There is an ancient declaration that has echoed through thousands of years of faith. It begins with a single, commanding word: hear. It does not mean listening in a passive, half-attentive way, but truly hearing with the kind of attention that moves from the ears down into the bones and out through the hands and feet. This declaration is the Shema, drawn from Deuteronomy 6:4-9, and it remains one of the most profound and searching calls in all of Scripture.

It starts simply: “The Lord our God, the Lord is one.” And then it asks everything of us.

The Hebrew word "shema" carries more freight than its English translation suggests. It means to hear, yes, but in the ancient Hebrew understanding, true hearing always produces a response. There is no gap between hearing a command and obeying it. The two are the same act. To hear is to do.

That is a far cry from how most of us operate. We hear things all day long. Instructions, advice, warnings, encouragements. And we nod along and file them away and return to what we were doing before. The Shema refuses that kind of hearing. It demands the kind that changes you.

Moses wrote these words to a generation of Israelites standing at the edge of the Promised Land. They had come out of Egypt, where they had watched God dismantle the entire Egyptian pantheon plague by plague. They were about to walk into Canaan, where a whole new set of false gods was waiting for them. These included Baal, the weather god to whom people offered sacrifices hoping to control the skies, and Asherah, the fertility god around whom shrines were built and moral boundaries were dissolved. Moses knew what they were walking into. And so before they took a single step, he said: Hear this. God is one. You do not need anything else.

The Shema calls us to love God with all our heart, all our soul, and all our strength. That word "all" is doing serious work. It is not asking for a portion. It is not satisfied with the hours we set aside for religious activity while the rest of our lives is shaped by different priorities. It asks for everything.

But here is what makes that call possible rather than crushing: we love because He first loved us. The apostle John makes this plain in 1 John 4, where he declares that God is love and that our capacity to love flows from Him. And in Deuteronomy 7:7-9, Moses reminds the people that God did not choose them because they were impressive or numerous or particularly deserving. He chose them because He loved them. He kept His covenant even when they gave Him every reason not to.

That is the foundation of the whole thing. We are not striving to earn the love of a distant God. We are responding to the love of a God who came after us when we had nothing to offer.

Moses goes on to say that these commands are to be on our hearts. Not written in a notebook that gets shelved. Not recited mechanically on a schedule. These commands are to be written on our hearts, at the center of who we are and the place from which everything else flows.

There is a phrase that surfaces in everyday life that captures what this means: "my heart's not really in it." Everyone knows what that means. It means you are going through the motions. You are present in body but absent in everything that matters. The danger Moses is naming is that faith can become exactly that: a series of boxes checked, a routine maintained, and a Sunday obligation fulfilled while the heart is somewhere else entirely.

What actually has your heart? When you look honestly at your life, what does it reveal matters most to you? Achievement, comfort, approval, and security are not wrong in themselves. But when any of them quietly moves into the center of a life that was meant to be oriented around God, something has gone off-level. The whole structure tilts, even if it is hard to see without a careful look.

The Shema does not stop with the individual. Moses turns immediately to the next generation. Impress these things on your children, he says. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road. When you lie down and when you get up. Write them on your door frames and your gates.

This is not a curriculum. It is a way of life. It is faith woven into the texture of ordinary days: car rides, dinner tables, bedtime conversations, and early mornings. It is the understanding that spiritual formation does not happen primarily in formal settings. It happens through the accumulated weight of everyday moments as someone who loves God lives out that faith in front of someone who is still learning who God is.

No family heritage is required to start this. Some people carry generations of faithful witness behind them. Others are the first. God wastes nothing. He meets people wherever the chain begins and says, I will start here. I will start with you.

The Shema was not designed to be recited once and forgotten. In ancient Jewish practice, it was spoken morning and evening. It was tied to the rhythms of waking and sleeping, of going out and coming home. It was meant to be the first thing and the last thing, the thread running through the whole day.

That rhythm holds a challenge for anyone who takes faith seriously. In a world where every platform, every ideology, and every appetite is competing for allegiance, the voice of God can easily get crowded out. But it does not have to. We can choose to make that voice a familiar part of every day through Scripture, prayer, and the kind of honest community that keeps us accountable to what we say we believe.

