Eagle Rock Covenant

Sunday - December 27, 2020

If you're considering making a contribution for 2020, it must be received by the church on or before December 31st. The church can now receive your contributions digitally via Venmo or Zelle. On Venmo we are @ERCov1 On Zelle, use our phone number 3232576434 Thank you.

Candlelight Service - December 23, 2020

It's Christmas Eve, Eve. Wednesday, December 23rd. Tonight at 7:00 pm we'll be celebrating the birth of Christ with a candlelight service. If you'd like to join us in person, everyone is welcome. We will also stream live here on facebook. Blessings to you and yours and Merry Christmas!

- Scripture of the week: Proverbs 3:5-6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and he will make your paths straight. - Blog: Here is a favorite scripture for many believers. I memorized these two verses in a Navigator’s course that I facilitated back in the 80’s. These verses, hidden in my heart, have been helpful to me many times in my faith journey. To trust the Lord is not blind faith, but an act... of the will that is based on His promises and character. Our own understanding can hinder trust in the sense that we adopt worldly values, behaviors and ideas. Part of Christian discipleship is having our minds and hearts shaped by God’s revelation in His word. As we allow the Spirit to shape our perception of reality, then as we choose to live out our faith, we can more easily trust in the Lord. Take for example our finances. From a biblical perspective, we do not own what we have, but are called to be stewards or managers of our money. As followers of Jesus, we are freed from the love of money and can liberally give as the Spirit leads. I can think back to several times where the Lord impressed on me to give and trust Him. My own understanding would cry out to hold on to what was mine! As I trusted God and obeyed, He straightened or smoothed out my path in liberating me from my own selfishness. Learning to trust God has been a journey. For a long time I was not a very trusting person. I let my wounds and disappointments creep into my relationships. I am sure I transferred this mistrust to God. Through a lot of personal work, I have become a more trusting person. How is the Lord speaking to you about trust? What areas of your own life is He calling you to trust Him? I encourage you to put your trust in the Lord and do not lean on your own understanding. Let Him, by the Spirit and Word, shape your understanding and give you the confidence to trust Him. Have a great week and keep looking to Jesus! See more

Scripture of the week Isaiah 1:18. Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool. Pastor’s Blog God wants us to reason together. When we come to God we are called to bring our brains! We do not leave them on the doorstep of the sanctuary! This week is a transition between Advent and the New Year. It is a good time for reflection and looking forwa...rd to new beginnings. I want to encourage all of you to take some time and reflect on this past year. Most of us are glad it is over! What does God want to teach you from this past year? What does He want you to leave behind? What do you want to see happen in this coming year? These are important times. We need to be people that live with clarity and discernment. As a church we will begin the process of discerning our future. I am hopeful and encouraged as I look forward! We are a community of God’s kingdom. He wants His people to thrive and grow. Yes there are seasons of pruning, but God’s intention is always for new growth. Most communities of faith are struggling during these challenging times. We have struggled as well, but I am confident that the days ahead will be better! Remember the words from the letter of Hebrews; faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. (Hebrews 11:1). Let us go forward with faith! Pastor Fred See more

Thank you to those who have picked up boxes to pack. We have 7 left. Please return all boxes, packed or unpacked by Sunday, November 15th. If you want to participate but need our assistance, please call the office. We will be glad to help you. (323) 257-6434.

We apologize for our error this morning. We are having trouble posting our service. We will continue to try but it's not looking good. Please join us next Sunday at 9:30. Thank you for understanding.

4th Sunday of Advent - December 20, 2020

UPDATE - It seems that we are unable to post today's service here. If you leave a comment requesting the video, we will share it to your page so you may see it. Thank you. We apologize that we are not live this morning. Our service will be shared here later today. Thank you for understanding.

Here's our fun fall decorations. We had fun setting up and hanging out. Only a few kids came by for their treats. Maybe next year.

