Village Calvary Church Christian Church in Thornton Colorado https://villagecalvary.org Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000 Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000 hourly 1 3600 SnapPages.com Week of November 8th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/05/week-of-november-8th Thu, 05 Nov 2026 12:43:33 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/05/week-of-november-8th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

Sunday, November 8th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • "Major Biblical Themes"
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 2:18-22 - "Thriving in the Spirit" - Pastor Craig Babcock
  • CHILDREN'S CHURCH - Nursery - 5th grade
    • Check in begins at 9:50am
    • Please check in your children at our check in counter before taking them to their classroom
  • NO YOUTH GROUP (GRADES 6-12) - they will stay in service 
  • POTLUCK & BRONCOS GAME  //  after service

Wednesday, November 11th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 23:1-25
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Location: Upstairs after main worship

Thursday, November 12th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Rich: Ephesians
  • YOUNG ADULTS MEET  //  6:30PM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom

Saturday, November 7th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Book of Joel
  • MANUSCRIPT GAME  //  4:00PM
    • Join Pastor Glenn for a fun exploration of how scholars studied ancient manuscripts to verify the Bible's passages and trust its authenticity as God's words. The evening features a potluck, and spots are limited, so please sign up in the Connect Hub.

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Town Hall  //  Sunday, November 15th  //  after service

Stay after service to hear an update about what's been happening behind the scenes at Village Calvary and how you can partner with us to serve and build up the body of Christ.

Operation Christmas Child Boxes DUE  //  Sunday, November 22nd

Grab a shoe box and fill it with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items to bless a boy or girl in another country with a special gift and the gospel. Visit https://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC to learn more.

Ways to Partner with Us & Serve the Family

  • CHILDREN'S CHURCH
    • Assist our teachers and bless our preschoolers Sunday mornings.
    • Help teach, guide, and love our children who come Wednesday nights for service.
  • LIVESTREAM
    • Bless those who can't make it to church every week by providing a seamless online experience. (Don't worry, we'll teach and guide you through everything you need to know.)
  • CONNECT TABLE GREETERS
    • Make a difference to everyone who walks through our doors by helping people sign up, get information, and take their next step toward being connected in the family of Village Calvary.
  • WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS TEA
    • Table Host - Ladies, if you love decorating or have a heart for hospitality we encourage you to sign up and host a table at this year's Christmas Tea.
    • Servers & Bussers - Men, bless the women at this year's Christmas Tea by helping to serve them food or clean dishes.
    • Food prep - Come for a day of laughter, connection, and food prep. The day before the tea we have hundreds of sandwiches and goodies that must be prepared for the big day. All are welcome. 
Click Here to Serve & Partner with Us

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

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ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
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]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/05/week-of-november-8th#comments 0 Serving the Master while Serving your Boss https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/03/serving-the-master-while-serving-your-boss Tue, 03 Nov 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/03/serving-the-master-while-serving-your-boss
Work is where most of us spend the majority of our waking hours. It is where we face deadlines, navigate difficult relationships, and wrestle with questions of purpose and identity. Yet for all the time we invest in our jobs, few of us think of the workplace as a spiritual arena. What if it is?

The apostle Peter, writing to believers scattered across the ancient world, had something to say about exactly this. His words in 1 Peter 2:18-25 cut through the centuries with surprising relevance. The passage addresses servants and workers, calling them to a standard of conduct that is not rooted in company policy or management theory, but in the character of Jesus Christ himself. The message is both challenging and liberating: the way you work is an act of worship, and the way you endure difficulty at work is a testimony to the world.

The Command: Submit, Even When It Is Hard

Peter opens with a command that makes most of us uncomfortable. He calls workers to submit to their employers with respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. The word he uses for harsh comes from the Greek word "skolios," the same root from which we get the medical term "scoliosis," a curvature of the spine. It describes someone who is crooked, not a straight shooter, someone who operates with a twisted sense of fairness or ethics.

That is a remarkably honest description of some workplace environments. Peter does not pretend that every boss is reasonable or every workplace is just. He acknowledges the reality of difficult, even corrupt, authority, and still calls believers to remain submitted and respectful.

This does not mean surrendering your conscience. Paul makes clear in Ephesians 6:5-8 that the standard for obedience to an employer is ultimately tied to obedience to Christ. When a boss asks you to do something morally wrong or illegal, you are not obligated to comply. The Hebrew midwives in Exodus 1 provide a powerful example. When Pharaoh commanded them to kill newborn Hebrew boys, they feared God more than they feared the king, and God honored their courage. Your conscience belongs to God, not to your employer.

The Motives: Why Endure Unjust Treatment?

Peter does not simply issue the command and walk away. He gives three compelling reasons to endure suffering at work with grace and integrity.

First, it is attractive to others. The word Peter uses in verse 19 is the Greek word "charis," the same word translated as grace. When you endure unjust treatment without bitterness, without retaliation, without gossip or complaint, it is gracious. It is attractive. Colossians 4:6 describes this kind of conduct as speech and behavior seasoned with salt, full of flavor and preservation. People notice when a believer handles hardship differently. It makes faith compelling.

Second, it is commendable to God. Verse 20 makes a distinction that is worth sitting with. There is no credit in enduring consequences for your own wrongdoing. But when you suffer for doing good, when you give your best and are overlooked, underpaid, or mistreated anyway, and you endure it with integrity, God takes notice. He sees it. He will reward it. The question worth asking yourself is not just what your boss thinks of your work, but what God thinks of your response to your circumstances.

Third, it is the calling of every Christian. Verse 21 is direct: "To this you were called." Enduring unjust suffering is not an accident of your employment situation. It is a divine appointment. God may have you in a difficult workplace for a reason that extends far beyond your paycheck. He may be shaping your character, providing a witness to a coworker who needs to see faith in action, or preparing you for something you cannot yet see.

The Example: Following in the Steps of Jesus

Here is where the passage becomes truly breathtaking. Peter does not point to a self-help strategy or a management principle. He points to Jesus Christ.

Jesus committed no sin. No deceit was found in his mouth. When he was insulted, he did not retaliate. When he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He bore our sins in his body on the cross so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. He was, as Isaiah 53 describes in sweeping and devastating detail, pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought us peace was laid upon him.

This is the example we are called to follow. Not in the sense that our suffering atones for anyone's sin, but in the sense that we can choose, as Jesus did, to absorb injustice without retaliating, to trust God with the outcome, and to keep doing good even when it costs us something.

Romans 12:19-21 echoes this call. Do not take revenge. Leave room for God's wrath. Overcome evil with good. When you choose not to gossip about a bad boss, when you keep doing your best even when no one notices, when you treat a difficult coworker with dignity, you are not being passive. You are being powerful. You are doing something divine.

The Practical Question

There is a simple question worth carrying into your workplace this week: Who are you working for?

If the answer is only your employer, then a bad boss becomes an unbearable burden and an unappreciative company becomes a reason for bitterness. But if the answer is God, everything shifts. Your paycheck has a different source. Your motivation has a different foundation. Your endurance has a different reward.

Joseph endured slavery, false accusation, and imprisonment before God elevated him to the second-highest position in Egypt. He worked with excellence and integrity through every unjust circumstance. He did not know the end of the story while he was living through the middle of it. Neither do you.

Work is not just work. It is a calling, a testimony, and an act of worship. Serve your boss well. Serve your Master better.

Practical Applications

Choose one or more of the following to put into practice this week:

  • Reframe your mindset. Before you go to work this week, spend five minutes in prayer asking God to help you see your work as an act of service to Him rather than to your employer. Ask Him to make you conscious of His presence throughout the day.
  • Identify one area of excellence. Pick one specific aspect of your job where you know you have been coasting or cutting corners. Commit to doing that one thing with genuine excellence this week as an act of worship.
  • Respond with grace instead of retaliation. If a coworker, supervisor, or customer treats you poorly this week, make a deliberate choice not to respond in kind. Instead, respond with patience and dignity. Reflect afterward on what that cost you and what it produced.
  • Stop the complaint cycle. If you have been regularly venting about your boss or workplace to coworkers, family members, or friends, make a conscious decision to stop. Instead, bring those frustrations directly to God in prayer and ask Him to handle the justice.
  • Pray for your difficult boss by name. Commit to praying for your most difficult supervisor or coworker every day this week. Do not pray for them to change so your life gets easier -- pray for their genuine wellbeing and for God's grace in their life.
  • Have an honest conversation with yourself. Ask yourself honestly whether any difficulty you are currently experiencing at work is the result of your own attitude or performance. If it is, take a step toward owning that and making it right.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/11/03/serving-the-master-while-serving-your-boss#comments 0 Week of November 1st https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/week-of-november-1st Wed, 28 Oct 2026 17:36:48 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/week-of-november-1st

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

Sunday, November 1st

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • "Major Biblical Themes"
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 2:13-17 - "Thriving Together" - Pastor Craig Babcock
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship
  • YOUNG ADULTS GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)

Tuesday, November 3rd

  • MARS HILL (APOLOGETICS GROUP)  //  6:00PM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • 1 Peter 3:15 says we must "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." But with a world filled with knowledge of science and philosophy sometimes that can be difficult. This group is focused on equipping you with tools to communicate a defense of your faith. We’ll do this through scripture reading, discussion, lessons, and prayer. All are welcome, there's no long term commitment or homework.

Wednesday, November 4th

  • M.O.M GROUP  //  9:30AM - 11:30AM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • Moms of infants - high schoolers are invited to come join our Ministry of Motherhood where we’ll  cultivate a biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and devotionals. Cost is $75 with childcare or $50 without to help cover the cost of childcare, food, and supplies. Register through the connect hub.
  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 

Thursday, November 5th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Rich: Ephesians

Saturday, November 7th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Book of Joel
  • MANUSCRIPT GAME  //  4:00PM
    • Join Pastor Glenn for a fun exploration of how scholars studied ancient manuscripts to verify the Bible's passages and trust its authenticity as God's words. The evening features a potluck, and spots are limited, so please sign up in the Connect Hub.

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Town Hall  //  Sunday, November 15th  //  after service

Stay after service to hear an update about what's been happening behind the scenes at Village Calvary and how you can partner with us to serve and build up the body of Christ.

Operation Christmas Child Boxes DUE  //  Sunday, November 22nd

Grab a shoe box and fill it with toys, school supplies, and hygiene items to bless a boy or girl in another country with a special gift and the gospel. Visit https://www.samaritanspurse.org/OCC to learn more.

Ways to Partner with Us & Serve the Family

  • CHILDREN'S CHURCH
    • Assist our teachers and bless our preschoolers Sunday mornings.
    • Help teach, guide, and love our children who come Wednesday nights for service.
  • LIVESTREAM
    • Bless those who can't make it to church every week by providing a seamless online experience. (Don't worry, we'll teach and guide you through everything you need to know.)
  • CONNECT TABLE GREETERS
    • Make a difference to everyone who walks through our doors by helping people sign up, get information, and take their next step toward being connected in the family of Village Calvary.
  • WOMEN'S CHRISTMAS TEA
    • Table Host - Ladies, if you love decorating or have a heart for hospitality we encourage you to sign up and host a table at this year's Christmas Tea.
    • Servers & Bussers - Men, bless the women at this year's Christmas Tea by helping to serve them food or clean dishes.
    • Food prep - Come for a day of laughter, connection, and food prep. The day before the tea we have hundreds of sandwiches and goodies that must be prepared for the big day. All are welcome. 
Click Here to Serve & Partner with Us

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE

Subscribe to the Bulletin

Get the bulletin directly in your inbox each week.
SUBSCRIBE
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/week-of-november-1st#comments 0 "Happy" Holidays https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/happy-holidays Wed, 28 Oct 2026 16:59:48 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/happy-holidays
Well, it’s time. The school year for the kids has been in motion for some time now and probably feels like a solid part of our routine. Unlike last year, the warm weather has finally gone. The leaves are changing. The pumpkins outside are rotting. Soon the Halloween costumes and candy will be put away just in time for the “most” wonderful time of the year.

THE HOLIDAYS!

Even though Thanksgiving kicks off our holiday season in the latter half of the month, we all know that preparations for everything begin at the start of November. The stores certainly know it, don’t they? It’s time to buy gifts. Time to buy the decorations. Time to buy the turkeys. Time to make plans and organize family get-togethers.

For some, this is a time to flourish. “It’s the best time of the year!” they say. For others, this time is absolutely dreaded. For some, the holidays are the most challenging part of the year, when big, fear-inducing questions come up. How am I going to afford all of this? Do I really have to hang out with that relative? What am I going to get my spouse? How are we going to get together with everyone and still have time for our family, too?

Yes, while these questions can bring on fear, I’m also thankful that the first holiday of the season is the one thing that could set the tone for the rest of the season. If we can set our focus on this one thing, I think it might help carry us through these next two months: Thanksgiving.

