Grace Presbyterian Church

03/31/2026

Please join us at our Maundy Thursday Communion Service
Thursday at 6:30 p.m. in the sanctuary

On the night before the cross, Jesus gathered his disciples, broke bread with them, and gave them a new commandment: love one another as I have loved you.

Come as you are. We'll share in Scripture, song, and communion together as we reflect on the gift of his love.

All are welcome.

02/26/2026

Our new sign out by the road. We're so thankful to those who took it in hand and made it happen!

11/20/2025

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod.

And for all this, nature is never spent;
There lives the dearest freshness deep down things;
And though the last lights off the black West went
Oh, morning, at the brown brink eastward, springs—
Because the Holy Ghost over the bent
World broods with warm breast and with ah! bright wings.
~Gerard Manley Hopkins

03/31/2025

Something new at Grace. We’ll be there at 7:30 a.m. Come, rest, and receive from the Lord through this gracious means that he has given his people.

Morning Prayer What Is the Morning Prayer Service? Traditionally, the Morning Prayer service has confession of sin, psalms, scripture readings, and prayers of thanks, supplication and intercession. In the form we will use here, it should last about 20 minutes. The schedule of readings comes from the...

03/23/2025

Today's Sermon on Learning Evangelism from Jesus:
Luke 10:25-37--Jesus' Encounter with a Bible Teacher

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04/08/2024

A prayer for today from Francis of Assisi (1181/2-1226)

You are holy, Lord God, who alone works wonders. You are strong. You are great. You are most high. You are the Almighty King, you, holy Father, King of heaven and earth.
You are the Lord God Triune and One; all good. You are good, all good, highest good, Lord God living and true. You are charity, love. You are wisdom. You are humility. You are patience. You are security. You are quietude. You are joy and gladness. You are justice and temperance. You are all riches to sufficiency. You are beauty. You are meekness. You are protector. You are guardian and defender. You are strength. You are refreshment. You are our hope. You are our faith. You are our great sweetness. You are our eternal life, great and admirable Lord, God Almighty, merciful Savior.

04/07/2024

Today as we prepare for worship we turn to Psalm 27 again:
https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps27

Consider verse 4:
𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙄 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿,
𝙊𝙣𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙄 𝙖𝙨𝙠𝙚𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿,
𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙬𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙄 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙠 𝙖𝙛𝙩𝙚𝙧:
𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙄 𝙢𝙖𝙮 𝙙𝙬𝙚𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙨𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿
𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙚,
𝙩𝙤 𝙜𝙖𝙯𝙚 𝙪𝙥𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙖𝙪𝙩𝙮 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿
𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝙩𝙤 𝙞𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚.

In his little book on beauty, Roger Scruton says, “wanting [something] for it’s beauty is not wanting to inspect it: it is wanting to contemplate it—and that is something more than an search for information or an expression of appetite. Here is a want without a goal: a desire that cannot be fulfilled since there is nothing that would count as its fulfillment.”

That’s what David is expressing here—a desire for the Lord that has no bottom, because there is no bottom. The revelation—the contemplation of beauty of the LORD—that goes on forever and ever. That has begun now, even in this life, for as believers in Christ, we can gaze upon God’s beauty: behold it with adoration and love in the things he has made, in the people around us, and most especially in gathered worship— 𝙞𝙣𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙧𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙚𝙢𝙥𝙡𝙚. And all this strengthens our longing for something more, something that God has promised his children.

St. Gregory of Nyssa puts it this way:

“Hope always draws the soul from the beauty which is seen to what is beyond, always kindles the desire for the hidden through what is constantly perceived. Therefore, the ardent lover of beauty, although receiving what is always visible as an image of what he desires, yet longs to be filled with [more]…. This truly is the vision of God: never to be satisfied in the desire to see him. But one must always, by looking at what he can see, rekindle his desire to see more.”

