News

The Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak is now classified as a pandemic by the World Health Organization. This microscopic virus is baffling even the strongest of countries and crippling the world economy. As followers of Jesus Christ, though, we desire to be led by faith, not by fear. Let us not live in fear and allow this pandemic to diminish the lasting hope we have in our Lord and Savior.

Still, while we shall not be ruled by fear, our faith does not call us to foolishness. Thus, we want to be faithful to God’s Word, which includes using common sense and the wisdom He has given us.

When we gather for family groups and worship Sunday morning, then, we will take some measures to avoid any unnecessary exposure to possible sickness. While we do not believe that should include neglecting our corporate gatherings (unless you are sick and directed by your doctor to do so), we do believe we can take common-sense measures to better protect ourselves.

Obviously, this includes our encouragement to wash your hands regularly, including before and after you meet with others; using your arm to cover your mouth when you sneeze or cough; etc. These are things we should be doing anyway.

There are a few additional things we can do in corporate fellowship and worship, though, to be wise in the midst of this pandemic…

1. We will bow, forearm smash, or fist bump instead of shake hands with one another. In fact, you can even just smile and say hello. Handshakes are not necessary to properly greet someone and ask how they are doing.
2. We will not pass the offering plate but will instead encourage people to give online, give via the free MyRichland App, or drop their offering in the plates before or after the service.
3. When we have communion again, we will not have the corporate handling of the Lord’s Supper trays. Instead, people will be invited to come forward and grab their own bread and juice without touching trays or plates. Those Christ-followers who are still uncomfortable doing so, of course, will be welcome to abstain.

As always, we have hand sanitizer in our children’s ministry areas and in the fellowship hall, so people can conveniently sanitize their hands (or marinate their entire arms) before and after serving children, as well as before eating and drinking on Sunday mornings and Wednesday evenings.

Can we be assured of good health? No, and we never will be on this side of eternity. Rather, we use wisdom but recognize this life does not come without risks. Yet, we will seek to honor and serve our Lord with the faith and assurance that He who is in us is greater than he who is in the world.

Please pray that we will honor God in our response to this crisis, seeking to live for Him and seeking to love those around us.

If you have any questions or concerns, please be sure to contact us. Otherwise, we hope to see you, as usual, on Sundays and Wednesdays. To God be the glory!

Blessings in Christ,
Pastor Nick

What follows are a few books that we highly recommend each person read for the sake of spiritual growth and discipleship. Of course, the Bible goes without saying and is the book we should spend time in every single day and throughout every single day (reading, studying, praying, meditating, and memorizing). There are also many other great resources, though, that can help in both your understanding of God’s Word and in your application of God’s Word. The books listed here do not comprise an exhaustive list but rather are books that we recommend because they are being used in discipleship accountability groups in our church family, because we have used them in the past for small group Bible studies, and/or because they are simply great resources for spiritual growth.

Growing Up by Robby Gallaty

Used by our weekly discipleship accountability groups (DAGs), Growing Up is a great resource that we recommend to every believer who is serious about being a disciple who makes disciples. And, for those who are not yet serious about this essential task, we recommend you read it and get serious. Practical, challenging and easy to read, Growing Up provides you with an interactive manual and resource for creating and working with DAGs, allowing you to gain positive information both for yourself and for others as you learn how to help others become better disciples for Christ.

If you are serious about being a disciple of Jesus Christ—really, truly serious—a DAG can help you achieve that goal. Jesus established this model for us by forming and leading the first discipleship group—and it worked. The men who emerged from that group took the gospel to the world and ultimately laid down their lives for Christ.

DAGs can create an atmosphere for fellowship, encouragement, and accountability—building an environment where God can work. In Growing Up, Robby Gallaty presents a practical, easy-to-implement system for growing in one’s faith. This guide offers a manual for making disciples, addressing the what, why, where, and how of discipleship. D-Groups, as Gallaty calls them, can teach you and others how to grow your relationship with God, how to defend your faith, and how to guide others in their relationships with God.

