And don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Collide – September 17th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Sunday, September 24th- Pizza Kick-Off
Engage Young Adults is a group of 18-30 year old’s pursuing God and community together. We have such an exciting year and what better way to start that a FREE pizza lunch. Join us and here about what Engage Young Adults is and how you can get involved.
Location: Youth Room
Time: 12:45PM-2PM See you there.And don’t forget to follow Engage Young Adults on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Pizza Kick-Off- September 24th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Pizza Party!
Wednesday, September 20th @ 7:00PM-9:00PM
We will have FREE pizza, worship, games and a message!
Giant Volleyball
Wednesday, September 27th @ 7:00PM-9:00PM
Join us for a game of volleyball that will be fun and ridiculous.
In 2 Weeks!
Escape Room!
Wednesday, October 4th @ 7:00pm-9:00pm
Put your skills to the test.
We will be solving riddles and completing tasks to escape rooms in the church.
Here’s what you need to know:
First, create a Discord user by downloading the application here.
Second, sign on to our Threshold Jr Discord server by clicking here.
You’ll be up to speed throughout the week!
The post Threshold Jr – September 18th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Giant Volleyball!
Friday, September 22nd @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Join us for a game of volleyball that will be ridiculous and fun!
Prizes to be won!
Escape Room!
Friday, September 27th @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Put your skills to the test and complete tasks to escape rooms in the church.
Prizes to be won!
Family Feud!
Friday, October 6th @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Each small group “fam” will go head to head to win yummy prizes.
Follow us on Instagram for event and weather updates all year long! @ churchoftherockhsm Join us throughout the week on Discord! Here’s what you need to know:The post High School Ministry – September 18th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
And don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Collide – September 17th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
The post Elementary – September 17th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Check out our ongoing resources for each age group: And don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Preschool – September 17th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Thursday, September 7th- Large Group Bible Study
Are you craving a deeper connection with community and with God? Join us as we launch our large group bible study!
Location: Youth Room Time: 7:30PM-9PM See you there.And don’t forget to follow Engage Young Adults on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Large Group Bible Study- September 14th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Corn Maze!
Wednesday, September 13th @ 6:15pm-9:15pm
Join us as we Kick off Threshold Jr at the Corn Maze. We will have free hot dogs and pop.
Please wear warm clothes and shoes.
A completed Activity Release Form is required for this event.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE CORN MAZE ACTIVITY RELEASE FORM
Pizza Party!
Wednesday, September 20th @ 7:00PM-9:00PM
We will have FREE pizza, worship, games and a message!
In 2 Weeks!
Giant Volleyball
Wednesday, September 27th @ 7:00PM-9:00PM
Join us for a game of volleyball that will be fun and ridiculous.
Here’s what you need to know:
First, create a Discord user by downloading the application here.
Second, sign on to our Threshold Jr Discord server by clicking here.
You’ll be up to speed throughout the week!
The post Threshold Jr – September 11th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Pizza Party!
Friday, September 15th @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Come enjoy Free Pizza as we kick off the year!
It’s going to be an awesome night filled with games and prizes!
Giant Volleyball!
Friday, September 22nd @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Join us for a game of volleyball that will be ridiculous and fun!
Prizes to be won!
Escape Room!
Friday, September 27th @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Put your skills to the test and complete tasks to escape rooms in the church.
Prizes to be won!
The post High School Ministry – September 11th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Pastors are to bring theological substance to events they administer. That is one of the expected benefits of their years of pastoral training.
Consider marriage. In a time when its definition is increasingly fuzzy in society at large, a pastor’s first task in the conduct of weddings today is to reflect what the Scriptures teach about marriage.
In my book, The Pastor’s First Love: And Other Essays on a High and Holy Calling, I summarize a Christian understanding of marriage, as follows:
When a man and woman come to the altar, what happens there in a few minutes changes them forever. They approach the altar as two single persons, legally unrelated; they leave as a married couple; a new unit in society. Their status will be forever altered, and so will the church community of which they are a part. Should not anything so crucial deserve appropriate celebration in the setting of Christian worship? The event is more than a legal moment; it is a sacred moment of life-changing significance.
For a Christian couple, a wedding may be a very personal matter, but it cannot be a private one — limited to two people only. It is the couple’s wedding for sure, but it is also the church’s, meaning it also belongs in the context of a particular unit of the body of Christ.
So, the Christian church has a large stake in the wedding: its sanctuary provides the setting; its congregation provides the witnessing community; its ministers provide the authorized officers; and its rituals provide the theological content concerning what the event means. It can be argued that all of this is brought together best and most coherently when the couple meet at a Christian altar and the people gather with them in a setting conducive to the worship of the God who is the creator of marriage.”
