Today is Ascension Sunday.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Father of Glory” Our Scripture passage comes from Ephesians 1:15-23 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 93. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 93)
Leader: The Lord is king, he is robed in majesty;
People: The Lord is robed, he is girded with strength.
Leader: He has established the world;
People: It shall never be moved;
Leader: Your throne is established from of old;
People: You are from everlasting.
Leader: The floods have lifted up,
People: O Lord, the floods have lifted up their voice;
Leader: The floods lift up their roaring.
People: More majestic than the thunders of mighty waters,
Leader: More majestic than the waves of the sea,
People: Majestic on high is the Lord!
Leader: Your decrees are very sure;
People: Holiness befits your house, O Lord, forevermore.

Today is the Sixth Sunday of Easter.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Building Bridges” Our Scripture passage comes from Acts 17:22-31 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 23. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 23)
Leader: The Lord is my shepherd
People: I shall not want.
Leader: He makes me lie down in green pastures;
People: He leads me beside still waters;
Leader: He restores my soul.
People: He leads me in right paths for his name’s sake.
Leader: Even though I walk through the darkest valley,
People: I fear no evil, for you are with me;
Leader: Your rod and your staff—they comfort me.
People: You prepare a table before me,
Leader: In the presence of my enemies;
People: You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Leader: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
People: All the days of my life.
Leader: And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
People: My whole life long.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Paul is bold enough to meet the Athenians where they are.
Why does it take courage to open up to people?
How does openness on your part change the way others hear the gospel?

This week’s article is pretty simply summed up by saying, “Thank you.”

First of all, thank you to everyone who participated in Operation Inasmuch. Because of your support we were able to put together over a dozen “Thinking of You” bags for those church members who cannot come to the church as often as they’d like. Those bags included some freshly baked cookies from our congregation!

In addition to those, we were able to put together one hundred “Community Bags” to give out to our friends and neighbors here in Durham who are struggling. As I write this article, there are still plenty of bags that need to be distributed. So, when you come to church on Sunday, be sure to stop by the vestibule and take a couple to keep in your car. When you see someone on the corner, on the median —wherever — who needs some help, you can offer them that bag and let them know they are loved.

Also, thank you to the volunteers who went to the Food Bank of Central and Eastern NC on April 28th! That group of volunteers continues to represent our church well by reaching out to folks in need.

Thank you as well to the children, the children’s ministry, and the music ministry here at Hope Valley for taking a trip to Carolina Reserve to sing for the residents there. I know you all brightened their day.

Finally, on behalf of myself and my family, thank you all for the celebration this past Sunday. The luncheon itself was a wonderful time of fellowship together. It is hard to believe it has already been five years since I came to Hope Valley Baptist Church. We’ve had plenty of wonderful times together reaching out to our community, helping those in need, celebrating the goodness of God, and lifting one another up. We’ve also endured plenty of difficult moments in the life of the church, the wider world, and in my own personal life. I’m grateful for all of you and the ways God has continued to bring us together. Thank you for Sunday. May we continue to seek God together and live faithfully according to our call as Christians.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Faithful Foundations” Our Scripture passage comes from 1 Peter 2:2-10 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 34. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 34)
Leader: I will bless the Lord at all times;
People: His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Leader: My soul makes its boast in the Lord;
People: Let the humble hear and be glad.
Leader: O magnify the Lord with me,
People: And let us exalt his name together.
Leader: I sought the Lord, and he answered me,
People: And delivered me from all my fears.
Leader: Look to him, and be radiant;
People: So your faces shall never be ashamed.
Leader: This poor soul cried, and was heard by the Lord,
People: And was saved from every trouble.
Leader: The angel of the Lord encamps
People: Around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Leader: O taste and see that the Lord is good;
People: Happy are those who take refuge in him.

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Peter encourages his readers to pursue the simple truths of their faith.
What are the building blocks of faith?
How do they help you delve into deeper truths?

