Blog: October 2024

In today’s reading, we see how God kept and demonstrated His faithfulness to Abraham by establishing a covenant with him. The faithfulness of God is shown through Abraham's family lineage as God's promises were ultimately fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus––a descendant of Abraham. How did God establish His covenant with Abraham? What was the significance of Abram’s name change? Though the promises of Genesis 15:4 were years away from fulfillment, God made a covenant to show that He would be faithful to do what He ...

Scripture shows us what the church is through several metaphors:  church is a body, a flock, a bride, a temple.  In light of the church’s functions, it’s also a school, a hospital, and a search-and-rescue team sent by Jesus to pursue the lost.  Another word-picture for the church is emphasized in 1 Timothy 5:  we are a family. Paul urges Pastor Timothy (who is “young,” 4:12) to minister in different ways to the various family members:  he should relate to older men as to fathers, older women as mothers, and younger men and women as brothers ...

Passion, Politics, & Your Heart:  A Call to Worship Sunday Seminar, November 3 & 10, 2024  *  Teaching & Discussion Fellowship Hall, 10:00-10:45 a.m. (adult classes combined) Pastor Peter Nelson   It gets complicated being citizens of our country but also citizens of the Kingdom of God.  It takes wisdom to rightly pledge allegiance to the flag and yet give our ultimate devotion to Jesus Christ.  How do we sort out these attachments—and especially now, amidst a turbulent political season?  How do we walk this road together as a ...

One of the acts of worship we observe occasionally as a church is the dedication of parents and children (i.e., “Baby Dedication”).  We include this in our Sunday gatherings when Christian parents step forward and say, “We want to stand before the congregation and pledge, by God’s help, to prayerfully raise our child in the ‘training and instruction of the Lord’” (Eph. 6:4).  So the dedication service is for the parents. Of course, it’s also for the child.  Mom and Dad are bringing their little bundle of joy before the Lord to say, in ...