From the Pastor’s Desk…
September 2025
From the Westminster Shorter Catechism:
Q. 63. Which is the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment is, Honor your father and your mother: that your days may be long upon the land which the Lord your God gives you.
Q. 64. What is required in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment requires preserving the honor, and performing the duties, belonging to everyone in their several places and relations, as superiors, inferiors, or equals.
Q. 65. What is forbidden in the fifth commandment? A. The fifth commandment forbids the neglecting of, or doing anything against, the honor and duty which belongs to everyone in their several places and relations.
In the past 2½ years I had the opportunity to care for the concerns and needs of my father. I secured power of attorney for his financial and medical needs. I was able to have him placed under the care of Princeton Health Care Center here in Princeton. I attained financial assistance for him through Medicaid. I did all I could to help him through several of his losses over the last three years and the on-going struggle to cope with his inability to walk and function physically in the ways he thought he could. His body failed him while his mind was fairly sharp. I gave him opportunity to hear the gospel of Christ and what God had done in my own life. Through everything I reflected more deeply on what it means to keep the fifth commandment to honor one’s parents. My relationship with my father was not very deep. “Superficial” was a better descriptor. My father did all he could to support and provide for me throughout my life, but there was also a “less than fortunate” streak that made many things difficult even in those provisions.
Familial relationships can be wrought with pain through many factors. Mine consisted of divorced parents and the effects of divorce upon family members as well as the implications for generations beyond. Other families have struggled with losing a parent at an early age, perhaps abuse of some kind, absentee parents who worked constantly, parents who let the children rule the home rather than providing boundaries and rules. The list of dysfunctions seems endless in this day and age and the absence of any of the Ten Commandments makes it all the more troubling for society. How does one honor father and mother through difficulties in the relationship or the pains caused by sin? In essence, showing honor is not predicated on whether the parent is good or bad. It is simply the command to show honor to father and mother.
The Catechism extends this command further than just biological parents, but to all elders who are due our respect and honor. I want to address particularly how we are to honor those parents with whom we might have had a difficult relationship. First, show respect. Respect is due simply because of the authority held in the position of parent. We do our best to show honor by assisting them at the end of their lives. Honor sometimes needs to be an act of parenting our parent. We do what is right for them, provide for their needs as they once provided for ours. We seek to listen and respond with compassion. Respect comes in kindness and humility, making difficult decisions and trusting God through all things. We might also serve as the advocate for our parents when necessary. Second, live in ways that honors God so that we also honor the family name. In some ways that may mean to redeem the family name. If a parent lacked faith in God and did not give witness to the salvation known in Christ, we can give such a witness in how we show honor to our parents. Third, give thanks. We give thanks to God for all things, good or bad, that brought us to this point in life. Our parents taught us many things either directly or indirectly by how they lived and how they succeeded or failed as a parent. For better or worse, we have learned to live as we do mainly through our earliest years in the family. We have hopefully learned what to do and what not to do because we had parents!
There are no perfect families. We all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. God seeks our obedience to His commandments. As we try our best to be good parents and as we try our best to honor our parents, let us remember that God the Father walks with us in the Holy Spirit. Let us remember to note how Jesus responded to the will of His Father. Let us humble ourselves before God as He leads us to honor our elders, fathers, mothers, mentors, and the like. Amen.
From the Pastor’s Desk...August 2025
As I began to write this article, a phrase kept ringing in my mind, “hemmed in on every side.” Part of the reason I was thinking of this phrase was because I sometimes feel hemmed in by circumstances or certain pressures or the constancy of deadlines. The problem is that the phrase I was thinking about was not one of surrounding troubles, but from Psalm 139.5 about God’s wonderful protection. “You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.”
As I searched the Scriptures a little bit more I saw that my thoughts were more reflective of Psalm 22.12, “Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion.” Jesus spoke this way as He wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19.41-44, “And when he drew near and saw the city, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” We sometimes have times in our lives when we feel overwhelmed by the things that surround our schedules or hem us in on every side or encompass our thougths. But the counter to Psalm 22 and Luke 19 is the promise of God in Psalm 139. God is the One who hems us in...He guides us by His hand. Psalm 139 goes on to remind us there is nowhere we can go where God is not present with us.
“Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me” (139.7-10). When the cares of the world creep in, when the fear mongers try to give us the heebie-jeebies with every news story, and when circumstances seem bleak, God is with us. It is the promise of Psalm 139 and the promise of the Son of God whose name is Immanuel (God with us). When we have far too many things on our minds, when bad things come one after another, and when the darkness seems to be getting its way, God is with us. He has us hemmed in, back to front, behind and before, a fence of protection from all enemies. The promise is true that Jesus will never leave us, never forsake us. Contemplate His presence daily. Trust in His promises. Know that the Lord has hemmed you in, behind and before, and He has His hand upon you. Amen.