It might sound cliché, but I believe there is always something to be grateful for. I also know how hard it can be to remember to be grateful. Finding something to be grateful for is like a skill or a muscle. It needs to be part of our focus and daily disciplines, and we need to work it out every day. We have to rep it, every day. That’s how our muscles get stronger, and that’s how we get better at remembering to be thankful for the lives God has given us.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful holiday where we eat too much turkey, chug too much gravy (just me?), and watch too much football. While the surplus of ingestion is always present, I wonder how this holiday season would turn out if we treated this time of physical engorgement as a time to ingest “too much” of God’s Word as well.

It’s one thing to say you’re thankful for certain things, but it’s another to actually show that you’re thankful. What’s at the top of your list of things you’re thankful for? Who’s given you those things? How can you show that person you’re thankful?

I’m hoping God is somewhere on that list. How can we show God that we’re thankful? Not because He needs it, but because He has given us so much. What’s our response to His generosity?

I want to challenge all of us to ask those questions, seek answers through prayer, and respond. At the end of the day, this season is about the birth of Jesus. The greatest gift of all.

Let’s set our eyes on Him and focus on the fact that He loves us, He is for us, and He will never forsake us. If we are truly filled with gratitude, if we stay persistent and consistent in prayer, and if we find a way to respond to God and His people during this season, maybe we’ll actually have a HAPPY holiday season.

Let us prepare for His arrival.

Love you all! God Bless!

Bible Verses to Read Through, Pray Through, and Meditate on This Month

Ask:
“And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”  //  Luke 11:9–10

Prepare:
“Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest.”  //  Proverbs 6:6–8

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it?”  //  Luke 14:28

Respond:
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.”  //  James 1:22–25
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/28/happy-holidays#comments 1 Thriving as Citizens https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/27/thriving-as-citizens Tue, 27 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/27/thriving-as-citizens

What the Bible Says About Christians and Government

Few topics stir more debate among believers than the relationship between faith and government. It is easy to have strong opinions about politics, leadership, and national identity. But what does Scripture actually say about how followers of Christ are to engage with governing authorities? The answer may be more nuanced, more demanding, and more hopeful than most of us expect.

A Passage That Has Challenged Believers for Centuries

In 1 Peter 2:13-17, the apostle Peter lays out a vision for how Christians are to relate to governing authorities. He calls believers to be subject to every human institution, whether that means an emperor or a local governor. He instructs them to honor everyone, love the brotherhood of believers, fear God, and honor the emperor. These words were not written in a comfortable political climate. They were written to a people living under Roman rule, under leaders who actively persecuted and killed Christians. The emperor at the time was Nero, a man notorious for his cruelty toward the early church.

And yet, the instruction stands: be subject to the governing authorities.

Government Is Not an Accident

One of the most striking truths in this passage is that government itself is not a human invention that God merely tolerates. Paul makes this clear in Romans 13:1-2, where he writes that every governing authority has been instituted by God, and that there is no authority except from God. This is a statement that stretches us. It means that governments we admire and governments we find troubling alike exist within the sovereign plan of God.
This does not mean that every government is righteous or that every law is just. Peter himself calls government a human institution, and the word human is doing a lot of work there. To be human is to be flawed. Government is imperfect because it is made up of imperfect people. But God, in his wisdom, has chosen to work through flawed institutions to accomplish his purposes in the world.

Even in the Old Testament, God called Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king of Babylon, his servant. The same God who used Pontius Pilate, one of the most corrupt governors in Roman history, to accomplish the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, is a God who works through unlikely and even troubling means to fulfill his plans.

Ambassadors, Not Critics

So why does Peter call believers to be subject to these institutions? The answer is found in 2 Corinthians 5:20, where Paul describes believers as ambassadors for Christ. An ambassador does not represent himself. He represents someone else, someone greater. When Christians engage with government, with neighbors, with a culture that may not share their values, they are doing so as representatives of the King of Kings.

This reframes everything. The question is no longer simply whether we agree with a particular law or leader. The question becomes: how does my response to authority reflect on the one I represent? Peter says we are to be subject to governing authorities for the Lord's sake. Not for our own comfort. Not because the government has earned it. But because our conduct as citizens is part of our witness as believers.

When Obedience Has Limits

This does not mean blind obedience. Peter himself, in Acts 5:29, declares that we must obey God rather than men. There is a clear hierarchy. When human authority demands what God forbids, or forbids what God demands, the believer's allegiance to God takes precedence.

This tension was lived out dramatically during the American Revolution, where Christians on both sides of the debate wrestled deeply with these very passages. Some argued that the British crown had abandoned its God-ordained responsibility to govern justly, making colonial self-governance not a rebellion but a fulfillment of God's design for ordered society. Others urged submission and pacifism. The debate was real, serious, and rooted in Scripture.

What this history reveals is that these are not simple questions. They require prayer, discernment, knowledge of Scripture, and humility. Anyone who uses Christian freedom as a cover for self-interest or personal grievance has misunderstood the call entirely. Peter warns against exactly this in verse 16, urging believers not to use their freedom as a cover-up for evil, but to live as servants of God.

Doing Good as a Witness

This is countercultural in every era. When the early church thrived under Roman persecution, it was not because they shouted the loudest. It was because they loved sacrificially, served generously, and bore witness to a kingdom that no earthly empire could contain. Their goodness was disarming.

Honor, Love, Fear, Honor

Peter closes this passage with four simple commands: honor everyone, love the brotherhood, fear God, honor the emperor. Read in today's context, this might sound like: treat every person with dignity, love your fellow believers deeply, hold God in reverent awe, and honor your nation.

These are not passive instructions. They are a way of life. Honoring everyone does not mean agreeing with everyone. Loving the church does not mean ignoring its flaws. Fearing God does not mean retreating from public life. And honoring the nation does not mean placing it above God.

The Invitation

The call of 1 Peter 2 is not simply a political instruction. It is a call to thrive, to be the kind of citizens who reflect the character of God in every sphere of life. It is a call to live as free people, not free from responsibility, but free to serve, to love, to do good, and to bear witness to a kingdom that will outlast every human institution ever built.
The question worth sitting with today is simple: in the way you engage with your government, your neighbors, and your nation, do people see an ambassador of Christ?

Practical Applications

This week, choose one of the following to put into practice:
1. Pray specifically for a leader you find difficult. This is not a call to agree with their policies. It is a call to remember that God placed them in authority and that you are an ambassador of Christ even toward them. Set aside a specific time this week to pray for them by name.
2. Examine your political engagement as an ambassador. Think about your last political conversation, social media post, or reaction to the news. Did it reflect someone representing Christ, or someone primarily representing their own frustrations? Ask God to show you one area where your tone or approach needs to change.
3. Engage your civic responsibility with intentionality. If you are registered to vote, research the candidates and issues on your ballot through the lens of this question: Where does doing good and punishing evil apply here? If you are not registered, consider whether that is a decision you have made thoughtfully or simply by default.
4. Do a self-examination before resisting. If there is an area where you feel led to push back against a law, policy, or governing authority, take time to identify the specific biblical principle at stake. Can you name the chapter and verse? Is this about obeying God or about personal preference?
5. Practice honoring someone you disagree with. Find one person in your life who holds different political views and make a deliberate effort to treat them with dignity this week. Not to debate them, not to change their mind, but simply to honor them as a person.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/27/thriving-as-citizens#comments 0 Week of October 25th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/22/week-of-october-25th Thu, 22 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/22/week-of-october-25th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

Sunday, October 25th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • "Major Biblical Themes"
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 3:1-7 - "Thriving in Your Marriage" - Pastor Craig Babcock
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship
  • PIZZA WITH THE PASTORS  //  after service
    • Come have lunch with our pastors, ask questions, and learn about Village Calvary church and our values.

Wednesday, October 28th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 22:39-53 - Pastor Zach Pfeifer
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Stay downstairs for worship and then head upstairs to the youth room for teaching and hanging out.

Thursday, October 29th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Rich: Ephesians

Saturday, October 31st

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM (this study runs through Nov. 21st)
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
  • TRUNK OR TREAT  //  2:00PM-4:00PM

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Apologetics Group  //  Tuesday, November 3rd  //  6:00PM

M.O.M's Group  //  Wednesday, November 4th  //  9:30AM

Manuscript Game  //  Saturday, November 7th  //  4:00PM

Join us for a fun exploration of how scholars studied ancient manuscripts to verify the Bible's passages and trust its authenticity as God's words. The evening features a potluck, and spots are limited, so please sign up. For questions, contact Pastor Glenn. 

Tailgate Potluck  //  Sunday, November 8th  //  after service

What's better than a triple threat of food, fellowship, and football? Saddle up, Broncos fans! Let's kick things off with some morning worship, then gather in the foyer for the game. We’ll handle the main dish while you bring the sides and desserts.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE

Subscribe to the Bulletin

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]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/22/week-of-october-25th#comments 0 Growing Up https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/20/growing-up Tue, 20 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/20/growing-up

What It Means to Mature in Faith

There is something universally relatable about the desire to grow up. As children, we could not wait to be older, stronger, more capable. We drank our milk, took our vitamins, and counted the days until we felt like we had finally arrived. But growing up, as most of us have discovered, is rarely as clean or as fast as we imagined it would be. It takes time. It can be uncomfortable. And sometimes, just when we think we have made progress, we find ourselves right back where we started.

The same is true of spiritual growth. The Christian life is not a single moment of transformation that immediately produces a polished, mature believer. It is a process, one that requires honesty about where we fall short, a return to foundational truth, and a willingness to be built into something greater than ourselves.

First, Put Something Off

In 1 Peter 2, the apostle Peter opens with a striking command. Before he talks about growth, he talks about removal. He calls believers to put away malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander (1 Peter 2:1). These are not abstract vices that belong only to the outside world. Peter is writing to the church. He is speaking to people who already believe, people who have already been transformed by the gospel. And yet he names these sins plainly, without softening the blow.

What ties all five of these together is a common thread: they are all ways we harm one another. Malice is ill will toward others. Deceit is taking advantage of people through untruth. Hypocrisy is performing a version of ourselves for personal gain. Envy is resentment over what someone else has. Slander is using words as weapons. Each one damages relationships. Each one tears down the community that God is trying to build.
Paul echoes a similar concern in 2 Timothy 3:2-4, where he describes a long and sobering list of the characteristics of people who have turned away from godliness. The warning is serious. These are not small issues to be overlooked. They are patterns that, left unchecked, will hollow out the life of a believer and fracture the unity of a church.

Then, Long for Something Better

After the command to put these things away, Peter does not leave us without direction. He immediately points us toward what we need: pure spiritual milk (1 Peter 2:2). He writes that just as newborn infants long for milk, we should long for this nourishment so that we may grow up into salvation.

This image can be misread. It might feel like an insult, as if Peter is calling us immature and telling us to grow up. But read in context, this is not a rebuke. It is a gift. It is Peter pointing us back to the most essential thing: the gospel of Jesus Christ. The pure spiritual milk is the good news itself, the truth that God loved the world, that Jesus died and rose again, that we are forgiven and made new.

Paul uses the same imagery in 1 Corinthians 3:1-2, addressing believers who were struggling with sin and division, reminding them that they needed to return to the basics. The writer of Hebrews makes a similar point in Hebrews 5:12, noting that those who have drifted need someone to teach them the foundational truths again.

There is a temptation among maturing believers to think they have moved past the gospel, that they are ready only for deeper theological discussions and no longer need the basics. But the gospel is not a starting line we leave behind. It is the ground we stand on every single day. When we forget it, we become vulnerable to the very sins Peter warned us about.

You Are Being Built Into Something

Here is where the passage becomes genuinely breathtaking. Peter does not just call us to avoid sin and return to the gospel. He tells us what God is actually doing with us.

In 1 Peter 2:4-5, he describes Jesus as a living stone, rejected by people but chosen and precious to God. And then he says that we, as believers, are like living stones being built together into a spiritual house. We are not isolated individuals trying to manage our own spiritual lives. We are being assembled, fitted together, built into something that can only exist when we are in community with one another.

This is why the sins of malice, envy, and slander are so destructive. They do not just hurt individuals. They tear apart the very structure God is building.

Peter goes further in 1 Peter 2:9, describing believers as a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession. The purpose of all of this is clear: to proclaim the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness into his marvelous light. We are not built up for our own comfort or reputation. We are built up so that God would be glorified through us.

Living It Out in the World

Peter closes this section with a practical charge. In 1 Peter 2:11-12, he urges believers to abstain from the passions of the flesh that wage war against the soul, and to keep their conduct among unbelievers honorable. The reason is both simple and profound: when people who oppose the faith see the good deeds of God's people, they will one day glorify God because of what they witnessed.

This is the full arc of spiritual growth. We put off the things that destroy. We return to the nourishment of the gospel. We are built together into something that reflects God's character. And we live in a way that points the watching world toward the God who showed us mercy when we deserved none.

We were once not a people. Now, because of what Jesus has done, we are. That is not a small thing. That is the whole story.

