Psalm 111:2 – “Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them.”

God’s works are amazing. We know this is true because we’ve experienced it over and over again. Each day we have a thousand reasons to give thanks to God. And at certain moments in our lives, God works in particularly significant ways that are worthy of repeating (“I will give thanks to the LORD…in the congregation…” Psalm 111:1). Even in the middle of the most difficult circumstances, we have real, tangible reasons to delight in God, particularly that he is with us in the valley (“…I will fear no evil for you are with me…” Psalm 23:4) and that he intercedes for us (“…the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words…” Romans 8:26). Often, it’s the moments of deep darkness where God works in us the spiritual formations that we later share with others: “…who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God” (2 Corinthians 1:4). God is at work, using His Word to shape us and fashion us in the likeness of his Son Jesus Christ. And all of this is for our delight in him.

At Hampton Park, we want to grow your delight in God. And according to Psalm 111:2, your delight in God both fuels your desire to study his works and results from your study of his works. It’s a cycle of joy in God. Who are those who study God’s works? They are those who delight in God’s works. And what happens when those who delight in God’s works study his works? They delight in God even more and thus desire to study His works more. May God work this cycle of delight into each of our lives!

One of the ways we want to encourage your delight in God is by putting a variety of encouraging resources at your fingertips that will help you study God’s works, fueling your delight in Him. Here are some of the resources that you have access to as a member of Hampton Park.

Sermon Archive – We have an audio/video resource library of every sermon preached at Hampton Park since the year 2000. And you can filter this library by the Scripture passage, speaker, or sermon series. Did you encounter a difficult passage of Scripture recently? Go to our sermon library and see if there’s a sermon on that passage. Miss last week’s sermon? Catch up by watching to see what God is teaching our church family. There are few things that will stir your joy in God more than listening to God’s Word preached!

Dwell – This app is the go-to app for listening to Scripture. It includes a variety of translations, playlists of specific topics, or Scripture-listening plans. Listen on your way to work or school or as a family in the evening! It’s free to you as a member of HPBC to fuel your delight in God.

RightNow Media – RightNow Media is a library of videos and video series for all ages on various topics. There is a lot in this collection of resources that is really helpful. And we’ve even created a group of recommended resources that you can see here. We hope this resource will encourage you and your family to delight in God. (Disclaimer: We would not recommend all of the resources on RightNow Media. So, if you have a question, please reach out!)

Articles – We have a growing list of articles on our website that range from meditations on Scripture texts to pastoral interviews to sermon clips to pastoral statements on various topics. We plan to continue to post many more of these in the coming year, and we hope these encourage your delight in God.

Member Testimonies – One of my favorite resources on our website is our video library of member testimonies from our Evening Gatherings. You can watch baptisms or hear stories of God’s grace or watch gospel partner interviews all on this page of our website. (Note: this page of our website is password protected for members only. If you need the password, please contact the HPBC office.) Watch and be encouraged to delight in God!

Online Bookstore – The pastors have compiled a list of recommended resources into an online bookstore with heavily discounted books. We just recently added a section on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. We’ve chosen these resources because we believe that they point you to gospel truth in various areas of life and that as a result, they will fuel your delight in God.

We hope that you will take advantage of the many awesome resources that you have as a member of our church. Use them in your personal worship, family worship, or in your discipleship with other members of our church. There are even resources here that you can use to help you in your evangelism. Through them, may God be lifted up in our minds and hearts so that we delight in him and desire to pursue him even more.

Have you ever had the experience of trying to explain a matter to someone while watching them become distracted by a single word or phrase, thus missing the point? This happens when we listen to others for what we want to hear, rather than hearing what is actually being communicated. I’ve sometimes wondered what biblical writers would think of many of the controversies over what they wrote. Perhaps their response would be, “You are missing the point!”

In our current sermon series on 1 Thessalonians, Pastor Conley made this excellent point in his sermon introduction to one of the most debated passages in this letter (and even in all of Scripture), 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18. His introduction considered this question: is it possible that all of the debate surrounding this text actually misses the point of why it was written? If this text was intended to be the center of a controversy, would Paul have chosen to end the paragraph with these words: “Therefore encourage one another with these words”?

There are two main reasons why I would encourage you to listen to this sermon introduction again.