The Lord is one. He is complete. He is enough.
Hear that. And let it change everything.

As you move through this week, pay attention to what receives your first thoughts, your greatest energy, and your deepest affection. What would it look like to love God with all of those parts of your life?

What has your heart, and how is that love shaping the ordinary moments of your life? Take time this week to read Deuteronomy 6:4-9 slowly and consider one daily rhythm in which you can listen more closely to God and respond in obedience.

Watch Pastor Mark’s full message to explore the Shema and what it means to love God with your heart, soul, and strength.

Come hungry and bring the whole family to the second annual Orange City Beast Feast! Enjoy a sportsman-themed Wednesday evening meal, sample a variety of wild game, and take part in a silent auction. Kids can enter to win door prizes, and everyone can explore a featured taxidermy display and a slideshow of hunting and fishing photos from people in our community. 

The meal is served for a freewill offering, with proceeds supporting the Aden De Jong Scholarship Fund for Northwestern College students and Special Youth Challenge Ministries, which provides outdoor experiences for youth with special needs. 

Wednesday, September 30 | 5:15–6:30 p.m.
First Reformed Church | 420 Central Ave. NW, Orange City

Take a night off from cooking and enjoy a fresh meal and time together! Meals are served Wednesdays from 5:15–6:15 p.m. in the Fellowship Hall, beginning September 9. A free-will offering is received ($5 per person suggested), and gluten-free options are available.

Are you tired of what leaves you spiritually depleted? Join Niccie Kliegl as we let go of what leaves us spiritually depleted and discover the deeply nourishing truths and rhythms found in Jesus. Meets the first and third Wednesdays of each month beginning October 7, from noon–1:00 p.m. in the FRC Library. A light lunch will be provided.

Men of all ages are invited to grow in their understanding of God’s Word through an expository study of 1 and 2 Thessalonians. Led by Pastor Mark, the group will explore one chapter each week, looking closely at what the passage says and how its truth applies to our lives today. 

Whether you attend every week or simply come when your schedule allows, you are welcome to join the conversation and connect with other men who want to grow in their faith. 

Wednesdays beginning September 9 
6:30–7:30 PM 
FRC Library 

No registration is needed. Come when you can!

Want to go deeper with God and grow in your everyday walk with Jesus? Join Mary Tracy weekly on Thursday mornings for the 'Bible Studies for Life', a practical, Scripture-centered study designed to help you know God more deeply and live out your faith. This study includes an optional guide for those who want to dig down deeper. Grow in faith, community, and your everyday walk with the Lord this fall with a great group of women.

Beginning October 1 | 7:00–8:00 a.m. | FRC

Gather & Go — Ladies Night Done Right

Gather & Go is a fun way for women to get out, connect, and enjoy life alongside other Christian women. Offered several times throughout the year, these outings might include a show at the Orpheum, a pottery or cooking class, an escape room, dinner out, and other fun experiences—each with a little faith, fellowship, and fun mixed in. Come when you can, meet some new friends, and enjoy a ladies’ night done right! Contact Niccie to sign up and be included in upcoming Gather & Go events.

Gather & Grow offers women a simple, welcoming way to connect throughout the year—come when you can and bring a friend! Each gathering includes a short devotional, a hands-on opportunity to learn something new and share gifts and talents, and time to build friendships and encourage one another in faith. From woodworking and bread making to crocheting, tablescaping, candle making, and more, each event brings something different while creating space for women to gather, grow, and belong. Contact Niccie to sign up.

There is a lot happening at First Reformed Church! Watch our latest Status Update to hear more about our mission, values, and ministry priorities, along with the initiatives and opportunities taking shape this fall. We also share updates on a significant estate gift, plans for our budget surplus, and needed repairs to our organ. Take a few minutes to stay informed about where we are as a church and where we’re headed together.