Practical Applications

This week, choose at least one of the following:
  • Identify one item from the list in verse 1 -- malice, deceit, hypocrisy, envy, or slander -- that you know is active in your life right now. Bring it honestly before God in prayer each morning this week and ask him to replace it with something that reflects mercy.
  • Spend time each day in the gospel. Read one of the four Gospels slowly, treating it as the spiritual nourishment Peter describes. Notice how returning to the story of Jesus reorients your perspective on your own struggles.
  • Think of one person in your church community with whom you have had tension or distance. Take a step toward reconciliation this week, even if it is only a small one.
  • Reflect on your conduct in one specific area of your life -- your workplace, your neighborhood, your family -- where unbelievers are watching. Ask yourself honestly whether your behavior there points toward God or away from him.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/20/growing-up#comments 0 Week of October 18th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/15/week-of-october-18th Thu, 15 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/15/week-of-october-18th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

October is Pastor Appreciation Month! Take a moment to thank and encourage the pastors who faithfully teach, pray, lead, and care for our church family. Write a card, send an encouraging message, share how their ministry has impacted you, or simply say thank you. Most importantly, remember to pray for them!

Sunday, October 18th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • "Major Biblical Themes"
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 2:13-17 - "Thriving in Your Job" - Pastor Dave McMullin
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship
  • YOUNG ADULTS GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)

Tuesday, October 20th

  • MARS HILL (APOLOGETICS GROUP)  //  6:00PM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • 1 Peter 3:15 says we must "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." But with a world filled with knowledge of science and philosophy sometimes that can be difficult. This group is focused on equipping you with tools to communicate a defense of your faith. We’ll do this through scripture reading, discussion, lessons, and prayer. All are welcome, there's no long term commitment or homework.

Wednesday, October 21st

  • M.O.M GROUP  //  9:30AM - 11:30AM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • Moms of infants - high schoolers are invited to come join our Ministry of Motherhood where we’ll  cultivate a biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and devotionals. Cost is $75 with childcare or $50 without to help cover the cost of childcare, food, and supplies. Register through the connect hub.
    • CHILCARE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED: Help watch the kiddos during the MOM group twice a month. Head over to the connect hub to sign up.
  • YOUTH TAKEOVER SERVICE  //  6:45PM
    • Our youth will be leading various aspects of our service from greeting to worship music.
    • Luke 22:24-38 - Youth Pastor Jordan Duran

Thursday, October 22nd

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • New Study begins: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Rich: Ephesians

Saturday, October 24th

  • NO MEN'S BIBLE STUDY
  • KITCHEN DEMO DAY  //  9:00AM
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM (this study runs through Nov. 21st)
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude

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Upcoming Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Pizza with the Pastor  //  Sunday, October 25th  //  11:45AM

Enjoy lunch with our pastors, get to know them better, and discover more about what we do at Village and our values. Please sign up to attend. 

Trunk-or-Treat  //  Saturday, October 31st  //  2:00PM - 4:00PM

We look forward to welcoming you this Saturday for our first trunk-or-treat! Join us for a time filled with candy, s’mores, hayrides, potato sack races, and so much more.

Manuscript Game  //  Saturday, November 7th  //  4:00PM

Join us for a fun exploration of how scholars studied ancient manuscripts to verify the Bible's passages and trust its authenticity as God's words. The evening features a potluck, and spots are limited, so please sign up. For questions, contact Pastor Glenn. 

Tailgate Potluck  //  Sunday, November 8th  //  after service

What's better than a triple threat of food, fellowship, and football? Saddle up, Broncos fans! Let's kick things off with some morning worship, then gather in the foyer for the game. We’ll handle the main dish while you bring the sides and desserts.

Next Steps

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]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/15/week-of-october-18th#comments 0 Created to be Loved https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/13/created-to-be-loved Tue, 13 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/13/created-to-be-loved

How Thriving Begins When We Stop Making It About Us

There is a tension at the heart of the Christian life that most of us feel but rarely name out loud. We want to grow. We want to thrive. We want to experience the fullness of what it means to follow God. And yet, almost every time we pursue those things, we find ourselves circling back to the same obstacle: ourselves.

It is not a comfortable admission. But it is an honest one.

The first chapter of 1 Peter is one of the most foundational passages in all of Scripture for understanding who we are as believers and how we are meant to live. Peter does not waste time with pleasantries. He moves with purpose, and the direction he points us is unmistakable. If we want to thrive, we must stop being the center of our own story.

A Love That Knew the Cost Before It Began

In 1 Peter 1:20, Peter makes a statement that is easy to read past but impossible to fully absorb. He tells us that Jesus was foreknown before the foundation of the world. On the surface, that sounds like a theological fact about God's omniscience, and it is. But there is something far deeper here than an intellectual exercise.

Think about what it actually means. Before God spoke the world into existence, before he formed man from the dust and breathed life into him, he already knew. He knew we would fall. He knew we would sin. He knew the pain and betrayal that creation would bring. He knew that the Son would have to suffer and die.

And he created the world anyway.

That is not a small thing. That is the most staggering act of love in the history of existence. God did not create us in ignorance of what it would cost him. He created us with full knowledge of the cross, and he chose us anyway.

Paul echoes this in 1 Corinthians 2:7, describing a secret and hidden wisdom of God that was decreed before the ages for our glory. The mystery he is pointing to is this: that God would choose to love us, knowing us fully. No other belief system in the world even attempts to make that claim. This is the God of the Bible, and this love is the foundation upon which everything else is built.

The Adoption That Changes Everything

Because of what Christ accomplished, Galatians 4:4-5 tells us that we have been redeemed and received as adopted children of God. Adoption is a powerful picture. An adopted child enters a family they were not born into and begins learning how that family lives, how they grieve, how they celebrate, how they respond when things go wrong. Everything about their identity is reshaped by belonging to something new.

That is exactly what has happened to us. We have been brought into the family of God, not because of anything we earned, but because of what Christ did. And that adoption is meant to change how we live, how we love, and how we see the people around us.

The Command We Love to Avoid

Here is where things get uncomfortable. Peter, in verse 22, calls us to love one another earnestly from a pure heart. And most of us, if we are honest, would rather skip that part.
We tell ourselves we are loving people. And then someone cuts us off in traffic, or a friend says something that stings, or a fellow believer disappoints us, and suddenly we discover what is actually living inside us. John makes the stakes of this even clearer in 1 John 4:20, where he states plainly that anyone who claims to love God while hating their brother is a liar. That is not a gentle nudge. That is a direct confrontation.

The reason this matters so much is that our willingness to love others is directly connected to whether we actually believe what we say we believe about God. If God loved us knowing the full cost, and we refuse to extend even a fraction of that grace to someone who has hurt us, we are functionally placing ourselves above God. We are deciding that our judgment of what that person deserves outweighs his.

Unforgiveness is one of the clearest signs that we have made ourselves the main character again. And it never leads to thriving. It leads to the same wound being reopened, the same bitterness being rehearsed, the same person living rent free in our minds while we suffer the consequences of their presence there.

The Word That Does Not Wither

So how do we actually get there? How do we love people who have hurt us, forgive wrongs that feel unforgivable, and stop circling the drain of our own pain?

Peter gives us the answer in verse 23. We have been born again through the living and abiding word of God. And then he quotes Isaiah, reminding us that all flesh is like grass. It blooms, it has its moment of glory, and then it withers. Everything we place our hope in that is not God will eventually fade.

But the word of the Lord remains forever.

Hebrews 4:12 describes that word as living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, able to pierce to the very division of soul and spirit and discern the thoughts and intentions of the heart. We often want to use Scripture as a weapon pointed outward, a tool for correcting others. But this passage makes clear that the sword is meant to work on us first. It reveals our own hearts. It exposes what is actually driving us.

And Proverbs 30:5 reminds us that every word of God proves true, that he is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

The Good News That Holds

When the world feels unstable, when relationships fracture, when pain arrives uninvited, the word of God does not change. The love that chose us before the foundation of the world does not waver. The adoption that brought us into God's family is not revoked when we struggle.

This is the good news. Not that life will be easy, but that we are held by something that does not wither, loved by someone who knew the cost and paid it anyway, and transformed by a word that is still alive and still working in us.

That is where thriving begins.

Practical Applications

This week, choose one or more of the following to put into practice:

  • Spend time in the Word daily, even briefly. The sermon reminded us that the Word of God is living and abiding. Commit to reading a passage from 1 Peter each day this week and ask God to use it to reveal your own heart, not someone else's.
  • Identify one relationship where love has grown cold. This does not have to be a dramatic falling out. It could be a family member you have grown distant from, a fellow church member you have been avoiding, or someone you have quietly written off. Pray for them by name each day this week.
  • Take one step toward forgiveness. Forgiveness is a process, but it begins with a decision. If there is someone you have not forgiven, bring that person and that hurt before God in prayer. Ask him to do in you what you cannot do on your own.
  • Share the good news with someone. The sermon closed with Peter's reminder that the Word is the good news that is preached. Consider who in your life needs to hear that God loves them, chose them, and is for them -- and find a natural moment to share that this week.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/13/created-to-be-loved#comments 0 Week of October 11th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/08/week-of-october-11th Thu, 08 Oct 2026 15:53:44 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/08/week-of-october-11th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

October is Pastor Appreciation Month! Take a moment to thank and encourage the pastors who faithfully teach, pray, lead, and care for our church family. Write a card, send an encouraging message, share how their ministry has impacted you, or simply say thank you. Most importantly, remember to pray for them!

Sunday, October 11th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • In this fourteen-week study we will look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible).
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 2:13-17 - "Thriving as a Citizen" - Pastor Craig Babcock
    • Special: During service we'll take a moment to pray and thank our pastors for all they do.
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship

Wednesday, October 14th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:45PM
    • Luke 22:14-23 - Pastor Gabe Mitchell
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  7:00PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, October 15th

  • NO WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY THIS WEEK
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • New Study beginning Oct. 22nd: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Rich: Ephesians
  • YOUNG ADULTS GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)

Saturday, October 17th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book
  • BILL BOWMAN'S MEMORIAL SERVICE  //  1:30PM
    • For those who knew and loved Bill and Brenda Bowman, we hope you’ll come alongside the family as they celebrate Bill's life and the impact he had on those around him.
    • Location: At the church
    • Note: In lieu of flowers that family has asked people make a donation to the Village Calvary youth group. (Please make checks out to Village Calvary Church and put Youth on the memo line)

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

MARS HILL (APOLOGETICS GROUP)  //  Tuesdays, October 20th  //  6:00PM

  • 1 Peter 3:15 says we must "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." But with a world filled with knowledge of science and philosophy sometimes that can be difficult. This group is focused on equipping you with tools to communicate a defense of your faith. We’ll do this through scripture reading, discussion, lessons, and prayer. All are welcome, there's no long term commitment or homework.
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom

Youth Takeover Service  //  Wednesday, October 21st  //  6:30PM

Our Wednesday night service is being taken over by our next generation! Come support our youth as they lead worship and our youth pastor Jordan teaches.

Women's Bible Study  //  Thursday, October 22nd  //  9:30AM

Our women’s morning Bible study is kicking off a new book on Ephesians this Thursday, October 22nd. We invite you to join us at the church for a morning of prayer, discussion, and fellowship alongside other women dedicated to learn and apply God’s Word in their lives.
Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
Note: Books can be purchased the day of.

Trunk-or-Treat  //  Saturday, October 31st  //  2:00 - 4:00PM

Attention all crafty creators, joy-spreaders, and autumn enthusiasts! This year’s Harvest Fest is heading outside for a Trunk-or-Treat. Dive into the fun with a trunk decorating contest, s'mores station, potato sack race, and all the candy then can stomach.

Want to get involved in the fun? Bring in bags of individually wrapped candy or head to VillageCalvary.org/ConnectHub and let us know how you’d like to help.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

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]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/08/week-of-october-11th#comments 0 Transformed and Called https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/06/transformed-and-called Tue, 06 Oct 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/06/transformed-and-called

How God Shapes Us for Something Greater

There is a word that carries tremendous weight in the life of every believer, and it is a word we often rush past without fully grasping its depth. That word is transformation. Not the surface-level kind that comes from a change in habits or circumstances, but the kind that reaches into the core of who you are and fundamentally remakes you from the inside out.
The apostle Paul captures this reality in 2 Corinthians 3:18, where he describes believers as being continually changed into the image of Christ, moving from one degree of glory to another by the work of the Spirit. This is not a one-time event. It is an ongoing process, and understanding it changes everything about how we live.

You Are Not an Accident

Before we can understand the transformation, we have to understand the foundation it rests upon. Peter, writing to scattered and often marginalized believers, makes a stunning declaration in the opening chapter of his first letter. The salvation that belongs to those who trust in Christ is not a last-minute plan. It is not improvised. It was spoken of, searched for, and prophesied about long before any of us drew our first breath.

The prophets of the Old Testament strained to understand the grace that would one day be poured out. They searched carefully, inquiring into the timing and the nature of what was to come. Zechariah 9:9 paints a vivid picture of a coming king, humble and riding on a donkey, bringing salvation. That picture found its fulfillment when Jesus entered Jerusalem to the shouts of a crowd who perhaps understood only partially what they were witnessing.

