Welcome to Harvest Baptist Church, a place of learning and worship.
We are a church dedicated to teaching the truth of God's Word
Did you just begin your greatest relationship ever with God? If you did, we’d love to hear about it. Email us at Harvestva@comcast.net. Or call us at 1-804-737-5423.
To read a letter to you from our Pastor, please click on his profile picture.
Foreword: I know God is real, and I know He loves me. I know that He loves you, too, whoever you are, whatever your circumstances may be. I’ve been through the good times and the bad times of life, and God has always been there for me.
He has never failed me. But neither has He kept me free from problems or heartbreaks. In this world, we must contend with these things.
But God has always been with me through these times. I can’t imagine what life would be like without Him. You can know Him, too.
You can experience the greatest relationship in your life by understanding God’s love for you, accepting Jesus and His demonstration of love, and knowing Him. - Pastor Alan
Do you long to be known? For people to understand who you are? What your dreams are? How you view the world? Most of us want this, which is why we talk to our friends and share pictures of our life and send Christmas cards. We long for people to know us, to care about us, to love us.
So what if I told you there is Someone who knows you better than your spouse or your best friend or your parents? Wouldn’t you want to know who this is? The One who knows you better than anyone else is God. He created you and has known every detail of your life since before you were conceived. In fact, David tells us how much God knows about us in Psalm 139. He says, “Lord, You have searched me and known me.
You know when I sit down and when I get up; You understand my thoughts from far away. You scrutinize my path and my lying down,
And are acquainted with all my ways” (Psalm 139:1-3, NASB). God knows everything you do and everything you think.
But God doesn’t just know all about us, He wants to have a deeper relationship with us. And don’t we all desire deeper relationships with others?
Part of getting to know people better is listening to them, actually hearing what they are saying. But how often are others distracted when we talk to them? They glance at their cell phones or stare at the TV. They search the room looking for someone else “more interesting” to talk to. When we have a conversations with someone, we want them to listen to us. To comprehend what we say, not just agree with us or look for another person to talk to.
Have you ever thought God was too busy to hear you, to listen to you? He’s not. God doesn’t become distracted by someone or something else. No, He hears each word you say. Psalm 116:2 says, “[God] hears my voice and my pleas.” God listens to you.
Are you going through a difficult situation -- the loss of a loved one, a medical diagnosis, a broken relationship? God knows what you are experiencing and wants to help you. God will meet you right where you are and exactly as you are. You don’t have to pretend to be someone else for God to hear you. Remember, He knows you better than anyone else does, and He wants to help you. It’s hard to believe that God will not give up on you, but God’s Word, the Bible, is full of ways He promises to help you, and you can find this help in the Scripture Reference Guide at the end of this article.
Not only does God know more about you than anyone else does, but He also loves you far more than anyone else could. You might be thinking, “He knows everything about me, and He still loves me?” Yes. Most human love is conditional and limited. When you fail to meet the conditions, the “love” is withdrawn. But unlike human love, God’s love has no conditions and no limits. No one is too evil or too far away for God’s love. God has always loved you, and He will never stop loving you. Romans 8:38-39 says, “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Everything about God is perfect, but unlike Him all of us do things wrong. We all sin. Because God loves us, He wants to forgive us. Because He is holy and just, He must deal with our sin. God loves us so much that He made a way to rescue us from sin. He sent His Son, Jesus, to earth, and Jesus’ mission was to rescue us! Jesus rescued all of us from sin by living a perfect life, dying on the cross and rising again on the third day. He took the punishment for our sin, so we could spend eternity with God. God’s loving rescue plan is explained in the Bible.
God loves you! “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
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God has a wonderful plan for your life! “I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
Because of your sin, you are separated from God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).
The penalty for sin is death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gracious gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 6:23).
The penalty for your sin was paid by Jesus Christ! “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
If you repent of your sin, confess and trust Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, you will be saved from your sins! “That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” (Romans 10:9-10).
“For ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:13).
You’re forgiven. How relieving is it to hear those words after you ask for forgiveness from a loved one for what you did wrong? God offers the same words to you. No matter what you have done wrong, God will forgive you. Nothing you’ve done is outside of God’s forgiveness. God’s forgiveness is like putting your sin as far away as the east is from the west (see Psalm 103:12). When God forgives you, He welcomes you into His presence where there is joy and pleasures forever. Ephesians 1:7 says, “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace.” You can receive God’s forgiveness and begin your greatest relationship ever!