From the moment we enter the world, we are wired to imitate. Watch any toddler for long enough and you will see it happen without any coaching or instruction. In their gestures, sounds, and expressions, children mirror the people around them with an instinct that seems almost hardwired into their nature. And in a very real sense, it is. Scripture tells us that human beings are made in the image of God, created from the very beginning to follow a pattern, to reflect a likeness, to imitate and emulate the One who made us. That impulse does not disappear as we grow older. It simply finds new objects to follow.

Which raises a question worth sitting with: Who, or what, are you actually following?

The word disciple appears in the New Testament Gospels 230 times. That kind of repetition is not accidental. It signals something the writers understood to be absolutely central to the life Jesus was calling people into. A disciple, at its core, is someone who patterns their life after another by learning their ways, absorbing their values, and gradually becoming more and more like them in thought, word, and action.

Discipleship is not optional. Every single person on earth is a disciple of something. The only question is who or what holds that role in your life.

For the Jewish people of Jesus’ day, the dominant shaping force was piety, including the detailed regulations and rules of the law that governed how a person was perceived before God. Adherence to those regulations defined a life well lived. Today, in a Western consumer culture, the shaping force for most people is something different. It is the products we consume, the content we absorb, the platforms that track our attention and feed us more of what keeps us scrolling. Recent studies suggest that young adults spend an average of 47 hours per week on their phones. That is a full work week, with overtime. The algorithms are not neutral. They are designed to form habits, shape preferences, and hold attention. Whether we acknowledge it or not, we are being discipled by what we consume.

Jesus steps into this reality and makes a claim that cuts through all of it. He does not offer Himself as one option among many. He calls for something far more demanding and far more rewarding.

In Luke 9:23-25, Jesus lays out what it means to follow Him with striking directness. He describes three movements that define a disciple's life: deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow Him.

To deny yourself is to place your own impulses, desires, and preferences in a secondary position to what God is calling you toward. It is not self-hatred or self-erasure. It is a deliberate reordering of priorities that says God's will comes first.

To take up your cross is to accept the cost of alignment with Jesus. In the first century, a person carrying a cross was not carrying a symbol. They were carrying the instrument of their own execution. The image is sobering and intentional. Following Jesus is not a transaction where you receive benefits in exchange for minimal commitment. It is a full surrender to wherever He leads, including the places that are uncomfortable, costly, or inconvenient.

And then the third command: follow Me. Luke is the only Gospel writer who includes the word “daily” in this call to discipleship: “take up their cross daily and follow Me.” Not once, not only in a moment of emotional decision, and not merely during a season of spiritual enthusiasm. Daily. The call to follow Jesus is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing, present-tense commitment that renews itself every single morning.

The stakes Jesus attaches to this are not small. He asks what it profits a person to gain the entire world while losing their own soul (Luke 9:25). That is not casual language. It directly confronts the way most people quietly organize their lives around accumulating comfort, security, and recognition while leaving the deeper question of what they are actually living for unexamined.

A disciple of Jesus is someone who patterns their life after Him, learning and living as His apprentice, being formed by His example and His instruction. Think of the relationship between a skilled tradesperson and an apprentice. The apprentice does not simply read about the work. They show up, observe, practice, make mistakes, and gradually become capable of doing what the master does. That is the texture of discipleship.

Paul captures this in Galatians 2:20, where he describes a life so thoroughly surrendered to Christ that his own self has been displaced and Christ now lives within him. That is not the language of casual religious participation. It is the language of someone who has been completely reoriented around a new center.

A life shaped by discipleship is not a grim or joyless one. It is satisfying, because it provides a singular focus that cuts through the noise of competing demands. It is transforming, because there is no point at which growth stops being possible. It produces a deep contentment, not through the absence of difficulty, but through a peace that holds steady in the midst of it. And it is purposeful, because a disciple is always being led somewhere by the Spirit of God.

Here is what is worth considering honestly. If someone were to look at where your time goes, what your attention gravitates toward, and what shapes your decisions, attitudes, and responses to the people around you, what would they conclude you are a disciple of?

Discipleship happens either by decision or by default. If there is no intentionality, something else will fill the space. The phone, the algorithm, the cultural current, and the approval of others are all more than willing to step in and do the forming.

