Church On The Rock Homer

Camping in Alaska is always a fun adventure. We finally got to go a few weeks ago and it always takes some work to gather your camping supplies and pack them up just to hit the road. The excitement builds as we hit the road and find our spot and set up camp. Now the fun begins! Fires, time in the woods, getting wet in an ocean or river, and then fire pit desserts, all under a seemingly never setting sun which makes sleep optional, or at least the kids think so. At some point the magic of camping fades and we begin to long for our home, our bed, the roof that doesn’t drip with dew and for me a back that doesn’t ache. Living in a tent is always a little underwhelming. So why would God do it? In this message, we examine the most boring part of Exodus, the instructions for God’s tent, the Tabernacle. This is arguably the greatest tent in the history of man, not because of its design, but its purpose. The God of all creation had a plan to make Himself known to His people and to give them a better understanding of

What is rest? But actually, do you feel like you know what true rest feels like? Jenny and I have always distinguished between different ways of needing rest. There is sleepy, which is that feeling of about to doze off. And then there is tired, which does not always mean sleepy. We also describe different levels of tired. There is “I need a nap” tired. There is crisis and drama tired. There is “I need a vacation” tired. And then there is the more serious, “I can’t keep doing what I’m doing tired.” This is the kind of tired where I realize something in my life needs to change or I’m gonna wear myself out. Are you tired? Are you finding rest? In this message we launch into a new series about worship and about a God who is holy. And maybe surprisingly, this begins with rest. Come tired, come exhausted, come rested, come sleepy. Either way, come and join us we study Exodus 16 & 20 together this week. Dr. Pastor Aaron Weisser

There are many times during my preparation process for a Sunday morning teaching that I will find myself thinking, "This is going to be a fun study." This is not one of those weeks. Sunday we will dive into the story in Exodus 32 and it is a rough one. As we prepare for Sunday, take a minute to read through this chapter. As you read, don't fall prey to the moralistic interpretation which concludes "Don't be like them." The bad news is, we are all like them. And God alone can save us.Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

In this message, we will be in Exodus 19–20, but primarily Exodus 20, looking at one of the most important moments in Scripture: God giving the Ten Commandments to Israel. At Mount Sinai, the people saw the mountain covered in smoke, felt it tremble, heard the trumpet grow louder, and then heard the audible voice of God declare His commands. This was not merely a private conversation between God and Moses; the entire nation heard the words of the Lord.We will see that God did not give Israel the law so they could earn their redemption. He had already rescued them from slavery in Egypt. Grace came before command. The law taught God’s redeemed people how to live in a way that reflected His holiness and their covenant relationship with Him.We will also consider the purposes of God’s law. It reveals the character of God, exposes the sin within our hearts, shows us our need for a Savior, and guides those who have been redeemed. Jesus summarized the heart of the law as loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and

I recently attended a wedding at the Homestead. It was a beautiful Alaskan wedding, which means it's a little damp, a little rainy, but everyone is full of joy watching a man and woman come together in holy matrimony! Every time I witness a couple say their vows I am taken back to the moment I stood in front of my bride and made my covenant with her. Every wedding is a sobering moment to remember the promises I made as I say to myself, "Oh, right, I am supposed to love my wife like that!"We have reached the moment in the Exodus narrative where God's bride, His chosen people, say "I do!" He invites them into relationship, and the shocking thing is that they have no idea what is ahead of them. It will be impossible for Israel to perfectly navigate their promise to God, and the beautiful thing about it is that God already knows His people's shortcomings, but He says "I do" anyway! In this message, we take a look at Exodus 19 and marvel over a covenant-keeping God who nev

During the school year, Tuesday is pancake day. I make them from scratch every week, cuz I’m hardcore like that. But I don’t just make pancakes, I make CHOCOLATE CHIP pancakes! That wasn’t supposed to be the thing but I did it as a treat one time and now that’s the way we role every week. It is amazing what a few droplets of chocolate does to elevate a regular old skillet flat cake. One such morning, some time ago, I was serving these gorgeous round chocolatey breakfast breads and a child of mine noticed something amiss. I was respectfully asked “Dad, did you mean for the center to be doughy?” The wording of the question was superb, especially for a kid. It wasn’t accusatory or even overtly derogatory. It was a question of curiosity. “Dad, was this part of an intentional plan or was this new development the result of oversite?” Even the tone was polite.I still didn’t like it. If felt like complaining. I think I said something like “Is it a problem?” Yeah, I know. Way too snarky coming from pastor

Technology has significantly changed the world we live in. One of the areas it’s changed is sporting events. Back in the day, we watched teams battle it out on weary-looking grass under incandescent flimsy filament bulbs on pixelated screens with clunky rotary knobs. Overweight and out of shape, umpires and referees were forced to make split-second decisions with no backup, inevitably leading to the cheers of fans positively impacted and the boos of fans who felt ill-treated!Today, we have instant replay scrubbing every angle of every play, reviewed on LED screens by officials stopping the game to review the action and make the absolutely correct call. Guess what, even with the latest and greatest tech, we sit back and question every call made in light of which team we prefer. He was out! That goal counted! Foul! NO FOUL!In this message, we continue our journey through the Exodus account, looking at the Red Sea. God’s victory over the enemy is decisive, final, and resolute! No questions should remain, but som

