Our precious kids

Over the past two Saturdays we held two Trunk or Treat events. Both events were well attended and gave the families of our communities wonderful, safe, family-friendly opportunities to dress up and have some fun.

I was excited about these Trunk or Treat events for several reasons. First, I have to acknowledge that I struggle with Halloween. More and more it seems to celebrate, and glorify, things of a dark nature spiritually; witchcraft, the occult, the devil and more. I fear that the more our children are exposed to these things, the more desensitized they become the spiritual forces that contradict our faith. But Trunk or Treat allows us to give families an opportunity to enjoy the fun aspects of trick-or-treating (costumes, candy and community gatherings) without having to expose their children to the darker things.

I love that these events help us connect unchurch families. Between these two events we were able to reached hundreds of families. Anytime we can have families visit one of our campuses, it helps them to feel more at ease with our space. As they meet volunteers from the church it allows us to begin to build relationships through which we can extend an invitation. And it sends a message to the whole community that Rock Church is a place that cares about kids and wants to offer a positive, safe, fun place of connection.

The other reason I'm glad we offered these events is because, as the families come through the line, it helps us to put a face to the many unchurched children and parents in our community. I know the statistics. I know how many hundreds of children live in our towns, the overwhelming majority of which have no church home. But when we see those beautiful, precious children come through the line, I'm reminded in a much more powerful way how important our work is, and how far we have to go. In Sandown alone, we had 280 children (not counting babies or adults) come to trunk or treat. Only a handful of those children are involved in our kids ministry or attend worship with their families. To quote Jesus, “the fields are ripe for the harvest.”

Saturday, seeing the seemingly endless flow of children come through, I was reminded anew how important it is that we give our best effort to children and family ministries. The world would lead our children in a very different direction. It is up to us to reach out to them in every way we can to offer them Christ. The hearts, minds and souls of an entire generation are at stake. Thank you to everyone who helped make these outreach events possible!

This Sunday we will continue our new series “God is . . .” We are only a week into it, but I have already had SO much great feedback. I know you won’t want to miss this Sunday.

God Bless,

Pastor Steve

Doing hard things

In my blog last week I was celebrating the growth we have seen this Fall in our Mastering Motherhood program. Just a year ago this was a brand new outreach for Rock Church. Now we are up to approximately 50 ladies each week participating. At the very end I mentioned that Julie and I were preparing dinner for the group this week and I would let you know how it goes. Well…first I have to be honest in saying that preparing dinner for 50 is a big job and we were preparing for several hours.

But when we got to the Sandown Campus and actually got to share what we had prepared, it was awesome. As the ladies arrived, many of whom were coming from long, hard and busy days, it brought joy to our hearts to be able to serve them. As we watched the moms get to enjoy an evening of great fellowship, support and encouragement, I was so grateful that we had the opportunity to be a small part of making that ministry possible.

Honestly, during the prep time, I couldn’t help but think “This is hard work!” But when it came time to share the meal, all I could think about was what a gift it was to see the ladies enjoying the dinner. As I was reflecting on the evening, something struck me. Many of the best things in life require hard work. They require an investment of time and energy. Often, at first a task can seem daunting. I may find myself tempted to shy away from it. But the truth is, those things that require the greater effort are also the things that bring the greatest dividend, and the greatest joy. It was work to prepare the meal. But the joy that we felt in blessing others in that way far exceeded the investment of effort required.

The whole experience just reminded me anew that it is good to do hard things, particularly in the work of Christ. It can be sacrificial at the front end, but the blessing that comes from it are always worth the effort. What is God calling you to do that may seem daunting at first? My encouragement is to do the hard things. This is where the greatest blessings are found.

BTW, if anyone would like to prepare a meal for Mastering Motherhood, I believe there are a few dates still available during this session. Just email Kristen and let her know you may be interested in helping.

Love you all,

God Bless,

Pastor Steve

BTW, this Sunday at all campuses we are launching a brand new discipleship teaching series entitled “God is . . .” How would you complete that sentence? How we respond has much to teach us about the nature of God. I look forward to us all being together this Sunday as we launch into this important new series.

Something to celebrate

A couple of weeks ago I mentioned in this blog that since Covid it has been somewhat of a challenge to keep our ministry fully funded. Over the past couple of weeks, we have been working our way through a brief series entitle “The Blessed Life” in which we have talked openly about the blessings that comes from a life of generosity. We have investigated Biblical teaching around tithing and firstfruits. This week we will wrap up the series by comparing and contrasting Old Testament giving with the New Testament. I think you are going to find it fascinating.

Now I want to share some exciting news. In these past two week we have actually exceeded our weekly giving goal. The financial cost to fully fund the ministry of Rock Church (inclusive of all three campuses) is about $15,000 a week. Two weeks ago we had three extraordinarily generous gifts shared (two for $5000 each and one for $10,000) putting the giving total at over $33K for that week. This past Sunday, our total giving was $15,574. So, for two weeks in a row we have exceeded our $15,000 weekly giving goal. We still have some ground to make up, but this is a very encouraging trend, and we praise God for everyone’s generosity! That is something to celebrate!

