Rock Solid
The message opens up with Principles and Priorities to live by. Refer to Jesus’ ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ In Matthew 7:24 NIV “Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on a rock. Practice means action. It’s not just about what you believe, but how you live. Paul similarly speaks of our foundation in 1 Corinthian 10-13 NIV “By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ. If any man builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, his work will be shown for what it is, because the day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. In other words, whoever builds (teachers, preachers, officers, parents, etc.,) the church, must build with high quality materials, meaning with right doctrine and right living. Each church member should strive to be mature, spiritually sensitive and doctrinally sound. Remember, we’re speaking into the lives of others as we share the gospel and represent Christ. Can your Christian character stand the test? Are you building your life on the only real and lasting foundation or are you building your foundation on wealth, security, power, success or fame?
Our first fill-in: Practices close the gap between what we believe and how we actually live.
Pastor Pete’s example was Cupcakes: when you are making cupcakes with a known recipe, you must add every ingredient listed. If an ingredient is missing, you won’t get good tasting cupcakes. Spiritual Growth Ingredients are what we practice at Thrive Community Church. They are located in The Apprenticeship Guide & Bible Reading Plan on page 44-45. Pastor Pete speaks of Principles and Practices that are enduring and will help us live a new way of life; a life that is Rock Solid, enduring and stable.
Refer to Matthew 7:25 NIV “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on The Rock.” Pastor Pete goes on to say, “Life itself seems to have these struggles. Everybody has struggles.” Our 2nd fill-in: There are priorities, principles and practices that protect our long-term fruitfulness. There are enduring practices that enable us to stand on that Solid Rock. They are: Fasting, Prayer and Giving. These should be priority in our lives. They help us to stand strong even though we can’t control the storm around us. What are our priorities? Our 3rd fill-in: Giving (generosity), is a spiritual practice that shines a light on our priorities. Refer to Matthew 6:19-21 NIV “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 7:26-27 NIV Jesus goes on to say, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” We who have placed our trust and confidence in The Solid Rock (Jesus Christ), must now step back and evaluate the priorities that we act on and live by. Are we practicing what we believe? What kind of a giver are we? Are we occasional, regular, sacrificial or proportional givers? What ideas about generosity causes us to pause? The character of generosity breaks the grip of materialism; It infuses the heart with joy and it aligns us with a deeper sense of divine connection with God. How do we prioritize prayer and fasting? How many times a day do we talk to God? What days and times do we set aside to fast? Do we pray during the periods of fasting? Prayer, fasting and generosity are necessary Growth Ingredients that will help us to navigate through our next steps. If we’re not engaging in those practices when the storm comes, we find we have no hope whatsoever. Let’s not wait for the storms to hit, to start to practice these spiritual tools. Where do your treasures lie? Refer to Matthew 6:24 NIV in Jesus’ Teachings, he says “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Pastor Pete says to be clear about who our God is and allow the teachings of Jesus to go right to our heart. Pastor Pete is asking us to join Him and Shaylan in praying about what our next steps should be in our spiritual development over the Rock-Solid Initiative the next six months. He introduced the commitment card that we got in our handouts. We were directed to not fill it out now, but to look over the information and we will be turning it in together on our Next Step Sunday, October 25th. On that day we will be entering into an act of worship together. So, on October 25th is when we would bring our commitment card in and fill them out together. Instructions were explained to the congregation, on how to fill the card out and also how to access the QR Code, to fill it out as well. Our commitment financially is for the Thrive Family for next generations to come. To people that are going to grow and develop lives that are Rock Solid in a culture that’s a little wonky right now, and instill those generations to come. Transparent facts stated: The cost of the new building has escalated. We are about 600,000 dollars behind on our construction project. We can extend a line of credit, so construction will continue. Let’s pray with Pastor that we don’t have to go in debt; and that Thrive Community Church does not have to hand over more debt to the next generations coming behind us. Our young people are praying in layers. Pastor prophesied that our young people will go further in the things of God than we ever did. Pastor Pete says, “that he can’t wait to turn the keys over to them. Because what we do and the way we live today, must impact those who are coming behind us. And it won’t be long that they will be saying the same thing to the generation coming behind them.” Together, let’s Invest in what’s going to happen in our young people’s lives for generations to come!