July 2025
Report on the 45th EPC General Assembly, June 17-19, 2025
I attended two of the three days at the 45th General Assembly of our denomination and spent a majority of the time speaking with Elders from across the country on the issue of the day which was, for me and for us, the Ad-Interim Committee’s report on whether or not the EPC will have a future with ordained leaders who identify as “gay Christians” and/or actively struggle with unnatural homosexual lust known culturally as same sex attraction.
On Wednesday there was a luncheon where people could present comments, questions, and suggestions for the committee’s consideration to strengthen the report for the next General Assembly meeting in 2026. What we, and by “we” I mean those who are biblically fluent and not influenced by the trending culture, are seeking for the EPC is a solid statement that clarifies qualifications for ordained leadership in the church, Teaching Elders – pastors, and Ruling Elders – overseers who serve on the Session. The luncheon had to be held in the largest room other than the sanctuary and the room was packed, I would guess well over 100 people.
During the Question-and-Answer period several people expressed concern about the term “gay Christian” in the pastoral letter, which seems to endorse and make legitimate something that is biblically an oxymoron. There are three documents the committee is working on, the pastoral letter, which is for the purpose of giving guidance to the denomination, the position paper, which is to represent the denomination’s position on this issue, and any changes to the Book of Order for the standards of ordination. Some of the suggestions included a statement from an elder on the term “gay Christian”, “As Christians, we should not identify ourselves by our sin.” There were comments as to the ambiguous nature of the pastoral letter and that it is currently too nuanced. One person suggested that a term be changed all together as the letter states homosexual identity should be “subordinate” to our identity in Christ and the proposed change that homosexual identity should be “rejected,” not subordinate. Others expressed the need to speak biblical truth regarding our identity and not borrow the world’s terminology. Another expressed concern about the terminology “Same Sex Attraction,” and recommended that it be replaced with “unnatural desire” in line with the Bible and Westminster Confession. Another elder expressed concern that the Pastoral Letter says little or nothing about repentance and asked why this was omitted.
Overall, while every speaker did thank the committee for the hard work put into this work so far, most were also seeing places throughout that needed change and more concise language. Overall, I think the time was too short, but what time we had, one hour, was effective for the committee’s considerations.
The co-chair of the committee did emphasize that this is still a work in progress and he encouraged everyone to send feedback and recommendations to them. We believe they have already received quite a bit of feedback.
Most of the business and other activities were without any controversy, unlike last year, but the next Assembly will be more crucial as we get to the end of the two year study and recommendations from the Ad-Interim Committee. Even then, all those recommendations will go to each Presbytery for discussion and no final votes will be taken at General Assembly until at least 2027. So, all that to say, pray for the denomination and for the people working to keep us on God’s path of truth and grace.
For anyone who has looked to the documents on the EPC website, there is an opportunity for feedback to the committee here - https://epconnect.org/feedbackssa/
Remember, this is particularly an issue for ordination to leadership and not a rejection of people who are confused in their created identification. We welcome all people to hear the gospel, to repent of sin, and come to trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Our Session members and I will continue to work toward Gospel Truth for our denomination and for the good of the Kingdom!
Pastor Ed (6/24/2025)
From the Pastor’s Desk...June 2025
There comes a point in our lives when we cannot take it anymore! That statement can mean many things. For some, sadly, the topic might be life itself and they contemplate taking their own life. We pray that will not be the option taken. Other times it is nowhere close to that level of seriousness and we decide to stop doing something or watching something that brings us to our wits end, and we “boycott”. I have boycotted many things in my life, mostly with a business or company that did not practice good business or some that took a sinful stance on an issue or some other reason that irked my soul. I do not know many people who have not been annoyed by something in this life: poor customer service, junk mail, bad referees, lying politicians, and the list goes on.
The larger question is what we do when we are annoyed. The bigger issue is how we handle ourselves and the frustration within. It can destroy us if we allow, if we dwell on the irritants of life, if we do not practice something greater that overcomes the almost daily irritations. People of faith practice faith. People of faith practice hope. People of faith practice the disciplines and passions that come with following Jesus such as prayer, worship, and service. We have the Scriptures to guide us, the Holy Spirit to calm and comfort our souls, the King of the universe to help us see a bigger picture and our place in the kingdom of God.
The author of Ecclesiastes ends with these words: “The end of the matter; all has been heard. Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil.” Among many other things of faith, that which helps us deal with life’s irritants are the fear of the Lord and obedience to His Word. Do that and live. Do that and be set free from those things that disturb the soul.
