First Reformed Church of Grand Haven

09/11/2026

THE FORMER THINGS

This week I learned that an old friend is experiencing significant decline. It was difficult news to hear. I have always known him as someone who was remarkably sharp and capable, and he has had a great influence on my life. To hear how much has changed was another reminder of something none of us particularly likes to think about: We live in a world where even the strongest among us experience weakness and decay. We see it in different ways and at different times.

Strength diminishes.

Bodies wear down.

Minds that were once sharp can fail.

Eventually, unless Christ returns first, death comes for all of us. The Apostle Paul knew this reality firsthand. His life was marked by suffering and affliction, and he could say quite plainly, “our outer self is wasting away.” But what strikes me is where Paul looked while it was happening.

“We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:18
Christian hope teaches us to see our present reality in light of what Christ has promised, but our eyes cannot yet see. And near the end of Revelation, John directs our vision all the way to the horizon of that hope. God shows him where the whole story is going and what Jesus will bring when He returns.

John sees a new heaven and a new earth.

Death is no more.

Mourning and crying and pain have passed away.

And the One seated on the throne declares: “Behold, I am making all things new.”

And then Revelation uses a phrase I find especially beautiful: “The former things have passed away.” Think about what that means. The things that can seem to fill our lives now will one day be former things. The weakness. The diminishment. The grief. Even the grave itself. All of it will belong to what has passed away when Jesus makes all things new. And because that is where the story is going, faith refuses to let the present become the limit of our vision. It lifts our eyes beyond the troubles immediately in front of us—even above the headstones of a cemetery—and fixes them on Christ and the world He is coming to make new.
And that changes the way I think about the news I received this week. I am saddened by what is happening to my friend. But I am so thankful that, because he belongs to Jesus, his story does not end in decline. Beyond the decline is resurrection. Beyond what is being lost is renewal. And the same is true for all who belong to Christ. There is a day coming when what has grown old will be made new, when death will give way to life, and when sorrow will give way to joy.

And on that day, we will see Jesus.

The One we now know by faith will finally be before our eyes.

And we will never need to look ahead again.

- Pastor John Kenny

09/04/2026

The Secret to Life

What is the secret to life?

People have been trying to answer that question for thousands of years.

Socrates said the secret is living an examined life.

Steve Jobs said it is finding what you love.

Groucho Marx joked, “The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you've got it made.”

Others would say it is surrounding yourself with people you love, living with purpose, finding happiness, or leaving the world a little better than you found it.

So who is right? What really is the secret to life?

Jesus never uses those words, but in Matthew 6, He gives us an answer.

“Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” Matthew 6:33

To seek first the kingdom of God means more than simply putting God at the top of a list of priorities. It means seeking the King and His kingdom—wanting His righteousness, His purposes, and His rule to shape every part of our lives.

His will comes before our desires. His priorities come before our ambitions. Our first question is not simply, What do I want? but What does God want?

For years I have often described this as the umbrella principle.

The King and His kingdom are first—over everything else. We are to place everything else beneath the umbrella of His lordship and care.

And there is plenty of room under that umbrella. Family, career, money, relationships, plans—all of them can be genuinely important. We are meant to enjoy them, pursue them, and give thanks to God for them. They simply aren't meant to come first.

The problem comes when we pull one out from underneath God's lordship and begin seeking it first. We have taken something that was meant to be entrusted to God's care and begun living as though everything depends upon what happens to it.

And that's when the very things we seek first can become the things we worry about most.

If the relationship has to work out for my life to be okay, I will worry about the relationship.

If my career has to succeed, I will worry about my career.

If I have to reach a certain level of financial security, I will worry about money.

And there is a wonderful freedom in putting the LORD first.

Because when everything else is placed beneath His lordship, I don't have to carry the weight of holding it all together.

My family is in His hands.

My career is in His hands.

My future is in His hands.

Jesus says, “Your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.” Matthew 6:32

There is tremendous peace in those words.

My Father knows. My Father is present. My Father can be trusted.

That doesn't mean everything underneath the umbrella will always turn out the way I want.

The job can still disappear.

The relationship can still become difficult.

The plans can still fall apart.

Jesus isn't promising that if we put God first, everything else will fall neatly into the places we want it to go.

He is assuring us that our Father knows what we need, and that everything beneath His lordship can be safely entrusted to His care.

And that is precisely where Jesus takes us next: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself.” Matthew 6:34

And that really is the secret to life.

Get the first thing right.

Seek first the King and His kingdom.

Put everything else under the umbrella of His care—and leave it there.

- Pastor John Kenny

08/28/2026

FOLLOWING JESUS TOGETHER
Last week I had the opportunity to attend our denomination’s annual conference. One of the highlights was simply being with other Christians—reconnecting with old friends, meeting a few new ones, worshiping together, and sharing in the work God has given us.

