Every week I look forward to gathering for worship! Let’s continue to gather today in our new location at Meadow’s Elementary School. See you at 4:30 pm!
Who doesn’t need encouragement?! We all are prone to discouragement in life. It is hard to avoid. It can be work related, family issues, relationship troubles, financial woes, and/or simply life circumstance. This week we find Paul in our Acts journey discouraged, weak, and fearful. The Bible never portrays our heroes as perfect. No one has everything in life together all the time. Paul is no exception.
The 4th of July leads to some tricky questions. Should we decorate our churches with flags and sing patriotic songs? Is our Christian faith directly connected to American patriotism? Does the Bible say anything that can be helpful to us in discerning where our faith impacts our patriotism?
Saying goodbye is complicated. Sometimes it is brutally hard. Sometimes it is joyful when someone is leaving for something good. Sometimes it is unknown how long the goodbye will last. And often it is all three. When the Apostle Paul said goodbye to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20 we are given a picture of a godly, biblical goodbye. This goodbye is tender, compassionate, a teaching moment, an encouragement, and a call to ministry. May our goodbyes encompass all of these things!
We are meeting in a new location THIS Sunday! Due to pre-school summer construction, we are moving just up the street to Meadows Elementary School. Park in the lot at the school where 15th St. and Rowell intersect. Enter the gate toward the playground and follow the signs to our worship location. Continue to bring your own chairs or blankets. We will meet in a shady area on the grass. There will be Sunday School for the kids. Thank you for your continued flexibility and ability to adjust!
Deep thinkers can’t help it - they just think deeply. Many Christians feel like they should think deeply, but the demands of life make it hard. Focusing at work distracts us from thinking deeply about Jesus. Children requiring attention, time, and discipline make meditation on the Bible a challenge. Modern entertainment numbs us from thinking philosophically about our modern worldview. Should we give up as Christians? Not at all. Do we need to know all about the treatises of Socrates? Of course not. Here is what we do need as Christians - a basic understanding of the Christian philosophical worldview.
One of the major ways Covid has impacted churches is the inability to fellowship. We have missed being together! At The Rock we have had the joy of worshipping together for the past year on Sundays. Now, as our society is opening back up, we have to opportunity to fellowship beyond Sunday service. It is part of who we are at The Rock to gather together as a community. Here are a few ways we are gathering in the coming weeks:
It amazes me how the Bible interacts with itself - meaning, how the Bible is internally connected in many supernatural ways. God has not given us a bunch of disconnected, trivial facts. God has given us His very Word that is connected, consistent, and cogent. We have seen many of these connections in the book of Acts in our weekly sermon series. We have seen connections to the Old Testament in fulfilled prophecies. We have seen connections to Christianity and Old Testament Judaism. We have seen connections to God’s love for people in the image bearing creation and His design for the gospel to go to all people groups regardless of race and ethnicity. And we have seen geographic connections to cities in Acts and the letters of the New Testament.
The faithful witness about Jesus in the book of Acts inevitably leads to salvation. People are saved by God. Saved from bondage in sin to freedom in Jesus. In Acts 16 we see three amazing works of salvation. The successful woman Lydia is saved by the riverside. A slave girl in bondage demonically and physically is saved because of Paul’s witness and calling on the name of Jesus to rescue her. And a jailer is saved from sure death by Paul not only to continue living his physical life, but to a spiritual life in Jesus. The common response to salvation in Acts is to be baptized. This baptism is a personal, thankful response to God’s work, as well as an outward expression of an inner faith to the faith community.
People are tolerant of many things in life. There is freedom of religion. There is freedom of speech. There is even freedom to do the kind of work God calls you to do. And for the most part, people are ok with all of these. There is a limit though. People become hostile to things in life that affect their wallet. That affect their ability to make money. They would relate to the phrase; “Do what you want to do in your life, just don’t let it affect me! Especially don’t let it affect my bank account.”
Humans love stories. We find stories in novels, movies,songs, TV shows, radio programs, podcasts, sports, and personal life (and many more ways!). We are constantly telling and hearing stories. We love it. The Bible is the story of God’s revelation to humanity. It is the story of God’s work. It is the story that makes sense of our lives and world. All of us have personal stories of God saving us as well. The story of how one becomes a Christian is powerful!
One of the most successful advertising campaigns in the early 90’s was Gatorade’s “Be Like Mike” commercials. One of the obvious reasons it was successful is that it seems everyone wanted to be like Mike! Michael Jordan was the biggest superstar in the world. He had charisma. He was good looking. His personality was likable. And He was the greatest basketball player anyone had seen. People truly wanted to be like Mike! There is something built into humans that they want to be like their heroes. We all look to examples of who we want to be like in our hobbies, work, and even our faith.
Conflict is a fact of life in this fallen world. We know it. We don’t like it. We try and avoid it. We work hard to be at peace with everyone. But conflict will happen if we are around other humans! Acts 15:36-41 gives us a window into a conflict between two of the most godly Christians in history. We get to see not only how these two men are human like us, but we also see how God works redeeming their conflict for His good.
Solving problems is hard. Solving problems in way where everyone is happy is impressive. In the early church, the biggest problem of the day was the integration of Jews and Gentiles into the church. These two groups were separate in all ways. Gentiles becoming Christians was new for the Jewish Christians in Jerusalem. It was difficult for them to comprehend. It was even offensive to some. It is safe to say this was the biggest problem in the early church. How would the leaders of the early church solve this problem?
Easter week is upon us! The most holy week for the Christian is celebrated in many different forms. For us at the Rock this year we are focusing on Palm Sunday (last Sunday - Sermon Video Here), Good Friday, and Easter Sunday. All are invited to our coming Good Friday and Easter Sunday Services! Here is how we will worship:
Holy Week for the Christian is the most important week of the church year. This week begins with Palm Sunday and concludes with Easter Sunday. Without Easter (meaning without the resurrection of Jesus) Christianity is futile according to the Apostle Paul. If Jesus is not risen from the dead, the entire faith is dead. But because Jesus is risen from the dead, we must celebrate. We must worship. We must give our very lives to Jesus!
Humans love the sensational. That is why news outlets air car wrecks, murders, and fighting celebrities rather than people feeding the homeless, neighbors helping one another, and parents patiently raising their children. Christians can fall into the same trap in our faith.
Are you an instruction follower? Some people measure recipes down to the ounce to make sure it is correct. Others figure “close enough” works. Slight variations in taste might not make a difference, so there is not a lot at stake with not following the instructions. It could even make it taste better! Ultimately, it probably doesn’t matter if you follow recipe instructions perfectly. It does matter in other areas. I would like someone building an airplane engine to follow the instructions perfectly. “Close enough” does not work!
“Christians are hypocrites! That’s why I can’t believe in Jesus…” This is a common refrain among people who have been let down by Christians. Looking to people as a source and example of righteousness is a losing proposition. People will fail us. People will fall. When trusted leaders fall morally it seems worse. These are the people we look to as an example of how to live like Jesus. The harsh reality is that Christian leaders fail morally as well. This is why we look directly to Jesus as an example of how to live like Jesus! Jesus does not fall. Jesus does not fail. Jesus as incarnate God is the only human example we can fully trust.
I like a plan. I thrive when events are on the calendar. I love it when I know what my day holds. I relax when I know people well. If I were to choose between the known and unknown, I would choose the known every time. The unknown is more uncomfortable. The unknown can even make my life hard. Can you relate?