Today is the Fourth Sunday of Easter.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Devotion” Our Scripture passage comes from Acts 2:42-47 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 66. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 66)
Leader: Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth;
People: Sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise.
Leader: Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds!
People: Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you.
Leader: All the earth worships you;
People: They sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.”
Leader: Come and see what God has done:
People: He is awesome in his deeds among mortals.
Leader: He turned the sea into dry land;
People: They passed through the river on foot.
Leader: There we rejoiced in him, who rules by his might forever,
People: Whose eyes keep watch on the nations—
Leader: Let the rebellious not exalt themselves.
People: Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard,
Leader: Who has kept us among the living,
People: And has not let our feet slip.

Questions for Further Reflection:
Luke casts a vision of what the early church looked like.
Which of the early church’s practices (v. 42) caught your attention?
How could you incorporate that practice into your daily life?

This past Sunday, April 19th, I mentioned the idea that becoming a Christian does not require us to forget who we are or where we came from. That point was prompted by Peter’s encouragement to Christians to remember they were “ransomed from the futile conduct inherited from your ancestors” (1 Peter 1:18) and I wanted to expand on it here.

I think the reason Peter says this to Christians is because he understands that if we fall back on old habits, old routines, or old ideas, and expect them to save us the same way God saves us, we are setting ourselves up for disappointment. The things we’ve inherited from “our ancestors” cannot save us—only God can. But I want to make sure to emphasize that I don’t think God wants us to disown our histories — the people, the places that made us who we are. Rather, they need to be put in their proper place and understood through a Christian lens.

For example, I’ve told y’all this before, but I have been deeply formed by my hometown, Goldsboro, NC. A wonder-fully strange little city in Eastern North Carolina, I am who I am in part because of this odd place. It is a city filled with eccentricities and contradictions. I sat in classes with friends whose families would travel to New York City every year to see Broadway shows or go to the US Open. Right next to those kids were others who were given special absences when the Wayne County Agricultural Fair started because they needed to go and prep their tractor for the tractor race that night!

Goldsboro is a city that has always encouraged a sense of service and community. It’s easy to get plugged into volunteer opportunities in Goldsboro, helping build houses with Habitat for Humanity, serving at booths during the Relay for Life, or basically anything the Goldsboro YMCA gets up to. You know, positive things to bring people together. At the same time, when I was growing up, one of our most beloved traditions was a celebration of civic unrest. For years, Goldsboro celebrated something called, “The Derailebration.” Over a hundred years ago, a railroad company ran tracks through Center Street in downtown Goldsboro. Frustrated by the noise and inconvenience of the trains, the citizens of Goldsboro went out one night and took up all the tracks! For over a century we celebrated this act of collective vandalism. Those celebrations ended years ago when Amtrak—you know, the train company—started courting Goldsboro to put a station there! (Admittedly, it’s a connector bus stop four blocks over from Center Street, but my point stands!) My hometown is ridiculous; I’m so proud to be from there.

My point in all this is simple: I don’t believe God would want me to disavow Goldsboro. For better or for worse (I think better), I have been shaped by that strange little city. And I’d like to think God loves the weirdness that comes from a place like Goldsboro because God loves how wonderfully unique each person is. I’m sure each of you has a strange story from where you grew up. Or you have memories of wacky events in your life that make you chuckle. You’ve been shaped and molded by those things — and I don’t think God wants you to for-get them. Rather, I think God always wants us to understand that these wonderful, unique, weird stories are all part of God’s story. Let us place our faith in God’s story and bring our whole selves to it.

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is the Third Sunday of Easter.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “Building Faith and Community” Our Scripture passage comes from 1 Peter 1:17-23 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 116. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 116)
Leader: What shall I return to the Lord for all his bounty to me?
People: I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord,
Leader: I will pay my vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people.
People: Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his faithful ones.
Leader: O Lord, I am your servant;
People: I am your servant, the child of your serving girl.
Leader: You have loosed my bonds.
People: I will offer to you a thanksgiving sacrifice
Leader: And call on the name of the Lord.
People: I will pay my vows to the Lord
Leader: In the presence of all his people,
People: In the courts of the house of the Lord,
Leader: In your midst, O Jerusalem.
People: Praise the Lord!

