Letters from the Pastor

In the October 4th Pastor’s Devotional on YouTube, I invited us to reflect on a powerful passage from Exodus 18:1-27, where Moses receives wise counsel from his father-in-law, Jethro. The key verses are Exodus 18:17-18 –  where Jethro says to a borderline burned-out...

Hurricane Helene made landfall on the night of September 26, 2024, as a Category 4 hurricane with sustained winds of 140mph. It struck the panhandle of Florida in the “Big Bend” area, southeast of Tallahassee. This made it the strongest hurricane on record to strike...

In Sunday’s sermon (9/22), we focused on James chapters three and four where James differentiates between “heavenly wisdom” and “earthly wisdom.” According to James, we have a choice: to live in submission to one kind of wisdom or the other. Often, we find ourselves...

In part three of our study of the Book of James (James 3:1-12), we learned that our words have power. Through our words, we can build up or tear down. We can praise or curse. We can sow goodness and kindness, or sow hate and condemnation. In his letter to the churches...

In the sermon on September 8, we continued our walk through the Book of James. The message was titled, “Faith That Honors All.” Our key verse was “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism.” (James 2:1) James is...

This week, I’d like us to reflect on our purpose as followers of Jesus. Is our goal to be “biblical” or to be “Christlike”? Which posture is more likely to influence others for the kingdom? Which is more consistent with what Jesus taught his disciples?   My...

In the August issue of The Baptist Paper, BGAV Edition, the theme on the cover is titled, “Avoiding Burnout.” It refers to an article on the mental health of ministers written by Lindsey Williams. Mental health is an important topic in our time. Mental health...

Recently, Melanie and I went to a new restaurant for the first time. We had received a gift card and were excited to enjoy a date night there! Rather than going “cold turkey,” we checked them out online and found their website to be very helpful. We learned about...

Do you remember ever getting bored when you were a child?  Perhaps it was a rainy day during summer break.  A long car ride to visit grandparents.  That space on Saturday morning after the cartoons ended, with nothing else to watch on TV (when we had...

This week's article is a testimony from Jean Gibson. I am happy to share my testimony, though there's nothing unusual about it from any Christian.   I was born in Goochland County on January 4, 1930. I lived between Oilville and Short Pump until I married....