Pastor Curt’s weekly thoughts on God, The Rock Church, and our faith.
Summer is here! That means Summer BBQ’s and activities. We love to gather together over food and fellowship!
Here are 2 Events for June:
June 5 - After Church BBQ (Stay after church at school for a famous Rock BBQ)
June 12 - Celebrate Rock Graduates (Grimes’s House after church)
Another week of horrible news in our world. Children being killed at school is not right and everyone knows it. We want justice. We want help. We want things to be made right. All of us. Many disagree on what must be done to make things right. But all of us agree this world is broken and needs fixing when school children are killed in a place they should find security, education, and a loving community. Although I believe more can be done to address the problem politically, I ultimately believe we need the power of God to address the defects in our hearts. The defects that would lead to murderous acts. And the defects that lead to anti-God tendencies in all of us. We need the power of God.
I love articles that proclaim, “Celebrities are just like us.” They usually involve a celebrity spilling coffee on themselves, changing a baby’s diaper, or some such mundane life activity. The irony, of course, is that celebrities are not just like us. The coffee they are drinking is in Italy. The baby is being changed at a 5 star resort. Their lives are simply more luxurious and exotic than most! But in terms of being human beings with human joys, sorrows, laughter, and sadness, they are just like us. People in the Bible are similar.
This Sunday I will start preaching in Romans. It is the beginning of a journey that I hope will be life changing for us. Does that sound too big? Life changing? Yes! Romans has been impactful on some of the great church leaders in history. Augustine gave his life to Jesus when confronted with Romans 13:13-14. Martin Luther’s perspective of God changed from hateful judge to loving grace-giver when he understood Romans 1:17. John Wesley’s “heart was warmed” upon hearing a Romans sermon after a long, disillusioning mission experience. For me the call to preach Romans has produced excitement, challenge, and anxiety. Why?
The term “unfinished business” is used in many contexts. A team that loses the championship game has “unfinished business.” They want to finish by winning the following season. Someone who wants to get revenge against their enemy might have “unfinished business.” They want to finish by exacting revenge. In the final verses of Acts we see the most consequential “unfinished business.” The people of Acts have completed their work. The greatest legacy story ever told has come to an end. But there is “unfinished business” for the following generations. The “unfinished business” of gospel proclamation has continued through the centuries since Acts finished. And we still have “unfinished business” today.
Personal motives are tricky. Our motives can be good and pure. Our motives can be hidden and selfish. Our motives can also be so complicated that we don’t even understand them! This week in Acts I will explore Paul’s motives in reaching out to his fellow Jewish countrymen regarding Jesus. Paul is consistent in reaching out to Jews every time he enters a new city. And the Jewish leaders are consistent in persecuting Paul for his belief in Jesus. What could Paul’s motives possibly be reaching out to the Jewish leaders in Rome?
Today is traditionally referred to as Good Friday. The day Jesus is taken to a criminal’s cross and killed. Jesus is then buried in a borrowed tomb guarded by Roman soldiers. It is a day of tragedy, suffering, death, and mourning. So why is this Friday good? Certainly not because of the unjust trial, conviction, and death sentence. Of course not because of the mental anguish and suffering of Jesus. And in the eyes of Jesus’s family, friends, and followers that Friday was horrific. But this Friday changed the course of human history. This was no ordinary death. The death of Jesus ultimately leads to life. This death foreshadows resurrection. THE resurrection of Jesus and all future resurrections of Christians! So this Friday is ultimately good.
This Sunday marks the beginning of Easter week!
Palm Sunday represents the day Jesus entered Jerusalem the final week of his earthly life. We will celebrate Jesus entering into Jerusalem by waving palms and singing songs of joy. That same Sunday we will read from the Bible as a church and sing songs of joy, lament, and hope. We will walk through the week in readings and song, feeling emotions as Jesus and the disciples must have. We will culminate the service with a reading of Jesus’s burial and communion leaving the taste in our mouths of Jesus in the grave.