I've been painting for several years now, and I like to think I'm aware enough of the dangers in the workspace. And yet, despite being aware of the dangers around me, I am THE GUY who inevitably hurts myself on something I shouldn't have.Something I've warned everyone else about a handful of times. Something where honestly, I could have done differently to ensure my safety. There's something about familiarity that makes you feel exempt. Seeing the danger or knowing the danger should be enough.In this message, we're looking at Exodus 11-12, the Passover. Nine plagues have fallen on Egypt, while plague after plague, God's made a distinction between His people and the Egyptians. And Israel witnessed that. This last plague is different. And what's different is how God makes that distinction. This time the line is drawn not by boundaries or family lines, but by the blood of a spotless lamb on a door frame. Looking forward to walking through this central passage with you all on Sunda

My first year of college was a wild ride. Move-in day was interesting, deciding on what belongings to bring, setting a bed that wasn’t mine, meeting my roommate, and then meeting the guys on my hall. It was an excitingly odd experience. During orientation, the administration says to all the freshmen, “Look to your left and look to your right, one of you will not graduate college.” Fast forward a couple of years, and I was attending my roommate's funeral. Another year or so, and I’d gotten news that my hallmate had died. Both men passed away in drunk driving accidents. Its not often that we consider our mortality when meeting someone for the first time, especially at such young ages. Both of these men made decisions that led to their demise, and it's easy in the moments after to blame, ask questions, and judge, particularly of God’s involvement in loss like this. In this message, we examine the narrative of the Plagues God uses to set His people free, addressing the hard heart of Pharaoh, who refuses G

I recently posed this question to several members of our staff, “When did you first imagine your life to be what it is today?” The answer that made me chuckle was, “Yesterday!” Maybe you feel the same, many unexpected twists and turns along the way. But either way, here you are. And what bends my mind is to think back on the thousands of details that conspired perfectly to lead me to what is my life today.In this message, we are going to build a bridge between the story of Genesis and the incredible drama of Exodus. If you want to prep, take some time and read from Genesis 45 into Exodus chapter 1. What I find fascinating is that all of the good and bad in the story of Joseph and his family proves to be the precisely refined components setting up the epic of Exodus. This story has been greatly expanding my concept of the power and sovereignty of God which has immediate bearing upon the way I see my world. Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

“Hello darkness my old friend I’ve come to talk with you again”. How many of you remember "The Sounds of Silence” by Simon and Garfunkel? We are showing our age on this one!Art Garfunkel (yes, that’s his real name) said, “the song is fundamentally about the inability to communicate and, consequently, the inability to genuinely love one another.”Joseph experienced his own “Sounds of Silence” and darkness, his old friend. Nearly killed, thrown in the pit, sold into slavery, tossed into prison, and then the “sound of silence” waiting 2 years for a former prisoner to remember him before Pharaoh. Can you imagine the level of frustration? I mean we get frustrated when someone doesn’t respond to our text right away. The nerve of some people!What was Joseph’s response to the “sound of silence” he endured? Hmmmm. It’s amazing how God had a plan and a purpose through it all to raise up one man, to save his own family and ultimately God’s people. Read Joseph’s story again in Genesis. I dare you!Bill Wilkinson

Have you ever run into a kid who needed some sense knocked into them? I’ll never forget the first time I realized that my child’s hubris was out of control. It's that moment when your infantile child looks at you and what you’re doing and tells you that they know how to do it better. That statement was so utterly preposterous that words could not be formed in my mouth. I looked at my child, smiled, and thought that in time, the pressures of this life will mellow you out, and then went back to chopping wood. When I read Joseph’s story, I think that boy needed a good slap upside the head. Sure, you had a dream, a prophetic dream, but you didn’t need to tell all your siblings how they were going to bow down to you. So God directed a plan to set Joseph up in power from a position of humility, and that plan looks like death, misery, and slavery, all options we would not choose, yet Joseph kept his eye on the prize, knowing and walking with God. This Sunday, we examine the life of Joseph as an exile in Egypt and ho

In this message, we are going to jump into a three weeks series covering the life of one my favorite Biblical characters. We get to meet him as a teenager and my hope is that his story will encourage and inspire those who are in their teens and early twenties. But maybe not in the way you would expect... Our main character is Joseph, and he was definitely going to do great things. Right after some really terrible but necessary things. If you get a chance, read Genesis 37 and then buckle up. Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