Something else to celebrate is that over the next couple of weeks we will host two “Trunk or Treat” events. The first will be in Plaistow on October 22 and then the following weekend in Sandown on October 29. These events are a great outreach opportunity and offer a safe, family friendly alternative. We could still use people to prepare trunks as well as volunteer in other areas. And donations of candy are most welcome. You can get more info, or sign, up at this link for Plaistow or this link for Sandown. If you would like to decorate a trunk for either (or both) events, but could use help with the candy, just let us know. We can help with that.

One other thing I want to celebrate is that this season’s Mastering Motherhood is off to an amazing start. We are now seeing about 50 women each week participate in ways that are both life-giving and life-changing. We do provide a meal each week at these Tuesday night gatherings in Sandown. If you, your lifegroup or a small group of friends would like to get together to provide a meal, that would be a great help. You can email Kristen. Julie and I will be providing the meal next Tuesday, so I’ll let you know how it goes!

I pray you have a great week and I look forward to us being together this Sunday to worship and praise our living God!

Love you all,

Pastor Steve

Blessed

On Sunday we began a new series entitled “The Blessed Life!” Preparing for the series has really caused me to pause and reflect upon all of the ways that God has blessed my life. Sometimes it is easy to focus on the things in our lives that have not gone well. There is something in us as human beings that tends to be more aware of the areas of struggle in our lives than the blessings. We are often quicker to notice the things that we don’t have than we are to acknowledge the things we do have.

There is no denying that many of us have been through difficulties in our lives. To begin with, we have all been impacted by this pandemic. Many have experienced significant loss in our lives. Others have battled various health concerns. With the continual rise in housing costs, food, health care and basically everything else, some are experiencing financial challenges. So it would be easy to focus on these things.

But here is what I have discovered. In the midst of it all, God is still faithful! I look at my own life and realize that despite having walked through loss, heath concerns and of course Covid, God’s blessings still far outweigh the struggles. Following my stroke, God has brought complete healing! After going through such a significant loss, God has blessed me with an amazing and wonderful person with whom I can continue this journey of life. And in spite of the setbacks of Covid, God is raising up new opportunities every day.

When I think about all of the ways that God has blessed my life, I cannot help but want to respond. We can never fully repay God for the innumerable ways that He has blessed us. But I do believe there are ways we can respond. First, we can respond to God’s blessings with our tithes and offerings. God has supplied my needs so abundantly that I can’t help but want to give back to the work of his Kingdom and to bless others in His name.

I believe we can also respond to God’s blessings in our lives by choosing to serve Him. He has given us life, health, strength and skills. I find it to be a great blessing to be able to use all of that to serve God and to do His work in this world. And then when I think about the blessing of Jesus and his sacrifice upon the cross for me, I can’t help but respond by wanting to share that good news with others.

I want to encourage us to take the time today to reflect on the many ways that God has blessed us. And I encourage us to respond to that blessing by giving generously to God’s work, serving God with our time and sharing the hope of the Gospel at every opportunity.

I love you all. I look forward to us being together this Sunday as we continue our series “The Blessed Life.”

Pastor Steve

The Blessed Life

At the beginning of this year, our church council went through a process of setting a number of goals and priorities for 2022. One of our “North Star” high level goals is to get to the place where every campus is fully resourced for the ministry that God has called us to. This includes a process for engaging volunteers so our ministry areas are fully staffed and a leadership pipeline is developed. It also includes developing facilities and equipment so all campuses have whatever they need to serve effectively. And finally, it includes developing our stewardship and giving to a point where our ministry has the financial resources it needs at all locations.

This final area, reaching the financial goal of being fully funded as a ministry, has been more of a challenge, particularly post covid. To be candid, our weekly giving has not yet reaching a point of matching up with our budgetary needs. If you have been a part of Rock Church for a while, you know that we have never been about guilt laden, heavy handed stewardship campaigns. But sometimes I fear we have allowed the pendulum to swing too far in the other direction, sharing very little about stewardship and finances.

The truth is that stewardship, the faithful administration of our resources, is an important spiritual issue. In fact, to not address giving from a Biblical perspective is to neglect an opportunity for spiritual growth that should be available to all believers. I believe there is great blessing in being a generous steward of God’s good gifts. The Bible has much to say about this and it is essential that from time to time we dig into this topic. So beginning this Sunday we will launch a brief series entitled “The Blessed Life.”

We’ve taken the title of the series from a 21 day devotion that a number of us have recently participate in. So, along with the sermon series, we are inviting everyone to participate in this daily devotion that is available on the Bible App (You Version) . If you have never used the Bible App, in the newsletter this week will be instructions on how to login and participate in this daily devotional. If you don’t have access to online apps and would like to receive the daily devotion in your email, please reply to me and let me know. I will add you to an email list to receive these each day in your inbox.

I’m very excited about his new “mini-series.” God is clear in scripture that there is great blessing for those who are generous with the resources that He has provide. Personally, I have found tithing to be one of the most important spiritual practices of my life, and one of the greatest blessings. This is a teaching that you will not want to miss. God has something great for all of us in it.

I look forward to us being together this week in worship! I love you all.

Pastor Steve

Content

Over the past few weeks we've been talking about contentment. So often in life we seem to struggle with discontentment. Contentment and discontentment can be hard to define, but we know it when we feel it. Discontentment is often marked by a sense of unsettledness. We lack peace. We seem to be searching for something, but we're not sure what. There is a restlessness that comes with discontentment.