If you are interested in joining or starting a DAG, please contact us. Also, if you are interested in purchasing this book, you can click on the picture of the book.

The Prodigal God by Timothy Keller

A book that our Wednesday night adults’ Bible study fellowship went through a few years ago, The Prodigal God is an amazing resource that will challenge and sharpen your faith in powerful ways. Next the the Bible itself, this is probably the most influential book Pastor Nick has ever read. He cannot recommend it enough to every single person, Christian or not, who is willing to read it. While author Timothy Keller is brilliant, his writing is easy to read and practical for every person searching for truth and wanting to have a closer relationship with God.

Newsweek called Keller “a C.S. Lewis for the twenty-first century” in a feature on his first book, The Reason for God. In that book, he offered a rational explanation of why we should believe in God. Now, in The Prodigal God, Keller takes his trademark intellectual approach to understanding Christianity and uses the parable of the prodigal son to reveal an unexpected message of hope and salvation.

Within that parable Jesus reveals God’s prodigal grace toward both the irreligious and the moralistic. This book will challenge both the devout and skeptics to see Christianity in a whole new way.

Please take the time to read this incredible book. You can order it online or find it in many bookstores.

Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life by Donald Whitney

A few years ago, Pastor Nick preached through a sermon series on Sunday mornings called “Habits for Godly Living.” Covering eight of the biblical disciplines for the Christian life discussed thoroughly in Donald Whitney’s book, Nick recommended everyone read this book, too.

It’s not uncommon for an accomplished musician to be able to sit down in front of a new piece of music and play it though without a hitch. It seems easy, as if playing required no effort. Yet, the ‘freedom’ to play with such skill comes only after years of disciplined practice.

In the same way, the freedom to grow in godliness–to naturally express Christ’s character through your own personality–is in large part dependent on a deliberate cultivation of the spiritual disciplines.

Far from being legalistic, restrictive, or binding, as they are often perceived, the spiritual disciplines are actually the means to unparalleled spiritual liberty.

So if you’d like to embark on a lifelong quest for godliness, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will help you on your way. Drawn from the rich heritage left us by the Puritan writers and from the wealth of other evangelical spiritual giants—and Jesus Christ Himself-—Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will guide you through a carefully selected array of disciplines, including:

1. Scripture Reading & Study
2. Prayer
3. Worship
4. Scripture Meditation
5. Evangelism
6. Serving
7. Stewardship of Time and Money
8. Scripture Application
9. Fasting
10. Silence & Solitude
11. Journaling
12. Learning

By illustrating why the disciplines are important, showing how each one will help you grow in godliness, and offering practical suggestions for cultivating them on a long-term basis, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life will provide you with a refreshing opportunity to embrace life’s greatest pursuit—the pursuit of holiness—through a lifelong delight in the disciplines.

The Master Plan of Evangelism by Robert Coleman

Used in the past by our Wednesday night adults’  Bible study fellowship, The Master Plan of Evangelism is an excellent resource not only for proclaiming the gospel but also for discipleship in general. We recommend everyone read this book.

For more than forty years this classic study has challenged and instructed more than 1.5 million readers in reaching the world for Christ. With a foreword by Billy Graham and now repackaged for a new generation of readers, The Master Plan of Evangelism will show every Christian how to minister to the people God brings into their lives. Instead of drawing on the latest popular fad or the newest selling technique, Robert E. Coleman looks to the Bible to find the answer to the question, What was Christ’s strategy for evangelism? Through a thorough examination of the gospel accounts, Coleman points out unchanging, simple, yet profound biblical principles of how to emulate Christ to others.

If you are interested in purchasing this book, you click on the picture of the book. We still have a few copies available for purchase ($5) at our church facility.

Gospel by J.D. Greear

Although not a part of any current weekly studies, Gospel is a book that was transformational in Pastor Nick’s life and one he recommends every believer and truth-seeker reads. You’ll laugh at author J.D. Greear’s great stories and be compelled by his explanation of biblical truth.

