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2024
2023
Everyone knows them, we hear them every year playing in shopping malls and Starbucks and Hallmark plays them in the background of movies. Each December we hum along as the world begins to sing Christmas carols… but what are we actually singing about? Is there a message behind the music?
Unbeknownst to many, many of our favorite Christmas songs are full of worship and steeped in theology. If we let them, they offer us an opportunity to embrace a remarkable message. They speak of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled and the Gospel come to life. So join us this advent season for A Christmas Carol, and discover the message behind the music.
2022
The words of Jesus recorded in Matthew 28 speak directly to the world of a disciple. Before risen Jesus ascended into heaven he made clear he wasn’t leaving us or abandoning us. In fact, he did the opposite. He equips His disciples with His word to teach us, His gospel to save us, His spirit to guide us, and His church to connect us.
And so we go, commissioned by Jesus, into the beautifully perfect upside-down world of a disciple.
2021
When Jesus spoke of the “life to the full” that He offers His followers, He did not intend for it to simply "look great," "ship well," and "sell fast”. This type of shallow, outside-in religion glorifies moralism over mercy, and elitism over humility. It's an ideology that looks like a million bucks, but it tastes like wet cardboard.
Instead, I’d like to offer that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is like homegrown tomatoes. As followers, we “ripen” from the inside out, not the outside in. This ripening is messy and takes time, but it’s transformative and altogether perfect.
We will walk shoulder to shoulder through Romans, a book that teaches us how the Gospel is the power of God for salvation (and transformation) to all who believe. But, be warned: this Gospel confronts us at our worst, changes us for the best, calls us for eternity, and commissions us to the now.
God uses prayer both to change our focus and focus us through change…
Through prayer, God moves us, shapes us, and transforms us from the inside out: He moves us from a posture of chasing status one of humility. He shapes our actions and activities, teaching us how work begins and ends with worship; He transforms our lives, freeing us to forgive. In prayer, we learn to live expectantly for His kingdom rather than for our own.
2020
Christmas is God’s culmination of history's case and consummation of eternity’s plan. It’s the joyous announcement of the birth of Emmanuel, God with us, our one true King. He’s a King named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.
I pray you will journey with us through this season of Advent, a season of watching and waiting for Christ to be born among us and within us. Let's together encounter Jesus the King, experiencing His hope that dispels the darkness, His love that conquers death, His joy that lasts forever, and His peace in whom we rest.
May we all crown Jesus KING in our lives this Christmas.
It's easy to place our hope in things that perish, spoil, and fade away. But there’s a different kind of hope… one stronger than wishful thinking. One that ignites our eternal perspective and reshapes our earthly purpose.
Join us for the series “COURAGEOUS”, a ten-week study through the book of First Peter, as we unpack how God gives us hope stronger than wishful thinking, grace greater than poise, and peace that surpasses our understanding.
LIFE in Christ together.
At RbC we think everyone deserves the opportunity to know God and be known by others. RbC has always known that circles are better than rows. We think healthy discipleship, community, and growth all happen at its best through LIFEgroups.
This series looks at Peter, and how the Gospel transforms him from an ordinary fisherman to an extraordinary leader in God’s kingdom. Join us as we jump into Acts chapter 2. Please be praying for the Holy Spirit to do his powerful work and open our hearts to REPENTANCE and BAPTISM.
During this new series Navigating the New Normal, we look at what it means to find God's rhythm for healthy life. Maybe you’ve heard the saying recently that it would be a tragedy to come out of a season of life unchanged. Each week we will hear our RbC friends share what God has been teaching them.
It’s been said the most important word in any language is a person’s name. One might say the same is true for God.
The Old Testament actually uses many different names FOR God in order to describe the many different attributes OF God. With each different name comes a more complete picture of His nature, His promises, and His person.
Incredibly, those same attributes are shown to us through the life of Jesus Christ himself.
He has RISEN!
“Jesus answered, “will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I say to you the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times” - John 13:38
Jesus didn’t go to the cross because of our great loyalty to him, but out of His great love for us. We explore Peter’s tumultuous journey following Jesus through the events leading up to the cross.
And after six days Jesus took with him Peter and James, and John his brother, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. - Matthew 17:1
Jesus leads his closest friends and disciples up to a mountaintop experience. Gratefully, 9 verses later Jesus leads them back down the mountain and into the valley.
May we learn a faith that can move mountains not a faith that hides on top of them.