1. Four Cautions. Pastor Conley gives four helpful cautions for how we approach this biblical text and really any text of Scripture, particularly “controversial” ones. The cautions are vital to helping us not miss the point of what the biblical authors are saying. Listen to the cautions, write them down, and let them instruct your interpretation of Scripture.
2. Theological Humility. Towards the end of the introduction, Pastor Conley displays exemplary theological humility, culminating in this statement: “I’ll just confess when I thought about this text some months ago, thinking about preaching on it, I didn’t know that I would be preaching it the way I’m going to be preaching it today. And I think I was better served to read what the text says and what it communicates to us.” No pastor is above Scripture. Rather, a faithful pastor submits himself to what God has actually said, adjusting as needed. This is Life by the Book in action. Praise God for a preaching pastor who leads this way!

Watch the clip below, then the whole sermon, and be encouraged!

“No!” my 19-month old daughter yelled as she ran away from me into the next room. I didn’t teach her that. She was born that way. But truthfully, she comes by it honestly because I feel the same sentiments inside of me when my authorities ask me to do something that I don’t want to do. My 10-year-old son sometimes reminds me of this as he glances over my shoulder to see the speedometer. I had asked my daughter to hand me the pencil that was in her hand before any self-inflicted wounds could happen. Now, if I didn’t teach her to respond with such brash refusal, where did it come from? Paul calls it a sin nature: “…[we] were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind” (Eph 2:3). She was born with a sin nature that she received from me and that I received from my parents and they received from their parents and on and on like the rest of mankind, back to our first parents Adam and Eve (see Genesis 5:3).

Submission is hard for those of us who have a sin nature. But even 19-month-olds need to learn that they have been born into a world of authority so that when they are 19 years old or 29 years old, they are not having to learn this important life-lesson for the first time. God set up our world as a world of authority. Authorities are put in place by him to promote order, to provide security, to help people flourish. And so, the apostle Peter says with full confidence, “Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution” (1 Peter 2:13). Don’t miss that small prepositional phrase “for the Lord’s sake” (literally: “because of the Lord”). In Peter’s theology, there are no self-made authorities. In the next verse he’ll make this a bit more explicit by saying that these authorities are sent by God (cf. Romans 13:1-5).

If you are anything like me, when you hear this command to be subject to your earthly authorities, you immediately start coming up with exceptions to the command (“But what about if they are evil and hate God?” “What if they tell me to do something wrong?”). Like I said, my 19-month-old comes by it honestly. This knee-jerk reaction misses the point. So, Peter gets really practical and specific, zooming in on those authorities that we might be most likely to justify rejecting: “…whether it be to the emperor as supreme, or to governors as sent by him to punish those who do evil and to praise those who do good” (1 Peter 2:13-14). From our highest governing authorities to local governing authorities, Christians are called to joyful submission. Why? Because in their joyful submission that is witnessed by their governing authorities and neighbors, Christians silence those who would otherwise ignorantly claim that they are a detriment to society. That’s my paraphrase of v.15 (“For this is the will of God, that by doing good you should put to silence the ignorance of foolish people”). God’s will is to magnify the glory of his name by creating (that is, re-creating!) a people with a new nature who live righteous lives of submission to their governing authorities.

And how does God go about re-creating a people who joyfully submit to their authorities? Don’t miss this. He does it by setting them free: “live as people who are free” (1 Peter 2:16). This might send your head spinning a bit. The two commands in this paragraph are (1) be subject…to every human institution and (2) live as people who are free. Now those are two interesting commands to put in the same paragraph! Interestingly, only one of them is actually a command: be subject (v.13). The other is not a command but literally reads, “as free people.” There’s no main verb in v.16. This verse is simply following up on the command from verse 13 and adding to our understanding of it. So, putting this together, the command in 1 Peter 2:13-16 is this: “be subject…to every human institution…as free people…”

So, how do we reconcile these two seemingly contradictory themes (submission and freedom) that are sandwiched together in this paragraph? The answer, I believe, is found in a proper understanding of Christian freedom. Christian freedom is not the absence of authority. Rather, Christian freedom is the right ordering of authorities. In fact, Peter defines a life of freedom as putting ourselves under the authority of God, our ultimate authority: “live as people who are free, not using your freedom as a cover-up for evil, but living as servants of God” (1 Peter 3:16). Peter says that God is the ultimate authority who sends earthly governing authorities to act on his behalf, encouraging good and punishing evil. So, somewhat paradoxically, Christian freedom is the basis or foundation of our submission to our governing authorities. The knee-jerk reaction of the re-created servants of God with new natures is a freedom to joyfully submit to their governing authorities.

