Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church

Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church Planted in Christ,
Growing in Faith,
Feeding the World

06/14/2026

Weekly worship, Chestnut Level Presbyterian Church

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman, Friday, June 12, 2026.“Godly Wisdom” There is a wonderful passage that I just love ...
06/12/2026

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman, Friday, June 12, 2026.

“Godly Wisdom”

There is a wonderful passage that I just love from the book of James, that I will confess I do not apply nearly enough in my own life. In James 1:5, it says, “If any of you is lacking in wisdom, ask God, who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly, and it will be given you.” These words of James remind me of a few things that can be helpful in my personal life. First, I need to be always praying for “clarity,” and then, even when I pray for or with others, to ask God to give them clarity. Maybe, I’ve missed the boat in not praying for “wisdom” instead. Maybe, I should be asking God for wisdom, and then the wisdom will give me the clarity. It may sound like I am splitting hairs, but what if there is a difference between having “godly wisdom,” and “godly clarity?”

I believe it is about asking God to give us what we need to make wise choices in life. Jesus’ words to the woman caught in adultery was “Neither do I condemn you,” and paraphrasing I imagine Jesus saying to her, “Now go and make ‘wise choices’ in your life.”

Second, wisdom helps in having confidence, and believing that the decision made was of God, which helps all those doubts we have, the second-guessing, the waffling, and even the buyer’s remorse. It is exhausting and will leave us like a rag doll being thrown around, this way and that way.

Finally, I think with godly wisdom comes better decisions, and better decisiveness. Jesus never did anything contrary to the will of God, and every decision he made, he was firm about, even as he was moving towards a showdown in Jerusalem with the powers that be, and the cross looming on the horizon.

May the God of wisdom, help us to remember to ask Him for wisdom, because His desire for us is to be wise. May God’s wisdom guide us in all the areas of our lives. May God give us the right words, at the right time, and said in the right say that communicate the gospel of love and truth.

This Sunday, June 14, I continue my sermon series on the Top 40 Stories of the Bible. I will be preaching on an often-repeated phrase, “the wisdom of Solomon.” Please join us in the sanctuary at either 8:00 am or 10:30 am. We will also broadcast the 10:30 am service on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

Pastor John

Worship Links

Join Zoom Meeting
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Meeting ID: 879 9458 4164Passcode: 886997

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"Bring faith and music together: we’re seeking our next Music Director!This individual will provide competent, dependabl...
06/11/2026

"Bring faith and music together: we’re seeking our next Music Director!

This individual will provide competent, dependable Christian leadership and/or oversight of the various choirs, musical groups and instrumentalists of the church.

This is a salaried, year-round position requiring 10 hours per week.

For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Please feel free to share with others who may have interest.

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman, Friday, May 22, 2026.“A New Community of Faith”Acts 2 focuses on the Day of Penteco...
05/22/2026

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman, Friday, May 22, 2026.

“A New Community of Faith”

Acts 2 focuses on the Day of Pentecost, the birth of the Church, as a vibrant community of faith. It is God who created this new community of faith. God is the One who gets the ball rolling. Prior to Pentecost, it was just a ragtag band of disjointed men and women trying to figure things out about what was supposed to happened next. Imagine, they witnessed Jesus die on the cross. They were awestruck by his bodily resurrection. They were dumbfounded by his ascension. But still don’t know how to really make sense of it all. In other words, they have no plan as to what to do now. Then, the Holy Spirit comes upon them, and they are infused with a new power and a new purpose. Suddenly, they are sharing Jesus’ story to everyone around them!

The very first thing the Holy Spirit did at Pentecost was to empower the disciples to proclaim the gospel. And the first thing they do is start telling the story of Jesus. Now, this new community of faith begins to take shape. Guess what? The world has never been the same since!

Friends, Jesus Christ is the center around which the Holy Spirit also builds our own community of faith. You may be someone who has been in church your whole life. Maybe you are someone for whom this whole community of faith is a relatively new idea for you. Just remember, God alone is the One who created the Church, and gives it life! Our purpose at Chestnut Level is very simple. We glorify God, by building one another up, and sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others.

This Sunday, May 24, I continue my sermon series on the Top 40 Stories of the Bible. As it is Pentecost Sunday, I will be preaching on the beginning of the Church. Please remember to wear RED and join us in the sanctuary at either 8:00 am or 10:30 am. We will also broadcast the 10:30 am service on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

Pastor John

Worship Links
Join Zoom Meeting

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87994584164?pwd=4WZwiOhYs9AutRZoKygn6SxavAbrXA.1
Meeting ID: 879 9458 4164Passcode: 886997

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results...

