Whispering Pines Church

Community Thanksgiving Service Sunday, November 13th 2022 "Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus" (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). We are called to live in gratitude, to give thanks in all circumstances. All people give thanks for good food, for their friends and family, the beauty of the world and whatever good things come their way. God does not reward us with a gold star for being happy about the good things in life, for all people enjoy good things and love those who love them (Matt. 5:46-47). Followers of Jesus Christ are called to recognize God, and give thanks to Him in all circumstances. We're called to be thankful, yes, for the many blessings God bestows on us. But also for the Savior who left those good things behind to live and die as our sacrificial lamb. We live in the light of His sacrifice. Our gratitude must be different, let's explore that together this Sunday as a community. I hope that you're

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 131 & 132 Humility & Obedience A weaned child with its mother – the picture painted for us by Psalm 131. For all the many things we go to the Lord for, and all the prayers we submit to Him for answers, do we often come to Him simply to be in His presence? This psalm or song of humility presents us with our deepest need, to just be with our Creator and Lord. Join us this coming Sunday as we discuss humility and a deeper trust in the Lord. -Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 130 Hope Psalm 130 addresses the reality of the human condition. Humanity does not speak to God as equals on even footing. It is out of the depths that humanity cries out to God. From birth we are in trouble. We are predisposed to selfishness. By nature and by choice we reject the Living God. We owe Him full allegiance yet our allegiance is divided. No one can stand before God blameless, not one. But the pivot in this psalm comes in the waiting and the hoping. There is a desire to see God show up, more than watchmen wait for the morning. This hope is not in vain, for “He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins” (Psalm 130:8). This is the gospel and it is good news! Join us this Sunday at Whispering Pines Church as we reflect on the hope found only in the Lord! Pastor Nate Roschen

Scott & Laura Brookins brought us an update on their ministry in Uganda.

Pastor Aaron Weber gives us a message about Following Jesus. In Matthew 4, Jesus calls some of His first disciples by simply saying "Follow me". While this phrase makes sense on the surface, what did it actually mean to those men, and what does it mean for us to actually "follow Jesus" today? We will dive into Matthew 4:18-22 to see what it looks like to be wholly devoted to Jesus in a transformational way.

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 129 Perseverance Psalm 129 speaks to perseverance and how a person grows in this virtue. We may think that perseverance grows naturally, either a person perseveres or they don’t survive. But for the believer, perseverance grows not merely through surviving difficult situations and suffering. Perseverance is grown through the acquisition of trust in and the gain in knowledge of our great God. Psalm 129 tells us of the oppression that the author has experienced. He’s been kicked around, oppressed since his youth. He and his people have taken lashings. But his perseverance does not come from his callouses. His perseverance comes from the one that would one day take the lashes in his place. Join us, as we look to God’s strength and grow in perseverance! Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 128 Blessing What is "the good life"? And where is it found? An assumption can be made that for followers of God to find happiness, we must work harder to attain the good life than someone who can find it their own way. We can believe that the world offers a number of low-hanging fruits, ripe for the plucking, that we must refuse. So, we’ll need to find our own fruits. But the Christian life is not one of bushwhacking a path through the undergrowth, searching out a life that is meaningful and fruitful. It is one of walking along the path our Lord has already paved. Christ is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). His yoke is easy and His burden is light. He holds real fruit in His hands. Join us as we explore the blessing of a life with Christ. Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 127 Work Psalm 127 is a picture of work. It asks us some very hard questions about human effort. What role do we play in God’s grand narrative? To what extent is your effort required? We ought to approach this psalm humbly, asking how we may have overstepped our bounds and committed what Hilary of Poitiers called “irreligiosa solicitudo pro Deo” – a blasphemous anxiety to do God’s work for Him. In this psalm, we find ourselves asking again, “what does God require of me?” Join us as we explore meaningful God-honoring work, and examine our hearts together. Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 126 Joy The desire and pursuit of a fulfilling and joyful life must be one of the few ideals that our world can agree on nearly 100%. The path to joy, however, may be one of the most disagreed upon issues in our world. The paths to joy are numerous and vary greatly. Pleasure as a path to joy suffers from escalating costs and diminishing returns. Yet chasing after bright and fleeting moments of happiness remains an important pastime for many. Like many other blessings described to us in scripture, we’re taught to seek first the kingdom of heaven, and then all of these other things will follow. Scripture, from the first few pages to the very last, shows us the way of discipleship, and joy is one its primary consequences. Written at the end of their Babylonian exile, on their return to Israel, Psalm 126 is a song about the sort of joy that comes as a consequence of holding onto God and God alone. (For an interesting comparison, see Psalm 137, which commemorates the beginning of their e

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 125 Security Who wouldn’t want more security in their life? My mother has always worked in insurance, trying to sell me on any and every plan, so that I could be as secure as possible. She is a very cautious and calculated individual, and I appreciate that about her. I also like to tell her that if I take out a larger life insurance policy, I would need to start living “riskier”, you know, skydiving, bungee-jumping, the whole deal. I like to get my money's worth. A life with God offers the sort of security and comfort we long for, not because of some great deal that God is selling us, but because of who He is. Psalm 125 is a deep expression of that trust in God. If I were to be injured in a bungee-jumping accident, I would be seen as less by my wife or by my family. In the same way, through doubts and struggles, God does not cast us off either. The security offered by God doesn’t waver depending on me, praise be to God! Join us as we continue to study the Psalms of Ascent! – P

