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August 2025 Pastor’s Corner — Echoes of Eden
I’m not lost
I’m just looking for what I haven’t found
there’s an ache inside of me that’s reaching out
for something deeper than anything I’m seeing
like a traveler I’m following
the echo of Eden.
— Green River Ordinance, “Echo of Eden” (video below)
Many years ago my grandfather and I boarded a plane to a place I’d never before been. When I stepped off the walkway into Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage, Alaska, the very first thought that crossed my mind was, “I’m home,” which was strange because airports aren’t the homeliest of places and, again, I’d never been there before. It would be another decade before I was actually able to call Anchorage “home,” and that only lasted for two years.
For most of my life, “home” for me meant Rockville, Maryland. It’s where I grew up and where my parents lived for 40 years. I left Rockville in 1997 and my parents moved to North Carolina a few years ago. But even before my parents moved away, Rockville stopped being home. I would go back to visit, but it wasn’t a place I referred to as “home” any longer. Even though I call places in Orlando, Anchorage, St. Louis, Hendersonville and now Madison Heights “home,” the longing for home points to something deeper.
A few months ago I was with a group of friends and family, and we had the most heartwarming and delightful time together. It was an evening of silliness and joy, one of those moments in time that you wish would last forever, but of course never do. Those moments touch a longing in our soul to be in the company of others, a longing that is at times met in our relationship with our spouse, our children, life-long close friends, maybe extended family. But as good as those relationships are, they aren’t perfect and often bring as much pain as they do joy. We weren’t meant to be alone, God says in Genesis 2, but relationships are hard. Sometimes too hard. We long for deep, meaningful relationships with others, but because it’s often so hard and painful, we settle for something much less, like the shallow façade of social media.
It seems as if our lives are becoming ever more frenetic and chaotic; we feel stretched in a dozen different directions at once. We frantically try to keep all of the plates spinning, while they begin to slow and wobble precariously. The more we stretch, the harder we press, the more the cracks begin to show. 2 Corinthians 4:7 describes us as cracked “jars of clay,” through which the grace of God shines… but if there are more cracks than clay, can it still be called a jar? As Chuck DeGroat writes, “We all think we know the solution — more downtime, more relaxation, more rest. And we’re all wrong.” What we truly long for is wholeheartedness.
All of this points to a persistent gnawing discontent in our souls, a longing that we try to satisfy in a thousand different ways but is always unsatisfied. We know there’s something missing, but we often aren’t sure what. Augustine once said, “our hearts are restless until they find their rest in You.” The most foundational longing of the human heart is for God. If earth has no sorrows heaven can’t heal, then neither does earth have any means of satisfying a longing that yearns for something beyond this world.
CS Lewis once wrote, “If I find in myself a desire which no experience in this world can satisfy, the most probable explanation is that I was made for another world.” Our longing for home, for relationship, for wholeheartedness, for God can never be satisfied by anything in this world, because they are longings that have existed long before this world. They are longings for “the way things used to be” in the truest, oldest sense of that phrase. They are echoes of Eden, longing for the way things were before The Fall. Eugene Peterson says, “This place, this garden, is not utopia, is not an ideal no-place. It is simply place, locale, geography, geology. But it is also a good place, Eden, because it provides the form by which we can live to the glory of God”
These longings have echoed for millennia, and they are only satisfied in Jesus Christ. Through our salvation in Christ, we are able to experience a partial satisfaction of those longings, but their ultimate satisfaction comes in the consummation of the Kingdom of God when Christ returns. Our August sermon series looks at the “echoes of Eden,” these deep longings of the human heart. We’ll see how they are born out of the goodness of God’s creation, how Christ has redeemed them, and how they will ultimately be satisfied in the New Heavens and New Earth when Jesus consummates His kingdom at the end of time. Be sure to join us for worship in person or online during August.
And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience. — Romans 8:23-25
Blessings,
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News & Announcements for Sunday, July 27, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
COLLEGE & CAREER BIBLE STUDY – TONIGHT, 6PM
Join us for a weekly(ish) bible study for College & Career Young Adults this summer. We meet at the Garrisons for dinner (probably something fancy, like pizza) and then spend some time digging into God’s Word. This is a place and time you can bring your questions and whatnot as well. All young adults, ages 18-29(ish) are welcome.
MISSION FOCUS FOR JULY: NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS
Our mission focus for the month of July is Neighbors Helping Neighbors which assists individuals in Amherst County in overcoming food insecurity. They also help connect those in need to area resources that can help build self-sufficiency and quality of life. You may make a donation by specifying NHN on your check memo line.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
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News & Announcements for Sunday, July 20, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
COLLEGE & CAREER BIBLE STUDY – TONIGHT, 6PM
Join us for a weekly(ish) bible study for College & Career Young Adults this summer. We meet at the Garrisons for dinner (probably something fancy, like pizza) and then spend some time digging into God’s Word. This is a place and time you can bring your questions and whatnot as well. All young adults, ages 18-29(ish) are welcome.
MISSION FOCUS FOR JULY: NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS
Our mission focus for the month of July is Neighbors Helping Neighbors which assists individuals in Amherst County in overcoming food insecurity. They also help connect those in need to area resources that can help build self-sufficiency and quality of life. You may make a donation by specifying NHN on your check memo line.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
Search for “Church Center” in your favorite app store on your phone to download our app! In the app are the church calendar, small group and volunteer opportunities, the online church directory, and more.
Read more...
News & Announcements for Sunday, July 13, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
COLLEGE & CAREER BIBLE STUDY – TONIGHT, 6PM
Join us for a weekly(ish) bible study for College & Career Young Adults this summer. We meet at the Garrisons for dinner (probably something fancy, like pizza) and then spend some time digging into God’s Word. This is a place and time you can bring your questions and whatnot as well. All young adults, ages 18-29(ish) are welcome.
MISSION FOCUS FOR JULY: NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS
Our mission focus for the month of July is Neighbors Helping Neighbors which assists individuals in Amherst County in overcoming food insecurity. They also help connect those in need to area resources that can help build self-sufficiency and quality of life. You may make a donation by specifying NHN on your check memo line.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
Search for “Church Center” in your favorite app store on your phone to download our app! In the app are the church calendar, small group and volunteer opportunities, the online church directory, and more.
Read more...
News & Announcements for Sunday, July 6, 2025
JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL
If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!
MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon
Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.
GET IN SHAPE CLASS –SUNDAYS, 9:30AM
No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this 4-week Sunday School class, concluding next Sunday.
COLLEGE & CAREER BIBLE STUDY – TONIGHT, 6PM
Join us for a weekly(ish) bible study for College & Career Young Adults this summer. We meet at the Garrisons for dinner (probably something fancy, like pizza) and then spend some time digging into God’s Word. This is a place and time you can bring your questions and whatnot as well. All young adults, ages 18-29(ish) are welcome.
MISSION FOCUS FOR JULY: NEIGHBORS HELPING NEIGHBORS
Our mission focus for the month of July is Neighbors Helping Neighbors which assists individuals in Amherst County in overcoming food insecurity. They also help connect those in need to area resources that can help build self-sufficiency and quality of life. You may make a donation by specifying NHN on your check memo line.
DOWNLOAD THE CHURCH CENTER APP
Search for “Church Center” in your favorite app store on your phone to download our app! In the app are the church calendar, small group and volunteer opportunities, the online church directory, and more.
Read more...
