You couldn’t have asked for a nicer morning yesterday for our community worship service at Danvers Days! The music was great and it was good to see so many out. There was an enjoyable brunch put on afterwards. I heard nothing but great things about the food. Thank you to all who participated and volunteered! Also a big thank you to all who have been working to freshen up the church building. Thanks to the cleaning crew and others who have shown up to get ready for the 175th

It was another busy weekend. We are so thankful for everyone who volunteered to help with the funeral on Saturday and yesterday’s worship service and meal at Funk’s Grove. There was a lot of work to be done. It was so good to see everyone step up and work together to make it all happen. It’s times like this that we are so appreciative for North Danvers's value of helping one another out. Thank you to everyone who pitched in to help! The Funk’s Grove service was very well-at

Yesterday, the final point of the sermon was that it is God’s Spirit that enables his people to love. It is not simply a natural act for us to love others in the way God loves. It is only possible through the power of God’s Spirit living within us. 1 John 4:11-12 says, “Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us,” (NIV). This divine love is so

This whole series we’ve been in during our worship services have focused on what it means to live our lives together as followers of Jesus. This past week was a lived-out example of the way we work together and depend upon one another. A big thank you to all of those who helped as we prepared for the ice cream social at the Danvers’ Band Concert. Thanks to those who baked pies and other goodies. Thanks to those who volunteered to serve in other ways as well. This past wee

Yesterday’s worship service was focused on “working together.” Ephesians 2:10, “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do,” (NIV). Paul tells us that God has hand-crafted us and has brought us together to do the things he has prepared for us. It is a privilege for us to be able to partner with God in redeeming and restoring his creation! And it’s a task we share in together. Speaking of work, I want to a

It was so nice to have the First Presbyterian Church of Danvers join us for our morning worship service! We continued our series through Ephesians. The series title is “Life Together.” Too many times, we think of our faith as a personal, individual part of our life. Instead, the Scriptures make clear our faith is something we hold together. Yesterday we saw that God’s grace is extended to his people, as a community. Next week, we’ll see the way that God works through us as we

Yesterday during the worship time, we began a series on the Book of Ephesians. We really looked at the beginnings of the Church in Ephesus. Acts 19 tells us about the challenges that this church faced. Yet, through God’s strength and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, they were able to endure. Their example is an encouragement to us as we seek to continue to do God’s work in our community. As a part of the sermon, I shared a part of a post by the pastor of a Chinese Church in

Josanne and I were in Harrisonburg, Virginia last week where I was attending the Annual Meeting of the Central District Conference. Yesterday we were able to come to Landover, Maryland to visit with our daughter, Bethany, for a couple of days. I’ll be back in Danvers this week while Josanne will travel over to Eastern Kentucky to spend time with her aunt. We missed you all yesterday, but are thankful for James McMillion and his willingness to fill the pulpit in my absence.

Psalm 121 was the focus of our worship service yesterday. This psalm depicts a dangerous journey, but one where the Lord promises to be with us and to offer protection. I closed by reciting the first verse of “Ready for the Storm.” This is a great song that talks about the storms we face in life, but in the chorus says that “I am ready for the storm.” The song was originally written by Dougie MacLean. A great Scottish song-writer and performer. He is perhaps best known for hi

Yesterday in our service we saw that God is faithful in his love, in his protection, and in his plan by looking at Psalm 118. One verse that was very meaningful to me as I was preparing yesterday’s sermon was Psalm 118:5: “When hard pressed, I cried to the LORD; he brought me into a spacious place.” God’s faithfulness is true even when we find ourselves squeezed or in a tight spot—he will bring us to a place where we have room to breathe. Later, Psalm 118:13 say, “I was pus