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 124 Help “If God hadn’t been for us...” This phrase could well summarize our experience with God! Psalm 123 begins with this thought, that if not for God’s direct intervention, for His choosing to be with us, we would be swallowed alive. The notion that God’s great love expressed through His mercy, prevents us from being consumed, is a common one in the Old Testament. This is what the author of Lamentations found as he witnessed the fall of Jerusalem – the people of God were not consumed! This is what Isaiah wrote of in Isaiah 43. There is no guarantee that we will not experience trials, even painful ones. In fact, they seem to be a certainty in this life. But God promises something better. He will be with us. Through the waters. Through the fire. He is the God who provides an ark in the flood. A Savior to the sinner. If God hadn’t been for us, we’d have been swallowed alive. Join us this Sunday as we continue to apply the Psalms to our lives! Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 123 Service One of the most interesting observations we find in the Psalms of Ascent are unique perspectives of our relationship with God. In the 123rd psalm, we’re painted a picture of a servant looking to their master. This perspective may be a reason that many unbelievers hold against having faith in God, as they see it as restrictive, a limiting of options, a submitting of one's self to God’s rule and reign. But for the Christian, this relationship is the fullest of freedoms. Join us this Sunday as we explore this relationship. Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 122 Worship What is worship? How does one approach God on a given Sunday morning? In Psalm 122, the Psalmist writes with excitement about entering the house of the Lord. He tells us that his heart “leapt for joy!” What is worship, that it is worthy of proclaiming about our God who guards us from “every evil” (Ps. 121:7)? Worship is not merely an aspect of a good church service. It isn’t just a few songs with a good message. It is meant to frame our perspective, to change our minds, to remind us of who we are and where we’re going. In worship we humble ourselves before the Lord, we communicate to Him what is true and good. We go to Him, not out of obligation or a sense of duty, but because He sent His Son to die in our stead. He is worthy of our praise, on our good days and our bad days. He is worthy of our praise when we feel like it and when we don’t. Come, and join us as we take a biblical look at worship through the lens of Psalm 122. – Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 121/Providence Having grown fed up with the ways of the world, the psalmist now turns to seek help. Where does help come from? When you’re worried, or stressed, disappointed or discoursed, where do you turn? In Psalm 121, the psalmist first lifts his eyes to the mountains, is that where help can come from? Can help truly come from any created thing? It is the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth, the Maker of those very mountains, He alone can guard and protect us... How can we trust Him more? How can we learn to go to Him instinctually, like going to a light switch in a darkened room? Join us this week as we learn just what is promised to us in Psalm 121, so that we can know what we ought to seek from the Lord! Pastor Nate Roschen

Psalms of Ascent: Psalm 120 Repentance What are the psalms of ascent? They are the fifteen psalms that the Hebrew people would read or sing as they ascended on their thrice-a-year pilgrimages to Jerusalem for their great worship festivals. The ascent to Jerusalem was both literal and metaphorical. Topographically, Jerusalem was the highest city in Palestine, and so all who visited spent much of their time ascending. But the trip also acted out a life lived upward toward God, developing in maturity – what Paul described as, “…The goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus” (Philippians 3:14). In his book A Long Obedience in the Same Direction, Tim Keller writes, “The Hebrews were a people whose salvation had been accomplished in the exodus, whose identity had been defined at Sinai, and whose preservation had been assured in the forty years of wilderness wandering.” Again and again, they ascended up the mountain to remember and to renew their relationship with the God who had chosen them. Jesus Himsel

What does the kingdom of heaven look like? This could be said to be the central message of Jesus’s teaching while he was here on earth. Jesus considered this topic to be so vast that he told parable after parable about it, grasping for images, stories, and metaphor to describe it. So if we are to be truly students of the savior, let us continue to engage with these parables in the Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl of Great Price. Pastor Daniel Martinez

Students of the Savior: The Kingdom of Heaven is Like Matthew 13:24-43 The next three parables of Jesus in Matthew thirteen describe for us what the kingdom of heaven is like. The phrase "kingdom of heaven" is a phrase used by Matthew over 30 times! The introduction of both John the Baptist's and Jesus' ministries begin with the proclamation "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matt. 3:2, 4:17). The Jewish people were expecting a physical kingdom to be established by their Messiah, but Jesus made it clear that His kingdom was not of this world. "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world” (John 18:36). This kingdom is not entered by anyone based on their own accomplishments, but because of the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Join us this Sunday as we learn from Jesus about what the kingdom of heaven is li

Students of the Savior: Parable of the Sower Matthew 13:1-23 This week, as we return to our study of Jesus' early ministry in the book of Matthew, we turn to chapter thirteen. Here we find a series of parables explaining what the Kingdom of Heaven is like. In this first parable, Jesus tells the story of a farmer who went out to plant seeds. He plants the same seed among all kinds of soils, and only the seeds that are planted in the good soil take root and grow. Join us this Sunday as we explore with compassion the perspective on mission that this parable presents. Pastor Nate Roschen

What does the word 'servant' mean? Pastor Nate shares with us how we can more clearly communicate to the world about Jesus, the Servant of God.