The Rock Church

Resolving Conflict

There is one thing I know. At some point, you will definitely offend or sin against someone close to you. Simply stated, between family, friends, co-workers, (or just doing life with people) conflict happens.

The good news is that the time between the offense and the resolution is within our control. Dealing with it quickly creates peace in our hearts. On the other hand, if not dealt with, conflict causes war in our hearts. Jesus gives us some clear steps on how to resolve conflict.

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

A Simple Invitation

A simple invitation could change the direction of someone’s life and eternal destination.

As part of our Mission To The City last week, a team of us passed out flyers around the Midvale City Park; we invited the neighborhood to a park party. We prayed together and broke down into smaller teams to distribute the flyers.

The group I was with had two littles who were thrilled about placing the invite on the doors. It was a great display of faith. They ran to the door, taped on the invite and ran back for the next one.

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

Loose Lips Sink Ships

During WWII, the idiom “Loose lips sink ships.” was created. People needed to know the effects of careless words and unguarded talk. “Loose lips” could leak secrets to the enemy, spread rumors, or create issues between people groups. Information passed from person to person could have grave results. Especially if the information wasn’t true.

Similarly, this concept was also understood and written about by Solomon in Proverbs 11:13:

“A gossip goes around telling secrets, but those who are trustworthy can keep a confidence.”

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

Show Me the Right Path

Show me the right path, O Lord; point out the road for me to follow. Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. — Psalm 25:4-5

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

Wonderful Joy Ahead

“So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you must endure many trials for a little while.” — 1 Peter 1:6

The message Pastor Bill gave from our First Peter Series, Hope in Suffering, was a very timely reminder. A reminder that we will experience hardships in this life. But, as Peter challenged us, we need to look to the wonderful joy we have waiting ahead for us in heaven.

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

The Word of God

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow.” — Hebrews 4:12a (NLT)

Being in God’s Word is a beautiful thing. As we read the words He has given to us, as they wash over us, they start to transform us (if we let them). The imagery of His words being used as a powerful weapon is incredible. It severs because it’s designed to remove or kill those things in our lives that are hurting us, those around us, and/or our relationship with God.

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

Use Your Words Wisely

Research shows that we speak at least 7,000 words per day — some of us, even more. It’s easy to get ourselves in trouble with that quantity and believe me, I’m no stranger to it. This can be especially true when words come out of our mouths (or from a keyboard) on topics we care about.

Our passion, our pride and our words can fly out at an alarming rate. We go toe-to-toe with anyone who wants to step up to the plate. Once done with the argument, we might feel that we came out on top. As a result, we boast about our great words. However, in times like that, most of us spoke emotionally or in the flesh, not in the Spirit.

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

Overcome Evil With Good

The idea of overcoming evil with good has been on my mind lately — I’d like to share some of my thoughts with you. You know, when someone affects you in a negative way, it’s easy to spin your attitude into payback mode. You want to show those who offended (or hurt) you, that you can do the same thing to them. The easy way to deal with your enemies (real or perceived) is to bash, abuse, sue and slander them. You want to avenge the evil they have inflicted on you. But, the Bible is clear that this isn’t the way…

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

Three Lessons Learned from Giving

From my title, I’ll bet some of you are thinking this is going to be about tithing, aren’t you? It’s funny what comes to our minds when our hearts are pricked just a little. By the way, it’s not about tithing, so please keep reading.

In Acts, Paul writes to the leaders in Ephesus and ends with this verse:

“’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

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

Changed Hearts

To be honest, I am exhausted, tired and my brain is all over the place. To put one thought in front of another seems almost impossible. You get on social media and everyone is trying to sway you one way or another. You’re told you aren’t doing enough, you are doing too much, you aren’t saying the right thing…the list goes on. Those who are close to you might also be pushing you one way or the other. They might be telling you the same things you’re hearing from social media. What are you supposed to focus on right now — Covid-19, racism, immigration, environmental issues, police reform, or just getting through the day with your kids doing school at home (while you’re trying to work from home)?!

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