Contentment, on the other hand, is marked by a sense of peace, even in the midst of chaotic circumstances. It is joy even when life is not easy. When we are content we can, at once, seek to improve our lives but still be okay with where we are right now. I think we all desire contentment in our lives, but many never find it in a sustained way.

What we are discovering in this series is that the true pathway to contentment engages the three G's. God. Gratitude. Generosity. First and foremost, we will never be content without faith in God. Through his son Jesus Christ, we are justified, made right with God. So, until we have opened our hearts to Him, we could never truly be at peace. We will never find that true joy that only He offers. And there is nothing of this world that can be substituted for that. There is simply nothing that compares.

The second G is gratitude. We all have things in our lives that we can, and should, be grateful for. The real question is, are we truly grateful for those blessings in our lives. For that to happen, we must first recognize those blessings. In our world, it is far too easy to notice the things we don't have and fail to give thanks for what we do. So the next step towards the life of contentment is to recognize and give intentional thanks for the manifold blessings in our lives.

Then third G is generosity. There is a tremendous sense of peace and joy that comes with having a generous heart. Honestly, I think it is where I find some of my greatest contentment. Being generous with people, those we love, those in need, those doing good work, and being generous in the life-changing work of Jesus Christ bring such joy to my heart that I cannot help but feel God's contentment.

If you ever find yourself struggling with contentment, try pouring yourself back into these 3 G's; your relationship with God, a heart of gratitude and a life of generosity. There is nothing else like it.

I hope you will be with us in worship this Sunday as we wrap up our series “Content.” I know God has something great for us all in this final message.

I love you all,

P. Steve

Every Sunday!

Can I tell you, I am still on fire from the Night of Worship on Saturday. What an amazing experience that was. The combined praise team, with musicians from all three campuses, was powerful and spirit-filled. And the choir, amazing! And then, of course, there were the testimonies that spoke so compellingly to the transformational power of a life-changing relationship with Jesus.

I think I can honestly say that by the end of the evening I was spiritually encouraged and renewed in a way that I really needed. It seems like so often the struggles, stresses and busyness of life distract us from Christ and rob us of our spiritual passion and joy. I know that for myself I sometimes get to a place where I need to be spiritually renewed, replenished and refreshed in God's presence. I definitely experience that at the night of worship!

But as I was reflecting on it today, I was reminded that we don't have to wait for a special event to experience that refreshing of the Holy Spirit. We can have that experience every week in worship. I think part of the reason the Night of Worship was so powerful for me was because I came into it with a tremendous sense of anticipation. I just knew in my heart that it would be a powerful encounter with God. Every Sunday when we gather for worship, we need to come knowing, believing and expecting that God is going to be present in a life-changing way. If we will come to worship eager to be in God's presence, excited to be together with other believers and anticipating the movement of the Holy Spirit, every Sunday can be a powerful time of spiritual renewal.

The Night of Worship was special. There was something great about being all together as one body. And the combined praise team and choir was amazing. But I believe we can have that same kind of renewing spiritual experience every Sunday when we gather for worship. If each of us will come “prayed up” and prepared to offer our whole heart to Christ, we can experience that same restorative presence of God every week.

As we prepare together for worship this weekend, I would encourage us all to come expecting and anxiously anticipating the powerful movement of God's Holy Spirit. Let's make every Sunday a joy-filled, Spirit led encounter with the living God. I can't wait for us to be together this Sunday to experience all that God has for us.

Love you all!

Pastor Steve

This Weekend!

I can't wait for this weekend! On Saturday we will officially open our new pavilion with a great church-wide celebration. The evening will include a barbecue, activities for the kids and a powerful night of worship. What a great way to pull together people from all of our campuses for a unified evening of fun, fellowship, music and worship. We will kick things off with the barbecue, kids activities (including our giant inflatable slide) and a Ministry Fair where you can find out more of the great opportunities at Rock Church. This will all begin at 5:00 p.m. Then at 6:30 we will begin our night of worship featuring music from our praise teams, choir and special guests.

I'm excited about this for several reasons. First, because it brings us together as a church. As a multi-site ministry, we don't always have an opportunity to be all together as one church family. This is a time for us to catch up with old friends and make new ones. It will be a chance to come together for an evening of great Christian fellowship and love. It says in Psalm 133 “How good and pleasant it is when God's people dwell together in unity.”

Secondly, I'm excited about this because I think we all need it. I believe we all need, from time to time, special opportunities, that go beyond our Sunday morning experience, to be lifted up and spiritually renewed. I believe this Night of Worship is going to bring us into the presence of God in a way that is powerful and transformative. After all we've been through in recent years, I believe we can all use that. I know I can!

Thirdly, I'm excited because I believe it is a great opportunity for outreach. What could be better to invite your friends and Neighbors to than a free barbecue and some awesome music? I hope you will consider reaching out to an unchurched friend or family member to invite them to join us for this great evening.

For the barbecue, the church will provide the meats, but we invite you to bring a side, salad, drink or dessert to share if you would like. It would be helpful for planning purposes if you could RSVP for the BBQ at this link. And if you want to bring something to share please sign up the same link. There are also still a few openings to help us prepare and run the event. If you are interested in helping, please follow this link for more info.

