Pastor Rocky East

The Children @ Christ Community Church did an amazing job this Sunday as the brought the gospel of Jesus Christ in their own unique way! This recording is their musical for the most part, but there is a message around 37 minutes into the podcast. Please listen and enjoy as our Children perform "A Rockin' Royal Christmas: A Higher Calling To A Higher King!"

Week 4: Defining Success

WEEK 2: DISCOVERING BALANCE

This is the podcast for Sunday, November 24th, 2013. We had problems with our recorder, but were able to get the audio off of our video camera! Sorry for the delay, but we figured anything was better than nothing. Thanks for you patience and understanding!

Week 3: Defending My Faith At Work

Week 1: Dealing With Difficult People

Live Out

Love God

Love People

Live Sent

(Sorry for the delay! We've been having technical issues on our end and because of that, we will not be posting this past Sunday's message 09/01/13. Sorry for the inconvenience!)

Lead Myself

Envision My Future

Activate my Gifts

Deepen My Faith

Engage My World

Reproduce My Influence

Pastor Rocky has bee preaching the last two weeks over Worship! What great messages he brought us. Both of those messages will be posted today and we hope that you'll take time to enjoy Pastor Rocky's messages.

Pastor Rocky has bee preaching the last two weeks over Worship! What great messages he brought us. Both of those messages will be posted today and we hope that you'll take time to enjoy Pastor Rocky's messages.

Our Father's Day message to you! Dads have a lot to offer to the table and a lot that is lacking when there is not a father-figure in the life of the family. What a great message!

When I am a part of a church...

1. I belong

2. I inherit the history and the heritage of a nation.

3. I am part of a community that is a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.

Guardrail - a system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas.

The "Series Definition" - a personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience.

The placement of your guardrails:

1. Determines how bad the consequences will be if you violate the guardrail.

2. Determines where the temptation is likely to start in the future, and how far you will be tempted to go.

3. Determines how hard it will be to say, "No," to the temptation.

Guardrail - a system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas.

The "Series Definition" - a personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience.

Two Ditches in Finances:

1. Consuming

2. Hoarding

Jesus' definition of greed: The assumption that it is all for my consumption.

How do we break the power of greed in our lives? It is a habit that you develop. If you make the following habit in your life, you will break the power of greed in your life.

1. Give: The first 10% of your income goes to God.

2. Save: This 10% goes to the "what ifs" in your life. (i.e. What if I get sick? What if I lose my job? What about the future?)

3. Live: This is the consumption stage. The other two need to happen before this stage is even an option.

Matthew 6:24, "No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money."

Guardrail - a system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas.

The "Series Definition" - a personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience.

Key Points for Married People:

1. Don't travel with someone of the opposite sex.

2. Don't eat alone or have coffee alone with someone of the opposite sex.

3. Don't hire "cute" members of the opposite sex because you want to help them.

4. Don't confide in or counsel someone of the opposite sex.**

5. When you feel an attraction toward a specfic person, tell someone immediately.

6. Make sure your spouse knows where your guardrails are so he or she can be comfortable with them and hold you accountable to them.

**Some of us are professional helpers. Or some of us are supervisors at work where we need to have private conversations with an employee of the opposite sex. Do one of these two things:

1. Make sure your spouse knows about your conversations

2. Make use of an accountability partner

Key Point For the Single Person:

1. In any relationship with a married person of the opposite sex, apply the principles for married people.

2. No sleepovers!

3. In your social environment, if a date has become equivalent to having sex, the decide on a one-year break from relationships

Guardrail - noun - a system designed to keep vehicles from straying into dangerous or off-limit areas.

Key Question: What would it look like if we established some of these guardrails in our lives? What if we established some guardrails that would become a matter of conscience for us?

Our Definition for the purpose of this series: Guardrail - is a personal standard of behavior that becomes a matter of conscience

"Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools eventually suffers harm." Your friends will largely determine the direction and quality of your life.

Pastor Rocky brings a great message called, "The Word and the Hypocrite" and we are excited to share this with you! Enjoy this message that challenges us to walk the walk and talk the talk. Don't be a hypocrite and say one thing and act another way. Live the example of Christ and allow Him to consume you with a fire, creating a burning passion in your heart!

We all know logos and symbols like:

Nike

McDonalds

Mercedes-Benz

Do you know what the main symbol is for the Christian faith? The Cross.

As Christians, we are called to take up our cross daily and walk with Him. Are you willing to nail your troubles, trials, sins to that Cross?

3 stories from the life of Jesus:

Luke 23

Mark 15

Luke 6

What you do in this spot [the one being judged] may be the most significant thing you do as a Christian. What you do here may reflect that God is real and Jesus is your Savior more than anything else that you ever do.

If there is a victory to be won, it is through forgiveness. That's what Jesus teaches us.

