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Category Archive: A Word from the Pastor

  1. Too Great For Me To Understand

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    Too Great For Me To Understand — a word by Pastor Caleb Yetton from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Who are we that He would show us such great love and affection? Assuredly, it is too great for me to understand."

    “Such knowledge is too wonderful for me, too great for me to understand!” — Psalm 139:6

    Psalm 139 is definitely one of my favorite chapters in the entire Bible. The picture that David paints of God’s goodness and closeness is so comforting. It is nearly impossible to read those words and not feel God’s love. Without a doubt, it truly is too great for me to understand!

    Do you feel like God is distant? Maybe you feel like He doesn’t understand you? Then, I would encourage you to read Psalm 139 and let His Truth change those thoughts. 

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  2. Pray Them Deeper

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    Pray Them Deeper — a word by Pastor Bryan D. Edwards from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "it’s a beautiful thing to watch people fall more in love with Jesus. And it’s even more beautiful when your heart burns to pray them deeper"

    “For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him…” — Ephesians 1:15-17

    These verses recently gripped me as I read Ephesians. The Apostle Paul hears that the faith of the people in this church is strong. Their love for one another is obviously the real deal. Everything is definitely GREAT! But then, instead of moving on with a quick, spiritual high-five, Paul presses in. He tells them precisely what he’s praying for them.

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  3. Feeling Stuck?

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    Feeling Stuck? — a word by Pastor Tony D'Amico from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "if you’re feeling stuck—awesome! Seriously. It’s a sign that you’re paying attention. the Lord is trying to shake something up in your life."

    Sometimes, following Jesus is hard, really hard. It can feel like you’re running a marathon uphill with ankle weights on. And you’d rather cruise down a smoothly paved street on a skateboard.

    You know what I’m talking about. There are seasons we go through. Even though you read your Bible consistently, it feels like it’s going in one ear and out the other. Granted, church has amazing worship, but your heart’s not in it. Your mind is all over the place. Yes, you love Jesus yet feel bored, tired, or even numb. And ultimately, you just feel spiritually stuck.

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  4. Lost and Found

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    This is much like many of our own lost and found stories. The lost portions of our stories dissipate while the finding part overcomes.

    Most everyone has a lost and found story. I have far too many. And at this stage of my life, even my car tends to get lost. Thank God for the key fob. Also, here’s to the lost phone feature (to assist in finding misplaced phones). Once, I even traced my lost phone back to a rest stop in southern Utah (in a futile attempt to retrieve it). 

    Most of the time, there are two parts to our lost and found stories. For a start, there’s the hopelessness of not knowing where to look. Next comes the relief of finally finding what we’re looking for.

    My favorite lost and found story is the “Parable of the Lost Son,” found in Luke (Chapter 15). It’s probably because I can personally relate to it on several levels. The young man receives an early inheritance and squanders it on reckless and loose living. 

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  5. Radiance of Resurrection

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    “He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.” — Matthew 28:6

    Could Easter be more than colored eggs, chocolate, and bunny rabbits? What if it is much, much more? Perhaps it’s a true story about the life and death of a man named Jesus (who really did rise from the dead)? That is to say, what if Jesus is truly alive right now? This truth might just change your life.

    Last weekend, we witnessed how the truth about the radiance of Jesus’ Resurrection changed lives. It was one of our largest attended weekend services ever. On top of that, close to 70 people responded to the Gospel message!  

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  6. The Coming Harvest

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    The Coming Harvest — a word by Pastor Steele Croswhite from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Decades of simple, steady, quiet goodness had produced a harvest far beyond what Mr. Eugene ever imagined."

    I recently had the privilege of teaching on Galatians (6:6-10) at our weekend services. I entitled the talk “The Harvest and the Fire.”

    There is surely so much rich truth packed in all of these verses. But one of my favorite ones is verse nine. It says this:

    “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” — Galatians 6:9 

    Sometimes, it’s hard to live our Christian faith in a consistent way. It’s often tempting to give up or give in to sin. But this verse reminds us that the Lord is in charge of the harvest. Additionally, we will reap a wonderful harvest of good (at the proper time) if we don’t give up.

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  7. Uncut Stones

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    Uncut Stones — a word by Pastor Josh Whitney from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Why would God command the Israelites to create an altar of uncut stones? Perhaps there is a reason it matters?"

    “At that time Joshua built an altar to the Lord, the God of Israel, on Mount Ebal, just as Moses the servant of the Lord had commanded the people of Israel, as it is written in the Book of the Law of Moses, “an altar of uncut stones, upon which no man has wielded an iron tool.” And they offered on it burnt offerings to the Lord and sacrificed peace offerings.” — Joshua 8:30-31

    While studying the book of Joshua this year, these verses caught my eye. Why would God command the Israelites to create an altar of uncut stones? Perhaps there is a reason it matters? Nonetheless, if the Israelites wanted to have a nice altar for God, why would He care?

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  8. Understanding God’s Purposes

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    Understanding God’s Purposes — a word by Pastor Bill Young from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Will you submit to the plans and purposes of your incredible Father? What about even when life seems confusing?"

    “The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me.” — Psalm 138:8 (NIV84)

    “For when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep…” — Acts 13:36 (NIV84)

    Life can oftentimes feel confusing. Even after being a Christian leader for over 40 years, I still find myself asking, “God, what are you doing?” or “God, what do you want ME to do?” Without question, I’m someone who likes to plan. And not having clarity on these questions (especially concerning our church’s direction) can be unsettling. 

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  9. Wait and Pray

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    Wait and Pray — a word by Pastor Caleb Yetton from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "Christian, may we wait in silence before the Lord. May we always rest in His protection when we want to take matters into our own hands. "

    “For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from Him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God.” — Psalm 62:5-7

    Reading through Psalm 62 recently was convicting for me. In particular, verse five stood out to me. In my opinion, our world (myself included) doesn’t like to be silent — especially when something bothers us. Because of this, we text or call friends to complain about the lousy customer experience we just had at a store. We also hop on social media to tell the world our opinion about the news story of the day. Without a doubt, we sure love to make our views heard. 

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  10. Gentleness

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    Gentleness — a word by Pastor Bryan D. Edwards from The Rock Church in Draper, UT. "The reality is that life always has a way of testing our gentleness. We snap at loved ones. We let frustration control our tone..."

    The world we live in today is certainly not known for being very gentle. This week, I watched a guy lose his mind on another dude when he took his parking spot. I also heard a guy blow up on his kids in the grocery store. And then this morning (as I write this), I have already scrolled through dozens of brutal comments of ruthless outrage about the political division in our country. (Many coming from my own brothers and sisters in Christ!)

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