So, brothers and sisters, live as those who are free. Rightly order your authorities. This is how Peter ends this section (in v.17), by re-emphasizing the ordering of our relationships and authorities. He does this through a chiasm of sorts, emphasizing the middle portion:

A – Honor everyone. (broad earthly relationships)

B – Love the brotherhood. (broad spiritual relationships)

B¹ – Fear God. (highest spiritual authority)

A¹ – Honor the emperor. (highest earthly authority)

As Christians, you are free to live as servants of God. You are not chained to your former, sinful knee-jerk rejection of authority. As Christians, you are free from your culture’s tendency to speak ill of authority. As Christians, you are not bound to walk in lock-step with any particular party’s platform or rallying cries. Your ultimate authority is higher than that. You are free to live as God’s servant, following his commands, to the glory of His great name. May we joyfully live this way as we enter into another political season.

Have you ever noticed how often the Sunday morning and evening sermons have themes that are similar or that fit together nicely? Pastor Conley often comments on this reality during our weekly staff meetings as he gives short previews of the passages on which he is planning to preach. This unity of sermon themes shouldn’t surprise us since we believe in the unity of Scripture, that all of Scripture is consistent and noncontradictory in its message of God, man, sin, and the redemptive story. In fact, we should expect similar themes to be woven throughout various books of the Bible, creating a beautiful picture of the gospel and the Christian life.

The Sunday evening series has recently focused on the relationship of husbands and wives. In three sermons (which you can view here, here, and here), Pastor Conley taught through Ephesians 5:21-33 on God’s desire for the husband/wife relationship to be a clear and beautiful picture of the gospel. The gospel-picture of marriage becomes clear as husbands sacrificially love and serve their wives and as wives joyfully follow the leadership of their husbands. Soon after, during the morning series from 1 Thessalonians, Pastor Conley preached a sermon titled Praying for You from 1 Thessalonians 3:9-13.

The unity of these biblical themes, marriage and prayer, from the morning and evening sermons became evident to me as I thought of a recent resource that I came across called 5 Things to Pray for Your Spouse: Prayers that Change and Strengthen Your Marriage by Michael and Melissa Kruger. This small volume is a short, inexpensive, workbook-style book that you can pick up and use to help you consistently pray specific prayers from Scripture for your spouse. Maybe you’ve wanted to pray for your spouse but have felt stuck saying the same things (“Help him at work today. Help her with the kids at home.”). Or maybe you pray regularly for various needs but haven’t considered including specific prayers for your spouse. Either way, this short, useful book gives you a roadmap to help you pray a variety of things for your spouse that are based on specific passages of Scripture.

Recently, Family Life Today, a helpful podcast on topics related to marriage and family, had Michael and Melissa Kruger on to talk about marriage and prayer, including not just praying for your spouse but praying with your spouse (and kids). The episode is very encouraging and worth the listen. Rather than being left with guilt or unrealistic expectations, you will leave this conversation with practical, realistic ways to include prayer into the rhythm of your marriage and family life.

There may not be any better way to grow your marriage than to pray with your spouse and to pray for your spouse. Praying with your spouse reveals your heart to one another. It gives you a window into what is going on in the other’s life, where her desires are at, what is consuming his thoughts, what are her burdens. Praying for your spouse is taking your thoughts and desires to the one who changes hearts. It is not our role to change our spouse, as much as we might desire that. As Pastor Conley said in his sermon, “God alone knows our hearts, and God alone can fix what is wrong there.” So, brothers and sisters, pray with and for your spouse, and take advantage of these helpful resources to encourage you along the way!

This is the second of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the first, where we interview Joel, here. 

On December 6, 2020, Andrew Bates (and his wife Sarah) joined Hampton Park Baptist Church because they saw how God was at work here and wanted to be a part of it. Little did they know that God had plans to move him into a staff role less than two years later! Though this was not foreseen by Andrew or HPBC, we thank God for leading in this way over the past nine months. 

Prior to moving to Greenville, Andrew served as a Student Ministries Pastor at Faith Bible Church in Naples, Florida; so he enters into this role with a bit of experience. As he steps into this new role, we wanted to ask him some questions that would help you get to know him a little bit better and give you a small window into his passion to help teens grow to love God and the church. 

Andrew, this is your second time serving as a Pastor for Student Ministries. What was your favorite part of serving in this role the first time around?

Definitely building relationships with the teens and helping them understand the joy of the gospel and living for Jesus.

