Category: Upcoming Events

Why Morning and Evening Worship Services?

Why Morning and Evening Worship Services?

On May 5, River City Reformed will start having evening worship services in addition to morning services, as our current Sunday night prayer meetings will begin to be included in our upcoming Wednesday night ministry. A question may arise: why both morning and evening worship services?

We believe that Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and that we are to “call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable” (Isaiah 58:13). The Lord’s Day is a gift from God, and it is designed to be a blessing to us as we set aside the day to devote to the worship of God and to rest. It is an historic practice of the church to bookend the Lord’s Day with morning and evening worship services as this helps us to keep the day holy. We also see biblical precedent for the church gathering together morning and evening for worship (Psalm 92:1-2; Acts 20:7). Though it is not wrong to not have evening worship services, it is certainly a great help to the people of God in setting the day apart for its proper purposes to have both morning and evening services.

Another reason we want to hold morning and evening services is because we are a church committed to the ordinary means of grace. The ordinary means of grace (the Word, prayer and the sacraments) are central to the ministry at River City Reformed Church. As we gather together twice on the Lord’s Day, we get to hear the Word preached twice. If we are meeting most Sundays in the year for evening as well as morning services with only a few exceptions, that’s around 100 times we hear God’s Word preached instead of 52 times. This also means there are more prayers that we offer to the Lord, and as we plan to take the Lord’s Supper one Sunday night a month, that’s twice as many times during the month that we get to take the Supper. If the Lord uses His Word to change people, and if the Lord is pleased to hear His people pray, and if the Lord is pleased to use the sacraments in the life of His people, then it is good for us to have more opportunities to be under the ordinary means of grace.

Please join us on May 5 for our morning and evening services as we begin to follow this historic pattern together. Our morning service will remain at 9 AM, and we will meet for worship in the evening at 5:45 PM.

Registration for River City Theology Conference on “Christ and His Benefits”, Featuring Rev. Sean Morris

Registration for River City Theology Conference on “Christ and His Benefits”, Featuring Rev. Sean Morris

The registration for the weekend Theology Conference at River City Reformed Church is available here. Though the conference is free, we do ask that you register so that we can have a better idea of who is coming, especially for the fellowship lunch on Saturday Feb. 24. 

We are excited to announce that on February 23-25, River City will be having its first ever weekend theology conference. Our featured speaker is Rev. Sean Morris. Rev. Morris serves as the Associate Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Sean holds a Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, a Master of Theology degree in Scottish Church History and Theology from the University of Glasgow, and is pursuing a Ph.D in Historical Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also helped found the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education (BRITE), a presbytery-based theological training institution serving students throughout Appalachia and even around the world, at which he served as an instructor and academic dean. Sean and his wife Sarah have four children. 

The topic of this conference is “Christ and His Benefits.” The schedule for the conference is as follows:

Friday, February 23: Lesson 1–“The God-Man: Full of Kindness and Compassion” (6 PM)

Saturday, February 24: Lesson 2–“Second Adam, Obedient Son” (10 AM with fellowship lunch to follow)

Sunday, February 25: Morning Worship Service Sermon–“Risen King” (9 AM, with coffee hour to follow at the Ritcheys’ house)

Sunday February 25: Evening Worship Service Sermon–“Returning Judge” (6:15 PM) 

The conference is free and will be held at 9820 W Marhkam St in Little Rock (The sanctuary of Faith United Methodist Church). We hope you will join us, and even if River City is not your church home, you are welcome to attend as much of the conference as you are able. Contact us if you’d like more information. 

River City Theology Conference featuring Rev. Sean Morris on February 23-25. Topic: “Christ and His Benefits.”

River City Theology Conference featuring Rev. Sean Morris on February 23-25. Topic: “Christ and His Benefits.”

We are excited to announce that on February 23-25, River City will be having its first ever weekend theology conference. Our featured speaker is Rev. Sean Morris. Rev. Morris serves as the Associate Pastor at Covenant Presbyterian Church (PCA) in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Sean holds a Master of Divinity degree from Reformed Theological Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi, a Master of Theology degree in Scottish Church History and Theology from the University of Glasgow, and is pursuing a Ph.D in Systematic Theology at Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He also helped found the Blue Ridge Institute for Theological Education (BRITE), a presbytery-based theological training institution serving students throughout Appalachia and even around the world, at which he served as an instructor and academic dean. Sean and his wife Sarah have four children. 

The topic of this conference is “Christ and His Benefits.” The schedule for the conference is as follows:

Friday, February 23: Lesson 1–“The God-Man: Full of Kindness and Compassion” (6 PM)

Saturday, February 24: Lesson 2–“Second Adam, Obedient Son” (10 AM with fellowship lunch to follow)

Sunday, February 25: Morning Worship Service Sermon–“Risen King” (9 AM, with coffee hour to follow at the Ritcheys’ house)

Sunday February 25: Evening Worship Service Sermon–“Returning Judge” (6:15 PM) 

The conference is free and will be held at 9820 W Marhkam St in Little Rock (The sanctuary of Faith United Methodist Church). We hope you will join us, and even if River City is not your church home, you are welcome to attend as much of the conference as you are able. Contact us if you’d like more information. 

The Dwelling of God Part 2

The Dwelling of God Part 2

This week at River City Reformed, we will continue to think through the furnishings of the Tabernacle as detailed in Exodus 26:1-27:19. The Tabernacle description teaches us much about the holiness of God and the hope of the Gospel.

Join us for worship this Lord’s Day at 9 AM at 9820 W Markham St. (the sanctuary of Faith United Methodist Church). For more information, click here, or contact us. You can also watch our service on YouTube with a link posted to our Facebook page.

The Dwelling of God

The Dwelling of God

In Exodus 25, we come to the beginning of the description of the Tabernacle that is to be built for the Lord. The Tabernacle is to be God’s dwelling place among His people, as we see in verse 8 of chapter 25: “And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” Have you ever thought of the wonder that it was that God would dwell in the midst of His people? His people were sinful, and yet God would be gracious to dwell among them.

This Lord’s Day at River City Reformed, we will begin to consider this Tabernacle and the wonder of God dwelling among His people. We will also consider the New Testament and Gospel realities to which this points us, as we remember that “the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14)

Please join us for worship this Lord’s Day at 9820 West Markham St in Little Rock, AR. We meet at 9 AM. For more information, click here, or contact us. You can also watch our service on YouTube with a link posted to our Facebook page.