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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...
Blog Archive
It’s harvest season. What are you doing?
Fall, or “harvest season,” is my favorite time of year, so I’ve been thinking a lot about the harvest these days. Jesus thought about the harvest, too. In John 4:35, Jesus tells us the “fields are ripe for harvest.” Similarly, in Matthew 9:37-38 Jesus tells us “the...
How you can serve your community right now
One way we proclaim Jesus is by serving our community, and we have three ways you can do that now and in the coming months. Our Soup Kitchen organizers need teams for the Soup Kitchen schedule. The organizers have five of the needed eight teams. They are specifically...
4 gospel elements that help us grow in Christ
I’ve been thinking about how we grow in Christ and I think the answer will involve a unique mixture of four gospel elements. First, we have to have “gospel content.” We need the scriptures and the true narrative about who God is and who we are. We need good teaching...
How my garden taught me to slow down and get back to the essential
Less is more. We hear that phrase a lot, but the truth of it came home to me this year through my vegetable garden when I noticed my more productive plantings were the ones that were less crowded. I have this bad tendency to try to cram too many plants into too small...
Want to deepen your walk with Jesus? Look at him, over and over.
It’s a question I wrestle with often. How can I change? How can I become more loving and sacrificial? How can I put aside the things that aren’t good for me? How can I spend more time reading the Bible? How can I better obey the things Jesus calls me to? How can I...
To be transformed, conform
Romans 8:29 tells us that “those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.” We tend to get stuck on foreknowledge and predestination, but what I’ve been thinking about is being conformed to the image of Jesus. Ultimately it is God who...
Courtyard progress continues
Facilities committee chairman Marshall Price updated Session recently on the progress of the new courtyard. While the courtyard project has encountered numerous unexpected delays, progress continues, and the committee is hopeful that completion is nearing. In addition...
Groups for men and women to help grow in faith
Faith-growing groups for men and women will begin again in September. Women The weekly women's Bible study begins Tuesday, September 14. The group meets Tuesdays at noon in Showker Hall, and a Zoom option is available. This year, the women will be studying the two...
You can have hope. Really.
We have reasons for hope. It is easy to forget that when we look at what happened in Afghanistan and Haiti this last week. But when I look to Scripture and history, I can find reasons for hope. A text that renewed my hope this last week was Lamentations 3:21-26. This...
3 ways you can help welcome JMU students back to Harrisonburg
Students from James Madison University are returning to Harrisonburg, and we're ready to welcome them. First Pres has two upcoming opportunities to do just that. JMU Freshman Move-in On Saturday, Aug. 21, we will partner with campus ministries CRU and RUF to help...