The Rock Church

Even Me? by The Rock Church

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
Tags: adulteress, adultery, alone, bondage, depressed, dirty, freedom, jesus, Jewish, Jews, John, JOhn 4, light, living water, lonely, messiah, miracle, outcast, Race, racism, refuge, sad, SAmaritan, SAmaritan Woman, Savior, see, sight, sin, sinful, slavery, steel, Steele Croswhite, suicide, the rock church, unclean, unfaithful, unworthy, water, well, Witness, Worship

15-Second Testimonies — Parkour, Coffee, and House Church by Brent Kendall

Today, we woke up and felt mostly adjusted to the time zone.  With that, we started the day with breakfast and team time.  We sang a few songs accompanied by Alicia on the piano and prayed for the day; Sarah had an activity to help us share our testimony in 15 seconds. It was a super easy one with only five steps! Even the kids had it down after a couple of times practicing with one another.  This proved to be very helpful later in the day.  We wrapped up team time and headed for prayer walking, prayer parkour, and lunch.  After lunch, Brent had the opportunity to pray for the new restaurant owner we had just eaten at.  After this, we returned to Sarah’s place to prepare for the afternoon activities.

Posted in Missions by Brent Kendall
Tags: Church, coffee, house, missions, Prayer, Sweden, the rock missions

Arrived — Church Service and a Sunday Stroll by Brent Kendall

We made it to Sweden! Praise God our day of travel was light, easy, and stress-free. Our flights were pleasant, and the connections were short yet restful. We arrived looking like zombies, but most of the team caught a second wind in time to go for a walk and get acquainted with the neighborhood. We shared a dinner with Sarah’s good friends, Stefan and Ingrid. Our team enjoyed listening to ministry stories from a sweet couple running hard for Jesus for over 40 years. Some of these teary-eyed stories were compelling testimonies of committing their lives to Jesus, trusting in His ways, and falling in love by God’s timing. What a blessing to Sarah to have a solid couple to do life with! They have also graciously opened their home so that Carmen, Scott, and Alicia can have a place to stay.

Posted in Missions by Brent Kendall
Tags: evangelism, Mission, Stockholm, Sweden, the rock missions

King Jesus Series by The Rock Church

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
Tags: christian, Church, community, disunity, election year, elections, God's word, jesus, king, king jesus, political topics, politics, rock church, sermon, Sermon Series, the rock, the rock church, topical sermons, trc, truth, United, unity, unity in a divided world

Eager for Sweden — “Twenty-twenty-twenty four hours to go” by Brent Kendall

I can’t seem to shake the Ramones song playing on a loop in my brain as I think about the next 24 hours. I really do want someone to “just get me to the airport, put me on a plane,” and let me get going. I’m anxious and eager to get started. I don’t do well leading up to a big trip like this. I stress about getting all the tasks crossed off a list, ensuring everyone is healthy, and communicating flights. I’m an over-planner. I can get distracted by all the planning and forget to let the Holy Spirit lead.

Posted in Missions by Brent Kendall
Tags: GCE, Mission, Sweden, the rock missions

Love and Unity by The Rock Church

“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
Tags: core values, flowers, fragrance, harmony, Heaven, jesus, Jesus' prayer, John, lilacs, love, loyalty, Mac, Peace, Prayer, sight, spring, Steve, Steve McInroy, the Body of Christ, the rock church, United, unity

Musings on Miracles by The Rock Church

“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
Tags: believe, evidence, Gospel John, jesus, John, Josh, Josh Whitney, Miracles, natural, nature, power, proof, prove, Resurrection, supernatural, the rock church, truth

Whose Fish Are These? by The Rock Church

“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
Tags: all hands on deck, attendance, Bill, Bill Young, boat, calling, community, core, disciples, discipleship, evangelism, faithful, fish, fishermen, friends, Gather, gathering, Harvest, help, involved, kingdom, mentorship, minister, Ministry, plentiful, ripe, souls, the rock church, work, workers

Reflections From Europe by Caleb Yetton

Recently, my family and I returned from a 10-day trip to Croatia. While we called it a mission trip, in most ways, it was more of a serving trip. My family (and our team of 18) provided childcare for European missionaries so they could fully engage in a conference taught by Pastor Bill. They also got some much-needed relaxation. We watched over a lot of kiddos, swam, and played night games. Not to mention, we also got to eat good food and gelato. Consequently, I’d like to share a few reflections from the trip. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: caleb yetton, Croatia, europe, faith, Mission, missions, pastor Mac, proverbs, risk, serve, serving overseas, short term mission trip, Steve McInroy, the rock, the rock church, the rock missions, The Rock Music, travel, trip

Look Ahead! by Tony D'Amico

I’ve always had a passion for all things boards. From the freedom of skateboarding through city parks to carving fresh powder on snow-capped mountains. Not to mention the rhythm of surfing ocean waves. Without a doubt, it’s a thrill like no other. I love feeling the wind rushing against my face. Strangely, times like this are also when I find myself in deep prayer. Yes, you read that right; I absolutely connect with God profoundly while gliding on a board!

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: adrenaline, christ, creation, endurance, failure, fall, fluid, focused, Future, game, goal, Heaven, Hope, humility, imperfect, inheritance, looking forward, nature, Paul, perfect, perfection, Philippians, prize, Race, riding, Running, skate boarding, skiing, snow, snowboarding, sports, struggle, surf, surfing, the rock church, Thrill, Tony, tony damico, waiting, watching, wipeout, Wisdom