← Red Rocks Church Weekend Messages
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Hello, Hello, Red Rock Church. Thank you, Ryan. Thank you guys. Everybody, thank you for the warm welcome. Can we carry that? And say hello to all of our Denver base locations. Arvada, Lakewood, Park, Meadows. Can we also say hi to our friends in Austin, Texas, Brussels, Belgium? We love you guys. And let's get a little extra spicy for our correctional facilities. Men and women, we're so thankful to do church with you today. Oh, I just gotta say, if you haven't heard it yet, I've never known a more urgent, a more practical and timely mission than the one we have right here. And that is to help make heaven crowded by helping people know God, live on purpose and go change the world. And so I invite you all into that today. Welcome to Red Rock Church. You can be seated. I am so honored and slightly nauseous to get up here and speak to you guys today. This is my first time getting to share with our Denver locations and it is truly, truly, truly an honor. Again, my name is Lauren Bond and I have had the privilege of being on staff for just over 10 years. My incredible, awesome husband of 24 years we have been married. He helped run our sports ministry. So that's your sports sports shout out. Go find them on the app. Sign up, they have a ton of fun. And then we have together one amazing, beautiful, precious daughter named Felicity and she is currently. Guys, you can't make it up. She went to New York City with a suitcase and a one way ticket and a dream in her heart to love people and love God. And she is serving a church out there in the city doing awesome things. So we have done full time ministry together for 24 years and we have, we believe that the local church should be the hope of the world where people can come and experience Jesus. And so I want to publicly honor Pastor Sean and Pastor Jill. It has been a joy to serve alongside them. They really, really are the real deal. They are the most generous people you will ever meet. They have made themselves available to our family in times of desperation. I adore their hearts, their prayers, their blood, sweat and tears that have been poured out for this church. And so can we give it up for one more time? So honored to get to share today. Okay. As you know, we are in this next gen takeover and last week if you haven't had the opportunity or you missed it, go back and watch Casey Mexico. She kicked it off and she's just like the most fun and incredibly passionate communicator. And her hair is main character energy. So you don't want to Miss it. But without us even talking, I really feel that this is a great part two. We are in our kids takeover. Didn't they do such a lovely job? That was so sweet. Oh, I just. I love it so much. And I want to thank the volunteers that had to listen to that song on repeat over and over and over. But I just. I gotta say, I wanted to represent them well. Okay, so I went straight to them and asked them what they thought we should talk about in big church today. And here's what they said. This is just so good. All right, so Eleanor said, I hope that they hear a good Bible story and have fun in worship. And I think Eleanor thinks we also do motions to all of our songs, so that might be a disappointment to her one day. But okay, so Lily said, I like this Lily girl. I hope they learn to respect their elders and how to be considerate of each other. Okay, Lily, she's got something good to say. Sadie said, if I was to speak, I would say how family should love and care for each other and how God saved us from our sins. And honestly, Sadie, I think there's an open weekend in the fall. I will be in touch with you. That sounds like a great message, Atlas. Atlas said, I just hope my dad learns he is the best dad I could ever have. There's not very many children named Atlas, so I hope you hear this and just know that you are so loved. Okay. This is my favorite. Charlotte and Stella, they came to church together and they said, oh, we don't care what they talk about. I just hope they save me a donut. And so pro tip, there's donuts on Sunday. If you're Stella or Charlotte's mom or. Or guardian, they would like you to save them a donut. So I just want to make something clear. This is not a parenting message. I know there are lots of people in here that do not have children or you're not a guardian of a children, but I do believe that this is a message for every single one of us, what our role should be and how we should be contributing to the next generation. So, Jesus, we thank you. We thank you that your presence is already here. We love you so much. Thank you for the honor to get to encounter you, to communicate what I believe is on your heart. Lord, I pray that our hearts would be softened, our ears would be open, and that each and every person, you would meet them right where they are at. In your mighty name, we pray. Amen. Amen. All right, so we're going to kick it off so simple. The next generation matters to God. All throughout Scripture, we read and we see how much children and the next generation are at the heart of the Father. And so I'm gonna breeze through a bunch of scriptures just to prove that point. Okay, so we're gonna go real quick here through some of these. Psalms 139, 13:14 says, for you created my innermost being. You knit me together in my mother's womb. I am fearfully and wonderful. Jeremiah 1:5 Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as a prophet to the nations. Matthew 19:14 Jesus says, Let the little children come to me. Do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven is theirs. Mark 16:10 16 says, and he which is Jesus Christ took the children in his arms, placed his hands on them, and blessed them. He blesses our children. Matthew 18:10 See that you do not despise one one of these little ones, for I tell you that their angels, their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father. You