The Rock Church

Wait and Pray by Caleb Yetton

“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” — Psalm 62:5-7

Reading through Psalm 62 recently was convicting for me. In particular, verse five stood out to me. In my opinion, our world (myself included) doesn’t like to be silent — especially when something bothers us. Because of this, we text or call friends to complain about the lousy customer experience we just had at a store. We also hop on social media to tell the world our opinion about the news story of the day. Without a doubt, we sure love to make our views heard. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: caleb, caleb yetton, call, complain, complaining, contentment, dicontent, discontent, doubt, emotions, frustrated, grumbling, haven, heart, Home, Hope, Patience, patient, pour out, pray, Prayer, quiet, refuge, Rock, salvation, shaken, silence, talking, the rock church, trial, trust, turn, wait, waiting, Works

“Break Away the Stone” is Available Now! by The Rock Church

“Break Away the Stone” (featuring worship leader Skyler Murray) is the latest EP released by The Rock Music. This powerful four-song worship project introduces their original track, “Win Build Send”, a song that encapsulates the mission of faith in action. Alongside this new anthem, the EP features The Rock Music’s unique take on beloved worship songs: “In Christ Alone,” “Shepherd,” and “Red Letters.”

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Tags: aj peterie, bats, brady burt, break, break away, break away the stone, ccm, christian rock, ep, holden greene, jesus, murray, Music, new ep, new music, new release, praise, skyler, skyler murray, stone, the rock, The Rock Music, TRM, Worship, worship music

Gentleness by The Rock Church

The world we live in today is certainly not known for being very gentle. This week, I watched a guy lose his mind on another dude when he took his parking spot. I also heard a guy blow up on his kids in the grocery store. And then this morning (as I write this), I have already scrolled through dozens of brutal comments of ruthless outrage about the political division in our country. (Many coming from my own brothers and sisters in Christ!)

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Tags: \critical, anger, angry, Bryan, Bryan D. Edwards, bryan edwards, butterfly, comment, Criticism, division, gentle, gentleness, Grace, haughty, haughty spirit, humble, jesus, kind, love, loved ones, lowly, marriage, online, politics, posting, posting inline, relationship, scroll, snap, spouse, tender, the rock church, tone, walk, yoke

Find Wisdom by Tony D'Amico

“Joyful is the person who finds wisdom, the one who gains understanding. For wisdom is more profitable than silver, and her wages are better than gold. Wisdom is more precious than rubies; nothing you desire can compare with her.” — Proverbs 3:13-15

We find joy and understanding in wisdom. It’s also more profitable than gold and silver. And it’s more precious than rubies — NOTHING compares.

But where do we find this wisdom (spoken about in these proverbs)?

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: bible, correction, direction, disciplin, fear, fear the Lord, folly, fool, fountain of life, gems, get wisdom, God's word, gold, guidance, instruction, joy, knowledge, philosphy, profit, prosperity gospel, proverbs, rubies, ruby, sight, silver, smart, success, the rock church, think, thinking, Tony, tony damico, treasure, truth, understand, understanding, Wisdom, wise, Word

In Order by The Rock Church

We’ve all been there. Standing in the office supply aisle with a few items we just know are going to help us be more organized and productive. In fact, just standing there makes us feel a little more productive than we did in the condiment aisle, doesn’t it? We’re taking steps to get our lives in order. 

Naturally, nobody likes it when their lives are chaotic and out of control. It’s uncomfortable at the least and terrifying under certain circumstances. Of course, we want order in our lives; we even have one-liners like “there’s a method to my madness” to explain it. Additionally, God created us in His image. That’s why we don’t like disorder or chaos in the things going on around us, either. This is because our God is not a God of disorder but of peace. (1 Cor. 14:33 NIV)

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Tags: antinomianism, asceticism, Billy, billy johnson, chaos, child sacrifice, control, created, creator, depraved, human sacrifice, Idolatry, Idols, image, math, order, orderly, Peace, perfect, reflect, Science, self-flagellation, self-righteousness, serve, spirit and truth, the rock, the rock church, Worship

Fully Devoted Disciple by The Rock Church

The goal of this year’s teachings (both on the weekends and at The Rock Men and Ladies’ Nights) is to help each other become “Fully Devoted Disciples” of Jesus. I think perhaps most of us (including me) would say I want to be a fully devoted disciple of Jesus. As Christians, you’d think this would be a given. I’ve certainly heard our pastors preach solid theological truth week in and week out. Doesn’t that automatically put me on the roller coaster of being a disciple? Whelp, yes and no.

