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.
 

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We have Sunday school for all ages at 9:00, and the worship service is at 10:30am. We look forward to seeing you! 
 
 
 

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July 2022 Pastor’s Corner – Pilgrimage

For the LORD has chosen Zion;
he has desired it for his dwelling place:
“This is my resting place forever;
here I will dwell, for I have desired it.”
— Psalm 132:13–14
 
A faithful Hebrew was expected to make the trek to the temple in Jerusalem three times a year for the Festivals of Passover (Pesach), Pentecost (Shavuot) and Tabernacles (Succoth). In Islam, one of the pillars is Pilgrimage, in which a faithful Muslim is expected to travel to Mecca at least once in their lifetime. In both cases, these pilgrimages are a necessary part of the sanctification of the Hebrew or Muslim. However, there is no such expectation or requirement in Christianity. Have you ever wondered why?
 
The short answer, which you can probably guess, is because of Jesus. The longer answer is this:
For Christ has entered, not into holy places made with hands, which are copies of the true things, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God on our behalf. Nor was it to offer himself repeatedly, as the high priest enters the holy places every year with blood not his own, for then he would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But as it is, he has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Heb. 9:24–26)
 
In other words, because of Jesus, we no longer need to make sacrifices and pilgrimages to an earthly, geographically bound and physically located temple. We are the temple of God (1 Peter 2:4-5), and Jesus offered the last and final sacrifice through his death on the cross (see above, and Hebrews 10:12-14). We don’t have to make a pilgrimage because our salvation is through faith in Christ alone, not through any work or effort on our part (Ephesians 2:8-10).
 
However, that doesn’t mean that going on pilgrimage isn’t worthwhile for the Christian. Doing so can’t and won’t affect your salvation, but it could well be of great benefit to your spiritual walk with the Lord. Just like reading a book about a place is different from actually visiting it, when we actually go and walk in the same places that Jesus and the disciples walked, when we stand where King David stood, when we see what Moses and Joshua saw, it can transform our understanding of Scripture.
 
To be honest, I don’t know how transformative it can be. Many have told me that it’s invaluable. But by the time you read this, I’ll be doing that very thing. Thanks to your generous provision of study leave funds and time, I’ll spend ten days in Israel, visiting many of the places you see in the map above. I look forward to sharing with you what I’ve seen, experienced and learned. And who knows? Maybe you’ll have an opportunity to take a pilgrimage to Israel yourself Not because it’s necessary to save your soul, but to help you grow in fulness, grace and truth. Keep me in your prayers while I’m gone (from June 27-July 6), and I look forward to seeing you when I get back.
 
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison

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June 2022 Pastor’s Corner – Change

 “In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” — Ben Franklin

“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” — Hebrews 13:8

The past several years has taught us how quickly things can change, and change drastically.  Some of these changes have been good, many of them have been difficult, if not very hard.  Just about every area of our lives has been shaken and challenged.  Most of these changes have been as unexpected as they were unprecedented; some of them we could see coming.

I’ve been reflecting on change a lot lately.  Part of that has been stirred by the cultural changes we’re seeing around us, but closer to home it’s been triggered by my son’s graduation from high school and preparation for college.  Our family is moving into a season of change we’ve not experienced since my son was born.  Many of you have experienced that transition yourselves, some of you have a few more years.  When facing changes like these, it’s easy to begin to feel “unmoored.”  But, as my (great x6) uncle Ben Franklin said above, everything changes, except death and taxes.

There’s a lot of wisdom and a lot of truth in my uncle’s observation…but he missed something crucial.  As the author of Hebrews reminds us, Jesus Christ never changes either.  As part of the Holy Trinity, God the Son has always existed.  God the Son is as much the same before the incarnation as after it, as before his death and resurrection as after it, as before his ascension into heaven as after it, as before his ultimate return as after it.  His nature, his mission, his work, his hesed (steadfast lovingkindness — see the sermons on Ruth) is all exactly the same yesterday, today and forever.

