Valley Presbyterian Church

We began this first Sunday of Lent by exploring our theme to approach the story of Scripture through the eyes of children. Jesus tells us that unless we approach God as a child, we will not enter into God's realm. How do we reclaim our innocence and sense of wonder in our faith? Join us to kick off this season!

This Sunday, we welcomed Brian Heredia to preach on one of the first stories in the Bible, the story of Cain and Abel. Brian explored what it means to trust God and the hidden reasons we often struggle to trust.

This Sunday, as we continue our journey through the Bible, I explore the story of a woman who was forgotten and invisible to everyone but God. God sees us in our hidden places too. With God's eyes, we are invited to see those who are invisible.

This Sunday, we'll explore an obscure and rather dark biblical story from the time of King David. The story of the protest of a heartbroken mother named Rizpah changes the heart of a king and brings honor to her disgraced family. Her story brings to light the way our grief has power to make change in ourselves and in the world around us.

The practice of our faith is not judged by right opinions or beliefs but by the wideness of our welcome. The book of James invites us to examine the quality and limits of our embrace of those who are the "other." In the way of Jesus, there are no favorites and no exclusive access. Join us on Sunday as Pastor Jenny speaks from this passage and has a conversation with our Community Curator, Jaron Ch...

This is a time to take a moment to reset our values and priorities as we enter into a new season. Pastor Jenny will invite us to consider Deuteronomy 10 when the Israelites were invited to a reset.

We live in communities fraught with othering, be it for race, gender, faith, class or political ideology. The question, for believers, is how do we navigate this terrain while being faithful to Jesus' call for us as disciples? Faithful practice means we must widen our circle of concern for those it is easiest to love and particularly for those with whom it's most difficult. Embracing the invitatio...

Our staff member Aisea Taimani preaches!

What does it mean to live with transparency? This week we'll explore the Ephesians' call to live in the light of God's love and let that light shine to others.

We're excited to welcome Naomi Kinsman back to preach this morning. Her message will highlight that each individual is God’s poem, and collectively, our gifts work in harmony. One gift God gives us all is the ability to notice and celebrate gifts in each other. As we reflect on the roles we each play in our circles of community, how might we name the gifts we see in one another? How might we liste...

We all have a part to play in this world. Our actions matter. Each of us has our own gifts to give. Ephesians 4 gives us a picture of how good it can be when we all do our part. We'll be worshipping in our Redwood Grove this Sunday. Join us under the trees to sing, pray and listen together!

This Sunday Alicia Garcia from the amazing organization, WeHope will join us to share her message about how we need each other to bring out the essence of God in our lives and to be a thriving church who shines light into the darkness. WeHope serves the unhoused population all over the Bay Area, bringing dignity and hope through their shelters, Dignity on Wheels and job training programs. Alicia i...

These verses in Ephesians 3:14-21 are what you pray when you don't know what to pray. They express the inner architecture of faith and the guiding words for our journeys in Christ. As we read and consider them, we'll seek hearts enlarged with God's love and strength beyond our own to live the lives God is calling us to.

We are excited to welcome Kafunyi Mwamba as our preacher this week. Kafunyi is a chaplain at Stanford Hospital and part of the pastoral staff at our partner church, St Mark AME Zion in East Palo Alto. A native of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Kafunyi truly represents the title of his sermon, "Joy." In his own words: "The topic today is joy. And the chief question is: How can we be happy in dif...

On this fourth of July weekend, we'll consider our allegiances. This beautiful passage in Ephesians 2:11-22 invites us to place our allegiance to Jesus beyond any other group, identity or nation. When we do that, we find peace and community.

We begin our summer study of Ephesians with Ephesians 1:3-14. This letter is set up with a bunch of superlatives, reminding us that we are the beloved adopted children of God. What if we lived as if "every spiritual blessing" were ours? Let's take a moment to focus on what God has given us and to soak in the indescribably good gift of being children of God.

God calls us his masterpiece, his "poeima," which can be translated as his poem. What does it mean to be God's poem, God's poetry? As we live out this life-giving vocation, how might we listen for God's call, and use our voice in response? How might we join the artful pursuit of building a more loving world? Guest preacher Naomi Kinsman speaks.

Guest preacher Nate Millheim speaks on living with gratitude.

Today we hear from one of our seniors, Theo!

Why does it matter that Christians think of God as the Trinity? How might this ancient idea change how we view our world? And what does it mean for us in every day life? As we consider Nicodemus' visit to Jesus at night, we'll explore the answers to these questions on this Trinity Sunday.

This morning we'll explore the challenge of faith in our current time and how the story of Pentecost may give us signposts for reviving our lives and communities. Pastor Jenny will be preaching and Aisea will be sharing his story along with leading music.

One of the most powerful gifts of being human is to give witness to each other in the contours of our stories. Jesus asks his disciples to bear witness as he ascends to heaven. How do we become more skilled witnesses to God's love?

Interview Kelly Bean and Evariste about work in Burundi, the joy that comes from giving our lives to another.

Today we go back to the beginning, looking at one of the Creation accounts in Genesis and how it invites us to partner with God in affection and care for the earth. What if we started our conversations about caring for the earth by acknowledging that this is what we are made for? This morning we will rediscover the joy of being a part of all God has made.

Resurrection becomes real when we make it local, considering the place we live and what is needed here and now. Today's service will begin our April focus on caring for the earth as an expression our faith.