don't mess with God's kids. Their angels are right there next to God in heaven. They are known in heaven. Matthew 18:5 and whoever welcomes such, whoever welcomes one child in my name welcomes me. Acts 2:17 in the last days, God says he will pour out his spirit on his people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your young men will see visions. So collectively, I think we can agree that the next generation matters. Matters to God. And here's the scripture where we're going to land on today and break apart. Psalm 127:3 Five children are a heritage from the Lord, an offspring, a reward from Him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. So the title of my message today is Quivers, Arrows and Bows. Let's break this down together. Okay, So I had to do a little research, because as a child, when I would play pretend, I was never the warrior holding the weapon. You know, I was the princess with the magic wand in my hand and a basket full of flowers like that was the prince, the shining armor. He had the bow and arrow. So I had to do a little bit of research to understand how these parts all work together, the importance of them. So what I have learned is that the psalmist was incredibly intentional with using quivers, arrows, and bows when it came to describing the importance of the next generation. So first, let's break down the quiver. The quiver Is called to protect. It is kept close, and it is ever observing. So to the warrior, the arrows are the most valuable thing. He is smart, she is smart. They know that they just can't have their arrows scattered around, for they could get broken, they could get stepped on, they could get taken. They know that there's an enemy that's out there to kill, steal, and destroy and wants to take what is possible, precious from the warrior. And so what the warrior does is it keeps its arrows in the quiver. The quiver protects them from the elements, keeps them from rusting, getting bent and broken. And so the quiver is intentionally designed to stay close to the warrior. In fact, even intentional by design, with the strap, you know, you've seen it. They throw it over their shoulder. There's a little picture of it right there. Throw it over the shoulder. That quiver with. Was. With that warrior all the time. And so even by design and the intentionality of that, the arrows wouldn't really be having any purpose quite yet. But the warrior knew that it was very important that the arrows would be observing, they would be following in training, they would be kept safe. They would not rush, they would not get stepped on, they would not be broken down. They would be held close, in closeness to the warrior. So could we shift our perspective a little bit? And when we think of the next generation, see them as something that is to be protected, invited into closeness of our lives, bringing them along with us in everyday tasks. I think this is something that there has been, and I've seen a disconnect with. It's almost like you graduate from college, you start your own family, or you do your own thing. You're in the job, you're in the career, and then you move on from realizing that there are a lot of the next generation that are looking up to us, that need training, that need mentorship, that need discipleship. And there's so much power when you say, hey, come along with me. And it could be in the simple things like, I don't know how to change a tire on a car. How do you work out, how do you cook a meal, how do you worship, how do you study the Bible? Bringing them along with us in everyday life is so important. So now the arrows, which represents children, young people, the next generation, we are called to sharpen them, to strengthen them, to prepare them. And I have learned that there are all different types of arrows in my research. Okay, so there are tall arrows, there are short arrows, there's plastic ones, there's ones with suction cups on them. There's ones with really sharp that penetrate deep. So there are all different shapes and sizes, but they're all created with an intentional, real purpose. This is important to think about. When you think about the next generation. If we are called to sharpen them, what would that look like? And in my mind, sharpening the next generation is bringing them affirmation, words of affirmation, acknowledging their victories, acknowledging their wins, saying, hey, I saw. I saw how you were kind to that friend today. Hey, I see how you're working really hard on that project. It's gonna pay off. Hey, you're practicing for that game. Let me tell you. I see that there's gonna be fruit in all their hard work that you're putting in. Hey, then there can be correcting side too, where it's like, I know you're frustrated. Let's talk about a different way we could express that frustration. Hey, do you need some help with time management so you don't go to class? I got some of my teachers here. This will make sense in a minute. But you don't get to class at the les every week. Let me help you with some time management skills. Sharpening arrows. And I just gotta say, for each and every one of our volunteers that serve in the next generation ministries that we offer here, can I say thank you? And here's why. Here's why. When you're holding babies, when you're holding crying babies, you are quiver for that little child. In that moment when you're sitting with a youth student who is just heartbroken, they're having their first breakup and they're crying. But to them, this is the most real thing that has ever happened to them. When you sit with them and look in their eyes and you bring comfort, you are a quiver. You are sharpening them. When you see something and you're like, hey, I want to call that goodness out of you. You have a gift. You have a calling. There's something special about you that is sharpening arrows. Each and every one of us is called to do this. We sharpen, we strengthen. When an arrow gets bent in any way, shape