At the risk of reducing the grand truth of our relationship with God to a few mere words, let me say this: God loves you just the way you are. If you think God’s love for you would be stronger if your faith was more muscular, you are wrong. If you think God’s love forContinue reading “An Old Heart Becomes New”
Author Archives: First Presbyterian Church
Together Forever
“Is this heaven?” wonder we Iowans when ruminating on a cinematic field of dreams. So also wonder all God’s people in hearing this morning’s dreamy Scripture lesson for All Saints Sunday from the New Testament Book of Revelation: Is this heaven? Is the apostle John imagining God’s heavenly field of earthly dreams? Or does JohnContinue reading “Together Forever”
Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone
The scriptures – God’s perfect Word trapped within imperfect human word – are the direct source of our faith and the most important rule of our living. The written Word teaches you how to glorify God. One of our fallen world’s more-wicked displays of sin emerges when a crafty person finds a tricky way toContinue reading “Sola Scriptura: Scripture Alone”
A Bridge to Somewhere
Dressed in layers of flannel and wool to ward off the autumn night’s chill, the grieving faithful gathered along the riverbank for a farewell ritual that bore trappings of a good, old-fashioned Irish wake. They bowed their heads as a clergywoman offered prayer. They raised bubbling flutes of champagne in tribute to auld lang syneContinue reading “A Bridge to Somewhere”
Places in the Heart
Thankfully, mercifully, at long last – after much painful labor, after heartbreaking loss and hardship, all signs finally point toward a happy ending. Or at least a next chapter that’s not quite so bad. To eke out a meager existence, they battled unfair circumstance and, on the frontlines of combat, forged a camaraderie of deep,Continue reading “Places in the Heart”
A Psalm 34 Morning
As we ready to listen for the Word of the Lord in Psalm 34, let us again be together in a place of prayer – Startle us, O God, with your truth, and open our hearts and minds to your wondrous love.Speak your word to us; silence in us any voice but your own. AndContinue reading “A Psalm 34 Morning”
Psalm 90
Pastor Grant M. VanderVelden shared this message on Thursday, September 25, 2025, during the funeral service for Jean E. Hagen. Martin Funeral Home recorded a full video of the service. Psalm 90 is an intriguing poem. Its Old Testament verses open with lyric thought and fond reflection on home, sweet home: How, for time immemorial,Continue reading “Psalm 90”
How Are You?
Psalm 88
Psalm 89
Psalm 88 sermon
Psalm 89 sermon
988 Day
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A Labor Day Meditation: Called to Worth and Work
Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. There the angel of the LORD appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that thoughContinue reading “A Labor Day Meditation: Called to Worth and Work”
Raw Power
Like the familiar tales of Christmas, Easter, and Pentecost, preachers like me sometimes wonder what else is left to say about the Bible’s other well-known and beloved stories – like this morning’s Scripture lesson: the parable of the prodigal son, his jealous and resentful older brother, and their graciously forgiving father. This classic narrative ratherContinue reading “Raw Power”