesus to help us learn to do life together.

What kind of people should the followers of Jesus be?

January 17, 2021 • Joe Choi

There is a lot of confusion right now who Jesus is because of the broad voices of Christians. We look to the words and teachings of Jesus to help us understand what the should people who are followers of Jesus look like. Thank you for entering into this difficult conversation with us.

What does Jesus teach about God and Country?

January 10, 2021 • Dr Zack Eswine

In light of what happened (01/06/21) in our nation's capital, there is some obvious confusion of who is Jesus and what it means to be his follower. Pastor Zack looks back to the early followers of Jesus and their confusion about the relationship between God and country. Listen in as we hear from Jesus, to help us hear from Him who he is and what it means to be a faithful follower of Jesus.

What do we do with the lying?

November 15, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

During this political season and in most political seasons, we are confronted with this dilemma of trying to see who is telling the truth. During this message, we ask the question, What do we do with the lying, especially during a political season. We look to the Bible, to hear from God, to hear from Jesus to help guide us.

Jesus' Invitation to Remember and Celebrate - Meditation on the Lord's Supper

November 8, 2020 • Joe Choi

In a moment where our nation feel so divided among different political lines and convictions, what does it look like to be a community where we are united? We look to the Lord's Supper and hear of Jesus' invitation to remember and celebrate what he has done for us and that no matter what our political convictions are, what are background is or what we look like, in the death and resurrection of Jesus we can come together to celebrate what he has done for us.

What happens when the person you vote for doesn't win? - Follow Jesus

November 1, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

We are living in a moment where we are told that this is the most important vote. But what do we do when the person you voted for doesn't win? Pastor Zack invites us to look at other Christians who have gone before us, who had no vote, who had no political power to see how they lived. With them, we are invited to continue to live and to follow Jesus.

How can a Christian vote for ...?

October 25, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

Christians are often put in this false dilemma to choose a political party and candidate as the most holy and righteous choice. Listen in as Pastor Zack looks at the things that God and Jesus loves, the things that God and Jesus hates and to consider the holiness of God to take away this false dilemma. This is a difficult conversation but as we open the Bible together we can see that a Christian can faithfully vote for a Democrat or a Republican.

How do we handle a politics of fear?

October 18, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

In this political moment, it seems the news, political campaigns and social media posts are based on a message of fear. In this message Pastor Zack asks the question: "How do we handle a politics of fear?" Looking and listening to the words of Jesus, Zack shows us Jesus invites us to not be afraid. To help us in this time, we are invited to name the message of fear and see how this fear takes us away from Jesus.

Why does nationalism tempt us?

October 11, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

Why are sincere followers of Jesus tempted by nationalism (Listen to the previous sermon on "Can followers of Jesus be a patriot or nationalist")? Christians often make this honest but costly mistake when reading nationalism in the Bible. Listen in as Pastor Zack opens the bible to remember the original context, the worship of the earliest Christians and the big story of the Bible to help us follow Jesus in our political moment.

Can a follower of Jesus be a patriot or a nationalist?

October 4, 2020 • Dr Zack Eswine

Pastor Zack asks this question: Can a Christian, a follower of Jesus be a patriot or a nationalist? We look to the bible to hear from Jesus and his followers how they interacts with their own nation, country and political leaders. We see that Jesus welcomes patriotism but resists nationalism. Will you take this risk with us to learn together what it means to be a follower of Jesus during this political moment?

Riverside Church - STL