It reminded me again how much we need one another.

We live in a time when it is increasingly common to separate following Jesus from belonging to a church. People sometimes say, “I can follow Jesus on my own. I don’t need organized religion.”

But that idea is foreign to the New Testament.

And the reason goes deeper than simply saying that Christians need the church.

The church isn't merely something Christians need; it is part of what Christ came to create.

Jesus did not die simply to save isolated individuals who happen to believe the same things. Scripture says that He gave Himself “to purify for himself a people for his own possession.” (Titus 2:14)

A people.

When God saves us, He does not simply forgive our sins and send us on our way. He adopts us into a family.

God becomes our Father.
Other believers become our brothers and sisters.
And together, we become the body of Christ.

And the New Testament shows us what life in that family looks like.

We encourage one another.
We bear one another’s burdens.
We forgive one another.
We teach and admonish one another.
We pray for one another.
We spur one another on toward love and good deeds.

You cannot live the Christian life of “one another” all by yourself.

But life together is not always easy.

The church is not a community of people who have it all together. It is a community of sinners who have been forgiven by Jesus and are still in the process of being changed by Him. We will sometimes disappoint one another. We will misunderstand one another. And sadly, there are times when Christians—and churches—will deeply hurt one another.

That never excuses our failures. Sin should be met with repentance, forgiveness, accountability, and change.

But the failures of Christians do not change God’s design for the Christian life.

We were never meant to follow Jesus alone.

Last week I was reminded what a gift that kind of fellowship really is—people from different places, with different stories, who otherwise might never have known one another, and yet, because we belong to Christ, we belong to one another.

If you are part of a church family, give thanks that the Lord has given you a community of people with whom you can walk the Christian life.

And if you are trying to follow Jesus on your own, find a community of believers and become part of it. Find a church where you can worship, serve, grow, and walk alongside other people who are seeking to follow the same Savior.

Not because the church is perfect.

But because Christ gave Himself to create a people—and by His grace, He has made us part of that family.

- Pastor John Kenny

08/21/2026

Prayer In The Rearview Mirror

A few days ago, I had a conversation with someone in which I had an opportunity to share a little about my faith. It was a good conversation. But what struck me later was that I had specifically prayed for an opportunity like that with this person. And I completely missed it. It wasn't until a day or two later that it suddenly occurred to me: God had answered my prayer.

To be honest, it wasn't something I had been praying about very much recently. But I had prayed about it in the past. I had asked God to open a door for that conversation. And He did. That realization made me think about some old prayer cards I had tucked away. On those cards, I had written the names of people I was praying for and some specific things I was asking God to do in their lives. I remember praying through those cards. And at the time, it didn't always seem like much was happening. But when I pulled them out again and started reading through them, I was surprised.

Some of those prayers had been answered in almost exactly the way I had hoped.

Others had been answered in ways I never would have anticipated.

And some of them, of course, are prayers for which I am still waiting.

But looking back at those cards reminded me of something that is very easy to forget: Just because we don't see God doing anything doesn't mean God isn't doing anything. Part of the problem is that we naturally want God to work according to our timetable.

We know what we want Him to do.

We often know how we think He should do it.

And we certainly know when we would like Him to do it: Now.

But prayer doesn't work that way.

Prayer is not our way of demanding that God run the universe according to our plans. It is bringing our requests to a Father who loves us, hears us, and knows far better than we do what is good. J. C. Ryle once wrote: “Despair not, because you do not get an answer immediately. While you are speaking, Jesus is listening.” That's something we easily forget. We tend to evaluate our prayers by what we can see right now. We pray, look ahead, and wonder why nothing seems to be changing.

But some of God's answers to prayer are easier to recognize in the rearview mirror than through the windshield.

When we're looking through the windshield, all we can see is the road in front of us. We pray and ask:

What's happening?

Where is the answer?

Why isn't God doing something?

And from where we are sitting, sometimes the road ahead doesn't look any different. But every once in a while, it is good to look in the rearview mirror. Because looking backward, we can sometimes see things we couldn't see when we were looking forward. That's what happened when I pulled out those prayer cards.

Jesus taught His disciples that they should “always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1).

Maybe those old prayer cards were a reminder to me of why. They were a reminder that God is faithful even when I cannot see what He is doing.

So keep praying.

Keep trusting.

And every once in a while, look in the rearview mirror. You may be surprised by what God has already done.

- Pastor John Kenny

08/13/2026

When Anxiety Comes

As a pastor, I sometimes have more anxiety than I would want people to know.

I believe in Jesus. I trust Him fully. And I have seen His faithfulness more times than I could possibly count.