We depend on consistency and stability to keep us anchored in our lives.  But if we anchor ourselves to something that will move or change, we can’t rely on that mooring.  Everything moves and changes — relationships, jobs, people, family, the stock market, politics, the weather, even church.  The only true certainty in life is Jesus Christ.  When we anchor ourselves to Christ, we can weather whatever storm may whip up around us, whatever change and transition might come our way.  How do we anchor ourselves to Jesus Christ?  He tells us that himself:

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)

Knowing the Word of God through Christ in Scripture and doing what He says is how we secure ourselves to Jesus Christ.  We “hear these words” of His by spending time reading the Bible and in prayer every day, by going to Sunday school and Bible studies each week, and by worshipping with the body of Christ each Sunday morning.  We “do what it says” when we put what we hear into practice each and every day.  

If there is any particular way we can help you work through the changes and challenges you are navigating by helping you hear His word and doing it, please don’t hesitate to reach out and let us know.

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison


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May 2022 Pastor’s Corner – Irritating

 “So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:21–24)

We are deep in the throes of pollen season.  You can’t really miss it, since we’re all driving greenish-yellow cars right now.  It is arguably the most singularly irritating season of the entire year.  If you suffer from allergies, it’s torture.  If you don’t, it’s irritating.  The pollen gets everywhere and covers everything.  Occasionally you can even see clouds of the stuff blowing out of the trees, but even when you can’t, you can taste it every time you step outside.  Constant sneezing, runny noses, and itchy eyes are part and parcel these days.  Considering how small pollen particles are, it’s pretty impressive how much trouble they cause.

The only relief we can look forward to is the next rain shower.  For a brief moment, perhaps a few hours or even a day if we’re lucky, the rain will wash the pollen away.  Our cars return to their usual colors, our decks and homes are washed clean, and the air doesn’t attack our nasal passages.  For a little while, at least.  Of course, that very rain triggers even more pollen to come, but I’m working on an analogy here so let’s not push things farther than they’re meant to go.

We focus a lot of our time and energy on avoiding the “big” sins (such as sexual immorality, rage, jealousy, envy, drunkenness and the others listed in Galatians 5:19-21), which we should.  But sometimes I think we forget about the “small” sins, or we think they’re not that big of a deal.  As long as we’re not “too bad” then we should be ok, right?  However, kind of like pollen, those small sins can become big irritants.  If we don’t attend to the small sins in addition to the big ones, they can irritate our faith and our walk with the Lord.  The simple truth is that sin is sin, regardless of its size.

Just like we yearn for rain to wash the pollen away, we can rest assured that, through the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we can “draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” (Heb. 10:22)  Jesus didn’t just cleanse us of the “big” sins, but the “small” ones too.  The pure water of the Holy Spirit and the Word of God wash us clean.  May we take all of our sins to the cleansing waters of the Holy Spirit so that we can be refreshed, renewed and restored.

Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” (Eph. 5:25–27)
 
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison

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April 2022 Pastor’s Corner – The Son Rises

Now after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like dead men. But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him. See, I have told you.” So they departed quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, and ran to tell his disciples. (Matt. 28:1–8)
 
They say that it’s always darkest just before the dawn. I’ll be honest, I’m rarely up early enough to find out if that’s true, but I’m glad to trust those who are early risers. It was certainly true for the disciples the weekend Jesus died. Never had they experienced so dark a night as they did after Jesus died on Good Friday. I imagine that Saturday was spent in a grey fog of shock, fear, dismay and denial, with probably very little sleep. Their hopes had risen so high over the past three years, and in just a few hours, the heights of hope were replaced with the depths of despair.
 