The point is profound: God was not surprised by your need for grace. He planned for it. He wove the promise of it through centuries of prophecy. The salvation that reached you was always meant for you. You are not a coincidence in the story of redemption. You are written into it.

The God Who Conceals and Invites

One of the most beautiful and often overlooked aspects of how God reveals himself is captured in Proverbs 25:2, which tells us that it is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but the glory of kings to search it out. God is not distant or withholding out of cruelty. He conceals in order to invite. He hides gems in his word so that those who love him will dig for them, and in the digging, come to know him more deeply.

This is not a faith that demands you abandon your intellect. It is a faith that calls your whole mind into the pursuit of a God who is genuinely knowable. The prophets searched. Generations of believers have searched. And the invitation remains open to every person willing to look.

Peter also reminds us that this salvation is not just for our generation. He notes that the prophets who wrote of these things were serving not themselves but those who would come after. The message has been passed down through time, carried from one generation to the next, and it carries with it a responsibility. What we have received, we are called to pass on.

The Reaction That Transformation Requires

Newton's third law tells us that every action produces an equal and opposite reaction. In the spiritual life, transformation works similarly. When God changes us, that change demands a response. It is not passive. It calls us into motion.

Peter lays out this response with clarity. In 1 Peter 1:13, he urges believers to prepare their minds for action, to be sober-minded, and to set their hope fully on the grace that comes through Jesus Christ. The mind is not incidental to the spiritual life. It is central. What we fix our attention on shapes the direction of our lives.

This is why Paul echoes the same theme in Romans 12:2, calling believers not to be conformed to the patterns of this world but to be transformed by the renewing of the mind. The renewal of the mind begins with focus. When we fix our gaze on Christ, the noise and chaos of the world around us loses its grip. Like a driver who looks where they intend to go, we move toward what we are watching. Set your eyes on the grace of Jesus Christ and you will find yourself moving toward him.

Holiness Is Not Performance

Peter then brings us to a word that can make even seasoned believers uncomfortable: holiness. He calls us to be holy as God is holy, drawing from the language of Leviticus and applying it to the lives of ordinary people in ordinary circumstances.

But holiness is not about performing goodness for an audience. It is about being set apart because of who lives within you. The Holy Spirit takes up residence in the believer and begins the long, patient work of changing conduct, speech, desires, and priorities. It rarely happens all at once. It is more like the work of a thorough physician who addresses one thing at a time but never stops working.

The evidence of transformation is real, but it is gradual. A believer who has walked with God for decades carries something in their character that cannot be manufactured. It is the result of years of returning to the Lord, of being convicted and restored, of worshipping and learning and serving alongside others who are on the same journey.

Ransomed for a Purpose

At the heart of all of this is the most important reality Peter offers. We have been ransomed. Not with silver or gold, not with anything the world considers valuable, but with the precious blood of Christ, the lamb without blemish or spot. We have been released from the futile patterns inherited from a world that is passing away and called into something imperishable.

That ransom was not cheap. And it was not purposeless. It calls each believer into ministry, into the work of building up the body of Christ as described in Ephesians 4:11-12. Every saint is equipped and called. The question worth sitting with today is simply this: how am I being shaped to serve and strengthen those around me?

The transformation is real. The call is genuine. And the blood that made it possible will never lose its power.

Practical Application

  • Prepare your mind this week. Set aside intentional time each day to focus on Christ rather than the noise around you. This could be through Scripture reading, prayer, or simply sitting quietly before God. Notice how your focus shifts throughout the week.
  • Identify one person in the body to encourage. Ministry begins in small, ordinary moments. This week, intentionally reach out to one person in the church to pray for them, check in on them, or speak a word of encouragement. This is building up the body.
  • Reflect on your transformation. Write down two or three ways you are different today than you were five or ten years ago because of God's work in your life. Share one of those with the group if you are comfortable. Let it serve as a reminder that God is actively at work.
  • Ask the closing question daily. The sermon closed with this: "How am I being equipped to serve and build up the body of Christ?" Make it a habit to ask yourself this question each morning this week and let your answer shape how you engage with the people around you.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/06/transformed-and-called#comments 0 Week of October 4th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/01/week-of-october-4th Thu, 01 Oct 2026 17:14:02 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/01/week-of-october-4th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

October is Pastor Appreciation Month! Take a moment to thank and encourage the pastors who faithfully teach, pray, lead, and care for our church family. Write a card, send an encouraging message, share how their ministry has impacted you, or simply say thank you. Most importantly, remember to pray for them!

Sunday, October 4th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • In this fourteen-week study we will look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible).
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • PANCAKE BREAKFAST  //  9:00AM
    • Come eat free pancakes cooked by the pastors.
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 2:1-12 - "Growing Up" - Pastor Craig Babcock
    • 1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders - In this study we're going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering.
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship
  • BAPTISM CELEBRATION  //  11:45AM
    • Location: Front patio
    • Stay after service and celebrate baptisms with us.

Tuesday, October 6th

  • MARS HILL (APOLOGETICS GROUP)
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • 1 Peter 3:15 says we must "always be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you." But with a world filled with knowledge of science and philosophy sometimes that can be difficult. This group is focused on equipping you with tools to communicate a defense of your faith. We’ll do this through scripture reading, discussion, lessons, and prayer. All are welcome, there's no long term commitment or homework.

Wednesday, October 7th

  • M.O.M GROUP  //  9:30AM - 11:30AM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
    • Moms of infants - high schoolers are invited to come join our Ministry of Motherhood where we’ll  cultivate a biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and devotionals. Cost is $75 with chilcare or $50 without to help cover the cost of chilcare, food, and supplies. If you need help with registration cost, email info@villagecalvary.org
    • CHILCARE WORKERS NEEDED: If you are interested in volunteering we can pay you to watch the kiddos during the MOM group twice a month. Head over to the connect hub and fill out the interest form.
  • POTLUCK  //  6:00AM
    • Bring a main dish, side dish, and/or dessert and enjoy fellowshipping together before service.
  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:45PM
    • Luke 22:1-13 - Isaac Veltkamp
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  7:00PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, October 8th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians

Saturday, October 3rd

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Youth Takeover Service  //  Wednesday, October 21st  //  6:30PM

Our Wednesday night service is being taken over by our next generation! Come support our youth as they lead worship and our youth pastor Jordan teaches.

Trunk-or-Treat  //  Saturday, October 31st  //  2:00 - 4:00PM

Attention all crafty creators, joy-spreaders, and autumn enthusiasts! This year’s Harvest Fest is heading outside for a Trunk-or-Treat. Dive into the fun with a trunk decorating contest, s'mores station, potato sack race, and all the candy then can stomach.

Want to get involved in the fun? Bring in bags of individually wrapped candy or head to VillageCalvary.org/ConnectHub and let us know how you’d like to help.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE

Subscribe to the Bulletin

Get the bulletin directly in your inbox each week.
SUBSCRIBE
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/10/01/week-of-october-4th#comments 0 A Time for Hope https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/a-time-for-hope Tue, 29 Sep 2026 10:30:27 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/a-time-for-hope

October has arrived

Daylight will fade away, despite the misnomer of “Daylight Savings Time.” There will be Oktoberfest, pumpkin spice lattes, skyrocketing candy sales, corn mazes and pumpkin patches, trips to the mountains to see the beautiful changing of the aspens, prepping of skis and snowboards, and of course, the annual event of the raking of the leaves as we prepare for the ensuing winter.

For those of us who like the cooler weather, it is a welcome relief, but for others of us who enjoy the warmer temps, it is a bit sad, having to retire the shorts and flip flops.  A sort of grieving takes place; saying farewell for a time.

The prophet Jeremiah and the people of his day were grieving too.  

“The harvest is past,
the summer has ended,
and we are not saved.”
(Jeremiah 8:20)

This sadness was not because of fleeing warmer temps, but a deeper spiritual one; harvest was over, the summer gone, and they were not saved.

The harvest and summer in the text was God’s time-limited opportunity for Judah to repent and turn back to Him.  They had refused and so that prospect was over and past.  Now all that faced them was God’s ensuing judgement and season of winter, because they were not saved.

As a prophet all he could do was weep for the people as they agonized with the realities of deportation, slavery, terror, and foreboding death.  He was crushed as a prophet, who had faithfully warned them of this coming judgement.  Even though they had not heeded his message, his spirit was devastated, and his eyes poured out water like a continuously emptying fountain.  It is for good reason we call Jeremiah “The Weeping Prophet.”

How does this impact us today in 2026?

Has the harvest ended for us and for America?  We face some dire things.  Our nation struggles with the war in Iran, the growth and acceptance of communism and Islam, a growing antisemitic hatred for the Jews and Israel, the cultural shifting away from biblical teaching and values as well as the death of truth.

Is it over for us?

Time will tell, but I think not.  We are in a time of harvest right now, where many people are repenting of their sin and turning to Jesus and being saved.  Maybe you are one of those recently saved and born again into God’s family.

According to the Barna research group: “Millennials and Gen Z Christians are attending church more frequently than before and much more often than are older generations. The typical Gen Z churchgoer now attends 1.9 weekends per month, while Millennial churchgoers average 1.8 times—a steady upward shift since the lows seen during the pandemic.” https://www.barna.com/research/young-adults-lead-resurgence-in-church-attendance/

This resurgence seems to be led by young men who are turning back to the church and reversing the downward trend of previous generations.  This is wonderful news and is a sign that it isn’t as bad as it might seem.

Hope and the harvest is right now!  I’m reminded of Jesus words in John 4:34-36 Jesus says, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work. Do you not say, ‘Four months more and then the harvest’? I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest. Even now the reaper draws his wages, even now he harvests the crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may be glad together."

The time to repent of our sins is now.

The time to turn to Jesus is now.

The time to help in the harvest of souls is now.

The time to do the will of the Father is now.

The time to be serving the Lord in His Church is now.

The time to be praying is now

The time to have hope is now.

What are you waiting for?
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/a-time-for-hope#comments 0 Joy the Goes Beyond Words https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/joy-the-goes-beyond-words Tue, 29 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/joy-the-goes-beyond-words

Finding Strength in the Storms of Life

There is a particular kind of tree that grows near the upper limits of mountain elevation, in that harsh zone just below the treeline known as the subalpine region. These trees, called krummholz, a German word meaning "crooked wood," grow in some of the most brutal conditions imaginable. The winds are relentless. The cold is bitter. Some of these trees develop branches only on one side, bent permanently by the force of the elements. To the untrained eye, they look sick, broken, barely surviving.

But they are not sick. They are among the strongest, most resilient living things on earth. Bristlecone pines, one of the varieties found in this zone, are some of the oldest known living organisms in the world. And here is the remarkable irony: the very conditions that make their environment so hostile are the same conditions that make them so extraordinarily strong. The adversity does not destroy them. It defines them.

This is a picture of the Christian life.

Rejoicing in Eternal Things

The Apostle Peter writes to believers who are suffering. They are not suffering in a mild, inconvenient way. They are facing genuine grief, real trials, the kind of pain that does not simply fade with time. And yet Peter calls them to a joy that is not ordinary contentment or quiet thankfulness. The word he uses in the original Greek is more intense than the common word for joy. It carries the idea of exultation, of a jubilation that takes hold of the entire person. Some ancient translations reach for the phrase "joy unspeakable." More modern translations land on "inexpressible joy." The idea is the same: this is a joy so profound it strains the limits of language to contain it.

What produces this kind of joy? Peter points to eternal realities. A new birth into a living hope. An inheritance kept in heaven, one that will never perish, spoil, or fade. These are not temporary comforts. They are unshakeable foundations. And when a person's eyes are fixed on what is eternal rather than what is temporary, even the weight of suffering cannot extinguish that deep, abiding joy.

This is not a call to pretend that pain is not real. Peter himself uses the word grief, a word that is never treated lightly in the New Testament. It is the word for the anguish of losing someone you love. Peter does not tell suffering people to put on a smile and move on. He acknowledges the weight of what they carry. But he also reminds them that these griefs are temporary, while their inheritance is eternal. The contrast is staggering.

Trials That Prove and Strengthen

Peter goes further. He does not simply say that trials are temporary. He says they have a purpose. In 1 Peter 1:7, he explains that trials come so that faith, which is of greater worth than gold, may be proved genuine. Gold is refined by fire, and what comes out the other side is purer for having passed through it. Faith works the same way.

This theme runs throughout Scripture. James writes that the testing of faith produces endurance. Paul writes in Romans that suffering produces perseverance, and perseverance produces character, and character produces hope. Jesus himself, in the parable of the sower, describes how some people receive the word of God with joy but fall away the moment trial or persecution comes, because they have no root. Genuine faith, by contrast, is not uprooted by adversity. It is deepened by it.

Think again of those ancient trees clinging to the mountainside. Seeds from other varieties might sprout in the summer warmth, but the winter will reveal which ones truly belong there. In the same way, trials reveal the authenticity of faith. When hardship drives a person closer to God rather than away from him, that is evidence of something real. That is roots going deep into eternal ground.

And this endurance, Peter says, results in praise, glory, and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed. The trials we endure are not meaningless suffering. They are, in some profound way, bringing glory to God. Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 4, describing how present struggles are producing an eternal weight of glory that far outweighs them all.

Love for One You Have Not Seen

Peter then turns to something remarkable. He addresses people who have never seen Jesus with their own eyes, and yet love him. This is the nature of genuine faith. It produces love. When a person truly understands what Christ has done, coming to earth, living the perfect life no human being could live, and dying in the place of sinners, love is the natural response. You cannot fully grasp that reality and remain unmoved by it.

And from that love flows the inexpressible, glorious joy Peter describes. Joy on top of joy, as the two Greek words layered together in verse 8 suggest. A joy that goes beyond what language can fully capture.

The Goal of Faith

Finally, Peter anchors everything in the ultimate reality: the salvation of souls. Eternal life is not a future possession held at arm's length. John 3:36 makes it clear that the one who believes in the Son has eternal life, present tense, right now. John wrote his first epistle specifically so that believers could know, with confidence, that they already possess eternal life. And if it is eternal, it cannot be lost tomorrow.

This salvation is received, not earned. It is a gift of grace, not a reward for good behavior. And the life it promises is not simply a better version of this one. It is life with Christ himself, forever.

The bristlecone pine does not apologize for its gnarled branches or its wind-beaten form. Those marks are the evidence of its strength, the proof of its endurance, the story of its survival in conditions that would destroy anything less resilient. In the same way, the Christian who walks through suffering with genuine faith carries something the world cannot manufacture: a joy that is inexpressible, a hope that is living, and an inheritance that will never fade.

That is worth more than gold. That is worth everything.

Practical Application

Choose one or two of the following to discuss as a group and commit to practicing before you meet again.

  1. Shift your focus toward eternal things. Identify one area of your life where you are most tempted to focus on the temporary -- finances, relationships, health, career, or something else. This week, spend five minutes each morning reading a passage of Scripture that reorients your thinking toward what is eternal. Come back next week ready to share what you noticed.
  2. Reframe a current trial. If you are walking through something difficult right now, write down one way that trial might be strengthening your faith or drawing you closer to God. It does not have to be a polished answer. Just begin asking the question honestly.
  3. Encourage someone who is suffering. Think of one person in your life who is enduring a hard season. Reach out to them this week -- not to fix anything, but simply to be present. Consider sharing something from this passage that has meant something to you.
  4. Examine where your hope is placed. Take a few minutes this week to journal or pray through this question: If I lost the thing I rely on most for security and stability, would my joy survive? Let your honest answer guide you toward deeper trust in what is eternal.
  5. Cultivate love for Jesus through reflection. The sermon noted that genuine faith produces love for Jesus, and that love grows when we understand what he has done. Set aside time this week to meditate specifically on the death and resurrection of Christ. Let that be the focus rather than your circumstances or your needs.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/29/joy-the-goes-beyond-words#comments 0 Week of September 27th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/25/week-of-september-27th Fri, 25 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/25/week-of-september-27th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

Sunday, September 27th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • In this fourteen-week study we will look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible).
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 1:20-25 - Pastor Craig Babcock
    • 1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders - In this study we're going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering.
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM
    • Location: Upstairs after worship
  • BAPTISM CLASS  //  11:45AM
    • Location: 2nd/3rd grade classroom
  • TRUNK-OR-TREAT VOLUNTEER INTEREST MEETING  //  11:45AM
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom

Wednesday, September 30th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 21:29-38 - Marcus Soto
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  6:45PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, October 1st

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians
  • YOUNG ADULTS GROUP  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)

Friday, October 2nd

  • LIFE GROUPS  //  IN THE EVENING (TIMES VARY)
    • Location: In a home (locations vary)
    • Details: In a Life group you get to come together in someone's home for a meal and then engage in a study and discussion based on the past Sunday's sermon.

Saturday, October 3rd

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Pancake Breakfast  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  9:00AM

Come early and enjoy a morning of fellowship and pancakes cooked by our pastors.
  • Note: Gluten free pancakes will be available.

Baptisms  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  After Service

Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time or are a new Christian, we would be overjoyed to baptize you. Please speak to one of our pastors or sign up in the foyer. There will be a Baptism class on Sunday, September 27th after service.

  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub.
  • We encourage everyone to attend the Baptism class Sunday, September 27th after service.

Mars Hill Group  //  Tuesday, October 6th  //  6:00PM

The Mars Hill Apologetics Group is a space for Christians to explore the biblical, logical, and loving ways to communicate a defense of their faith. This is accomplished through informational meetings centered around studying Scripture, group discussion, presentations, and prayer.

M.O.M. Group  //  Wednesday, October 7th  //  9:30AM

The Ministry of Motherhood is a welcoming community for moms of children from newborn through high school who desire to grow in their faith, foster meaningful relationships, and encourage others through various seasons of mothering. We’ll cultivate this biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and studying God’s Word. Breakfast and childcare will be available, but space is limited so please register through the connect hub below.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

Pre-Service Potluck  //  Wednesday, October 7th  //  6:00PM

Bring a dish to share with your church family and let's enjoy fellowshipping before service together.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE

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Get the bulletin directly in your inbox each week.
SUBSCRIBE
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/25/week-of-september-27th#comments 0 Strangers in this World, but Never Orphans https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/22/strangers-in-this-world-but-never-orphans Tue, 22 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/22/strangers-in-this-world-but-never-orphans
There is a question that quietly haunts nearly every person at some point in their life. It surfaces in the stillness of a sleepless night or in the middle of a crowd where you somehow feel completely alone. The question is simply this: Who am I, and where do I belong?

For those who follow Jesus Christ, that question has a surprising answer. You are a stranger here. And yet, you are never alone.

This tension sits at the very heart of 1 Peter, a letter written by a man who understood displacement, failure, transformation, and radical hope better than almost anyone. Peter writes to believers scattered across the ancient world, and his opening words carry the weight of someone who has felt exactly what his readers are feeling. He calls them the elect in exile, or as the King James Version puts it, strangers scattered. It is not exactly the kind of greeting that makes you feel warm and comfortable. But it is honest. And in its honesty, it opens the door to something far more powerful than comfort.

You Were Chosen Before You Felt Lost

Before Peter addresses the difficulty of living as an outsider, he anchors everything in a stunning theological reality. In 1 Peter 1:2, he describes believers as chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father. This is not a casual detail tucked into a greeting. It is the foundation upon which everything else rests.

God did not stumble upon you. He did not discover you by accident and then decide you were worth saving. His foreknowledge means he saw you, knew you, and chose you with full awareness of who you are and where you would be. He knew the world would be hostile to you. He knew you would face seasons of discouragement, confusion, and struggle. He chose you anyway. In fact, he chose you for exactly this time and place.

There is something deeply moving about being chosen. We see it in the bond between a parent and a child, in the covenant between a husband and a wife. When someone looks at you and says, I choose you, it changes everything. That is precisely what God has done. And unlike human love, which can fade or falter, his choice of you is rooted in his unchanging nature.

Set Apart and Not Left Alone

Peter goes on to describe believers as sanctified by the Spirit, a phrase that might sound overly theological but carries a beautifully simple meaning. To be sanctified is to be set apart for a special purpose. God has not just saved you from something. He has saved you for something.

This sanctification is not something you accomplish on your own. It is the Spirit's work in you, shaping you, sustaining you, and equipping you for obedience to Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ, referenced in that same verse, is the basis upon which all of this is possible. You are set apart not because of your performance but because of his sacrifice.

And yet, even knowing this, the feeling of being a stranger in the world can be overwhelming. Jesus himself acknowledged this reality in John 17:16, where he described his followers as people who are not of the world, just as he is not of the world. He did not pray that his Father would remove them from the world, but that they would be kept from the evil one. This is the life of a believer: present in the world, but not belonging to it.
The good news is that Jesus made a promise in John 14:18. He told his disciples that he would not leave them as orphans. He would come to them. You may feel like a stranger, but you are not an orphan. There is a profound difference between those two things.

A Living Hope That Cannot Be Taken

The emotional and spiritual center of this passage is found in 1 Peter 1:3, where Peter bursts into something that reads almost like a spontaneous act of worship. He blesses God for causing believers to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.

The word living is doing enormous work in that phrase. Our hope is not a wish or a sentiment. It is alive because Jesus is alive. He did not stay in the tomb. He rose. And because he rose, everything changes. The resurrection is not merely a historical event to be believed. It is the engine of the Christian life, the source from which grace, peace, and endurance flow.

Paul echoes this in 2 Corinthians 5:17, describing anyone who is in Christ as a new creation, with the old having passed away and the new having come. This newness is not cosmetic. It is a fundamental transformation of identity. You are not the same person you were before Christ. That is not self-improvement. That is resurrection life working in you.

An Inheritance That Cannot Fade

Peter then describes the inheritance waiting for believers as imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven. But this inheritance is not simply a place or a set of blessings. It echoes what God told Aaron in Numbers 18:20, that he himself is the inheritance. The greatest gift of eternity is not the absence of pain or the presence of beauty, though both are promised. It is God himself.

Everything that makes heaven glorious, the end of mourning, the end of sickness, the end of death, flows from the presence of the one who created all things and loves us completely. He is the inheritance. He is what we are moving toward.

And Peter assures his readers that this inheritance is guarded. It is not fragile. It is not at risk. God himself, by his power, keeps those who trust in him through faith for a salvation that will be fully revealed in the last times.

Thriving as an Outsider

This is the invitation of 1 Peter: not to be comfortable, but to thrive. To live as people who know they do not fully belong here, and to find in that very displacement a kind of freedom. You are not chasing what this world offers because you have already been given something far greater.

You are a stranger. But you are chosen, sanctified, born again, and guarded by God himself. And the one who called you is coming back for you.

That is more than enough reason to keep going.

Practical Applications

  • This week, identify one area of your life where you feel most like an outsider because of your faith. Bring that specific tension to God in prayer each day this week. Ask him to multiply his grace and peace in you in that exact place.
  • Reflect on your calling. Peter was a fisherman called to fish for men. Consider writing down in a journal how God has called and set you apart. What has he asked you to leave behind, and what has he invited you into?
  • Memorize or meditate on Jude 24-25 this week. Let the truth that God is able to keep you from stumbling and present you blameless before his glory become an anchor when doubt or discouragement creeps in.
  • Share your testimony with someone in the group. If time allows, have one or two members briefly share the moment God grabbed hold of them and their life was no longer the same. Hearing one another's stories reinforces the reality of a living, active God.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/22/strangers-in-this-world-but-never-orphans#comments 0 Week of September 20th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/18/week-of-september-20th Fri, 18 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/18/week-of-september-20th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

This Week

Sunday, September 20th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • In this fourteen-week study we will look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible).
    • Location: 4th/5th grade classroom
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 1:10-21 - Pastor Craig Babcock
    • 1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders - In this study we're going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering.
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM - Upstairs after worship

Grab a booklet from the Connect Table to get all the details. Or click here to view online.

Wednesday, September 23rd

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 21:5-28 - Pastor Dave McMullin
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  6:45PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, September 24th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians

Friday, September 25th

  • LIFE GROUPS  //  IN THE EVENING (TIMES VARY)
    • Location: In a home (locations vary)
    • Details: In a Life group you get to come together in someone's home for a meal and then engage in a study and discussion based on the past Sunday's sermon.

Saturday, September 26th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book
  • LUPE RODRIGUEZ'S MEMORIAL SERVICE  //  3:00PM
    • For those who knew and loved Lupe, we hope you’ll come alongside her family as we celebrate her life and the impact she had on those around her.
    • Location: At the church

Connect Hub      Ask a Question       Join the Newsletter

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Baptism Class  //  Sunday, September 27th  //  11:45AM

When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit brings us into the family of God. Baptism is a public celebration of that new life in Christ. While we would be honored to baptize and celebrate with you, we also went to ensure that you have a full understanding of what baptism is (and is not). If you'd like to be baptized scroll down to sign up through the connect hub, then mark your calendar to attend this class.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

Trunk or Treat Volunteer Interest Meeting  //  Sunday, September 27th  //  11:45AM

Attention all crafty creators, joy-spreaders, and autumn enthusiasts! This year’s Harvest Fest is heading outside for a Trunk-or-Treat extravaganza. Dive into the fun with trunk decorating, chatting it up at the welcome table, and sharing the light of Jesus.
Not a decorating whiz? No worries! There's plenty of ways to join in. Come to the info meeting Sunday, September 27th after service.

Pancake Breakfast  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  9:00AM

Come early and enjoy a morning of fellowship and pancakes cooked by our pastors.
  • Note: Gluten free pancakes will be available.

Baptisms  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  After Service

Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time or are a new Christian, we would be overjoyed to baptize you. Please speak to one of our pastors or sign up in the foyer. There will be a Baptism class on Sunday, September 27th after service.

  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub.
  • We encourage everyone to attend the Baptism class Sunday, September 27th after service.

Mars Hill Group  //  Tuesday, October 6th  //  6:00PM

The Mars Hill Apologetics Group is a space for Christians to explore the biblical, logical, and loving ways to communicate a defense of their faith. This is accomplished through informational meetings centered around studying Scripture, group discussion, presentations, and prayer.

M.O.M. Group  //  Wednesday, October 7th  //  9:30AM

The Ministry of Motherhood is a welcoming community for moms of children from newborn through high school who desire to grow in their faith, foster meaningful relationships, and encourage others through various seasons of mothering. We’ll cultivate this biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and studying God’s Word. Breakfast and childcare will be available, but space is limited so please register through the connect hub below.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

Pre-Service Potluck  //  Wednesday, October 7th  //  6:00PM

Bring a dish to share with your church family and let's enjoy fellowshipping before service together.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

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]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/18/week-of-september-20th#comments 0 When a Blessing Looks Like a Curse https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/15/when-a-blessing-looks-like-a-curse Tue, 15 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/15/when-a-blessing-looks-like-a-curse

What Jacob's Final Words Teach Us About Truth, Family, and Redemption

Genesis 49

What if the most powerful blessing someone could give you was not a string of flattering words, but an honest reckoning with who you actually are?

That question sits at the heart of one of the most striking passages in all of Genesis. As Jacob lay on his deathbed, he gathered all twelve of his sons around him and did something that made each of them hold their breath. He blessed them. But these were not the soft, comfortable blessings we might expect from a dying father trying to leave everyone feeling good. These were blessings soaked in truth, blessings that named failures, predicted hardships, and stared down generational sin without flinching. And yet, looked at closely, they may be the most loving words a father ever spoke to his children.

The Blessing We Think We Want

Most of us have a picture in our minds of what a blessing should sound like. Warm. Affirming. Encouraging. Consider the priestly blessing from Numbers 6, the one that has echoed through synagogues and churches for thousands of years. The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. It is beautiful, and it is comforting.

But look beneath the surface of those words. The phrase "keep you" implies there will be moments when you feel utterly unprotected. The word "gracious" acknowledges that you are a sinner in need of grace. The gift of "peace" assumes there will be seasons when peace is nowhere to be found. Even the most beloved blessing in Scripture carries within it an honest acknowledgment of the struggles of human life. A blessing built on truth is not a lesser blessing. It is a deeper one.

Twelve Sons, Twelve Honest Portraits

Jacob understood this. One by one, he looked at his sons and told them the truth about themselves.

To Reuben, his firstborn, he said: you are mighty, the first fruit of my strength. But you are unstable as water, and that instability will cost you. Reuben had every advantage of the firstborn, every reason to lead, and yet his moral failure disqualified him from the prominence he was born into. The blessing did not pretend that away. It named it. And in naming it, it pointed toward something deeper: that God's purposes are not derailed by our instability. The birthright was not lost. It was distributed, spread across the community of Israel in ways that reflected divine wisdom rather than human primogeniture.

To Simeon and Levi, Jacob addressed the anger that had driven them to violence. Their wrath was fierce and cruel, and Jacob said so plainly. But here is where the story turns remarkable. Levi, the tribe cursed for its anger, became the priestly tribe, scattered throughout all of Israel not as a punishment but as a presence. Their passion, surrendered to God, became the very thing that equipped them to serve. Charles Spurgeon reflected on this reversal and said: "Happy is the man who, though he begins with a dark shadow resting upon him, so lives as to turn even that shadow into bright sunlight." Anger given to God becomes zeal. That is not a curse. That is transformation.

To Judah, Jacob spoke words that must have stunned the room. The scepter shall not depart from Judah. From this third-born son of an unloved wife, the Messiah would come. Not from the firstborn. Not from the strongest. From Judah, whose own story was marked by moral failure, whose blessing said nothing of his sin because the One coming through his line would deal with sin once and for all. The lion of the tribe of Judah, as Revelation 5 identifies him, would conquer. Every knee would bow. Every tongue would confess. Jacob was not simply blessing a son. He was announcing the gospel.

The Thread Running Through Every Blessing

Move through the rest of the sons and a pattern emerges. Zebulun would be a haven, a safe harbor for others, a man of undivided heart. Issachar was strong but prone to laziness, a man who would need to wrestle with the temptation to settle for comfort. Dan was rebellious, the most difficult of all the tribes, and Jacob's response to him was perhaps the most tender of all: "I wait for your salvation, O Lord." There is a blessing in that prayer. When you do not know what else to do with a child, you can give them to God and mean it.

Gad would face raiders but would always fight back. Asher would be materially blessed but would have to guard what he had. Naphtali was wild and beautiful. Joseph received a blessing that was less a prophecy and more a celebration, a father rejoicing over a son who had suffered deeply and forgiven freely. And Benjamin, the youngest, was called a ravenous wolf. That same ferocity would later produce Saul, Israel's first king, and the apostle Paul, whose relentless pursuit of the church became a relentless pursuit for the church once Christ met him on the road to Damascus.

What This Means for Us

Generational patterns are real. Exodus 34 reminds us that the iniquities of the fathers visit the children to the third and fourth generation. We see it in our own families. We recognize our parents' struggles in ourselves and sometimes in our children. That is a sobering reality.
But the same passage begins with something we often skip past: the Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love, keeping that love for thousands. The generational curse does not get the final word. The Lord does.

Jacob blessed his sons not by pretending their flaws away but by naming them and then pointing beyond them to the God who redeems. The blessing that looks like a curse is often the truest blessing of all, because it refuses to leave us where we are. It tells us the truth, and then it points us to the One who can do something about it.
That is worth more than flattery. That is worth everything.

Practical Applications

This week, consider putting one of the following into practice:

1. Speak a blessing. Identify a child, grandchild, spouse, or close friend and speak a specific, honest, and God-centered blessing over them. Do not simply offer flattery. Acknowledge who they are, name what you see God doing in them, and point them toward the Lord.
2. Examine a generational pattern. Take some time in prayer or journaling to identify a recurring struggle in your family line. Bring it honestly before God and ask Him to show you how He wants to redeem it in your generation.
3. Surrender what feels like a curse. Identify one characteristic, tendency, or life circumstance that you have viewed as a burden or weakness. Pray specifically that God would take it and use it for His glory, just as He did with the anger of Levi, the fighting spirit of Gad, and the intensity of Benjamin.
4. Pray the prayer of Jacob over Dan. If you have a prodigal child, a struggling family member, or someone whose path concerns you deeply, write out a simple prayer this week that says, in your own words, "I wait for your salvation, O Lord." Commit to praying it daily for one month.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/15/when-a-blessing-looks-like-a-curse#comments 0 Week of September 13th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/10/week-of-september-13th Thu, 10 Sep 2026 10:20:20 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/10/week-of-september-13th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

Sunday, September 13th

  • DISCOVERY HOUR CLASS  //  8:45AM
    • In this fourteen-week study we will look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible).
  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 1:6-9 - "Inexpressible, Glorious Joy" - Pastor Glenn Gilpin
    • New Series: 1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders - Jesus told us that as a believer we are not of this world but we are still in this world. 1 Peter encourages us as outsiders to thrive in a world that can be hostile, discouraging and even actively against Jesus and us. In this study we are going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering. 1 Peter will both challenge us and encourage us to thrive as outsiders of this world as we are still in this world.
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM - Upstairs after worship

Grab a booklet from the Connect Table to get all the details. Or click here to view online.

Wednesday, September 16th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 21:1-4 - Robert DeHerrera
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  6:45PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, September 17th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians
  • YOUNG ADULTS  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Romans

Friday, September 18th

  • LIFE GROUPS  //  IN THE EVENING (TIMES VARY)
    • Location: In a home (locations vary)
    • Details: In a Life group you get to come together in someone's home for a meal and then engage in a study and discussion based on the past Sunday's sermon.

Saturday, September 19th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book
  • WOMEN'S ACCESSORY SWAP  //  5:00PM
    • Location: At the church (Foyer)
    • Bring in your old (but good condition) accessories you no longer use and let your old be someone's new.

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Baptism Class  //  Sunday, September 27th  //  11:45AM

When we place our faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit brings us into the family of God. Baptism is a public celebration of that new life in Christ. While we would be honored to baptize and celebrate with you, we also went to ensure that you have a full understanding of what baptism is (and is not). If you'd like to be baptized scroll down to sign up through the connect hub, then mark your calendar to attend this class.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

Pancake Breakfast  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  9:00AM

Come early and enjoy a morning of fellowship and pancakes cooked by our pastors.
  • Note: Gluten free pancakes will be available.

Baptisms  //  Sunday, October 4th  //  After Service

Whether you've been following Jesus for a long time or are a new Christian, we would be overjoyed to baptize you. Please speak to one of our pastors or sign up in the foyer. There will be a Baptism class on Sunday, September 27th after service.

  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub.
  • We encourage everyone to attend the Baptism class Sunday, September 27th after service.

Mars Hill Group  //  Tuesday, October 6th  //  6:00PM

The Mars Hill Apologetics Group is a space for Christians to explore the biblical, logical, and loving ways to communicate a defense of their faith. This is accomplished through informational meetings centered around studying Scripture, group discussion, presentations, and prayer.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

M.O.M. Group  //  Wednesday, October 7th  //  9:30AM

The Ministry of Motherhood is a welcoming community for moms of children from newborn through high school who desire to grow in their faith, foster meaningful relationships, and encourage others through various seasons of mothering. We’ll cultivate this biblical community through fellowship, prayer, honest conversation, crafts, and studying God’s Word. Breakfast and childcare will be available, but space is limited so please register through the connect hub below.
  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE
]]> When God Crosses His Hands https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/07/when-god-crosses-his-hands Mon, 07 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/07/when-god-crosses-his-hands

Trusting the Faithfulness of God

Genesis 48

There is something deeply unsettling about a plan that does not go the way you expected. Most of us have experienced that particular brand of frustration — the moment when life takes a turn you did not anticipate, when the road ahead looks nothing like the map you had drawn in your head. And in those moments, the question that rises to the surface almost involuntarily is this: God, what are you doing?

It is one of the most honest questions a person can ask. And it turns out, it is also one of the oldest.

A Dying Man With Clear Vision

Genesis 48 opens with a simple, sobering message: Jacob is ill. His son Joseph, one of the most powerful men in Egypt, receives the news and immediately goes to his father, bringing his two sons, Manasseh and Ephraim, with him. What follows is one of the most emotionally rich and spiritually layered scenes in all of Scripture.

Jacob, pinned to his bed by the weight of old age and impending death, does something remarkable the moment he hears that Joseph has arrived. He summons every last ounce of strength in his frail body and pushes himself upright. Death had been pressing him down, and yet the presence of his son gave him enough strength for one final rally. If that image does not move you, read it again slowly.

But Jacob does not spend this sacred moment in small talk. He goes straight to the heart of things. He recounts the faithfulness of God — the promises made to Abraham and Isaac, the covenant that had been passed down through generations. He is not reminiscing idly. He is building a foundation. Because what he is about to do requires one.

Adopted Into the Promise

In a move that surprises everyone in the room, Jacob declares that Joseph's two sons — Ephraim and Manasseh — are to be counted as his own. They are Egyptian-born. They are, by every cultural and ethnic measure, outsiders to the covenant community of Israel. And yet Jacob speaks over them with the full authority of a patriarch and adopts them as his heirs.

Stop and sit with that for a moment.

Foreigners, brought in. Outsiders, elevated. Co-heirs, by no merit or effort of their own — simply because someone with the authority to do so spoke it over them.

This is precisely what God does with every one of us. Ephesians 1 describes believers as adopted into God's family, chosen before the foundation of the world, made heirs alongside Christ. What Jacob enacts in this scene is a living portrait of the gospel. Grace extended to those who had no claim to it. A future promised to those who had not earned it.

The Crossed Hands

Then comes the moment that throws everything into apparent disorder.

Joseph carefully positions his sons before his father. He lines them up deliberately — Manasseh, the firstborn, within reach of Jacob's right hand, and Ephraim, the younger, near his left. The right hand carried the greater blessing. Everyone knew that. It was tradition. It was protocol. It was how things were done.

And then Jacob crosses his hands.

His right hand lands on Ephraim. His left on Manasseh. And Joseph, understandably alarmed, reaches out and tries to physically correct his father's hands. Not this way, father. This one is the firstborn. Put your right hand on his head.

It is a deeply human moment. Joseph sees something that looks wrong and immediately moves to fix it. He is so focused on the expected order of things that he cannot perceive what his nearly blind father is seeing with perfect clarity.

Jacob's response is one of the most quietly powerful lines in the entire passage. He simply says, "I know, my son. I know."

He was not confused. He was not mistaken. He was not failing. He was seeing something Joseph could not yet see, and he was acting on it with full confidence.