And yet, sometimes an overbooked schedule gets the best of me.

Sometimes it is a difficult situation I don't know how to handle.

Sometimes it is something completely irrational—something I know I shouldn't be worried about, but somehow I am anyway.

I wish that wasn't true.

Part of me thinks that as a pastor—and after a lifetime of following Jesus—I should be above that sort of thing.

Over the years, I have heard—and probably said myself—that worry is a kind of "practical atheism." We say we believe in the goodness, presence, and power of God, but then we live as though everything depends upon us.

And there is some truth in that.

Jesus certainly challenges our worry. "Do not be anxious about tomorrow," He tells us. Scripture repeatedly calls us to trust God rather than fear what we cannot control.

But I have come to believe we need to be careful about what we conclude when anxiety comes.

Because experiencing anxiety is not necessarily the same thing as abandoning trust in God.

In fact, when life begins to feel overwhelming, I find myself praying more.

Before I even get out of bed in the morning, I often pray something very simple:

"Lord, walk with me today. Guide me. Be near me. I cannot do this without You."

The Psalms remind us that prayers like that are not evidence of failed faith.

David writes:

"When I am afraid, I put my trust in you."
—Psalm 56:3

Notice what he doesn't say.

He doesn't say, Because I trust You, I am never afraid.

He says, "When I am afraid..."

Fear is present.

And so is faith.

Maybe that is something we need to remember.

None of this means we should simply make peace with our anxiety. Jesus still calls us away from worry and into deeper trust. There are fears we need to challenge and burdens we need to learn to place in His hands.

But Christian maturity isn't necessarily reaching the point where nothing ever overwhelms us.

I still have mornings when I wake up anxious about what lies ahead.

I wish that weren't so.

But I am learning to understand that faith is not measured by how seldom I feel overwhelmed, but by where I turn when I do.

And so tomorrow, I will start my day as I have so many times before:

"Lord, walk with me today. Guide me. Be near me. I cannot do this without You."

I do not believe this is an admission that my faith has failed.

It is an admission that I was never meant to live by my own strength in the first place.

And maybe, after a lifetime of following Jesus, that is one of the most important things I am still learning:

I cannot do this without Him.

- Pastor John Kenny

08/06/2026

"How long until things get better?"

"How long until things get better?" Recently, someone close to me asked me that question. After an extended season of painful trials and disappointments, this person wondered when life would finally begin to turn around.

Maybe you've asked that question too. When one burden seems to give way to another, it is easy to wonder how much longer you can keep going.

So how did I answer?

"It won't—not entirely."

Some things may get better. Seasons of suffering may ease, relationships may heal, and burdens may lift. But life in this fallen world will never be entirely free from sorrow until Christ makes all things new.

At first, that may sound discouraging, but I don't believe it is. It is simply an honest assessment of life in a fallen world.

Scripture reminds us that creation itself has been subjected to the curse of sin and is "groaning together" as it waits for the day of redemption (Romans 8:22–23). We live in a fallen world where cancer, heart attacks, storms, and countless other sorrows are part of everyday life. We also live among fallen people who sometimes wound us through selfishness, betrayal, or neglect. As long as we live in this present age, hardship will never be far away.

But that is not the end of the story.

The Christian's hope has never been that life in this world will become easy. Our hope is that Christ is with us in the midst of it. When the apostle Paul pleaded for his suffering to be removed, the Lord answered, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness" (2 Corinthians 12:9). Christ does not promise a trouble-free life, but He does promise His unfailing presence and all-sufficient grace.

And one day, He will make all things new. Whether through our death or His return, the day is coming when every trace of sin, sorrow, pain, and death will be gone forever (Revelation 21:4–5). Until then, we walk by faith, sustained by the One who has promised never to leave us nor forsake us.

If that question has been on your heart recently, don't lose heart. Christ has not abandoned you. His grace is sufficient for today, even if today's burdens remain. Keep looking to Him. The God who has carried His people through every generation will carry you as well. He will sustain you until the day when faith becomes sight, suffering gives way to glory, and all things are made new.

— Pastor John Kenny

07/29/2026

Before We Speak

This week our community has been shaken by a tragedy that has left many grieving.

Whenever something like this happens, our instinct is to search for explanations. We want to know why. We look for reasons, motives, and answers because unanswered suffering makes us uncomfortable. If we can explain evil, it almost feels as though we have regained some measure of control.

But Scripture points us to a different first response.

When Job experienced unimaginable loss, three friends came to be with him. Before they offered a single explanation, they sat with him on the ground for seven days. Why? "For they saw that his suffering was very great" (Job 2:13).

In the end, it proved to be the wisest thing they did.

When they finally began explaining Job's suffering, they only deepened his pain. They assumed they knew what God was doing. They tried to answer questions that God Himself had not answered.