Prayer: Dear heavenly Father, it’s only through the gospel of your grace that I’ve come to know you to be a beautiful God. Before then, your loveliness was veiled to me, mostly by the darkness of my unbelief. But now, your splendor outshines the sun; your excellences stagger my imagination; and your kindness melts my heart.
𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗱𝗲. You shine I all that’s fair. Open my eyes wider, Father, to see your fingerprints everywhere.
𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 —all kinds of people made in your image. Father, continue to heal my vision of people.
𝗜 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝗝𝗲𝘀𝘂𝘀. Indeed, Father, I’ve come to behold your beauty most expressly and fully in Jesus. No one has ever seen you completely—in the fullness of your glory and being; but Jesus, your Son, at your side, has made you known to us. Show me more, Father; show me more and more and more.
I long for the Day when we will see the unfettered undiminished beauty of your face, for that will be our first Day in the new heaven and new earth; hasten that Day, LORD. So very Amen I pray, in Jesus’ tender and triumphant name. (Scotty Smith, adapted)

04/06/2024

Today's Psalm 23 is one of the most recognized and memorized texts in the whole Bible, and for good reason, for it both reminds and assures believers that our covenant God is both a Good Shepherd who defends and protects us in good times and in bad, and that he is Host who generously welcomes us into his house, "no more a stranger, nor a guest, but like a child at home" (Isaac Watts).

A PSALM OF DAVID.
𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝑶𝑹𝑫 𝒊𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒑𝒉𝒆𝒓𝒅; 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒏𝒐𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕.
𝑯𝒆 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒊𝒏 𝒈𝒓𝒆𝒆𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒔.
𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒔𝒊𝒅𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒘𝒂𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒔.
𝑯𝒆 𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒔 𝒎𝒚 𝒔𝒐𝒖𝒍.
𝑯𝒆 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒅𝒔 𝒎𝒆 𝒊𝒏 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒓𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒆𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔
𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒏𝒂𝒎𝒆’𝒔 𝒔𝒂𝒌𝒆.
𝑬𝒗𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝑰 𝒘𝒂𝒍𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒗𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒚 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒅𝒐𝒘 𝒐𝒇 𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒕𝒉,
𝑰 𝒘𝒊𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒆𝒂𝒓 𝒏𝒐 𝒆𝒗𝒊𝒍,
𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒎𝒆;
𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒓𝒐𝒅 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒇𝒇,
𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒕 𝒎𝒆.
𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒂 𝒕𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒎𝒆
𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒓𝒆𝒔𝒆𝒏𝒄𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒎𝒊𝒆𝒔;
𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒂𝒏𝒐𝒊𝒏𝒕 𝒎𝒚 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒐𝒊𝒍;
𝒎𝒚 𝒄𝒖𝒑 𝒐𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒍𝒐𝒘𝒔.
𝑺𝒖𝒓𝒆𝒍𝒚 𝒈𝒐𝒐𝒅𝒏𝒆𝒔𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒎𝒆𝒓𝒄𝒚 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒇𝒐𝒍𝒍𝒐𝒘 𝒎𝒆
𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒐𝒇 𝒎𝒚 𝒍𝒊𝒇𝒆,
𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑰 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒅𝒘𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒊𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒐𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝑳𝒐𝒓𝒅
𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓.

One final note from Jack Collins on the last verse: “Dwelling in the presence of God is fulfilled for Christ personally in his ascension and for believers in the consummation,” when Jesus returns to judge the living and the dead.

Prayer: Eternal and everlasting Father, fountain of all goodness and mercy, we give you praise and thanks that you have made known to us our Shepherd and Defender, Jesus Christ, who will deliver us, the children whom you have adopted, from the power of all our enemies. Grant that we, casting away all fear and terror, even of death itself, may embrace and confess your truth, which it has pleased you to reveal to us in your Son, our Lord and Sovereign Master, Jesus Christ. AMEN. (Prayers on the Psalms)
To hear Isaac Watts' beautiful setting of this Psalm, go here:
https://youtu.be/c-xqSTymZvo?si=HwOwO6p9YW-0nLI4

04/05/2024

Today's Psalm 6 is a lament, and more than a lament. It can be called a penitential Psalm, wherein the hard circumstances of David's life have caused him to recognize his sins and repent of them (ESV Study Bible). As you read the Psalm, try to recognize the flow of David’s thought:
https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps6

In verses 1-3, the thought that God has rejected him because of sin has crept into David's mind. This brings about his plea for mercy:
𝙊 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿, 𝙧𝙚𝙗𝙪𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧,
𝙣𝙤𝙧 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙞𝙥𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙬𝙧𝙖𝙩𝙝.
𝘽𝙚 𝙜𝙧𝙖𝙘𝙞𝙤𝙪𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙚, 𝙊 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙄 𝙖𝙢 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙪𝙞𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜;
𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙢𝙚, 𝙊 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿, 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙢𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙.
𝙈𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙖𝙡𝙨𝙤 𝙞𝙨 𝙜𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙡𝙮 𝙩𝙧𝙤𝙪𝙗𝙡𝙚𝙙.
𝘽𝙪𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪, 𝙊 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿---𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜?

