The Rock Church

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  1. The Rule of Rehoboam

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    The Rule of Rehoboam — a word by Pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him"

    “When the rule of Rehoboam was established and he was strong, he abandoned the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. … 5 Then Shemaiah the prophet came to Rehoboam and to the princes of Judah, who had gathered at Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said to them, “Thus says the LORD, ‘You abandoned me, so I have abandoned you to the hand of Shishak.’” — 2 Chronicles 12:1,5

    I recently read this story in 2 Chronicles 12:1-8. I encourage you to read the whole passage. In light of our King Jesus series, I thought there were some timely lessons from the rule of Rehoboam.

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  2. If You Can’t Be Kind, Be Quiet

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    If You Can’t Be Kind, Be Quiet — a word by Pastor Bill Young from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Are you tempted to say (or post) something mean or nasty? Before you do, remember this wise advice: “If you can’t be kind, be quiet.”

    I recently taught at church about how to treat fellow believers when we disagree politically. Christians who differ on such issues should always do so with a spirit of kindness, graciousness, and understanding. Indeed, this spirit honors King Jesus.

    I know a little bit about conflict. Like everyone else, I’ve had my fair share of personal skirmishes with my wife, kids, family, co-workers, teammates, etc.  Additionally, for the past 33 years, I have been called in to help hundreds of other people resolve their broken relationships. In fact, just this past week, I had the opportunity to help resolve a dispute between two dear friends. Fortunately, humility carried the day, and all was well.

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  3. Recall Who He Is and What He Has Done

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    Recall Who He Is and What He Has Done — a word by Pastor Caleb Yetton from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "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."

    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.

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  4. Gratitude and Hope

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    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.

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  5. Navigating Life With Self-Control

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    Navigating Life With Self-Control — a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Self-control is about steering our lives in a way that honors God. Simply stated, it’s saying no to what pulls us away from Him and yes to what draws us closer."

    Many factors contribute to messing up a person’s life. Lack of self-control is a significant one. You might be on top of your finances and then wreck them by buying things you don’t need. Not to mention, you could excel at controlling your temper until something gets under your skin and you snap. Without a doubt, self-control is an essential and crucial characteristic of a Christian.

    Put very simply, having self-control is sort of like driving a car. If you let go of the wheel, there’s a good chance you will run into another vehicle (or possibly off a bridge). But holding onto the wheel gives you the ability to drive defensively. Along with that, holding the wheel allows you to reach your destination. Paul certainly drove this point home (pardon the pun) when he wrote to Titus; he told him to teach everyone self-control. In fact, his instruction wasn’t just for pastors. It was for everyone who calls themselves a Christian. Indeed, he wrote about it five times in both chapters one and two.

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  6. The Power of God

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    The Power of God — a word by Pastor Billy Johnson from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "God always nourishes and strengthens His saints through the power of His Word. He also encourages and amazes us"

    A few Sunday evenings ago, we gathered together and heard Paul’s entire letter to the Romans publicly read out loud. For over an hour, sixteen different people read sixteen different chapters of a two-thousand-year-old text. After the reading, people weren’t falling asleep or bored. On the contrary, they were excited and encouraged! Imagine sitting down after a long weekend, listening to people read for an hour out of any other book. Before long, people would no doubt fall asleep and be ready to go home. They certainly wouldn’t be smiling ear to ear and talking about how amazing God is. 

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  7. Even Me?

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    Even Me? — a word by Pastor Steele Croswhite from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Oh, that we might see Jesus. Even now, we must ponder what He thinks of us over anything or anyone else. Astonished, amazed, and delighted,"

    Then Jesus said to her, “I am the MESSIAH!” – John 4:26

    Without a doubt, this is one of my favorite encounters in the entire Bible. You remember the story. In the Gospel of John, Jesus passed through a region called Samaria on His way to Galilee. As the reader, we should by all means know that (at this time in history) the Samaritan people were despised by the Jewish people. The Jews considered the Samaritans to be inferior economically, racially, spiritually, and socially. In fact, they were “the dogs” and often even hated.

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  8. King Jesus Series

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    King Jesus, a new sermon series at The Rock Church in Draper, UT. In this six-week series, we’ll look at what God's Word says for our poltically-divise election year.

    Unity in a Divided World

    We live in a polarized age. We all know it. And election years make it worse. “You have to vote, this is the most important election in the history of our country!”, “You can’t vote for him, he’ll ruin our country!” Sound familiar?

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  9. Love and Unity

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    Love and Unity — a word by Pastor Steve McInroy from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "our love and unity (with each other) bring us closer to the Lord. Additionally, we can together catch glimpses of what’s to come."

    “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. 

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  10. Musings on Miracles

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    Musings on Miracles — a word by Pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "What is the purpose of miracles? These verses in John teach us that one purpose is to point us to believing in Christ."

    “Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.” — John 20:30-31

    What is a miracle? One dictionary defines a miracle as an event that is an addition to the established laws of nature and attributed to God.

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