This is going to be a great event. I truly hope that every one of us will be able to be there as we celebrate together the goodness of God and the love of his family.

See you Saturday!

God bless,

Pastor Steve

But Wait, there's more...

“But wait, there’s more!” Have you ever heard that phrase? I think we often associate it with late night infomercials where some way too energetic salesman continues to add more and more amazing items to deal. But I have to be honest, as I began to think about all the great things coming up in September at Rock Church, I kept finding myself thinking “But wait, there’s more!”

So, at the risk of sounding like Billy Mays or Ron Popeil, I can’t help but be excited about some of the great things coming up in our church. It all begins this weekend with our Men’s Summit. That is going to be a great weekend of worship and teaching, fellowship and fun for our guys. But wait, there’s more!

The following weekend, Sept 17, is our Night of Worship. This will be our first big all church event held at our new pavilion at our Rock Church Plaistow location. The evening will begin with a big old fashion BBQ. The church will provide the BBQ. We are inviting all who come to share in a side, dessert, etc. Following the meal will be an powerful time of outdoor praise and worship.

I am excited beyond words about the Night of Worship. I see this as an opportunity for our whole church, all three campuses, to come together for a time of spiritual renewal and refreshing. I believe this will be an opportunity for us to be built up spiritually, reigniting our passion for Christ as we head into a new season of ministry. It is my sincere hope that every family, every individual who calls Rock Church home will be able to join us for this great big family reunion. This is also an excellent opportunity to invite an unchurched friend or neighbor to experience Christian community and worship at its best. It would be helpful to pre-register so we know who is bringing what. You can sign up at this link. We also still have room for volunteers to help with event at this link.

But wait, there’s more! This Sunday we will launch our next session of Rooted. Rooted is an Empowering 11 Weeks to Get Deeply Rooted in Christ and Christian Community Starting Sunday, Sept. 11, 6:30 to 8 p.m. Plaistow campus Sign-ups and Info at: rock-church.org/rooted Or Email: karenlsmclain@gmail.com Registration is required so that we can have enough materials and group leaders. If you would like to hear a little more about how impactful Rooted is, check out this video.

I know that is already a lot, but wait, there’s more! On Tuesday September 13th we will launch our next session of Mastering Motherhood at our Sandown campus. Mastering Motherhood is a weekly gathering of mom’s of all ages for a time of fellowship, support, encouragement and personal growth. The program includes: free childcare, scrumptious food, gift giveaways, speakers & small book groups. Learn more and register at masteringmotherhood.com. If you have questions or would like more information you can email sandownnh@masteringmotherhood.com. $30 per session covers the cost of the book of your choice. Scholarships are available. We are also looking for individuals or Bible study groups who would be willing to prepare one meal sometime during the fall session. If you would like to help with that, please email the address above.

Believe it or not, there is still more. Youth group is relaunching for the fall tonight and every Wednesday at 5:00 pm in Plaistow. New lifegroups are starting up. Rock Kids children’s ministry is start over the next couple of weeks at all campuses. What a great fall season this is going to be at Rock Church.

I hope you will all mark your calendars for the Night of Worship next Saturday. And I invite you to consider the many opportunities for spiritual growth in the coming days. Have a great rest of the week and I look forward to us being back together this Sunday as we begin a new teaching series entitled “Content.”

I love you all.

God Bless,

Pastor Steve

What a team!

As I write this we have just finished up the second day of our second week of day camp. If you will indulge me, I just want to take a moment to brag on the amazing team of volunteers that has come together to make these two weeks possible. All together we have approximately 45 volunteers ranging in age from 13 to nearly 80, and they are amazing! They have come day after day to give freely of their time to pour the love of Jesus into this generation of children. Many of these volunteers have taken vacation time from work in order to be there. Additionally, over a dozen students have given up their final week of vacation before returning to school in order to be a part of this great program.

I'm honestly blown away by the sacrifice of time, energy and resources that I'm witnessing. We are wrapping up a teaching series right now in worship entitled “Crazy.” Many people in the world would look at the time, effort and energy that people are pouring into this program and say it's crazy. Who would give up all that time to bless a group of kids that many of us don't even know? It just seems crazy in the eyes of the world.

But it's not crazy. It's simply an unwavering commitment to the mission of reaching people, particularly young people, with the hope the gospel. Our mission as a church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ who love God, love others and do good. That mission matters at every age. But there is something particularly exciting about seeing a young person open their heart to Jesus.

And you know what blows my mind? This is just one of so many examples of how people from our Rock Church family are sharing Jesus and making a difference in the world in his name. Every week people are giving of their time and resources sacrificially for the mission of the church and the cause of Christ. All I can say is “what a team!” We are blessed beyond words to have such an amazing team of gifted, talented, committed, passionate Christ followers who serve so sacrificially to advance the gospel.

So in case I haven't said it lately, let me say today that I am proud of our team and I love you all. To all of you who serve in every capacity within our church, thank you!

Have a blessed week and I look forward to us all being together on Sunday as we wrap up our teaching series “Crazy.”

God bless,

Pastor Steve

Not to be missed!

