From Our Pastor \ Psalm 118:1 says, “Give thanks to the Lord…”  Yet, how often do we fail to thank Him?  We allow worries, fears, and anxieties to distract us from thanksgiving.  This not only robs God of the worship He is due but also keeps us from being able to trust Him in the midst of all those issues.  Thanking God builds our faith and enables us to trust God.

From our Family and Music Minister | Growing up, my imagination and plans frequently outweighed my abilities. After my 3rd grade birthday, where I received nails and wood for my present, I built one of the best forts a kid could have. My friend and I spent all day Saturday in it and were so proud. It was top of the line that it even had a second floor. As we stood on that second floor showing our dads the incredible work, the structure started to move, and within a few seconds, a dozen sheets of plywood and 2×4’s came crashing down in a big pile. I can remember how upset I was at what seemed to be such a colossal failure at the time. 

From Our Pastor | Did you ever think you would see times like these?  Every influencing part of our society (beginning with government) is based on lies, fraud, and tyranny.  These forces represent a far greater threat to our liberty and security than China, Russia, and North Korea.  In fact it is now obvious that those nations pose a threat only because of our enemies within.  In more honest times this was called treason and was dealt with accordingly.

From Our Family and Music Minister | For the first time since Covid, we had Vacation Bible School. We appreciate everyone who gave their time and energy to help us. I hope you find the joy I do when we teach young people about our Creator. This year we concentrated on the life of Moses. Moses is one of those patriarchs who is so familiar to us that we become numb to the lessons that his life teaches.

From Our Pastor | Where can we find security, strength, meaning, and purpose in these days?  Everywhere we look, life as we once knew it is being up-ended.  Every part of our world is crumbling before our eyes.  How can we face such things?

From Our Family and Music Minister | I have been known to work on computers now and then. By far, I am not an expert, but I know my way around them a little bit. When I started tinkering with computers, my knowledge came more out of necessity than interest. After my mother had lost many computer files when a hard drive crashed, she decided to install a backup tape drive in her computer. To make a long story short, after a few weeks of not having a computer that worked and many parts laying off to the side, my dad purchased her a new computer. My mom had completely lost control of the situation and had to abandon it. However, this allowed me to have my very own computer. After some tinkering and trial and error, I had the computer working again and had my own computer to use.

Help us Get the word out. Only 2 weeks left. Click here for more information and to register. We will take the Bus to this event for anyone who is interested. We will attempt to order tickets on Monday, July 24th. If you would like a ticket, Let Jonathan or Sue Mastrario know by July…

From Our Family and Music Minister | I love a good hamburger with lots of toppings; but a hamburger is the farthest thing from my mind when I am out of town on a trip. First, I want a restaurant we don’t have in Ashburn, and second I want something good and filling. But there is a first time for everything. On a rare occasion, Johnny and I were shopping in Macon by ourselves, and we saw this billboard with the most beautiful and delicious hamburger you have ever seen. We were by ourselves and, for once, had no women telling us where to eat, so we pulled into the restaurant advertised on the billboard and got a table. As the waitress came up to take our order, we both said, we want the hamburger on your billboard down the road. Come to find out, they don’t even sell that hamburger; they only had one on the kid’s menu. In our fragile state, we ordered steak and shrimp and suffered silently.

From Our Pastor | One of the biggest hindrances to trusting God in real life is thinking of God as “up there” or “out there”. While it is true that God is on His throne, it is also true that He is
with us. Basic theology teaches the omnipresence of God. The New Testament teaches us that the believer is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. God is with us.

From our Family and Music Minister |
In work, school, or even a volunteer organization, we have most likely been a part of a group project whose success was based on other individuals. In high school, I was that member who would bring drinks and snacks. It was better to let the others do the academic work and not rely on me, especially since most of our projects included long reports and research.