I need to clarify something at this point. We do need that sensitivity to things that are wrong and to that which is vanity, so that we are able to prevent those things from dominating our life perspective or our attitude toward all things. The end of the matter cannot be that we end up so distressed by the stupidity of the world that we become irritants to those around us. Psalm 131 speaks of having a calm and quieted soul. That is a way of faith and trust. There are times for righteous anger, but that cannot be a constant way of life. It is easy to say “Don’t let it get to you.” But “it”, whatever it may be, sometimes gets to us and we cannot take it anymore! The end of that matter is the same as Ecclesiastes, fear God and keep His commandments. That is our duty. That is our guard. That is our hope and direction for life. We come to the Master and learn the way of respect and awe for the Lord, and we learn the path of obedience that leads us to the way of peace and a life of joy. Amen.
From the Pastor’s Desk...May 2025
I participate in a prayer meeting via Zoom on Tuesday mornings with folks from the Presbytery. We recently read Psalm 6 in our meeting and also sang a hymn based on Psalm 145. Psalm 6 is a lament Psalm that speaks of trouble in our bones and trouble in our souls and the pain that leads to weeping through the night. The closing prayer is that God will deliver from all the troubles. Psalm 145 is all about praise, “Every day I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable” (2-3). As our small group proceeded to pray, I was struck by the contrast of the two Psalms between prayer in times of trouble and prayer in times of praise. We all have shared those kinds of periods in our lives, times when we faced a crisis of some sort that led us to pray for ourselves or others to deliver us from the trouble...sickness, loss, fear, doubt, whatever the trouble might have been. We have all had times of rejoicing as well, praising and thanking God for whatever circumstance has brought the expression of adoration.
What I believe is incredible about these opposite extremes, is that the Psalms cover us in prayer for all the opposite poles of trouble to praise and everything in between. It is another reason why I stress our attention to the Psalter. It gives us the language of prayer for life. The Psalms reflect the human condition common to all of us. There is something even to the beginning and end of the Psalms that envelops all of life. Psalm 1 starts us on the journey of life by stressing meditation upon God’s Word in order that we might prosper in life. Psalm 150 (and several Psalms at the end) shows us where life will conclude when we stay on the path of God – life concludes with praise and praise and praise!
In between the obedience of Psalm 1 and the praise of Psalm 150 is a life well lived with all the joy and pain, troubles and deliverences, laments and gratitude, and everything else we might encounter from birth to death. So, here I stand (or sit) once again, encouraging our reading and meditation and praying the Psalms in our daily walk with Jesus. It is especially helpful to have the words available from the Psalms when we do not know what to pray. It is wonderful to have the prayers of the Psalmists, which are also the God breathed Word to us, that we can, in turn, pray back to God! Remember that Jesus teaches us that He is revealed in the Psalms… Luke 24.44, “Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you, that everything written about me in the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms must be fulfilled.” Make use of the prayers of the Psalms, prayers that reveal the Lord Jesus and prayers that He also prayed, even as He hung on the cross (Psalm 22). Amen.
From the Pastor’s Desk...April 2025
As I write this article, we are in the midst of the season of Lent, the time when we focus on preparation for what is to come later this month – the celebration of Easter, the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ! Easter is foundational to our faith. It is the reason we have a relationship with God through Christ and the promises of God for life eternal and life in His kingdom today and forevermore. The apostle Paul sums up the good news and its value to our lives. He recognized that nothing else matters outside a saving relationship with Jesus Christ. Paul had plenty of reasons to boast of his accomplishments and his status in the Jewish culture. But all that he considered nothing compared to knowing Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead (Philippians 3.8-11).
The ESV uses the gentle term “rubbish” to describe how Paul now considers his accomplishments. The KJV is more to the point of the Greek word, “do count them but dung”. You get the picture! The point is that nothing of our human achievements is in any way comparable to gaining Christ and knowing Him and the power of His resurrection. Easter is everything! Easter is life! Easter is the event at the center of Christianity and the believers life. We cannot let anything of worldly gain take precedence over what we have in Jesus Christ. None of it matters compared to gaining the righteousness of Christ. May Easter bring our perspectives in line with Paul’s so that we might seek the same goal of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. Happy Easter!
From the Pastor’s Desk...March 2025
I have a friend who is constantly telling others to not let anything rob them of the joy of the Lord. We will very often face situations in life where our joy in the Lord is threatened. The Bible speaks of the joy of the Lord as our strength, Then he said to them, “Go your way. Eat the fat and drink sweet wine and send portions to anyone who has nothing ready, for this day is holy to our Lord. And do not be grieved, for the joy of the Lord is your strength” (Nehemiah 8.10). Even in those circumstances where joy might be threatened, James tells us to count it as joy, “Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing” (James 1.2-4).
Joy goes deeper than happiness or simple pleasures, beyond gladness. Joy is a fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5.22). Joy is found in the presence of the Lord (Psalm 16.11). Joy is, as the old spiritual teaches, down in the heart. 1 Peter 1.8 even describes our joy in the Lord as indescribable!
“Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him,
you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory.”
It is my conviction that joy is always within our spirit even in grief. Joy is always available to us despite our sorrows and difficulties in life. Joy may not be evident (nor should it be) in times of sorrow, but joy will find its way beyond our sorrows. Psalm 30.5b, “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes with the morning.” This is the joy of the Lord, not our own, but that which comes from the Lord. Much like righteousness that is not our own but is attributed to us in and through Christ -- His righteousness and His joy and His love and His grace. All thanks is due to Jesus Christ for the joy in our hearts. All thanks that He carries us through our most difficult days in His joy. And glory be to God that He rejoices in us! Zephaniah 3.17, “The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” Find strength today in the joy of the Lord that is also our joy in the Lord.
Pastor Ed
From the Pastor’s Desk...February 2025
For anyone who might archive these articles (I cannot imagine why!), much of this one is a rewrite of February 2007!
In Mark’s gospel Jesus calms the storm with a Word… “And [Jesus] awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm” (4.39). Jesus spoke to the storm, similarly to the creation story when God spoke things into existence. We serve the God who rules over all with just a Word. Both biblical narratives, creation and calming the storm, are incredible stories of God’s power!
Another gospel story shares a corresponding theme with Jesus. In Mark 3:9-13, the story of a crowd pressing in on Jesus, is another way that Jesus found peace. In the storm He spoke, with the crowd He withdrew… “And he told his disciples to have a boat ready for him because of the crowd, lest they crush him” (3.9). The boat was to enable Jesus to withdraw to find a place of peace and calm. One common denominator is finding peace. Both stories move us from chaos to peace.
The chaos of a crowd pressing on Jesus - to the calm of the mountain with his disciples.
The chaos of the storm winds - followed by the calm of the commanded sea.
We yearn for calm in the midst of chaos. We yearn to know where God is when things go wrong. Tragedy leads us to wonder and often the tragedy seems so chaotic that it makes no sense to us. We wonder why there is so much chaos in our lives and in the world and it seems that it gets worse as time passes. We think that, with every generation, it cannot get much worse. But this is nothing new. Every generation has had to face their own “formless” chaos. We all face times when life seems way out of control. The good news is that God has been bringing order out of chaos since creation. Jesus reminds us, yet again, that God can bring order to our chaos, healing to our sickness, forgiveness to our sin, fulfillment to our emptiness, and life out of the deathly pit.
Psalm 46 invites us to withdraw to find peace.
Come, behold the works of the Lord, how he has brought desolations on the earth. He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the chariots with fire. “Be still, and know that I am God” (8-10a). Withdraw and be still to know that God is God.
Chaos is not a new force whether it is manifested in problems in the first century or the chaos of the twenty-first century. What the faithful know is that God still brings us through chaos to the calm. God still brings order to disorder. God still brings light in the darkness. God also calls us to occasionally withdraw from the “crowds” and God has not left us alone in our boats with the waves pressing over the sides. God still speaks a word: “Peace! Be still!” May you know the peace of Christ deep in your heart, mind, and soul this day and forevermore.
Pastor Ed
From the Pastor’s Desk...January 2025
With each passing year we will often take a look back, not just at the previous year, but at the years of our lives. For me, 65 years so far. I look back to the first 19 years, before my conversion to the faith, and I give thanks that God brought me through that time. God was at work all along showing me bits of the gospel, evidence of His existence, and placed people in my life who believed. I look back to 1984 when I first worked in a church with young people and through Young Life ministry in a high school. I reflect on seminary and then the 36 years as a pastor and all that God has shown me about Himself, myself, and what the Bible reveals for life and faith. As those of us more matured in age can testify, time moves more quickly with age.
But God is the creator of time and has a different view than we do. Peter writes, “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2 Peter 3.8). Time is a gift. We are told to use it wisely… “Walk in wisdom...making the best use of time… (Colossians 4.5). So often in conversations we find ourselves wondering how the time has flown by. “Just five years ago,” we start to say, then we are told, “no, that was twenty years ago!”
How can this be? God has given us the rhythm of time: days, weeks, months, years, sabbath, seasons - all as a gift for everything we need. Sometimes we think someone’s time was cut short, but God has our lives and our time in His hands.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven (Ecclesiastes 3.1). God has given us our time, to make the best use of our time, and honor time with our work and in Sabbath keeping. We honor God’s gift of time in giving Him thanks for the time we have and in celebrating the times and seasons of life. Redeem the time in 2025 by trusting in the Lord at all times!
But I trust in you, O Lord; I say, “You are my God.” My times are in your hand...Make your face shine on your servant; save me in your steadfast love (Psalm 31.14-16)!
Happy New Year,
Pastor Ed