Facebook
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05/17/2026

Weekly Worship CLPC

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman for Friday, April 24, 2026.“The True Center”Do you remember when some of us were you...
04/24/2026

Devotional from Pastor John Hartman for Friday, April 24, 2026.

“The True Center”

Do you remember when some of us were younger, and we had 45 rpm records? They had that big hole in the middle. Did you ever try to play a “45” without putting that plastic disk in the hole? If you happened to center it perfectly over the spindle, the music sounded fine. But if the record was even the slightest bit off center, the music would be distorted. In the same way, if we keep Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, our lives are filled with harmony, because he is the True Center.

Sometimes we forget that the one who came for us, lived for us, died for us, was raised for us (which we just celebrated earlier this month on Easter), and who someday will take us home, was more than just a prophet, more than just a king, and more than just a great moral teacher. Jesus Christ is also our True Center in life.

Gordon College’s student and alumni magazine is called “StillPoint.” It is named after a T.S. Eliot poem where he refers to Jesus Christ as the “stillpoint in an ever-turning universe.” In other words, there is one unchanging, universal, absolute, pivotal true center for every person in the whole world, and he is Jesus Christ.

That certainly runs counter to the many things that change in life, doesn’t it? Relationships change. Our health changes. The economy changes. The weather changes, hopefully for the better, and hopefully soon! Everything in life seems to be moving, changing, in flux, and in transition.

However, there is one who remains the same, even when everything else is changing around us. He is the one sure and certain hope we have when everything else is so unsure and uncertain in this world. The Bible says in Hebrews 13:8, that Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever.” He is the True Center, and the one absolute upon which we can depend, amidst all the uncertainties in life.

This Sunday, April 26, I continue my sermon series on the Top 40 Stories of the Bible. Once again, this Sunday is not a bible story, as we are going to take a look at Psalm 121. Please join us in the sanctuary at either 8:00 am or 10:30 am. We will also broadcast the 10:30 am service on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

Pastor John

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87994584164?pwd=4WZwiOhYs9AutRZoKygn6SxavAbrXA.1

Meeting ID: 879 9458 4164Passcode: 886997

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results...

Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/.../www.../chestnutlevelpres

Devotional Friday, April 10 from Pastor John Hartman.“Focused on Jesus Christ”Have you noticed that great people have th...
04/10/2026

Devotional Friday, April 10 from Pastor John Hartman.

“Focused on Jesus Christ”

Have you noticed that great people have the ability to focus intensely on a single objective or pursuit? Most of us live complex lives, zigzagging this way and that way, like the over-energetic cowboy who jumped on his horse and rode off in all directions. Great people tend to live lives of breathtaking simplicity. They draw a bead on the one thing in life that matters most to them and say, “This one thing I do.” Michelangelo would work so ferociously on his projects that he would sometimes go for weeks without changing his clothes. Handel practiced such long hours that he would literally wear out the keys of his harpsichord, rounding them down into the shape of hollowed out spoons. And so, the Paul wrote in Philippians, “This one thing I do, forgetting all other things.”

When Albert Einstein lived in Princeton, New Jersey in the 1960’s, he would often walk the streets in Princeton because he didn’t drive. He used to get so caught up in working out complex mathematical equations in his brilliant mind, he would sometimes forget how to get back home. He would have to call his wife to come pick him up. The only problem was Albert Einstein couldn’t remember his own phone number. People said they would see Albert Einstein standing at a phone booth in downtown Princeton flipping through the telephone book looking for his phone number so that he could call his wife and have her come pick him up, because he didn’t know how to get home. The Apostle Paul said that is how we are to be as Christians, -- so focused on Jesus Christ, that we are forgetful of other things.

Many of the people around Jesus were notoriously forgetful. There was that Samaritan woman who came to a well to draw water, and after her encounter with Jesus Christ, she ran off and forgot her water pot. One day 5,000 people became so enthralled with the words of Jesus that they forgot they were hungry, until Jesus fed them. Mary sat at Jesus’ feet and became so engrossed that she forgot to help her sister in the kitchen. May you possess the “the surpassing greatness of knowing Jesus Christ.” And may you have that same kind of focus and attention to the one who never, ever forgets about us.

This Sunday, April 12, as I am away in North Carolina to officiate a wedding, and also in South Carolina to visit with family, Rev. Charlie Gross, a longtime friend of the church, will be back to preach and lead worship again with us. Please join us in the sanctuary at either 8:00 am or 10:30 am. We will also broadcast the 10:30 am service on Zoom, Facebook Live, and YouTube.

Pastor John

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87994584164?pwd=4WZwiOhYs9AutRZoKygn6SxavAbrXA.1

Meeting ID: 879 9458 4164Passcode: 886997

YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/results...

Facebook
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Address

1068 Chestnut Level Road
Quarryville, PA
17566

Telephone

+17175482763

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