Could the gospel be lost in evangelical churches? In this book, Greear shows how moralism and legalism have often eclipsed the gospel, even in conservative churches. Gospel cuts through the superficiality of religion and reacquaints you with the revolutionary truth of God’s gracious acceptance of us in Christ. The gospel is the power of God, and the only true source of joy, freedom, radical generosity, and audacious faith. The gospel produces in us what religion never could: a heart that desires God.

The book’s core is a “gospel prayer” by which you can saturate yourself in the gospel daily. Dwelling on the gospel will release in you new depths of passion for God and take you to new heights of obedience to Him. Gospel gives you an applicable, exciting vision of how God will use you to bring His healing to the world.

You won’t regret taking the time to read this practical, challenging, encouraging and easy-to-read book. You can order it online by clicking on the picture of the book itself and also through many other websites and bookstores.

The Insanity of God by Nik Ripken

The Insanity of God is the personal and lifelong journey of an ordinary couple from rural Kentucky who thought they were going on just your ordinary missionary pilgrimage, but discovered it would be anything but. After spending over six hard years doing relief work in Somalia, and experiencing life where it looked like God had turned away completely and He was clueless about the tragedies of life, the couple had a crisis of faith and left Africa asking God, “Does the gospel work anywhere when it is really a hard place? It sure didn’t work in Somalia.”

Author Nik Ripken recalls that, “God had always been so real to me, to Ruth, and to our boys. But was He enough, for the utter weariness of soul I experienced at that time, in that place, under those circumstances?” It is a question that many have asked and one that, if answered, can lead us to a whole new world of faith.

How does faith survive, let alone flourish in a place like the Middle East? How can Good truly overcome such evil? How do you maintain hope when all is darkness around you? How can we say “greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world” when it may not be visibly true in that place at that time? How does anyone live an abundant, victorious Christian life in our world’s toughest places? Can Christianity even work outside of Western, dressed-up, ordered nations? If so, how?

The Insanity of God tells a story—a remarkable and unique story to be sure, yet at heart a very human story—of the Ripkens’ own spiritual and emotional odyssey. The gripping, narrative account of a personal pilgrimage into some of the toughest places on earth, combined with sobering and insightful stories of the remarkable people of faith Nik and Ruth encountered on their journeys, will serve as a powerful course of revelation, growth, and challenge for anyone who wants to know whether God truly is enough.

While not used for a Bible study at Richland, Pastor Nick has referenced The Insanity of God multiple times, as the stories told in this book are amazing and unforgettable. You will be overwhelmed in a spiritually uplifting way if you will commit to reading this book.

Find it online or in bookstores.

If you have any questions about any of the above books, please contact us or see Pastor Nick.

Note: Book descriptions are from Amazon.com, except for Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian life, which is from biblicalspirituality.org.

During our worship service on Sunday morning, February 23, 2020, Nate Bloss shared why he believes reading the passage of Scripture for the upcoming Sunday sermon before you show up for worship is so important. He challenges everyone to do so in order to get more out of the sermon and be more faithful to God’s Word. Below is the video of Nate’s 90-second challenge. You can also just listen to the audio of Nate’s testimony by clicking HERE.

We have had the privilege of hearing some great testimonies of faith over the past month. During our annual New Life Celebration on January 19, several believers who were baptized in 2019 shared about how God has worked in their lives since then. You can listen to these testimonies by clicking HERE.

Also, during our annual F5 Event a couple of weeks ago, Nate Bloss talked about the struggle of putting Jesus Christ first while participating in extracurricular activities like football. You can watch his testimony below.

During our morning worship service on Sunday, February 2, 2020, we had the privilege of celebrating three new believers who publicly professed their faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord by being baptized. Praise God!

Before being baptized, all three shared their testimonies of Christian faith. Below are videos of their testimonies (including an additional testimony), a 90-second explanation of Christian baptism, and their baptisms.

