David Garrison, Author at Northminster Evangelical Presbyterian Church

April 2025 Mills’ Musings — Waking Up on Mars

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 by David Garrison in Christian Living, Devotions, General, HomePage, Spiritual Growth | 0

“The odds of that happening are 0. It’s just not possible. It would violate the laws of nature.”

That was the answer given by a person in a space travel video I watched recently. He had been asked to estimate the odds that he would wake up the next morning on Mars. Since, at least as I write this, no human being has yet set foot on Mars, let alone slept there, and since no known human technology can transport someone between planets overnight, his response seems perfectly reasonable.

But is it accurate? Most of us, I suspect, would say it is. But some would disagree.

Chief among the naysayers would be those who embrace and promote a field of study known as quantum mechanics. A fundamental dogma of quantum theory is that no one can ever say with absolute certainty that something can or can’t happen. That’s because, in their worldview, uncertainty is built into the subatomic fabric of the universe.

In practical terms, that means we can never say never. We can only speak in terms of likelihood and probabilities. Confined within the canon of quantum physics, the most emphatic statement we could make is that waking up on Mars tomorrow morning would be a low-probability event.

Of course, if that were true the same could and indeed must be said about Jesus’ resurrection.

For the better part of the last 2,000 years, standard arguments used to deny the reality of Jesus’ resurrection have included claims that no one has seen someone come back to life after he has died and been buried; that the resurrection of the body would violate that laws of nature; and that, therefore, Jesus’ resurrection never could have happened.

Wrong, wrong, and wrong – at least according to the best thinking cutting edge of today’s science has on offer. While I would find it fun to watch atheistic physicists become enmeshed in the web they have spun, that possibility raises a red flag for Christians: We should never succumb to the temptation of using any science – past, present, or future – to validate any article of our Christian faith. Galileo helps us remember why.

Galileo’s story actually began around 150 A.D., when Ptolemy taught that the earth was an immovable mass located at the center of the universe and that all celestial bodies, including the planets of our solar system, revolved around it. In the following millennium, Ptolemy’s scientific theory became Roman Catholic Church doctrine.

In 1530, Copernicus published On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres, which proposed replacing Ptolemy’s geocentric model with one in which the planets orbited a central sun. A century later, Galileo wrote Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief Systems of the World – Ptolemaic and Copernican, in which he sided with Copernicus and, for his troubles, was convicted of heresy. Three hundred years after that, Pope John Paul II announced that the Inquisition’s decision concerning Galileo was mistaken.

Science is a wonderful gift from God to his human creation. I’m grateful for things like electricity and antibiotics. I’m intrigued by the possibility of traveling to Mars. But God’s people need to keep in mind that truth isn’t true because science says it’s so. Scientific “truth” is constantly changing. “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings” (Heb. 13:8-9).

I doubt I’ll get to see the first human footprint on Mars. But I do not doubt the day will come when I will be seated at a banquet table in heaven. My certainty about heaven doesn’t rest on what science says. Rather my assurance is rooted in the reality that the Lord is risen. He is risen indeed.

Mar '25

April 2025 Pastor’s Corner — The Fear of the Lord

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 by David Garrison in Christian Living, General, HomePage, Pastor's Corner, Reading the Bible, Spiritual Growth | 0

Mar '25

“My name will be great among the nations, from the rising to the setting of the sun. In every place incense and pure offerings will be brought to my name, because my name will be great among the nations,” says the LORD Almighty. — Malachi 1:11

One evening several weeks ago, my daughter came to me with a question. She had just read the story of Moses and the burning bush (Exodus 3). When God speaks to Moses out of the burning bush we’re told that “Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.” (Exodus 3:6) My daughter didn’t understand why Moses would’ve been afraid. Since our God is a loving God (Jeremiah 31:3, one who is merciful and gracious (Psalm 86:15), who treats us with tenderness (Luke 1:78) and gentleness (1 Kings 19:12), why would we be afraid of Him?

I think a lot of us approach God in a similar manner. We have heard so much about the love and grace of God that fear has fallen by the wayside. After all, “God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Tim. 1:7) But I think we are misunderstanding how the Bible is using the word “fear” when it comes to our relationship with God. There is “fear” in the sense of terror and fright (which is what most of us think of), but there is also “fear” in the sense of awe and reverence. As the Dictionary of Biblical Imagery explains, “The fear of God is distinct from the terror of him that is also a biblical motif. Encompassing and building on attitudes of awe and reverence, it is the proper and elemental response of a person to God… The very frequency of the references signals that the fear of God is central to biblical faith, and the relative absence of this ancient way of thinking in our culture should give us pause.”

