Ash Wednesday: 40 Days, 40 Prayers

The season of Lent is here! Many of us are in the habit of using Lent as a time to 'sacrifice' something. You give up chocolate or coffee or TV. Good ideas.

I challenge you again this year to say one prayer for the church and her members each of the 40 days of Lent - 40 Days, 40 Prayers. Keep track of each prayer. List the people or concerns you lift up to God. They can be an individual or family, a project, an event, a church program or goal. It can be a prayer for healing

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The Love of Jesus

Phil Vischer (creator of Veggie Tales) wrote an article titled What The Dentist Taught Me About Life.

Phil starts by telling all about how he was a fearful child, who above all feared the dentist. He goes on to say, "As I grew older, though, I learned something important. A trip to the dentist might hurt, but it would do no harm. I was slowly learning the difference between hurt and harm. Between discomfort and damage. A shot from the doctor might be uncomfortable, but it w

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Happy Valentine's Day

Christian Valentine's Day Ideas that Don't Cost a Penny!

* Write a Love Letter with Scripture: Personalize a love letter for your spouse, friend, or loved one using Bible verses like 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7.

* Create a Prayer Card: Write a heartfelt prayer for the person and give it to them as a keepsake.

* Make a Gratitude Jar: Write down reasons you're thankful for the person and encourage them to do the same.

* Do a "Love Walk: with God: Go for a walk with your loved one and

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Living Things

At this time of year, when it's cold and dreary, we are thinking about spring! I start longing for flowers in my front containers and green grass growing in the yard. What a pleasure it is to see living things grow and bloom and mature. I've found living things are growing or they are dying. They don't just stay the same.

Love is the same way. Joni Eareckson Tada in her wonderful devotion Diamonds in the Dust says this, "Love must grow. It can't stand still and it certainly

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Happy New Year!

It's natural for us to think, "new year, new resolutions"! We want 2026 to be different. We make a list of all the areas we want to change: our health, our finances, our work life, our spiritual life. While we need change, God stays the same!  Kimberly Cotton, on the Just Between Us website, asks this question, "What would happen if God created His own resolution list for you?"

Kimberly suggests five resolutions God gives us. As I don't have space for them all, I'd like to

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Fruit of the Spirit Prayers

Barbara Rogers shares these Christmas Fruit of the Spirit Prayers:

LOVE

Lord, I pray that Christ dwells in ________'s heart through faith. May they be rooted and grounded in the love of Christ (Eph. 3:17)

JOY

Lord God, please restore _____ to the joy of Your salvation and give them a spirit of obedience to Your Word (Psalm 51:12)

PEACE

Give _____ the desire to seek and pursue peace and depart from any form of evil (Psalm 34:14)

PATIENCE

Thank You, Lord for Your patience toward ___

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The Gift of Jesus Christ

This time of year is always busy! Thanksgiving and then the Christmas season! Our culture tells us it's all about GETTING presents, shopping, GIVING gifts. But as Christians, we view the world quite differently. We've received the best Christmas gift of all - the gift of Jesus Christ!

While many of us both give and receive gifts during the Christmas season, God gave us a gift we will never be able to repay. In exchange for our sins, God offered us eternal salvation by sendi

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Peace

Recently I was asked to share a devotion at our Presbytery COM committee meeting. The theme of the year is Peace. The verse chosen for that day was Psalm 34:14: Depart from evil, and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

I found a wonderful article on the website Hopereflected.com. I'd like to share portions of that devotion, along with my own thoughts.

"The word pursue is a verb, and to pursue something means to actively chase after it, to follow it, or to seek it out. "Seek p

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Operation Christmas Child

The mission of Operation Christmas Child is to demonstrate God's love in a tangible way to children in need around the world.

Since 1993, more than 232 million children in more than 170 countries and territories have received an Operation Christmas Child shoebox. The project delivers not only the joy of what, for many kids, is their first gift ever, but also gives them a tangible expression of God's love.

How can you help? By picking up a shoebox, filling it with a variety o

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God's Word is life changing!

As Christians we have experienced many times the Bible speaking directly to us, changing and transforming us. Isaiah 55:11, god says, "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

As a church, our goal is for people in our community and beyond to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We want people to have God's Word in their hands.

We invite YOU to join in a B

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Bible Study

As Christians, we spend time in God's Word to know and love Him better.

Our Sunday morning study is focused on the OT: Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. You can join us every Sunday morning 9-10am.

Monday evenings we are currently studying the book of Hosea. Women's Bible Study meets every Monday starting at 7pm.

Our Thursday morning study is diving deep into the book of Revelation. Bible Study takes place every Thursday morning at 10am.

Come & join us for one or more of these stu

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Handwritten Notes

When was the last time you received a handwritten note? Sure, modern technology is awesome - our phones let us send text messages, speak our messages and even see the person we are communicating with face to face. 

Yet that's not the same as a written word. In her article "The Write Thing to Do", Carile Rodgers talks about the wonder of the written word. No, we aren't talking about the Bible, but something quite similar to God's words of love and encouragement. We are talki

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God's Word is Life Changing!

As Christians we have experienced many times the Bible speaking directly to us, changing and transforming us. Isaiah 55:11, God says, "So is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it."

As a church, our goal is for people in our community and beyond to come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ. We want people to have God's Word in their hands.

This September, we invite YO

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Do You Pray JOY?

Often we take time at the beginning of a new year to assess our lives, including our spiritual lives. How is your prayer life? Are you in God's Word daily? Are you taking time to study God's Word with other Christians? Instead of waiting until January 1, I'd like to suggest we take some time and review our spiritual health right now, specifically our prayer lives.

While prayer is simply talking and listening to God, I find it helpful to use different ways to talk and listen

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Psalm 23

We've heard the words of the 23rd Psalm many times, but do we really know what it means? Join us as we dive deep into this Psalm, which offers timeless truths about God's card, guidance, and provision. Get to know just WHO your shepherd really is!

As we explore Psalm 23 together, I encourage you to do a few things:

* Each day, read the words of the 23rd Psalm. We will be reading it together out loud every Sunday during this series. It's my hope that if you don't already have

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