Harbor Rock Tabernacle

Before technology became prevalent, writing letter was a primary form of communication. The brevity of the method caused words and emotions to be more thoughtful and more valuable.  During Biblical times, a letter of commendation was often sent with a person to authenticate who they were, and the apostle Paul used that as a parallel for our lives as believers, as "letters of Christ". This causes u...

 After Jesus' resurrection, the disciples obeyed Him and returned home to Galilee. There, they quickly went back to their "normal" life, going fishing but being unsuccessful. When Jesus appears on the shore and leads them through a miracle, they realize He is continuing to do powerful works, now through them, as they take on a new responsibility. Peter especially is challenged in new ways, because...

Throughout the Bible, the Lord uses powerful everyday symbols to communicate and tie together deep spiritual truths. One of these is a garden, the setting for 3 of the most significant events in human history: The fall of man, Jesus' substitution in taking on our sins, and His resurrection. When we realize the crushing weight of mankind's sins being placed on Him, even though we were guilty, it is...

The reality of Who Jesus is and what He calls us to forces every person to have a conviction about Him--whether it's 2000 years ago or right now. Issues like sin, death, eternal existence and faith cannot be ignored. Those around Jesus in the midst of the highly charged setting in which He was crucified had to decide in that moment what they really believed about Him. Even those closest to Him wav...

As David was running from Saul's threats on his life, the natural fear and despair he felt was offset by his strong and certain conviction about the Lord's faithful help. He learned that God's goodness is "stored up" for those who take refuge in Him--a hidden treasure of security in His presence. The Lord's love is extraordinary and beyond our comprehension, and He promises to hear and watch over...

At the start of the week of the most amazing events in human history, Jesus had a simple request: He needed a donkey. Both the two unnamed disciples He sent and the unidentified donkey owners understood this was important to Jesus, without knowing how significant it would be. Rather than balking at the level of expectation on them, they understood that obedience is not optional, and that we must b...

Significant life transitions are all throughout the Bible, and our experience. While exciting, they require faith and sacrifice, and also open us up to spiritual attack. So the Lord calls us to "take heed"--to see and perceive what's really happening, and examine it in order to act wisely. as we do this, we need to protect our heart so we don't fall away from the Lord, and protect HIs Church and H...

In order for believers to continue to mature spiritually, every thought, word and decision must be assessed as to whether it is honoring Jesus and making us more like Jesus. This is not only essential in our relationships and ministry, but especially as we strive to reach people with the Gospel. In light of that, Peter calls us to eliminate 5 toxic attitudes and actions that hinder our effectivene...

The recent revivals have highlighted the reality that there is immaturity in the American Church that has hindered our effectiveness in impacting our culture. So spiritual maturity must be our highest priority--moving on from the elementary basics. We will know this has taken place when we see 3 marks that highlight the fact that we are aliens--citizens of heaven. When we are walking in maturity w...

Like the Jewish remnant in Nehemiah 8, the American Church needs to remember God's warnings about spiritual indifference, but also find hope in the potential of His work when our hearts are right. The recent revival at Asbury University and other campuses has shown the impact of a fresh hunger for the Lord. This should not only be normal, but the simplicity of what is happening causes us to evalua...

Insecurity is an odd emotion. In one sense, our sense of inadequacy moves us toward humility and brokenness, but in another, the feeling of being unappreciated is subtly rooted in pride. This is exemplified in a man named Naaman, a well-respected Aramean army captain who was also a leper. This stigma led people to want to help him, but when the Jewish prophet Elisha offered a simple method of heal...

One of the most amazing promises the Lord gives believers is that He will "go before us". This is proven all through the Bible, from Israel at the Red Sea, to David at Baal-perazim to the Lord's vow to restore Israel to HIs Spirit's presence and armor. God's literal movement of the cloud ahead and behind Israel is a beautiful picture of HIs faithful willingness to lead and protect us, while giving...

