Jedediah saw a beautiful low-rider on his way to church. He described the paint job and the angle at which the body was set. The bumper almost kissing the asphalt. The dude with an attitude. Gotta have that! He began to think of the diminished value of the truck. Oh, it might hold value to the owner or others who cherish that kind of ride but for the ones who created the truck, it was ruined. It could no longer go off-road or into sand dunes. It would not be able to haul loads or move furniture. It would have a hard enough time going over speed bumps or up curbs. It was only for show. It really couldn’t be used as a truck anymore. Too bad.

God creates us with specific designs and abilities. All too often, we take our vessels and pollute them, change them, cheapen them, altar them, abuse them all for our glory but not God’s glory.

The Lord speaks of vessels unto honor and some to dishonor. If we follow God’s design and allow Him to change us, we can become a vessel unto honor. We will be ready when Jesus looks for a vessel to use. He will see us waiting on His will.

I think I would rather be an old truck that has been able to climb the mountains of life and stand the heat of the valley of trials. One that has been maintained on the Word of the Lord and the oil of the Holy Ghost has been changed every 3000 miles. The tires of my life have worn well with living the life of a Christian. The interior smells of the joy and praise found on the lips of the driver.

That is the kind of vessel I want to be!

Rev. Shane Koch preached a powerful message on being desperate for God. We don’t casually come into this life of a Christian. No! We are born again and enter into warfare. We need to be passionate about our faith. Passionate about the truth. That is what sets us free. I remember feeling so free from the world’s belief system which is not much of a belief system. It is more “loosey goosey” and “anything goes” belief. I lacked security and once I met Jesus and He straightened me out, my footing became sure. I knew right from wrong. Everything was clear. Peace entered my life.

Pastor Brian Koch announced the installation of Bro. Shane Koch into the position of Pastor of the Rock. The church prayed for Bro. Shane and Sis. Jessica as they fulfill the call of God in their life.

Please pray for these wonderful young men and women as they work to bring in the harvest. God is with them.

Rev. Shane is doing an awesome job along with his beautiful young wife, Jessica, with her singing talent. Bro. Jed leads in drums and adds his wonderful tenor voice.

Bro. Caleb is thankful for nothing cuz sometimes nothing is good!

Praise God! The Ramirez family is thankful for the simple things in living for God. Sis. Carmen carries a burden for her family but she hears from God His wonderful constant assurances.

Rev. Shane begins his message with the question, “Where did the sword come from?”.

The will of God comes to your life so clear and plain and we respond “God, I want your will but I know that ain’t it!” We need to quit fleecing God and start trusting God. You think Gideon was excited that his fleece worked? He went about figuring out a plan that did not match up with the plan of God. Thank God he listened to God, reduced the army, changed the tactics and won the victory for the Lord.

Peter thought he knew the will of God and wore a sword (remember he was a fisherman!) to join into the fight for the kingdom of God but when he struck out at the armed guard he was quickly rebuked for cutting off the ear of the guard as the Lord healed the man. Jesus won the battle and Peter picked up the sword of the Spirit on the day of Pentecost and spoke to the sinners about what they needed to do to make it into the true kingdom of Heaven.

Pastor Koch preached on choices we make regarding our life. How do we make decisions? What is the biggest decision of our life? Do we follow Biblical principles or choose to let decisions be based on convenience.

After hearing this message, I thought about Samson and how frustrating to listen to his story of blind love with Delilah. She repeatedly tricked him and he chose to stay ignorant of her devices. He lost his strength and power because he trusted her. We can chose to be ignorant of the devil’s devices and allow our flesh to dictate our course only to find our strength and power in God gone.
What a sad conclusion. He lost so much. Our life is so short. Let us be informed about the Word of God and understand how to make smart decisions in our life. You can be victorious and have joy.
Be informed, be smart, be a Christian!
Posted by Sis. Kathryn Koch

Shane Koch (the assistant pastor at The Rock) fell from a ladder while he was checking inventory at WheelWorks.  Shane currently manages the store in Gilroy and was about 10 ft. off the ground when the ladder he was standing on collapsed under him. Shane broke 12 bones mostly in his back and spine but as the story goes with most men of God…  He’s walking with a little help from a walker and cane just two weeks after the injury.