When you first moved to Greenville, we were at lunch (I think at Italian Garden Restaurant), and you told me that you thought God might be preparing you for a lead or preaching/teaching role in a local church. What did God use to shift your focus back to the possibility of serving in student ministries again?

I realized I wasn’t quite ready to grow up completely! 🙂 Truthfully, the Lord has simply continued to give me a desire to minister to teens and has yet to change that. I get excited about getting to play a small role in the discipleship of teens.

And as a follow-up to the previous question, how did God work in you to give you the desire to do that here at Hampton Park in particular? Over the past couple of years, you told me about several other churches that reached out to you about available staff roles.

The character of the pastoral body and the love of the members of HP makes this a special place. The pastoral body is made up of faithful men who humbly love Jesus and serve the body of Christ. Since becoming a member at HPBC, it has been my prayer that God would lead us to a church where I could serve alongside men like the pastors here. And I would have never believed that it would be here! The Lord has been so kind! Another factor was the timing.  I really wanted to get more than half-way through my degree before stepping back into pastoral ministry, and the timing of this opening worked out really well.

Why is investing in the lives of teenagers such an important and strategic thing to do in the church?

The teens are young adults in the church now, but soon they will make up the families of the church. It is vital that teenagers learn how to be committed followers of Jesus and understand the importance of the local church now, so that when they have families, faithfulness to Christ and his church continues. I hope to help them understand how valuable they are in the Kingdom of God and to recognize that the Lord wants to use them for His glory.

Was there anyone in particular that invested in you as a teenager? If so, who? And how was it meaningful in your life?

My dad. He was my youth pastor, my coach, mentor, and friend. I watched him humbly serve the Lord in vocational ministry my entire life. He was a school teacher/coach, missionary, youth pastor, in Christian college ministry, and current pastor. He has been a true reflection of my heavenly father for me and has had an influence on every aspect of my life.

Dads of HPBC teens, I hope you go back and read again what Andrew just said! So Andrew, in order to give you a nice slow start in your role (I say this tongue-in-cheek), one of the first things you did in your new role was help with Connection Week at HPCS. How was that?!

Unexpected!! Connection Week should have been on the job description. 🙂 It was an absolute blast to get to work closely with Cody, Joel, Eric and Ben leading up to the week. These guys love Jesus and these students! The week really helped me get to know the students, faculty and staff, and make me feel a part of the ministry quickly.

You are a busy man. You have four young children, are working on a seminary degree, and now are taking on this role. How do you balance these various responsibilities/roles?

This is probably a better question for Sarah! She helps me a lot in the area of balance. She is strong, loving, and kind as she supports and helps me. For me it has been a journey of learning to be content with the time God has given me each day. I work hard to dedicate specific time to each of these areas and then trust that the Holy Spirit accomplishes what I can’t do on my own anyway.

For those of you who do not know this yet about Andrew, he rivals John Lehman for being an early-riser! Andrew, what excites you most about being in this role?

Getting to work with the Word of God and people. Every day I get to observe and learn from godly men. I also get to teach, encourage, and disciple others to follow Jesus. Being a pastor is a humbling position in which you realize everyday just how much you need Jesus and his grace.

Brag on Sarah for a minute. How has God used her to encourage and support you over the past several years leading up to your time of stepping into this new pastoral role?

Oh man! She is amazing! She truly loves Jesus and wants her life to bring him glory and reflect him. It was difficult making the decision to step out of vocational ministry and move the family up here to SC, but she never doubted that it was what the Lord was calling us to do. When I had times of discouragement, she was patient and faithful in prayer on my behalf. She is such a godly wife and mother to our children. And she is just as passionate about serving the teens here at HPBC as I am!

Alright, last question for now. What is the best book that you’ve read on ministering to teenagers?

This is a tough one…I know it’s not a book about ministering to teens specifically, but Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands by Paul Tripp has helped me much in my ministry. It’s a book that reminds me that God uses people (who are themselves in need of change) as instruments of the same kind of change in others. An important part of leading teens toward the gospel and sanctification is making sure they know that I am in the middle of the same process. I need God’s daily grace to love and follow Jesus just as much as they do.

This is the first of two articles on the transition of Pastors Gearhart and Bates into their new roles at HPBC. You can read the second, where we interview Andrew, here.