On Sunday morning, Pastor Nick will begin a new sermon series about applying our 2020 Vision to our daily lives.

Our passion is the gospel. Our church is our family. Our world is our mission.

Gospel. Family. Mission. What does this vision/purpose mean for our daily lives? Simply put, this means we are Christian disciples who make Christian disciple-makers.

Over the next few weeks, Nick wants to challenge you to consider, “Who’s your one?” For whom are you praying and seeking to bring to Jesus?

With the help of some great media and technology resources from the North American Mission Board, several churches have had “Who’s Your One?” movements to help their members strive to live on mission.

Here are the messages Nick plans on sharing over the next five weeks to get you praying and living on mission:

“Following Is Fishing” (Matthew 4:18-22)

“Believing Is Receiving” (Luke 5:17-26)

“Caring Is Calling” (John 1:45-49)

“Hell Is Real” (Luke 16:19-31)

“Life Is Good” (John 1:40-42)

Will you consider whether or not you have at least one person for whose salvation you are praying and in whose life you will invest?

Please join us Sunday as we encourage and walk alongside one another in this discipleship journey. As always, we invite you to join us for Family Groups (9:30 – 10:30), followed by worship (10:40 – 11:45). For our full weekly schedule, click HERE.

If you have any questions or prayer requests, please let us know. Hope to see you Wednesday and Sunday!

Please join us Sunday evening at 6:00 for our annual New Life Celebration. We will begin with corporate worship, including some testimonies of those who have come to faith in the past year. Our hope is to celebrate the new life in Christ of those who have surrendered to Him, as well as pray for many more in 2020.

After our time of worship, we will have a cake and ice cream reception in our fellowship hall.

Don’t forget to join us in the morning, too.

Sunday, January 19

9:30 a.m. = Family Groups
10:40 a.m. = Morning Worship Celebration
6:00 p.m. = New Life Celebration (cake & ice cream to follow)

Questions? Please contact us.

This coming Sunday morning, Pastor Nick will begin a 3-week 2020 vision series, talking about our church’s purpose and vision: Gospel. Family. Mission. Over the next few weeks, he will look at each part of our purpose, challenging you to go through 2020 with a biblical vision for a faithful Christian lifestyle.

As always, we invite you to join us Sunday for Family Groups (9:30 – 10:30), followed by worship (10:40 – 11:45). For our full weekly schedule, click HERE.

Below is Nick’s plan for his 2020 Vision messages:

January 5 – “Our Passion Is the GOSPEL.” (Romans 3:21-26)

January 12 – “Our Church Is Our FAMILY.” (Romans 12:3-8)

January 19 – “Our World Is Our MISSION.” (Matthew 28:16-20)

If you have any questions or prayer requests, please let us know. Hope to see you Wednesday and Sunday!

On Sunday morning, Pastor Nick will begin a new Advent sermon series – “The Light Has Come.” Looking at the Christmas story for the perspective of the Gospel of John, we will see how the Light of the world – Jesus Christ – invades the darkness to bring salvation to all who trust in Him.

We hope you will join us for this series during Sunday morning worship each week at 10:40. Before that, you are invited to gather with us for family groups (aka Sunday School) at 9:30.

Here are the messages Nick will be preaching this month:

Sunday, December 1 (10:40 a.m.) = “Light Defeats Darkness” (John 1:1-5)

Sunday, December 8 (10:40 a.m.) = “Rejection for Reception” (John 1:6-13)

Sunday, December 15 (10:40 a.m.) = “The God-Man” (John 1:14)

Sunday, December 22 (10:40 a.m.) = “The New & Better Way” (John 1:15-18)

Sunday, December 22 (5 p.m. Candlelight Service) = “God Uses Faithfulness” (Luke 2:1-21)

Please note that before the Candlelight Service on December 22, there will be live Christmas music performed by Richland children, youth, and adults from 4:30 – 5:00 p.m. If you have any questions about our holiday schedule, please click HERE and/or let us know. Hope to see you on Sunday!