On Sunday, we prayed for our seniors. Here is what Pastor Jon prayed for them. Lord, thank you that you have been with these students through all these years of school. And Lord, I pray that you would be with them all the days of their life, that they would walk with...
When the Bible says you can be filled with the Spirit, we often think it’s something that happens passively. In other words, we feel like we have no control over being full of the Spirit, that being filled comes randomly. But we can do things that make room for the...
Orphanages can be shockingly quiet. Infants and toddlers won’t cry if no one ever responds to their cries. I learned this from a story about how an adoptive father spent a week with the young children he and his wife were adopting but needed to leave for a few weeks...
Jesus says that if we want to grow in our spiritual life, we have to abide, or remain, in him. With so much competing for our attention and affections, how do we do it? The good news is God has shown us how. Here are a few, and while it’ll take time and space to use...
If the Bible says something more than once, we should pay attention. How about if it says something 17 times in the span of just one chapter? This is what happens in Psalm 136, where God’s people basically tell the story of God’s care and redemption. Then, between...
Easter isn’t over. According to the Church calendar, Easter Sunday actually began a whole 50-day season of Easter. Just as for the 40 days of Lent we mourned, repented and fasted, for the season of Easter we are supposed to rejoice, celebrate and feast. You would...
The numbers don’t paint a promising picture of Christianity in America, especially when it comes to young people. Consider these stats that Andy Jung shared on Sunday during his session, “Growing Young,” about how churches like First Pres can be more welcoming to...
“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...
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, 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"...