I just want to begin by saying, actually shouting, a great big praise God for our Rock Church day camps! Right now we are in the midst of our Sandown day camp and it has been amazing! I am so grateful for all the volunteers who are giving sacrificially of their time, energy and love to pour the hope of Christ into this next generation. Beginning next Monday we will hold a Plaistow day camp. The enrollment is full with a waiting list. But we can still use some extra volunteers if any of you are available to help. You can find out more information or sign up to help at this link.

I also want to take a moment to let you know about a great opportunity coming up on September 17th. That afternoon and evening will be a church-wide Night of Worship. This will be our first big, all campus event in our new pavilion. It will begin at 5:00 p.m. with a free barbecue followed by an amazing evening of praise and worship. This event will be in uplifting, joy-filled time of spiritual celebration and renewal.

I think we all go through times when we feel a little worn and weary. For most of us, the past 2 years of Covid have been one of those seasons. But it is time for a new beginning, a spiritual renewal, that prepares to launch us into the fall with joy and enthusiasm. I really sense in my spirit that God intends to use this Night of Worship as a spiritual launchpad to reinvigorate our faith and renew our passion for Christ. My sincere hope and prayer is that every member of our Rock Church family will be present for this great celebration of community and faith.

You will be hearing much more about the Night of Worship in the days ahead, but for now I would ask you to mark your calendar and save the evening of September 17th for an event you will not want to miss. It is only 30 days away.

Also, speaking of great opportunities for spiritual growth and renewal, I want to remind the guys that are Men's Summit is coming up on September 9th to 11th. This is always a great event and there is still time to register. You can get all the information at this link.

I pray you have a blessed and joy-filled week and I look forward to us all being together this Sunday for uplifting, life-giving times of worship at all our Rock Church locations.

Love you all,

Pastor Steve 

One final note: ON SATURDAY MORNING WE NEED HELP MOVING SOME OF THE BIG OBJECTS FOR DAYCAMP FROM SANDOWN TO PLAISTOW. WE WILL DO THIS AT 8:30 AM IF ANY CAN JOIN US. IF THERE IS ANYONE WITH A BOX TRUCK, THAT WOULD BE PARTICULARLY HELPFUL, BUT WE WILL ALSO NEED PICKUP TRUCKS.

Mission Possible

We have a big challenge and an even bigger opportunity in front of us right now at Rock Church. Over the next two weeks we have our two Daycamp programs. This coming week, August 15 to 19, is our evening program in Sandown. Then the following week, August 22 to 26 is our daytime program in Plaistow.

The Sandown week is fully staffed, but we still have openings for more children. So the challenge there is to get the word out over the next few days to invite families to participate. If you know any families with children in the greater Sandown area, your mission (should you choose to accept it) is to let then know about this great opportunity and invite them to join us.

The Plaistow week is full. In fact, we have over 20 kids on the waiting list. Because the Plaistow program is a full day (except for the preschoolers who come 1/2 day), it takes a larger team to pull it together. We are still in need of help in several areas. We could use additional crew leaders, preschool leaders (half day), people in Rec, one person in KidVid and cooking help. If fact, if we can get the help we need, we can even accommodate the kids on the waiting list. Can you imagine the impact we can have on these young lives as we share the hope of Jesus with them!

To get both weeks of Daycamp fully enrolled and fully staffed is a big job. But these Daycamps offer an amazing opportunity to sow seeds of faith in these children. Over these two weeks, we have the opportunity to help many children and youth begin a journey of faith that will carry through their lives and on to eternity. But the only way we can do it is with your help. So, to help us extend the invitation to the evening program in Sandown next week, share this link and personally invite your friend’s and neighbor’s children.

If you would consider serving during the daytime program in Plaistow, please go to this link and click on the volunteer button. Even if you can only help for a portion of the week, we can use every volunteer.

This is such a big task that it might seem like a “mission impossible.” But with God nothing is impossible. Our Daycamps offer us one of the best opportunities of the year to reach out to unchurched families and children. I pray we can make the most of this opportunity to bring the hope of Jesus to the next generation.

Have a blessed week.

Love you all,

Pastor Steve

Like Little Children

I was thinking recently about the way Jesus interacted with children. When others tried to push them away, he drew them in. He welcomed them. In one instance he told his disciples “unless you become like little children you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus made room for children. He made them feel loved and valued. And even at their young age he taught them about God and faith. I think there is something important and noteworthy about the way Jesus invested in the lives of young people.

More than ever I believe it is the responsibility of the church to pour into the next generation. Perhaps more than any other time in modern history, there is a desperate need to invest in the lives of our young people, both children and youth. This generation is being exposed to more risk, more temptation, more danger and more spiritual attack than any generation in recent memory. They desperately need the foundation for life that is only found in Jesus Christ. Who will lay that foundation? Where will it come from? To use a familiar phrase “if not us, who? If not now, when?”

We talk a good bit about stewardship in the church. But I think we forget sometimes that we have a responsibility before God to steward our children. Our children are a gift and a treasure. As adult followers of Jesus we are called to steward well this gift from God. In the same way that Jesus welcomed the children and took the time to pour faith into them, we are now called to invest in the spiritual lives of our children and youth.

I know it is not easy. We are living in a time when it is more and more difficult to reach young people. So many distractions, so many spiritual forces working against us, but nothing worthwhile in this life comes easy. It will be a battle, but it is a battle we must win. There is too much at stake to not bring to bear all the resources and strength we have to fight for the hearts, minds, and souls of our children.

