Good morning! I'll keep it a bit short today in the hopes your eyes will be drawn straight to the specifics.  Consider this an early Christmas present! 

We continued our I AM series looking at statements Jesus made about himself.  In these statements Jesus boldly declares who he is and helps bring into greater focus who God is.

Last night we addressed The Door.  I've attached the sermon below for you to have in it's entirety all we looked at.  Hope it brings your encouragement as we look to Jesus as the ONLY WAY to safety and life abundantly.

There are many things coming up as we look ahead to the end of the year.

• OCTOBER 30 - Hallelujah Night:  A great night of outreach, ministry and fellowship. 
• NOVEMBER 9 - Bonfire Hangout - At the Rainwaters. Color War, Bonfire, S'mores, oh my
• NOVEMBER 20 - RockFeast:  Our annual Thanksgiving meal as The Rock family.  We need your help to pull this off.  Please CLICK HERE to sign up to bring a dish, or two.
• NOVEMBER 24 - Turkey Bowl: Our annual Rock flag football game. 1p at Central Middle.
• DECEMBER 18 - Tacky Christmas Party - A night of faith, family and fun.
• DECEMBER 29-31 - Middle School Refuel Trip - Click date for more info.
• JANUARY 17-30 - High School Refuel Trip - Click date for more info

Have a great weekend and be praying for all our students participating in the different sports and arts.  Many involved in championship games, competitions and region tournaments this week and weekend.  Praying they all take this platform and lift high the name of Jesus.  

See everyone Sunday as we gather to be reminded, encouraged, challenged and sent out.

Happy Thursday!  Hope everyone is doing good and really hope you enjoyed this chilly morning.  You do realize that we were 11 degrees from freezing right?  Bonfire season is here it seems!  So Merry Christmas to you and your family!  Too soon?

Below we have some great information as we push towards Christmas break.  There are many opportunities outside our normal Wednesday night services.  Hope you'll take a minute to read about them and consider how your student can get involved!

A few of our sports are nearing an end and in light of this we had a great crowd last night.  We're so proud of our students' involvement at their schools and pray they make the most of that opportunity.  Of course we miss them when they miss The Rock but we constantly pray they use those times as a platform to shine brightly!  But we had a full house last night.  What did we do with our time together?  Glad you ask.  The sermon is below but essentially we continued our look at some statements Jesus made in the book of John. These statements are huge as they help bring into FOCUS who he was....or who he is.  Last night we learned Jesus is the Light of the World!   Jesus brings light to the darkness and clarity to the situation.

Here are some things coming up that you should know about.​

• OCTOBER 30 - Hallelujah Night:  A great night of outreach, ministry and fellowship. 
• NOVEMBER 9 - Bonfire Hangout - At the Rainwaters. Color War, Bonfire, S'mores, oh my
• NOVEMBER 20 - RockFeast:  Our annual Thanksgiving meal as The Rock family.  We need your help to pull this off.  Please CLICK HERE to sign up to bring a dish, or two.
• NOVEMBER 24 - Turkey Bowl: Our annual Rock flag football game. 1p at Central Middle.
• DECEMBER 18 - Tacky Christmas Party - A night of faith, family and fun.
• DECEMBER 29-31 - Middle School Refuel Trip - Click date for more info.
• JANUARY 17-30 - High School Refuel Trip - Click date for more info

Hope everyone is enjoying the fall break.  The Rock met as normal last night so  we wanted to pass along the first sermon of our new series and some other things that are coming up.

"I AM" is our new series which simply continues the thought from our last series in a sense.  So much of what we can know about God is seen through Jesus' life, ministry and teaching.  Our last series was all about learning who God is.  We learned that God is perfectly perfect, God is here, God knows, and God is able.  I AM takes Jesus' 7 I AM statements and helps us see how Jesus is the one sent from the Father.  That Jesus is actually claiming to be God in the flesh.  This didn't sit well with everyone that heard.  In fact it's safe to say that Jesus was ultimately killed because of statements like these.  At the end of it all everyone must make a decision about Jesus Christ.  Based on all He said and did he is either a liar, a lunatic or He is Lord.

If Jesus is a liar or a lunatic, we'd better run away from him, stranger danger.  BUT....if Jesus is Lord and everything true, we'd better run towards him with all we've got.  SO, what is your response to Jesus?

Last night we learned how Jesus is the bread of life.  Ultimately meaning this, Jesus is our greatest need and our greatest fulfillment.  Nothing satisfies more than Jesus.

• Oct. 12th (THIS SATURDAY) - Hangout in the Gym - 6:30p.  Guys brings drinks, girls bring snacks.  Come and simply hangout, play some games, have some fun.
• Oct. 30th - No Rock due to Hallelujah Night.  Great opportunity to serve and hang out.

Have a great end to your fall break and we'll see everyone Saturday night at the Hangout!

96 - 95 - 82 - 83 - 79 - 74 - 76 - 78.   These are not lottery numbers, nascar drivers, defensive linemen or wide receivers.   While they could be my grades from college, that is not the case.  I know you're thinking they are probably Psalms and while I appreciate your spirituality these are not Psalms.  These numbers represent a pattern we've been waiting on for some time now.   These numbers represent the high temperature for the next 7 days.  I'm really hoping the weathermen aren't simply playing with us.  If not....those numbers could represent the emails I send them each given day to give my disproval of their sick joke.   Let's be praying Fall has finally fallen on us!  So much for a deeply discipling introductory paragraph right?

We finished up on series Center last night.  For the last 4 weeks we've spent our time learning more about God.  Who is He?  What is He like?  What makes Him so unique and special?  In the midst of this we have gained much hope.  It seems the more you learn about God the more in awe you are of Him.  With this comes a sense of confidence knowing that this great, all-knowing, ever present, perfectly perfect God is FOR US and not AGAINST US.

This series gives way to our "I AM" series we'll begin next week.  I AM picks up the storyline by looking at the 7 I AM statements of Jesus.   Jesus takes what we know about God and puts flesh on it....GOD IN THE FLESH.   He takes what we know to be true about God and brings it into greater FOCUS.  What did Jesus say about Himself and why is it so important?  That's next week.  For now, I pray you'll read through the sermon notes from last night.  These will help guide your conversations with your students.

We have a few things coming up over the next few weeks.  Hoping the students take advantage of the gathering opportunities.

• October 12th - HANGOUT in the GYM - 6-8pm
• October 23 - Costume Night at The Rock
• October 30 - NO ROCK - Hallelujah Night - 6-8p

​Have a great Friday/Saturday and we'll see everyone bright and early on Sunday Morning!