Church on The Rock Homer

If you have ever felt unseen, overlooked, or disregarded, this message is for you. Before we study together, take some time to read through Genesis 16 and 21. If I was Abraham and I was writing my autobiography, I probably would have opted to leave this section out. It's pretty rough.

But buried there, amidst the rubble of bad decisions and abusive actions, is God, aware and present. And not only aware and present, but including the unseen in the story of His redemptive plan.

I love this about our God and I look forward to digging deeper with you.

Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

What do Melchizedek, Sodom and Gamora, Balaam and Balak, Phinehas, King Eglon, Ruth, King Rehoboam, King Nahash, Sanballat and Tobiah, ancient mythical gods Chemosh, Melchom, and Baal all have in common? One man named Lot. Lot, the nephew of Abraham, seems like a side character in the book of Genesis. His role, however, has great historical significance in the books of the bible.

Though being involved in many unfortunate situations and making very bad choices, the story of Lot has theological significance that we may not see at first. Beyond being the father of a few of Israel's enemies and advancing the biblical story in some regards, the Apostle Peter makes a statement that prompts a “lot” of questions. In the book of 2 Peter, the Apostle describes Lot as righteous and a man greatly distressed by evil conduct. Though many may not have thought of Lot in this way, digging into the details will give us the answers as to why Peter says this.

In this message, we look over the story of Lot and his relationship to Abraham. We will see his significance to biblical history and answer the questions of why the Apostle Peter calls him righteous.

Pastor Forrest Smith

There is a little story about me that I want to tell you now. It has taken me 20 years to work up the courage. Don’t judge me too harshly…

Shortly after moving back to town in 2005, Jenny and I were reestablishing connections and friendships here in Homer, Alaska, the town of my birth and my heritage. We had just had our second child, I was in my first full-time ministry role, and life was good!

I had recently been introduced to wonderful world of coffee and had a daily habit of getting a 12 oz vanilla breve from Captain’s Coffee. (I know, that’s an unsustainably large amount of fat and sugar, but that’s a different story for a different day.) A good friend of ours was a barista at the time and she was an absolute pro at making the drink just the way I liked it.

After about a year of living here, our barista friend relayed to me an interaction she had with another employee of that fine coffee establishment. “Who is that guy you’re friends with? The one that never smiles and doesn’t tip.”

The reason her comment was so surprising… and jarring, is because I knew myself to be such a happy and generous person. How dare this person, someone I barely know, make such an obviously incorrect assessment of my character! And that based on so little so information! The injustice of it all.

In my defense, we had no money, and I was smiling on the inside. But this was one of the first times I had to confront the possibility that maybe my relationship with Christ wasn’t manifesting in the way I thought it would. Maybe my “belief” was limited to the space between my ears. Or worse, maybe I was a hypocrite!

In this message, we jump into Genesis 12, the story of Abram. We’re going to examine the nature of true faith and why it matters.

Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

I don’t miss driving on highways until I pass Potters Marsh on the way to Anchorage. All of a sudden I’m reminiscing of long road trips with endless highways on the way to a prescribed vacation spot. On those trips I have found it useful to have a copilot to make sure we’re on the right course because without one it's easy to get way down the road and realize that we were supposed to take a left back at Albuquerque!

It is a regular occurrence in my life that I need someone else to step in and redirect my focus, not on highways, but in the day to day of work, marriage, finances, parenting. Without the constant reminder to focus, my eyes and heart wonder.

The Tower of Babel narrative is just that, a refocusing of people who have gone astray from God's plan.

In this message, we redirect our eyes to Jesus. It’s what I love doing, and love doing with you, Church! Read ahead in Genesis 11.

Pastor Matt McCarter

I have been thinking and praying about this message for quite some time. It is one of those teachings where I feel the weight early in preparation, as my heart wrestles with what it means for all of us.

In this message, we will be in Genesis 5, 10, and 11:10 to 32. Even if you grew up hearing Bible stories and know many of the early Genesis accounts, these chapters may feel less familiar. They can even raise an honest question: why are these passages here at all?