The God Who Is Always Faithful

This is where the passage becomes deeply personal for anyone who has ever felt like God crossed his hands on them. Anyone who has looked at the direction their life is heading and thought, this is backwards. This is not how it is supposed to go. You have the wrong person. You have the wrong plan. This does not make sense.

Jacob's blessing in verses 15 and 16 is worth reading slowly and carefully. He describes God as the one before whom his fathers walked, the one who had been his shepherd all his life long, and the angel who had redeemed him from all evil. This is a man who had seen more than his share of pain, betrayal, grief, and uncertainty. His life was not a smooth road. It was full of detours, losses, and seasons that made no sense at the time.

And yet, at the end of it all, his conclusion was not bitterness. It was worship.

He had learned, through the long and winding road of his own life, that though the way may seem uncertain, the faithfulness of God never is.

What We Pass On

Jacob closes this scene by telling Joseph something that functions almost like a final gift: God will be with you, and will bring you back to the land of your fathers. It is a declaration of trust. A passing of the torch. An insistence that the promises of God do not expire just because circumstances look impossible.

The greatest inheritance any generation can pass to the next is not money, property, or status. It is the lived and tested knowledge that God is faithful. That he carries his people through seasons of plenty and seasons of want. That his plans are not derailed by our confusion or our grief or our attempts to straighten out what we think he has gotten backwards.

When life crosses your hands — when the path forward looks nothing like what you expected — the remedy is not to panic or to try to force things back into the order you had planned. The remedy is to remember.

Remember what God has done. Remember what he has promised. And trust that the one who has been faithful through every generation before you is not about to stop now.

Practical Applications

  • Rehearse God's faithfulness. Set aside fifteen minutes this week to write down three to five specific moments in your life where God proved faithful, even if you did not recognize it at the time. Share one of those moments with someone in your group or in your household.
  • Identify your crossed hands. Is there a situation in your life where God seems to be doing things in the wrong order or in the wrong way? Bring that honestly before Him in prayer this week and ask for the grace to trust His perspective over your own.
  • Pass it on. Think of one younger believer, whether a child, a new Christian, or someone in a difficult season, and find a way this week to speak the faithfulness of God over them. It does not have to be elaborate. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can say is simply, "God has been faithful, and He will be faithful to you too."
  • Memorize or meditate on this truth: Lamentations 3:22-23 reminds us that God's mercies are new every morning and that His faithfulness is great. Let that truth anchor you through whatever uncertainty you are facing this week.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/07/when-god-crosses-his-hands#comments 0 Week of September 6th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/03/week-of-september-6th Thu, 03 Sep 2026 13:53:31 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/03/week-of-september-6th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

Sunday, September 6th

  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • 1 Peter 1:1-5 - "Outsiders" - Lead Pastor Craig Babcock
    • New Series: 1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders - Jesus told us that as a believer we are not of this world but we are still in this world. 1 Peter encourages us as outsiders to thrive in a world that can be hostile, discouraging and even actively against Jesus and us. In this study we are going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering. 1 Peter will both challenge us and encourage us to thrive as outsiders of this world as we are still in this world.
  • BAPTISMS & BBQ  //  After Service - we'd love to have everyone stay!
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM - Upstairs after worship

Wednesday, September 9th

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 20:27-47 - Pastor Zach Pfeifer
    • Special: Communion
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  6:45PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, September 10th

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians

Saturday, September 12th

  • MEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  8:00AM
    • Location: At the church (4th/5th grade classroom)
    • Study: Joel
  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:00AM
    • Location: At the church (2nd/3rd grade classroom)
    • Study: John MacArthur's study guide: 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
    • Click here to sign up and buy your book

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Discovery Hour  //  Starting Sunday, September 13th  //  8:45AM

The Word of God is central to the life of the believer. It is incredibly diverse and miraculously coherent. Major theme such as, Creation & New Creation, the Word of God, Redeemer, King & Kingdom, Temple, Exile, and Covenant, along with many others bind the Bible together creating one Divinely Authored literary unit.

Join us for this fourteen-week study where we'll look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible). All are welcome, and there's no need to sign up.

Grab a booklet from the Connect Table to get all the details. Or click here to view online.

Join a Bible Study

  • Thursday Morning Women's Bible Study
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  9:30AM
    • Study: Warren Wiersbe's Be Free: Galatians
  • Saturday Morning Women's Bible Study  //  Starting September 12th
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  9:00AM
    • Study: John MacArthur's Study on 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
  • Saturday Morning Men's Bible Study
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  8:00AM
    • Study: Joel

Join a Life Group  //  Starting the week of September 13th

In community, we experience the joy of being known and loved, cared for and encouraged—and we’re also challenged to grow as wholehearted followers of Jesus, and in a Life group you get to come together in someone's home for a meal and then engage in a study and discussion based on the past Sunday's sermon. We have several different life groups and vary in ages and seasons of life.

Please note that while most life groups meet Friday evenings, groups may vary, scroll down to find a Life Group through our Connect Hub.

Women's Accessory Swap  //  Saturday, September 19th  //  5:00PM

Sometimes we buy something with great intentions and then it just doesn't suit us. Or maybe your styles have changed and you're ready to let go of a hat or a scarf. That's what the accessory swap is for. Bring in your hats, purses, scarves, or jewelry that you would love to gift to someone else who will love it as much, if not more, than you. And then, find that new piece that finally matches that new blouse you bought, and let someone’s old be your new.

  • Scroll down to RSVP through our Connect Hub.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

Connect

Can't find what you're looking for or need more information? We'd be happy to help.
ASK A QUESTION

Join the Newsletter

Get updates, devotionals, and stories about church life right to your email.
SUSBCRIBE
]]> When Everything is Gone https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/01/when-everything-is-gone Tue, 01 Sep 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/01/when-everything-is-gone

Finding Purpose in the Broken Places

Genesis 47:13-31

There is a moment most of us have experienced at some point in our lives. The moment when the good times have faded so completely that we can barely remember them. The bank account is empty. The resources are spent. The things we trusted to sustain us have slipped through our fingers one by one. And we find ourselves standing with nothing left to offer except ourselves.

This is exactly where the people of Egypt and Canaan found themselves in Genesis 47. After seven years of abundance, a severe famine had swallowed everything. The land was barren. The food was gone. And one by one, the people came to Joseph with less and less in their hands until they had nothing left at all.

It is a story that feels uncomfortably familiar.

The Famine Was Never Just About One Family

When we read through the book of Genesis, it is easy to keep our eyes fixed on the family of Jacob and Joseph. Their story is dramatic, redemptive, and deeply personal. But Genesis 47 pulls the camera back and forces us to see something we might otherwise miss. The famine was not a private event. It touched every nation, every household, every person in the known world. Names that never appear in the biblical record were affected just as profoundly as the patriarchs whose stories fill the pages.

This is an important reminder about the nature of the biblical story itself. In John 5:39, Jesus tells his listeners that the entire scope of Scripture bears witness to him. The Bible is not a narrow family history. It is the story of a God who is working all things toward the redemption of the world. And the very next verse makes clear that this story includes us. It always has.

The famine was not an accident. It was not the result of poor agricultural planning or bad luck. It was part of a sovereign design that God had revealed to Joseph years earlier in Genesis 41:30, warning that seven years of devastating famine would follow seven years of plenty. God was orchestrating events on a scale far larger than any single family could see from where they stood.

The Danger of Forgetting the Plenty

One of the striking details in the Genesis account is that the years of abundance were prophesied to be forgotten. And they were. When the famine came, the people could not remember what it felt like to have enough. All they knew was hunger.

We do this too. When hardship arrives, the memory of God's provision fades with alarming speed. We forget the seasons when he was faithful. We forget the moments when he provided beyond what we expected. All we can see is the emptiness in front of us.

But the emptiness serves a purpose. Romans 5:12 reminds us that sin entered the world through one man, and death spread to all. The brokenness we experience is real, and it is universal. Yet God does not leave us in it. He uses it to bring us to the end of ourselves, which is often exactly where his work begins.

Broken Before the Provider

By the time the people of Egypt had spent their money and surrendered their livestock, they arrived before Joseph with the most vulnerable offer imaginable. Take us, they said. Take our land. We will be your servants. Just let us live.

This is a picture of profound spiritual honesty. They had tried everything else. They had paid with silver. They had paid with animals. And now all that remained was themselves. In their desperation, they made the only offer they had left.

There is something deeply moving about this moment because it mirrors the posture God calls each of us to. We come to him having exhausted our own resources. We come having tried to manage life on our own terms. And eventually, if we are honest, we arrive at the same place. We have nothing left to bring except ourselves.

The good news is that God receives that offering.

Purpose Given Back to the Broken

What Joseph did next is one of the most instructive moments in the passage. He did not simply absorb the people into servitude and leave them there. He gave them seed. He gave them land to work. He gave them a fifth of the harvest to bring back, and four fifths to keep for themselves and their families.

He gave them a purpose.

This is not a small thing. During the Great Depression in the United States, one of the most powerful responses to widespread despair was not simply handing out resources. It was putting people back to work. The New Deal programs of the 1930s were built on the conviction that human beings need more than food. They need a reason to get up in the morning. They need to be part of something.

Joseph understood this. And more importantly, God understands this.

Ephesians 2:10 tells us that we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works that he prepared beforehand for us to walk in. When God redeems us, he does not simply rescue us and leave us idle. He invites us into his work. He gives us seed to plant. He gives us a role in the story he is telling.

Holding Onto What Is Real

The chapter closes with an aging Jacob making one final request of his son Joseph. As his days drew near their end, he asked not to be buried in Egypt. Carry me home, he said. Back to the place where my fathers are buried.

It was a simple request, but it carried enormous weight. Jacob had watched God do extraordinary things in Egypt. He had seen provision and restoration and reunion. But he never forgot that this world was not his final home. In words that echo what Jesus himself would later say in John 17:16, Jacob lived as someone who did not ultimately belong to the world around him.

That is the invitation extended to all of us. To serve faithfully. To plant the seed God gives us. To be his workmanship in the place where he has put us. And to hold loosely to this world, keeping our eyes fixed on the one who bought us, not with silver or livestock, but with his own life.

The famine strips away everything we thought would sustain us. And in the emptiness, we find the one who was always enough.

Practical Applications

Choose one or more of the following to put into practice this week:

  • Examine your brokenness. Spend time in honest prayer this week, coming before God with nothing held back. Lay down whatever you have been trusting in -- your money, your abilities, your reputation -- and tell God plainly that you have nothing apart from him.
  • Identify your seed. Joseph gave the Egyptians seed so they could participate in their own restoration. Ask God to show you one specific area of service or good work he is calling you into right now. Take one concrete step toward it before the group meets again.
  • Practice eternal perspective. Jacob never lost sight of where he was going. Write down one area of your life where you have been treating this world as your permanent home. Pray over it and ask God to help you hold it loosely.
  • Encourage someone who is serving. The sermon mentioned the men and women who gather to pray and serve every Sunday. This week, go out of your way to genuinely thank someone in your church who is faithfully doing work that often goes unnoticed.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/09/01/when-everything-is-gone#comments 0 Week of August 30th https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/28/week-of-august-30th Fri, 28 Aug 2026 14:20:12 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/28/week-of-august-30th

Welcome to this week's bulletin, your one-stop spot for everything happening in our church family. From kids to adults, groups to special events, here's how you can get connected throughout the week.

Sunday, August 30th

  • WORSHIP SERVICE  //  10:00AM
    • Genesis 50 - "A Changing World" - Lead Pastor Craig Babcock
  • BAPTISM CLASS  //  After Service
  • YOUTH GROUP  //  10:00AM - Upstairs after worship

Wednesday, September 2nd

  • TRAINING GROUND SERVICE  //  6:30PM
    • Luke 20:19-26 - "Give What is Owed" - Pastor Gabe Mitchell
    • Special: Communion
  • YOUTH GROUP HANGOUT  //  6:45PM - Upstairs after worship

Thursday, September 3rd

  • WOMEN'S BIBLE STUDY  //  9:30AM
    • Location: At the church
    • Study: Warren W. Wiersbe's study Be Free: Galatians
  • YOUNG ADULTS MEET  //  6:30PM
    • Location: At the church

Saturday, September 5th

  • NOTE: There will be NO MEN'S BIBLE STUDY

Upcoming Special Events

To sign up for anything happening, scroll down and click "connect hub."

Baptisms & BBQ  //  Sunday, September 6th  //  after service

Join us after service as we witness several brothers and sisters be baptism. Immediately following the baptisms we'll have a BBQ potluck. You bring the sides and desserts, we'll provide the burgers and hot dogs.

  • Scroll down to sign up through our connect hub.
  • Recommended: The Baptism class on Sunday, August 30th after service.

New Sermon Series  //  Sunday, September 6th

1 Peter: Thriving as Outsiders
Jesus told us that as a believer we are not of this world but we are still in this world. 1 Peter
encourages us as outsiders to thrive in a world that can be hostile, discouraging and even actively against Jesus and us. In this study we are going to understand how to thrive in the Living Hope of Jesus as we are still in this world. 1 Peter helps us navigate many of the practical areas of our lives from who we are in Christ, our marriages, our conduct and even our suffering. 1 Peter will both challenge us and encourage us to thrive as outsiders of this world as we are still in this world.