If we do not have a proper awe and reverence for God, then we lose just how radical and powerful His grace, mercy and love truly are. The God we serve is an all-powerful, almighty, glorious, holy, righteous God. He spoke, and stars and planets burst forth (Genesis 1:14). He moves His hand, and waters part (Exodus 14:21-25). He measures galaxies with the width of His hand (Isaiah 40:12). He binds the Pleiades and looses the cords of Orion (Job 38:31). He gives orders to the morning (Job 38:12), and maintains the storehouses of snow and lightning (Job 38:22-30). He is a God who rides thunderstorms to rescue His children (Psalm 18, specifically verses 6-15). When God says “My name will be great among the nations,” (Malachi 1:11) He does not do so as a braggart but as the only One who can rightly claim and demand such greatness. When we think of our God, a fearful awe and reverence is an essential component. “It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” (Heb. 10:31)

The warning to fear God echoes in both the Old and New Testaments. “Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the LORD your God and have no awe of me,” declares the Lord, the LORD Almighty.” (Jer. 2:19) When we think of God’s goodness, fearing Him should be included: “I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me.” (Jer. 32:40) And Jesus Himself, God incarnate, says, “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” (Luke 12:5) We focus so much on Jesus as “gentle, meek and mild” that we forget the disciples quaked in terror of Him after He calmed the storm (Mark 4:35-41). Even at the end of history, when Jesus returns in power and glory and evil is destroyed forever, when everything sad comes untrue and every broken thing is made whole, we are told, “Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” (Rev. 14:7)

It is because our God is very much a God to be feared (first in awe and reverence, but also with a dose of terror and fright) that the good news of His grace and mercy is so very good indeed. That, for those who accept Jesus Christ as Lord and savior, there is no longer need to fear God’s righteous judgment. All of the things the Bible says of God’s gentleness and tenderness, His kindness and His mercy, His steadfast lovingkindness, are all true, and made all the more awe-ful and awe-some because of His might, power and majesty. Grace is all the more amazing when we maintain a healthy and appropriate fear of the Lord. As we continue to draw ever closer to the darkness of Good Friday and the triumph of Easter Sunday, may the fear of the Lord deepen your gratitude and faith this Lenten season.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge,

but fools despise wisdom and discipline. — Proverbs 1:7

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison

Mar '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, March 30, 2025

Posted on Mar 26, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Mar '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

If you’re looking for an opportunity to grow as a disciple of Jesus Christ, we encourage you to join us Sunday mornings for a intergenerational Sunday school class, from 9:30-10:30. We look forward to seeing you!

HELPING HANDS OFFERING – THIS MORNING

Each 5th Sunday, any undesignated offerings placed in the collection plates go to Helping Hands, a ministry of churches in the Madison Heights-Elon area of Amherst County to help residents in need. It is administered through Madison Heights Baptist Church. Thank you for helping us meet the needs of those in our community!

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED., April 2

The Community Lenten Services continue this Wednesday. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Rose Chapel Baptist Church, with Rev. David Garrison preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.

“LAST THINGS” SEMINAR – THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 10AM

Whitten Funeral Home invites you to a seminar at NEPC covering “last things” (Will and Testaments, Living Wills, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, etc.) on Thursday, April 10, 10am-Noon. Lunch included. See flyer for more information.

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

Would you like to know more about our church? Are you interested in the possibility of becoming a member? This class will give you the opportunity to hear about our church, the denomination we belong to, and where we see God leading us. If interested, tell Pastor David or sign up in the Church Center app.

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling dme to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.

Mar '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, March 23, 2025

Posted on Mar 19, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Mar '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED., MARCH 23

The Community Lenten Services continue on Wednesday, March 12. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Northminster, with Rev. James Braxton (from Rose Chapel Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.

HELPING HANDS OFFERING – NEXT SUNDAY

“LAST THINGS” SEMINAR – THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 10AM

Whitten Funeral Home invites you to a seminar at NEPC covering “last things” (Will and Testaments, Living Wills, Estate Planning, Funeral Planning, etc) on Thursday, April 10, 10am-Noon. Lunch included. See flyer for more information.

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.

Mar '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, March 16, 2025

Posted on Mar 12, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Mar '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED., MARCH 19

The Community Lenten Services continue on Wednesday, March 12. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Madison Heights Christian Church, with Rev. Josh Beeler (from Madison Heights Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.

WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 10AM

The Women’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, March 20 at 10:00 a.m. at the church. The book that we are reading this month is The Seven Sisters by Lucinda Riley. Regarding refreshments, we are asking everyone to bring a little something to share. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday, whether you’ve read the book or not!

