First Presbyterian Church, Rochelle, Illinois

First Presbyterian Church, Rochelle, Illinois Located at the corner of Hwy 38 and Calvin Road in Rochelle, Illinois, we warmly welcome all to our worship services Sunday mornings at 9:00am and 10:30am

09/06/2026

Exodus 20:17
https://storage1.snappages.site/DBQJGT/assets/files/September-6-Bulletin.pdf

Create A Pure HeartPsalm 51:10-12 (NIV)Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not ...
09/02/2026

Create A Pure Heart

Psalm 51:10-12 (NIV)
Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.

Devotion:
David’s prayer in this psalm rises from a place of deep honesty. He is not trying to hide, justify, or soften his sin. He stands before God with the full weight of his failure, yet with a confidence that God can do what David cannot. These words are not about self-improvement. They are about divine transformation. David knows that purity of heart is not achieved by effort but given by grace.

The word “create” is the same Hebrew word used in Genesis when God formed the heavens and the earth. David is asking for nothing less than a creative act of God — a new beginning, a fresh inner world shaped by the holiness of the Lord. He is not asking for a repaired heart or a patched-up conscience. He is asking for a pure heart, one made new by God’s own hands.

Sin makes us fear distance from God, but David knows that restoration comes through nearness. He does not want forgiveness without fellowship. He longs for the presence of God more than relief from guilt. The Holy Spirit is not merely a comfort; He is the source of life, strength, and direction. David’s plea is simple: do not let my failure separate me from Your presence.

David asks, “Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.” Joy is not something we manufacture; it is something God restores. Sin drains joy, but grace returns it. Salvation’s joy is the deep assurance that God has not abandoned us, that His mercy is greater than our sin, and that His Spirit still upholds us. David wants more than cleansing — he wants the vibrant, sustaining joy that comes from walking closely with God.

This passage reminds us that God does not merely forgive; He renews. He does not simply remove sin; He restores joy. He does not only cleanse the heart; He recreates it. Every believer can pray David’s prayer with confidence, knowing that the God who created the world can create a pure heart within us.

Prayer:
O God, help us make David’s prayer our own. We may not have sinned so spectacularly that our sin gets recorded in the pages of Scripture or even the social media pages, but we have all sinned nonetheless. Cleanse us from our sin and make us pure of heart so that we may be worthy to see God as in the Sermon on the Mount. Heal us from our sinful ways and bring us into your presence. Fill us with the Holy Spirit and make us a testimony to your grace and steadfast love. Amen.

08/30/2026

Exodus 20:16
https://storage1.snappages.site/DBQJGT/assets/files/August-30-Bulletin.pdf

THIS SUNDAY - we will have a special guest join us from Operation Christmas Child. She received a shoebox as a child an...
08/28/2026

THIS SUNDAY - we will have a special guest join us from Operation Christmas Child. She received a shoebox as a child and will talk on the impact that it had on her life.
Come and hear her story!

All Glory Is YoursScripture: 1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV) Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the ...
08/26/2026

All Glory Is Yours

Scripture: 1 Chronicles 29:11 (NIV)

Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.

Devotion:

This verse lifts our eyes. It reminds us that before we speak of our needs, before we consider our plans, before we measure our strength, we must first remember who God is. “Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the power, and the glory, and the victory, and the majesty.” These are not abstract qualities; they are the living reality of God’s nature. Everything that exists, everything that unfolds, everything that rises or falls — all of it rests under His sovereign hand.

David speaks these words at a moment of profound generosity and worship. The people have given freely, but David knows the deeper truth: everything they offered already belonged to God. “All that is in the heaven and in the earth is thine.” This is not meant to diminish human effort; it is meant to anchor it. When we give, when we serve, when we labor, we are participating in what already belongs to Him. Our lives are not isolated acts of devotion; they are responses to a God who owns all things and rules all things.

There is comfort in this. If everything belongs to God, then nothing is outside His care. If all power is His, then no force can rival Him. If all glory is His, then no darkness can overshadow His purposes. If victory is His, then defeat cannot define us. If majesty is His, then our smallness is not a burden — it is an invitation to trust.

This verse calls us to worship with clarity. It reminds us that God is not merely helpful; He is sovereign. He is not simply present; He is enthroned. He is not occasionally strong; He is eternally powerful. And because He is all these things, we can rest. We can give freely. We can serve joyfully. We can trust deeply. Our lives are held by the One to whom all greatness belongs.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father, let us, with David, always be praising your name. There are no words to express the depth of our love for you because there is no end to your love towards us. Let our hearts always be moved to praise you in whatever circumstance we find ourselves in. Thank you for loving us and caring so deeply about us. May we be witnesses to the surrounding world to your greatness and steadfast love. Amen.

08/23/2026

exodus 20:15
https://storage1.snappages.site/DBQJGT/assets/files/August-23-Bulletin.pdf

Come have breakfast with us! (Free will offering taken for Mission Trip)
08/22/2026

Come have breakfast with us!

(Free will offering taken for Mission Trip)

THIS SATURDAY! Come hungry and support a great mission!
08/21/2026

THIS SATURDAY! Come hungry and support a great mission!

Love IsScripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or...
08/19/2026

Love Is

Scripture: 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (ESV)

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

Devotion:

This passage from the famous “Love” chapter from Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians explains what love is. Paul has just finished explaining in the previous verses that all the gifts and talents in the world are worthless if they are not practiced in love. So, he continues in these verses by explaining what this love he has been talking about looks like in practice. Let’s take a look at what the Holy Spirit, through the pen of Paul, has to say about this most misunderstood word, love.

Paul starts by explaining that love is patient. Our society is not known for its patience. We have microwaves to cook our food in the shortest time possible. We have phones that are now really just computers that, from time to time, are used to communicate verbally with others while mainly serving to play games, send written messages, and search for answers to questions we used to have to look up in a reference volume such as a phone book or dictionary. Likewise, Kindness is not often practiced. We can be hard on others, demanding, and sometimes rude. We are even sometimes unkind to ourselves. We can often be perfectionistic.

In fact, all of the negative qualities that Paul identifies as negative, unloving traits are far too often the norm for 21st-century life in these United States. I personally find myself needing to take a step back and change my attitude toward others. I often find myself approving of actions of myself and others that violate these traits of patience and kindness. I often have trouble rejoicing in the truth. I have observed that I’m not the only one who has difficulty living out the way of love that Paul lays out in this passage.

The final sentence in the passage above gives us hope, however. If love bears, believes, hopes, and endures all things. Maybe we can learn to love others and ourselves better. We should return to this chapter of 1st Corinthians often and measure ourselves against the standard that is set here for us. We must let these words convict us as we seek to follow our Savior Jesus Christ more closely and live lives that are worthy of Him.

Prayer:

Dear Jesus, may we follow your example of how to love each other and ourselves better. May these words from the Holy Spirit through Paul’s pen challenge us to be better followers of yours. May our lives become examples of the kind of love you mean for all of us who call ourselves by the name Christian to live. Jesus, we remember what you said about loving one another. May we practice what you preached. Amen.

Address

1100 Calvin Road
Rochelle, IL
61068

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 5pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 5pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 5pm
Thursday 8:30am - 5pm
Friday 8:30am - 12pm
Sunday 8:30am - 12pm

Telephone

+18155627053

Website

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