The Rock Church

A Hunger for True Bread

“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. 

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Refreshing

We’re wrapping up our “Delighting in God’s Word” series at church, and I get the privilege of preaching our last teaching. As I’ve read and reflected on the verses, one thing comes up repeatedly. The author has such a refreshing relationship with the Lord that it literally changes every aspect of his life. This is equally true for each of us and is unique to the Christian faith. 

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Watermelon and Lawnmowers

My next-door neighbor (Mr.Grant) is an 89-year-old firecracker. He loves Jesus and has endless opinions (as you can imagine an 89-year-old man would have). Recently, his wife of 70 years passed away. I can’t imagine his grief.

Our family prays for him and loves him dearly; we offer to help him in any way we can. Unfortunately for us, he is one of them old boys who “doesn’t need any help from no one.” So, it can be difficult. Recently, however, I saw my children serve him in some beautiful ways.

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I Need Some Encouragement

The other day, I received some great encouragement from a dear friend of mine. It wasn’t much more than a simple text message. However, with just a few sentences, it was enough to totally change the mood I was in that morning. It reminded me about the sermon I recently preached from Hebrews. We read this verse, “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.” — Hebrews 10:24-25

As a husband and father, as a pastor and friend, I need encouragement! Giving and getting encouragement is important for all of us. When it is absent in the lives of the brothers and sisters we do life with, it’s not long before we can absolutely feel unloved, unnoticed and forgotten. I was feeling quite discouraged that morning; but, at just the right time, my faithful friend sent that text message unannounced. It radically changed my outlook on the day. It didn’t take much, but it changed much. 

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One Year (and then some…)

I am absolutely blown away by the responses from the first blog I sent out a few weeks ago. I have received so many encouraging emails, texts and phone calls from friends and loved ones about how helpful my thoughts were. Thank you for taking the time to read it. I’ve also received many inquiries about the other thoughts (I’d mentioned I’d written down). Since I gave you part one, I thought I’d give you part two. (Hey, who knows, maybe I’ll write a book one day?)

Here are some more of my thoughts on grief.

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One Year

On October 23, 2020, as I was sitting in the passenger seat of my father’s car, my dad went into cardiac arrest behind the wheel. This Saturday will mark one year since his passing. 

This last year has been a whirlwind for me. In my mind and in my heart, every day has felt like I’m locked up inside of a room with a vacuum running amuck; it refuses to turn off.  (That is my best attempt to try and explain what we call “grief”.)

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A Message for the Parents of The Rock Church

Dear Rock Parents,

As you can imagine, we are very excited to be meeting together again starting THIS weekend — June 20 & 21!

We believe the gathering of God’s people is so vital and beneficial for us as Believers. However, due to the regulations regarding COVID-19 (and the precautions we’re taking for your safety), there will be no Kid’s Rock classes offered at this time. 

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The Lord is Near to His People

I want to encourage you today with something we see over and over in the Bible. The Lord is near to His people. Throughout time and during all sorts of difficulties, that has remained true. 

Psalm 145:18-19 says “The Lord is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.” That is a beautiful truth!

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Spirit-filled Patience

There have been a number of things over the last few weeks that have tested our patience. It seems to be about the first thing to go out the window, am I right? 

In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul tells us about the Fruits of the Spirit. The Word tells us that Jesus is doing a good work in us — one that will allow us to tap into Spirit-filled patience. 

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Speak Words of Life + What’s Happening

It feels like there is so much discouragement in our world right now. There is fear in what we are hearing and reading. Christian, did you know there is power in what you speak? Death and life are found in the power of the tongue.

I would encourage you to speak words of life into the world. When people are full of fear, we can proclaim that we have a good God who says, “Fear Not!” What a great time it is to show our faith to others and give them some good news. 

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