Hermitage Church of the Nazarene

09/09/2026

Whether you're just beginning your career, raising a family, in the middle of your working years, or enjoying retirement, God has created each of us with a desire to do good work.

Join us on Saturday, November 14, as Dean Diehl leads us through an engaging and practical examination of what Scripture teaches about Good Work.

Register Now: https://subsplash.com/u/-Z47RGQ/forms/d/cbb80338-35ed-49ac-ae39-d355af62c74a

09/08/2026

Hermitage Church Weekly Newsletter -

On Sunday I preached from Luke 15, the story of a father with two sons. And I have to tell you, I did not read it this time as a pastor. I read it as a dad.

09/08/2026

Two Sons, One Porch

On Sunday I preached from Luke 15, the story of a father with two sons. And I have to tell you, I did not read it this time as a pastor. I read it as a dad.

We usually spend our time on the younger son, the one who asks for his inheritance early, which in that world was a way of saying, you are as good as dead to me. You know how it goes. He burns through the money and comes back rehearsing a speech he never gets to finish, because the father sees him a long way off, feels compassion, and runs. All decorum gone. His boy was alive!

But here is where the story caught me. The older son resents everyone in it. He hears the music from the field, hears there is a party for his brother, and refuses to come inside. He stands out in the dark doing the math on his own faithfulness, tallying up years of obedience like an invoice. And Luke tells us the father went out to him. The same father who ran down the road for one boy walks into the night for the other.

One son left home with his feet. The other left home with his heart. And the father could not rest until both of them were in.

I understand that father in a way I could not have before I had children of my own. Because the truth is, I want all of them at the table. I want the noise of them in the house. When one of my children keeps a distance from me, whether they crossed a country to do it or just crossed their arms, something in me goes out looking. It’s what being their father means.

I used to think this story was about repentance, and it certainly is. But it’s also about a father who can’t stand having his children outside. The welcome isn’t a reward for the younger son's return, and it isn’t a rebuke of the older son's resentment. It’s just who the father is. "Everything I have is yours," he says. The place at the table was always set. It was set before anybody left and it stayed set the whole time they were gone.

So whichever son you are today, the one who wandered or the one who stayed and simmered, hear this: The door is not locked. It was never locked. God has been walking toward you the whole time, down the road or out into the dark, ready to bring you in.

Pastor Matt Hastings

“His father said, ‘Son, you don’t understand. You’re with me all the time, and everything that is mine is yours—but this is a wonderful time, and we had to celebrate. This brother of yours was dead, and he’s alive! He was lost, and he’s found!’” - Luke 15:31-32 (MSG)

09/07/2026

We need 3 MORE individuals or groups to sign up to serve food for College Lunch this semester!

Take it from Mya - College Lunch means so much for our college students. It reminds them that they are seen and provides them a piece of home away from home.

Sign up to serve a meal: https://subsplash.com/u/-Z47RGQ/forms/d/d9936423-c242-402d-ac45-0c3a67c13153

09/06/2026

Come worship with us!

09/02/2026

Don’t assume your spouse signed you up!

Register for Marriage Retreat by September 4th for the Early Bird price of $250!

The last day to register is September 9th at the regular price of $275.

Register through the link in our bio or on our website!

09/01/2026

Hermitage Church Weekly Newsletter -

Over the years, I’ve served on boards that address the property needs of varying churches. Somewhere between the HVAC units and the roof estimates, a term always surfaces: deferred maintenance. It’s the polite way of saying that a building has needs nobody has gotten around to funding. The compr...

09/01/2026

Deferred Maintenance

Over the years, I’ve served on boards that address the property needs of varying churches. Somewhere between the HVAC units and the roof estimates, a term always surfaces: deferred maintenance. It’s the polite way of saying that a building has needs nobody has gotten around to funding. The compressor has to work a little harder each summer. The crack in the foundation that was hairline last year, grew over the months. Nothing is broken exactly. I mean, not yet. But everyone in the room knew what deferred really means. It means the bill is coming, but it’s also growing interest.

I thought about this week, but in relation to the places that have nothing to do with buildings.

We do the same thing in our relationships. Defer it. We let a small hurt sit unaddressed because bringing it up feels harder than trying to live around it. We defer in our finances, promising ourselves we will deal with it after the holidays. And we defer in our souls. We skip the prayer that keeps the line open. We let our Bibles sit closed on the nightstand. Or we skim over the app that gives the verse of the day. We tell ourselves we will get back to it when things settle down, but things never seem to settle down.

The trouble is that spiritual disciplines were never meant to be simply repairs. They are inspections. They are the regular walk-through that lets the Holy Spirit take our pulse, put a hand on the wall, and notice the hairline crack while it’s still a hairline. When the psalmist prays, "Search me, O God, and know my heart," he isn’t waiting for the ceiling to fall in. He’s inviting the Inspector in early, before the breach becomes a collapse.

Hear me, the God who searches is also the God who repairs. There’s no crack too old, no breach too deferred, that grace can’t address. But grace would rather meet you at the inspection than at the emergency.

Let the Spirit walk the property of your heart and point to what needs attention now, while attention is still all it needs.

Pastor Matt Hastings

“Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life.” - Psalm 139:23-24 (NLT)