The Rock Church

Concentrated Radiation

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” — Romans 5:8

Recently, I read this story and it freshly reminded me of what Jesus Christ did for us.

“It was May 21, 1946. The place – Los Alamos. A young and daring scientist was carrying out a necessary experiment in preparation for the atomic test to be conducted in the waters of the South Pacific.

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Restoration Projects

“And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you”— 1 Peter 5:10.

During last month’s windstorm, my wheelbarrow blew over and the handle snapped off as it hit the ground. A wheelbarrow with a missing handle is not that useful. I was about to throw it away when it occurred to me that I could replace the broken handle. I went to the local hardware store and, low and behold, they sold replacement handles. So, I bought two and my son, Mclane, and I started on the project. We disassembled the entire wheelbarrow, replaced the handles and put it back together. It was a fun project. I enjoyed working with my son and I saved some money (two handles are cheaper than one new wheelbarrow).

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Prepare for War

Not long ago, God reminded me that we are in a war. There is a battle raging within our society, culture and in the Church. But, our battle is NOT against COVID-19, masks, politics or people…it’s against the devil and his army. As members of God’s Church, we need to prepare for this war and walk in God’s victory.

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Walk by Faith

To walk by faith is not the same thing as merely being entertained by Jesus. Christian author Paul Tripp put it this way, “There is a radical difference between amazement and faith. Faith is a commitment of your heart to a reality that changes the way you live.” 

What will it take for us to go from amazement to faith? It can be so easy for our fickle hearts to forget the Lord’s faithfulness in our lives. We quickly forget what Jesus did just last week or even yesterday. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton

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

Fellowship

On Labor Day, an old friend invited me to go to a BBQ at his house. I hadn’t seen him in years and he told me a few of our old friends were going to be there. I decided to go and catch up. It was great to be with people that I’d experienced so much of my young adult life with; after a few minutes of small talk, it was totally natural to be with them again. We spent five hours standing around the kitchen eating, laughing and reminiscing about the stuff we used to do together. I drove home that night with a smile on my face, thinking about how intertwined our lives used to be and one word kept coming to my mind. Fellowship. 

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I Will Never Leave You!

My grandson, Lewis, recently fell off some monkey bars and broke his arm. I was super excited to hear that he wanted to spend the day at our house a day or so after the accident — rather than go boating with his family. He knew he wouldn’t be able to swim with his friends and siblings; he also knew that at four years old, a whole day with grandpa and grandma could be a bunch of fun, especially with a lame arm. More than likely, there would be a movie or two (as well as treats) and of course, grandpa’s lunches are off the hook.

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Test of Tests

This past week I had to take a test. It was not just any test, however. This one had been nicknamed “the test of tests”.

Let me back up. About seven years ago, I was at pastor’s conference, and was challenged and convicted by a teaching I heard. The speaker encouraged the pastors to pray about developing a skill that could be used to help others in the Church and in the world.

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Our Finest Hour

“But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.” — 1 Corinthians 15:57-58 (NIV84)

 “Houston, we have a problem.” These were the immortal words spoken by Apollo 13 Mission Commander James Lovell on April 13, 1970. A mysterious explosion rocked the command module of their spacecraft halfway to the moon. The blast destroyed one oxygen tank and punctured a second, effectively crippling both the mission and its crew.

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