March 29, 2025

Dear Rockford Reformed Church family and friends,

Here’s just a quick update for a variety of things…

As I write this, the Carnival Fundraiser is wrapping up and wow, thank you to all who helped to make it a grand success! It was a great opportunity to get us connected with each other and to raise some funds for basic needs across the world.

As we gather for worship tomorrow, we will celebrate a baptism as Jon and Marissa Brinks present their son, Michael, for this sacrament. Following the service, we will take a quick grab-some-coffee break and then invite you to gather in the worship center again as Craig VanderHeide and Beth Triezenberg provide information about my sabbatical coming up in May. If you are unable to join us for this sabbatical information tomorrow, a follow-up information letter will be distributed later in the week.

I will pick up again tomorrow in “Journey to the Cross” sermon series with a focus on Luke 13:1-5 (“Hazardous Good Life”). It’s a fascinating short encounter with Jesus that has a great deal of application for us today. As always, it’s helpful to read some of the surrounding Scripture to get a better sense of the context and the text itself. I look forward to sharing it with you.

Watch the bulletin and website for information related to Good Friday and Easter worship gatherings, an Easter Egg Hunt and breakfast, and more. All these events are coming up soon and you are encouraged to extend invitations to neighbors, friends, and family members to join us!

Many of our members have found out how easy and yet rewarding it can be to get involved with serving our community through the ministry of Volunteers In Service (VIS). After Rob Bergman shared a bit about his greatly encouraging experience a few weeks ago, some of you have asked how you can get signed up. You can access the VIS website here, or there is a link on our church website as well.

My ministry involves equipping and building you up for life, ministry, and maturity (Ephesians 4:11-14). And so, I consume countless volumes and pages of books, articles, and blogs for curating and sharing with you. And so, I want to add just a couple of quick articles that can be meaningful for many of us.

First, one of the most surprising and transformative transitions that we can make will involve our reading, study, and understanding of the Old Testament through the eyes of the New Testament. And so, this brief article called, “The Breakthrough that Helped Me Understand the Old Testament” may be helpful. And then, all of us have known or currently know friends and family who have been impacted by dementia. As people live longer, the numbers of those who struggle with this disease is rising. This article about “How to Respect the Dignity of Loved Ones with Dementia” can serve well for us all.

I look forward to seeing you all tomorrow. Grace, peace, and love,

Pastor Tim