- Scripture of the week: However, I admit that I worship the God of our fathers as a follower of the Way, which they call a sect. Acts 24:14. - Blog: In John’s Gospel, Jesus calls himself the way, the truth and the life. He says that no one can come to the Father (God) except through him. (John 14:6). In our series through Hebrews, we have discovered that through Jesus, we have a new and living way into the presence of God. Our sins have been removed and our consciences h...ave been cleansed. Jesus is the way to God. He is also the way to a new life in the kingdom of God. As followers of Jesus, we are called to live out his teachings in this age. The Sermon on the Mount provides a clear example of how his followers are to live out this new Way of the kingdom. Jesus called out of his own people a new Israel that would be a light to the nations. These communities of Jesus were to be a sign of the presence of God’s kingdom. This new Israel would incorporate people from all the nations. Through the baptism of the Spirit, every person who puts their faith in Christ would be included into this new corporate body. (I Corinthians 12:13). Together, Jews and Gentiles would make up God’s holy temple and be a light to the nations. So what does all this mean for the body of Christ in today’s culture? It means that each Christian community is to live counter-culturally in a world void of kingdom ethics. Followers of the Way reject the totalitarian urges of the powers that exist and place their allegiance to Jesus as Lord. Their citizenship is first in heaven and see their lives on earth as aliens. The body of Christ is called to be a community of the Spirit and allegiance to Jesus trumps party lines and ethnicity. As more and more people in our culture become disillusioned, will the church be the church and provide a counter-cultural alternative to all the craziness? In Jesus’ day, he provided an alternative way for people to find hope. In today’s culture, I trust that we can offer an alternative way, which is the Jesus way! Pastor Fred See more

Sunday - October 25, 2020

Here's some inspiration for you. This family packed 550 boxes. How many will you pack?

Here's some info if you're pack a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child.

- Scripture of the week: Hebrews 10:24-25. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another-and all the more as you see the Day approaching. - Blog: As Christians, we really need each other! In these days of increased social isolation, we need to be praying for one another and encouraging one another. My heart goes out to all the children th...at are isolated from their fellow school mates and teachers. I feel for all the seniors that are isolated at home. Working at home has advantages, but it makes people more isolated. In the body of Christ, fellowship and gathered worship experiences are critical for growing in faith. The Christian life was never meant to be lived alone. My hope is that when the state and local government opens up all of society, that attendance and social gatherings will increase dramatically. My hope is that fear will not keep people from gathering. The verses from Hebrews 10:24-25 reflect this need for Christians to encourage one another and gather for spiritual strengthening. Before the virus and lockdowns, many churches in America were in decline. This past year has only accelerated this decline. I refuse to let this discourage me! My hope is that this is a wake-up call to the body of Christ. We need to double down our efforts to be missional and relational. Please be in prayer for our own mission here in Eagle Rock and the mission of the body of Christ in our beautiful land! Pastor Fred See more

Sunday - October 18, 2020

- Scripture of the week: Luke 4:18-19. The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor. - Blog: Last Sunday morning I ended my message with the words of Jesus, Follow me. I did this in the context of explaining the covenant relationship that we have in the New Testament. I ...explained that God initiated the covenant by sending His Son into the world and doing the work of eternal redemption. The work of redemption promises us an eternal inheritance in the kingdom of God. Upon entering this covenant, believers are given the Holy Spirit as a seal guaranteeing our inheritance. (Ephesians 1:13-14). Our covenant responsibility can be summed up in faithfully following Jesus. This raises the question of just how are we to follow Jesus. One important aspect of following Jesus is to rely on the Holy Spirit just as he did in his life. When Jesus was baptized, the Gospels record that the Spirit of God descended on Jesus. Following this event, Jesus is described as being led by the Spirit into the wilderness. The above quoted scripture from Luke’s Gospel describes Jesus quoting Isaiah 61:1,2. In this narrative Jesus claims that it is by the Holy Spirit that he proclaims the good news and does the works so described. Later in Jesus’ ministry he claims that it is by the Holy Spirit that he drives out demons. The evidence is clear from the Gospels that Jesus was a person filled with Spirit and faithfully fulfilled his ministry in the power of the Spirit. If we are going to take our covenant responsibility seriously, then it is incumbent on us to rely on the Holy Spirit for the power to faithfully follow Jesus. Our first step in following Jesus is to ask him to fill us each day with the Spirit. This is what the Apostle Paul meant when he wrote, I can do everything through him who gives me strength. (Philippians 4:13). God knows that we cannot faithfully follow Christ in our own human strength. He graciously provides the resource of the Spirit to help enable us to do the Jesus thing in our world. The last two thousand years of church history has given numerous examples of ordinary people being able, by the Spirit, to follow Jesus. Let us seek each day to ask our Lord to fill us with the Spirit so that we can be Christ’s presence in the world! Pastor Fred See more

Sunday - October 11, 2020