A couple of weeks ago, I was in the midst of our morning routine. Wake up, get dressed, breakfast, load up, choose the morning mix for our drive to school. Most of the time it’s kids' music on the way to school. After drop off, Dad does some reminiscing. I love going down the rabbit hole and finding old tunes and enjoying them again. Remember the classics Matchbox 20, Oasis, Weezer, Garth Brooks, Joe Diffie, MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, AC/DC, Jimmy Hendrix, CCR…etc. On this particular day, I had re-re-re discovered Brooks and Dunn, one of my favorites, just as I hit the cul-de-sac, I imagined myself singing karaoke. However, I was sitting in the driveway singing at the top of my lungs and rocking the truck as I did so. A couple of songs in, and I looked up to find my wife doubled over in the window, hysterically laughing at me. It's easy sometimes to get caught up in the moment and lose track of what is happening outside of our periphery. This weekend, we examine Jacob’s life and his marriages and how, in the mi

This Sunday's teaching will focus on the life of Esau and the sobering reality of what happens when we allow our appetites to take the place of God. Esau’s story is more than a historical account; it’s a mirror. It reveals how easily we can trade what is eternal for what satisfies us in the moment. I’ll be exploring the concept of “irreversible moments”, those decisions that seem small in the moment but carry lasting spiritual consequences. The message will also contrast Esau’s response to his failure with the woman caught in adultery's response in John 8. While both were confronted with sin, their responses, and ultimately their outcomes, could not be more different. One reveals a heart that clings to appetite; the other, a heart that encounters grace and transformation. The aim of this message is deeply practical. I want to call people to examine themselves honestly before the Lord: Who is really on the throne of your heart? Are you trusting in your appetites, or are you trusting in God?Ultimately,

Have you ever witnessed the chaotic messy urgency of performance artists? These artists create on canvas but do so in front of an audience in very dramatic and hurried fashion. Maybe you have seen the same kind, but there is a version of this performance where the artist flips the canvas upside down at the last moment revealing a portrait that up until the final moment appeared to be nothing but splashed ink on a black background.What makes the performance even more gripping is the camera panning to the confused audience and, on occasion, the annoyed talent judges who are convinced the artist in front of them is just lousy. They grimace and squint, cocking their heads to a slight angle in an attempt to make some interpretation of what is appearing before them.Then, just before an impatient judge smashes the big red button of doom, the canvas is flipped, the genius of the artist is revealed and the audience gasps in awe. “Wow, what a masterpiece.”In this message, we jump back into the Genesis narrative and p

A few weeks ago as we were planning this series and the Easter services, the graphic for this series was unleashed in a weekly meeting. Some of our team were filled with excitement and others with anxiety. As you look at the images your mind starts to wander and if you’re like me, you think about how a certain person can’t be a christian. Didn’t so and so say something about… Didn’t that person commit such and such… Isn’t that person being indicted for… Last week Aaron answered the question "What is a Christian?" by addressing the internal reality of the believer, the supernaturally empowered ability to Love the Almighty God. This Sunday we look toward the external expression of the believer and the act of demonstrating one’s love for God by Loving your Neighbor! Hint: The people in this graphic are no different from your neighbors! Some passages I’ve been meditating on are 1 John 2 and Ephesians 4. Pastor Matt McCarter

I find it curious to observe what seems to be an increasing public confidence of professing Christians in the celebrity/media/political worlds. In the last few years it has become more acceptable, even commendable, to own your faith convictions in public spaces. Along with this I have observed a related trend. Notable public personas aggressively feud with other famous figures online, while both parties make claims to the same faith and religion as the driver of their convictions. I am perplexed not just because their viewpoints are so diametrical, but because the tone of these spats is often crude and malicious. There is an aspect of this trend that I find heartbreaking. As more public figures make faith claims, there seems to be an increasing number of them making such claims while living lifestyles at odds with their basic faith tenets. And I find myself troubled by what seems to be a very public yet misleading example of what it means to follow Jesus. On the one hand, you have passages like 1 Corinthian

F.O.M.O. is an acronym for Fear of Missing Out. We experience F.O.M.O. when there is a constant anxiety that there might be something better we are not currently experiencing. It is anxiety about the future, anticipating a better event, a better car, a better relationship…There is another side to F.O.M.O., the Fear of Missed Opportunity. This is the realization that a moment is gone and can never be regained. It’s the realization your child is x number of years old, and you haven’t done what you said you always would. It’s the weight of considering what you should have said to your loved one before their death. It’s looking at your past and wishing you’d done more.The consequence of both sides of F.O.M.O. is that we never really live a full life in the present. We miss what is in front of us because we’re too busy hoping and wishing, while the sands of time pass through our hands. This Easter weekend, as we celebrate the Risen Savior, Jesus Christ, I hope you will come to a new place of fullness that can ONLY

I have an assignment for you to complete before diving into this message. Grab your Bible and find Luke chapter 19. The story known as Christ’s Triumphal Entry begins in verse 29. Take a minute and read that story to refresh your perspective. I have been reflecting on this story for a few weeks now after reading it again. Something caught me by surprise that I had not caught before, something weighty. The same story is referenced in John 12, beginning in verse 12. I don’t think the people are celebrating what they think they are celebrating, and a careful read of the story is providing new clues as to what is really going on. Which leads me to my question for this week: As we celebrate Jesus, do you know for sure what you are celebrating? Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser