Setting Our Faces Forward
When Jesus ‘set his face’ toward Jerusalem, he showed us that following God means choosing direction with intention—sometimes boldly, sometimes quietly, always with trust.
Pastor's Notes
Christopher's letters to the congregation — over a decade of pastoral writing.
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Pastor's Notes Archive
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Pastor's Letter -
Pastor's Letter Anything but Ordinary
Ordinary Time isn’t boring—it’s ‘numbered’ Sundays when discipleship unfolds in sustained ways, growth happens through depth rather than fanfare, roots deepen for what comes next.
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Pastor's Letter A Resurrection Life, A Resurrection People
Eastertide lasts 50 days—longer than Lent—because resurrection isn’t a victory lap but a way of life we practice daily through new habits shaped by grace.
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Pastor's Letter You’re Invited (And So Is Everyone Else)
Holy Week invites us to walk with Jesus through his final days—Maundy Thursday’s table, Good Friday’s vigil, Easter’s resurrection joy—and to invite others to witness.
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Pastor's Letter The Invitation of Lent
Lent is an invitation to deeper life with Christ—through prayer, fasting, and witness, we prepare to experience the transformative reality of Easter resurrection.
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Pastor's Letter Praying Our Resolutions in 2025
True resolutions aren’t about self-improvement—they’re about surrendering to God through confession, prayer, fasting, study and rest, letting God’s refiner’s fire shape us.
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Pastor's Letter The Most Wonderful Time of the Year
Advent calls us to slow down and anticipate Christ’s coming—not rushed but prepared, remembering that God entered our world in love and light.
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Pastor's Letter A Journey of Remembrance and Hope
November invites us through remembrance to hope—honoring saints who came before, supporting those who grieve, and anticipating Christ’s renewal of all things.
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Pastor's Letter Homecoming 2024
Homecoming celebrates 146 years of Yates Baptist witness—a place where we are always welcomed home, where memory and hope converge in faithful community.
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Pastor's Letter Fresh Starts for a Faithful (and Fun) Fall
September brings fresh starts and new energy—join us for prayer, service, worship, and celebration as we step forward together in faith and mission.
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Pastor's Letter All Things Work Together
In struggling through COVID, I learned that my value is inherent, community matters, small gestures transform, and God works all things together for spiritual growth.
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Pastor's Letter Independence Day
John Adams and Thomas Jefferson’s healed friendship reminds us that freedom includes reconciliation—Christ calls us to mend broken relationships and forgive.
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Pastor's Letter A Season for Everything in June
Ecclesiastes reminds us there is a season for everything—laughing with fathers, scattering to adventure, keeping fellowship, planting hopes, and healing together.
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Pastor's Letter Laying Down Our Lives
True love—friendship with God and neighbor—means laying down our lives a little at a time, a daily practice of selflessness woven into our lives.
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Pastor's Letter The Cruellest Month
T.S. Eliot’s ‘April is the cruellest month’ speaks truth—growth requires shedding old skin, and resurrection only comes after releasing what has died.
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Pastor's Letter Beyond Loneliness: Transforming Our Image of God
Jesus reveals God as friend—not slave master—inviting us into intimate companionship and calling us to share that transformative friendship with others.
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Pastor's Letter The Odd Couple
Ash Wednesday and Valentine’s Day collide to teach that love and repentance aren’t mutually exclusive—both involve breaking ground and receiving grace.
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Pastor's Letter The Fullness of Time
God’s adoption of us through Christ—calling us Abba, Father—transforms our deepest longings into belonging and makes us heirs to eternal life.
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Pastor's Letter Empathy, Incarnation, and Advent
Incarnation teaches empathy—God entered fully into human experience in Jesus, inviting us to mirror that compassionate presence in our daily lives.
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Pastor's Letter For All the Saints (Even You!)
Saints are ordinary believers whose lives reflect Jesus—windows to the infinite through small acts of love and kindness that transform those around them.
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