“. . . while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:18
In our passage this week (Matthew 16:21-26) Peter gets a bit turned around, and tries to transform Jesus! As you might imagine, that does not turn out so well for Peter. It never does for any of us when we think Jesus has it wrong. It’s like we want to be His speech writer!
But Jesus loves Peter, and us, too much to let it go. He challenges Peter to put his faith in what is eternal, not what is temporal. Peter finally got it, and it was a major game-changer in his life. Having our faith’s perspective transformed by Jesus is the theme of Matthew 16:21-26. It’s game-changing for anyone who hears and follows Jesus call.
Jesus and his disciples went on to the villages around Caesarea Philippi. On the way he asked them, “Who do people say I am?”
They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, one of the prophets.”
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?”
Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” -Mark 8:27-29
"Who do you say I am?"
A question with such life-altering implications demands a response. Was he a good teacher, a great prophet, a crazy man, or just an imaginary friend?
At Peter’s faith-proclaiming response, Jesus speaks into his life…and ours.
“But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!” -Mt 14:30
It was in the midst of Peter’s struggle that he would begin to experience real life transformation, and Jesus knew it.
Amazingly, Jesus calms the storm after He and Peter get back in the boat, but so often we want him to calm it before we ever agree to get out.
Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). - John 1:42
Peter was a hardworking, successful businessman from a small village most likely working the family business to provide for his family.
Then he had an encounter with Jesus and the trajectory of Peter’s life would never be the same. Because of Jesus, Peter had a new belonging, a new identity, and a new purpose. And this would be only the beginning of his transformation.
"Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or do you begrudge my generosity?’ So the last will be first, and the first last.” Matthew 20:15
These words of Jesus are difficult ones to hear. The word “begrudge” is also translated “to have an eye of envy”.
So what on earth could possibly cause us to begrudge God’s generosity?
Then Peter said in reply, “See, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?” -Matthew 19:27
I think Peter’s reply to Jesus’ statement is honest and heartfelt, but it also reveals an attitude that can easily creep into my life…"so Jesus, I did what you asked, now what’s in it for me!”
Hear Jesus’ gracious response to Peter and learn why he calls us to give what we can never keep, and receive what we can never lose.
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.“ -Matthew 10:16
How do we live as shrewd disciples of Jesus?
It can be a tough biblical principle to live out. But when we fail to grasp this truth that Jesus calls us into, we live either segmented, withdrawn, or undisciplined lives.
Shrewd disciples live as if they are owners of nothing but stewards of everything.
"For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Luke 12:34
It seems to me that we are a worried generation. The ever-present and persistent anxiousness over what we “should” be doing with our time, our talent, and our treasure, and what might happen if we don't do those things, can feel paralyzing. It causes us to hold tightly to what we have, strive for more, and keep as much as we can, all at the expense of others.
There’s got to be a better way.
Jesus tells us that when we live with a temporary perspective, it leads to upside-down priorities that cause worry and anxiousness in our lives.
Luke 12:19"And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”
We tell ourselves if we accumulate enough money or buy enough stuff we’ll be able to have peace [relax], find satisfaction [eat and drink], and experience joy in life [be merry]. But rather than finding peace, satisfaction, and joy, we accumulate dysfunction, disenchantment, and depression in the end.
“Our greatest fear should not be of failure, but of succeeding at something that doesn't really matter." D.L. Moody
We all want to be great right? We all want to "make it big", be successful, and live happily ever after. The problem is that for most of us the only thing telling us what success and happiness looks like is the world. We're told we need to have the right job, the right income, the right position of power, the right family, the right 401k, so that one day we can retire at the beach and play golf (or whatever else we think is going to make us happy).
Is that it? Is that why God carefully knit us together and placed us on this earth right here, right now? What if God had ideas on what it means to be successful? What if God might want to use you for something way bigger than what this world is telling you? Come join us this Sunday as we look at how the Gospel of Jesus changes us from the inside out, and sets us on a new path with Kingdom purpose!
“What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked him. The blind man said, “Rabbi, I want to see.” “Go,” said Jesus, “your faith has healed you.” Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus along the road. Mark 10:51-52
This blind man was a beggar who lived alone by the roadside. He had no friends, no funds, no future. He could have asked for fame or popularity, a billion dollars, or anything that would set him up for the rest of his life. Instead, he asked for vision. If that wasn’t astounding enough, Jesus gave him much more than physical vision. Jesus gave him a vision for his life—a life with belonging, value, and purpose.
