Go To The Rock

You are set up to win, but you can still choose to fail. Pastor Jonathan Dirmann teaches from 1 Samuel 10 to 12 how God gave King Saul a new heart, his Spirit, and valiant men, and what that means for your life today.

"The House of Saul, Part 2: The Rise of Saul" is the third message in our sermon series, The Kings and You. After a short recap of Israel's demand for a king (1 Samuel 8), Pastor Jonathan shows that "God is actually setting up Saul to win." Saul is chosen by lot at Mizpah, found hiding among the equipment, and surrounded by men whose hearts God touched. Then comes his first act as king in 1 Samuel 11: the Spirit of God comes on Saul, Israel unites against Nahash the Ammonite at Jabesh Gilead, and Saul shows mercy to his critics.

Do you call on God only when you need a breakthrough? Pastor Jonathan Dirmann shows from 1 Samuel 4 why Israel lost the Ark of the Covenant, and why a right name with a wrong heart never works.

 "The House of Saul, Part 1: The First King" is Part 2 of our sermon series, The Kings and You. After a brief recap of the judges and Samuel, Pastor Jonathan walks through 1 Samuel 4 and 5: Israel carries the Ark into battle, loses 30,000 men and the Ark itself, and Eli falls at the news. Then the Philistines set the Ark beside Dagon, and the idol falls on its face. Along the way you'll see the difference between using God as a means to an end and knowing Him, with Acts 19:11-16 ("the right name, the wrong heart"), Matthew 7, 1 John 1:6-7, and Psalm 103 ("bless the Lord, O my soul").

 Next, Pastor Jonathan connects the torn veil in Matthew 27:51 to our open access to God's presence, and asks why we should never treat that access lightly. Finally, in 1 Samuel 8, Israel demands "a king like all the other nations," and God says they have rejected Him (compare Romans 12:2). The message closes by meeting Saul in 1 Samuel 9:21 and 10:1, a humble young man looking for his father's lost donkeys, and ends with a prayer and an invitation to follow Jesus or recommit your life to Him.

Tired of praying and still waiting? Pastor Jonathan Dirmann opens 1 Samuel 1 to show how Hannah kept praying through years of disappointment, and why you should keep praying like Hannah.

"The Last Judge" is Part 1 of our new sermon series, The Kings and You. Pastor Jonathan sets the stage with a quick look at the era of the judges and the era of the kings, then zooms in on Samuel, the miracle child who became the last judge of Israel. His story begins with Hannah, who prayed in bitterness of soul, poured out her heart before the Lord, and watched God remember her. With Matthew 7:7-8 and the persistent widow in Luke 18:1-8, Pastor Jonathan encourages us to "always pray and not lose heart," and shows how Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2 shifts from bitterness to rejoicing.

The message then turns to Eli's sons in 1 Samuel 2 and 3. Same house, very different outcomes. Learn why you can't mistake proximity for relationship (James 1:22), how God is both all love and all truth, the difference between confronting and restraining, and how to hold the line of righteousness in the authority God has given you. Before it ends, you'll hear that ministry is a heart posture, not a position, because you are a minister unto the Lord first.

Which prayer are you tempted to stop praying? Share it in the comments and let us pray with you. Next in the series: "The House of Saul."

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 Open your Bible to 1 Samuel 1
3:12 How 1 and 2 Samuel changed my life at 15
6:22 Why the Old Testament still matters
8:59 Historical context: from Abraham to the kings
11:34 The era of the judges
13:32 The Last Judge: Samuel
15:46 1 Samuel 1: Hannah and Peninnah
19:02 Bitterness of soul, but she prayed
22:09 The Lord remembered her
23:44 Luke 18: pray and do not lose heart
26:32 Will He find faith on the earth?
29:48 Hannah's prayer: from bitterness to rejoicing
34:30 The child ministered to the Lord
36:36 Eli's sons: same house, different outcomes
38:20 Don't mistake proximity for relationship
45:46 God is all love and all truth
50:44 Confronting vs. restraining
51:38 Hold the line of righteousness
57:07 You are a minister unto the Lord
1:00:32 Next week: The House of Saul
1:03:02 Salvation prayer and invitation

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Service Times: Sundays at 8am, 9:30am, and 11:30am
Website: www.gototherock.com
The Rock Church is a Foursquare church in Anaheim, CA, led by Senior Pastors Jerry and Kimberly Dirmann.

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Why does joy feel so far away, even when you love Jesus? In this message, Pastor Jerry Dirmann shows from Scripture that many believers lack joy because their river isn't flowing, and how rivers of living water can start flowing out of you today.

Continuing the joy teaching from Romans 14:17 ("righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit"), Pastor Jerry begins in Psalm 51 with David's prayer, "Restore to me the joy of your salvation," and the link between God's presence, the Holy Spirit, and joy. From the woman at the well in John 4 to Jesus' promise in John 7:37-39, he shows that once you are filled with the Spirit, you have a fountain inside you. Jesus said out of your heart will flow rivers of living water.