There is a lesson there for all of us.

There is a time to speak. There is a time to comfort. There is a time to remind one another of the sure hope we have in Christ. But before any of that, there is often a time simply to sit beside someone whose world has fallen apart.

At some point, every one of us will be called to do just that. We will sit beside someone carrying an unbearable burden—a grieving spouse, parents who have lost a child, someone facing a devastating diagnosis, a family watching a loved one slip away, or a friend whose world has suddenly collapsed. We may not have answers that can make sense of their suffering. We cannot take away their grief. But we can be present.

The Apostle Paul simply tells us, "Weep with those who weep" (Romans 12:15). Sometimes the most Christlike thing we can do is not try to explain away another person's suffering but to enter it with them.

We may not be able to lighten another person's burden, but by our presence we remind them they do not have to carry it alone.

- Pastor John Kenny

Website for First Reformed Church in Grand Haven, Michigan

07/23/2026

My Times Are in Your Hands

The sudden death of Senator Lindsey Graham last week caught many people by surprise. News reports indicated that although he had not been feeling well, he delayed seeking medical attention because he wanted to keep a television interview scheduled for the next morning. According to those reports, he remarked, "I can't die now." He believed there was still too much work to do involving Ukraine, Iran, and other pressing matters.

His words caught my attention.

Not because they reflected an unusual attitude, but because they exposed an assumption we all tend to make. We plan tomorrow's meetings, next month's vacation, and next year's goals as though tomorrow belongs to us. Most days, we simply assume there will be another day. Then something like this happens, and we are reminded that our lives have never been under our control.

But Scripture gently corrects that illusion.

David reminds us, "My times are in your hand" (Psalm 31:15). Also, in Psalm 139, he reflects that all the days ordained for us were written in God's book before one of them came to be.

That truth is not meant to make us fearful. It is meant to make us restful.

The God who determines the length of our days is also the God who loves us, redeemed us through His Son, and promises never to leave us.

We are not the masters of our future. We have something far better. We are the children of a faithful Father.

This enduring biblical truth frees us to make our plans, work diligently, and serve faithfully—not because tomorrow is guaranteed, but because tomorrow belongs to God. And that is exactly where we want it to be.

- Pastor John Kenny

07/17/2026

The Cross at Dachau

A few weeks ago, while traveling in Germany, I visited the former concentration camp at Dachau.

It is difficult to describe what it feels like to walk through a place where so much evil occurred.

The visit begins in the processing building where prisoners first arrived. It was there that countless men and women were stripped of their names, their dignity, and their freedom before entering a nightmare of brutality, suffering, and death.

The museum is filled with photographs and eyewitness accounts from those years. As I looked at the images, I found myself almost unable to believe that such evil could have taken place. It seemed impossible that human beings could inflict such suffering on one another.

From there, you walk the length of the camp. You pass the rows of barracks where prisoners lived in unimaginable conditions. Everywhere you look, you are reminded of the depths of human depravity and the devastating consequences of hatred left unchecked.

Then I came to something unexpected.

At the far end of the camp, after it was liberated, a memorial chapel was built. Outside stands a large cross.

As I stood there, it occurred to me that the camp itself seemed to stand between two kingdoms.

At one end was a kingdom built on power, hatred, and death. The N**i regime exalted strength, racial superiority, and absolute control. It promised a better world but produced unimaginable evil.

At the other end stood the cross of Jesus Christ. His kingdom advances not through force but through humility, sacrifice, and love. One kingdom secures its power by taking life. The other establishes His kingdom by laying His life down.

After leaving the chapel, I continued to the final stop on the tour—the ex*****on chamber and the crematorium.

There, my disbelief gave way to grief. Standing in those rooms, seeing the ovens where bodies were burned, I was overwhelmed with sadness.

The cross does not erase what happened at Dachau or answer every question about suffering. But it reminds us that God is not distant from human evil. In Jesus Christ, He entered it. The One who was unjustly arrested, mocked, tortured, and crucified knows what it is to suffer under the hands of sinful men. Through His death and resurrection, He conquered sin and death forever.

John writes, "The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5).

As I left Dachau, the image that stayed with me was not the processing building, the barracks, or even the crematorium. It was the cross.

The cross stood as an enduring reminder that evil does not have the final word because Jesus Christ does. Human hatred is real, but it is no match for the redeeming love of God displayed in Christ. Death is a terrible enemy, but it has been conquered by His resurrection. One day He will return to judge evil, wipe away every tear, and make all things new.

That is the hope Christians carry—not only when we visit places like Dachau, but whenever we face the darkness of this fallen world.

- Pastor John Kenny

Website for First Reformed Church in Grand Haven, Michigan

07/14/2026