Discovery Hour  //  Starting Sunday, September 13th  //  8:45AM

The Word of God is central to the life of the believer. It is incredibly diverse and miraculously coherent. Major theme such as, Creation & New Creation, the Word of God, Redeemer, King & Kingdom, Temple, Exile, and Covenant, along with many others bind the Bible together creating one Divinely Authored literary unit.

Join us for this fourteen-week study where we'll look at seven major Biblical themes along with a couple of sub-sets, such as Priest-King and Shepherd, tracing them from Genesis (the first book of the Bible) to Revelation twenty-one and twenty-two (the last two chapters in the Bible). All are welcome, and there's no need to sign up.

Join a Bible Study

  • Thursday Morning Women's Bible Study
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  9:30AM
    • Study: Warren Wiersbe's Be Free: Galatians
  • Saturday Morning Women's Bible Study  //  Starting September 12th
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  9:00AM
    • Study: John MacArthur's Study on 1, 2, 3 John & Jude
  • Saturday Morning Men's Bible Study
    • Location/Time: At the church  //  8:00AM
    • Study: Joel

Join a Life Group  //  Starting the week of September 13th

In community, we experience the joy of being known and loved, cared for and encouraged—and we’re also challenged to grow as wholehearted followers of Jesus, and in a Life group you get to come together in someone's home for a meal and then engage in a study and discussion based on the past Sunday's sermon. We have several different life groups and vary in ages and seasons of life.

Please note that while most life groups meet Friday evenings, groups may vary, scroll down to find a Life Group through our Connect Hub.

Women's Accessory Swap  //  Saturday, September 19th  //  5:00PM

Sometimes we buy something with great intentions and then it just doesn't suit us. Or maybe your styles have changed and you're ready to let go of a hat or a scarf. That's what the accessory swap is for. Bring in your hats, purses, scarves, or jewelry that you would love to gift to someone else who will love it as much, if not more, than you. And then, find that new piece that finally matches that new blouse you bought, and let someone’s old be your new.

  • Scroll down to RSVP through our Connect Hub.

Women's Retreat  //  Friday-Sunday, October 9th-11th

Join the women ministry as we partner with Calvary Chapel Nederland and Amy Nunnally from Legacy Christian Fellowship for a weekend retreat where we will discover how anchoring our minds and our lives to the truth of God’s word can help us bring our thoughts into submission and avoid deception ― even in this noisy world that continually cries out for our attention.
 
  • Registration closes September 6th
  • Scroll down to register through our Connect Hub.

Next Steps

To sign up for anything mention above head over to the connect hub.
CONNECT HUB

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]]> Why I Pray the Bible https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/27/why-i-pray-the-bible Thu, 27 Aug 2026 15:48:09 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/27/why-i-pray-the-bible
For many years now, all my public prayers have been directly from Bible passages, and most of my personal prayer time is directed by my Bible reading.  So why do I pray the Bible?

I always thought of myself as a “prayer wimp,” because I couldn’t keep a prayer list; I couldn’t remember everything I was “supposed to” pray for; prayer was a hard chore; I was often bored with prayer -- especially prayer meetings;  At the same time, I loved the Bible; I loved the stories in it; I loved the things God would teach me or remind me as I read.  I loved the theological truths often presented.

Then I was told to pray the Bible back to God, and everything about my prayer life was totally transformed.

So here are ten reasons to pray the Bible:

1. It keeps our focus on God, not us.

Most of my life prayer has always been about me. But Jesus’ sample prayer is about God. “Pray like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.’” Half the prayer is about God.  More than half if you add the traditional ending, “For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory, forever.” If Jesus’ sample prayer is as much about God as us, our prayers should be the same.

2. So, it helps us avoid “grocery list” prayers.

I first heard that expression from Daniel Henderson, whose input on prayer has had a dramatic impact on my life. Grocery list prayers are those lists we bring to God of our desires or requests. Those are not wrong, and many people are motivated to pray this way, but prayer must be much more than our list of today’s wants. Prayer is a two-way relationship. If all we did with a friend was bring our list of needs to him day after day, that wouldn’t make for much of a relationship.

3. It avoids meaningless rote repetition.

(Matt 6:7)  Some prayers are just that, memorized words that have little real meaning.  Even our personal prayers can be this way.  How often have your heard, ”God just bless this situation or this person?” Scripture can give us specific things to pray for others. Check out Paul’s prayers for his churches (Philippians 1:3-11 for example).

On a related note, praying the Bible keeps us away from things that simply are not biblical; For example, I’ve heard people pray the blood of Jesus over something. Jesus’ blood is important and powerful; it won our forgiveness, but you won’t find praying it over things encouraged or displayed in the Bible anywhere. It is Jesus who has authority over the enemy.

John Piper summarized these first three points well, “If we don’t form the habit of praying the Scriptures, our prayers will almost certainly degenerate into vain repetitions that eventually revolve entirely around our immediate private concerns, rather than God’s larger purposes.” (desiringgod.org  6 Feb 2017)

4. It helps us pray according to God’s will.

(1 John 5:14) Certainly we can stretch the word to say what we want it to say, but God’s word is God’s will; it expresses his heart. So when we are honest with it, our prayers are in accord with God’s desires. This way we are less likely to ask with wrong motives (James 4:3).

5. It is our best weapon in the spiritual battle.

When Jesus was tempted, every answer he gave was a quote from the Bible. Satan said, “Make bread;” Jesus replied, “Man does not live by bread alone;” “Bow down to me;” “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only;” “Cast yourself down from here, prove who you are;” “Don’t test the Lord your God.” Jesus could have rebuked Satan by his own authority, but he quoted scripture instead. The Word of God is our sword in the armor of God, our only offensive weapon.

6. As a result, it strengthens us to resist temptation.

Why didn’t Jesus just use his authority over Satan to defeat him? Why did he quote scripture instead? Maybe the answer has to do with what we are taught. The word is a weapon at our disposal too. We should not only know it, but also speak it in our prayers.

7. God works through his word.

(Is 55:10-11, Mark 4:14-20)  We often think to see God at work we need to see the miraculous, but more often than not, God works through his word, teaching and applying it to our lives.

8. It brings us prosperity.

(Josh 1:8; Psalm 1)  Meditating on God’s word is the formula for prosperity. Praying God’s word back to him is one form of meditation on the word. The prosperity promised in these verses is not the prosperity defined by our culture, but a prosperity defined by God:  Being all he wants us to be and doing all he wants us to do.

9. God’s word is exalted.

(Psalm 138:2)  Praying God’s word is the equivalent, or at least the complement, to praying in Jesus’ name since “God has exalted above all things his name and his word.”

10. We have examples in scripture.

Ezra (Ezra 9:10-12, Neh 8:5-6); Nehemiah (Neh 1:8-9, 9:3-31); Jonah (Jonah 2); Daniel (Dan 9:1-19); Hezekiah (2 Kings 19:14-19); Jesus on the cross (Matt 27:46); Early Christians (Acts 4:25-30)
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/27/why-i-pray-the-bible#comments 0 When Everything Goes Wrong https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/25/when-everything-goes-wrong Tue, 25 Aug 2026 01:00:00 +0000 https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/25/when-everything-goes-wrong

Trusting God in the Midst of the Unknown

Genesis 47:1-12

There is a question that rises up almost involuntarily when life begins to unravel. When the famine hits, when the family is in disarray, when the road ahead leads somewhere you never expected and never wanted to go -- the question surfaces with an almost desperate urgency: What is this all for?

It is not a question born of weak faith. In many ways, it is one of the most honest prayers a person can pray. And if you trace the story of Jacob's family arriving in Egypt in Genesis 47, you will find that this question is woven into every step they take.

A Family at the End of Themselves

Consider what the sons of Jacob had been through. Famine had stripped the land bare. Family relationships had fractured under the weight of deception and regret. The long-lost brother they had wronged was now the one holding the keys to their survival. And the answer to their crisis was not a triumphant return to prosperity -- it was a one-way journey into a foreign land, to live among people who considered them an abomination.

This was not a mountaintop moment. This was survival mode. And yet, quietly and deliberately, God was arranging things in ways none of them could fully see.

The prophet Habakkuk captured this tension with remarkable honesty. In Habakkuk 3:17-18, he describes a scene of total agricultural collapse -- no blossoms, no fruit, no flocks, no harvest -- and then declares that he will still rejoice in God. That is not a passive resignation. That is a fierce, deliberate act of trust when the evidence for trust seems to have disappeared entirely.

The Land That Did Not Look Like a Blessing

When Jacob's family arrived in Egypt, they were given land in Goshen. And here is where the story quietly becomes extraordinary. Goshen was not the lush, fertile farmland that made Egypt famous. It sat on the dry eastern side of the Nile, not ideal for crops but perfectly suited for grazing livestock.

To the natural eye, it might have looked like the lesser portion. But God was not giving them lesser -- He was giving them exactly what they needed, positioned precisely where He intended them to be.

We do this with God constantly. We look at what He has placed before us and compare it to what someone else has received, and we wonder if we drew the short straw. But God's provision is rarely what we would have chosen for ourselves, and it is almost always more purposeful than we initially recognize.

The truth embedded in the Goshen assignment is this: God does not make mistakes in His placement of His people.

Honesty Before Power

When five of the brothers stood before Pharaoh, the most powerful man in the world, they did something remarkably simple. They told the truth. They said exactly what Joseph had instructed them to say -- that they were shepherds, as their fathers before them had been, and that they needed a place to graze their flocks.

They did not dress it up. They did not hide what they were. In a culture where shepherds were considered beneath Egyptian society, they stood before Pharaoh and said plainly: this is who we are.

Paul wrote to the church in Corinth about this same posture, describing believers as fools in the eyes of the world, weak, poorly dressed, reviled -- and yet responding to that scorn with blessing rather than bitterness (1 Corinthians 4:10). There is something deeply liberating about refusing to be ashamed of who you are before God, even when the world has assigned you a lesser value.

And here is what honesty before power produced: Pharaoh, rather than dismissing these shepherds, recognized an opportunity. He had just acquired enormous amounts of livestock through the famine economy, and he had no one to care for it. These men, the very people Egypt considered an abomination, were exactly what Pharaoh needed. God had placed them there for such a time as this.

The book of Esther asks the same question of its central character in Esther 4:14 -- whether she had come to her position for precisely the moment of crisis she was facing. It is a question worth sitting with: Is God placing me here, in this difficulty, in this unexpected season, for a reason I cannot yet see?

The Weight of a Blessing

When Jacob himself stood before Pharaoh, he did something unexpected. He blessed him. And then, after Pharaoh asked about his age and Jacob answered with the honest weight of his 130 years -- describing them as few and difficult -- he blessed Pharaoh again on his way out.

Pharaoh, who was considered a god among his own people, received a blessing from an elderly shepherd whose people were considered beneath Egyptian society. And yet the walls came down. Pharaoh, who had addressed the brothers through Joseph, now spoke directly to Jacob. Something about the blessing broke through.

Proverbs 16:31 describes gray hair as a crown of glory, gained through a righteous life. Jacob's years were marked by struggle, loss, and the slow, sometimes painful work of faith. But those years carried a weight that Pharaoh could not ignore. There is something that a life genuinely lived before God communicates that no amount of youth or status can replicate.

What It Was All For

By the end of these twelve verses, the family is settled. They have land, provision, and purpose. What looked like disaster -- famine, displacement, humiliation -- had become the very pathway through which God positioned His people exactly where they needed to be.
The question "what is this all for?" does not always receive an immediate answer. But the story of Jacob's family arriving in Goshen is a reminder that God is working in the background of every difficult chapter, arranging things with a precision and care that only becomes visible in hindsight.

When nothing seems to be going right, the invitation is not to have all the answers. It is simply to trust the One who does -- and to bless others along the way.

Practical Applications

Choose one or two of the following to discuss as a group or commit to individually before your next meeting.

This Week, Consider:
  • Identify one relationship in your life, either with someone older or someone younger in faith or age, that you have been neglecting. Reach out and schedule time together with no agenda other than to listen and learn.
  • Think of one area of your life where you have been less than honest about who you are or what you need. Prayerfully consider one person with whom you could practice that honesty this week.
  • Write down the name of one person in your life who does not share your faith. Commit to praying for one specific way you can bless them this week, not in order to start a conversation about faith, but simply because God has placed them in your life.
  • Spend time this week reflecting on a current difficult season. Ask God directly: "Why have you placed me here, and for whom?" Write down what comes to mind and bring it back to share with the group next time.
  • If your church has older members you have never spoken to, introduce yourself to one of them this Sunday. Ask them one question about their life and then simply listen.
]]> https://villagecalvary.org/blog/2026/08/25/when-everything-goes-wrong#comments 0