Did you know your words carry the power of life and death? Tonight, Pastor Corey opens up Scripture to reveal why what you speak is shaping your heart, your relationships, and your future.

In this message, "The Power of Words," Pastor Corey walks through Proverbs, James, and the Gospels to show that our words are never neutral. From James 1:26's warning about an untamed tongue, to the centurion's astonishing faith in Matthew 8 ("just say the word"), to Zacharias being struck silent in Luke 1 for speaking doubt over God's promise — Scripture is clear: your mouth reveals what's really in your heart, and it has real power to build up or tear down.

Joy isn't what happens after the breakthrough — it's what rises up inside you before you ever see it. In this message, Pastor Jerry Dirmann continues his teaching on Romans 14:17 — righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit — and shows why faith and joy always arrive before the visible answer.

Using Matthew 2 and the wise men who followed the star to Bethlehem, Pastor Jerry unpacks what it means that Jesus calls Himself "the bright and morning star" (Revelation 22:16) and why Peter tells us to pay attention to that prophetic word "as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (2 Peter 1:19). Just like the wise men rejoiced when they saw the star stop — before they ever saw the Child — you can rejoice with exceeding great joy the moment God's promise rises inside you, long before the healing, provision, or breakthrough shows up in the natural.

What are you looking at? Because whatever has your attention has your joy — or steals it. In the first message of our brand-new series, Joy in the Holy Spirit, Pastor Jerry Dirmann opens Romans 14:17 to show that the kingdom of God isn't found in circumstances, politics, or things that come and go — it's righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

In this Bible teaching, Pastor Jerry unpacks the difference between the Holy Spirit simply residing in you and the Holy Spirit actively filling your thoughts and emotions (Ephesians 5:18). Using Romans 15:13, Philippians 4:4-8, and the story of the wise men who "rejoiced with exceedingly great joy" (Matthew 2:10), he makes the case that rejoicing is not a feeling you wait for — it's a choice you make by fixing your attention on what God has already secured for you.

You'll discover:
✓ Why right priorities matter — politics, circumstances, and headlines are important, but they are not ultimate (Romans 14:17)
✓ The God of hope who fills you with joy and peace as you trust Him (Romans 15:13)
✓ The difference between the Spirit resident in you and the Spirit filling you (Ephesians 5:18)
✓ Why "rejoice in the Lord always" is a command, not a suggestion (Philippians 4:4-8)
✓ How the wise men modeled joy by choosing what to look at (Matthew 2:10)
✓ Full joy available through abiding in Jesus (John 15:11)
✓ An incorruptible inheritance reserved in heaven that produces "joy inexpressible and full of glory," even without having seen Jesus (1 Peter 1:3-9)

If you've been feeling weighed down by the news cycle, your circumstances, or just life in general, this message will help you shift your gaze — and your joy will follow. This is the kind of practical, Scripture-centered teaching that builds solid lives that build solid lives.

⏱️ TIMESTAMPS
0:00 - Introduction: Joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17)
7:40 - Right priorities: politics matters, but it isn't ultimate
14:05 - Romans 15:13 - the God of hope fills you with joy and peace
25:14 - Ephesians 5:18 - filled with the Spirit, not just resident
28:38 - Philippians 4:4-8 - "Rejoice in the Lord always"
33:06 - To rejoice is a choice, not a feeling
35:33 - The wise men: rejoicing with exceedingly great joy (Matthew 2:10)
42:43 - John 15:11 - that your joy may be full
49:20 - What are you looking at? Applying the choice to rejoice
50:58 - 1 Peter 1:3-9 - joy inexpressible and full of glory
59:23 - Closing challenge and prayer

📍 VISIT US
Service Times: Sundays at 8am, 9:30am, and 11:30am
Website: www.gototherock.com

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If this message helped you choose joy today, subscribe for weekly Bible teaching from Pastor Jerry Dirmann, and share it with someone who needs some joy this week. Drop a comment and tell us — what are you choosing to look at today?

#TheRockChurch #PastorJerryDirmann #JoyInTheHolySpirit

"Someone else will do it." Those five words are why prayers go unprayed, offerings go ungiven, and teenagers go unreached — until no one does it at all. In this message, a visiting apostle from Armenia's Word of Life Church confronts the "diffusion of responsibility" mindset head-on and calls The Rock family to become Good Samaritans with our own platform and stage.

Artur Simonyan, senior pastor of Word of Life Church in Armenia (and a fast-growing network of churches now planting across Florida), was invited to preach at The Rock after Pastor Jerry Dirmann and a Foursquare Church USA delegation — at the invitation of Foursquare USA President Randy Remington — traveled to Armenia this past June. The Rock had already sown financially into Word of Life's first U.S. building purchase in Florida a year earlier, and this message is the fruit of that partnership.

Jesus didn't die so His kingdom could be filled with servants — He died so it could be filled with sons and daughters. In this message, Pastor Jonathan Dirmann opens Luke 10:38-42 and asks the question every believer eventually has to face: is your relationship with God built on performance, or on true fellowship?