Church On The Rock Homer

Two halves of the same coin. Light and dark. Day and night. The husband and the wife. Scripture contains the idea of two parts being unified when they come together, two parts equating to one. The same is true when we consider our being. Mankind is less than a whole when separated from God.Genesis 1 says that God’s creation exists as the heavens and the earth, two parts in one. In this message, we examined the last piece of God’s creating efforts from Genesis 1:1, the earth, and explored the purpose it serves in God’s grand scheme.Pastor Matt McCarter

As a young boy growing up in artsy little Homer, Alaska I too caught the bug and wondered about my ability to make it as an artist. At the ripe old age of nine I drew a pencil sketch of the Space Shuttle Discovery in the upright position and attached to its external tanks. My sketch was approximately 30 inches tall and was of such high caliber, it was temporarily displayed in the Pratt Museum… along with all the other submitted artwork by the Homer elementary age crowd.But it didn’t matter. I remembered walking down the hall of the Pratt and seeing my artwork hung on the wall with a name placard below. It was stunning. I couldn’t believe that now thousands upon thousands of art lovers would behold my work. I felt such unspeakable pride.And that was the nature of us humans. We wanted our handiwork to be appreciated, to be noticed, to be ooh’d and aah’d over. We liked to see and be seen.As it turned out, God was of a different nature. Most of His glory was completely hidden from our eyes. This week we peeked th

When Maranatha and I got married we decided to narrow the scope of what was important on our wedding day. We were going to have a beautiful wedding, but we were determined not to blow the bank account. In the process of making those decisions, I had the bright idea to make our wedding cake. My future wife and my immediate family gave me THE LOOK. You know THE LOOK. It's a look full of skepticism and negativity and so they said, why don’t you do a test run. I agreed and after about a day, I arrived at the same conclusion, we’d be better off spending the money. There are certain things left in more capable hands, those who are worthy to design such things as “cakes”. With this message we start a new series in Genesis and together we will declare that there is only one who is worthy to be called The Creator. Pastor Matt McCarter

Physicist Stephen Hawking once said, “If we discover the theory of everything, it would be the ultimate triumph of human reason, for then we would know the mind of God.” Yet Hawking himself rejected the idea of a Creator.In this message we take on that question head on: Is it reasonable to believe in God? We look directly at Hawking’s arguments and explore what faith and reason reveal about truth, eternity, and the divine.Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

A few years back, while working in our backyard at ABI, I built a swing for Maranatha under our porch and started clearing out weeds and debris. We laid down fabric, hauled mulch, and turned the space into something new. As I carried the bags down the hill, one of my kids looked at me and said, “Dad, I’m stronger than you.” For a moment I thought about proving otherwise—but I just smiled and said, “That’s not true.”That same tension plays out in our relationship with God. Humanity, His children, often calls His goodness into question. We ask, How can God be good when…? or Surely this can’t be part of His plan?This message invites us to return to Scripture and stand in awe of the truth: God is good. Unfathomably good. So profoundly good that for all eternity we will never exhaust the wonder of His goodness.Pastor Matt McCarter

How many times have you attempted to capture the expansive view of the Kenai Mountains, opposite Homer across Kachemak Bay, only to be disappointed by the result? Photos just don't seem to convey the grandeur, especially when condensed down to a six inch phone screen. "This picture doesn't really do it justice, but TRUST me, the mountains and the ocean and the sky are amazing to behold!" This Sunday is an exciting moment. We are jumping back to the beginning of the Bible and starting another trek through the story of God and humanity. And along with this is a great challenge: how do I sufficiently convey the grandeur of God's revealed purpose...in a few minutes on a Sunday morning!?! Trust me, it is amazing to behold!Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

On Saturday, October 18, we launch into one of my favorite weekends of the year, our annual Global Missions Conference. This is your opportunity to connect in new ways to God's story both near home and across the globe. This weekend God wants to speak to you--to ignite something new. Whether you've been involved in missions for decades or you've just said yes to Jesus, God has something for you during this time. Now is your chance to dive in and make decisions to pray, to give, and to go.I have three assignments for you this weekend:1) Encourage a missionary by engaging with their work.2) Listen and learn something new about missions and outreach.3) Give your hard-earned money awayCheck out EVERYTHING conference on Church Center or click below!We'll see you there.Pastor Drew Simpson