I wonder if the two Marys had slept at all that weekend. Perhaps getting up and going to the tomb was something like, “well, we’re not asleep so we might as well go to the tomb” kind of moment. Luke tells us they took spices to place on Jesus’ body (Luke 24:1). It was the beginning stage of reluctant acceptance. But as they arrived at the tomb, just as the sun began to peek over the horizon, their world was shaken once again — literally, this time. A thundering earthquake, the piercing brightness of light — not the sun rising, but the Son rising! This light came from inside the tomb, not the sky.
 
“The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.” (John 1:5) The darkness of night can not stand against the light of the sunrise. The darkness of our souls can not stand against the light of God’s love and forgiveness. The darkness of this world can not stand against the light of God’s power and might (Ephesians 6:12).
 
You’re invited to join us as we celebrate the Light of Jesus Christ rising and pushing back the darkness of our lives this Easter Sunday. Rev. Bob Mills will lead us in an Easter Sunrise service at 7:30am, and we’ll have a full Easter Celebration at 11am. Join us for both, or just one. Let’s celebrate the Light of the World together this Easter.
 
Blessings,
Rev. David Garrison

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March 2022 Pastor’s Corner – Trust & Hope

 1Yahweh, my heart is not haughty, I do not set my sights too high. I have taken no part in great affairs, in wonders beyond my scope. 2 No, I hold myself in quiet and silence, like a little child in its mother’s arms, like a little child, so I keep myself. 3 Let Israel hope in Yahweh henceforth and for ever. (Psalm 131, New Jerusalem Bible)

Every once in a while you happen across a passage of scripture that catches you off guard.  At first, you think, “that’s a nice Psalm.”  But then you keep thinking about it.  A few hours later, it becomes, “man, I can’t get that Psalm out of my mind.”  As the hours turn to days, you start to think, “Yeah, there’s something going on here.  Why is this Psalm continuing to rattle around in my head?”  If you haven’t already, this is the point when our thinking should turn into praying.  We ask the Holy Spirit to open our eyes and soften our hearts in order to hear what He is trying to tell us.

That’s what happened to me just a few weeks ago.  I came across this Psalm in preparation for last month’s Session meeting.  It made a very nice opening devotion for our meeting.  But then I couldn’t stop thinking about the Psalm.  I love the imagery it uses — the idea of resting contentedly in God’s arms the way a little child rests in his mother’s arms speaks to the deep longing of my soul.  But that’s not the part that stuck with me.  It was the first verse that wouldn’t leave me alone.  The hard truth of the matter that I’d prefer not to admit is that my heart is inclined toward haughtiness.  I do tend to set my sights too high.  I am prone to thinking that I’m the one who has to solve all of life’s problems, in great affairs and wonders beyond my scope.  It’s not that I’m terribly arrogant or boastful, rather more that I often think it’s my responsibility to figure everything out and know what the right course or solution should be.  I am often discontent with my lot, and think it’s up to me to change it.

But that isn’t what God wants from me, or from us.  Rather, we’re invited and encouraged to be still and quiet, to rest contentedly in His arms.  That’s the image of verse 2.  A child, whose every need has been met and trusts fully in her mother, peacefully at sleep, without a fear or worry.  That is the kind of relationship God yearns to have with us.  God yearns to provide for our every need, to keep us safe and secure, to hold us warmly and tenderly so we can rest in Him without fear or worry.  What keeps us from experiencing that kind of love is our discontent, our constant striving for more… in other words, the haughtiness of our hearts and the setting of our sights too high.

The Holy Spirit is still convicting me through this Psalm.  My soul yearns for this peace and rest, but my heart resists.  I find myself praying through this Psalm and also Paul’s words in Romans 7: “I do not understand my own behaviour; I do not act as I mean to, but I do things that I hate.” (Rom. 7:15)  Maybe that’s something you find happening in your heart and soul as well.  That’s ok, it’s part of the journey.  As soon as we learn to trust God a little bit, He invites us to take the next step and trust Him even more deeply.  To steadily and steadfastly rest in Him more and more; to become progressively more content with His provision.  It’s easier said than done, but the rewards are well worth it.

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me. (Phil. 4:11–13)

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison


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