Blog
Featured Article
How First Pres has helped those experiencing homelessness in Harrisonburg
As the Open Doors outreach to homeless people in our community begins a new phase soon, we want to recognize those from First Pres who have helped during the past 15 years. Over the past 15 years or so, First Pres has served as one of the shelter locations for...
Blog Archive
Everything sad will be undone
“Gandalf! I thought you were dead! But then I thought I was dead myself. Is everything sad going to come untrue? What's happened to the world?" This line, spoken by the Hobbit Sam in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Return of the King, so captures Easter Weekend. On Good Friday...
God’s love compels us to love
Love compels us. That’s what Paul writes in his letter to the Corinthians. But what does it compel us to do? Well, it compels us to love God and to love neighbor. And the best way to do both of them is to tell people about Jesus. And Paul actually shows us the way one...
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"...
Lean into Jesus
Judas had seen Jesus. He had been with Jesus. He had heard Jesus. He had seen Jesus raise the dead and walk on water and heal people. He had seen Jesus do all these amazing things and yet Judas betrayed him. He ended up in the night. (That’s such a powerful line in...
Many Americans still believe in God and want to grow spiritually. That’s an opportunity.
They won’t want to hear it. That’s the excuse I often tell myself about telling people about Jesus and our faith in Him. Have you thought or said the same thing? In a time when the decline of the Christian faith in the West is on full display, it’s easy to get...
We are better together
So, I’ve been at the ECO National Gathering this week with eight others from our congregation (including Pastor Scott and Karen!) and around 1,300 others from our denomination. It has been wonderful to catch up with friends, network, learn and worship. Naturally there...
The power of praying in Jesus’ name
I’ve been thinking about why we pray in Jesus’ name and the difference it makes in our prayer. The why of praying in Jesus’ name is straightforward: Jesus tells us to. “You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” This also speaks to the difference...
The happiest place on earth? It’s not Disney.
Where’s your happy place? The beach on a warm summer day? A quiet spot at the coffeeshop where you can read uninterrupted? A party where the conversation and food are flowing? The Washington Post recently analyzed some data about where people are most happy, and the...
What’s God’s address?
It is said that how you addresses God is a reflection of your conception of God. Scripture models a number of ways to address God, but Jesus encouraged us to address God as “Our Father in Heaven.” Doing so highlights three things worth remembering when talking to God....
Finding refreshment through repentance
I hit this year running and am already tired, so I’ve been thinking about how to refresh and recharge. Ideas like time on a trout stream come to mind, but I’m learning to distrust my thinking and to lean into God’s word instead. And God’s word offers a surprising...