Rocky Peak Young Adults

Dre continues our series "RPYA's Summer Playlist" by diving into Psalm 29 and guiding the everyone to practically implement the teaching into our lives.

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Our new YA pastor Andres "Dre" Carias leads us into our new series called "RPYA's Summer Playlist," where we get to experience the songs of Jesus. Today, we dive into Psalm 1 and see Jesus' invitation to do life with Him.

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This week, Pastor Joel, Dre, and Tim take on difficult questions posed by our young adults. 

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As faithful Christians, how do we react to church hurt? In our lives, we are going to encounter people who have been hurt by Christians, so we want to be prepared to be a faithful witness in those situations. Today, we are going to explore what it looks like to address church hurt from a biblical perspective and how to love people who have been hurt by the Church.

Message Notes
Main Passage: Ezekiel 34

Main Point: When our earthly shepherds fail us, look to your Heavenly Shepherd who never will.

How to Respond

1) Listen

2) Lead him/her to the Shepherd

3) Pray for Gospel opportunities 

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Ever wonder how a good God could allow evil to exist in our world? Listen as Joel unpacks the problem of evil and how it coincides with a Christian worldview. 

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Can we really trust the Bible? That’s the question we’re diving into this week with seminary professor Chris Woznicki. Join us as we explore how trust is built, what’s at stake, and why Scripture matters for your faith, your doubts, and your future. We’ll see how the Bible stacks up against objections to its reliability.

Message Notes:

2 Peter 2:20-21

For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. – 2 Peter 1:16

Apologetics = The task of presenting a well-reasoned intellectual defense of the truth of Christianity.

For the Non-Christian: Apologetics breaks down walls to faith.

For the Christian: Apologetics serves evangelism, build’s confidence, and leads to worship.

Trusting The God Who Speaks - Testimony

Properly Basic Belief: A belief that you are allowed to have without needing proof for it; it is something you can reasonably believe from the start.

Defeater: Something that gives you a good reason to stop believing something you thought was true.

“Reel” Objections to the Bible

 1) “The Bible we have today is copies of copies that have been corrupted in the ‘oldest game of telephone.’”

2) “The Gospels were written too long after Jesus’s life to be trusted.”

•  Jesus (AD30) --> Mark (AD42) --> Paul (AD50) --> Matthew & Luke (AD59) --> John (AD70)

3) “The Bible isn’t history—it’s made-up stories used to push forward the church’s agenda.”

1. What Makes Good History
2. Early
3. Independent Witness
4. Embarrassing Information
5. Enemy Attestation

Bonus Evidence:

1. Geography
2. Names

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It can often seem that "Science" and "Faith" are two opposing teams; that to choose one you have to abandon the other. But...is that really the case? Join us as we continue our series "Under Construction" and unpack the question: Are science and faith really "enemies?" 

Message Notes:

~The Perceived Narrative – “Two Opposing Teams”~
• Science And Faith Cannot Co-Exist

"The findings of science imply that the belief systems of all the world’s tradtional religions and cultures…are factually mistaken."
(Steven Pinker, Enlightenment Now: The Case for Reason, Science, Humanism, and Progress)

"Reading the biography of Albert Einstein…only reinforced my conclusion that no thinking scientist could seriously entertain the possibility of God without committing some sort of intellectual suicide."
(Francis S. Collins, The Language of God)

"34 percent of science professors at elite universities say that they do not believe in God, versus 2 percent of the general population."
(Rebecca McLaughlin, Confronting Christianity)

~The True Story~
• Science Is Not An Enemy To Faith…It’s A Powerful Advocate For It!

~Encountering Jesus Through Science–The Past~

Science Defined: Such knowledge or such a system of knowledge concerned with the physical world and its phenomena. (Merriam-Webster Dictionary)

The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. (Psalm 19:1)

• Roger Bacon (1200s): Friar, Scientist, Early Advocate for the Modern Scientific Method
• Galileo Galilei (15-1600s): Physics, Astronomer, Heliocentrism
• Michael Faraday (17-1800s): Chemist, Physicist, Electromagnetism
• Gregor Mendal (1800s): Friar, Biologist, Founder of the Modern Science of Genetics
• William Thomson/Lord Kelvin (1800s): Mathematician, Physicist, Laws of Thermodynamics
• Asa Gray (1800s): Botanist, Darwin’s “Best Advocate”
• George Lemaitre (1900s): Priest, Cosmology, Astrophysics, First Formulation of “Big Bang” Theory