To receive God’s forgiveness, simply ask Him to forgive you for your sin. Here is a simple suggestion for your prayer:
Lord Jesus, I’m like everyone else -- I can’t make it through life on my own. I’m imperfect. I’m prone to sin. I have come to realize that there’s nothing in the world I can do to make myself acceptable to You. But I know that You have loved me so much that You were willing to submit to the cross and die on my behalf. That’s a grace so amazing I cannot understand it; I can only accept it. And I do. I accept Your free gift, and I know that from this moment on, I am saved. I am a child of God. And I give the rest of my life to serving You and experiencing the joy that only You can offer. I thank You and praise You! Amen.
When we love someone, we spend time with them. We talk to them. The same is true of God. He wants a relationship with you; He wants you to spend time with Him and talk to Him! So how do you have a relationship with God?
Prayer. Praying is how we talk to God. We ask Him to forgive us for what we have done wrong. We thank Him for what He has done for us. And we ask Him to provide for our needs (Matthew 6:9-13).
God’s Word. Studying the Bible is how we learn more about God and grow in our relationship with Him (2 Timothy 3:16-17). A great place to start reading God’s Word is to begin with the Gospel of Mark, followed by 1 John.
Church. Attending church allows us to receive support from other believers, to worship God with other Christians and to serve those in our church and our community (Hebrews 10:24-25).
Share. Taking the time to tell someone about your decision to receive God’s gift of salvation is a great way to spread the Gospel (Romans 1:16).
People come and go from our lives. A friend moves to a different town, or we get a new job. And sometimes friends leave because our life is messy and difficult. But God is always with us. Isaiah 41:10 says, “Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, I will also help you.”
As humans we face struggles in life, but God gives us hope and wisdom from His Word to help us in all areas of life. God will provide for your needs. He will help you resist temptation. He will not abandon you when you are facing difficulties. God gives you encouragement and wisdom in His Word to help you navigate life’s circumstances. The following topical guide contains Bible verses to strengthen you in many areas of your life.
1. How can I find help to overcome sin in my life? -- Romans 6:12-14
2. How should I face my anger? -- Ephesians 4:26; James 1:19-20
3. How can I live without fearing “what if”? -- Psalm 4:8; Proverbs 3:25-26
4. Why shouldn’t I fear death as a Christian? -- John 14:1-6; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57
5. Who will help me when I am depressed? -- Psalm 46:1; Isaiah 43:1-3
6. How do I know what God wants me to do? -- Psalm 119:105; Proverbs 3:5-6
7. How can I find encouragement when I am discouraged? -- Isaiah 40:30-31; Lamentations 3:21-24
8. How should a godly family act? -- Proverbs 22:6; Ephesians 6:1-4
9. How can I conquer my fear? -- Psalm 56:3; 2 Timothy 1:7
10. How will my needs be met? -- Matthew 6:25-34; Philippians 4:19
11. Why should I forgive others? -- Matthew 18:21-22; Ephesians 4:32
12. How can I improve my friendships? -- Proverbs 12:26, 17:17
13. How can I find hope in the midst of grief? -- Psalm 147:3; 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17
14. How do I find relief from guilt? -- Psalm 103:12; 1 John 1:9
15. Where do I find strength when I am weak? -- Psalm 73:26; 2 Corinthians 12:9-10
16. How can I defeat loneliness? -- Psalm 27:10; Proverbs 18:24
17. What does a godly marriage look like? -- Ephesians 5:22-33
18. How can I find peace in life’s chaos? -- Isaiah 26:3; Philippians 4:6-7
19. How do I grow spiritually? -- Psalm 1:1-3; 2 Peter 1:5-8
20. Is there relief from the stress of life? -- Matthew 11:28-30
21. What purpose is there in suffering? -- 2 Corinthians 1:3-4; 1 Peter 1:3-7
22. How can I resist temptation? -- 1 Corinthians 10:13; James 4:7
23. What hope is there in times of tragedy? -- John 16:33; Hebrews 4:16
24. What is a godly view of work? -- Proverbs 23:4; Colossians 3:23
25. How can I stop worrying? -- Philippians 4:6; 1 Peter 5:7
Let Us Hear From You