The invitation of Jesus is not to a program or a set of rules. It is to a person. And it is extended every single day.

Take an honest look at what has been shaping you lately. Consider where your time goes, what receives most of your attention, and what influences your decisions and responses. Then identify one intentional step you can take this week to pattern your life more closely after Jesus.

To explore more about what it means to become a disciple of Jesus by decision rather than by default, watch Pastor Fred’s full message.

Law and grace are often viewed as opposing ideas—one concerned with justice and accountability, the other with mercy and forgiveness. Yet both have an important place in a life shaped by faith.

Join us for a special presentation with Loren Velhuizen, former Orange City city attorney, exploring the relationship between law and grace. Drawing from personal experience in the legal field and a Christian perspective, Loren will consider how justice, responsibility, mercy, and grace work together in our relationships, communities, and daily lives.
This will be an opportunity to reflect on the importance of upholding what is right while also extending the grace we have received.

Thursday, September 10 | 2:00 PM | FRC Chapel

Everyone is welcome to join us for this thoughtful and engaging presentation.

For many years, First Reformed Church has partnered with Corn Creek, a Native American reservation near Parmelee, South Dakota.
Each year, we have the opportunity to help provide firewood for families preparing for the winter. A few hours of splitting and stacking can provide warmth for days.
This is a simple, tangible way to live out agape love—love that serves, gives, and meets real needs.
All willing hands are welcome! Whether you can split, run wood, stack, or simply come serve alongside others, there is a place for you.

Join us at Ron De Jong’s Farm
3536 450th Street • Orange City
September 12 & 19
9:00 AM–12:00 PM

Come lend a hand and help bring warmth to Corn Creek.

Love to sing? There are two great ways to use your musical gifts in worship this fall! Praise Choir sings alongside the worship team and rehearses Wednesdays from 6:30–7:30 PM. Sanctuary Choir prepares special music for worship and rehearses Wednesdays from 7:30–8:30 PM. Both begin September 9 in the Chapel and will participate in worship several times throughout the fall. Come be part of making music and enhancing our worship together!

There is a simple household maintenance task that most of us neglect far longer than we should: checking the furnace filter. When that filter gets clogged with dust and debris, the system that is supposed to warm the entire home cannot do its job. The air cannot flow. The warmth cannot reach the rooms that need it most. And the troubling part is that the furnace itself is not broken. It is still running. The problem is entirely on the receiving end.

This is a surprisingly accurate picture of what happens in the human heart when it comes to the grace of God. God's grace is not intermittent. It does not sputter or fail. It flows with relentless, inexhaustible force. The question is whether our hearts are open enough to receive it. Too often, they are not. Past wounds, distorted images of God, religious performance, entitlement, and disappointment can quietly accumulate until the flow of grace is reduced to almost nothing. The furnace runs. We just never feel the warmth.

So what does it look like to unclog the filter and stand fully in the grace of God?

Before going further, it helps to get the terminology straight, because these words are often used interchangeably when they mean very different things.

Justice is getting what we deserve. Mercy is not getting what we deserve. Grace is getting what we do not deserve.

That distinction matters enormously. Grace is not simply God holding back punishment. It is God actively, lavishly pouring out kindness and favor on people who have done nothing to earn it. Romans 5:1-2 describes believers as people who have gained access into a standing of grace: not crawling, crouching, or kneeling in penance, but standing upright and secure. Upright. Secure.

Ephesians 1:4-8 piles the language even higher. Before the creation of the world, God chose His people. He predestined them for adoption. He redeemed them through the blood of Christ. And then comes this phrase that is almost too generous to absorb: He lavished His grace on us. Not rationed it. Not distributed it carefully. Lavished it.

This is the foundation. Everything else rests here.

Ephesians 2 makes clear that the starting point for understanding grace is understanding what we are without it. The text describes human beings as dead in their transgressions, not sick, struggling, or merely in need of a little encouragement, but dead. A heart that is spiritually dead cannot generate its own life any more than a broken furnace can warm a house.