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, Peter emphasizes the need for Christians to be in community together.
How does God’s character enable us to build lasting relationships? How can God’s character help us navigate challenges?

Today is the Second Sunday of Easter.

Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “The Outcome of Our Faith” Our Scripture passage comes from 1 Peter 1:3-9 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 16. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 16)
Leader: Protect me, O God,
People: For in you I take refuge.
Leader: I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord;
People: I have no good apart from you.”
Leader: The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
People: You hold my lot.
Leader: I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
People: In the night also my heart instructs me.
Leader: I keep the Lord always before me;
People: Because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved.
Leader: Therefore my heart is glad, and my soul rejoices;
People: My body also rests secure.
Leader: For you do not give me up to Sheol,
People: Or let your faithful one see the Pit.
Leader: You show me the path of life.
People: In your presence there is fullness of joy;
All: In your right hand are pleasures forevermore.

Question for Further Reflection:
The author of 1 Peter wants to make it clear that our salvation has already been accomplished.
How should that fact inspire your actions in the present?

At the end of this month, we will be starting up one of my favorite traditions here at Hope Valley Baptist Church—Operation Inasmuch. For the last several years, we have dedicated a week at the end of April and into early May to missions. This year is no different. Operation Inasmuch will run from April 26th to May 3rd. The goal of this week is to find opportunities to do the work Christ has called us to in our communities, to serve others, and to let them know that they are loved by God and by this church.

I’m particularly excited about Operation Inasmuch this year since we were not able to have our Holy Wednesday Hand-Washing service again this year. (Truly, I am going to do everything I can to make sure I don’t get sick until after Easter next year!) On that night, we usually talk about the ways that Jesus calls us to be servants to others in the way that he came to be a servant. We model that servant attitude by washing and drying each other’s hands. It’s a service that asks us to take time out of our day, see our brothers and sisters, and do what we can to show them they are loved.

Operation Inasmuch works because of that same spirit. It works because we know that Christ has called us not only to serve him, but to serve our wider community. Each person is a beloved child of God and so it is always worthwhile to show them that. It is worthwhile to let them see the church in action, so they can say, “I have seen God’s people and they have seen me.”

In light of that, you’ll notice that there is a list of planned activities in another part of this Illuminator. I would encourage you to look over those activities and see if there’s one you’d like to participate in. If you’re not sure you can participate in any of them, see if there’s one you’d like to donate to. If you’re not sure you can do that either, that’s totally fine; pray for the church as we go out and do these things. Pray that we would lift up the hearts of those we help. Pray that they would hear a good word about a God who loves them.

I’m looking forward to the end of this month!

Grace and peace,
Pastor Ben

Today is Easter Sunday.
Rev. Benjamin Wines will bring the message, “From Fear to Faith” Our Scripture passage comes from Matthew 28:1-10 and our Call to Worship comes from Psalm 118. We look forward to joining you in this time of Worship.

Call to Worship (from Psalm 118)
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good;
People: His steadfast love endures forever!
Leader: I thank you that you have answered me
People: And have become my salvation.
Leader: The stone that the builders rejected
People: Has become the chief cornerstone.
Leader: This is the Lord’s doing;
People: It is marvelous in our eyes.
Leader: This is the day that the Lord has made;
People: Let us rejoice and be glad in it.
Leader: Save us, we beseech you, O Lord!
People: O Lord, we beseech you, give us success!
Leader: Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
People: We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Leader: You are my God, and I will give thanks to you;
People: You are my God, I will extol you.
Leader: O give thanks to the Lord, for he is good,
People: For his steadfast love endures forever!

Questions for Further Reflection:
In this passage, the women who approach the tomb are asked to move from fear to faith, quickly.
What role does fear play in the life of faith?
How does God help us move past fear and place our faith in Jesus?