Posts by Jake Peterson

On Praying, Fasting, and Engaging June 1, 2020 The events of the past week have left many people hurting, confused, angry, sad. And these are all legitimate reactions to sin as it spills out in its many forms. As I've reflected how to navigate all of this I've identified a few actions that I can take to respond well to this and thus fulfill my calling as a disciple of ...

Advent is a time of anticipation... of waiting. For generations God's people waited for the promised Messiah. Would God answer their prayers? Would He finally raise up one who would be their redeemer forever? At the appointed time,God the Son took on human flesh and was born of a Virgin so save His people from their sin. It is easy in the hustle and consumerism of Christ...

It was a joy to host the 2017 A29 Midwest Conference "Jesus Is Bigger" here in Fargo. A number of folks who attended the conference have asked for some of the music we sang together. Below is a breakdown of the songs by session along with author/artist information. All for Christ! ~~~~~~~ Thusday - Session 1 "In Tenderness" (Public Domain: arr. Citizens Saints) ...

This past weekend we were challenged and encouraged by our friend and brother Reid Monaghan as he presented a seminar on parenting called Love and Grace: Aiming Children In A Godward Direction We were given some great content and had some solid interaction with one another around how we can faithfully fulfill our roles as parents and encourage one another, in the body of...

We're on the cusp of multiplying a congregation of worshippers into the SW part of our city. To celebrate what God has been doing among us and to commission some of our church family to plant this new congregation we will NOT be meeting downtown but we will all worship together in one all-church worship service at the Cambria Suites and Convention Center in West Fargo whe...

This Sunday we added to our regular corporate worship an expression referred to as "spoken word." Part poetry part music, the spoken word focuses on lyrical content and presentation to engage the listener to consider the words in a way they might not if they are listening to them being simply read aloud. One of our members, Matt Jacques, along with a guitar and the help...

We're grateful to be a part of Acts29. As a network we want to be about one thing... planting churches. This is a glimpse of who we are as a network and who, by God's grace, we will continue to be as salt and light in the world. For more information check out the new Acts29 website....

As part of our Summer series called "Rhythms" working through spiritual disciplines as a church, we've developed a study guide of sorts working through Psalm 119 methodically through the summer. Sometimes it can be hard to get started (or get re-started) reading the Bible. We want to help you not only read, but want to read, seeking the Holy Spirit to help us to both, und...

The Heidelberg Catechism, written in 1563, was designed, as all catechisms, as a teaching tool. Usually arranged as a series of questions and answers, catechisms help build unity around the basic beliefs or tenants of the faith. While there are a number of good, solid, Bilical and theologically rich confessions and catechisms** -- Heidelberg opens with a gem of a question ...

Hello RC, Traditionally Advent has celebrated with the lighting of candles or the opening of little cardboard doors of stale chocolate. Those traditions are not bad traditions but we want to make sure we don't miss the bigger picture of what God is doing in sending Jesus, fully God and fully man to us. We want to encourage of you, amidst the busyness that comes with this...

It happened again today. I received an email from friends who, through tears, were telling me that the baby they were expecting had stopped developing and that she (the mom) should expect to miscarry within the next week or so. I thought of them, and their other young kids, and prayed that they would all keenly know the nearness of Jesus and the strong and tender grip of ...

Ralph Martin (in his book Worship in the Early Churchon pg. 17) defines worship in this way, "Christian worship, then, is the happy blend of offering to God our creator and Redeemer through Jesus Christ both what we owe to Him and what we would desire to give to Him." What a joy it is for me to take the small gifts that God has given me to assist our church family in our...

"How often do we humbly acknowledge the gift of salvation, of being brought from death to life, and yet, for reasons of doubt, lack of understanding, or unbelief, we leave some of the other beautiful promises of the Gospel covered as if they don’t exist."...

He is RISEN! What a glorious truth! All around the world, thousands and thousands of Christians raised their voices in celebration that the grave could not hold God's Christ! Because of Jesus' death and resurrection we are not only forgiven but are gifted with eternal life as Sons and Daughters - men and women purchased by His own blood from every tribe, tongue, and nati...

The journey to the cross was complete. All four of the Gospel Writers talk bout the death burial of Jesus. Sundown on Friday was the beginning of the Sabbath. Neither handling a dead body nor the work of preparing one for a burial was acceptable. So a man named Joseph from Arimathea, offered a tomb and linen for Jesus' body. He was laid in the tomb and a large stone was...

Good Friday - The Glorious Agony of the Cross "And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left." (Luke 23:33 ESV) What an overly simplistic way to describe what happened on that hillside. "there they crucified him" Crucifixion wasn't an uncommon capital punishment in the Roman w...

"If I do not wash you, you have no share with me." Jesus gathers with his disciples to celebrate the Passover meal in a rented upstairs room. Now, there was likely some washing of hands and face from a day outside in the dusty city but before the meal Jesus does something truly remarkable. The Apostle John records it in his gospel: "Now before the Feast of the Passover,...

Woe to the hypocrites! During his time in Jerusalem, Jesus continues to teach those who gather around him. Often, when the crowd gathers, a contingent of religious leaders follows - sometimes to listen but more often to try to fool Jesus into saying something that will get him into trouble. Rather than just answer their trick questions, Jesus often responds with a questi...

Beginning last night, at sundown, the 7 day observance of of the Jewish Passover began with what is called a Seder meal. This meal consists of specific traditions and customs each having meaning and significance in the remembrance of God's salvation of his people from slavery and bondage in Egypt as recorded in the book of Exodus. More specifically, Passover references t...

For Christians around the globe, yesterday marked what is traditionally known as Palm Sunday. Now, I know that Jesus wasn't born on December 25th, year 0 and didn't rise from the dead on the 3rd Sunday of the month of April. These days serve as a marker for us. A date and time set aside for us to remember and consider what was happening in God's story of redemption. Palm S...

A response to a recent news report on WDAY...

"There is some reality to the claim that people of all ages leave churches because they feel “fake” or Sunday mornings feel more like a rally for a political party. But I don’t think that is THE reason people are leaving churches. I think it is because they aren’t finding a Jesus in their image."...