The Rock Church

Feeling Stuck? by Tony D'Amico

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.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: bible, bible reading, bored, carry a cross, Change, clarity, confused, difficult, doubt, fake, frustrated, genuine, grow, growth, happy, hard, how to change, jesus, motions, new, new life, numb, pray out loud, Prayer, real, small group, stagnant, stuck, the rock church, tired, Tonay Damico, Tony, tony damico

Lost and Found by The Rock Church

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. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: celebration, compassion, embraced, Father, found, Grace, Hope, lost, love, mercy, past, rejoice, relief, restored, returned, Running, stories, story

Filled with Joy and Gelato by The Rock Church

Our final day with the missionary kids was yesterday (Saturday). The day was filled with fun, faith and farewells. It’s hard to believe the trip is coming to a close.

A majority of the time was spent all together – younger and older – singing, signing T-shirts & journals, and walking along the shore to find a new beach spot.

For at least three hours, kids hung out in the sunshine and swam. Many chatted and goofed off while tossing a football or receiving henna tattoos. We concluded our afternoon the same way we did last year – by getting gelato with all the kids.

Posted in Missions by The Rock Church
Tags: Croatia, Croatia Team, GCE, jesus, joy, missionary, missions, salvation, still, stillness, the rock church, waves

Take Courage — Free Day With the Kids by The Rock Church

“But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid” – Matthew 14:27

Today, for our mission, we had the kids from 10 a.m. until 9 p.m. Most days, the parents meet with their kids for meals. Today, however,  they had the gift of an entire day with no responsibility. It was a long, hectic privilege to serve this way. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, courage, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, faith, God, Holy Spirit, mission work, missionary, missions, take courage, travel, trust, Vrsar, witnesses, work

Discovering God’s Presence in Missionary Life by The Rock Church

Yesterday and today have been spent fine-tuning our plans for the mission trip. Our mission isn’t what Wednesday was — our first full day of the official mission. We met as a large group to map out the agenda, worship, and pray together. After that, kids 10 and under began the day with swimming. 

The teenagers went out on a city trek to visit the Cathedral of St. Martin. We also took them to the top of the bell tower. Once there, you could see all of downtown Vrsar, as well as the many islands out in the Adriatic Sea. It was beautiful. Following that, Steele gave these missionary teens a quick teaching on Psalm 90. They listened with enthusiasm as Steele related this Psalm of Moses to their own lives.

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, God, Holy Spirit, life, mission work, missionary, missions, travel, trust, Vrsar, witnesses, work

Childcare for European Missionaries’ Children by The Rock Church

Yesterday and today have been spent fine-tuning our plans for the mission trip. Our mission isn’t what most people picture when they hear “mission trip.” It isn’t directly evangelistic in nature, nor is it building houses, or providing medical care. Instead, we are providing childcare for European missionaries’ children while they enjoy a conference.

It is an annual event that most of these “third culture” kids look forward to. It is the only time they have to spend with kids in a similar situation to theirs. Not to mention, with just a larger group of English-speaking Christian kids. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, God, Holy Spirit, mission work, missionary, missions, Rest, travel, trust, Vrsar, witnesses, work

Travel to Croatia and Trust the Holy Spirit by The Rock Church

“You see me when I travel and when I rest at home. You know everything I do….. 5 You go before me and follow me. You place your hand of blessing on my head.” — Psalm 139:3,5

Our team, 17 of us from Salt Lake City and seven from Colorado, embarked on this past Thursday afternoon. A five-hour delay in Salt Lake caused us to miss our connection in Paris. We heard the news on the 10-hour flight across the Atlantic that our team would have to be split up. One group went from Paris to Vienna, another from Paris to Frankfurt. After factoring in customs and even longer layovers, it was hard not to feel disheartened. 

Posted in Missions, News by The Rock Church
Tags: childcare, Croatia, europe, europian missionaries, God, Holy Spirit, jet lag, mission work, missionary, missions, Rest, rovinj, travel, trust, witnesses, work

Radiance of Resurrection by The Rock Church

“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!  

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: alive, Bill, Bill Young, bunny, changed, changed lives, chocolate, Christian life, cross, dead, die, Easter, eggs, empty, gospel, radiance, radiant, redemption, relationship, Resurrection, Risen, rose, Set apart, sin, stone, teacher, the rock church, tomb, truth, victorious, Victory, Witness

Ephesians Sermon Series by The Rock Church

A Study of the Book of Ephesians

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, ⁸ which He lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight ⁹ making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His purpose, which He set forth in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. — Ephesians 1:7-10

Posted in News, Series by The Rock Church
Tags: apostle paul, bible, book of ephesians, Church, Draper, Ephesians, epistle, freedom, good news, Grace, new testament, News, Series, Sermon Series, sermons, teaching, teaching series, the rock, the rock church, trc, truth, ut, Utah

The Coming Harvest by The Rock Church

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.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: bamboo, Christian life, Crosswhite, earth, endurance, endure, Eugene, farming, fire, firecracker, fireplace, firework, galatians, glory, Good, grow, growth, habits, habitual, Harvest, honor, janitor, little, Plant, pursue, reap, Sow, spark, steel, Steele, Steele Croswhite, teacher, temptation, tempting, the rock church, tired, water, weary