Whispering Pines Church

What is a blessing? The oldest recorded passage of Scripture written down anywhere in the world is a blessing – the one that the priests were commanded to bless the Israelites with. As we continue our study of prayer – we turn our attention to a prayer for the greatest gift imaginable in the Old Testament – God’s presence and favor. The Israelites were taught to pray real prayers - not abstract an...

Prayer is one of a number of spiritual disciplines that Christians are to put into practice – meant to be a staple of our lives – along with reading Scripture, fasting, and sabbath rest. But what is prayer? What does it do? What is its purpose? Over the course of the next seven weeks, we’re going to explore the purpose and intention of prayer. We’ll do so by looking at prayers that are offered thr...

The last book of our Old Testament is a book about the love of God. The love found here is not some fluffy emotion. It is sure and certain. It is hard won and selfless. It is expressed in ways here that by its very nature – leads us to repentance and obedience. The book begins with Israel doubting the love of God. This struggle, this doubt, this uncertainty, is the doorway to much of humanity’s si...

Join us this Father’s Day as we give thanks for the fathers and men of our congregation and our community. We are grateful for their influence and passionate faith! This Sunday we continue our study of the prophets by turning to the book of Haggai. Haggai was a prophet during the time of Judah’s return to the land after the exile. During this time the people were hesitant to rebuild the temple. Th...

Since the Fall – there has been conflict and tension on this earth. Struggles that don’t seem to ever resolve. These kinds of tensions leave us with a sense of Us vs. Them. Like the Hatfield’s and McCoy’s – these ongoing conflicts leave us in a lurch. The book of Obadiah speaks into one of these conflicts, a sore spot for the nation of Israel, its ongoing feud with Edom. Obadiah is the shortest bo...

If you have ever known devastating loss, a grief that you didn’t know how you’d ever get past – then Daniel is your book. Daniel was just a young man when he was led into Babylonian exile. 90% of Judah was killed in this time, so in a sense, Daniel was one of the “lucky ones.” As we’ll see this week, Daniel lost not only his past and his present life, but also much of his future on earth was taken...

In Galatians Chapter 1, we will explore Paul's passionate message to the church. He highlights the importance of faith in Christ over adherence to the works of the law and expresses his astonishment at the Galatians' transition to a distorted version of the gospel. The chapter emphasizes the necessity for believers to understand God's true plan for salvation—the Gospel of Jesus Christ. -Ken Kleppe...

The unearned freedom, flourishing, and favor of God is not only endlessly enjoyed in Christ, but graciously extended through His Spirit-filled Church. As Christians, we can struggle to remember that God’s grace towards us doesn’t end with us. God has given us the gift of extending His grace to those around us. Enjoying the jubilee of knowing, and being known by Christ, compels us to love those who...

Join us this Mother’s Day as we come together to thank God for the inspiring and godly women in our lives. This Mother’s Day we give thanks for the women who have been instrumental in the growth of the Christian faith, for the women in our own lives who nurtured our understanding and poured into us, and for the ways Christ elevated women and gave them a voice during His time on earth and ever sinc...

It is around 587 B.C. and the Babylonians are storming Judah in all directions – destroying, murdering, and deporting the Jews from their land, the land that God gave them! What will happen to the faithful remnant? Why is God allowing the faithful to suffer with the sinners? How can a God who hates evil allow evil to come upon Judah and Jerusalem, his sacred city. Habakkuk seems to stand before Go...

The prophet Micah speaks to us out of his own humble beginnings. Micah was from Moresheth, a small village in Southwest Judah. As he grew up he was a witness to the greed, excess, and corruption of the privileged classes. But it was not just the sinfulness of the people that Micah confronts – he confronts their worship. More so than other prophets, Micah asks the question, “What does God truly wan...

Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die…” – John 11:25 Throughout the course of the year great emphasis is placed on the cross, and rightly so. The cross of Christ is a powerful symbol for us of the love and forgiveness of God. We cannot know who God is apart from the cross. It reminds us of the cost of our sinfulness, and...

A time of worship and reflection for Good Friday!

Please join us this coming Sunday for our Palm Sunday Service! On Palm Sunday we remember Christ’s entry into the city of Jerusalem. The whole city was stirred. Men and women threw down their coats and olive branches before Him as he came down the rode on the foal of a donkey. But away from the noise and excitement, the priests of the temple went about their work – and read that day from Psalm 24....

Isaiah writes a book of judgement and hope to the people of Judah. In their rebellion against God, their religious hypocrisy, their worship of idols and moral corruption, God reveals Himself to be holy, and the one and only true God. A righteous and just God that addresses sin, but he is also loving, patient, a promise keeper and redeemer. Join us this Sunday as we look at the character of God thr...

In this third and final week of studying the book of Hosea, we turn to the second half of the book, to see God’s response to the sinfulness and adultery of His people. How does God respond when His own people are as sinful as those who don’t know Him? When the people meant to be a blessing – fail to be? What is His divine response? Lament. Like a parent mourning over their lost children – God lame...

Each one of the 66 books that make up our Bibles is important because each one conveys something unique about our God. As we continue our way through the book of Hosea, we see that this book is primarily about the love of God. Another important aspect of this book that we will explore this week is the personal nature of sin. To sin against God is not like bending the rules with a landlord or an em...

“Jesus Loves Me” – For many of us, this may be the first Christian song that we ever learn to sing ourselves. The words are simple, the tune is catchy, and an important truth is communicated – we are loved by God. Of course, the love of God is brought to its fullness in the death of Jesus on the cross. But in the Old Testament – how would one know the full extent of the love of God? How was it exp...

“If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.” - 2 Chronicles 7:14 The book of Amos, and Scripture as a whole, does everything that it can to knock us off center. To remind us that this life isn’t primarily about us. A life of faith...

We often say that God is in control. But what does that mean? To what extent? How far-reaching is our God? And how should we understand this – should we be comforted by God’s sovereignty? Or fearful because of it? The book of Amos explores the sovereignty of God as He works among His people. God is described here as a Father who loves His beloved so dearly, so desperately, that He both cherishes a...

You won’t want to miss this Sunday morning! Lori Ann Satriano Arfsten, Director of Communications & Community Engagement for Alternatives Pregnancy Center, will be with us to share about the daily work of the pregnancy center and how you can be involved with positive solutions! Lori will explore how we can focus on the humanity of women facing an unplanned pregnancy and at the same time stand for...

Why is it so hard to soften a hardened heart? This is one of the big questions that the prophet Amos explores in his book. The people of God – people who have access to God, His Word, a history of His actions and benevolence – are hard of heart. What will change them? Most people do not want to face their failure. We see that to be true at all ages. But the people of God (outside of a small remnan...

Kevin and Trina Mayfield will be with us this coming Sunday - both in Sunday School and in the morning service. They have been involved in missions full time for over 40 years. The majority of that time they were church planters in Ecuador, SA, where they helped establish 5 national, autonomous churches, a camp ministry, and a couple of Bible Institutes. In 2021, they became Area Leaders for Bibli...

Repentance is a word that I’m confident we’re all familiar with. We associate it with confession, owning up to sin, asking for forgiveness. The prophet Joel speaks to a nation that has a lot of repenting to do – but it seems to have forgotten how. Joel uses one word to communicate what repentance to God ought to look like – Lamentation. Lament is the process of coming to understand our sin. It is...

Join us as we begin a new series – a survey of the Old Testament prophets. The prophets are some of the most interesting figures in the Biblical text. They lived under grueling and disillusioning circumstances – yet spoke with a powerful mix of courage and compassion to a people who often rejected what they had to say. They were the very messengers of God – tasked with calling the people of God to...