17 years! For almost two decades we have experienced God's faithfulness as a church. As we say yes to Him, He keeps leading us into greater and greater grace and truth. Every year, on Covenant Sunday, we settle in and consider our yes. This coming Sunday is our chance as a church to collectively say yes and pursue God's promises and will as a family. God is doing amazing things in our church, community, nation, and around the globe. I can’t wait to see what He does in us and through us over the next year!Pastor Matt McCarter

To the Men of Church on the Rock,I want to speak to you this Sunday. This is a message I have not shared. I would ask that you would come prayerfully, humbly, and prepared to take action. Do not be like the one who looks in the mirror and then walks away unchanged. I am praying for our time together,Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

Over the past several years I have been on a personal mission. Maranatha and I got married in our early thirties which meant that we were combining the lives of two self-sufficient adults. Our wedding registry didn’t include the typical newlywed items. Many of those items we already had, like pots and pans.Last year I noticed that our sauce pan was two different colors and shortly after my mother informed me that the pan I’d inherited from her used to be a nonstick pan. All of the nonstick was completely gone on the bottom half of the pan. Since then I've been working to remove all nonstick pans from our house in favor of other long lasting pans such as my great grandmother's cast iron pans. I see this same exchange happening in other areas of my life, the long lasting but more difficult choice is set aside for a quick fix. Many of us approach politics the same way. Our hope is that the latest political candidate will offer us a quick fix, and yet the older I get the quick fixes seem to fade away fast

I remember it like it was yesterday! For months my parents had been talking about a vacation. They’d heard about Destin, FL and were making plans for our family to go. We'd looked over the brochures, picked the best place to go, and booked the trip. My dad came home the evening before our 7½-hour drive with a rented minivan. I thought we were living in style! We crammed it full of our stuff and tried to get some sleep. The night flew by, and waking up at 3 AM felt like being in a whirlwind as we climbed into the van. The soundtrack for the entire drive to Florida was Brooks & Dunn’s album Hard Workin’ Man, and as much as I love me some Boot Scootin’ Boogie, it didn’t take young Matthew very long to start asking the question, “Are we there yet?” “How much longer?” “What is taking so long?”Many of us ask this same question of the Lord and His return. How much longer is this experience of a broken world going to take? How much longer is God going to keep us waiting? Didn’t He say He’d return soon!This we

As we walk further into the chapters of Revelation, it can be easy to get trapped in the weeds of imagery and imagination. Dragons, beasts, harlots, and everything else tend to distract us from the true purpose of the book, though it was never intended to. From the beginning of the book, the Holy Spirit is revealing to God’s servants (us) the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (Rev. 1:1). If we forget God’s intent in giving this revelation, then deciphering any of it will become a mess, full of confusion and misunderstanding. We, however, have the opportunity to see what God’s purpose is in revealing Christ to us. This is by understanding what is said to the seven churches of Revelation 2-3. The two common themes among all of the churches are “repent” and/or “hold fast.” Christ is calling these churches to repent of what is evil and hold fast to what is good. The rest of the book shows us why this is so vital to us as God’s servants.As we walk through Revelation 17-19, we will see how desperately important it is fo

When I was single and living in Columbia I had a buddy named Jimmy. Jimmy was a punk teenage kid that showed up to our church. He had been kicked out of his home and at first when you heard his story you’d be very angry at his prior caregivers. He appeared to be a very sweet and innocent kid who also had intellectual disabilities. His demeanor was always happy go lucky when you first met him, but if you stuck around and got to know Jimmy, you’d eventually start to empathize with those who had cared for him before. Jimmy didn't want to follow any of the basic rules for living. He pitched fits when he didn’t get his way. He didn’t care about his hygiene. Jimmy was living in his own world, playing by his own rules and when you didn’t go along, he let you have it. Over time our niceties fade and our true colors come out. This weekend we continue our series in Revelation and wade into the warnings of an enemy that seeks to deceive us by proclaiming peace and harmony, while actively seeking our destruction. Jesus,

Have you ever walked into a place and felt the heeby jeebies?  You couldn’t put your finger on it exactly but something about the space kinda creeped you out or filled you with a sense of dread?  Confession; abandoned underground tunnels kinda do that for me.  Especially when they include giant balls of clustered daddy longlegs overhead.  Eek.  I’m getting creeped out just thinking about it.  Get me outa here!This Sunday we continue our study of Revelation into chapter six.  The question at hand, what does a world look like that has completely shut out the light of Christ?  Turns out, it is a very dark and dreadful place. But we have a greater hope.  Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

