What Jesus Wants 

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Jesus said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain….And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” John 12:24 and 12:32

Why did Jesus die? He didn’t want to be alone!  Jesus is the “grain of wheat” or Seed that died, was buried, and in rising from the dead produces “much grain.”  We were created FOR Jesus, to be His Daily Delight (Colossians 1:16 and Proverbs 8:31). He came to bring us out of darkness and into His light. He came to set us free from the bondage of sin and give us His righteousness. He came to ransom us from the power of death and give us eternal life with Himself. And that is exactly what He accomplished through His death and resurrection. Thank you God! Now, when you and I trust in Jesus, making him Lord, and receiving this FREE gift, we become His—alive, forgiven, and free.

And how many people (“grain”) does Jesus want?  ALL PEOPLES!  Jesus does not want to be alone; He wants “much grain”–a metaphor for all people to come to know Him and become like Him.  Jesus wants His Father’s house filled with people from all different ethnicities and backgrounds. He loves that person at your work; He loves your neighbor, He loves your prodigal family member; He loves that person serving you at the store or restaurant. Jesus desires them to be His Daily Delight too!  He is drawing you and He is drawing them to Himself.

 

 

We made it to St. Louis! An update

Posted on by pastordavidturner

Hey friends, family, and prayer warriors: 

Now that we are getting settled in St. Louis and moving forward I thought an update is long over due.  

In April: we crammed (almost) everything in a truck, took a 5 day road trip, visited the Grand Canyon for the first time, played lots of games and watched lots of movies, unloaded the truck.

In May: we started meeting with our team, gave roses to moms at the park on Mother’s Day; we are getting to know people, inviting people to church, starting small groups, and exploring the city–the arch, the cardinals, free world class zoo, city museum (it’s a crazy fun place), great parks, free science center, and the best ice cream at Ted Drewes.

Loving it!
The kids are doing well.  They are happy and have met a couple kids.  Their biggest desire is more friends.

God has brought an amazing team to St. Louis to partner with us. We have 8 adults and at least 4 more coming. It’s been fun strategizing, praying and working with like-minded Christ followers who have laid it down for the work of advancing God’s kingdom in this city. God is providing jobs and places to live for the team, giving us favor, and leading us in building relationships.  

Thank you for praying. Like Paul, I (and each team member) ask you to pray “that God would open to us a door for the word, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in chains, that I may make it manifest, as I ought to speak.” ( Colossians 4:3-4).

We need open doors of opportunity, we need boldness, we need words from God to fill our mouth, we need favor, we need the power of the Spirit.
Jesus has sent us here because people need Jesus. We were created for a great purpose. And yet that purpose can only be discovered when connected to our Maker. How do you know how to use something? The owner manual. How do you get it to work? Trouble shooting question #1: is it plugged in? We need to hear from our Maker, through his word-the bible-and we need to be connected to Him in order to operate in our God-designed purpose. People need hope, people need joy, people need purpose, people need love…and all of this is only found in Jesus. He is the source of life. So we want to bless people with the truth that they really do matter to God and were created on purpose. 

We want to let people know the truth about God’s love that shed blood to bring us back to Himself. We want to empower people to live at the level they were created to live at.  That is why we are starting a church this Fall that will bring people to Jesus, disciple them in the powerful truths of God’s word, and connect them in life giving community. 

So this summer we are inviting people to a few small group bible studies (Rock Groups), Sunday house gatherings, and a discipleship class-Operation Solid Lives. We are also preparing for our church’s Grand Opening this Fall.  
If you want to support this work of God, you can give by going to The Rock’s website, www.gototherock.com.  Click on “GIVE”, log in, and choose the St. Louis campus.

If you want to help us invite people you may know in St. Louis to one of our small groups, you can find out information and spread the word on our webpage, www.gototherock.com/STL or on Facebook.  Visit our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/therockstl

In late September or early October we will host a “missions” team from all over the US to help us invite people before the grand opening.  If you are interested in coming to St. Louis for a few days, please contact us: saintlouis@solidlives.com.