The Rock Weekly – October 23, 2024

  • THIS SUNDAY (10/27) – Guest Speaker Joel Richardson is with us!  He is a New York Times bestselling author, film maker, and internationally recognized Bible teacher.
  • NEW!! Foundations Class – Wednesday nights at 6pm in the Prayer Room (behind the Sanctuary).  Build your Foundation on the truths of God’s Word! 
  • SEE our on-going events at the bottom…including Tonight’s Prayer & Worship Service @ 7pm in the Chapel or Livestream.  Youth/BaseCamp @ 7pm in the Student auditorium.  And Children @ 6:45pm in the Children’s Wing.

 

Come Lord Jesus

“He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” Revelation 22:20

Our guest speaker this weekend, Joel Richardson, will be sharing on the theme of restoring the Maranatha cry in the church. Maranatha simply means “Come Lord” and is used in context the the second coming of Jesus. 

In light of this subject, I have taken a deeper dive into thinking about the last statements recorded in the Bible as I begin to prepare my heart for this Sunday’s message. I want to quickly walk you through four ideas in this verse that I feel are important for us to understand and embrace in our pursuit of Jesus and His return. 

The Testimony – “He who testifies to these things says” 

  • Jesus is the one who gave the revelation of who He is to John. When we read the book of Revelation, we must receive it as if Jesus was standing before us and personally testifying to His coming kingdom and the restored heavens and earth that He will bring. 

The Certainty – “Surely”

  • When we forget the fact that His second coming is certain, and that we will give an account for the way we use the time on this earth that He has graciously given us, we tend to not obey His words with zeal and this can become a slippery slope where we more easily give into sin and darkness. Let us continually ask Jesus to enlighten our minds, that we would be transformed by the renewing of our minds, to live our lives in light of the backdrop of eternity. 

The Urgency –  “I am coming soon”

  • We also must not explain away and reduce the fact that Jesus said He is coming soon. We must remember that the one who spoke the oracle is the Everlasting One and that the word “soon” is relative to Jesus. We will look back thousands of years from now and realize that Jesus was honest in His prophecy, and that compared to our eternal existence, the distance between His first coming and second coming was “short” and “soon”. Every generation, including ours, needs to live their lives as if Jesus was coming back in their lifetime.  This is the urgency we see from Jesus is John 4:35, “Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest.”

The Agreement and Intercession – “Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” 

  • John’s response to Jesus’s declaration that He is coming quickly was “Amen”, which is to say, “I add my agreement to this declaration”. But John doesn’t stop there. He adds the prayer of intercession, “Come, Lord Jesus.” I think we should emulate John’s example. As we agree with Jesus’s second coming by aligning our lives to what will be rewarded and what we will regret when He returns, we fervently cry out in intercession, “Come, Lord Jesus.” This is one aspect of how Jesus taught us to pray in “The Lord’s Prayer”. “Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”

 

I want to encourage you to take this scripture and others like it and begin to meditate and pray into them in preparation for what the Lord has for us this weekend. 

Love you,
Pastor Marcus and your Rock Staff

 

 

IMPORTANT SERVICE & WEEKLY INFORMATION:

WEDNESDAY NIGHT WORSHIP & PRAYER SERVICE  7:00pm * In-Person & On-Line *
Facebook Live:  https://www.facebook.com/rockchurchco
The Rock Online Livestream:  https://www.therock.org/live/

 

FOUNDATIONS CLASS – 6:00pm Wednesdays
Zoom link: https://zoom.us/j/99757846764?pwd=Tm8zQ0JQWk1xeHFBcEU5anNFN1l4dz09

 

YOUTH ~ BASE CAMP (6th – 12th Grade) – WEDNESDAY NIGHT – 7:00pm
Invite a friend and come have a great time. If you have any questions, email jaden@therock.org

 

FOOD BANK DISTRIBUTION – 1st & 3rd Saturday of each Month
https://www.therock.org/foodbank/
Email Lindy@therock.org if you would like to volunteer or have questions.

 

SUNDAY MORNING PRE-SERVICE PRAYER  8:15-9:15am – *In-Person & On-line*
ZOOM Direct Video Link:
           https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85340164797?pwd=V0lmWFRRL0R6Tm56QTdRUHNoMWI3QT09
ZOOM Meeting ID: 853 4016 4797
          ZOOM Phone Option +12532158782,,85340164797#

 

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICE 9:45am  *In-Person & On-line*
           Facebook Live:  https://www.facebook.com/rockchurchco
The Rock Online Livestream:  https://www.therock.org/live/

 

OPPORTUNITIES TO GIVE  Here are some ways you can partner with The Rock as you practice generosity – our regular tithe/giving, compassion help, missions, and our food bank.  Click on the following link or graphic.  www.therock.org/give

 

Have a Question, Need Prayer, Help, Feel Alone, or Disconnected?

Please email us at family@therock.org and put QUESTION, PRAYER, NEED HELP, or CONNECT ME at the top of your email.