2019
"And [Simeon] came in the Spirit into the temple, and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the Law, he took him up in his arms and blessed God and said…” Luke 2:27-28
There is a thread that ties the Songs of Christmas together and names the Holy Spirit.
It was the Holy Spirit that overshadowed Mary causing her to conceive Jesus in her womb. It was the Holy Spirit who filled John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth causing her to sing. It was the Spirit who opened Zechariah’s mouth causing him to praise God and here again, it’s the Spirit that guides Simeon to finally encounter his Savior at last.
And in the same region there were shepherds out in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. and an angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were filled with great fear. And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.” And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying,“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!” Luke 2:13-14
“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
because he has come to his people and redeemed them.
He has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David.” - Luke 1:68
After nine months of silently waiting and years of unfulfilled longings, Zechariah’s first word is “PRAISE”. Praise God. How is this possible?
We all know what waiting is like. Not simply waiting in line at Walmart or the DMV, but waiting for something much more significant. As we wait for things that seem to never arrive, life rarely seems to turn out the way we think it should, or plan that it will.
The song of Zechariah shows us it is only possible because of a personal God who redeems His people, a merciful God who fulfills His promises, and a beautiful God who delivers His plans.
And Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed". Luke 1:46-48
Mary was a young woman, from a nowhere town, unmarried and pregnant.
For most, her circumstances would have been cause for great angst and humiliation.
But God was doing something altogether different. Instead of circumstances that brought fear and shame, Mary was ushered into a world-changing moment in history.
“When Elizabeth heard the greeting of Mary, the baby leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit” Luke 1:41
Just like that John quite literally kicks the Christmas Story off!
Elizabeth was perhaps 22 weeks pregnant with John when she is visited by her young cousin Mary. Even though Jesus was no larger than a tiny embryo, John recognizes him immediately. How amazing is that. John begins to live out God’s purpose for his life even before he was born! God has a place, a plan, and a purpose for every one of us in His kingdom. The Song of Elizabeth is a song full of the Holy Spirit, testifying to the favor of God, and proclaiming the fulfillment of His promise to us.
What’s your favorite carol?
Love them or hate them, we all, Christian or not, know Christmas as a time of songs. Perhaps because it’s been that way since the very first Christmas. The Gospels record five different "songs of Christmas”- original carols who's lyrics proclaim a Savior's birth into the world and proclaim Emmanuel, God with us.
Week 1 of our sermon series SONGS of CHRISTMAS, "the Prelude".
Vision becomes diluted before it ever gets deserted.
It can get, well... blurry. It’s not that blurry vision doesn’t take us anywhere...the truth is that it DOES, just not somewhere we want to go. When a church has blurry vision, it becomes programmatic rather than relational, theoretical rather than practical, and transactional rather than transformational. Our dream was never to just to plant a church… it was to reach a community for Christ, and that dream isn’t changing. Please don’t miss gathering with us this Sunday as we focus in on our CLEAR vision for the upcoming year at RbC.
Click here to listen to the Member Sibling Citizen Saints Sermon Series
What we DO never makes sense unless we understand who we ARE.
Without it, our actions resemble the lives of tourists, squatters, or even drifters. Jesus has bigger plans for his Church than that. God paints a few pictures explaining who we are in him and how we live together… citizens in the kingdom of heaven, siblings in the family of God, members in a local body… Saints living with real form, fit, and function.
Click here to listen to the One Church Sermon Series.
I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.
Matthew 11:25
What's better than seeing God answer prayers?
When we think of Jesus praying, the first thing that comes to many of our minds is “the Lord’s Prayer”. And rightly so... it’s the prayer He used to model what prayer looks like. But there was so much more to Jesus’ prayer life.
Woven through the records of Jesus’ ministry are the prayers He spoke throughout His days as He journeyed to the cross.
What were they?
Why did He pray the way He did?
And maybe the better question... how did God answer Jesus’ prayers?
The answer is simple, yet profound… God answered Jesus' prayers through US, his church.
So what's better than seeing God answer prayers? ...BEING God’s answer to prayers!
SIMPLY sent
After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.
Luke 10:1
SIMPLY PUT… YOU HAVE BEEN SENT.
It’s easy to think we’re under qualified, incapable, or just too overly busy to have a significant or effective purpose in God’s plan.
It isn’t true.
