refuge Singles Ministry

We will be at the Gwinnett Gladiators game on Saturday November 7th at 6:30pm.  It is located at the Gwinnett Arena.  If you have any questions call 678-446-7603.

Sign up at the welcome center and pay $20 to reserve your seat by Sunday Nov. 1st.

Pastors Breakfast Sunday

Join the pastors Sunday for the Pastors Breakfast.  This will give you an opportunity to meet the pastors and ask questions.  Starts at 9am in the green room.  The green room is located near the restrooms.

The Bride of Christ

I am not going to give you the whole thought behind this blog but if you come to The ROCK Church Flowery Branch on Sunday you will get the whole message.  But I do want to give you a few things to think about… so here we go.

Since Jesus uses the picture of a bride for his redeemed church, we can read about weddings in terms of his promises to us. First there would be The Betrothal.

The betrothal was binding and could only be undone by a divorce with proper grounds, such as the bride being found not to be a virgin, (see Joseph and Mary – Matt 1 v18-19 ) The young man prepared a Ketubah, or marriage contract (or covenant) which he presented to the intended bride and her father. Included in this was the ” Bride Price “, which was appropriate in that society to compensate the young woman’s parents for the cost of raising her, as well as being an expression of his love for her.

(1Cor. 6:19& 20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 20 For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. ”

The second step in the process was The Acceptance

To see if the proposal was accepted, the young man would pour a cup of wine for his beloved and wait to see if she drank it. This cup represents a blood covenant. If she drank the cup she would have accepted the proposal and they would be betrothed. The young man would then give gifts to his beloved, and then take his leave. The young woman would have to wait for him to return and collect her. ***Christ has laid the cup of His salvation on the table in front of us and He waits on us to drink it. Just as He did with His disciples at the “Last Supper” (Mark 14:24) ***1Cor. Chapter 12 speaks of the gifts of the Spirit that Christ has given to us to operate in until His return! ***We are now as the bride. waiting for his return to marry us!

There was also so something very important called the wedding chamber or the Chuppah

Before leaving the young man would announce, ” I am going to prepare a place for you “, and “I will return for you when it is ready”. The usual practice was for the young man to return to his father’s house and build a honeymoon room there. This is what is symbolized by the chuppah or canopy which is characteristic of Jewish weddings. He was not allowed to skimp on the work and had to get his father’s approval before he could consider it ready for his bride. If asked the date of his wedding he would have to reply, “Only my father knows.”

***John 14:1-3 “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

***Meanwhile the bride would be making herself ready so that she would be pure and beautiful for her bridegroom. During this time she would wear a veil when she went out to show she was spoken for (she has been bought with a price)

Are you getting ready?

Making History,

Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday

Hello everyone,
I just wanted to let everyone know that this Sunday October the 25th is
Breast Cancer Awareness Sunday. This is a time to spread awareness, honor
those survivors of cancer, remember those who have lost their battle with
this disease, and to honor the loved ones of those who have battled cancer.
We have at least one covenant partner that is a survivor of breast cancer
and their could be more that I am not aware of. Either way… this Sunday I
wanted to ask you all to wear pink to your church or to The ROCK Church FB.
Help me honor, remember and make aware our congregations of this devilish
disease. We will be handing out info packets that you can take home with you
for yourselves or for someone else. So please wear a pink ribbon, pink
shirt, pink dress, or color your hair pink… what ever you want. Let’s just
celebrate the victory God has and is continuing to give us over this
terrible disease. Thanks a Bunch!

Making History,
Pastor David Edmondson

Singles Friday Night Bowling

refuge singles ministry will be chillin at Oasis Bowling Center in Buford GA Friday October 23rd @7pm.  If you are interested sign up at Singles Sign-up.

Prepare For Rain!

When the rain of His presence comes again to us will we have prepared
ourselves to rise above the Earth and exist on the waves of His Glory? Or
will His rain find us unprepared and we sink in the deep with all those who
are not expecting Him to show up?

    Noah was prepared for the rain of God in the book of Genesis and he and
his family rose from the cares of this world to live in an ark for 1 year
and 7 months because of his preparation. All those who didn't prepare where
washed away in the very waters of rain that saved Noah and his family. See
it wasn't the rain waters that killed the people of the Earth, for the Bible
actually says the Noah and his family were saved by the water. Well how
could they be saved by the same waters that killed everyone and everything
else? Preparation! If you don't prepare you will not reap the full benefit
of any blessing.

    About 2 weeks ago I awoke one morning with the Spirit of the Lord saying
to me, "Prepare for rain..." See we do a good job of asking God to move.
Asking Him for His blessings. We are continually desiring His rain but we
seldom do anything to prepare for His rain. He doesn't want to kill us...
but there are things in us that must die so we can live in His rain waters.
The rain of course is an out pouring of God's presence. Acts 2:17-21 states,
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of
my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams:
And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my
Spirit; and they shall prophesy: And I will show wonders in heaven above,
and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapor of smoke: The sun
shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great
and notable day of the Lord come: And it shall come to pass, that whosoever
shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved." You may have never heard
this scripture before because we never preach it any more. Why? Because we
are not prepared and sadly... for the most part, we don't want it. See rain
is one thing we can't control and we love to control our walk with God and
our church services. Not for me... not any longer... not for The ROCK Church
Flowery Branch. We are preparing for His rain!

    Let me be as Noah must have been, not only with his voice but also with
his actions, proclaiming "Prepare cause it is about to rain!" Oh that my cry
will not fall on deaf ears or undesiring hearts. The beginning of
preparation is within the heart of each of us. Let us prepare or hearts to
receive, be lifted up, and exist on the abundance of the waters of His rain!
Will you join me in this preparation?

Making History,
Pastor David Edmondson