Rewind — the teaching platform built on your church’s own preaching

The big idea

We can't stop showing up as the church, because Jesus keeps showing up and has already prepared a harvest — all we have to do is get in the game.

Jesus has already prepared a plentiful harvest and the victory is already His — our only job is to show up and do our part. Following Jesus is hard, but not following Him is hard too, so Pastor Bill calls Rock Point to choose the hard that leads to victory: showing up with sacrifice, service, and generosity for the next phase of the church's building campaign.

Point 1 of 6

Jesus's mission statement for the church is to love God and love others, and that's the whole point of the law and the prophets.

Pastor Bill walks through Matthew 22, where a Pharisee tries to trap Jesus by asking for the greatest commandment. Jesus answers with loving God fully and loving neighbor as yourself, which Pastor Bill says is where Rock Point's own mission statement, point people to Jesus by loving them like Jesus, comes from.

Instead of it, here we go again, we need to celebrate that here we get to go again

— Pastor Bill Bush

Point 2 of 6

The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few — the real problem isn't the harvest, it's people unwilling to be harvesters.

From Matthew 9, Pastor Bill notes Jesus already describes a huge harvest ready and waiting, contrary to the fear-driven posture many churches take toward the world. The struggle Jesus named to His disciples is the same struggle today: people want to come to church but don't want to actually show up and do the work.

We wanna come here, but we don't wanna really show up. We want Jesus to show up, but we don't show up

— Pastor Bill Bush

Point 3 of 6

Showing up isn't the same as really being in the game — presence without engagement misses the point.

Pastor Bill tells a story about his father, a baseball coach, benching the team's effort after a lackluster game. When a player protested, "at least we're here," his dad answered that they were all there, but the player hadn't shown up yet — a line Pastor Bill applies directly to giving, serving, and sacrifice at Rock Point.

You're all here, but the player hasn't shown up yet

— Pastor Bill Bush

A story from life

Pastor Bill's father coaches a baseball team that showed up physically but not mentally, illustrating the difference between presence and real participation

Point 4 of 6

The campaign needs $6,000,000 more, and true generosity means equal sacrifice, not equal amounts.

Pastor Bill explains that rising interest rates and costs mean the church's finance team refuses to borrow more, so the remaining $6,000,000 must be raised directly. He asks everyone to prayerfully decide their own scary, sacrificial amount, noting the widow's mite matters more to God than a large gift that costs nothing.

I'm asking for equal sacrifice, not equal amounts

— Pastor Bill Bush

Illustration

Youth night worship event where hundreds of students came to Christ; video testimonies from students are played

Point 5 of 6

Life is hard whichever direction you choose, so choose the hard that leads to victory instead of defeat.

Pastor Bill recounts his father, a decorated war veteran, teaching him that both sides in combat endure the same hardship, but only the side that keeps moving forward wins. He applies this to following Jesus: the difficulty doesn't go away, but moving toward Jesus is the hard that ends in victory rather than defeat.

Jesus never promised easier. He promised better

— Pastor Bill Bush

A story from life

Pastor Bill's father, a decorated war hero from World War II, Korea, and Vietnam, taught him that both sides in combat experience the same hardship but only the one that moves forward wins

Point 6 of 6

Paul's example to the Corinthian church shows that real ministry costs something, but victory is on the other side of it.

Pastor Bill reads through 2 Corinthians describing Paul's hardships, beatings, and sleepless nights in bringing the gospel, alongside the paradox of having nothing yet possessing everything. He identifies with Paul as a church founder and pleads with Rock Point the way Paul pled with Corinth, to open their hearts and not withhold their love.

Related passage

so choose your hard and choose to go forward because when you move forward, you win

— Pastor Bill Bush

Take it into your week

Pastor Bill's charge is to choose your heart and show up — because Jesus already showed up first and prepared the harvest.

Application

Prayerfully decide your pledge amount
Take the pledge card and ask God what amount would require you to sacrifice, not just what feels comfortable, and commit to the We Are Rock Point campaign.
Get scared with your giving
Whether you've never given or you already give well, push past comfort — increase what you give and let it cost you something real.
Consider a larger, sacrificial gift if you're able
Pastor Bill directly challenges those with means in this high-income area to consider a gift as large as a million dollars, believing several in the room could do it.
Choose your heart and move forward
Recognize that life is hard either way, and choose to lean into the hard that follows Jesus rather than the hard that leads to defeat.
Follow through on your commitment
Make the pledge and then actually follow through on it, trusting God with the outcome rather than backing away from fear.

Keep going

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