Just like God sent Jesus into the world, Jesus sends you.
He sends us with full provision, in total reliance, for real purpose, as His servants.
BULLETPROOF AND PERFECT
Click here to listen to the Bulletproof and Perfect Series
BLUE COllar Jesus
We are sometimes tempted to picture Jesus as a man disinterested in the details of our lives, distant from the realities of our circumstances, and disengaged from the pain in our world.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
He's not the daddy’s boy we sometimes imagine Him to be, asleep in the corner office on easy street, living off His inheritance, and apathetic to the goings on around Him.
Rather, Jesus is hard at work, both in our lives and in this world. He rolls up His sleeves and gets His hands dirty as He changes our hearts, redeems our lives, and builds His kingdom.
Join in as we travel through the action-packed Gospel of Mark, where we learn of Jesus who is actively at work in our hearts, our lives and in the world, making His kingdom come.
2018
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” Jn 1:1-5
We were far, AND GOD CAME NEAR.
His presence made tangible, His person made understandable, His position proved irreplaceable, His power declared undeniable… all through Jesus.
“Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him, rooted and built up in him and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving.”
Colossians 2:6-7
It can be easy to add extra steps to the Gospel.
The problem in doing so is that it’s actually a claim that the cross isn’t fully sufficient: that Jesus’ sacrifice isn’t enough…and I have to do something more to fully embrace the Gospel.
When we attempt to separate how we received our saving grace through Jesus’ finished work from how we live our lives, we end up just trying to survive.
But Jesus has a better way - a finished way - a completed way - that allows us to THRIVE.
Click here to listen to the Meant to Be Series
“For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.” 1 Samuel 16:7
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John." Matthew 3:13
Baptism is the outward and public announcement of an inward commitment to go forward with Christ. It creates a memory- taking place on a specific day, in a specific year, at a specific place, under specific circumstances. Water baptism is an event that strengthens faith and gives direction to life.
GARDEN.Wild.CITY
"Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, 'What are you seeking?’” John 1:38a
This morning a man committed an entire chapter of Romans to memory and journaled about how it applies to real life; a woman woke up at 4am and spent 3 hours in prayer and solitude encountering God; and a preacher served breakfast to poor people on the corner of main street…
SO... WHO’S THE BETTER DISCIPLE?
If not intentionally, then often subconsciously; our passions, personalities, and pasts incline us to favor one of these pictures of discipleship while de-emphasizing the others. We easily develop unsustainable patterns that, in the end, stunt growth, sever relationships, and cripple direction.
But Jesus has a better plan; a RHYTHM OF DISCIPLE-MAKING that develops, in us: deep roots that sustain, wise faith that perseveres, and compassionate hearts that work.
GAMECHANGING FAITH
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the convition of things not seen” Hebrews 11:1
What would you do if fear wasn’t stopping you?
Fear is a powerful thing. It can paralyze us. At times it can be overpowering. So how do we learn to walk by faith rather than live in fear?
Through the testimonies of the past, Christ points us towards His truth in the present, bringing us trust for the future.
COLOSSIANS
The Book of Colossians is about LIFE – real and radical life…true and transformed, abundant and authentic, deep and desirable, soul-satisfying and peace-producing LIFE! In it, we see a God-sized vision for that we at RbC seek to emulate every day: real people experiencing real life in the real world.
Over 12 weeks we will journey through the book of Colossians. We will learn about the small group of Christian believers living in the city of Colossae, and how that small city learned BIG truths about the connection between Jesus and LIFE. Like the Colossians, may our prayer and passion be that Jesus Christ occupy the central place in our lives. And, may we create opportunities wherever we live or work or play for our friends, family, neighbors and associates to see, hear, and respond to the Gospel, so that in our circles of influence many others may come to experience real LIFE in Jesus Christ.
Gospel anthology
The Collection of us Transformed by the Complete Work of Him
At work, at school and at play, we find ourselves surrounded by different collections of people. But what about those folks who sit behind us on Sunday morning, or are in our small group, or serve in kids church with us…how do we relate to those folks? Moreover, how do we live, forgive and serve alongside the diverse collection of people that make up the parts of the body of Christ?
elder I.d.
Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. -Acts 14:23
These are exciting times at Rockbridge Church! As we begin 2018, we take the next step in our journey as a church body by beginning the local elder appointment process. Celebrate with us over the next few weeks as we look at who an elder is and what an elder does.