I’ve heard the story over and over again; the preacher or saint that falls from an impossible height, receives minimal injuries and recovers quickly.  One of our saints fell 70-80 ft. into a barley silo missing a concrete step by 6 inches and plunging several feet below the surface! He was rescued by the same guy that knocked him off the top of the wall in the first place! What are the standard reports from the news or your friends?  I’ve never heard of this type of miracle reoccurring at such a consistent pace in the world. We truly received an exceptional health plan when signing up to become the bride of the Creator.  Does it feel reassuring to know that God has your life in his hands?   There are so many things, people or situations that vie for control of our lives. I’d rather have Him in control of my life than anything else.  You’ll never feel your life is truly stabilized until you give the reins over to Jesus.  He is the Great Physician after all.

Pastor John Nelson preaches Gods Only Master. His scripture references were John 3:16 and I John 1:1. God is only mastered by one thing – His love for us. Rev. Nelson preached of Adam and Eve’s fall from grace and how great the fall was. God mingles His judgment of us with His love for us. As the judgment of God moves through His shed blood it turns into grace. God’s love is indescribable . How do you describe a sunset to a man that’s blind; or the sound of a symphony to a deaf man? The love of God is just as indescribable and difficult to explain to those who are lost. God’s love never pauses. You could ask the great patriarchs, apostles and prophets of old if the love of God ever fails and the reply would be, “The love of God NEVER fails!”

Shaeleen Koch was dedicated to God this Sunday morning and couldn’t have been more of an angel! She had rosy pink cheeks and bright blue eyes; the preacher conducting the ceremony (grandpa) could barely contain himself! She was prayed over by the whole family and church. We’re hoping for a prayer warrior. Click on the link below to see more cute baby pictures!!!!

Everyone had so much fun at Shane’s B-day this year. The man of the hour showed up TWO HOURS LATE for his own party! Nobody seemed to mind, it was his party after all.

The Nintendo Wii was very popular and bowling seemed to be the game of choice for the night. The poor
little PS2 sat in it’s corner all night… alone.

We all drove to the surprise concert at 7 and Shane was thrilled! Pillar was awesome, but we all had to wear earplugs because it was sooooo loud!

Thanks to Stephanie From EVPC, she contacted the guys from Waverley and they wished Shane a Happy Birthday from the stage during the concert!

Everyone that had missed the first party met back up at the church and had a little AFTER PARTY! WHOOO HOOO! Good times!

Thanks to Terra, Eric and Marie, and Nicole for helping out so much!

Check out Shanes New Ride! Sweet!

Pastor Brian Koch preaches on Easter Sunday about the reality of the communion. The presence of the Lord could be felt beginning with the prayer service at 4:00 pm.

The remembrance of the ultimate price that was paid for the forgiveness of our sins was signified in the shared breaking of bread and new wine. All searched their hearts asking Jesus to keep the carnal man down and raise up the spiritual man so that we could appreciate His actions that day on Golgotha.

Pastor Koch expressed the experience in simple terms – the dry bread being chewed and feeling difficulty with the bread in our mouth – the cooling relief of the new wine as it spreads throughout our body like the true experience of salvation. This compares to the altar of repentance, death to self, baptism in Jesus Name and the wonderful relief and joy after receiving the Holy Ghost.

Luke 22:17-1922:17 “And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, Take this, and divide it among yourselves:”

22:18 “For I say unto you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine, until the kingdom of God shall come.”

22:19 “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.”

Now we can walk in newness of life – Romans 6:4 “Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death; that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.”

Pastor Brian Koch preaches a message of truth and revelation! This is an excellent message that is not to be missed. The text is taken from 2 Corinthians 5:17 and 2 Corinthians 6:14-17

2 Corinthians 5:175:17 “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

2 Corinthians 6:14-17

6:14 Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?

6:15 And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel?

6:16 “And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

6:17 “Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.”