“LAST THINGS” SEMINAR – THURSDAY, APRIL 10, 10AM

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.

Mar '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, March 9, 2025

Posted on Mar 6, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Mar '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES CONTINUE WED., MARCH 12

The Community Lenten Services continue on Wednesday, March 12. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Randolph Memorial Baptist Church, with Rev. Josh Beeler (from Madison Heights Baptist Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.

WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – NEXT THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 10AM

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.

Mar '25

March 2025 Pastor’s Corner – How Has He Loved Us?

Posted on Mar 3, 2025 by David Garrison in Christian Living, General, HomePage, Pastor's Corner, Sermons, Spiritual Growth | 0

Mar '25

“I have loved you,” says the LORD. But you say, “How have you loved us?” — Malachi 1:2

It’s a conversation that happens with all too much regularity in a marriage. A husband tells his wife, “I love you,” to which she replies, “How have you loved me?” As the 90s rock band Extreme famously crooned, it takes more than words in order for someone else to know they are loved and valued. Words matter, but just as much are the actions and symbols of love. Every relationship goes through periods of complacency, where we take the love and presence of the other person for granted and just assume they know they are loved. Sometimes, though, the husband might be doing everything right, but the wife has stopped paying attention. It isn’t just our relationships with other people that go through these seasons, we also experience it in our relationship with God — perhaps even moreso.

In our Bibles, the book of Malachi is the last book in the Old Testament. It’s one of the shortest books in the entire Bible and is unique in that it is basically a series of six disputations. “God lays a charge against his people concerning some failure in covenant, to which the people respond by asking how they have failed. The response always begins with “But you say” (which was perhaps not stated verbally—Malachi may be exposing only half-conscious resentment and resistance to God). The third step in this pattern shows God answering his people’s question; the fourth closes each section with the Lord applying this answer, with warnings and promises for the future.” (ESV Expositor’s Commentary)

We don’t know exactly when Malachi delivered his prophecies, but we do know it was after the exiles had returned to Jerusalem and the temple rebuilt — at least partially. And yet, the Messiah had yet to return. It had been hundreds of years since the Israelites had received God’s promises of restoration and redemption, and even longer since they had last seen the miraculous works of the Lord. It would still be yet another 300-400 years before Jesus Christ, the promised Messiah, finally came, bringing with him miraculous works and fulfilling all of the promises of God. But over the course of hundreds of years of waiting, the Israelites began wondering if God still loved, let alone cared, for them. No word from the prophets, no miraculous signs and wonders, no change in their circumstances. At best, the people and the priests started taking God’s love for granted; at worst, they began to treat God with disdain and disrespect — going through the motions of love but without any feeling or intent.

In the big-picture sense, like the Israelites we’ve been waiting a really, really long time for Jesus to return and come through on His promises. How close we are to that moment depends on who you ask, but it’s probably pretty safe to say it’s not going to be tomorrow. But that’s not the only way we’re waiting on God or wondering if He still loves us. We’re all waiting on God for something. Maybe it’s deliverance from a particular sin we’ve been struggling with for a long time, or fractured relationships in our family, or a job situation that is… less than desirable, or a medical diagnosis we didn’t see coming and don’t know how to endure. Maybe it’s something else entirely. When God goes silent, it becomes really hard to continue to trust Him and we begin to wonder if He still loves us.

Lent is the season in the Christian calendar that provides us with an opportunity to sit in the silence of God and raise our broken-hearted plea to the Lord, “How have you loved me?” Lent is an old English word that means “springtime.” Spring is the season when the blossoms break forth and new growth appears, but before that the dross and refuse left over from winter needs to be cleared away. In the earliest days and weeks of spring, it doesn’t look like anything is happening. It looks as if winter succeeded in killing everything off. But appearances are deceiving. Through the long, cold, dark weeks of winter, a lot has been happening underground and out of sight. Necessary work without which the blooms and blossoms of spring will not thrive, if they sprout at all. It might seem like God has forgotten His love for you and that He is no longer at work, but the truth is the exact opposite. He has never stopped loving you, nor has He stopped working for and on you. Hold fast. Pay attention and look for the evidence of God’s presence and His love. Be patient. Easter is coming, and the Son of Righteousness has come and will come again for you.

But for you who fear my name, the sun of righteousness shall rise with healing in its wings. You shall go out leaping like calves from the stall. – Malachi 4:2

Blessings,

Rev. David Garrison

Mar '25

March 2025 Mills’ Musings – Rediscovering Rhythms

Posted on Mar 3, 2025 by David Garrison in Christian Living, General, HomePage, Spiritual Growth | 0

Mar '25

I’m teaching a music appreciation course at CVCC this semester. In the opening unit, I covered major elements of music including melody, harmony, and rhythm.

