As bittersweet as it is to say goodbye to the beautiful pews, they have gone on to find happy and useful homes and we here at Rockland look forward to the years ahead in comfy, modern chairs. ...
And a young man followed Jesus, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.Mk 14:5152 So.....ummmm......THATis in the Bible. If we live with the conviction that every verse in the Scriptures matters, what in the world are we to make of this obscure text, and why does it matter to us today? Context:T...
Keep ReadingClick HERE for a PDF of the Medical Release Form...
Keep ReadingClickHEREfor a PDF of the Medical Release Form...
Keep ReadingSt Joan of Arc, a young woman with no military training, believed she had been chosen by God to lead France to military victory in its long-running war with England in the 1400's. She convinced the embattled crown prince Charles of Valois to allow her to lead a French army to the besieged city of Orlans, where it achieved a momentous victory over the English and their Fre...
Keep ReadingRemember in 2004 the movie that came out called "The Passion of the Christ" and how we all acted like weknew full well what the word "Passion" meant in that context? Whatdoesit mean in thatcontext? What was thePassionof the Christ?When we hear about 'passion'we think of feeling strongly about something, i.e. "I have a passion for sports, my wife, andcupcakes" (not necessa...
Keep ReadingPeriodically, members of our elder board will be writing these weekly emails to minister to the congregation. Enjoy this post from Steve Hannah. WHERE IS THE JOY IN OUR LIVES? They say that moneycan't buy happiness.Yeah, sure.Like we believe that, right?Maybe money can't buy happiness, but it can sure buy the things that bring happiness, can't it?Certainly, the w...
Keep Reading"Oh good...a fundraising email." Nope. Not even close. So often, the spiritual discipline of giving isfundraising disguised as Spiritual Formation. I approach the budget of Rockland from a Spiritual Formation perspective and let others way more gifted than I am crunch numbers. I want to help us all be shaped to be more Christlike through how we handle our money. I don't l...
Keep ReadingWe grow in Christ when we Worship, Connect, Serve and Give. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. I Cor. 12:7 The Greek word for "common Good" (above) is 'sym-phero', where get our word 'symphony'. The idea being that you can have several people playing instrument solos, but when they all play together, it is even more beautiful. Th...
Keep ReadingSpiritual growth happens when we worship, connect, serve and give. When it comes to 'connecting', unfortunately, we have today what I call 'cotton candy' relationships. These are relationships that are just connected enough to make you feel full, but not enough to be healthy. Our relationships need to be deep, biblical connections where we are vulne...
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