This is why the grace of God is not a supplement to human effort. It is a resurrection. God, who is rich in mercy, makes dead hearts alive. He gives new hearts to people who could never manufacture one on their own. And He does it not because we earned it or deserved it, but because of His great love.

This is where grace for the journey begins. It does not begin with a resolution, a fresh start, or a new set of habits, but with a new heart that only God can give. If that work has not happened yet, everything else is just rearranging furniture in a cold house.

Once that foundation is in place, grace becomes the constant provision for daily life. Hebrews 4:16 extends an extraordinary invitation: approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in our time of need. Not timidly. Not apologetically. With confidence.

This does not mean that every prayer produces the outcome we hoped for. Grace is not a divine vending machine. But it does mean that God’s strength, provision, forgiveness, and help are available for every moment of the journey: the exam, the diagnosis, the defeat, the grief, and the long, grinding ordinary days in between.

James 4:6 adds an important condition. God gives more grace to the humble. The heart that says, "I trust You to provide what I need in the way You choose to give it" is the heart that stays open to receive. Pride clogs the filter. Humility keeps it clear.

Titus 2:11-14 offers one more dimension that is easy to miss: grace is not only a gift, it is a teacher. The grace of God instructs us how to live: how to say no to what would derail us and how to pursue what is good and right and true. The best teacher is not fear or guilt. It is the overwhelming kindness of God that produces a response of genuine transformation.

Every life contains people who are genuinely hard to love. The grace extended to us is also the grace we are called to extend outward. Ephesians 4 calls believers to be humble, gentle, and patient with one another, not because the other person has earned it, but because that is exactly what God did for us.

Luke 6:35 takes it further still, calling believers to love enemies, do good without expectation of return, and reflect the character of a God who is kind even to the ungrateful and the wicked. This is not naive or passive. It is the hardest and most countercultural expression of grace there is. And it only becomes possible when the grace received has gone deep enough to overflow.

Finally, grace is not only for the beginning of faith or the middle of life. It carries all the way home. The final years of life can be among the hardest because they may bring the slow loss of health, strength, and independence. But the same grace that gave a new heart at the start of the journey is the grace that sustains through the end of it. John 1:16 speaks of grace upon grace, wave after wave, sufficient for every moment.

The filter can be replaced. The warmth can flow again. The grace of God is still running, still available, still being lavished on those who will receive it.

The only question is whether the heart is open enough to let it in.

Where might something be keeping you from fully receiving God’s grace? Take time this week to bring that place honestly before Him and ask Him to help you receive the grace He is already offering.

Watch Pastor Fred’s full message, Grace for the Journey, to explore how God’s grace gives us a new heart, sustains us along the road, and helps us extend grace to others.

Curious About FRC? Let’s Connect Over Pizza! 
We’d love to invite you to a fun and casual pizza lunch where you can learn more about First Reformed Church! 
When? Sunday, September 27, right after the second service at 11:45 AM
Where? FRC Fellowship Hall 
Come enjoy delicious pizza, take a guided tour of our building, meet our friendly staff, and get your questions answered. We’re excited to share what makes FRC such a special place—and how you can be part of it! 
We can’t wait to meet you! See you there! 

These are important years as children begin building the foundation of their faith. Through engaging Bible teaching, meaningful relationships, and fun, Christ-centered activities, children age 3 through grade 5 will learn to know God, trust Jesus, and live out their faith. Meets Sundays beginning September 13 from 9:40-10:20 AM.

Students in grades 6-12 will explore the final chapters of Old Testament history, following God’s people through exile, restoration, and their return home. Through Daniel, Ezra, Esther, Nehemiah, and the prophets, students will see God’s faithfulness and discover how He prepared the way for Jesus. Meets Sundays, September 13-December 20, from 9:40-10:20 AM in the Loft.

Find a place to belong, build meaningful connections, and explore how faith meets everyday life through a short lesson and group discussion. Meets in the Library.

Discover how this historic teaching tool continues to deepen our understanding of God’s Word. A rotating teaching team will guide the class using G. I. Williamson’s The Heidelberg Catechism Study Guide as a resource. Meets in the Office Conference Room.