That question matters, because the message in these chapters is deeply significant for our church. My prayer is that, as we walk through them together, we will see more clearly what God is saying and respond with open hearts.

Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

In this message, we continue our Eden: Why Are We Here? series by exploring Genesis 9:8 to 17, the passage that introduces what Scripture calls the Noahic Covenant. Many of us know the flood narrative, but this text invites us to pause and consider what God was communicating after the flood and why the sign He chose still matters today.

When God places His bow in the clouds, He is doing far more than giving the world a beautiful phenomenon. In the ancient world, a bow was a weapon of war. In Genesis 9, God deliberately hangs His bow in the sky as a declaration of mercy. It is a public, universal promise that He will never again judge the earth by flood, not because humanity suddenly became righteous, but because God is gracious, faithful, and committed to sustaining life.

This covenant speaks not only to God’s restraint after judgment, but also to hearts that wrestle with fear: fear of failure, fear of judgment, and fear that God may be done with them. In this passage, we see how God’s mercy meets people personally and how His promises remain firm even when people fall.

My prayer is that this teaching helps us see God’s faithfulness more clearly and that we never look at the bow in the sky the same way again.

Joseph Collier

One of the five love languages is giving and receiving gifts. After college, and earlier in my adult life, I considered myself a fantastic gift giver. I had money, time, and a sense that, well, I was killing it in most areas of life. Then I got married, had kids, and went into ministry, tightening my budget and forcing me to be more creative. The truth is, I wasn’t as good a gift giver as I thought. I just had extra money to buy people nice things.

When you consider how special a gift is, there is a ratio involved. It includes the expense of the gift and the thought behind the gift. An absent father’s gift to a child of a brand new vehicle does not repair the lost relationship between father and child, but the relational capacity that drives the thoughtfulness of a gift will trump an inexpensive gift on any special occasion.

In this message, we examine the difference between Cain and Abel’s gifts to the Lord and, in the process, our own offerings unto God.

Pastor Matt McCarter

Caught red-handed has to be one of the worst feelings in the world. You did it, there’s no denying it, you’ve been caught. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of getting caught. There is such a clarity in that moment.

Up until you’re caught, all of your self-deceptions make sense, at least to you. But when you’re caught, it all falls apart very quickly. The obvious badness of the bad thing you got caught doing sets in pretty powerfully.

And then there’s consequences; The bad things that I now owe because of the bad thing that I did. We all want to negotiate consequences. As bad is it may be, we would like to make the case that there was good reason and we are not as to blame as others might think. Also, can you go easy on the consequences?

And all of this is part of God’s grace toward sin. In this message, we look at God’s grace in the midst of painful consequences. Before diving in, take a minute to read through Genesis chapter 3 again.

Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser

Real friends tell you there’s stuff on your face or food in your teeth!

At the moment it's embarrassing when someone comes up and says, “are you leaving that in your beard for later there big fella”, but no one really wants to walk around with shmutz on their face or spinach in their teeth.

However for some of us it's challenging to be on the other side. You’ve been there, a friend walks up to greet you and you immediately notice the speck in their teeth and before you know it you’re 15 mins into a conversation and the only thing you’ve thought about the whole time is whether or not it would be rude to point out the blaringly obvious.

Here's the truth, telling someone the truth isn’t always fun or easy and it is most definitely not comfortable, but it is loving, compassionate, and merciful.

In this message we explore The Fall in Genesis 3:1-13, specifically the way in which God responds to Adam and Eve who have giant pieces of forbidden fruit stuck in their teeth!

Pastor Matt McCarter

I am THRILLED to be launching into the book of Genesis again as we kick off a New Year! There are so many foundational truths regarding our purpose, our design, and all the other big WHY questions related to our existence.

Take some time to read through the first chapter of Genesis. This is the question I want you to ponder on during this message: If you were in charge, how would you plan for us to spend our days?? What would life look like if you were the Creator of all things!?

Pastor Dr. Aaron Weisser