The Pentecostals of Jonesboro La.

05/22/2026

This is Pastor Harper,
This night in Israel was celebrated by Tikkun Olam. It is always just before Pentecost (Shavuot).
What is Tikkun Olam? I wanted to share this definition with all of you. In this troubled time, we really need this to occur.

"The biblical roots of tikkun olam emphasize the human responsibility to partner with God to heal a broken world:
Social Justice: The Torah heavily mandates the protection of the vulnerable, including the stranger, the widow, and the orphan (e.g., Leviticus 19).
Ethical Living: The prophets constantly call for the repair of societal injustices. A famous example is Isaiah 58, which describes true fasting as feeding the hungry, sheltering the oppressed, and breaking the chains of injustice.
Stewardship: In Genesis 2:15, humanity is placed in the Garden of Eden to "work it and take care of it" (often interpreted as the first biblical mandate for earth stewardship).
Kingship & Order: While not tikkun olam, the verb root related to establishing or repairing (tkn) appears in passages like Ecclesiastes 1:15, where humans are tasked with addressing the crookedness of the world."

In our communities, we need Tikkun Olam every day, not a once per year occurrence. God's word is forever settled in the heavens (Ps. 119:89).
REH

05/16/2026

This is Pastor Harper. I do not usually post any political content. But, this is important on an important election day like today.
Sis Harper and I voted this morning. We voted our conscience. However, whatever the outcome, we need to come together as a total community of all subgroups and do what the Bible commands us to do. We need to pray for unity and pray for those in authority. Over the past few months, we have heard lots of promises. We have over a year to sit back and watch to see if the promises made are kept. If they're not kept, we can fix that in the next election.
REH

05/14/2026

It has always been an honor to serve our community for the 12 years that we have been here. We love working with Sis. Andrea Watkins Malone to raise awareness of this unfortunate need in our communities.

During the National Day of Prayer, DART, first responders, the Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, and our military were recognized for their service and dedication. We would like to thank Pastor and Sister Harper for always including DART and for being such strong supporters of our mission.

05/10/2026

Happy Mother's Day to all of the mothers. This morning I preached a Mother's Day message from a very unlikely text, Luke 2:4-7. The title was "The Creator's Mother." The Almighty, Everlasting, Self Sufficient Creator of Heaven and Earth who spoke everything into being still needed a vessel in which to be carried in and birthed by.
Her willingness to be used, in spite of a seemingly impossible assignment, gave rise to the declaration that she was blessed and highly favored. God still seeks to find people who desire to submit to His plans and serve the Kingdom of God.

05/07/2026

Prayer breakfast before our parish track teams went to LSU for the state track meet.

05/07/2026

This is Pastor Harper. Thanks to all who came for the prayer service. Every day should be a day of prayer and a day of Thanksgiving. Thanks to all who came out to pray for our communities and parish.
Jonesboro police Chief Israel Smith said we have a problem with mental illness in our communities and parish. As a professional life coach and chaplain, I absolutely agree. I see it in our area and I see it in national research data. In the coming days, I hope to become more involved in the situation. I want to work wiith the police, DA and our judicial system to coach those who need it and refer the more serious issues to the proper channels.
Here are some pics of the symbolic representation of the departments that need the prayer covering of every saint of the one, true Living God.
I did include a brief explanation of each picture. The opinions are mine and may not be necessarily popular. They do not reflect the opinions of the UPCI or even this church.