Discover a variety of teachers and topics throughout the fall. Join us September 13 for an introduction to the semester’s upcoming offerings. Beginning September 20, Mike Kamerman will lead a three-week series on nurturing relationships as part of our Helping Families Blend initiative.

Explore God: Have questions about God, faith, or the meaning of life? This seven-week conversation is for adults who are new to Christianity, curious about faith, or looking for a safe place to ask honest questions. Led by Pastor Fred & Ingrid, Reed & Andrea the study meets Sundays beginning September 20 at 4:00 PM at Pastor Fred’s home. There is no cost. Register at frcoc.org/adultministries.

What does the Bible really say about Heaven?
Open to all adults, this Jennifer Rothschild study will separate biblical truth from common myths and show how the hope of eternity can shape the way we live today. Led by Lyle and Mary Lundgren, the study meets on the first and third Sundays of every month, continuing from September 20 through April 4, from 6:45-8:00 PM in the Library. The cost of the study book is $15. You may register by contacting Lyle.

Explore Jonah's story through Timothy Keller's The Prodigal Prophet.

Wednesdays, September 9–November 18 | 6:30 PM
Church Prayer Room | First Reformed Church, Orange City
Led by Jadell Forman
What has your heart?
Sometimes the things that keep us from God aren’t obvious. Fear, anger, approval, control, success, comfort—even good things can begin to take a place in our hearts that belongs to God alone.
Using Timothy Keller’s The Prodigal Prophet and the biblical story of Jonah, we’ll take an honest look at the idols we may be holding onto and how they can slowly choke out the freedom, peace, and abundant life God desires for us.
Together, we’ll explore Jonah’s struggle with God’s grace, our own tendency to run or resist when God challenges what we love and trust, and the incredible mercy of a God who continues pursuing us and calling us Home.
This study is an invitation to identify what may be competing for your heart, confront the fears and anger underneath it, and learn how to renounce those idols and return to worshiping God.
Come ready to dig into Scripture, ask honest questions, and discover the freedom that comes when God once again has His rightful place in our hearts.

                                         

There is a moment in every great team sport when everything clicks. The outside hitter reads the set perfectly. The offensive lineman fires off the line at exactly the right angle. The point guard threads a pass through a defense that seemed impenetrable. For one brief, beautiful moment, every person does exactly what they were designed to do, and the result is something none of them could have produced alone.

That is not just a picture of great athletics. It is a picture of what the church is meant to be.

Scripture uses the human body as its primary metaphor for the church, and for good reason. Every part of the body is distinct. Every part serves a different function. And yet every part belongs to the same organism, drawing life from the same source, working toward the same purpose. Romans 12:4-8 makes this connection explicit, describing how those who belong to Christ form one body together, each member belonging to all the others, each carrying gifts that differ according to the grace given to them. The assumption underneath that passage is both simple and staggering: every person has a part to play, and the whole suffers when any part goes missing.

One of the most clarifying truths about spiritual gifts is found in 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, where Paul describes the Spirit distributing different gifts to different people. The list is wide-ranging, covering everything from wisdom and knowledge to healing, prophecy, and faith. But before the list even begins, Paul establishes the governing principle in verse 7: the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good.

Not for personal glory. Not for individual advancement. For the common good.

This does not diminish the individual. Quite the opposite. There is something deeply affirming about the truth that the Spirit of God has personally invested something significant in you, something specific to your design, something intended to accomplish real and lasting good in the world. But the direction of that gift always flows outward. It is given to you so that it can be given through you.

Think of it this way. A running back who refuses to run is not protecting himself. He is failing his team. A setter who decides not to set is not taking a well-deserved rest. She is leaving five other players without what they need. Gifts are not possessions to be hoarded. They are responsibilities to be exercised for the benefit of others.

We live in an age of artificial intelligence that studies our patterns and feeds us more of the same. Every search, every scroll, every click trains an algorithm to predict what we will do next. The result is a life that becomes increasingly narrow, increasingly predictable, increasingly shaped by our own existing tendencies rather than by anything genuinely new.
The life of the Spirit works in precisely the opposite direction.