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Tags: Church, devoted disciple, devotion, disciple, fully devoted disciple, gospel, great commission, life, rock church, Steve McInroy, the rock church, trc

Real Love by The Rock Church

Jesus calls me to love people. He’s reminded me of what real love is over the past few weeks (in a powerful way).

After spending some time studying the definition of love (according to 1 Corinthians 13), it became clear to me. Love is far more than our experience of emotions or pleasant feelings. It is, in fact, ACTION.

The Apostle Paul used a compelling Greek word when he described love in Corinthians. That word was “agape.” Agape love is sacrificial, active, and far beyond words. Equally important, agape love is a determined act of will.

What is more, knowing what that kind of love is, the Bible teaches us that we are to “love with action” our fellow Christians. Not only them but also those who do not know Jesus as their Savior.

How Are You Doing?

We are to actively love other Believers in several ways. It’s important to enjoy them (Acts 2) and be committed to them in community and mission (Hebrews 10). Additionally, we should bear each other’s burdens (Romans 12:15).

As we actively love the Lost, we also need to show compassion (Matthew 9:36). It’s crucial to always share the Gospel with them (John 3:16) and love them authentically (Matthew 23:37).

Jesus said in John 13:35: “By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” This week, ask yourself, “How is my ‘love’ life?”

All in all, do you sacrificially love your fellow Christians? How about actively loving the Lost around you with compassion and authenticity?

Loving for the long haul,

Steele

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: 1 corinthians 13, act, action, agape, bride, commit, committed, compassion, Corinthians, Croswhite, desire, disciples, greek, intentional, jesus, love, pursue, pursuit, romance, sacrifice, steel, Steele, the Body, want, will

Is God Holding Out On Us? by The Rock Church

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” — Psalm 27:13-14

While studying the book of Joshua this last month, something caught my attention. When the Israelites conquered Jericho, God told them to destroy everything and keep no plunder. But Achan disobeyed the command. Joshua (Chapter 7) says he kept some of the plunder (which included a bar of gold). We don’t know how heavy the bar was, but if it was similar to modern bars, we’re talking about a million dollars of gold. In due time, God judged Achan and his family (and all of Israel) for that disobedience. 

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Tags: Achan, call, calling, character, desire, disobedience, disobey, FOMO, Garde, garden, Garden of Eden, Gods timing, Israel, Josh, Josh Whitney, Joshua, judge, Judgment, obey, Old Testament, Patience, pleasure, plunder, Psalm 27, Stop light, the rock church, timing, trust, wait, waiting, wealth

What Really Matters by The Rock Church

“Yes, a wise man thinks much of death…” (Ecclesiastes 7:4a LB)

My wife’s mom, Judy, passed away just before Thanksgiving. We traveled back to Iowa a few weeks ago to celebrate her life. Christian funerals are always bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I am so sad at the loss of our loved ones. On the other hand, however, I feel almost envious that they are now in Paradise with Jesus! How incredible it is to know that in Heaven, there are no more tears, pain, poor eyesight, worries, migraines, sorrows, or death.

Without a doubt, the death of a loved one is never easy. But, as followers of Christ, our hope is sure; it’s never just wishful thinking.

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Tags: afterlife, Bill, Bill Young, bitter, build, celebration of life, death, Ecclesiastes, eternity, funeral, Future, Heaven, Home, Hope, important, John, Legacy, life is short, pain, Place, priorities, priority, relationships, sorrow, strategy, the rock church, Time, trial, Wisdom, wise, worries, worry

Where is My Treasure? by Caleb Yetton

“Don’t store up treasures here on earth, where moths eat them and rust destroys them, and where thieves break in and steal. Store your treasures in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and thieves do not break in and steal. Wherever your treasure is, there the desires of your heart will also be.” — Matthew 6:19-21 (NLT)

Recently, we wrapped up our “Win, Build, Send” series. I’m definitely thankful for the important reminders we talked about regarding the vision and mission of our church. We want to reach the world for Jesus and see people become disciples of Jesus. One reminder I’m particularly grateful for is the role our money can have in our lives. It will either assist us in that goal or surely keep us from getting involved in the mission. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: caleb, caleb yetton, career, finances, generosity, Generous, give, Giving, greed, Malachi, Matthew, Mission, money, needs, poor, poverty, Purpose, the kingdom, the rock church, tithe, treasure, trust, WBS, welath, win build send, yetton