As Eugene Peterson notes, "it is hard to imagine suffering more intense. What caused it? No answer. To trace its origins would trivialize it." But don't linger in this state; you must keep on. Pray the whole Psalm and follow with David the path from the hopeless despair of verses 1-3 to the assurance of acceptance in verses 8 and 9:
𝘿𝙚𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙩 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚, 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙡,
𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙣𝙙 𝙤𝙛 𝙢𝙮 𝙬𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙜.
𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙝𝙖𝙨 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧𝙙 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙡𝙚𝙖;
𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿 𝙖𝙘𝙘𝙚𝙥𝙩𝙨 𝙢𝙮 𝙥𝙧𝙖𝙮𝙚𝙧.

Prayer: You, O Christ, who were despised and rejected by men, know how I feel when, by fault or failure, I am cast into lonely pits of depression. Draw me up from such despair on the thin yet cable-strong rope of prayer to stand on 'this great roundabout---the world' and praise you (William Cowper, "The Jackdaw"). AMEN.

04/04/2024

Today’s Psalm 143 (https://biblia.com/bible/esv/Ps143) is another penitential Psalm, for the one whose troubles make him or her aware of their sinfulness. In verses 5, 6 David reaches out to God in trust,
𝙄 𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙢𝙗𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙖𝙮𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙤𝙡𝙙;
𝙄 𝙢𝙚𝙙𝙞𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙤𝙣 𝙖𝙡𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙙𝙤𝙣𝙚;
𝙄 𝙥𝙤𝙣𝙙𝙚𝙧 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙠 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨.
𝙄 𝙨𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙩𝙘𝙝 𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙮 𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙙𝙨 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪;
𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙧𝙨𝙩𝙨 𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙖 𝙥𝙖𝙧𝙘𝙝𝙚𝙙 𝙡𝙖𝙣𝙙.

and in verses 7,8, he cries out:
𝘼𝙣𝙨𝙬𝙚𝙧 𝙢𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙞𝙘𝙠𝙡𝙮, 𝙊 𝙇𝙊𝙍𝘿!
𝙈𝙮 𝙨𝙥𝙞𝙧𝙞𝙩 𝙛𝙖𝙞𝙡𝙨!
𝙃𝙞𝙙𝙚 𝙣𝙤𝙩 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙛𝙖𝙘𝙚 𝙛𝙧𝙤𝙢 𝙢𝙚,
𝙡𝙚𝙨𝙩 𝙄 𝙗𝙚 𝙡𝙞𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙤𝙨𝙚 𝙬𝙝𝙤 𝙜𝙤 𝙙𝙤𝙬𝙣 𝙩𝙤 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙥𝙞𝙩.
𝙇𝙚𝙩 𝙢𝙚 𝙝𝙚𝙖𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙤𝙛 𝙮𝙤𝙪𝙧 𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙖𝙙𝙛𝙖𝙨𝙩 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚,
𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙞𝙣 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙄 𝙩𝙧𝙪𝙨𝙩.
𝙈𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙢𝙚 𝙠𝙣𝙤𝙬 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙬𝙖𝙮 𝙄 𝙨𝙝𝙤𝙪𝙡𝙙 𝙜𝙤,
𝙛𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤 𝙮𝙤𝙪 𝙄 𝙡𝙞𝙛𝙩 𝙪𝙥 𝙢𝙮 𝙨𝙤𝙪𝙡.

As Eugene Peterson recognizes, “we do not, in prayer, develop a stiff upper lip—a pose of stoical self-sufficiency. Rather, we learn an honesty that is able to admit weakness and confess need in the presence of God who is able to revive and strengthen us. The psalmist, in Calvin’s words ‘makes a chariot to himself of the extreme necessity of his case, in which he ascends upwards to God.’ ”

Prayer: I need you, O God. I cannot sustain meaning and purpose by myself. I don’t have within me the stuff to make life whole. I run out of resources. I run out of strength. In my emptiness I wait for your fullness. Revive me again; fill me with life anew. AMEN.