January 2022 Pastor’s Corner – What Are The Essentials?
“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.” (Matt. 7:24–25)
Rev. David Garrison
A Table Laid for the Grinch – By Christy Sechler
Let us rejoice and exult and give Him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come…And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” ~ Revelation 19:7 & 9
When the movie was over, I couldn’t help thinking about the truth behind the story, because as much as I’d like to think of myself as one of those well-meaning and resilient Whos, I know that I’m actually the Grinch. In fact, we all are. We’re all born, not just with a heart “two sizes too small” but with a heart that has been corrupted and corroded by sin. With hearts like that, we are more than happy to spend our days working hard to take happiness away from others if that will make us feel good. We think that we deserve to be happy, and if life won’t give us that happiness we must take it for ourselves. Like the Grinch, we think all of our efforts will give us the joy we want. And like the Grinch we find ourselves severely disappointed. That, of course, is the blessed news of Christmas—Jesus came for grinches; He came for sinners. God the Father knew that we could never find true happiness or love apart from Him. He knew we would be forever separated from all that is good and beautiful and our too-small hearts needed to be reborn. And so He sent Jesus, to live in a world full of grinches, to die on the cross for sinners.
December 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Heavy Holidays
The disappointment, brokenness, suffering, and pain that characterize life in this present world is held in dynamic tension with the promise of future glory that is yet to come. In that Advent tension, the church lives its life. — Fleming Rutledge, Advent (pp. 7-8).
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.’” (Rev. 21:1–4)
Rev.David Garrison
November 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Dancing With The Devil
Tell me something, my friend. You ever dance with the devil in the pale moonlight? — The JokerDon’t… tempt me Frodo! I dare not take it. Not even to keep it safe. Understand, Frodo. I would use this ring from a desire to do good… But through me, it would wield a power too great and terrible to imagine. — Gandalf
Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. — 1 Peter 5:8–9)
Rev. David Garrison
October 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Taste And See
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! — Psalm 34:8
Rev. David Garrison
September 2021 Pastor’s Corner – 18 Months
It’s now been just about 18 months since this pandemic really started exploding across our country, and what a rollercoaster of an 18 months its been. There was the first few months of initial fear when everything shut down in March of 2020. But as we moved through the summer and the infection numbers in central Virginia stayed relatively low, we began to hope that things would return to normal by the fall, if not Christmas. With the return of school (although not “normal” school) in the fall, that hope continued to rise. But then as we moved into December and January, we saw a severe spike in infections in our area, and our hope began to fade. But then the vaccines became widely available, and numbers began to shrink again through the spring of 2021 – the end seemed to be in sight! Hope burned more brightly through this summer, as numbers in our area continued to decrease and plans to go back to “normal” school were put in place…but an anxiety lurked under the surface as news of highly contangious variants began to spread. And then school did begin, just last week (at the time I’m writing this). Now here we are today, on August 26, after only 6 schooldays, and all secondary schools in Amherst County are closed for a week and the Delta variant is running rampant in our area. Is this ever going to end? What do we do? How are we to hold on to hope in this midst of this rollercoaster of uncertainty?
Consider the wisdom of Psalm 40:
I waited patiently for the LORD;
he inclined to me and heard my cry.
He drew me up from the pit of destruction,
out of the miry bog,
and set my feet upon a rock,
making my steps secure.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a song of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear,
and put their trust in the LORD. (Psalm 40:1-3)
Whenever I read this Psalm, I always think of the picture of the lighthouse above. Look closely. Do you see the man standing in the doorway, completely at ease as these giant waves crash around him? He is still in the midst of the storm, but God has set him securely on the rock and protected him from harm. We would all prefer that God bring an end to this pandemic, and one day He surely will. In the meantime though, He invites us to trust Him even in the midst of the storm. Whether that storm is a pandemic, the loss of a job, a crisis of health, being persecuted for your faith, or any other number of things, the counsel is still the same. Trust in the Lord. He likely won’t remove the storm, but He will hold you safe and secure in the midst of the storm.
As we all become worn out and weary, tempted to lose hope that COVID will ever go away, hold fast to the Lord. Continue to cry out to Him and trust in Him. He might not remove the storm, but He will set your feet on the Rock of Jesus Christ and secure you. As you find His peace in the midst of the storm, may you find yourself singing a new song of praise to Him.
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
August 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Does It Matter?
Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, “Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up and filled twelve baskets with fragments from the five barley loaves left by those who had eaten. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, “This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!” — John 6:11–14
He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. — Col. 1:15–17But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. — Heb. 1:2–3
“Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst.” — John 6:32–35
Rev. David Garrison
July 2021 Pastor’s Corner – What If It’s Actually True?
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. —Ephesians 1:3–8
For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name. I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. — Ephesians 3:14–19
Rev. David Garrison
June 2021 Pastor’s Corner – The Air We Breathe
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. — Hebrews 10:23–25
Let everything that has breath praise the LORD! Praise the LORD! —Psalm 150:6
Rev. David Garrison
May 2021 Pastor’s Corner – Conviction
“I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.” (John 16:7–11)
I received some news this afternoon that absolutely threw me for a loop. The news itself wasn’t particularly bad or good, and really wasn’t even directly for or about me. And yet, it absolutely threw me off balance and left me in a place of profound introspection and self-examination. For whatever reason, it “laid bare my soul” and I found myself questioning much of what I thought I knew, believed and took for granted even just a few hours ago. What was it that caused me to react in such a way?
Conviction. Specifically the conviction of the Holy Spirit.
One of the reasons Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin. Not in a “you’re a horrible, miserable person and I want you to feel guilt and shame” way, but rather a “sin keeps you from the fulness of life I bought for you on the cross, so let’s get rid of as much of it as we can” kind of way. We have an amazing ability to get comfortable with our misaligned priorities and values. Those priorities and values are probably not necessarily bad in and of themselves, but if they are more important to us than God and His Kingdom, then they are sinful and not righteous — it’s a subtle form of idolatry. It’s not necessarily that we have to get rid of those values and priorities, just that we need to put God’s values and priorities first. In the Sermon the Mount, Jesus said, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” (Matt. 6:33) I need to put God’s kingdom first, and trust Him to provide the rest.
The Holy Spirit used the news I received to shine a light on a couple of areas in my life where the kingdom of David was more important than the Kingdom of God. I’ll be honest, it wasn’t fun, and I spent quite a while doing some phenomenal self-rationalization and self-justification with God. And, honestly, I’m still working through it. I don’t like being told I’m wrong or in error, and I’m sure you don’t either. But I also know that God is shining the light in these areas of my heart because He loves me and wants His best for me. The same is true for you.
One of the key aspects of growing in holiness and faithfulness is keeping a soft heart that is sensitive to when the Holy Spirit is at work in us, convicting us of the areas in our lives that aren’t aligned with God’s heart and vision. As we celebrate the coming of the Holy Spirit on Pentecost this month, I pray that each of us would have tender hearts, shaped and formed by the Spirit of God in the image of the Son of God.
“…he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” (Heb. 12:10–11)
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison
