The Rock Church

Waiting on the Lord by Tony D'Amico

I often find myself reflecting on the idea of waiting on the Lord. Waiting can seem frustrating in our fast-paced world, where immediate results and quick fixes are highly prized. My personality is to get in and fix things as soon as possible. So, it’s not easy when I have to wait days, weeks, or months for something. I can start to get anxious very quickly.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: Abraham, anxiety, anxious, David, deeper, doubt, faith, frustration, Galations, God's Will, impatient, Isaiah, Joseph, mature, maturity, Patience, Peace, Perseverance, Prayer, Rest, roles, serving, slow, submission, submit, suffering, surrender, teacher, the rock church, Time, timing, Tony, tony damico, trial, trust, wait, waiting, willing, work

Home by The Rock Church

With a heavy and thankful heart, I took a final, sweeping glance around the place my family and I had called home for the last eleven years. Then I locked the door and drove away. 

As I did, memories flooded through me. I thought of bringing my two youngest daughters home from the hospital as newborns. And then, there were all the Christmas, birthday, and Thanksgiving dinners with friends and family. Another was the treasure map I made to look old and “hid” in the attic where my son could find it. Along with that came the cloth bag of quarters he dug up in the backyard. So. Many. Memories. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: billy johnson, Change, Eternal, Family, fix, growth, Heaven, Holy Spirit, Home, house, life, memories, molded, Move, moving, new, old things, pain, project, renovation, sanctification, shaped, the rock church, unfamiliar

Grief-Stained Joy by The Rock Church

Every day, I read from Milton Vincent’s book, “A Gospel Primer.” It has a 31-part section that fits nicely into my daily devotional routine. This phrase always catches me each time I read it (on the 14th of the month). He refers to a “grief-stained joy.” That idea resonates with me deeply when contemplating life. Especially today, as I write this, about ten steps away from my wife Jeanne’s hospital bed — it’s  awkwardly positioned in our bedroom. This verse specifically comes to mind as I search for solace.

“If your instructions hadn’t sustained me with joy, I would have died in my misery.” — Psalm 119:92

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: bridge, carry, comfort, darkness, dawn, death, depression, distress, gospel, Gospel Primer, grief, help, Hope, imaginary, Jeanne, joy, loss, Mac, Milton Vincent, pain, psalm, psalm 119, reality, rejoice, solace, stained, Steve McInroy, storm, suffering, the rock church, the word, trial, waiting, Woodrow Kroll

The Circle of Blessing by The Rock Church

“Make me walk along the path of your commands, for that is where my happiness is found.” — Psalm 119:35

As people, we look for happiness in a variety of places. Often, we look for happiness in our hobbies, careers, or even our family and friends. Indeed, these things can contribute to joy and happiness for all of us. I, too, find much comfort in many of them.

I love what the Psalmist prayed. Without a doubt, we find happiness in the Lord’s commands. What a wonderful truth and tremendous reminder to us all. Walking in the “path” of God’s commands means naturally living in obedience to His Word and fellowship with Him.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: blessing, boundaries, circle, circles, command, content, contentment, Family, fellowship, friends, Gifts, gratittude, happiness, hobbies, James, joy, more, path, pathway, psalm 119, Purpose, road, safety, source, Steele Croswhite, the rock church

Stay Awake!  by The Rock Church

“Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming.” — Matthew 24:42

You may have read a sad story in the news last week. A man shot at a woman, and the police then killed him (as of this writing, the details are still under investigation). But this happened a few miles from my house. Where this terrible story intersects my life (and your inbox) is that soon after the shooting, a police helicopter started circling the area and woke me up. 

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: alert, awake, danger, end times, fear, helicopter, help, Josh Whitney, Matthew, Matthew 24, murder, Prayer, preparation, protection, reliance, safety, shooting, sleep, stress, stressful, the rock church, thief

Immanuel Christmas Series by The Rock Church

Christmas is a celebration of God’s greatest promise to Mankind — we are not alone. We are not left alone in our suffering, hurts, brokenness, or sin. Matthew 1:23 says, “The virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel — which means, God with us.” In our Christmas series this year, we’ll explore the significance of God dwelling among us.

Posted in News, Series by The Rock Church
Tags: Christmas, christmas eve, Christmas Eve Service, christmas season, christmas series, God With Us, Holiday, holiday season, holidays, immanuel, sermon, Sermon Series, topical sermons

Sharper Than a Double Edge Sword  by Tony D'Amico

Over the last few weeks, I’ve been learning about the historical use of a long sword. It takes great precision to design them. The long edge faces away from you, while the short edge is toward you. Additionally, the blade has three sections. First, there is the “Strong” — the section from the crossbar to the “Middle” section. After the “Middle” comes the “Weak” or the top half. Each part has advantages for combat. Swords are both defensive and offensive weapons. All of the parts work together to make it formidable.

The comparison of God’s Word being like a sword (found in Hebrews) certainly came to life for me.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Tony D'Amico
Tags: cut, darkness, defensive, demon, discern, discipline, divide, fight, flesh, God's word, heart, intentions, satan, separate, sharp, spiritual warfare, sword, temptation, the rock church, the world, thoughts, tony damico, truth, wage, weapon

Saved by Grace by Caleb Yetton

The Rock Music recently released a new single, “Saved By Grace (Live Acoustic Performance).” Additionally, we released a new live performance on our YouTube channel. It’s certainly a blessing and an honor to participate in these new TRM projects. I invite you to listen to the song on your preferred streaming platform and also watch the new video. Thank you for your support and encouragement with all the new music we have put out this year.  

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by Caleb Yetton
Tags: blood, caleb yetton, Christ alone, clean, dirty, encourage, Grace, Hope, LDS, lonely, lyrics, mercy, mormon, Reminder, Romans, saved by grace, song, Steele Croswhite, the rock church, The Rock Music, TRM, washed white

What God has Prepared by The Rock Church

“However, as it is written: ‘No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him’— but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit.”— 1 Corinthians 2:9-10 (NIV)

I recently taught on a section of verses from Romans 8. As a result, it got me thinking about Heaven. We are told in Colossians 3:1-2 to get our minds and hearts on Heaven and not be fixed on earthy things. As I tried to apply that verse, I was reminded of a Christmas at our home many years ago.

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: Bill Young, C.S. Lewis, Christmas, colossians, Corinthinas, CS Lewis, desire, eternity, Gifts, happiness, Heaven, Home, hungry, longing, made for, Mere Christianity, origins, Purpose, Romans, satisfaction, satisfied, surprise, the rock church, unhappy, unsatisfied, wait, waiting, whats the point?

Grief is an Oversized T-Shirt by The Rock Church

Yesterday (October 23) marked three years since my father passed away. In previous posts, I have shared some of the things the Lord has guided me through so far on this path of grief. With that in mind, today will be the latest entry into that diary.

But first, a story. As children, my brother and I would oftentimes get our dad a t-shirt for his birthday. We’d get ones with his favorite rock bands on them. I always wanted to wear them to school, but they were obviously too big for me. However, as I got older, I began to grow into the shirts that once drowned me as a child. Today, I still have most of my dad’s shirts. You’ve probably seen me wear many of them often. 

These memories have me reflecting on this thought:

Posted in A Word from the Pastor by The Rock Church
Tags: anxiety, Bryan D. Edwards, bryan edwards, close, clothed in Christ, clothing, comfort, Corinthians, darkness, depression, empathy, Galations, grief, grow, growth, heavy metal, hebrews, identity, image, Isaiah, jesus, Loneliness, loss, pain, Philippians, sadness, sympathy, the rock church, trial