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Instead of worrying, think about these things

Instead of worrying, think about these things

What’s on your mind these days? If you’re like me, there’s probably at least one thing that has you worried, at least a little. But over and over in the Bible, we get the message, though, that we should not fear, that we should not worry. But how? In Mindscape: What...

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Blog Archive

What can we do when life doesn’t make sense?

What can we do when life doesn’t make sense?

What do we do when things don’t make sense? A number of our church family have faced unimaginable grief this past year, and we have been at a loss for answers. The death of loved ones, and it feels too soon. Cancer. Chronic pain. Broken family relationships. The list...

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Meet the 10 newest leadership nominees at First Pres

The First Pres Nominating Committee has presented a slate of leaders to begin three-year terms of service in January 2023. Here are the nominees the congregation will elect at an Aug. 28, 2022, congregational meeting. Elders Lyle Jacobsen Raised in the Lutheran...

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Who helped you follow Jesus?

The Great Commission calls on us to “make disciples,” and I’ve been thinking about how to do that. In pondering this I’ve asked, Who made me a disciple and how did they do it? For me the answer to the first part of the question is many people. The same is probably...

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What is sin, and what does it have to do with archery?

The word “sin” in the New Testament is related to archery and means “missing the mark.” I find this understanding of sin helpful because it brings clarity to sin’s nature. You can miss by a little or you can miss by a lot, but a miss is a miss, and so a sin is a sin....

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Do you believe?

What we believe deeply impacts the way we live. For example, if I believe, like many, that all relatively decent people go to heaven, I’ll try to live a relatively decent life and vaguely hope it is good enough. On the other hand, if I believe that Jesus is the way,...

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Sharing Christ’s light to immigrants and refugees

Sharing Christ’s light to immigrants and refugees

https://youtu.be/LNNV_uNAlNw Wael Melek, who is completing his studies at Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, recently joined First Pres as a pastoral intern. He will be completing an internship through the end of the year. We recently did a Q&A with Wael to...

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Who do you say Jesus is?

Perhaps the most important question for everyone to answer is also an amazingly evangelical question. Jesus himself asks the question in Matthew 16 and in Mark 8 and Luke 9. “Who do you say that I am?” This question is so important because how we answer the...

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