Next week is Soulfest. We have a great group of young people going. And there will be many committed adults who will be there to invest in them. Shortly after that comes day camp. We will be doing an evening program in Sandown this year to help reach the children of parents who can't get their kids to a daytime program. The days are August 15 to 19. Beginning each evening with dinner at 5:30 p.m. if you know of any family with children pre-K through 8th grade, please extend a personal invitation to join us. Also, if you would like to help, there's still room for more adults to get connected. You will find a registration and volunteer sign up form at this link.

Then in the fall we will launch a new season of children's ministry. We will have programs at all three campuses. Parents, I implore you to register your children and make sure they get there every week. More than ever our children need to know the hope of Jesus and the God who loves them. Together we can reach this generation for Christ!

I look forward to us all being together in worship this Sunday as we continue our new series “Crazy!”

Love you all,

Pastor Steve

Living Water

According to the weather man we're officially in heatwave. I was out running errands yesterday and at every stop someone was commenting on it. “Hot enough for you?” “Stay out of the hot sun.” I had a doctor's appointment today with my cardiologist. The receptionist at the front, the medical assistant that took my blood pressure and the phlebotomist who drew my blood all commented on the heat. The last one actually gave some good advice, “stay hydrated.” On these hot days we are reminded how important it is to drink plenty of fluids. Some like lemonade, sweet tea or a nice cold Coke on a blistering day. But as for me, just give me water and plenty of it.

As I finished up my bottle of water a moment ago I got thinking about how Jesus described himself to the woman at the well, “Living Water.” In the same way that water is life, Jesus is life. Life abundant and life eternal. In the same way that water restores us when the heat of the day has sapped us of all strength, Jesus restores our weary souls. And in the same way that we all need water to live, the world desperately needs the Living Water that is found in Christ.

If you or I saw someone parched from the heat, we would absolutely give them water if we had some to share. In the same way, I pray that we would take every opportunity to offer the world of living water that is Jesus. There are so many ways that we can do that. In our personal conversations, in an invitation to Sunday worship or Wednesday youth group, or just by offering to pray for someone, we can offer them the living water that is Jesus.

Over the coming weeks we have a number of special opportunities to offer Living Water to those all around us. For example, coming up in August are our Day Camps. The Plaistow program is full but there is still room in the Sandown evening program during the week of August 15-19. You can see all the information at this link. The Men's Retreat is coming up in early September on the 9th-11th. This will be a wonderful time to be refreshed with the Living Water of Jesus. A week later will be our Night of Worship and block party. This is going to be a wonderful opportunity to invite our friends and neighbors to experience the Living Water of Jesus. I should mention that this is a big event and we're going to need lots of help. You can find out all about some of the ways to help at this link and sign up there to volunteer if you would like.

As we go through through these hot hot days of summer, I pray that you would not only stay hydrated with physical water, but did you would stay renewed and refreshed with the living water that is Jesus. And that at every opportunity you would offer that Living Water to others who desperately need him.

I look forward to us being together this weekend as we launch a new teaching series entitled ”Crazy!” This is going to be a great series and you won't want to miss a single week.

Love you all,

Pastor Steve

As I walked . . .

I had to take my car to the garage today. I hit a pothole going to Walmart that was big enough to swallow up Mini Cooper. Oddly enough, now my tire won't hold air. They said it would be at least an hour before they could look at it, so I walk to the nearest Dunks for coffee and a table to work. As I walked along a road that I had driven a thousand times, I had an interesting revelation. I began to see things that I had past so many times before, but never noticed. As I did, it struck me what a different perspective I had when I slowed down.

It got me thinking about the way I often live my life. More often than not, it seems like I am rushing from activity to activity at such a pace that I really don't see many of the things around me. When I was walking today (rather than driving) I saw homes and businesses I never really noticed. I watched people walk their dog and put out their trash. I wondered about their lives and did they know Jesus. We live in a world where there is often so much to be done that we sometimes miss the people right around us; in our workplace, our neighborhood, the gym. Even as I sit here in Dunks there is a man sitting alone at a table watching a video on his phone. So many people around us we so often rush by. These are people with lives, with struggles, with needs. And many of them do not yet know Jesus. And as we often stay around Rock Church, everyone needs Jesus.

So I guess my thought for today is to try to slow down once in a while. Noticed the world around us that we often rush right by. And noticed the people. These are all people for whom Christ died. They are all people who need the hope the gospel.

Before I wrap up I want to highlight a few important opportunities coming up this Summer that you will definitely want to know about.

•   Day camp. This year we will have two separate programs. A day program in Plaistow on August 22-26 and an evening program in Sandown on August 15-19. You can link to all the details from our newsletter.

•   Men's summit. The annual Men's Summit is coming up on September 9th to 11th. The registration will open later this week. So put the date on your calendar and watch for the registration link soon.

•   Night of worship and block party! We are planning a great fall kickoff event for Saturday September 17th. It will be a block party with games and activities for the family and a massive barbecue in the afternoon. This will be followed by our night of worship concert. This will all be outdoors in our new pavilion in Plaistow. Please mark your calendars, and if you would like to help in any way here is a link to volunteer.