or form, it does not fly true. It goes off course or it becomes weak, that when it hits impact, it splinters and it shatters. And so the warrior would hold that arrow over heat, over flame, and then by hand, reshaping it to make sure that it would fly true. We all know that life comes at us. It hits us, and sometimes it hits us between the eyes when we least expect it. But arrows that have been sharpened and kept Safe and have been strengthened, can handle that impact at a different level. Also, a warrior knows when it's time for the arrows to soar. They see potential in that arrow. Before they pull it out of that quiver and put it to the bow. They see something significant, something special, but it's not ready till it's ready. But the warrior does know when it's time to fly. And so the bow. The bow can work through tension. It is intentional and it aims high. You see, the warrior learns that, hey, I see something in this arrow. I can stretch it a little bit farther back. It might feel uncomfortable for a minute. There might be some tension there. But it sees purpose and potential and calling on that arrow's life. That when it's time to pull it back, it knows just the right amount and aims them right at the target, which in the end is relationship with Jesus and purpose and being on mission. Okay, so we see that aiming it high, pointing them towards Christ is the ultimate honor, the ultimate goal of all of our relationships. So we see this throughout scripture modeled really beautifully. We have Moses and Joshua. Moses and Joshua spent years together. Joshua followed Moses followed Moses before he ever was commissioned to lead Israel. Moses took him him along up on the mountain. He let him experience and witness God's work. He gave him increasing responsibility when he saw Joshua growing in his leadership ability. And then when it came time, he commissioned him publicly to go and lead the Israelites into the promised land. You see, Joseph learned leadership because he was side by side with a leader. You have Naomi, who mentored Ruth. She mentored Ruth spiritually and practically and honestly. Naomi is like the best wing women in all of biblical history. She set up Ruth for success. She showed her how to have faith in God, how to have courage, how to have character, and set her up in such a way to go meet Boaz, her future husband, who then Ruth became. The lineage is in the lineage of Jesus. We see that that was a practical mentorship, also a spiritual mentorship. And then you have Paul, who was a spiritual mentor to Timothy. And there's some scriptures that call him a spiritual father to Timothy. You see, Paul didn't just teach Timothy and said, go, no again. He brought him along on the journey. He walked with him, he entrusted him, he corrected him, he encouraged him, and then eventually left him to lead the church in Ephesus. He launched him, knowing that Paul had done all he could do. He had taken Timothy as far as he could go. Then he pulled him back and launched him to go continue the gospel message, knowing that the spirit of God was going to go with Timothy. To go with Timothy. So here is the heart of God. And if we are imperfect people pursuing a perfect God, we should also pursue the things that are so very important to the heart of God. So the church, the body of Christ, us, should be the greatest influence on the next generation. And I am so incredibly thankful that Red Rocks practices what they preach. When we first came here to the church 10 years ago, we were in a really broken place in our family. A lot of hurt and a lot of pain. And we came here and our daughter went to kids for the very first time. And she loved it. She had the time of her life and she came out of there just beaming and glowing. And then she graduated from kids. We snuck her in a little bit early, didn't we, Andrew? Yeah, we snuck her in a little bit early. She came into youth group, she was in the park, front row, just worshiping Jesus, two braids in her hair, loving God. And she was even in Andrew's wife Kim's small group. Kim helped mentor her, brought her into her home, and then when she graduated high school, she went into young adults. And now she's with Casey being mentored by her in her ministry. All of this matters. And I'm so thankful that we are a church that pours into, puts resources towards, creates places and spaces for the next generation to be discipled. So when we see the next generation, we should be compelled to protect, to sharpen, and to aim. That is our goal, that is our mission. And we are all, all playing a part in that. And so I would love to make this a little bit more personal and give you a visual. When I was 15 years old, I was a freshman at Columbine High School when the shooting took place. I was in the lunchroom in the cafeteria. And by the GR of God, I am alive today. And today is not the day for that story. But I was able to navigate that because of some incredible people in my life. You see, I loved God so much before April 20, 1999, and I was more in love with him after that all took place. And that was not by accident. And so I would love to give you again a physical, visual representation of what it looks like to pour into the next generation. So first things first. This is my mom and dad. They came all the way from Ohio to be here today. They're incredible, incredible people. And so my mom and dad, when they chose to have me, they said, in this house, we will serve the Lord. Now. They did never. They never forced Me. They never made me go to church, make me go to church. It was always my choice. But their home was a quiver. They brought me along in their life. When they were going to church, I was right there with them. When they were hosting small group at our house. Guess who was doing the cleaning before all the people came over for the small group? Me. No. Just kidding. Larry. A little bit. