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The Sundae Funday Bowl brought us together
The Sundae Funday Bowl, a community event we held at Valley Lanes in Harrisonburg, featured bowling, ice cream from Smiley's Ice Cream, face-painting, a prize wheel, card tricks and time to be together. Here are some highlights. Photo Highlights [gallery size="large"...
Blog Archive
Jesus’ word to those who have wandered and want to return
You’ve strayed from Jesus. Now what? Are you hesitating to turn to Him because you’re not sure how (or if) He will receive you? Maybe you think He’ll be disappointed, stern, angry. Maybe you think that He won’t even want you back. Don’t believe it. Jesus once told a...
The one New Year’s resolution that should be on your list
Looking for the best New Year's resolution of them all? The Apostle Paul already wrote it: "For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That's what he told the church at Corinth in one of his more pointed letters....
Nominations needed to help select next slate of leaders
One of the most important tasks and opportunities of covenant partners at First Pres is to select the three to six at-large members of the Nominating Committee each year. These members of the 2023 Nominating Committee will be elected by you in February. The Nominating...
Team returns from Hurricane Ian relief trip in Florida
https://youtu.be/3CF2iQ_7ano Six of First Pres’ covenant partners recently returned from a weeklong trip to Englewood, Florida, where they partnered with Samaritan’s Purse to provide cleanup from Hurricane Ian, which devastated parts of Florida during the fall. The...
How a Bible-reading plan can transform your spiritual growth
I have never been a huge fan of Bible-reading plans, those yearlong lists that take you through the entire Bible in a year. Truth be told, I’ve not been a fan because I’ve been so bad at using them. Year after year, I’d pick one out and then get days and weeks behind...
3 ways God is especially with us
Immanuel means God with us. In the birth of Jesus, God proved that He is indeed with us—but I’ve been thinking about where and how we experience God with us. God is omnipresent, so we can experience His presence anywhere, but I want to highlight three places He is...
Magnifying God in our prayers
If you were to guess, what is the all-time most popular Christmas song in the world? The one that has been translated into more languages than any other? It is a song called the “Magnificat” and it is sung by Mary as recorded in Luke 1:46-55. Now I’ve done multiple...
Taking in and writing scripture, a sentence at a time
Imagine ... Sitting at a table with a portion of scripture on one hand and a pen and paper in the other, copying out each word, each line, verse by verse. This is no exercise for a medieval monk cloistered by candlelight in a dark monastery somewhere, but rather...
Thank you from Pastor Scott
I am deeply grateful to the Session for sending me on a sabbatical January 1 – March 31, 2023! I have been, and continue to be, called to serve First Pres. as a Pastor, and to give of myself fully to the Lord and to the ministry and mission of this congregation. I am...
Gaining perspective on God’s ‘big picture’
Full confession – I am a cry-er. I tear up watching TV and especially when watching movies that are sweet or sappy. I cried tears of joy when the Atlanta Braves won the World Series last year. My mom, who I get this trait from, and I have a rule at funerals: We don’t...