Pastor’s Blog

Things hadn’t been going well for some time. Israel’s heyday was a distant memory. No one alive had seen the temple, palace, or even the wall that once surrounded Jerusalem, the great city. It had been a very difficult 150 years since Babylon conquered and deported most of the nation. Along comes Nehemiah, he knows […]

Parents pray for their children. Job models well: “Early in the morning he [Job] would sacrifice a burnt offering for each of them, thinking, ‘Perhaps my children have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.’ This was Job’s regular custom” (Job 1:5). We don’t sacrifice lambs or bulls anymore; Jesus took care of that—but pleading […]

Tuesday was the 40th anniversary of the 1973 Supreme Court decision in Roe v. Wade which declared abortion to be a Constitutional right. Since that tragic and immoral ruling, 55 million babies have been killed in our nation—which amounts to about one-sixth of our current population. Eyes gloss over when numbers get real big, so […]

We have never been called “cutting-edge.” Our “Order of Worship” has deviated little over 16 years. We sing mostly from the hymnal accompanied mostly by a piano. We are committed to “Word and Sacrament” ministry; expositional sermons and communing at the Table each Lord’s Day. Simple and predictable are fair assessments; to this we offer […]

God warned Joshua and Joshua warned the people the morning Jericho was to fall: “Keep away from the devoted things, so that you will not bring about your own destruction by taking any of them. Otherwise you will make the camp of Israel liable to destruction and bring trouble on it” (Joshua 6:18). The command […]

It is said the average American spends five years of his life waiting in line. To give some perspective, those same studies say we spend six years eating and seven years in the bathroom. Does the phrase “wasting your life” come to mind? In our productive-driven society, I found an article by Cherri Megasko entitled: […]

This book review is by Terry Delaney and appears on his website, Christian Book Notes (May 13th, 2011). Used by permission. Swinnock, George. The Fading of the Flesh and the Flourishing of Faith. Grand Rapids, Reformation Heritage Books, 2009. 178 pp. $10.00. [on sale right now for $5.00] Introduction George Swinnock was an English Puritan who lived […]

“We can’t tolerate this anymore,” said the president. He then added, “These tragedies must end. And to end them, we must change.” That sounds good to me. He went on to say that our nation was failing at “our first task” and that “if we don’t get that right, we don’t get anything right.” The […]

As Pastor Rich takes this week off from writing his blog to enjoy this Christmas Season with his family, I wanted to let you know about his book that was released last week. The book, Prepare to Meet Your God, contains his nine expository sermons of the Old Testament book of Amos. These sermons will […]

“Why do we do that?” That’s a question that should be asked—and asked often. Successful businesses ask it of themselves; wanting an efficient and streamlined operation. After a visit to the local DMV or post-office, I sometimes wonder if government agencies ask this question enough. Churches and families would do well to ask themselves the […]

I looked behind me and what I saw was a long and winding road; the path from there had brought me here—the road so winding I had lost sight of yesterday—for the latest bend in the road already had hidden it from view. Memories told me where I had been but many details were already […]

October 20, 1864 By the President of the United States of America: A Proclamation. It has pleased Almighty God to prolong our national life another year, defending us with his guardian care against unfriendly designs from abroad, and vouchsafing to us in His mercy many and signal victories over the enemy, who is of our […]