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Local Resource Guide

Local Resource Guide

Looking for additional resources? For community resources in your area, click your county below: Anoka County Dakota County Ramsey County Washington County Hennepin County Scott County Rice County

Promise Principle

Promise Principle

Promise Principle is a powerful tool to teach people how to hear the voice of God through reading the Bible. It calls us to a daily God connection in which He speaks clearly through His Word and promises transformation, power, and direction in our everyday lives, (Romans 12:2, 2 Peter 1:3-4). Anyone engaged in Promise […]

Welcoming Internationals

Welcoming Internationals

Why should you care about internationals? Foreigner. International. Someone different than me. Someone raised in a different culture or a different country. Immigrant. When you hear those words, what is your initial reaction? For many, the initial instinct is to feel threatened, or to a lesser degree awkward, or maybe, and possibly the worst, indifferent. […]

Jesus Is All About People

Jesus Is All About People

In Matthew chapter 25, Jesus is teaching about the kingdom of God. He tells two parables. The first is about the idea that we have to keep watch, because we don’t know the day or the hour of Jesus’ return. The second parable paints a picture of stewardship, and that God has given us some […]

What is Your Part in the Great Commission?

What is Your Part in the Great Commission?

Revelation 7:9-10 says that every tribe and nation will gather around the throne of Jesus, giving Him all of the praise and worship. This Scripture shows us that missions is simply the goal of God’s glory and the Gospel advancement among all nations and people on earth. If God’s heart is for the world and the […]

A Look at 1 John

A Look at 1 John

The book of 1 John is an incredible book of the Bible. While it’s only five chapters long, it’s packed with so much truth and conviction for Christ-followers. The writer of this epistle, the disciple John, is now in his old age. He was one of the closest eyewitnesses to the life and ministry of […]

When Bad Things Happen

When Bad Things Happen

Why do bad things happen? Are we really good people? Why do unfair things happen? These questions encircle and point towards a fundamental inquiry that has perplexed philosophers and theologians from every culture and age of human history, known as the “problem of evil.” Essentially, the problem of evil asks, “If God exists and is […]

So That All May Hear

So That All May Hear

It probably comes as no surprise that ancient societies had a different set of values than what we have grown accustomed to here in 21st century America. That’s an important thing to consider when we read the Bible. The Bible was written at a much different time in our world. That in no way means […]

What Do I Do After Easter?

What Do I Do After Easter?

Oh, the difference that one year can make! Last year in America the lockdowns were just commencing and in my home state of Minnesota, we had a blizzard to top it all off. Snow on a locked-down Easter did not feel great for a year that was challenging enough. This year, restrictions had been lifted […]

Why is it a “Good Friday?”

Why is it a “Good Friday?”

As Easter draws near I can’t help but hear the obvious question arise in the minds of Christians and non-Christians alike: “Why is it a good Friday?” The History Many historians suggest that the observance of the Good Friday happened on the Friday before Easter, which follows the Jewish Passover lunisolar calendar, and was first observed […]

Good Friday at Home Kitchen Communion Recipe

Good Friday at Home Kitchen Communion Recipe

At River Valley, we’re excited to be celebrating Good Friday at home! We want to share a recipe with you so that you can make bread for our special Good Friday Communion service in your own kitchen. Ingredients 1 cup warm water 1/4 cup granulated sugar 2 TBSP yeast 1/3 cup canola oil 1 egg […]

Let’s Pray for the Nations!

Let’s Pray for the Nations!