On a personal note, on August 27th Julie and I will be married. Because we have so many people that we love we really could not decide who to invite and who not to invite. So we're simply doing an open invitation, but with a limited number. You can see all the details at this link.

I pray you are all having a great week. I look forward to us being together this Sunday as we wrap up our series “Life in the Spirit.” You won't want to miss this final message.

Love you all,

Pastor Steve 

Free indeed!

This week we celebrate the 4th of July, Independence day! Personally, I celebrated in fellowship with good friends, with more food than I should ever have eaten and an amazing fireworks display. We love Independence Day. It is our celebration of freedom. And freedom is one of the most precious gifts we enjoy as human beings. The 4th of July marks our freedom as a nation. But as Christ followers there is an even greater freedom that we experience. It is the freedom found in Christ. Jesus said in John 8 “If the Son has set you free you are free indeed.” There is a true freedom in Christ that goes beyond anything this world can offer.

Unfortunately, many Christ followers live as if we are still captive. We are still in bondage to some area of sin in our lives. There are still certain areas of addiction that we battle. There are still things that hold us down when we should be able to soar as if “on wings of eagles.” And so, on this week when we celebrate freedom, I want to remind us that we have been set free by Christ, and we are free indeed.

So if there is anything in your life that is holding you captive, make today your Independence day. Let today be the day you invited God to break those chains. If there is some sin in your life that you have been captive to, give it over to God in prayer and allow him to bring freedom. Is there something of your past that has a hold on you? Release it at the foot of the cross. Give it over to Jesus and allow him to set you free. Is there anything in your life that you are addicted to; drugs, alcohol, food, gambling, sex or even the approval of others? Bring it to God and let him break those chains.

The interesting (and perhaps counterintuitive) thing about this is that in order to be independent we must be dependent. If we want to be free of the things of this world that hold us back or hold us down, we must be fully dependent on God. This week we have celebrated Independence Day and the freedoms that we so richly enjoy. May it be a reminder to us of the ultimate freedom that is found in Jesus Christ.

Have a blessed week. I love you all.

P. Steve

Gifts

I've been thinking a lot lately about this matter of spiritual gifts that we talked about on Sunday. If you have been around church life for a while this concept of spiritual gifts is not new to you. It is certainly something we talk about from time to time. We preached on it, lead Bible studies about it, even offer spiritual gifts surveys and evaluation tools. I wonder sometimes if we've grown so accustomed to the concept that we've lost sight of what an amazing thing this really is. When the Holy Spirit comes into our lives he literally, supernaturally deposits certain gifts and abilities into us to be used for the work of Christ.

When we compare our spiritual gifts to certain talents in our lives, one of the biggest differences is that we had to work for those talents. Do we want to be able to play an instrument? We need to be prepared to invest thousands of hours in practice. Do we want to become a skilled ball player. We have to be willing to invest countless hours and hard work on the field, or the court, to develop that talent. But spiritual gifts are freely given. Supernaturally placed within us in a mix that is unique to us. What a blessing!

But of course with great gifts comes great responsibility. The Holy Spirit has poured these gifts into our lives for a purpose, a specific work. And that purpose matters. That work is important. And I wonder sometimes if we don't miss out on how precious, how valuable and how important those spiritual gifts are. This can be particularly true of those gifts that are of a most supportive nature. The behind-the-scenes gifts that so often seem to go unnoticed. But whether they are out front or behind the scenes, they matter. Our unique gifts are an integral part of the successful execution of the mission of God.

So I want to encourage us today, in connection to what we discussed on Sunday. Your gifts are unique to you. As such they are special and they are essential. So if you haven't figured out yet where you fit into the work of Christ, today would be a great day to get started. If you are really not sure where your gifts and abilities are meant to be used, then just experiment a little. Try some things out. See what fits and where you feel most fruitful and fulfilled.

Let's all find our place and get engaged in the mission of Christ through his church. Because this work is too important to allow gift to go undeveloped and unused.

Have a blessed week.

I love you all.

Pastor Steve

Heart Monitor

Some of you may have heard thought I had a stroke a while back. As a part of the follow-up, my cardiologist put me on a heart monitor for two weeks. What an amazing little device. They send it to you in the mail. You stick it on your chest. And for the next two weeks it records every beat of your heart. At the end of the time you mail it back to them and a few days later your doctor gets a complete report. Of course, they're looking for anything in your heart that is not as it should be; irregular heartbeat, AFib, etc. Personally, I found the whole process fascinating. To think that this little device could so easily provide me with a complete heart check. The good news was that I not only have a heart, but it is working fine.

But it got me thinking. Every once in a while we should all have a heart check. I don't mean an at home, do it yourself, heart check that you get from a Zio heart monitor. I'm talking about a spiritual heart check, the kind of review that helps us to see if our heart is still in the right place spiritually. Because I'll tell you what I have discovered in my own life. I found that I will go through seasons when my heart is right on track. And then there will be times when the things of life get me into spiritual arrhythmia. Have you ever been there? Can you imagine what I'm describing? There are lots of things that can contribute to this. It can be caused by busyness and the distractions of the world. We can also find ourselves out of rhythm spiritually because of worry or anxiety. Setback or discouragement in life can also get our heart out of sync with God's heart.

