Living Rock Podcast

The prayer of King Jehoshaphat and the example given by him and his people to worship God in the face of adversity is a timely reminder for us in our day to gather ‘heavily-armed’ and ready to find our voices.

Recently the Lord has been speaking to us about seeing all things through the Cross, but also moving out of 'maintenance mode' into 'mission mode'. At the heart of the Mission, is the Cross. And the purpose of the Cross is the Mission. We have been co-Missioned by Jesus, to continue His great work of restoring all things to God. In this message we look at Paul's words, to the Philippians (2:6-11), describing how Jesus embraced His own co-Mission from the Father, by embracing the Cross - inviting us to do the same. We consider how we should therefore view the Mission through the 'lens' of the Cross, and approach the Cross in light of the Mission.

When we read the account of Jesus going to raise Jairus' daughter from the dead, we see how, on the way, a woman with internal bleeding pushed through the crowd to receive healing. Jesus met her where she was at, but remained a 'man on a mission' as he continued to raise the girl from the dead. Stephen picks up this story and asks us "what is our testimony – are we in mission mode?". Our testimony is more powerful than our beliefs. Sometimes seeing is more powerful than hearing! We are Jesus to all those around us, because we are filed with His spirit. Let's all be men and women on a mission.

Luke 24 tells of two ordinary disciples who met the risen Lord Jesus on their way to an obscure village near Jerusalem. Along the way He addresses their sadness and disappointment, before revealing His identity to them in the breaking of bread. In this beautiful story, with its many practical implications for the church today, Jesus shows that the suffering of the Cross has resulted in a glorious Crown and a great Commission.

The feeding of the 5000 was a miracle of unprecedented scale and impact, and tells us vital things about the mission of the Church in these critical days. We're here to FEED THE WORLD and In this message we're challenged to do so with as much compassion, bravery and generosity as Jesus Himself.

As we start a new season together we are putting a focus on all that it means to serve the Lord and one another as part of the body of Christ, His Church. We want to excel in all we do together to glorify God and to win people to Christ. Today we set a biblical context for our serving, that we may consider our serving to be part of the normal Christian life.

The Bible’s first mention of “worship” occurs in the story of Abraham’s sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22), and provides us with a rich understanding of what worship involves and what it produces. Just as God put Abraham to the test, so He asks whether we will put Him first, offer everything to Him, and learn what AW Tozer called “the blessedness of possessing nothing.”

God is calling us to be those who are preparing the way in our lives- every day! To allow us to more fully embrace the cross of Christ, we make sure that our priority is Him, His word and His people. As we do this, our valleys are filled in, our mountains flattened, and the twists and turns of our lives are straightened.

When we look at the great commission in Matthew 28, we read how Jesus told his disciples to “GO”. The church today also shares this commission. We take a look at three steps we can take to get to the ‘go’; we first get ready, by being filled with the Holy Spirit daily. Next we get set, by being filled with love, faith, zeal and boldness. Lastly, we go! We choose to respond to the Holy Spirit by saying yes and being men and women of action.

The story of Joseph (Genesis 37-50) is an amazing account of God working in a man’s life to fulfil his dreams and his destiny! In this message we explore some of the key moments in Joseph’s journey from the pit to the palace and discover three powerful principles that worked for Joseph and can work for you too!...

Because of the Cross and the Crown we are a people of the presence of God, set apart and commissioned for the purpose of God wherever we are. As we proclaim and demonstrate the Kingdom of God, we leave strong and powerful Kingdom footprints in our homes, communities and the nations! 'Wherever you set your foot'...

The gospels of Matthew, Mark & Luke all contain a tantalisingly short account of Jesus blessing little children. But what did He pray? What did he say as he blessed them? Who were these children and what became of them? What great potential and purpose was released in their lives just because Jesus laid His hands on them? Whilst we don’t know all the detail, we can examine some principles and promises that God makes over children and encourage one another to be quick to bless our own children.

God is in the business of setting people free. From sin, from guilt, from the baggage of past, from being reliant on ourselves alone to live in a way that honours Him.

When we see Jesus in Revelation 19, He is described as having many crowns on His head, He is King of Kings and Lord of Lords! In His amazing generosity Christ has adorned our heads with crowns as well. As we look at what they are, we look at the appropriate response to these Crowns which is to cast them before our King who is the source of all we have.

As we come to The Lord’s table together, we remind ourselves of the fullness of the cross of Christ; not just His death, not even just His resurrection, but everything that He has achieved for us because of the cross.  We celebrate together and remind ourselves of His provision, healing, power, love, the life that He gives us and our new identity in Him.  We’re not at a funeral service, we’re at a celebration!

The Old Testament sacrifices described in Leviticus give us a glimpse of the far superior sacrifice of Jesus Christ that was coming. They help us to see that at the cross we have a table set before us; a feast where full provision has been made for sin, sickness, suffering, peace and a right relationship with God. Jesus is our full portion forever!

The Covenant Meal is about Remembrance of what He has done, our Royal identity in Him and Rejoicing in all he accomplished. In Jesus, we are made alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ, raised up together with Him and are seated together in the heavenly realms by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus. Jesus gave His life so that humanity might gain life. Join me as we explore, in only some part, God's heart behind the Covenant Meal.

The Cross of Christ must be understood within the wider perspective of God’s eternal plan, and in this message Roger shows us how God stripped His enemies bare, displayed His power in the supernatural realm, and dealt with human sin - in order to use us in His purpose. The Father sowed His Son, in order to reap a family of sons.

Our revelation and appreciation of all that Jesus achieved for us through the work of the Cross must have a very practical outworking. What does it mean for us here and now and how does it affect the kind of church we are building in our locality? In this message, we consider some of these things including the way we love and care for the lost, our experience of healing and the way we relate together as God’s family.

As we continue to unpack The Cross & The Crown series, Stefan Ruhig brings us this powerful message on how to live out the power of the cross in our daily lives. God, the Holy Spirit lives in us and He wants to reveal Jesus through us.