Church On The Rock St Augustine

What do you do when the person leading you is the person frustrating you the most? In this episode of Cornerstone Conversations, Pastor Josh, Trevor, Larry, and Katheryn have an honest conversation about authority, difficult bosses, toxic environments, and the uncomfortable work God sometimes does in us when we would rather just leave. They talk through the tension between staying faithful in a hard place and recognizing when something has crossed into unhealthy, unsafe, or ungodly territory.
This conversation is not about pretending bad leadership is okay or acting like every hard season is automatically holy. It is about learning how to pray, seek wise counsel, walk in integrity, check your own heart, and discern whether God is shaping you where you are or leading you somewhere new.
 
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In John 15, Jesus tells us that He is the vine and we are the branches. The goal of the Christian life is not to grit our teeth, try harder, and force ourselves to produce fruit. The goal is to remain connected to Him. When we abide in Jesus, the Holy Spirit begins to produce the character of Christ in us, not because we are perfect, but because we are learning to follow Him one step at a time.
In this message, Pastor Josh continues the From The Vine series by looking at the road between two dangerous ditches: religion and rebellion. Religion makes faith all about rules, rebellion makes life all about us, but relationship keeps us walking with Jesus. Through John 15, Psalm 143, Galatians 5, and Philippians 2, we are reminded that God is not asking us to manufacture spiritual fruit on our own. He is inviting us to trust His Spirit, surrender every part of our lives, and let Him lead us forward on firm footing.
 
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What does it actually look like to honor authority when you disagree with the person over you? In this episode of Cornerstone Conversations, Pastor Josh and the fellas talk honestly about one of the more uncomfortable parts of following Jesus: submission, honor, difficult leaders, parents, bosses, government, and the tension of trying to obey God while living under imperfect authority.
This conversation gets into real life questions like honoring a parent who does not share your faith, how Christians should think about political authority, when obedience becomes unhealthy, and where the line is when authority becomes abusive, manipulative, or asks you to sin. If you have ever struggled with a boss, parent, leader, pastor, teacher, or authority figure, this episode will help you think through honor, wisdom, boundaries, and what it means to follow Jesus with both humility and courage.
 
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What if the Christian life was never meant to be powered by trying harder? In this message, Pastor Josh opens the series From the Vine by walking through John 15 and the words of Jesus, “I am the vine, you are the branches.” Too often, we make the goal of faith about producing fruit, fixing ourselves, proving ourselves, or showing God we are doing enough. But Jesus points us to something deeper and better. The focus is not striving for fruit. The focus is remaining in Him.
Using the picture of two miles of ditch for every mile of road, this message explores how followers of Jesus can drift into either rebellion or religion, while Jesus keeps inviting us back to the road of relationship. If you have ever felt stuck between doing whatever you want and trying to earn God’s approval, this message is an invitation to come back to the Vine, learn the voice of the Good Shepherd, and ask the simple prayer that can reshape everything: teach me to abide.
 
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Why is authority such a struggle for so many of us? In this episode of Cornerstone Conversations, Pastor Josh unpacks one of the most uncomfortable but important conversations for modern Christians: honor, submission, difficult leaders, and what Jesus actually modeled for us. From corrupt governments to frustrating bosses, from military stories to real life church leadership, this conversation gets painfully honest about our resistance to being told what to do and why it reveals more about our heart than we think.
This is not a conversation about blindly following abusive leadership. It is a deep look at what Scripture teaches about authority, discipleship, pride, freedom, and honoring people even when we disagree with them. There is humor, real stories, Taco Bell debates, boat talk, and some moments that will genuinely challenge the way you see Jesus and your own life. If you have ever wrestled with authority, church hurt, difficult bosses, or rebellion in your own heart, this episode is for you.
 
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This message gets into one of the hardest parts of following Jesus that nobody really likes talking about: authority, honor, humility, and what our faith looks like behind closed doors. It is easy to love the parts of Jesus that feel comforting and inspiring. It is a lot harder when His words start touching our pride, our reactions, our attitude toward people over us, and the quiet compromises we justify when nobody else sees them. This sermon walks through what Scripture says about submission, leadership, rebellion, integrity, and the kind of hidden character that actually shapes our lives more than public moments ever will.
Through stories, honest tension, humor, and some deeply personal moments, this message challenges the idea that discipleship is only about what happens on a stage or inside a church service. Sometimes the clearest picture of who is really leading our life shows up in how we treat a boss we dislike, a parent we push against, authority we disagree with, or the conversations we have when nobody is watching. If Jesus really is Lord, then that reality eventually reaches every corner of our lives, even the uncomfortable ones.
 
Did you accept Christ today? Fill out our digital connection card: https://churchontherock.net/connect-card
 
🌐 Connect with us
🙏 How can we pray with you? https://www.churchontherock.net/prayer
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