After this I looked, and behold, right in front of me I saw a vast multitude of people—an enormous multitude so huge that no one could count—made up of victorious ones from every nation, tribe, people group, and language. They were all in glistening white robes, standing before the throne and before the Lamb with palm […]

Missionary Monday: Molly’s Story of Her Call to the Mission Field

Missionary Monday: Molly’s Story of Her Call to the Mission Field

Before I knew Jesus, I spent my life chasing purpose through a selfishly nomadic lifestyle. I traveled and lived all over the world and developed a burden for the marginalized and unseen.  When I gave my life to the Lord in 2016, I was worried that I’d have to give up much of this lifestyle […]

Hearing God’s Whispers

Hearing God’s Whispers

The world is a very loud place. With social media, news and the opinions of our neighbors and coworkers all seem to bring us to an information overload by 3 pm. In the midst of all the noise, how in the world am I supposed to hear God? What is He saying to me? Where […]

Living Differently In Babylon

Living Differently In Babylon

On the first pages of the Bible, God says that humans are made in His image in order to mirror God’s image to the world, ruling over the earth as He would. Pretty early on, people fail over and over again. It turns out that this is harder for us than expected.  Still, God chooses […]

What Could God Be Up To Right Now?

What Could God Be Up To Right Now?

We are certainly living in uncertain times.  Some would even say “we are living in unprecedented times.”  How many times have we heard that in the past few months? Little did we know in February that our state and much of the world would “shut down” for almost and that COVID-19 and Coronavirus would become […]

The Biblical Story & Justice

The Biblical Story & Justice

If you pick up a Bible and you’ve never read it before, the logical place to begin reading is at the beginning of the story. If you’ve been reading the Bible for a bit, you probably know that this doesn’t always strike a chord with first time readers. The first book, Genesis, is really long. […]

What A Week (Again…)

What A Week (Again…)

What a week. It’s the only words I could muster to describe what transpired in Minneapolis and St. Paul over the last 7 days. The irony is it’s the same words I used to describe the onset of a global pandemic that shook the very core of life as we knew it almost 3 months […]

Putting On The Whole Armor of God

Putting On The Whole Armor of God

A phrase I like to use a lot to describe my life as a follower of Christ is wonderfully abundant. How precious is the gift of grace and forgiveness that is freely available to us? Because of Jesus, we are able to live an abundant life full of joy, laughter and freedom.  What I think […]

Pressure Can Teach Us To Love

Pressure Can Teach Us To Love

Right now, many are asking “why.” Why is this happening to our world? Why is it being handled a certain way? Why are some of us losing jobs? Why are people so divided over this? It’s a confusing time to be a follower of Jesus, admittedly. Our world is undergoing a lot of pressure, and […]

Letting God Recalibrate You

Letting God Recalibrate You

What a roller coaster of emotions we are riding these past few weeks. We can no longer rely on our previous methods and practices of managing our homes, careers, finances, or relationships. We find ourselves pivoting, learning new routines, and  finding a rhythm that works. We might even be asking God: what are you doing […]

Hope For The Sake Of Others

Hope For The Sake Of Others

In Matthew chapter 22, some of the Jewish leaders try to challenge Jesus by asking him what the greatest commandment is. Jesus summarizes the greatest commandment of the Hebrew scriptures this way:  Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this […]

Practicing Journaling

Practicing Journaling

“This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘Write in a book all the words I have spoken to you.” Jeremiah 30:2 My first journal was given to me by my friend Nancy shortly after she introduced me to Jesus.  She gave it to me on one of our Saturday morning visits, sitting […]

Practicing Silence and Solitude

Practicing Silence and Solitude

In chapter 4 of Luke’s gospel account, just after a dramatic scene where Jesus is baptized in the Jordan river and the Holy Spirit descends upon him “in bodily form like a dove” (I’d call that a good day), he is “led around by the Spirit in the Wilderness.” The Greek word here for wilderness […]

Caring For Yourself

Caring For Yourself

April 13 marked one month since Minnesota’s Governor, Tim Walz, restricted social gatherings because of COVID-19. I don’t know about you, but it almost feels like a whole year has flown past! We are living in an odd tension of backwards agendas, new routines, slow days, fast weeks, rediscovered purposes and a whole lot of […]

Celebrating Holy Week in Quarantine

Celebrating Holy Week in Quarantine

With everything going on around us, and with the shift to church online, I have to admit that Easter kind of snuck up on me this year. Everything seems just a little out of rhythm. I lose track of the days! Maybe life feels out of sync for you too. I think this is a […]