When the Spirit of God moves in a person's life, He disrupts the algorithm. He redirects energy and attention toward things that no predictive model would have anticipated. He takes someone headed one direction entirely and calls them toward something they never would have chosen on their own. The gifts He places in people are not extensions of natural talent or personal preference. They are divine insertions, interruptions in the predictable, redirections toward the purposes of God.

The question worth sitting with is this: Is the Spirit trying to redirect something in your life right now? Is there a prompting you have been explaining away, a nudge you have been ignoring, a sense that you are meant to be doing something different or something more?

Ephesians 4:11-3 describes Christ giving gifts to the church in the form of apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers, and it names their purpose clearly: to equip God's people for works of service so that the body of Christ might be built up. The goal is maturity. The goal is unity. The goal is the whole community growing together into the fullness of Christ.

That is not a small thing. And it does not happen through the efforts of a few highly visible people. It happens through the accumulated faithfulness of ordinary people doing what the Spirit has equipped them to do, week after week, year after year, often without recognition, often without knowing the full weight of what their service is accomplishing.

Consider what it means that a single person showing up consistently, serving with warmth and genuine care, can gradually shift the culture of an entire community toward greater openness and welcome. Consider what it means that a mentor investing in one struggling teenager might, without ever knowing it, alter the entire trajectory of that young person's life. The impact of faithful service is almost always larger than it appears from the inside.

Perhaps the most important reframe Scripture offers on the subject of serving is found in Romans 12:1-2, where Paul urges believers to present themselves as living sacrifices, describing this as their spiritual act of worship. Serving is not a debt to be paid. It is not a requirement to be grudgingly fulfilled. It is an act of worship, an offering laid before God in gratitude for everything He has already done.

First Peter 4:10-11 captures the same spirit, directing those who speak and those who serve to do so in such a way that God receives the praise in all things. The goal of every gift, every act of service, every hour invested in the life of the church is ultimately this: that God would be glorified.

When that is the posture of the heart, serving stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like a privilege. The question shifts from what does this cost me to what does this give me the opportunity to offer.

What has the Spirit placed in you? Where is He calling you to use it? The body is waiting for the part that only you can play.

God has given every believer a meaningful place in the body of Christ. Take time this week to ask Him where He is inviting you to serve—and how the gift He has placed in you can strengthen someone else.

Watch Pastor Fred’s full message, “Through Us | What God Does When We Serve (Part 2),” to explore what happens when each of us faithfully plays the part God has given us.

Join us Sunday, August 30, at 9:50 AM between services for an update on what’s ahead at FRC. We’ll share highlights about our upcoming fall ministries and the vision shaping this next season as we continue focusing on growing disciples, raising leaders, and reaching a broken world.

We are certain that there is a place for you to belong and make a difference by using the gifts God has given you. We invite you to explore the opportunities FRC has for you to do just that by clicking here, or by stopping by the Welcome Center to learn more.
Thank you, and God bless you!

On August 23, we will be inviting College students from our community to join us every Sunday for a homemade breakfast between services. The meal will start around 9:30am, and will continue to be available at that time every Sunday for the school year.
We like to say, It's the best free breakfast in town (but we're a little biased). Either way, we would love to see you there!

There is a moment many of us know well. An email arrives, or a text comes through, or someone catches us in the hallway after a Sunday service. They need volunteers. They need help. And somewhere in the back of our minds, before we have even read the details, a familiar weight settles in. Here we go again.

If that experience resonates with you, you are not alone. And more importantly, that weight — that sense of pressure or guilt or quiet resentment — is not what God intends for us when He calls us to serve. The invitation to serve in the church was never meant to feel like a debt collection notice. It was meant to feel like a seat at the table.

So what does God's perspective on serving actually look like? And how do we get from where many of us are to where God wants us to be?

