Parkside Blog

Cancer.  It's a diagnosis that no one wants to hear. For many people, this is the most devastating thing that they can imagine.  Janet Vitt-Sommers, however, says that cancer was a blessing for her.

Most of us have questions about heaven.  In fact, bookstores abound with accounts of near-death and after-death experiences, complete with angelic “guided tours”.  A few of these books may have reliable components, but many are misleading and unbiblical.

Christians who believe God’s Word are perhaps partly to blame for this.  We have sometimes failed to adequately explore, explain, and emphasize the main and plain biblical teachings about heaven.  No wonder we have a world of unbiblical thinking filling the vacuum.  There is a void in the human heart crying out for answers about the afterlife, and the relative silence from Christians about what Scripture says about heaven is particularly striking!

Perhaps our seminaries, churches, and families could and should have done a better job.  The ultimate destination of God’s redeemed who will live forever with Christ in the Lord’s new heaven and earth provides a vision, encouragement, and hope that is fascinating, thrilling, and life-changing.

If we're honest, we've all probably had the experience where we think we've just figured out who all the pastors are and what ministries they oversee--and then it changes. Over the past nine months, there have been quite a few changes to the pastoral team, so we thought we'd take a few minutes to catch you up on everything that's new.

What do you get when you put together a group of moms, a bunch of kids, and some toys?  A playgroup!  As moms of young children can tell you, their kids bring a lot of joy...and a lot of questions. The kids' energy can be contagious...and exhausting. As a way to encourage moms, create a social time for kids, and provide an opportunity for Gospel-centered conversations, we launched a playgroup ministry in January.

My name is Kelly Rice. I’ve become involved in the new Playgroups ministry at Parkside and want to tell you a little bit about how we’ve benefited from this ministry.