Bulletins - Church On The Rock-Abilene (TX)

My Feet Are On The Rock
Abide
Mighty Name of Jesus
REVELATION SONG
Gratitude
The Lord Will Provide
Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV
1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Introduction
My heart is full today because when I look at Church on the Rock, Abilene, I do not merely see where we are—I see how far the Lord has brought us.
Throughout this series, we have examined what it means to walk the journey of faith as individuals. We have learned that faith requires us to trust God when we cannot see the entire road, obey Him before we understand everything He is doing, and continue moving even when the journey does not unfold as we expected.
Today, however, I want us to consider this journey corporately. Church on the Rock is not merely a place where individuals come to exercise their faith. We are a body of believers whom Christ has joined together, and we are walking a journey of faith together.
In our text, the Lord called Abram to leave what was familiar and move toward a land that God had not yet shown him. God gave Abram a promise, but He did not give him every detail. Abram had to trust the One who called him enough to take the next step.
That is where we are as a Church.
We can look back and testify that God has been faithful. We have survived seasons that could have destroyed us. We have endured changes, losses, disappointments, and uncertainty. Yet we are still here. The Lord has preserved this Church because He still has a purpose for this Church.
God did not bring us this far merely so that we could remain where we are.
Moving forward does not mean that we deny our history or forget the people and experiences that helped shape us. It means that we refuse to allow our past to become the boundary of our future. We can be grateful for where we have been while still believing that God has more for us.
We may not know every detail of what comes next. We may not possess every resource we believe we need. We may not feel fully prepared for what God is calling us to do. But faith has never required us to see the entire journey. Faith requires us to trust God enough to take the next step.
The question before us is not whether God has been faithful. He has already proven His faithfulness. The question is whether we will trust Him with the future of this Church.
Before we can understand where the Lord is taking us, we must first remember whose Church this is, who is building it, and why He has joined us together.
When God calls a Church into existence, it is the expression of His sovereign will.
Church on the Rock, Abilene, was formed in February of 1993 by the will of God and not merely by the design of man.
Matthew 16:18 NKJV
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
Since this Church belongs to God, Christ is responsible for building His Church; I do not have to build it by myself.
Ultimately, you did not choose this Church; the Lord placed you here.
Ephesians 4:14–16 NKJV
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, 15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
Let us look more closely at verse 16.
Ephesians 4:16 NKJV
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
The Apostle Paul says that the whole body is both joined and knit together. These words teach us that Christ determines both our placement and our connection. He places us where we belong, and then He connects us so that we can help one another move forward.
Two important truths emerge from these words:
Christ determines our placement—He joins us together.
Christ develops our connection—He knits us together.
1. Joined — συναρμολογούμενον
Joined — συναρμολογούμενον (synarmologoumenon) Pronounced: soon-ar-mol-og-OO-men-on
This word means to be carefully fitted together, joined together, or assembled so that the individual parts form one complete structure. It describes separate parts being placed into their proper positions so that they can function together as one body.
The Apostle Paul uses this word in the passive voice. This means that the body does not assemble itself—Christ is the One fitting the members together.
We are not a random collection of people who happened to attend the same Church. Christ has carefully fitted us together. He placed each of us where we belong because every person has a purpose within this body.
You are not here by accident. Christ has placed you in this body on purpose, for a purpose.
The next phrase is “knit together.”
2. Knit Together — συμβιβαζόμενον
Knit Together — συμβιβαζόμενον (symbibazomenon) Pronounced: soom-bib-ad-ZOM-en-on
This word means to bring together, unite, connect, or bind together. It carries the idea of people being brought into close relationship so that they can strengthen and support one another.
This word is also in the passive voice. We are not held together merely by friendship, personality, history, or personal preference. Christ is the One continually binding His people together.
Christ does more than place us beside one another; He joins our lives together. He creates relationships through which strength, encouragement, healing, wisdom, and ministry can flow from one member to another.
Christ determines where we are placed, but He also determines whom we need in order to move forward.
Because the growth of the body depends upon what Christ is producing through every member, the effectiveness of this Church cannot be measured by how many people enter the building alone.
We should never measure the impact we have for Christ in the lives of others by our own definition of success.
In the same way, the effectiveness of our ministry as a Church cannot be measured by attendance alone.
Zechariah 4:10 NKJV
10 For who has despised the day of small things? For these seven rejoice to see The plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, Which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth.”
Ecclesiastes 7:8 NKJV
8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.
What matters most is what the Lord is doing in the lives of the people of this Church.
The way we live today determines how clearly we reflect Christ—not the way we lived before we surrendered to His will.
It does not matter how many times you have had to start over or where you are in the process right now. What matters is that you continue trusting God and surrendering to His will for your life.
The beginning will almost always be small. A race is not won at the starting line; it is won by continuing until the finish.
When I was a boy in Sunday school, we were taught a simple illustration. We interlocked our fingers, raised our index fingers to form the steeple, and placed our thumbs together to make the doors. Then we would say:
“Here is the Church, Here is the steeple; Open the doors, And look at the people.”
