The Rock Church

Recall Who He Is and What He Has Done

I don’t know about you, but I need reminding often. I forget things so quickly. They go in one ear and out the other. Do you struggle with that? I think we certainly all do in our human nature. And I believe the writers of the New Testament knew that as well. Paul and Peter both wrote to tell the early Church to recall God’s truths. (2 Peter 1:12-13, Romans 15:15)

The disciples also knew they needed reminding. They spent three years physically walking with Jesus, and it’s clear they always required a lot of reminders from our Lord. They knew what Jesus had taught them; they could indeed repeat it. However, many times throughout their days, He reminded them. It’s almost like they needed a good shake to recall His teachings.

Pastor Bill has shared this quote from Samuel Johnson several times, and I think it applies. “People need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed.”

Amen to that. If you have kids, you know this is true.

Many things during our days (especially our smartphones) distract us from the truth, and we naturally think about other things.

Reminders in Life

Peter and Paul encouraged their readers that we all need reminders.

Reminders of God’s goodness are critical when life is hard. We also need reminders of God’s grace and forgiveness when we stumble. Equally important, we need reminders of His holiness when we are sinful idiots.

We certainly need reminders of God’s provision when finances are tight. Without a doubt, we need a reminder of God’s faithfulness when we are sinned against. And surely, we need a reminder of His peace when anxious. 

We absolutely need reminders of God’s closeness when we are lonely. At the same time, we need reminders of God’s care when we grieve and God’s promises when we doubt. 

Ways to Recall His Goodness

Simply put, we must recall who God is and what He has done.

So, how do we do that? How do we remind ourselves? This isn’t an exhaustive list, but these are some ways to recall God’s truth.

Read God’s Word (Psalm 143:8; Deuteronomy 6:8-9)

Let’s dig into God’s Word and decrees. As Deuteronomy 6 says, we should also plaster them around our houses and lives. They’ll remind us daily. 

Pray (Hebrews 4:16; Psalm 3:4)

We can pray, cry out, and commune with the Holy Spirit. As a result, it reminds us that we can (and should) “approach the Throne of Grace with confidence” (as Hebrews 4 says).

Meditate  (Psalm 63:5-8; Psalm 1:1-2)

We should meditate on God, His Word, and His faithfulness in our lives. In the morning, in the day, in the night. It helps us to recall His truth.

Be in Fellowship  (Hebrews 10:25; Colossians 3:16)

Fellowship with Believers should be a priority in our lives. Being with the Body of Christ allows us to be reminded of and spurred on by truth.

Serve Others (Acts 20:35; Proverbs 11:25) 

Taking our eyes off ourselves reminds us of Jesus’ example. Serving others turns our attention from ourselves to God’s ways. 

May we remember, like Asaph, to recall all that the Lord has done. (Psalm 77:11-15)

Grace and peace, 

Caleb

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton

Gratitude and Hope

Ephesians 1:15-21 is a set of verses that really encourages me. We glimpse Paul’s heart and his thankfulness for the church in Ephesus! He speaks with gratitude and hope. On top of that, he deeply desires the saints to continue their spiritual growth.

First, Paul starts by expressing his gratitude for the Ephesians’ faith in Jesus. At the same time, he also expresses thanks for their love for the saints.

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

15-Second Testimonies — Parkour, Coffee, and House Church

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

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

Seek Wisdom

As we continue in our spiritual walks, Proverbs (Chapter 2) provides lessons for us on the value of wisdom. At the same time, it reveals that wisdom protects us and guides us away from wrong decisions and people who want to lead us astray. Wisdom isn’t merely intellectual. We can certainly read, know, and even teach about it. However, it has to be applied to our actions as well to affect our lives.

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

Prayerful

Are you a prayerful person? Most of us would say we have room to grow in prayer. One of the most encouraging aspects of believers’ lives is pouring out our hearts to God and watching as He responds. There is absolutely no better way for us to communicate our thankfulness, adoration, desires, or grievances with God than through prayer. Yet, for so many of us, it becomes an afterthought. We can also be robotic or neglect to pray altogether.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Pray About Everything

The right response is to pray about everything. Perhaps you feel like you’re in an uphill battle. Are you distraught, downtrodden, sick, bankrupt, or confused? Oftentimes, life can be utterly brutal. And yet, in the same life, we can also experience the downhill thrill of blessings. Being in love, landing the perfect job, receiving gifts, learning new skills, having children, going on vacation, hearing, tasting, and so on.

In all our ups and downs, the Apostle Paul encourages us to assume the position of prayer.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Waiting on the Lord

I often find myself reflecting on the idea of waiting on the Lord. Waiting can seem frustrating in our fast-paced world, where immediate results and quick fixes are highly prized. My personality is to get in and fix things as soon as possible. So, it’s not easy when I have to wait days, weeks, or months for something. I can start to get anxious very quickly.

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

Stay Awake! 

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” — Matthew 24:42

You may have read a sad story in the news last week. A man shot at a woman, and the police then killed him (as of this writing, the details are still under investigation). But this happened a few miles from my house. Where this terrible story intersects my life (and your inbox) is that soon after the shooting, a police helicopter started circling the area and woke me up. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church

Remain

“Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me. Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing.” — John 15:4-5

I recently read through The One Year Bible and found these verses in John; they are perhaps among my favorites. These words come from our Savior Jesus. They remind me, quite simply, that “fruit” produced in our lives comes through abiding and resting in Him. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin