There are not many causes in this world for which I would risk my life. As much as I love the Dodgers, I would not give my life for another World Series victory. I would really like to play golf at Augusta National golf course, but I wouldn’t take a bullet to play there. But I would risk my life to protect my wife & children from danger. I would hope I would jump into a rough ocean to save a drowning child. There are certain things that are worth it to risk my life. One cause in which I would risk my life for is the cause of Jesus. Jesus is worth it!
In our present political and church climate we need urgency and clarity in defining the church. I fear the American Christian church is confused and misled. This happens in history. This happens to well-meaning, faithful people if they lose focus. This can happen to us at The Rock. The answer is found by looking to God for clarity. The answer is found in God’s Word. Our study in Acts over the last year has provided wonderful clarity for us as a church. It excites me to lean into this clarity even as the national church struggles mightily.
People love to bash the church. Pessimism says the church will never get it right. Cynicism says the church has always blown it - why would anything be different now. Criticism says pastors and church leaders are idiots. Judgmentalism says I’m leaving because the church will never get it right. If these were all we knew, the church sounds like it is in trouble. But this is not all we know. We know Jesus is Lord. We know the church is God’s design for Christians. We know the gates of hell will not prevail against the church (Matt. 16:17-19).
In our seemingly never-ending test of following God wherever He takes us… we are headed back to the Pre-School this Sunday. This should be an easy transition back to something we know. Same time - 4:30 pm. Same location - back pre-school turf yard. Same Sunday School - Cameron will lead outside. Same awesome worship and fellowship!!! See you Sunday for worship, communion, and after service meal.
Often times when law enforcement and legal people are trying to solve a crime they conclude that they should “follow the money.” Behind the violence, deceit, and crime there is most likely a connection to greed. People are motivated and driven by the love of money. This is the case in Ephesus in Acts 19:21-41. Paul’s opponents at this time in Ephesus are concerned about their business interests being affected by Paul’s success in gospel preaching. People have believed, confessed, repented, and are now not buying the things they used to buy. But there is something deeper going on in Ephesus.
No one wants to be a poser. A hanger-on. A pretender. A fake. A phony. That is unless there is money, power, fame, or status that comes with the titles. Then plenty of people will endure the unflattering title. It is just as true in a spiritual setting. People historically have been willing to fake it as a Christian leader or influencer to gain riches, fame, and power. It is ugly. It is gross. It is sin. It is dangerous before God.
We live in an age of false information, fake news, and conspiracy theories. It is often times confusing. It is sometimes silly. It can be disturbing. And for some, it has misled them into believing something untrue. In the Christian faith mis-information leading to wrong beliefs has been around since the time of Jesus. We will see people from Ephesus experience this in Acts 19 this coming Sunday. We will look at how to examine ourselves for error and how to correct ourselves if we have believed something untrue.
This Sunday I will be interviewing Giezi and Amanda Nino from Hope Zone in Tijuana, Mexico this Sunday. They always have inspiring stories about the Hope Zone ministry and their own faith journey. Don’t miss it! Also, this would be a great Sunday to invite someone. This also happens to be the 1st Sunday of Manhattan Beach Concerts in the Park. Arrive early to help with parking. We will be blocking off our lot, but the sooner everyone gets to church the easier it will be. Thanks!
“Nobody’s Perfect” is a statement in which all can agree. Yet, we often do not like it when we are corrected about something. We tend to get defensive and dismissive when people point out an error in our thinking or behavior (I speak from personal experience on this one!). Correction can even lead to broken relationship. One might say, “how dare you speak to me that way!” Why do we do this if we all agree that “nobody’s perfect?” It seems we are not including ourselves in this statement. We need our eyes to be opened. We need the grace of God to help us receive correction. We need humility to receive truth that will only help us. Simply put, we need Jesus.
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!