~Encountering Jesus Through Science–The Present~

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

• Ian Hutchinson: Professor Emeritus of Nuclear Science and Engineering
• Daniel Hastings: Head of the Department of Aeronautics & Astronautics
• Jing Kong: Professor of Electrical Engineering
• Rosalind Picard: Professor of Health Science & Technology (Artificial Intelligence) 
• Doug Laffenburger: Professor of Biological Engineering, Chemical Engineering & Biology
• Susan Hockfield: Professor of Neuroscience, Former MIT President

Cambridge University

• Simon Conway Morris: Paleantology, Astro Biology, Evolutionary Biology, Chair of Evolutionary Paleobiology

"I had never really seriously considered the evidence for or against belief…But I’m determined to have a look at the facts, no matter what the outcome."
(Francis S. Colins, The Language of God)

Living In Tension, Joyfully
Three Questions

1) What Is Your Expectation Of The Bible?

2) Is This A Primary Or Secondary Issue?

3) Have You Assumed An Answer From The Start?

Recommended Resources

• The Confronting Christianity Podcast
  • Episode: Can A Scientist Believe In The Resurrection?
• Confronting Christianity, Rebecca McLaughlin
• The Language Of God, Francis S. Collins
• The Surprising Rebirth Of Belief In God, Justin Brierley

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In this new series called Under Construction, we will be tackling the questions that shake our foundation. Today, Tim helps us to unearth what our REAL foundation currently is--and what it really should be.

Message Notes:

The Surface Issue: Deconstruction is everywhere.
1 Kings 19:10

The Deeper Reality: Deconstruction isn’t the enemy.
Matthew 5:21-22; 27-28; 33-34 & 37; Mark 9:24; 1 Corinthians 3:1-3a; 2 Corinthians 13:5, 10

The Real Problem: You can't rebuild if there’s no foundation left.
Matthew 7:24-27

Central Truth: Only Jesus is strong enough to build your life on.
1 Corinthians 3:10-11; Ephesians 2:19-21; 1 Peter 2:6

A crisis of faith doesn’t break your foundation—it reveals it.

Our Common Cracked Foundations 

1. Community – A faith built on people who welcomed me and cared for me.
   
   
2. Comfort & Blessings – A faith built on what I get from God rather than who He is.
   
   
3. Tradition – A faith handed down, but never made personal.
   
   
4. A Leader – A faith tethered to someone inspiring… but human.
   
   
5. Theology Alone – A faith built on knowing a lot about God.
   
   
6. Brick-Wall Faith – Where every belief holds equal weight—one brick cracks, the whole wall falls.

A Better Way Forward: Building on the True Foundation

1. Root Yourself in His Word 
   
   
2. Talk to Jesus Honestly and Often 
   
   
3. Reflect on His Goodness 

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You’re doing all the right things—Praying. Obeying. Surrendering. But God still feels … silent. What do you do when He doesn’t feel close? When you’re not hearing anything back? You’re not the only one who’s felt that. King David did too, and he wrote about it. Join us as we dive into Psalm 13 and the truth that: God may feel silent, but He is never absent.

Message Notes
Main Passage: Psalm 13:1-6

Times when God was silent:
Psalm 22:1-2 / Psalm 28:1 / Psalm 83:1 / Psalm 10:1

BIG IDEA: God may feel silent, but He is never absent.

1) Hearing God ... Silent

Catch This: In the silence ... hold tight to God's character.
Exodus 34:5-7; Philippians 4:8

2) Hearing God ... Absent

Action Step: When God feels silent or absent ... be honest, stay grounded, and trust His character.

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In this message, we learn God's overarching will for our lives, the necessity of obedience if we want to hear Him speak to us, and the importance of community in discerning his voice.

Message Notes

What Not to Expect: If you aren't hearing the audible voice of God, it's okay.

1 Thessalonians. 5:16-18

The One Condition: If we are not in obedience to God, we will not hear him because we would rather hear ourselves.

Matthew 11:16-19

One Way to Hear: The voice of God is much more easily discernible within the context of the people of God.

Colossians 3:15-17

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