The point of that simple illustration is that the Church is made up of people. You are the people of Church on the Rock, Abilene. Much of what God desires to do for this Church, He will first do in and through its people.
The Lord desires to work in each of our lives individually so that He can move through this Church corporately.
You may have difficulty believing that God can still do something meaningful through your life, but it is true. The Lord does not merely forgive our past; He also heals the damage our past has caused.
As we submit ourselves to Him, He empowers us to accept responsibility, repair what can be repaired, and make financial amends wherever necessary.
God’s grace is comprehensive. It does not transform us only spiritually; it reaches into the emotional, physical, relational, and financial areas of our lives.
The Lord gave this Church a word.
That word is found in Luke 12:32.
Luke 12:32 NKJV
32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
I sense in my spirit that this Church is on the verge of a breakthrough. When I say “the Church,” I do not simply mean the organization; I mean the people who make up this Church.
Stepping out in faith often requires us to risk our comfort, our sense of security, and our fear of looking foolish.
We must be willing to obey God even when others may misunderstand us, question us, or think we are making a mistake.
God often calls us to take actions that make us uncomfortable.
What kind of actions?
He may call us to apply for a job for which we do not feel qualified.
He may call us to make changes that frighten us.
He may require us to learn how to save money when we have never done it before.
He may call us to receive advice that makes us uncomfortable. Learning to live differently often goes against every impulse within us. Sometimes we know that the advice is right—or at least suspect that it may be—but we are afraid to try because we fear failing personally.
What keeps many of us stuck is not outright rebellion but the fear of personal failure.
Trusting God means believing that He will take care of us. For some people, this is not difficult. For others, it is among the hardest things in the world.
If we are going to possess what the Lord has for us, we must be willing to do things the Kingdom way!
It is by trusting God and yielding our lives to His will and His ways that we position ourselves to receive what He has prepared for us.
The Lord desires to establish both His people and the ministry of this Church within this city.
Genesis 12:1–3 NKJV
1 Now the Lord had said to Abram: “Get out of your country, From your family And from your father’s house, To a land that I will show you. 2 I will make you a great nation; I will bless you And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, And I will curse him who curses you; And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
Although God’s specific covenant promise was given to Abram, his journey reveals a continuing principle of faith: God often calls His people to leave what is familiar before showing them everything that lies ahead.
Many of us, like Abram, have had to leave the places where we grew up.
Some of us have had to leave our families—
Some of us have had to leave our fathers’ houses—
Some of these departures resulted from circumstances beyond our control; others were consequences of our own decisions. Nevertheless, Romans 8:28 teaches us that God can work through every part of our story for our good and His purpose.
Romans 8:28 NKJV
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.
If God can redeem every part of our story, then our past does not have the final word over our future.
Romans 8:31 NKJV
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
The Lord desires to reveal His glory through our transformation. He intends to establish the very people whom life once displaced.
Conclusion:
When we look back over the history of Church on the Rock, Abilene, we can see that our survival has not been an accident. God called this Church into existence, Christ has continued to build His Church, and the gates of Hades have not prevailed against it. We have endured difficult seasons, painful transitions, and moments when we did not know what would happen next—but the Lord has kept us.
God is not done with us yet.
Our past may explain how we arrived here, but it does not determine where God is taking us. Some of us have had to leave familiar places. Some have been separated from family. Some have had to begin again because of circumstances beyond their control, while others have had to begin again because of their own decisions. Nevertheless, God has brought us together and is working through every part of our stories for our good and His purpose.
The Apostle Paul teaches us that Christ has joined and knit us together. This means that no one whom Christ has placed within this body is here accidentally. Every person carries something this body needs, and every person has a part in helping this Church move forward.
We cannot measure the effectiveness of this ministry by attendance alone. We must also look at the lives God is transforming. We must look at the people who are learning to trust again, families that are being restored, minds that are being renewed, addictions that are being overcome, and men and women who are beginning to believe that God can still use their lives.
That is the work of the Kingdom.
We may appear to be a little flock, but Jesus said that it is our Father’s good pleasure to give us the Kingdom. Therefore, we will not despise small beginnings. We will not allow the fear of failure to keep us stuck. We will not judge our future by where we are standing today. The starting line is not the place where the race is won; victory belongs to those who continue moving toward the finish.
Moving forward in faith will require us to trust God, yield our lives to His will, and do things the Kingdom way. It may require us to make uncomfortable changes, receive difficult counsel, accept responsibility, repair what can be repaired, and step into opportunities for which we do not feel qualified. But if God is for us, who can be against us?
The Lord desires to establish His people and the ministry of this Church within this city—not merely so that our name will be known, but so that His glory will be revealed through our transformation.
So, Church on the Rock, Abilene, let us rise together. Let every joint supply what God has placed within it. Let every part do its share. Let us trust God with our lives, our families, our ministry, and our future.
We are imperfect people, but we are progressing in our purpose.
God has brought us this far, God is still working among us, and God is not done with us yet.
Church on the Rock, Abilene, it is time for us to move forward in faith!
- - Genesis 12:1–3NKJV
- - Matthew 16:18NKJV
- - Ephesians 4:14–16NKJV
- - Ephesians 4:16NKJV
- - Zechariah 4:10NKJV
- - Ecclesiastes 7:8NKJV
- - Luke 12:32NKJV
- - Genesis 12:1–3NKJV
- - Romans 8:28NKJV
- - Romans 8:31NKJV

