God Rock Ministry

"Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." In part 2 of our mini-series, we take a look at what Jesus means when He says in order to enter the kingdom of heaven, you must become like children. Does this mean we start acting in childish ways? Or is this a portrayal of how much we need to humble ourselves and fully depend on Jesus? 

We begin a 3 week mini-series in Matthew 18 titled Family Matters. In this series, we go in depth in Matthew 18 on the family of God, highlighting its importance and the issues that come up between brothers and sisters in the family. This topic matters deeply to God and it shapes how we love each other in the Church. This is also a way for anyone outside of the Church to get a taste of what loving each other means in the family of God.  

In this text, we explore why Jesus didn't want to unnecessarily offend the people at the temple. Jesus explains to Peter that as the Son of God, he would not have been obligated to pay the temple tax - even Kings don't tax their children, but other people. Jesus didn't want to use his freedom as the Son of God as an excuse to unnecessarily offend people, so he paid the temple tax. We learn that sometimes, it is necessary to do something that is unnecessary for the sake of a greater purpose. In this case, it's to prevent people from being distracted from being able to see the real reason why Jesus came to Earth.

In this sermon, we go over the topic of betrayal. This is an important topic because we need to equip the church to be able to respond in a Godly way when we experience betrayal. Jesus thought it was important to teach the disciples and model how to respond to betrayal - which is why we also need to take this topic seriously. 

In this sermon, we see Jesus heal a boy with a demon after the disciples tried and were not able. Jesus later teaches his disciples that they weren't able to heal the boy because of their lack of faith.  Small faith can do big things when that faith is placed in a big God. And growing faith can do bigger things than small faith. Ultimately, faith in Jesus Christ is pleasing to God. 

As part of the service, we are celebrating with Brodie Markel the 2 year anniversary of the last day he used addictive substances of any kind. If you know anything about addiction and recovery, then you know how special this is. Tune in to hear Brodie's testimony of God's grace and power in his life, to rescue him from a life of addiction. 

When you look at a picture of Jesus Christ hanging on the cross, what do you see?  In Matthew 17:1-13, Jesus reveals to his disciples a glimpse of His glory as God. We see in the scriptures that God is light, and no power of darkness can ever overcome the power of God.  So when we see a picture of Jesus hanging on the cross, we must observe what is physically in front of us, but also understand the Gospel message associated with it. That the perfect, all powerful God loves us sinners so much that he would die in our place so that we could live forever. If we repent and place our trust in him, we can be saved and be with Jesus for eternity. 

Jesus may have been preaching to the choir when he said to the disciples, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." At the point, the disciples had already left everything to follow Jesus. So why did Jesus make that statement again?  We are going to dive deep into 4 key questions about what is involved when it comes to follow Jesus:  Who can follow Jesus?  What is required of the person who wants to follow Jesus?  Why should you follow Jesus?  How is following Jesus even possible? 

In verse 20 of the text, Jesus strictly charged his disciples to tell no one that he was Christ. Why would Jesus give his disciples this kind of directive?  We see in the scriptures, at this point in time, Jesus shifted the focus of His ministry to be more focused on teaching His disciples. We see that Jesus must go to Jerusalem where he will suffer many things, be killed and on the third day be raised from the dead.  In this sermon, we're going to go deeper into why Jesus gave His disciples this command. What Jesus is trying to teach His disciples is critical in our understanding and our explanation of the Gospel. 

When Jesus asked his disciples who the people say he is, the disciples responded with John the Baptist, Elijah, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. In today's context, that's like saying someone is Mother Teresa, Billy Graham or someone that is highly respected. The people in the area Jesus and his disciples entered into had nothing bad to say about Jesus, but at the the same time are totally wrong in their assessment of who Jesus is.    When Jesus asked his disciples who do YOU think I am, Simon Peter replied, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God."    This is a profound statement that Simon Peter could not have came to on his own and is a statement that could get him killed. In this sermon, we go deeper into the significance of Simon Peter's realization of who Jesus is. 

In this sermon, we examine what is the significance of communion and what is happening in a person's life when they are taking communion? Under the new covenant, when we partake in communion, we are having personal fellowship with Jesus. 