For practically all of Pastor Joel Gearhart’s ministry life, he has been focused particularly on discipling teenagers and encouraging parents to do the same. He’s done this in staff and volunteer roles in various local churches, and for the past 9 years, he has faithfully filled this role at Hampton Park. But all throughout that time, behind and underneath that important ministry, another passion has been stirring that is well-known to all those who know Joel well: God’s work through global missions. 

And so, on September 1, 2022, after hiring Pastor Andrew Bates to fill the role of Pastor for Student Ministries, Joel transitioned into his new role here at HPBC as Pastor for Missions and Outreach. As Joel and Andrew transition into their new roles, we wanted to ask each of them a few questions to give you some additional insight into their passions and desires as they begin. Today, we’ll talk to Joel about his new role in Missions and Outreach. Next Friday, we’ll post a similar interview with Andrew.

Joel, you served as Pastor for Student Ministries here at HPBC for close to 9 years. When you look back on your time in this role, what do you most thank God for?

It has been an incredible privilege to invest in the lives of the next generation of HP. Dawn and I have often said that one of the best parts of teen ministry is when teens become friends. We are so grateful for that opportunity here at HP.

Before we leave reminiscing about teen ministry, I have to ask, "Who was the most annoying teenager during those 9 years?"

Without a doubt, Tom Chapman! Oh, wait, you said teen…

You’re now a full-time Pastor for Missions and Outreach here at HPBC. You are well-known by our pastoral body (and members) as someone who is passionate about missions. When and how did your love of missions start?

That’s something hard to pin down. During my childhood we regularly had missionaries in our home. In junior high I read Daktar: Diplomat in Bangladesh, a book about Viggo Olsen. I often heard about my grandparents’ frequent missions trips. In high school I participated in several trips to serve at Indian Reservations in the Southwest. During college I was significantly challenged as I listened to and read John Piper. These are a few things God used to stir my passion for missions. But, more than all that, I grew up in a home and, therefore a church (since my dad was also my pastor), where missions was never an add-on, but was central to family and church life.

You served as Pastor for Student Ministries here at HPBC and at another church prior to coming here. How many mission trips (both international trips and trips to other places in the US) have you taken with those teens?

Here at HP we have led two teen missions trips to the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico with our gospel partners Marco and Gwendolyn Nunez (2015 and 2017). We also took the teens to serve at Plant Camp in Utah three times (2014, 2021, and 2022).

At our previous church we took two teen missions trips – one to Uruguay (2004) and one to Germany (2006). We also took those teens to minister at a church in Windsor, Ontario (2007).

Awesome! That’s 8 by my count. Have you been on other mission trips apart from those trips with teens? When/where?

As a teen I participated in two missions trips in the Southwest – one on a Navajo Reservation (near Farmington, NM) and the other on an Apache Reservation (near Fort Thomas, AZ). When we lived in Wisconsin just after we were married, Dawn and I helped lead a teen ministry trip to inner city Baltimore (2001) and the next summer I helped lead the same group on a ministry trip to inner city Minneapolis (2002). More recently, in 2018 Dawn and I had the opportunity to visit several of our gospel partners in China, along with my brother and his family, who where at the time serving there as well.

What is a particular country or missionary that you hope to visit at some point? And why?

So, you want me to pick a favorite missionary?? 🙂 There are a number of people and places I really look forward to visiting. So, I’ll go with Dominica (where Tony and Martha Cornelius and Hudson and Louise Challenger serve), since that is the first place I plan to visit in my new role.

What excites you most about being in this role?

There are a lot of things that excite me. Since I have to pick one, I’d say that it is the chance to get a front row seat as, Lord willing, over the next few years we will have the opportunity to see God direct a number from our body to go to the ends of the earth for the sake of the gospel.

What is your favorite book on missions? And why? (Don’t cheat. You can only choose one for this question!)

Without a doubt it is A Vision for Mission by Tom Wells. A decade ago I was given this little book by my little brother as he and his family were preparing to leave for China. Some books you read and then just put on your shelf. This is a book I read and have continued to go back to again and again and it has had a significant influence on my thinking about missions. The central idea of the book is that God is worthy to be known and proclaimed for who He is. This is core to the missionary motive and message. And those who know the most about God are the most responsible and best equipped to tell others of Him. This is a great place to start for anyone looking to read about missions.

I read that book with you and the interns a couple years ago and agree that it is excellent! What is your favorite missionary biography? And why?

I love the little book John G Paton: Missionary to the Cannibals of the South Seas by Paul Schlehlein. The autobiography of Paton is excellent, but very long. Schlehlein does a great job of sharing significant highlights of Paton’s life and then drawing out lessons for us to learn from his example and story. If you are looking for a great read you should check it out!