I recognize that across a lifetime of ministry spanning well over 60 years, secular influences have had their effect on Christians. On occasion, two people raised in a church setting may therefore still need gentle and loving instruction as they approach their wedding — such as, on what the parts of the ceremony mean. And of course, pastors need to teach their people basic theology regarding weddings, even when none is in the offing.
One example of Christian doctrine is that marriage is an “institution” ordered by God at the time of creation (Genesis 1&2). Therefore, the couple must not appear at the altar as though they were creating something new. They may be demonstrating a fresh version of the event but they are entering into the timeless, created order. This should make the moment for them not only joyful but also humbling and worshipful. That’s why we are not so likely to speak of “performing” a wedding as “solemnizing” the event.
Given marriage’s profound attachment to creation, the words spoken should contain deep Christian substance. Rituals that are designed by the couple are not nearly as useful as rituals that begin by proclaiming that the event is ordained by God. Next, the couple is asked to pledge to each other (and God) their lifelong support and faithfulness to each other. Finally, the wedding concludes by asking God in deep earnestness for his blessing on the couple at the altar. Repeating, to accomplish these three things in the face of today’s secularizing influences may require some teaching and counsel by the officiating minister.
It seems to me that, as never before, Christians ought to give special attention to each wedding’s content and meaning. Weddings, insofar as possible, should be shining reflections of the grace of God which enables two — a man and a woman — to become one, and profoundly united in all aspects of their life together!
Originally published April 14, 2014
Revised and reposted September 11, 2023
Photo credit: Marco Verch Professional Photographer (via flickr.com). CC License.
My new memoir, FROM KITCHEN CHAIR TO PULPIT: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Ministry, has just been published. I hope you will click on one of the links that follow to be taken to the page on these sites that enable you to view and potentially purchase the paperback or ebook. My book shows just how extraordinary the pastoral life can be, describing how I prepared for ministry and ministered to three congregations and then, as a bishop, to pastors as a bishop, with the help of my wife, Kathleen, and the support of our children as they grew up from children to adults.
Purchase in the USAnd don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Collide – September 10th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
The post Elementary – September 10th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Check out our ongoing resources for each age group: And don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Preschool – September 10th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
No Youth Group!
Tuesday, September 5th & Wednesday, September 6th
We are taking a little break as we get ready for Fall.
See you on Wednesday, September 13th!
Corn Maze!
Wednesday, September 13th @ 6:15pm-9pm
Join us as we Kick off Threshold Jr at the Corn Maze. We will have free hot dogs and pop.
Please wear warm clothes and shoes.
A completed Activity Release Form is required for this event.
CLICK HERE TO COMPLETE THE CORN MAZE ACTIVITY RELEASE FORM
Here’s what you need to know:
First, create a Discord user by downloading the application here.
Second, sign on to our Threshold Jr Discord server by clicking here.
You’ll be up to speed throughout the week!
The post Threshold Jr – September 5th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
No Youth Group!
Monday, September 4th- Wednesday, September 6th
We are taking a little break as we get ready for Fall.
See you on Friday, September 15th!
Pizza Party!
Friday, September 15th @ 7:11pm-10:00pm
Come enjoy Free Pizza as we kick off the year!
It’s going to be an awesome night filled with games and prizes!
The post High School Ministry – September 5th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Thursday, September 7th- Night at the Park
Join us for an evening of volleyball followed by a bonfire. Make sure to bring a lawn chair.
Location: St Vital Park Volleyball Nets Bring your own lawn chair. Time: 7:30PM-9PM See you there.And don’t forget to follow Engage Young Adults on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Night at the Park – September 7th appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Tragedy. Injustice. Grief. Loss. Pain. Sometimes people of faith wonder why such things break into their lives. Especially when they are trying so hard to serve a Heavenly Father who they believe loves and cares for them, and when attempting to live out their lives under the Lordship of Christ. Here’s an anonymous poet’s attempt to give some of the wrenching difficulties of life a possible spiritual dimension or explanation.
When God Wants To Drill A Man
When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;
When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!
How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him
Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!
How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He’s about.
First published: April 28, 2014
Reposted: September 4, 2023
Photo credit:
Surian Soosay (via flickr.com)
My new memoir, FROM KITCHEN CHAIR TO PULPIT: A Memoir of Family, Faith, and Ministry, has just been published. I hope you will click on one of the links that follow to be taken to the page on these sites that enable you to view and potentially purchase the paperback or ebook. My book shows just how extraordinary the pastoral life can be, describing how I prepared for ministry and ministered to three congregations and then, as a bishop, to pastors as a bishop, with the help of my wife, Kathleen, and the support of our children as they grew up from children to adults.
The post Elementary – September 3rd appeared first on Church of The Rock.
Check out our ongoing resources for each age group: And don’t forget to follow Kidz Rock on Facebook and Instagram!
The post Preschool – September 3rd appeared first on Church of The Rock.