Unity is important for everybody in the world, both Christians and unbelievers. Members of God Rock Church will love, build and protect the unity of the church.  In this sermon we go over the following questions:  - What is unity in a general sense?  - Why is Christian unity so important? - How do members of a local church build unity amongst each other?  - How do members of a local church protect the unity that they have? 

This week we go over the topic of sexual purity as part of our "Set Apart" series on church membership. As members of God Rock Church, you will covenant with God and with one another to abstain from sexual immorality.  The reason for the boundary line for sexual purity to be drawn around local church membership is because:  - Sexual purity is a boundary line drawn around the entrance to Heaven  - It is God's explicit will for His church to abstain from sexual immorality - Boundaries are loving.  If you are struggling with sexual sins, the good news is - there is hope for everyone! Tune in to hear more about the gospel and how you can find freedom in Jesus. 

In this week's sermon, we introduce the biblical concept of giving financially to God through the local church. As members of God Rock Church, there is an expectation that members will give to God Rock Church regularly as an individual and corporate act of worship. We will go over 6 points to consider in the biblical and practical application of giving to the local church. 

Jesus is the Servant-King. He gave up everything to serve others, including you and me. And if we are his people, we will serve other people like our King served us. That is why one of the requirements to be a member of God Rock Church is to serve each other and alongside one another in community.  The 9 points that will be discussed concerning serving others like Jesus did are:  Serving others like Jesus did is a mark of true greatness Serving others like Jesus is one of the secrets to experiencing joy in your life Serving others like Jesus requires a radical heart change in the person who is serving  Serving others like Jesus requires that we have the Holy Spirit in us Serving others like Jesus requires sacrifice, not convenience  Serving others like Jesus requires your committed time Serving others like Jesus requires we use a different kind of vocabulary Serving others is a sign that you are a Christian Serving others can be done by anyone, but it will be done by members of God Rock Church.

As members of God Rock Church, you will be discipled so that you can make disciples. In Matthew 28, we are called to make disciples of all nations. The process of discipleship is a process of maturity and is done through teaching.    We go over the 4 aspects of teaching as demonstrated by Jesus:    1. Jesus taught using words 2. Jesus taught by example 3. Jesus taught in the context of community  4. Jesus taught his disciples patiently

As we continue our series "Set Apart" on church membership, this sermon will address the following questions on the importance of Church Leadership:  - What does good, healthy leadership look like?  - What does the Bible say about Church Leadership?  - Why is Church Leadership so important?  - What is God Rock Church's position on Church Leadership and how it should be implemented? 

In this sermon, we go over the 12 values that God Rock church hold to:    1. Jesus - God and spirituality without Jesus is nothing. 2. Love - Without love, we have nothing and we are nothing.  3. Truth - The word of God is the Bible, and it is the absolute, unchanging, eternal truth of God 4. Prayer -  We pray always  5. Faith -  Without faith, it is impossible to please God 6. Worship -  Worship is our whole life giving over to Jesus 7.  Mission -  God has saved us for a purpose, and it is to love, seek and engage a lost world with the Gospel of Jesus Christ 8. Discipleship - Jesus commands us to make disciples of all nations 9. Miracles -  We believe that God is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and continues to do miracles through the Church 10. Holiness  -  God is Holy, and he saved us to be Holy and set apart  11.  Suffering -  You will suffer for the sake of Jesus Christ and when it comes, we get to know and experience Jesus in an intimate way - all for His glory.  12. Unity - We are g

We continue the "Set Apart" sermon series on Church Membership. This week we go over baptism and how it is a requirement for people to be a Christian and be baptized as a pre-requisite to becoming a member of God Rock Church.   While different churches may have a slightly different take on the process leading up to church membership and baptism, this sermon will provide a clear outline of where God Rock Church stands on this topic. The reason is, we desire to obey what the Bible commands us to do and we want to fully portray and exemplify the significance of baptism in illustrating Jesus' death and resurrection. 

The church is set apart from the world. That is why one of the requirements to be a member of a church is you must be a Christian. In order to be a Christian, you must believe in Jesus and give all of your life to Him. This message will break down the Gospel message into four parts and how you can begin your walk towards being a member of a local church.