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, so. But they brought. I watched them. I would wake up, and when I would wake up, my mom would be at the kitchen table reading her Word. My dad would be on the couch, feet up, also worshiping. I was an observer of their love for God because I was kept close in the quiver. I now reap the benefit of quality and a good relationship with Christ because they first led the way. They set me up for success because of how they chose to live. So I want to honor you and thank you for that. I love you. All right, this is Ms. Glinda, Ms. Glenda Childs. She was my first Sunday school teacher in the first grade, and she stayed with me all the way till high school. She was a volunteer at church and any assemblies of God OGs out there. She was my missionette, which is like Christian Girl Scouts leader. She led me in my mission at the programs. But this is what made our relationship really special. She invited me into her home. I had dinner at her table. I would go on family vacations with you. I watched how she loved people, served people, how she parented her children. I was a observer of all of that. And so now, all of these years later, we can have an adult relationship, which is really special. But seeing her be. Her being a part of my life has been one of the biggest blessings. So I want to thank you for stepping up when I'm sure a pastor got up on stage and said, hey, we need some people to help leave Sunday school. And you said, yes. And so because of your yes, my life was forever changed. So thank you, Ms. Glenda. All right, Ms. Mosher. Ms. Mosher was my cheerleading coach. And there's something special about a coach, but there's something really special about a coach in high school after you've gone through tragedy together. And so my freshman year, the day the shooting happened, I was actually supposed to pick up my uniform in the cafeteria, and that never happened. But I remember that next year, Ms. Mosher, time and time again, had to put her own fear, her own grief, put it in a box, put it on a shelf to be strong for us students. And she was emotionally available and ready when she was going through her own grief. It was a great sacrifice, what she did. And so I want to say thank you for your sacrifice, for being strong for us, when I'm sure you felt like you couldn't even be strong for yourself. I leaned on that. And thank you for being a quiver, a safe place, for sharpening me and believing in me all of these years later. So I love you. All right, this is Mr. Tonelli. And I know some of you had Mr. Tonelli as a teacher. Why is he so incredibly special to me? Because when all of my friends were signing up to go to college and they were going to cu, csu, asu going around, I'm like, I'm actually thinking about getting married and going into full time ministry. And he was like, I see that in you. I believe in you. He made it okay to be a Christian in a public school. And kept. Yeah, he called out. He called out the giftings in my life. He made it okay for me to just be me And Brent, I think you know this. But, Mr. Chanelli, you might not remember when I asked you. I had to take my senior final a little bit early. It was so I could hop on a plane to meet my cute college boyfriend who proposed to me at the airport. So because of you, we're engaged now. But I want to say to every, every teacher out there that is in the public school system, you can be safe places for kids like me who believed in Jesus and it wasn't the cool thing to do. He made it safe and encouraged me and pushed me towards my destiny. And so thank you, Mr. Tanelli. I love you. I love you. So you might be looking at all of these people and saying like, well, Lauren, that's really great for you. I didn't have that type of support. I just want to first say I'm sorry. I'm sorry that nobody stepped up to come alongside you in your life's journey. But that does not disqualify you from standing in somebody else's lineup. In fact, it should motivate you at a new level to be behind someone pushing them towards Jesus. So I want to say thank you to you all. Can we honor them one more time as they have a seat? Thank you. Thank you. Oh, that's so awesome. Oh, that's so good. I know it was not always easy for them to show up, to pour out, to put their own life struggles to the side, to make space for others, but it's important they realized that their life story was so much bigger than themselves. I was A younger generation looking up to them. And there's fruit in that. There is fruit in that. So now you may be saying, what about me? Okay, well, whose lineup are you in right now? Where do you fit in this narrative? The warrior. Could we be a church of people that champion, support and lead the next generation with the truth of God's word? Would they be able to look back and see us praying for them, mentoring them, making ourselves available to them, cheering them on? And if I could just get a little vulnerable and real with you for a minute, if we're the ones that are going to be mentoring and discipling the next generation, I'm talking Gen Z, Gen Alpha, our baby, little beta babies that are coming up now, could we please do the hard work to heal the broken parts of our lives so we do not mentor them through the lens and the filters of our own trauma? And here's why that's important. How amazing would it be for a generation to inherit love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, self control from us instead of our fear, our anxiety, our habitual sin, our patterns that need to be broken, they deserve that. Our arrows deserve that. Every child that was on stage deserves that. It's hard work, but it's good work. It is good work. And there are so many resources available to you that we can connect you with if you're on a journey of healing. Let me tell you, God wants to meet you right where you are at. He wants you to walk in confidence and in freedom so that a generation that's behind us says, I want to live a life like that. I want to be like that person. It is