When we think about a piece of music, the melody is usually the first thing that comes to mind. Melody is defined as “a succession of single pitches, perceived by the mind as a unit.” When you look at the bulletin on Sunday morning and see “Amazing Grace” listed as the opening hymn, you probably hear the melody in your mind.

Harmony is the result of three or more pitches sounding at the same time instead of one after another. The way chords are constructed and how they follow each other fall under the heading of harmony. By the end of the course, I expect my students to listen to the harmony of a musical example and identify the musical era in which it was written.

Then there’s rhythm, from a Greek word that means “flow.” Music takes place in time. When we hear a melody or a chord, each pitch lasts for a specific number of seconds or fractions of a second. Rhythm helps us perceive the order inherent in music.

But rhythm isn’t confined to music. One author writes:

The ancients discerned in rhythm the creative principle of the universe, manifested alike in the regular movement of planets, the cycle of seasons and tides, of night and day, desire and appeasement, life and death. … This universe was art, and its controlling principle was rhythm. The symmetrical proportions of architecture, the balanced groupings of painting and sculpture, the patterns of the dance, the regular meters of poetry – each in its own sphere represents man’s deep-seated need for rhythmical arrangement.

Christians long have felt those needs, and the Church has responded in a variety of ways. One is through its music. For the first millennium of Christian history, almost all Christian music was written in triple meter. That is, each beat was divided into three equal parts, an intentional expression of the doctrine of the Trinity.

Another way the Church acknowledges the value of rhythm in our lives is through our observation of the Christian year. We start with the season of Advent, a time of preparation for the celebration of Jesus’s coming. We move through the seasons of Christmas and Epiphany. Then, this month, we enter the season of Lent, a time of self-examination as we prepare to celebrate Jesus resurrection. After the season of Easter comes Ordinary Time, which leads back to Advent and the repetition of the rhythm of our life as the people of God.

This year, as I was teaching about melody, harmony, and rhythm, I came across the following quote: “In our global digital age, many Christians are rediscovering the importance of community, the value of rhythms and routines amid chaotic circumstances, and the need for deeper commitment to spiritual formation.”

For many of us the past year or two has seemed especially chaotic. As together we continue our journey through this still fairly new civic year, may we also share the joy and peace that can result as we rediscover the value of rhythms and routines amid chaotic circumstances.

Feb '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, March 2, 2025

Posted on Feb 27, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Feb '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon

Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY – MONDAY, MARCH 3, 7PM

The Women’s Bible Study will meet on Monday, March 3 at the church at 7:00 p.m. We will be picking up where we left off at our last meeting: pg 206, “The Friendships of Paul” in The Love Stories of the Bible Speak by Shannon Bream. Come prepared to share what you got out of the reading and any questions you might have. Please bring a friend, and enter through the library doors so that the Young Life Group can have our front parking lot.

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES BEGIN NEXT WED., MARCH 5

The Community Lenten Services begin next week, on Ash Wednesday, March 5. Each ~30 minute service is at noon at a different church in Madison Heights, with a different pastor preaching each week. This week’s service will be at Amelon UMC, with Rev. George Harris (from Madison Heights Christian Church) preaching. We look forward to celebrating Lent with you and our fellow brothers and sisters in the area.

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.

Feb '25

News & Announcements for Sunday, February 23, 2025

Posted on Feb 20, 2025 by David Garrison in Announcements, General, HomePage, News | 0

Feb '25

JOIN US FOR SUNDAY SCHOOL

MIDWEEK PRAYER – WEDNESDAYS @ Noon

Please join us on Wednesdays at noon for a time of prayer in the sanctuary as we bring our needs before our loving God.

WOMEN’S BOOK CLUB – THURSDAY, FEB. 27, 10AM

The Women’s Book Club will meet on Thursday, February 27 at 10:00 a.m. at the church. The book that we are reading this month is America’s First Daughter by Stephanie Dray and Laura Kamoie. Regarding refreshments, we are asking everyone to bring a little something to share. We look forward to seeing you next Thursday, whether you’ve read the book or not!

COMMUNITY LENTEN SERVICES BEGIN NEXT WED., MARCH 5

Coming Soon…

INQUIRERS CLASS

GET IN SHAPE CLASS

No, not physical shape – spiritual S.H.A.P.E.! God has given every believer gifts and shaped us for ministry and service. If you’re asking questions like, What are my spiritual gifts? How has God shaped me for service and ministry? Where do I “plug in?” What is God calling me to do in this phase of my life? Then this class is for you! We encourage every member of Northminster to join us for this, coming this spring.