Our first fill-in: Practices close the gap between what we believe and how we actually live.
Pastor Pete’s example was Cupcakes: when you are making cupcakes with a known recipe, you must add every ingredient listed. If an ingredient is missing, you won’t get good tasting cupcakes. Spiritual Growth Ingredients are what we practice at Thrive Community Church. They are located in The Apprenticeship Guide & Bible Reading Plan on page 44-45. Pastor Pete speaks of Principles and Practices that are enduring and will help us live a new way of life; a life that is Rock Solid, enduring and stable.
Refer to Matthew 7:25 NIV “The rain came down, the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because it had its foundation on The Rock.” Pastor Pete goes on to say, “Life itself seems to have these struggles. Everybody has struggles.” Our 2nd fill-in: There are priorities, principles and practices that protect our long-term fruitfulness. There are enduring practices that enable us to stand on that Solid Rock. They are: Fasting, Prayer and Giving. These should be priority in our lives. They help us to stand strong even though we can’t control the storm around us. What are our priorities? Our 3rd fill-in: Giving (generosity), is a spiritual practice that shines a light on our priorities. Refer to Matthew 6:19-21 NIV “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 7:26-27 NIV Jesus goes on to say, “But everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. The rain came down, and the streams rose, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell with a great crash.” We who have placed our trust and confidence in The Solid Rock (Jesus Christ), must now step back and evaluate the priorities that we act on and live by. Are we practicing what we believe? What kind of a giver are we? Are we occasional, regular, sacrificial or proportional givers? What ideas about generosity causes us to pause? The character of generosity breaks the grip of materialism; It infuses the heart with joy and it aligns us with a deeper sense of divine connection with God. How do we prioritize prayer and fasting? How many times a day do we talk to God? What days and times do we set aside to fast? Do we pray during the periods of fasting? Prayer, fasting and generosity are necessary Growth Ingredients that will help us to navigate through our next steps. If we’re not engaging in those practices when the storm comes, we find we have no hope whatsoever. Let’s not wait for the storms to hit, to start to practice these spiritual tools. Where do your treasures lie? Refer to Matthew 6:24 NIV in Jesus’ Teachings, he says “No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Pastor Pete says to be clear about who our God is and allow the teachings of Jesus to go right to our heart. Pastor Pete is asking us to join Him and Shaylan in praying about what our next steps should be in our spiritual development over the Rock-Solid Initiative the next six months. He introduced the commitment card that we got in our handouts. We were directed to not fill it out now, but to look over the information and we will be turning it in together on our Next Step Sunday, October 25th. On that day we will be entering into an act of worship together. So, on October 25th is when we would bring our commitment card in and fill them out together. Instructions were explained to the congregation, on how to fill the card out and also how to access the QR Code, to fill it out as well. Our commitment financially is for the Thrive Family for next generations to come. To people that are going to grow and develop lives that are Rock Solid in a culture that’s a little wonky right now, and instill those generations to come. Transparent facts stated: The cost of the new building has escalated. We are about 600,000 dollars behind on our construction project. We can extend a line of credit, so construction will continue. Let’s pray with Pastor that we don’t have to go in debt; and that Thrive Community Church does not have to hand over more debt to the next generations coming behind us. Our young people are praying in layers. Pastor prophesied that our young people will go further in the things of God than we ever did. Pastor Pete says, “that he can’t wait to turn the keys over to them. Because what we do and the way we live today, must impact those who are coming behind us. And it won’t be long that they will be saying the same thing to the generation coming behind them.” Together, let’s Invest in what’s going to happen in our young people’s lives for generations to come!
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