(You’ve continually recommended this biography to me, and I have yet to read it. I’m sorry!) What is the most compelling quote you’ve heard on missions?

I have to give two answers to this question. For a long time, the well-known words of Jim Elliot have gripped me. He wrote that “he is no fool who gives up what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” Elliot lived that to its fullest. The other quote is one that has been up on the white board in my office for several years…at this point it might be permanent. 🙂 I can’t remember where I read it, but it is one that I can’t get out of my head. “It is the pastor’s responsibility and privilege to fan the flame of God’s global glory in the church. Shepherd your people to be disciple-makers among the nations.”

Thanks for sharing all of that! I’m excited to see how God continues to grow our church in this area. I want to shift gears a bit here at the end. Another part of your oversight is local outreach, and you recently told me that you plan to implement a couple of new things at Harvest Happening this year. What are those and why do you see them as a valuable addition to this yearly event for our community?

At Liberty Park (during Plant Camp in Utah with the teens) we used tables with questions on them to engage people in the park in conversation. We plan to do something similar during Harvest Happening. A few of the questions we are thinking of using are “Need Prayer?” and “What is Greenville’s greatest need?”. Our prayer is that God will use these questions to provide opportunities for some of us to have intentional gospel conversations with some of those coming on to our campus.

And finally, is Outreach a program or a way of life? (How’s that for a leading question?!)

Simplest answer I can give is that it is a way of life that on an occasion is programized to rally God’s people during a specific time for a specific task. We are called to be people quick to give answer of the hope that is within us. We are all called to be heralds of the Good News whereever God sends us.

Psalm 111:1-4
Praise the Lord!
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart,
in the company of the upright, in the congregation.
Great are the works of the Lord,
studied by all who delight in them.
Full of splendor and majesty is his work,
and his righteousness endures forever.
He has caused his wondrous works to be remembered;
the Lord is gracious and merciful.

Praising God is a good thing to do. In fact, it’s better than a good thing to do. It’s what our life is about. It’s why we were made. God made us to know him, to experience his goodness through his word and works, and to praise him for it. We were made for worship. But in Psalm 111:1, the psalm-writer goes farther than that. He says he will give thanks to God in a particular place: “in the company of the upright, in the congregation.” Now why is that? Isn’t praise more personal than that? Isn’t it about my personal relationship with Jesus?

While we certainly should praise God personally, the manifold reasons we have to praise God ought not stay with us. And Psalm 111:2 tells us why: “Great are the works of the LORD, studied by all who delight in them.” The church (i.e. “the congregation”) is the gathering place of all those who have made God-exalting, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered worship the delight of their lives. Read that again: the local church is the gathering place of all those who have made God-exalting, Christ-centered, Spirit-empowered worship/praise the delight of their lives. So, when you stand in front of the congregation to testify about God’s work in your life, what used to be reason for one person to thank and praise God has now become reason for hundreds of Christians (depending on the size of the congregation!) to thank and praise God.

Towards the end of 2017, Pastor Conley preached a series of sermons on the topic of Testifying to our church family. Then, at the start of 2018, we began having members of our church testify during our Evening Gathering about God’s goodness and faithfulness in their lives. We’ve heard testimonies of God’s faithfulness in trials. We’ve heard testimonies of God’s graciousness in salvation. We’ve heard testimonies of God’s work in evangelism. We’ve heard testimonies of God’s power at work around the world from gospel partners. We’ve heard testimonies of God’s leading in bringing members into our church family. And we’ve praised God together for these things. For those who have sat through these testimonies, you’ve often heard a murmur of praise to God when they finish. It’s a murmur of Psalm 111:3: “Full of splendor and majesty is his work, and his righteousness endures forever.”

In early 2019, we began saving the recordings of these testimonies and posting them on a secure page of our website for our members to view after the fact. We’ve often heard from members who are away on a Sunday that one of the main things they miss is the testimony on Sunday nights. Since 2019, we’ve gathered over 80 of these testimonies. I would encourage you to take some time to look over this page and watch the ones you’ve missed, or re-watch some that you’ve forgotten. Contact the HP office for the password. Watching these will cause your heart to swell with gratitude, giving you new reasons to delight in God’s works. “He has caused his wonderous works to be remembered; the LORD is gracious and merciful” (Psalm 111:4).