The Rock Church

Better by admin

I meet people all the time who are looking for something better. I often cringe when a new visitor at our church will “go off” about another church they’ve visited. For instance, they complain about the pastor having green teeth (or something like that). If the opportunity presents itself (and I often try to make it present itself), I recommend they talk to that pastor about the green teeth situation. They certainly need to work it out.   

Let’s face it, looking down on others (and belittling them) is an easy trap to fall into. It’s like stepping in dog doo-doo without realizing it. Maybe it’s human nature to want to make ourselves look better by making others look bad. Admittedly, I catch myself doing it all the time. This behavior usually manifests itself into gossip. We think people should be all put together, like us — ha!

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: 2 Corinthians, appearance, arguments, complaining, conflict, discontent, disdain, Ephesians, gossip, haughty, humble, humility, hypocrisy, hypocrite, Mac, manipulate, mask, Philippians, pride, prideful, reconciliation, relationships, selfishness, slander, Steve McInroy, talk, teeth, the rock church

Straight to the Heart by admin

^“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you. I will hold you up with my victorious right hand.” — Isaiah 41:10

I recently turned these verses into the most ridiculous-sounding song.

Imagine the corniest-sounding game show theme song ever. Okay, you’re now almost close to the tone of this silly tune. Don’t sing with a sweet-sounding voice. Instead, it should be loud and (dare I say) as annoying as possible.

I’ve been reading through Isaiah in my quiet times. While doing so, I’ve deeply appreciated the truth in this promise from the Lord.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: armor of God, Christian life, grow, hebrews, Isaiah, memorization, psalm, psalm 119, song, soul, Steele Croswhite, strength, sword, the rock church, the word, timothy, tool

East Troublesome Fire by admin

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him—a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” — Ecclesiastes 4:9

Some of my family and I hiked to Fern Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park this summer. It was a beautiful hike, and we had a fantastic time. I had been curious to hike to Fern Lake, given that a terrible fire had destroyed it three years ago. It was appropriately named the East Troublesome Fire. Additionally, the fire burned 193,000 acres (making it the second-largest fire in Colorado history). 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: alone, aspens, connection, depression, desolate, doubt, Ecclesiastes, encouragement, Family, fellowship, fire, forest, grief, grow, Josh Whitney, Loneliness, pain, suffering, suicide, the rock church, tools, trials, trouble

Sin Magnet by admin

“The flesh wars against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh.” — Galatians 5:17

I recently watched a short video on demagnetizing powerful, permanent magnets. One technique heated the magnet to a very high temperature — as high as 1390 degrees! The heat caused the electrons to spin. Then, they realigned within the heart of the metal. As a result, the magnetism of the whole object decreased. Voila!

Furthermore, did you know that our flesh is just like a sin magnet? Sin undeniably draws us. To put it another way, our eyes, hands, feet, thoughts, and words get us into trouble. I’ve counseled in heartbreaking situations with people. They were situations where people were specifically struggling (and losing) the battle with addictions of the flesh. Alcohol, drugs, and porn are very powerful sins.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: addiction, alcohol, Change, desire, drugs, flesh, Galations, Guilt, hot, magnet, Matthew, metal, passion, porn, sanctification, shame, sin, spiritual warfare, the rock church, turn, want, war

Credited by Caleb Yetton

“David also speaks of the blessing of the one to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: ‘Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.’” — Romans 4:6-8

Grace is indeed a gift we could never earn. At the same time, our sin has given us an incredible debt before God. And no amount of good works could pay our debt. But the truth is that the Believer is given a credited righteousness straight from Jesus. The word “credited” (in the Bible) is a financial term for transferring a balance to our account — more specifically, a negative account.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: account, balance, caleb yetton, debt, finances, forgiveness, Good Works, gospel, Grace, King David, mercy, money, owe, righteousness, Romans, the rock church, titus

A Hunger for True Bread by admin

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” –John 6:35 

I love bread. When I am not eating it, I am for sure thinking about when I will eat it again. Additionally, I am very blessed because my wife knows how to bake fantastic bread, and does it a lot! Lately, there have been days where we don’t have just one or two, but sometimes THREE, fresh, hot loaves of bread to partake of throughout the day. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: bread, bread of life, broken, Bryan D. Edwards, bryan edwards, Christ's body, craving, daily, filled, food, healthy, hunger, John, loaves, nourish, satisfaction, social media, the rock church, thirst

Patience and Seeking in Faith by Tony D'Amico

“Don’t care how I want it now.” Veruca Salt sings these words while dancing in Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory. She also insists that she gets what she wants when she wants it. It’s easy to cringe at her horrible attitude. We tell ourselves we are certainly not like that. But on the whole, in our fast-paced world, patience is not something most of us have enough of.

Get Rich Quick! Lose Weight Fast! Get Instant Access! We all see a good deal of these types of headlines while scrolling on our phones. It’s everywhere — instant gratification in everything from communication to consuming movies to getting meals.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: depressed, despair, Get rich quick, lamentations, passive, Patience, reward, seeking, suffering, the rock church, Time, tony damico, trial, Veruca Salt, wait, waiting, Willy Wonka

“Radical Parenting” Conference by The Rock Church

It’s critical that we get radical in our parenting approaches if we are going to raise godly kids in this broken world. An incredible amount of time, money, and energy goes into raising them and we want to do it right. But, we live in a world that doesn’t really know how to help. Fortunately for us, God’s Word has a number of key principles for radical/godly parenting.

Posted in Events, Parenting by The Rock Church
Tags: bible, conference, Draper, Josh Whitney, Parenting, parenting advice, parenting conference, parents, radical parenting, the rock church, trc, Utah, Wisdom

Chosen by admin

In Numbers 16, we read about some men who rebelled against Moses and Aaron. They were angry and envious of Moses and Aaron’s position among the congregation of Israel. Also, they assumed that Moses and Aaron were making themselves out to be more holy than the rest of Israel. Along with that, these rebels wanted to be recognized as great men, also. However, instead of humbly going to the Lord about their thoughts, they grumbled and rebelled.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: Aaron, billy johnson, chosen, complaining, Corinthians, gratitude, grumbling, holy, humble, humility, inheritance, Israel, moses, negative, Numbers, pride, priest, priesthood, Race, rebel, rebellion, thankfulness, the rock church

Grace Rules! by admin

Being told what to do seems acceptable (and popular). Sometimes I just want someone to tell me what to do or show me how to do it. YouTube (and many other social media avenues) provide countless how-to videos. Without looking too far, you can quickly learn how to fix your hair, car, appliances, relationships, and phone. Additionally, you can learn to sing, ski, jump on a pogo stick, swim, speak a foreign language, and exercise. And the list certainly goes on…

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by admin
Tags: archery, bold, Confidence, creator, gospel, Grace, Great Exchange, guidelines, hebrews, holy, how should I live, how to, Mac, perfection, rules, sin, standard, Steve McInroy, the Law, the Law of Moses, the rock church, The Ten Commandments, youtube