
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
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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
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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
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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
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Pastor’s Mid-Week Bible Study Begins This Week!

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Pastor’s Corner – February 2020

Binge Reading…
…The Bible in 90 Days
What Bible Should You Read?
Sharing the Journey Together
Who Can Participate?
Find Out More on Sunday, February 23
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Reading the Bible as a Single Book – A February 2020 Table Talk Series

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January 2020 Pastor’s Corner – Is Anyone Listening?

Is Anyone Listening?
Tuning In
I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet saying, “Write what you see in a book and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus and to Smyrna and to Pergamum and to Thyatira and to Sardis and to Philadelphia and to Laodicea.” (Rev. 1:10–11)
The Word That Speaks
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. (Heb. 4:12)
Rev. David Garrison

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“It Happened Like This…” – An Advent Sunday School Class

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Pastor’s Corner – February 2019

If you give a man a fish he is hungry again in an hour. If you teach him to catch a fish you do him a good turn. — English proverbBut Jesus answered, “It is written, “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” — Matthew 4:4“All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” — 2 Timothy 3:16–17
Learning to Study the Scriptures
Getting SOAPy
Scripture
Observation
Application
Prayer
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