As Jesus washed His disciples’ feet in the upper room, He commented, “What I do you do not realize now, but you will understand hereafter” (John 13:7). There are many times in our lives where the pieces just don’t seem to fit together. Like children who lack maturity and experience, we don’t comprehend the events that surround us.
William Cowper, great hymn writer of the 18th Century, suffered from serious bouts of depression. By the age of six he had experienced the death of three older siblings and witnessed the death of his mother, as she gave birth to her fifth child. As a young adult, three times William unsuccesfully attempted suicide.
Years later these events would help shape the lyrics of one of his most famous songs:
God moves in a mysterious way His wonders to perform;
He [...]

I just wanted to say a big “thank you” to everyone who came on the retreat, and to all of you who have been asking how it went. We really had a terrific weekend.
We were able to spend part of Saturday hiking in the Smokey Mountains, and got to actually go under a waterfall.  One of the big highlights of the trip were the cabins themselves.  They had lots of amenities, and everyone was able to be very comfortable for the endurance of our stay.
Saturday night we provided our own entertainment, playing some games like Questions Only, using a gigantic T-Shirt so that the kids could take turns playing the role of a 2-headed dragon, and for the grand finale we heard some original tunes by our kids who utilized drinking straws as wind [...]

In his sermon “Whistling in the Dark,” Frederick Buechner says, “You have to be quiet to hear.” Often we are so busy talking that we never really hear the words or messages spoken by those around us. In addition, our culture poses so much noise and so many distractions that we often fail to hear clearly. Our heads are filled with competing voices at work and at home as well as myriads of media messages every day.
Jesus recognized the need to find solitude. Mark 1:35 records, “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.” After some of the disciples return from their own ministry, Mark 6:31 adds, “And Jesus said to them, ‘Come away by yourselves to [...]

Just in time for Thanksgiving a corn casserole recipe that will add to any Thanksgiving Day meal.
Holiday Corn Casserole
 
½ C. butter
1 small onion chopped
½ green pepper chopped
3 eggs slightly beaten
1 can whole kernel corn un-drained
1 can cream corn un-drained
1 box Jiffy Corn Muffin mix
½ pt. Sour cream
1 C. mild cheddar cheese shredded
 
Saute onion and green pepper in butter. In casserole dish mix both cans of corn, muffin mix and eggs. Add sauteed vegetables. Top with dollops of sour cream and cheese. Bake at 350* for 45-55 minutes or until browned and set. Serves 4-6.
 

Adversity is a part of our world. Sin has tarnished the beauty of God’s perfect creation,.leaving us with the reality of pain, illness, and death. Life isn’t always fair; and at times, it feels anything but triumphant.
We encounter this when we read of a young man in the Middle East who obeys Christ and is openly persecuted for his faith. We experience it when a faithful husband and devoted father has his wife leave him for another man and take their children with her. We grapple with unfairness when an honest worker loses their job, insurance, and retirement.
Most everyone reading this can identify with this struggle. Every adversity and inequity serves as a test of our faith. Do we love God at all times or just wnen things are going well? Do we trust God [...]

Hello, and thanks for stopping by!  This website has been a work in progress for us for quite a long time.  We’re so glad to have a presence here on the web, and we hope this website will be a good source of information for both our visitors and our members.
Some things to be sure to check out:

The sermons section.  You can listen to our sermons, and even subscribe to them as a podcast to download them and hear them on the go.
Our photo gallery.  We’ve got some pictures up of various events, including last week’s Fall Fest.  Check back regularly for new photo galleries.
Read and respond to our blogs.  Don and I each will be making posts, which you can add your own thoughts to as comments at the bottom.  (We do moderate all [...]

Today in class we talked about Psalm 78, where Asaph wrote down several stories of Israel’s experience as something he wanted to pass on to future generations so they could know their own history, and also know how to better please God than their ancestors did.
We broke into three groups and each group was given the challenge, “If I could place some Bible verses in a time capsule to pass on to the next generation, here’s what I would include.”
Each group had a different topic to “advise” their descendants about.  I was very pleased that everyone took it so seriously, and they really came up with some terrific passages.  Here are some of the results.
Group One: Advice For People Who Are Young

Psalm 119:9 – How can a young man keep his way pure?
By living [...]