Heart change. What does that mean? We frequently use this term to differentiate between genuine actions from those that are not. For instance, we all want our children to obey, but we want them to obey with a sincere heart. How can you tell the difference? Sometimes it’s obvious, but...
“We have such a high priest.” These words were the central meditation of our time in Hebrews 8:1-6. I know I was freshly impressed with all that it means for us today to have Christ seated at the right hand of the Father, ministering on our behalf. At the close...
Editor’s note: This quarterly "Good to Know" column is meant to provide timely and clear communication to the VBC church body. If you have a suggestion for items you would like to see in this column in the future, please email amanda@spokanevbc.org. To see a printed summary of March 16's...
Since 2022, scammers have been targeting Valley Bible Church members through email scams. These attacks involve impersonation of Pastor Ben Orchard, attempting to solicit money from church attendees. While VBC cannot prevent these scams outright, we aim to protect our church community by keeping everyone informed. This form of attack,...
The anchor was a popular symbol of the Christian faith in the early Church. It symbolized Hope for all believers, and the early church "latched on to it." Much like the cross, the anchor portrays our Hope in Christ. The catacombs in Rome are adorned with the anchor. In fact,...
Studying Hebrews 6:4-8 is difficult. In fact, when comparing the many (many) views on this passage, the only element in common to all of them is that this passage is unsettling. It shows us in stark frankness the spiritual disaster of tolerated sin and committed immaturity. It is a loud...
From time to time, I recall an incident in my life—something I did, something I said—and upon replaying it in my mind, I do a cringeworthy facepalm at the thought of my incredible immaturity at the time. How could I have done that? How could I have said that? What...
A baby will put anything in its mouth. Every parent has endured that stage of infancy, constantly fishing anything and everything from little baby’s mouth: marbles, coins, rocks, sand, wood chips, food on the floor, and many things that are just totally disgusting. A baby does what is instinctive, and...
Since the early days of our marriage, we have used a prayer journal as a means of ordering our prayers. When our first son was a toddler, we prayed with him and did our best to teach him how to pray. As is often the case, our example as parents...
Editor’s note: As we persevere to provide timely and clear communication to the church body, I thought it would be helpful to have a quarterly “Good to Know” column that includes information about our church that we don’t necessarily talk about every Sunday morning. I hope this is a helpful...
One of my children's favorite questions is, "What is your favorite color?" For a long time, my daughter's answer was "black." But when I asked her today what her favorite color was, she said it had changed to white! I was taken aback just for a moment, because she had...
December is a stressful time. It's not just the hustle and bustle of cramming everything we need to get done into a few weeks, but for some, it's when broken relationships and pain and suffering seem to be amplified and magnified. It might be that you're lonely, dealing with a...
We’ve all seen someone who is completely lost in a moment of carefree happiness. The person dancing to the music while driving down the road, or a young child laughing so hard they roll on the floor heaving and snorting. It is the kind of moment that many of our...
Rest is a one-syllable word. Yet, when it comes to understanding our rest in God, its meaning is manifold. The idea of entering into God's rest, as taught in Hebrews, cannot be easily defined. C.H. Spurgeon began a sermon on rest with these words, "REST! A dainty word indeed! Too...
As we prepare for the busyness of the holiday season, Thanksgiving seems to get closer and closer to Christmas each year. I have driven by a few homes in the area with blow-up turkeys in their yards. The funny twist on this decoration is that the turkey is sitting on...
I remember as a child hearing Mozart’s variations on the tune of Twinkle Twinkle, Little Star for the first time. I was amazed at the ability of Mozart to take such a simple tune and present it in so many different ways. Each variation managed to retain the heart of...
Imagine you are riding a bike through the countryside. You know you’ll soon need to cross a river and notice a fork in the road that leads to two different bridges. You take the turn to the left because that leads to the closest bridge. When you get to the...
It was grace that brought me to Christ when I became a Christian. Grace was indeed a new concept for me. As a child, I had gone to Sunday School and heard about Christ dying on the cross for our sins. But I misunderstood a key element of the Gospel:...
When I first came to Valley Bible Church, I was introduced to quite a few songs I had never heard or sung before. One of those songs was a contemporary version of May the Mind of Christ My Savior. The original hymn, written only six years after the horrors of...
Christians frequently get a bit careless when they talk about how God communicates with us. I routinely hear people say something like this, “God told me that I shouldn’t buy the car I was thinking about buying.” My response sometimes is, “Oh, what did He say?” It’s an honest question:...