Let us start with honesty. The expectation to serve is not manufactured by church leaders or guilted into existence by well-meaning volunteers. It comes directly from Scripture. In Matthew 25, Jesus tells a parable about a man who entrusts bags of gold to his servants before leaving on a journey. One bag of gold represented roughly a lifetime of wages — an almost incomprehensible investment. The servants who took what they were given and put it to work were met with strong commendation upon the master's return. The one who buried his bag in the ground, who did nothing with what had been entrusted to him, received a very different response.

The application is clear. God has invested in each of us — not just financially, but in the form of abilities, gifts, experiences, and callings. When those gifts are buried, when they sit unused while the church limps along with gaps and holes, God takes notice. The expectation to serve is real, and it is rooted in Scripture.

But here is where many conversations about serving stop, but there is much more to think about.

If the parable of the bags of gold is the only lens through which we view serving, it is easy to slip into a transactional mindset. God has done so much for me. I suppose I owe Him. I guess I have no choice. And that posture, however understandable, quietly poisons the well.

In 1 Peter 4, the apostle Peter writes to a community of believers navigating genuine hardship. His instructions are striking in their warmth. He calls them to love one another deeply, to offer hospitality without grumbling, and then he says this:
Stewards of grace. Not debtors paying back a loan. Stewards — people entrusted with something precious, given the privilege of distributing it to others.

When we serve from a place of gratitude rather than guilt, everything changes. Colossians 3:17 captures this beautifully, describing a life where every word and deed flows from thankfulness to God through Jesus Christ. Gratitude is not a feeling we manufacture. It is the natural response of a heart that has genuinely reckoned with the cross, the resurrection, and the hope of eternity. When that gratitude rises to the surface, serving stops feeling like a burden and starts feeling like an outlet.

There is something worth sitting with in the image of adoption. Romans 8 describes believers as those who have been adopted into the family of God — not as guests, not as observers, but as sons and daughters. That identity carries weight.

Think about what it means to belong to a family. There are responsibilities that come with membership. There are contributions expected of every person at the table. A child who has never known a stable home, who has never passed the potatoes or helped clear the dishes, experiences something profound the first time they are included in those ordinary acts. They are not just visiting. They belong. And belonging means participating.

The church is no different. God has not designed the community of faith to function as a spectator sport. He has designed it as a body, with every part contributing to the health and movement of the whole. When we serve, we are not just filling a slot on a volunteer schedule. We are affirming our identity as members of God's family, stepping into the responsibility and the privilege that comes with belonging.

The question worth sitting with is this: is your posture toward serving one of "I have to" or "I get to"? That small shift in perspective carries enormous spiritual weight.

One of the most encouraging truths in all of Scripture is that God does not call us to serve in a generic, one-size-fits-all way. He equips each person with specific gifts, and those gifts are not accidental. Ephesians 4 describes a church where leaders equip the people for works of service so that the whole body grows toward maturity and fullness. Romans 12 lists gifts ranging from teaching and encouragement to leadership, generosity, and mercy — each one essential, each one given for the common good.

The gift God has placed in you is not decorative. It is functional. It is meant to make a real and lasting difference in the lives of the people around you. When a child grows up in a community of faith and one day stands to declare their belief publicly, behind that moment are dozens of faithful people who showed up week after week to teach, to pray, to serve. When a person in crisis finds genuine comfort in a small group, it is because someone chose to lead it. These are not small things. They are the kingdom of God made visible.

Every season of life is different. Some people are exhausted. Some are brand new and still finding their footing. Some have been serving faithfully for decades and need the reminder that what they do matters. Wherever you find yourself, the invitation is the same: lay this season before God and ask Him honestly what serving might look like for you.

Not out of guilt. Not out of pressure. But out of gratitude for grace freely given, identity securely held, and a family worth showing up for.

Where might God be inviting you to serve in this season? Take some time to pray about the gifts He has given you and where He may be calling you to use them. Then take a step. Visit frcoc.org/volunteer to explore ministry opportunities at First Reformed Church and choose an area you would like to learn more about. You can also watch Pastor Fred’s full message, What God Does When We Serve: In & Among Us, to hear more about how God works in us as we serve.

Serving is more than filling a need. It is an opportunity to use what God has given us, grow in our faith, and be part of what He is doing in the lives of others.