Dear Rose Park,

About a week ago I had lunch with my good friend Eric Peterson. Eric is the pastor at Benjamin’s Hope. If you’re scratching your head trying to think where you know that name from, let me fill you in…

Dear Rose Park,

I love to read; whether it’s the Holland Sentinel, a good novel, a biblical commentary, a memoir or autobiography, poetry, or even a blog. I read something every day and if you’re looking to start that commitment, you might like The Reformed Journal.

Dear Rose Park,

1 Happy are those
who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
or take the path that sinners tread,
or sit in the seat of scoffers;
2 but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
3 They are like trees
planted by streams of water,
which yield their fruit in its season,
and their leaves do not wither.
In all that they do, they prosper.

Dear Rose Park,

Throughout scripture we encounter a repeated theme: the path of the righteous and the path of the foolish. On this Wednesday of Holy Week we are abruptly met with Judas and his willingness to forego an eternal relationship with Christ in order to gain immediate gratification on the path of the foolish.

I invited our consistory members to prayerfully consider if they would be willing to contribute a letter to the church during the season of Lent. Today’s letter comes from an interview with our beloved deacons, Jessica VanderSlik & Cal VanderSlik…

I invited our consistory members to prayerfully consider if they would be willing to contribute a letter to the church during the season of Lent. Today’s letters comes from our beloved deacon, Cathy Brand…

I invited our consistory members to prayerfully consider if they would be willing to contribute a letter to the church during the season of Lent. Today’s letters comes from our beloved elder, Kylee Duistermars…

I invited our consistory members to prayerfully consider if they would be willing to contribute a letter to the church during the season of Lent. Today’s letters comes from our beloved elder, Lila Monton…

Dear Rose Park,

Yesterday morning I joined a few other pastors for breakfast at Deboer’s on Douglas. I had Oscar’s Breakfast Tacos with a bottomless cup of coffee; it was as good as it gets. If you’ve never been, or just haven’t been in awhile, let me know and I’d love to take you sometime.

Dear Rose Park,

There’s a lot of symbolism in the bible. For example, any time scripture mentions water it’s a safe bet there’s a connection to baptism. Any time scripture mentions fire it’s a safe bet there’s a connection to the Holy Spirit. This symbolism isn’t limited to physical things, it also includes numbers. There are seven days of creation, seven churches listed in Revelation, and seven gifts of the Holy Spirit. There are twelve tribes of Israel, twelves apostles, and Jacob even had twelve sons. Needless to say, biblical numbers are important.