Easter is one of the most sacred holidays for the Christian church. The passion week presents some of the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. To fully understand our faith in Jesus we must relive the week leading up to Jesus’s death, burial, and resurrection every year! This year is no different. We begin Easter season this week at The Rock.
It has always amazed me that this world can be so beautiful (both the natural world and people in the world!) and so tragic at the same time. God had created this world “very good” according to Genesis 1:31, but soon after the first humans rebelled against God and God “cursed the ground” (Gen. 3:17; Rom. 8:22). The world has never been the same. We see today a remnant of God’s creation and humans bearing the beautiful image of God. But we also see natural disasters and inexplicable wars. We live everyday in this juxtaposition.
1) SERVICE TIME CHANGE to 4:30 pm
2) ANNUAL MEMBER’S MEETING immediately following church
I look forward to being together this Lord’s Day for worship, prayer, Bible teaching and fellowship!
Before Covid, cruise ships were an extremely safe activity. A Mediterranean cruise was a safe, lovely way to spend a vacation. We have come a long way in cruising since the Titanic! But first century sea travel in the Mediterranean could be dangerous. Acts 27 is the greatest shipwreck story ever told. There is danger, drama, lost hope, and gained trust in God! This Sunday we will see how God was at work in the crew of this ship in hopeless times.
Has anyone ever told you that '“you are out of your mind?!” I imagine we have all been told that jokingly. For example, I plan on covering two chapters of Acts in this Sunday’s sermon. Someone, based on my past record, may tell me, “You are out of your mind!” (It may or may not be a joke - ha!) But has anyone ever told you that “you are out of your mind” in all seriousness? Told you that you are legitimately crazy for something you have done? Or even for something you believe.? Paul is told he is “out of his mind” because of his belief in Jesus in Acts 26.
The rich, powerful, and influential have always had a place in society. Today, we look up to celebrities, professional athletes, industry leaders, and even so-called influencers as one’s to emulate and admire. The same was true in the first century during the book of Acts. There is a terrible downside to wealth and power… people think they are in control of their lives and destiny. Money and power have served them in this life. The danger is that influential people put their dependence in themselves, and not ultimately in God for this life and the next. This is the case in our world today. And this Sunday in Acts we will see this is the case in first century Jerusalem.
At the beginning of each year at The Rock we ask ourselves, “How is the best way to spend our time as a church? What should our focus be as a church?” These are important questions. These questions help guide us in programs, budgeting, giving, and worship. This Sunday I seek to answer in the annual Vision sermon. Join us for a Sunday of worship and vision for 2022!
We are all making decisions of what and what not to do in this season of Covid. We all have different comfort levels and personal convictions of what we participate in right now. I want to encourage each of you to continue seeking the Lord with all of your heart, strength, soul, and mind in worship.
Life has been a wild ride in 2021! What will happen in 2022? Who knows apart from God Himself. But God has revealed how we are to live in 2022. Join us for worship as I conclude the “Incarnation” sermon series. We will focus on “Moving Forward” in 2022. The glory of incarnation leads to a life of incarnation!
At the end of the day, the best way to summarize Christmas and the incarnation of Jesus is… glory. The angels came to the shepherds in Luke 2:9 with the glory of the Lord shinning all around them. The heavenly hosts in v. 14 praised God saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those whom he is pleased.” And the response of the shepherds was glorifying and praising God in v. 20. Glory is everywhere!
Can you believe it! The 3rd Sunday of Advent is THIS Sunday! I will continue the “Incarnation” sermon series with an incredibly relatable topic relating to Jesus “dwelling among us” - rejection. We have all experienced rejection. Jesus was rejected by all. The sermon will naturally lead us into communion. Come worship and take communion to remember Jesus and receive grace on this 3rd Sunday of Advent. After the service we will eat together at The Point. If you are all-in that night, join in watching the fireworks in Manhattan Beach - we will come up with a plan at dinner. See you Sunday!