31 Corinthians 5: 1-13

"It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you, and of a kind that even pagans do no tolerate: A man is sleeping with his father's wife. And you are proud! Shouldn't you rather have gone into mourning and have put out of your fellowship the man who has been doing this? For my part, even though I am not physically present, I am with you in spirit. As one who is present with you in this wey, I have already passed judgement in the name of our Lord Jesus on the one who has been doing this. So when you are assembled and I am with you in spirit, and the power of our Lord Jesus is present, hand this man over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved on the day of the Lord.Your boasting is not good. Don't you know that a little yeast leavens the whole batch of dough? Get rid of the old yeast, so that you may be a new unleavened batch - as you really are. For Christ, our Passover Lamb, has been sacrificed. Therefore let us keep the Festival, not with the old bread leavened with malice and wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth. I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with the sexually immoral people - not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. So not even eat with such people. What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? God will judge those outside."

Questions for Reflection:

• Have I "crossed the line of faith" to become an "insider" in God's church?

• Am I allowing some patterns of sin to remain in my life? Am I working on those patterns, or am I declaring them "normal"?

• How am I allowing myself to be held accountable?

• Have I ever observed a Christian leader who has allowed a sinful pattern to be "normal" in his of her life? What was the imapct of that?

Are you willing to go the extra mile to ensure the eternal safety of those around you?

Have you looked in the mirror lately? Have you fully examined yourself before casting judgement on others? These are questions that you need to answer. Too many people look at Christians as hypocrites because they fail to look at themselves first. They fail to remove the plank from their eyes before trying to remove the sawdust in everyone else's eyes. Prepare yourselves for an amazing message and truly focus on the words and the message being taught!

Introduction Song: "Fishers of Men" by Rhonda Vincent

Questions For Reflection:

• Will I take seriously the responsibility to become a fisher of men?

• If so, whom will I invite to lunch? To whom will I send a book? Whom do I need to invite to church (perhaps on Easter)?

• Will I do anything different financially?

• Do I need to add some non-church activities to my schedule for the purpose of forming new relationships with those who have not yet heard the good news? Do I need to change where I work out or spend discretionary time?

• For whom will I begin to pray tenaciously until they come to Christ?

• For the perspective of those watching from heaven, what is the "obvious" thing for me to do?

OK Go "This Too Shall Pass" - Rube Goldberg Machine:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qybUFnY7Y8w

Go Fish: Fish Guts Bulletin Insert

Acts 4:23-31

On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and the elders had said to them. When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. "Sovereign Lord," they said, "You made the heavens and the earth and the sea, and everything in them. You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of Your servant, our father David:

"Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

The Kings of the earth rise up

and the rulers band together

against the Lord

and against His annointed one."

Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You annointed. They did what Your power and will had decided beforehand should happen. Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak Your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus." After they prayer, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.

What will happen if I pray this prayer? ("Enable Your servant to speak Your word with great boldness.")

•     I will becomemore aware of opportunities.

•     I will be forced to face and conquer a fear.

Why should I be bold?

•     God is still sovereign

•     God is as active now as He was the day He released Peter and John from jail.

•     God has called us to be players in His unfolding plan in this generation.

Questions for Reflection

1. How would my life be different if I truly believed that God is in control?

2. What are the threats that deter me from speaking God's Word boldly?

3. How might God use those threats for His own glory?

4. How do my prayers differ from the one prayed in Acts 4?

5. What would "bold" look like in my life?

This podcast is the second of the series "Go Fish" and it is called "Why Fish?"

Jesus tells us that we are to be fishers of men. He's going to teach us to fish. That is, He's going to teach us how to be the person that brings others to Him.

We always claim that we want to follow Christ. Well, to follow is to fish. This series is to help us to renew our commitments to being fishers of men.

This message was intended to challenge those of us who claim to be Christians. For those of you who aren't or do not know, we challenge you to step up and beginning this journey as fishers of men. To begin understanding what we have to do as Christians.

Are you ready to make that commitment?

In this message, Pastor Rick brings up 3 big ideas that we need to grasp onto:

1. To be a follower, is to be a "fisher of men." To follow is to fish and as Followers we must  go fishing.

2. Jesus says: Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men. We aren't talking a method, We are talking a process and You are perfectly positioned to influence the life of someone else for Christ.

3. You were once fish. We have a story of how someone went fishing for us and so we too need to be fishermen.

The 2013 year has begun and many people have began making their "New Year's Resolutions." Pastor Rick started off Sundays message with the history of a little book called, "Pilgrim's Progress." A widely known book that is used in numerous other writings, by many famous authors. The story is about a journey, a pilgrimage, made from the "City of destruction" to the "Celestial City. A journey filled with obstacles and challenges, but nothing holds this man, Christian, back from reaching the goal he has set. And that was to reach the Celestial City.

For the 2013 year, Pastor Rick challenges us to set some goals. This message is about how to set goals and why to set goals. We need to be making progress in our spiritual lives. Setting goals just like Christian did because in the end, through the Savior, Christian was able to reach the Celestial City.

And so, are you making progress? Or are you planning on reliving last year, this year? Make 2013 a new year. full of new things, and goals for your life. Make it a year where you make real progress in your own journey.