Thy Rod & Thy Staff
Nondenominational Church
A place to serve, not sit.
What We Do
Church Purpose
Our purpose at our Bible base church is to get people to be like Christ and turn from that which is contrary to Him. We would like very much to lead others to make Christ the foundation of their lives. We would like to show Jesus as a faithful friend, a loyal companion, as someone who will stand by our side when no one else will.
As a body of Bible based Christian believers, we see our whole purpose as doing the will of God so that His Spirit might be manifested in our midst. With His hand we hope to convince others that Christ is our Lord and Savior. We want to show that if we trust in Him, He will very clearly show us that He is who He claims to be.– a Provider who can supply whatever we need whenever we need it under any and all circumstances, a Physician with no limitations in His healing power, a Counselor with infinite understanding and wisdom. We would very much like to reflect Christ in our midst as the Good Shepherd (Psalms 23 and John 10:1:18), as the one and only way to God, our Father in heaven.
Consequently, our Bible based churches goal is to get others to see the love of God and act accordingly. Undoubtedly God wants us to do His will but He wants it to be done out of love. God wants us to serve Him not because we have too but because we want too. God wants us to serve Him because we see Him as He is. He wants us to do His will because we see that doing His will is for out good. This is the purpose of our church and the platform on which it stands. We want to weld together a body of believers who love Jesus Christ so much that they want to be just like Him.
What Jesus Did
‘The Kingdom Calls’ – Matthew 4:17-20
[After moving to Capernaum,] Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
One day as Jesus was walking along the shore of the Sea of Galilee, he saw two brothers — Simon, also called Peter, and Andrew — throwing a net into the water, for they fished for a living. Jesus called out to them, “Come, follow me, and I will show you how to fish for people!” And they left their nets at once and followed him.
Key Thought
We have a tendency to think of kingdoms in terms of property or geography. For Jesus, the “Kingdom of Heaven” (or the “Kingdom of God” in the other Gospels and occasionally in Matthew) is not about property or geography. Jesus taught that the Kingdom is about submission to his reign in his disciples’ hearts and lives. His goal for his early disciples was for them to be like him in character and obedience. They had to be ready to surrender to him anything that might get in the way of his leadership in their lives. This kind of kingdom requires conquest, but not a conquest of nations or territory. Instead, it is the conquest of hearts. Peter and Andrew left all to follow Jesus. They wanted Jesus to rule their hearts. Jesus’ goal for us is the same. For us, there are some fundamental questions regarding the Kingdom and following Christ: “What do I find most difficult to surrender to the lordship of Christ? Where do I start? What is that one thing that is most difficult?” I must let him have rule over that one area — and ultimately over every area. If I will do this, he may very well give it back to me to use. If so, it now will be used through us but only for him and by his power.
Today’s Prayer
O LORD God, I want Jesus to be LORD of my life. I want to follow him and honor him in every way. Please gently show me the areas of my life that I have not surrendered to his lordship. Jesus, I want you and your Kingdom to be the consuming passion of my life. I want to live for you so that I may be used by you to bless others. In your name, I pray. Amen.
Related Scripture Readings
Ⓒ 1996-2025 Heartlight, Inc. This material may not be reproduced in part or whole for commercial use without written consent. What Jesus Did! is written by Phil Ware and is available in book form. Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007, 2013, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.