The Rock Church

Tag Archive: Josh Whitney

  1. Difficulties are Food for Faith to Feed on

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    In the middle of trials, are you seeing the opportunity for your faith to grow? As George Mueller put it, “difficulties are food for faith to feed on.” 

    Hebrews 11:1 says that, “faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Faith takes future realities and brings them into our present realities. It is a rock-solid confidence in God’s Word — even in the midst of difficulties. 

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  2. Eyes Locked

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    Eyes Locked, a word by pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper, Utah. "Which brings us to Psalm 16:8. Christian, when you are worried, anxious or fearful (or even encouraged), do you keep your eyes locked on the Lord?"

    “I keep my eyes always on the Lord. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken” — Psalm 16:8

    Last November, The Rock pastors traveled to St. George for a multi-day conference. On our free day, a group of us went to Zion National Park; we’d decided to hike to Angels Landing. The hike is five miles long with 1,500 feet of elevation gain. That doesn’t sound too bad, but the challenging part of Angels Landing is the extreme exposure and huge cliffs. Sadly, people have died there.

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  3. An Atheist, Buddhist and Christian Walk Into a Class

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    An Atheist, Buddhist and Christian Walk Into a Class - a word by pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper, Utah. “And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.”

    “And I pray that the sharing of your faith may become effective for the full knowledge of every good thing that is in us for the sake of Christ.” — Philemon 1:6

    Recently, I had a chance to experience this verse firsthand. I was invited by a friend to speak to his class on the topic of Christianity. There were a number of unbelievers there, including an atheist and Buddhist. We spent the next two hours discussing their questions (related to the reliability of the Bible, science, the problem of evil, Jesus, questions about the character and nature of God and the Gospel). In fact, I was able to share the Gospel multiple times and invite the group to church!

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  4. MAGA Hats and “Never Trumpers”

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    MAGA Hats and "Never Trumpers”, a word by Pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper Utah.

    “[Jesus] appointed the twelve:… Matthew, … and Simon the Zealot.” — Mark 3:16-18

    Jesus selected twelve young men to be His closest followers. They were all uneducated, common, “blue collar worker” types. God uses ordinary people to do extraordinary things. I want to focus on two disciples, Matthew and Simon, to see the incredible unity that can be found in Christ.   

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  5. Three Ways to Love People Better

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    “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

    I recently observed three different families in our church who were loving others in practical, amazing and helpful ways. I believe there are three lessons we can learn from their examples.

    First way to love people better is to make yourself available. You actually need to tell someone —maybe a Small Group Leader, a pastor, or the person you see with a need. Tell them you are willing and available to help! That’s why I love this verse so much. Don’t just have some nice thoughts about how you want to help — actually DO something. I know a family in our church who had a broken car. A different family in our church had told a leader they wanted to help with practical things, like broken cars. Thankfully, as you guessed it, the broken car got fixed!    

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  6. Fortified Tower

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    “The name of the LORD is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.” — Proverbs 18:10

    Last year, my wife and I stayed in a hotel that had a large concrete wall directly behind it. The wall was massive. It was 10 to 20 feet high and was made of thick, reinforced concrete.

    Basically, the view out our window was a giant concrete wall. Not a very visually appealing thing to look at during our stay. And the wall ran the entire length of the hotel. 

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