The Rock Church

Authority by admin

This week, Justice Brett Kavanaugh, was confirmed by the U.S. Senate in a narrow 50-48 vote. He will now take his seat next to the other eight Supreme Court Justices in our nation’s highest court. Some people are encouraged, some are disappointed, some are protesting, and some don’t care. Donald Trump is the President of the United States of America; it seems like at least a few times a week we hear about something he tweeted, said, wore, or did. Again, some people are happy, some are mad, some are protesting, and some don’t care.

How should we, as Christians, respond to our government leaders and those in authority over us? In 1 Timothy 2:1-2, we can glean some instruction from Paul. He says, “First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way.” What exactly does that mean for us? How do we respond?

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: Authority, billy johnson

God’s Power by admin

Recently, I have been thinking about God’s power. Mainly, I think, because our world is in desperate need of healing and the only one who can do that is God. In fact, one of His names is the God Who Heals, or the Great Physician.

It’s important to pray for healing and to grieve for people around the world who are in all kinds of horrendous situations. By praying, I think we wield more power to help change the world, and individual lives, than we can even grasp or imagine. As Christians, we are incredibly blessed to be connected to the only true Power Source of the universe. You might think Rocky Mountain Power has some authority, but they ain’t nothing… let me tell you about the real deal… Jesus! These verses say it all: “Tell everyone about God’s power. His majesty shines down on Israel; his strength is mighty in the heavens. God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!” — Psalm 68:34-35

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: God’s Power, Steve McInroy

“Here’s My Heart It’s Yours To Keep” by admin

Recently, The Rock Music released a music video for one of our songs — “Here’s My Heart”. The message behind the song is quite simple, but truly life changing. When you get a moment, check it out.

Within the song, there is the prayer that God would take our hearts in their entirety. It may seem simple enough, but we all know how hard it can be to both offer (and allow) God to completely take our hearts. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, the world around us fights for our affections. Perhaps it’s our job, our money, or glory? Maybe even “good” things, like our family or church can wrestle for our attention and worship?

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Posted in Uncategorized by admin
Tags: Here’s My Heart It’s Yours To Keep, Steele Croswhite

Destroyed by admin

Have you ever thought about how easy it is to destroy something compared to creating it? I was reminded of this during a recent house project. 

We decided to replace our old, wooden, patio stairs as part of a backyard project. The stairs were about 10 years old and the bottom boards were starting to rot. One evening, I decided to demo them. I took a circular saw, pry bar, and hammer; I destroyed and removed the old stairs in about one hour! After I finished my demolition work, I was struck by how quickly I was able to do that.
 
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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: Destroyed, Josh Whitney

God’s Love by admin

During my final teaching of our David series, I talked about the amazing love of God. It made me think about, dwell on, how much God loves me. It says in 2 Thessalonians 3:5, “May the Lord direct your hearts into God’s love and Christ’s perseverance.” God gave me two thoughts regarding this verse.

First, my heart can be directed. And second, it should be aimed toward the fact that God loves me. Seems simple, doesn’t it? But, somehow, it was profound for me. I’ve tried to lead my heart into this amazing truth. One way I’ve found to do this is to take time to review Bible verses on God’s love. Even singing hymns and songs about His love during my morning quiet times has been so good.

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: Bill Young, God's Love

Burdens to Bear by Caleb Yetton

Last week, I was absolutely crushed to hear of a 30-year-old man who committed suicide in California. I know it is the extremely tragic and unfortunate truth that this sort of thing happens daily, but reading this particular story hit really close to home. This man was very close to my age, he was a husband, a father of three boys, and he was also a pastor at a church. The more I read about his story, the more my heart broke for him, his family, and his church. Thinking about the whole situation has brought to mind some thoughts I’d like to share.

The first thing I’d like to acknowledge is that this life is NOT easy. I don’t think we should sugar coat it. I’m not saying that it’s all bad, but it sure ain’t all simple. The daily pressures of just being a contributing member of society alone can be awfully heavy. Then, on top of those forces of life, we as Christians, have to pick up our cross daily and choose to follow Jesus (against the flow of culture around us). Again, I’m not saying it’s bad, in fact, I’m convinced this is best thing in the world. But, I think we are remiss if we try to brush it off as just a nice stroll in the park.

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: Burdens to Bear, caleb yetton

Something to Think About by admin

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” — Philippians 4:8

The Apostle Paul reminded the Philippians that it was a good thing for them to regularly think about the things that would inspire worship and thankfulness to God. I wanted to remind us of that, too!

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: Bryan D. Edwards, Something to Think About

1 Timothy – What Godliness Looks Like in the Church by Tony D'Amico

if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. – 1 Timothy 3:15

In the book of 1 Timothy, Paul is writing a letter to a young church leader. He has specific instructions for Timothy to know how to “fight the good fight”, how to lead his church, and what it looks like to live a godly life. Many of the challenges that Timothy faced in his church, we are still facing today. Challenges such as: dealing with false teachers, worship, prayer, character qualities of leadership, how we should treat each other, and how we should live our lives. Join us as we take a look at this powerful book and discover what godliness looks like in the church.

Series runs from September 8 – December 2 at all services!

Posted in Events, News, Series by Tony D'Amico
Tags: 1 Timothy, Series, sermon

Consult with the Lord by Tony D'Amico

“So the Israelites examined their food, but they did not consult the Lord.” — Joshua 9:14

There is a lot we can learn from this verse… Joshua was confronted by a group of people (basically, neighbors of the Israelites) who were wanting to negotiate a treaty with them. Their intent was to deceive Joshua because they had heard of the destruction that was going to come upon them. So, they went to him and said, “we are from a city far away.” They brought moldy bread, worn out clothing, and wine skins (to help in their deception). Joshua kept asking questions, but eventually granted them their request — and made an alliance with them. There was one thing, however, that Joshua didn’t have the Israelites do. They didn’t consult with the Lord. Because of that, they made a treaty and were deceived.

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico

Misunderstanding by admin

Every once in a while, I get myself into a situation where I know I’ve been misunderstood. There are also times when I realize that I’ve misunderstood what somebody was trying to tell me. We all experience this, don’t we? I was recently struck by a story in Joshua (22:10-34). There was a misunderstanding that could have ended in disaster… if one group of people hadn’t been able to explain themselves to another group.

When Israel was moving into the Promised Land, one group of people were given the land on the East side of the Jordan river. They built “an altar of imposing size.” One that looked identical to the altar God had them build for the Tabernacle. They shouldn’t have done this as it was “unauthorized.” God had been very clear with them when He gave them instructions about where and how He wanted the altar built.

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Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: billy johnson, Misunderstanding