When God calls a Church into existence, it is the expression of His sovereign will.

Church on the Rock, Abilene, was formed in February of 1993 by the will of God and not merely by the design of man.

Since this Church belongs to God, Christ is responsible for building His Church; I do not have to build it by myself.

Ultimately, you did not choose this Church; the Lord placed you here.

Let us look more closely at verse 16.

1. Joined — συναρμολογούμενον

2. Knit Together — συμβιβαζόμενον

We should never measure the impact we have for Christ in the lives of others by our own definition of success.

In the same way, the effectiveness of our ministry as a Church cannot be measured by attendance alone.

What matters most is what the Lord is doing in the lives of the people of this Church.

The way we live today determines how clearly we reflect Christ—not the way we lived before we surrendered to His will.

It does not matter how many times you have had to start over or where you are in the process right now. What matters is that you continue trusting God and surrendering to His will for your life.

The beginning will almost always be small. A race is not won at the starting line; it is won by continuing until the finish.

The Lord desires to establish both His people and the ministry of this Church within this city.

Genesis 12:1–3NKJV

Matthew 16:18NKJV

Ephesians 4:14–16NKJV

Ephesians 4:16NKJV

Zechariah 4:10NKJV

Ecclesiastes 7:8NKJV

Luke 12:32NKJV

Genesis 12:1–3NKJV

Romans 8:28NKJV

Romans 8:31NKJV