so very important. And for me personally, I have found my freedom through the power of forgiveness. That has been my life's motto since I was that 15 year old girl who had every right to harbor bitterness and anger. I had a choice to make and the choice I made was to forgive. And when I did it to it set me free at the prison. The prison and the bondage that the anger was trying to put on me. And so let me tell you, if you're thinking, all right, I want to do that, I would like to, but I got my own life hang ups right now. That's okay. We all do. We're all broken, we're all imperfect. God wants to meet you. Will you have the grace for yourself to call on his name, to have him come and heal those broken parts of your heart and of your life so you can go live in freedom? Our freedom should impact someone else's Future. Your freedom is not just for you. Your freedom has a ripple effect for generations and legacy to come. Because of the people that were in my lineup, because, because of the choices they made, we now have the next generation. Our child who is wanting to serve and love God with all her heart, soul and mind. It does matter. So I want to read just the last part of our verse. Psalm 127:3 5. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. And this is the kicker. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies at the gate. The psalmist knew how incredibly effective a sharpened, a protected and aimed at Jesus generation would be. They would be contenders at the gate. These generations that are coming up behind us, they have so much purpose, so much passion, so much creativity. They are going to contend with the enemy and he is angry about it and he wants to keep them as far away from the good news of the gospel. But if we, if we collectively say no, I'm going to help sharpen some arrows. I'm going to become a quiver. I'm going to, I'm going to pull somebody. I'm going to strengthen them, I'm going to encourage them and remind them that they have, have destiny, that there's purpose over their life. Your voice can speak life into so many people. And so just know, know that each and every one of us, it's our responsibility. Just like Casey said last week, the Great Commission, it's our responsibility. Here's another layer of that. The next generation will eventually be the church. They are the church. We are preparing them to be the church. Now they're watching us. How we worship, how we love, how we open our doors, how we are generous. They are watching, they're observing. So let's lead them. Let's lead them to light. Let's lead them to the cross. Let's lead them to Jesus. Let's champion them to be all they can be through him. Amen. Would you guys stand? Stand with me. Amen. Real quick, I have two questions for you and I don't need any sympathy arm raise. I want this to like for you to really mean this. My question first, number one is if you are willing to publicly say that you are going to look for some arrows, you're going to look for some that ready to bring along in your journey. Maybe that's starting volunteering, maybe that's opening your home for a group, having a dinner, a meal, a coffee, an invitation A text. If you are willing to say, hey, God, my arms are open. Will you bring people into my path so I can pour into them lead the next generation into all the good that God has for them? If that is you and you are willing to say, hey, I'm willing and will wanting to rise to the occasion, would you just raise your hand so I can pray over you? Amen. At all of our campuses. Thank you, thank you for your yes. That's all God needs. That's all he needs is our yes. And then he sets up all the steps perfectly for us. So if you're here and you're like, hey, that sounds really great, but like, I don't even know anything about this God thing. Before God asks you to become a warrior for somebody else, he calls us to be sons and daughters. He is a good, good father. And at the start of this message, I made it very clear that he's created you. He is known in heaven. He loves you, he wants to bless you. All his good gifts are for you today. And so if you're here and you're like, I, I want to say yes to Jesus. I want to have an impact my want. And I need to know that my life is just bigger than this. Because how small minded are we if we just think, this is it, this is all we got? It just can't be that way. Life is so much bigger and be so much better. When you put your life in his hand and let him cleanse you of your sins. When you realize, I am in need of a Savior and I want a relationship with Jesus Christ. And then let's go on an adventure together. Let's go do some things. Jesus wants you to experience his safety, his sharpening a life with purpose with you first so that you can go be a witness, so you can say, I once was lost, but now I'm found. I once was blind, but now I see. And if that's you today and you would like to dedicate and say yes, the Lord, would you also just slip up your hand so I can pray with you? Thank you, thank you, thank you. I see your hands at all of our campuses. Can we celebrate the goodness of God, his faithfulness? We're gonna pray and then we're gonna worship and we're gonna sing a song that's an oldie but a goodie. We're gonna sing the blessing and I just want to declare this over you, over your household and over the next generation. So God, we love you, we thank you for all that you are God I thank you for the calling and the gift that it is to sharpen arrows, to keep them safe, to point them towards you, Lord. May our hearts never ever grow weary of the good news of the gospel. May we be a mouthpiece of the life change we have experienced through you, God. As we continue to worship, I pray blessing over every single person. I pray blessing over the next generation, God. I pray that they would rise up with a holy boldness, Jesus, to go be contenders at the gates, contenders against the enemy. We love you Lord. It's in your mighty name we pray. Amen.