Welcome to Northminster
We are a biblically-based Presbyterian church seeking to experience and share God’s love to transform our homes, community and the world. We hope you will join us.
Join us this Sunday!
We have Sunday school for all ages at 9:00, and the worship service is at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you!
The Latest from our blogs…
30
Jan '18
Pastor’s Corner – February 2018
30
Jan '18
Most folks really struggle with February. Even though the days are getting longer, it’s often the month that winter really kicks into gear – the coldest temperatures and messiest weather. I think part of what makes it worse is the “indian summer” that so often happens in mid- to late-January. Having been teased a taste of spring, to have winter make a comeback just makes it so much worse. Added to the mix is the reality that, in most years, Lent kicks off in February. So not only is it still cold and dark weather-wise, but the church kicks off what is often considered to be it’s most drab and drear season. At least, that’s how I always viewed Lent when I was a child. Maybe for you as well.
Lent = Lencten = “Springtime”
So it’s probably not too hard for you to imagine my surprise when I found out that the word “Lent” comes from an Old English word, lencten, which is best translated as “springtime.” Chuck DeGroat writes, “In this season, one begins to see the goodness which emerges from the darkness of Winter. But the darkness of Winter is necessary for the greening of Spring.” There is, and ought to be, a somberness associated with the season of Lent, but that’s not all that there should be.
Spring Cleaning for your Soul
As we transition from winter to spring, most of us will celebrate the annual ritual known as “spring cleaning.” We clean out the cruft, muck, dust and general detritus that’s built up in our homes and yards over the past year in preparation for the warmth and growth of spring. Spring cleaning isn’t usually fun, and it’s often messy, but it’s worth the work because we know what is to come. Lent is the season of the year when we do the same thing spiritually. What happens physically in and around our homes happens spiritually in our hearts and souls as well. It is my hope and prayer that the season of Lent would be an opportunity for you to have “Springtime for your Soul.”
This year, Lent begins on Wednesday, February 14 (how ironic). We have a variety of ways for you take time for spiritual spring cleaning, from new devotionals, to a Sunday sermon series, to Wednesday Lenten services shared with churches around the area. Keep your eyes and ears open for special worship opportunities during Holy Week as well. May God bless you and enrich your soul this Lent!
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
Rev. David Garrison
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23
Dec '17
Truth, Understanding, Purpose and the Five Living Generations
23
Dec '17
For the first time in human history, we have five generations alive, interacting, and shaping our world at the same time. Actually, we have an unprecedented SIX generations, although the youngest is just now finishing their first decade. Each of these generations has very different values, priorities, understandings of truth and meaning, and approach life in very different ways. What does that mean for us, individually? What does it mean for us, as a church?
With each passing year, these questions and the challenges these generations face in understanding each other only grows. And yet, we are called to be a people of many generations, and if we want to effectively pass the faith on to the generations to come, we need to build bridges and relationships across generational lines. There is much each generation can learn from the others, and much each generation has to offer the others.
Join us at Table Talk, beginning January 10 at 5:30pm.
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22
Dec '17
Join us for Table Talk, beginning January 10.
22
Dec '17
We invite you to join us for a new weekly opportunity to fellowship together, explore how culture and God’s Word connect, and enjoy a great dinner. Each Wednesday, beginning at 5:30, we’ll enjoy a delicious dinner and then have a time of teach and discussion. Some weeks we’ll hear from missions and missionaries we support. Some weeks we’ll pray for one another and our community. While exactly what goes on might change, what will be consistent is the opportunity we have to grow as a community and as individual disciples of Christ.
Dinner is $5 per person, $15 per family. RSVPs (contact the church office) are appreciated, so we can make sure to have enough food. But don’t worry, if you don’t RSVP, come anyway, we’ll always make sure to have plenty.
We’ll wrap up around 6:45 each week, so those of you who are in the choir will have plenty of time to get ready.
We look forward to seeing you on Wednesday, January 10 for our first Table Talk!
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12
Dec '17
2018 Youth Ministry Winter Retreat
12
Dec '17
We’re partnering with several churches from Lynchburg, Roanoke for an awesome winter retreat at Eagle Eyrie Conference Center! This is open to all students from 6th through 12th grades. It’s going to be a fantastic time and we hope you’ll join us.
We will meet at Northminster at 2PM on Sunday, January 14 and return at 5PM Monday, January 15. Don’t worry, it’s MLK weekend, so there’s no school on Monday.
The cost is $54 per student. Registration deadline is Sunday, December 31.
Click this link to sign up and download a permission slip! We look forward to seeing you there!
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01
Dec '17
Pastor’s Corner – December 2017
01
Dec '17
Waiting for What?
Each year, the month of December is marked by the Christian season of Advent. The word “advent” comes from the latin word, adventus, which means “coming” or “arrival.” It’s a season of preparation, of “expectant waiting.” Waiting for what, exactly? Well, somewhat obviously, we’re waiting and preparing for the coming of Jesus at Christmas. Why are we preparing for something that’s already happened?
Remembering and Anticipating
With each passing year, it is getting easier to lose our focus on Jesus’ birth over the course of a month filled with shopping, Christmas parties, family gatherings and the general chaos and hustle of the month. Taking time to reflect carefully on hopeful anticipation of the Hebrew people waiting for their Messiah and the wonder of the incarnation provides an antidote to the rampant consumerism of this season.
But more than just remembering Christ’s first Advent, we look forward with hopeful anticipation for His second coming. As Philip Reindeers writes,
Advent is a season of expectant waiting, tapping into the sense we have that all is not well, the longing for the world to be made right again. It’s a season for restless hearts and people weary of a broken world who want, with all our being, to know there’s more than this.Advent cultivates in us a discerning eye, helping us to spot the sin that clutters our lives and notice all the ways we need to be saved. By helping us to hope intensely for restoration, to feel our own need to be saved, Advent prepares us for genuine Christmas joy and faith in the One who saves us from our sin, Jesus.
Obviously we don’t need to be saved over and over again – Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection from the dead has atoned, paid for, all of our sins once and for all. But the Christian life is one of growing deeper in our relationship to God and realizing that there is more sinful clutter in our soul than we might’ve realized. This Advent, may we all be filled with joy in knowing that our Savior knows us better than we know ourselves, came 2,000 years ago to redeem us from our sins, and is going to come back one day soon and make all that is broken right.
Come quickly, Lord Jesus! Amen!
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
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