The Rock Church

The Rule of Rehoboam

“When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. … 5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” — 2 Chronicles 12:1,5

I recently read this story in 2 Chronicles 12:1-8. I encourage you to read the whole passage. In light of our King Jesus series, I thought there were some timely lessons from the rule of Rehoboam.

First, when King Rehoboam was strong, he abandoned God’s law. This is undoubtedly very instructive. As we are a strong, rich culture, this is naturally a real danger for us. Instead, we must cultivate a thankful heart in our family, church, and community.    

Next, Rehoboam abandoned God, and it says the whole nation with him. A nation indeed follows its leaders. For this reason, we need to see the importance of praying and voting for good leadership.

There Are Consequences

Then, there are always consequences of being unfaithful to God. That is tragically evident in this passage. In this case, Egypt attacked Jerusalem after their unfaithfulness. Not because of Egypt’s military might but because the Israelites were unfaithful to the Lord. 

What is more, the link between verses one and five is very striking. In verse one, Rehoboam abandoned God’s law. And then, in verse five, the prophet Shemaiah informs the king that he has abandoned God. That was certainly sobering to read. To abandon God’s law is to, in fact, abandon God Himself!   

And finally, when the princes and king humbled themselves, God granted them deliverance. This is such an encouraging note to end on. If people humbly repent (and turn to God), He will absolutely be merciful. He instantly relents when the people repent. There is always hope because we follow a God who shows mercy and forgives!

Josh

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

If You Can’t Be Kind, Be Quiet

I recently taught at church about how to treat fellow believers when we disagree politically. Christians who differ on such issues should always do so with a spirit of kindness, graciousness, and understanding. Indeed, this spirit honors King Jesus.

I know a little bit about conflict. Like everyone else, I’ve had my fair share of personal skirmishes with my wife, kids, family, co-workers, teammates, etc.  Additionally, for the past 33 years, I have been called in to help hundreds of other people resolve their broken relationships. In fact, just this past week, I had the opportunity to help resolve a dispute between two dear friends. Fortunately, humility carried the day, and all was well.

My top “pro tip” for resolving conflict? Stop it before it starts. Without a doubt, the best way to do that is to be preemptive and wise in your actions, thoughts, and words. Simply put, don’t put yourself in a situation that will ultimately lead to conflict.

But what do we do when we disagree politically with someone in our church? Unfortunately, many people resort to anger or mean social media posts. Along with that, they become passive-aggressive or simply avoid each other altogether. There is undoubtedly a better way for Christians. When we disagree, we should always prioritize our relationship over politics. 

What’s Your Attitude?

The Bible absolutely tells us what to do. Our attitude toward Christians who don’t believe the way we do in non-essential issues (like politics) should be loving, kind, and patient. Equally important, it should be gentle, grace-filled, and long-suffering. Does this come near to describing your political social media posts?

God’s Word calls Christians to a higher standard. He instructs us in Ephesians 4:29 (NIV84): “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”

It’s never okay to slander or judge your fellow brothers or sisters because of differing political beliefs. So rather than flame them online, why not simply be kind and listen? At the same time, humbly acknowledge that maybe you don’t have ultimate, complete, and supreme knowledge of all things political. In fact, you could be … wrong.

Are you tempted to say (or post) something mean or nasty (regarding your political convictions)? Before you do, remember this wise advice: “If you can’t be kind, be quiet.”

Practicing kindness,

Bill

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

The Power of God

A few Sunday evenings ago, we gathered together and heard Paul’s entire letter to the Romans publicly read out loud. For over an hour, sixteen different people read sixteen different chapters of a two-thousand-year-old text. After the reading, people weren’t falling asleep or bored. On the contrary, they were excited and encouraged! Imagine sitting down after a long weekend, listening to people read for an hour out of any other book. Before long, people would no doubt fall asleep and be ready to go home. They certainly wouldn’t be smiling ear to ear and talking about how amazing God is. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Even Me?

Then Jesus said to her, “I am the MESSIAH!” – John 4:26

Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite encounters in the entire Bible. You remember the story. In the Gospel of John, Jesus passed through a region called Samaria on His way to Galilee. As the reader, we should by all means know that (at this time in history) the Samaritan people were despised by the Jewish people. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be inferior economically, racially, spiritually, and socially. In fact, they were “the dogs” and often even hated.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

King Jesus Series

Unity in a Divided World

We live in a polarized age. We all know it. And election years make it worse. “You have to vote, this is the most important election in the history of our country!”, “You can’t vote for him, he’ll ruin our country!” Sound familiar?

Posted in News, Series by The Rock Church

Love and Unity

“Love and unity” (together) are among the eight core values we hold dear at The Rock. We describe this particular value in these words (on our website): “We desire our ministry to be marked by a Christ-like, selfless love, loyalty, and unity with fellow believers.” Over time, the undeniable evidence of this core value within our body of Believers has struck me. Selfless love and loyalty are indeed the norm. It’s as if it’s actually in the air. Like a beautiful fragrance from a spring flower after a long winter. And ultimately, it’s so compelling it draws you in. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Musings on Miracles

“Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” — John 20:30-31

What is a miracle? One dictionary defines a miracle as an event that is an addition to the established laws of nature and attributed to God.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Whose Fish Are These?

“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.’” — Matthew 9:35-38

Our church has undeniably been blessed with LOTS of new people. Attendance is at an all-time high. New people are just about everywhere! In fact, over the past six years, we are averaging 856 new people/year, 71 new people/month, and 16 new people/weekend. Assuming half of the new attendees don’t even turn in programs, you can perhaps double that number.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Witnesses of God’s Work: Reflections from Croatia

“God has raised this Jesus; we are all witnesses of this. Therefore, since He has been exalted to the right hand of God and has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit, He has poured out on you what you both see and hear.” — Acts 2:33

By God’s grace, we finished our mission successfully. The missionaries were blessed and our team has made lasting friendships and memories. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church

A Marathon Day of Fun in Vrsar

“In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.” — Acts 20:35

Today was our marathon day, of sorts, with thirty-six children, nine adults, and eleven hours of childcare. This allowed the parents an entire free day to rest and /or adventure around Istria. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church