At our church in SC I lead a men’s house church. It was full of young men who had recently decided to follow Jesus. Every week we sat around a table and discussed life and what Jesus was doing. In that group was a young man named Dustin. He was from sticks and even to my trained southern ear, he spoke “uniquely”. He was rough around the edges, no frills, his military experience taught him to call it as it is and to not back down. As a group, our house church attended a Hillsong concert. At that concert, Dustin let it all out. Hands raised, volume at 110%, he wrapped his arm around me as far as he could and we began to sing in unison, if you can call it that. Our hips even synced for a few moments as we worshiped our King! After leaving the concert he wouldn’t stop talking about Jesus. The whole way home, everyone in the car, every car that passed us, everyone at the gas station got an earful. I loved seeing Him love Jesus. This weekend we lean into one of the most important passages regarding the worship of G

I want my kids to do well. I want them to see how growth now leads to a reward later. Some bad habits die only painfully. But there is a promise of something good, something better, something more permanent. And I realize this is always a hard sell for kids, but “I PROMISE that you will be glad you pressed through the pain and pursued the good.”In Matthew 7, Jesus says essentially “Given that you are corrupted by your own sinful nature and you still lead your children into what is good, imagine how committed and capable a perfect God is in leading YOU toward what is good.This Sunday we will examine Revelation chapters 2 & 3. What we find is a beautiful example of a loving God who is deeply committed to the eternal good of his children. And there are some painful parts.

Earlier this summer we held our annual planning meeting for the coming year. In that meeting we lay out our teaching schedule and discuss what we’ll study as a church. We also have a pattern at COTRH to teach through the Bible sequentially, and laid out our return to Genesis. At the thought of skipping over the last text in Scripture, I insisted that we take the time to dive into one of my favorite texts, Revelation.Earlier this year we discussed Eschatology, the idea of the last days, but now we will embark on a journey through the final Word. I can’t wait to wade into the waters with you and to set your expectations of meeting and seeing our glorious God face to face as high as I possibly can. I am eager for you to experience Revelation as a guide that leads us into the worship of a good good Father, and wonderful Savior, and powerful Holy Spirit. Pastor Matt McCarter

You’ve heard me talk about God dealing with my hard heart toward my younger sister. The hypocrisy and unforgiveness that I held onto in my relationship with her was a burden. He refused to leave unaddressed. I remember the relentless onslaught of people in my life, sermons and teachings I listened to, and the Scriptures He brought to my attention. One of the main texts God used to address my heart was 1 John 4:20, “If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” God led me to a fork in the road and called me to task, either I would hold onto my sinful unforgiveness or I would choose to love, by laying down the debt I held against her. I’ve come to this fork again and again in my life, being faced with the same challenge. God will not allow me or us to say we love Him and refrain from loving others. The choice is ours, to live in His light is to walk in obedience of loving others or to live in the

I don’t know what is happening to me but it is getting more and more difficult to hold it together during weddings. My son Damon got married last week and I was doing pretty good until I saw my son see his bride in white for the first time. All of the joyous celebration of love touches something deep in my heart and triggers of wave of gratitude for the beauty of love and the God who sources it all.This Sunday we jump into a quick 2 week series on I John. It’s a book about love and light, two related concepts that are meant to teach us about the character of God. It’s a short book that packs a punch. Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

Eight kids in and I still have never succeeded convincing a young child of mine of their future love of naps.  A good nap seems to be the bane of childhood existence.  Even once they resolve that it is definitely happening and there will be no negotiation, they want to express their displeasure in some form. Then I tell each one the truth; some day you are going to love a good nap.  Also, without a good nap now, you are a very different kind of child.  The nap is good for you NOW and you’ll appreciate that later on.  You don’t have to believe me, it’s still true.This is how I often feel explaining the beauty of life in Christ to the immature believer; you depend on it now in ways you do not comprehend, and you’ll grow to appreciate it in ways you cannot imagine. This Sunday we wrap up our study in Paul’s letter to the Colossians.  Paul gives a brief run down of the implications of Christ’s life in us.  It is so simple and so stunning. Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser