Family Life of Penns Valley

In the wake of the Coronavirus and COVID-19, it's important to remember that God is our refuge, and he says "Do not be afraid." Pastor KR looks into the scriptures to see how we as a church should not panic, but approach these days with faith, prayer, and common sense.

All of us have sinned and messed up in some way, and very often the Devil likes to bring up our past shortcomings. However God calls us to move beyond our past, and to follow him. Pastor KR teaches about how the grace of God allows even the "chief of sinners" to "press on toward the goal," and how in Christ we can forget our past shortcoming and move forward toward salvation.

The Bible has a lot to say about the condition of the human heart. The heart is the source of our actions, our desires, and our words. Pastor KR speaks on the condition of the human heart, and how God offers to perform "heart surgery" to replace our hardened hearts with hearts that are able to follow Him.

Not every spirit is out there to lead us closer to Christ. In fact the book of 1 John talks about how there are spirits of the antichrist, that try to deceive us. John tells us to "test the spirits." In this message Pastor KR goes over some simple ways to test these spirits against the word of God, and how to avoid being led astray.

Valentines day is just around the corner, and a lot of people are focusing on getting gifts for those they love. In the Bible, there are four different kinds of love mentioned. Pastor KR breaks each of these down, and teaches us how to show true love, the love of God, to the world and to each other.

In the book of Luke, Jesus tells a story of a man who, upon being blessed with abundance, decides to store it all away, and then rest secure in his riches, without realizing that he would die that night, and all those riches would go to waste. Freshly back from a missions trip to Uganda, Pastor KR speaks on the dangers of coveting material wealth, learning to be content with what we have, and learning to use what we have in wise, God-honoring ways.

Did you know that breakfast is only mentioned one time in the Bible? Guest Pastor David Culbertson digs into this passage where Jesus eats breakfast with his disciples, reflecting on how Peter went back to his roots, where he first met Jesus, when he needed to clear his head. 

In the Gospels, Jesus makes an odd statement, saying that people cannot follow him unless they "hate" their father, mother, wife, children, and even themselves. Looking closer at the word "hate" it originally meant to "love less." Pastor KR gives us a reminder that we ought to love God more than anything else, so that we can show love of God to everyone around us.

What is Joy? Interestingly enough the dictionary definition and the Biblical definition of the word "Joy" are radically different. When looking at joy in the Bible it becomes clear that Joy comes from knowing and following God, through the Holy Spirit. Pastor KR teaches us about how we can learn to experience more joy in our lives, by growing closer to God.

People can tell a lot about us by what we choose to wear. As followers of Christ it is important that we wear certain attributes that glorify God and point to Him. As we start off this new year, choose to clothe yourself with things such as Mercy, Kindness, and Gentleness.

Have you ever thought thought, "if only God would do a miracle, more people would believe?" However the Bible shows how Jesus did many miracles and still the people did not believe in him. As we close out the year, Pastor KR speaks on how faith requires believing rather than seeing.

For our Christmas Service, Pastor KR spoke about the Christmas Story, and what happened on that night 2000 some years ago: How God came to earth and was born to be our savior, the one who would ultimately suffer and die for the world, and who is now preparing a place for us in heaven.

The Christmas season is marked by the giving and receiving of gifts. However we tend to not recognize all of the everyday gifts that God has given us. Pastor KR shares how we can learn to be grateful for the gifts that are all around us as we approach this Christmas Season. 

This week we were blessed to have Tim and Kelly Pollick, Missionaries to Indonesia, join us. Tim's message looked at the Parable of the Talents, Jesus's last parable before he died, and explained that God has given us wonderful gifts, and that we need to be willing to put them to good use, instead of hiding them away for fear of failure.

As we approach Thanksgiving, Pastor KR digs into what the bible says about giving thanks, and living a life of gratitude. 

No one is able to enter Heaven by their own merit. We have all sinned, and therefore all of us have fallen short. We are unable to earn our way to heaven on our own. We need a mediator. Join Pastor KR Mele, as he shares how Jesus, through his atoning sacrifice, acts as our mediator, and writes our names in the book of life.

Guest speaker, Pastor Rich Earl, shares with us the importance of observing the Sabbath according to Scripture, something very few Christians actually manage to do. Why is the Sabbath so important? How is it beneficial to us? Pastor Earl answers many of these questions as he dives into one of the most widely ignored commandments from God.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 3 is one of the more famous passages in the Bible, speaking to the times and seasons for everything, This passage come to a head with Solomon saying that God will make "everything beautiful in its time." Whatever season we are in, whether good or bad, God is working to make it beautiful in its time. Listen to Pastor KR's message to learn how this idea applies to us today.

There are no shortage of sinful behaviors in the world, but the Bible does mention that one in particular, Envy, will rot away your bones. Join us this week as Pastor KR discusses the problems with envy and jealousy, and how to overcome them with the love of God.

In the book of Haggai, God warns the people to consider their ways. They have rebuilt their homes, but have let the house of the Lord remain in ruins. In short they put themselves before God. In this weeks message, Pastor KR Mele shares how we can often fall into a similar circumstances and what steps we can take to consider our ways, and continue to put God first.