How do we know when this is happening? Symptoms might include becoming inconsistent in our daily devotions or weekly worship. We may also find that we are more susceptible to sin and temptation. But one of the most obvious symptoms is when we discover we no longer have the love for people we once had. When we fall into this spiritual AFib, we become jaded, even apathetic, towards those in need. We lose our passion to share Jesus in the world.

Sometimes these symptoms can come on suddenly. But often it is a gradual descent. Day by day, little by little, we are less passionate in our faith. And because it is gradual, it can sometimes be imperceivable. This is why the heart check can be so important. Today I would encourage all of us to take a little time to look inwardly to be sure our hearts are still in a good place. Because if they are not, we want to catch it early, so we can take corrective steps to get it back into rhythm.

I think we can all use a heart monitor once in a while.

Have a great rest of the week. I look forward to us all being together this Sunday as we continue our series “Life in the Spirit.”

Love you all,

Pastor Steve

House Plants

I have to confess, I am bad with plants! I have just a few house plants and I still don't seem to be able to keep up with them. I regularly forget to water them until they begin to droop. Some plants seem to bounce back a little better than others. But the harsh reality is, if I let that plant run dry too long, or too many times, it will eventually die. And there are few things more sad then watching something that was once full of life wither and die.

All plants are different, but with rare exception they all need some water from time to time. As I added water to the very dry plant on my kitchen table, I was reminded of how this is often true in our faith life. Our faith needs to be nurtured with some degree of regularity. This is why I often encourage us to do the First 5 or some other form of daily devotion. This is also why consistent weekly worship is so important. It is, in essence, the water that nourishes and gives life.

If I neglect to water a plant once in a while it is probably not going to have a tremendously negative impact. The plant has some reserve, and most plants will survive the occasional dry day. Likewise, if we miss a First 5 or weekly worship once in a great while, our faith is likely to survive. But when we consistently neglect our spiritual development, it will grow weaker with time, and may even eventually die.

I share this metaphor because we are coming into the summer. I know many of us will be vacationing, camping, traveling or otherwise away from our regular spiritual routine. Summer can be a wonderful opportunity for sabbath, allowing both physical and spiritual renewal. But I want to encourage us to be careful not to neglect our spiritual feeding through the summer. It matters that we continue to be fed and watered even in these times of rest. My encouragement would be this. If you are in town, be in worship, even if it means attending one of the 9 a.m. services before you head off for the day. If you are out of town, I encourage you to find a place of worship wherever you are, or tune in for the online worship or rebroadcast.

Our faith is a living thing. Every living thing needs to be nourished, to be fed, to be watered. As we enjoy a beautiful New England summer I pray that we would still find the time to water our faith and keep it growing!

Before I sign off, I also want to let you know that we are providing a Tech Team training for any who might be interested in getting involved in this important area of ministry. It will be held on Sunday, June 26th at noon at our Plaistow Campus. Registration is requested in advance. Please contact Pastor Beth at beth@rock-church.org.

Have a great week. I love you all.

Pastor Steve

Holy Fire

In Acts chapter 2 we see the story of Pentecost. Shortly after Jesus had returned to Heaven the disciples gathered in Jerusalem, hiding from the authorities, waiting for the gift Jesus promised them. Before He ascended, Jesus said to his disciples “wait here in Jerusalem for the gift my father promised... In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” God chose Pentecost, this Jewish harvest festival, as the day for the outpouring of his Holy Spirit.

With a sound like the rush of a mighty wind, God fulfilled that promise by sending his Spirit to anoint those first disciples. As the Spirit came upon them, there were tongues of flame that alighted over them. This was the baptism of the Holy Spirit that they had been waiting for. With the coming of the Spirit, Peter and the other disciples were filled with a holy fire. There was a passion ignited within them that prepare them to go out into the world and share the good news of Jesus with every person they encountered.

We need that holy fire today. We need that indwelling of the Spirit to ignite a passion within us to bring the hope of the Gospel to a new generation. We need the power of the Holy Spirit to strengthen us for the work of Christ. This Sunday is Pentecost. And my prayer for us, as individuals and as a church, is that God would send his Holy Spirit upon us. I am praying everyday that God's spirit would fill us, and ignite a passion within us to burn brightly for him.

I know that some of you who will read this have been Christ followers for a long time. It is very possible that you experienced this outpouring of the Holy Spirit many years ago. But what I have observed is that sometimes the busyness of life, the hardships and struggles, can have a way of quenching the fire of the Holy Spirit within us. And I believe that from time to time we need to reignite that holy fire. And so I am praying for us that this Sunday we could all experienced a fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit.

In my mind, Pentecost is as important as Christmas or Easter. I would love for everyone of us to be present in person in worship this weekend Rock Church. We will celebrate Pentecost and we will pray for that holy fire of the Spirit to be poured out upon us in worship, reigniting our strength and passion for the work of Christ. We will be accepting new members this Sunday as well as sharing in baptism. If you were interested in either, this is still time. Please email Lynette@rock-church.org for more information.

Have a blessed week. I look forward to us all being together this Sunday to celebrate Pentecost and experience anew that outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

I love you all,

Pastor Steve

PRO TIP: The color for Pentecost is RED. So feel free to wear something red if you have it.