One of the great challenges of walking by faith is discerning the voice of the Lord...especially because the devil is constantly working to deceive us and destabilize our faith. Jesus emphasized this concept after healing a blind man, and compared His followers to sheep who know His voice. Sheep have characteristics that definitely parallel who we are as humans and even believers. As our Shepherd,...

In His last teaching before He was crucified, Jesus called His disciples--and all believers--to "abide" in Him. This concept of staying near with contentment and anticipation is at the heart of living for Christ. We can visualize it through the concept of a tea bag: Do we dip back and forth into His presence and Word and prayer, or do we continually immerse ourselves and let Him transform us? Jesu...

The enemy regularly tempts even mature believers to be "familiar" with our salvation and become complacent about continued maturation. But Colossians 2 calls us to "walk in Christ Jesus", living in total alignment with Him. Paul describes 4 ways to do this: Being deeply rooted--like a palm tree whose roots go straight down, by being built up in Christ--like a skyscraper with it's foundation in the...

God loves words--they are how He reveals His character, communicates truth, make promises and guides us. As we seek the Lord and draw closer to Him, often He will give us a specific word designed to refine us, or indicate a fresh work that He is doing. As 2023 begins, it is important we aren't worried and bothered by many things, like Martha was in Luke 10, but that our main priority is to hear an...

After experience the life-changing news and wealth of emotions from Jesus' birth, the key figures had to process what it meant for their lives going forward. Not only were they amazed at the fact that God had come to save us, they were also amazed by the way in which He came here. The humility of Jesus' incarnation--including the time, place, setting and situation--should change the way we think a...

The last part of the angels' message that night in Bethlehem was that peace was now offered to anyone on earth, because of Jesus' birth. But so often, we find peace to be elusive in our lives. Much of the reason is that we are looking in the wrong places...because peace is supernatural. It only comes from the Lord--which is why Jesus came here. When we live by faith and according to His will, peac...

So many people don't experience genuine hope--which is not just a desire for something to happen, but according to the Bible, a confident expectation in the Lord to work. The genealogical line from Abraham to Jesus is a metaphor for how even good people use by God still were inadequate and failed. But the Lord is gracious, and when Jesus came, God proved His love and mercy to all people by offerin...

There is a visceral sense of diminished passion & contentment in our culture. Any sense of joy seems muted, which may be due to lack of trust created by the obscuring and alteration of truth. That's why the message of the angel to the shepherds about Jesus is so powerful--because God is openly declaring the truth about His mercy and plan for mankind, to an unlikely of common people. This "Good...

The core needs of all people are love, joy, hope and peace, but the prevailing characteristics of the world are hatred, depression, hopelessness and division. This has many people living in abject fear. Believers can be tempted to live in fear, especially in times of uncertainty--something that Joseph & Mary and Zecharias and the shepherds all faced. The Lord specifically told each of them, "d...

All throughout the Bible, the number 12 signifies God's power and authority, His future work that will be completed, and our called to remember His faithfulness and serve Him with sanctified hearts. On this 12th anniversary of our church, we look at Biblical people from whom 12 was significant, who had to make a decision about living for the Lord. They decided to stand up for the Lord, draw near t...

We can become inconsistent or negligent in praising the Lord, whether life is good or difficult. But it is a key component of having our minds renewed, especially when we are in difficulty. The accounts of Job, David, and Paul and Silas reveal that praise corrects fatalistic misperceptions and conclusions by reminding us of the power, authority and faithfulness of the Lord. When our focus transfer...

Our convictions drive everything we do, and show where our heart is. As has been shown in the US, confusion and division are an indication of not seeking the Lord. In a similar time, King Asa of Judah brought the people back to the basics, reminding them that the Lord is with those who are with Him. Asa courageously removed idols and restored the altar, calling the people to fresh consecration of...

When we have a broken relationship, what approach should we take when we are the offender or the offended? Jesus told a very powerful parable about a son who disrespected his father and wasted his inheritance early, because he was driven by selfish entitlement. But he quickly learned that pride and sin only leads to disillusionment. Instead of continuing in that, he humbled himself and repented, t...