The Rock Church

Promises

I’ve been convicted about God’s promises in the Bible. While there is no “official” count of the number of His promises to mankind, the most widely cited figure is 7,487. This comes from a meticulous study by a Canadian schoolteacher, Everett R. Storms. He spent one and a half years tallying them. This happened during his 27th reading of the Bible. Without a doubt, that’s a lot of promises. 

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To See His Glory is to See His Goodness 

Recently, I have been reading a tremendous book called “Gentle and Lowly” by Dane Ortlund. I would highly recommend it to anyone who longs to know the gentle and wonderful heart of God. As I read, a particular section from a familiar passage in Exodus moved me deeply.

The Lord chose to reveal His name to Moses in Exodus 34:5: “Then the Lord came down in a cloud and stood there with him; and he called out his own name, Yahweh.”

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Pray and Post a Guard

Nehemiah 4:9 — “But we prayed to our God and posted a guard day and night to meet this threat.”

At our Men’s Nights this year, we’ve been studying Nehemiah. He returns to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall — and immediately faces opposition. Enemies threaten, intimidate, and scheme. Nehemiah’s response is one of my favorites in all Scripture: “We prayed to our God and posted a guard.”

That’s it. Prayer and action. Dependence and responsibility. They didn’t choose between spiritual and practical. Instead, they did both. Some people only pray. Others only act. Faithful believers do both.

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Live Worthy of the Gospel

I have had many people (of other faiths) try to challenge my belief in Grace. They say things like, “Pastor Bill, it seems like many Christians claim they just pray a prayer, and even if they live like hell, they go to heaven. That doesn’t seem fair.”

It’s an honest question. And if Grace simply meant “say a few magic words and do whatever you want,” I’d agree. That definitely wouldn’t seem fair at all.

But that’s not the Gospel.

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Trusting God for the Growth

“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth.” — 1 Corinthians 3:6–7

Seventeen of us recently returned from a 10-day short-term mission trip to the Winter Olympics in Arco and Milan, Italy. Throughout our time there, we saw God show up in incredible ways. Whether at our TRM concerts or through street busking evangelism, many on our team had meaningful Gospel conversations. I am still processing all the ways we saw and experienced God’s provision, goodness, and sovereign plan.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton

Koinōnia Friends 

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you… 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” — Philippians 1:3,5

As we have been studying Philippians together as a church, this one word at the beginning of the letter really captured my heart: partnership.

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Reframe Your Thinking

Reframing doesn’t change your circumstances — it changes what your circumstances mean.

Most of us are fine following Jesus when it’s convenient. The trouble starts when faith feels costly: awkward conversations, social pressure, and tension at work. Along with family eye-rolls and that subtle “keep it private” vibe. When the heat rises, the temptation is simple: keep your head down until it gets easier.

Paul doesn’t do that.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico

Knit Together

My wife recently gave birth to our fifth child, a wonderful baby boy. He is truly God’s gift to our family. Even after five children, the process of forming a human body still amazes me. That process, along with wrapping it around an eternal soul, is no doubt an incredibly complicated thing. And it happens with very little knowledge of the mother. God is “knitting together” a baby inside of her, and the child gives absolutely no input or permission as God knits him together.

A brother and I were talking in the lobby after church one night. We were in wonder of the fact that our wives didn’t have to take a class or watch YouTube videos to learn about how to put the baby together in the womb. Instead, their bodies knew exactly how to facilitate the miracle going on inside of them.

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The Gospel

I am so very thankful for the Gospel. Without a doubt, it has entirely changed the course of my life. And even more incredible is to know that in faith, I believe the Gospel has changed the course of my eternal life. 

Separation

Before I came to know Jesus as my personal Lord and Savior, I was just like every person (who also inherited sin) since the fall of Adam and Eve. A life separated from God for all eternity. I can’t begin to express the enormity of that truth in this life. Or, let’s take it further into the almost incomprehensible eternal life. Forever! Early in my walk with God, the verse below absolutely wrecked me. And even now, when I read it, I almost gasp out loud. Like the sound you might make when you witness someone getting horribly injured.

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Your First Love

“But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! Look how far you have fallen! Turn back to me and do the works you did at first.” — Revelation 2:4-5a


I read this verse recently, and it brought some deep conviction to my heart. The Lord sets the context of these verses when He speaks to some Believers in the final days. In this particular example, He praised them for their “hard work”, “patient endurance,” and “protection of the Truth.” But He complained that the Church had lost its first love — Jesus Himself.

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