Timeline Photos

Greetings on this first Friday of June! Hope yours is short and your weekend long on laughs and love. The followers of Jesus, formerly crouching in fear behind locked doors have experienced the spiritual transformation that comes with indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They have experienced a life altering change and have taken to the streets of Jerusalem proclaiming the Good News that belief in Jesus Christ, the Son of God, changes lives! For the common folk on the street that day it was both amazing and perplexing. "What does it mean?" They question out loud. The religious elite are also dumbfounded by the crowds ability to hear and understand the message regardless of their nationality. They don't bother to question the meaning but attribute the change they were witnessing to drunkenness. Change is inevitable when we encounter God. And the truth is we find change difficult whether it's in our churches or in our personal life. But what if we saw It not as a threat but as proof of the Holy Spirit moving and transforming us and our churches to be more Christ like? More open, more accommodating, more loving, making room for all God's people and emboldening us to be open to ridicule on behalf of Jesus? "What does it mean?" Change. The Holy Spirit = Change. Don't be fearful, embrace the adventure... and people thinking you've been sipping the communion wine! Blessings, Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan God, be ever present through the power of your Spirit as we seek to face change and transition without fear. Amen. D365.org

We would like to wish a Happy Birthday to the following: 6/1- Emily Friese; 6/2 - Ian Hoover, Emily Holzhauer, 6/5- Kristy Gaspardo.

Timeline Photos

Last evening we celebrated at Worship on Wednesday this sweet gentleman's birthday. Thanks to Mary Holzhauer and Denece Bressner and all who helped for a great dinner of fried chicken and fixings. We did Mayberry proud!

Timeline Photos

Greetings! I'm wishing each of you a blessed Thursday. Have you ever wanted an extreme makeover for yourself? Are you in the market for a couple of do overs? In Acts 2:1-4 the Holy Spirit comes like a roaring wind into where Jesus' followers had been hiding in fear. They were all filled with the Spirit and spoke in different languages. They were made over Extreme Holy Spirit Edition! They got their do over. With tongues of flames dancing on their heads and warming their hearts they no longer cowered in the dark. They stepped out boldly into the light proclaiming the Good News of Jesus Christ in languages all could understand. Friends God is in the process of making us over and gifts us with many do overs. The gift of the Holy Spirit emboldens us to embrace new dreams and visions. Others are longing to hear how they too can receive their extreme makeover, be sure to share the Good News! Blessings Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan Come Holy Spirit, infuse us, refresh us, renew us, give us an extreme makeover and embolden us with your power and presence. Amen.

First Presbyterian Church, Pontiac, IL Sunday Service at 9AM's cover photo

Timeline Photos

Greetings! Wishing you a very happy Hump Day, may it be all smooth sailing from here! This Sunday is Pentecost Sunday when the Church celebrates the coming of the Holy Spirit. The Gospel of John 20:19-23, tells us that when Jesus stood in the midst of his followers he first calmed their fears by offering his peace, he then breathed on them the Spirit of God. Hmmmm...I wonder if Jesus had popped some mint in his mouth...remember Lazarus? Jesus had been dead and buried for three days! Just kidding! I'm not sure anyone likes to be breathed on but the truth is sometimes that's exactly what we need...a fresh breath, a stirring of the doldrums. One of the things I love about spring is throwing wide the widows and allowing the wind to blow fresh, living air into a house that has been shut up with recycled dead air. That's what Jesus does for his followers then and now, blows fresh living air into lives that are in recycle mode, stuck in fear and smothered by the status quo. Jesus came to give us so much more. The Spirit abides with us so that we have the courage to embrace the abundance and move out into the world to share that breath of love with a world that is weary from breathing the stale polluted lies of hate and injustice. Friends, stop, take a deep breath, you are loved and you are sent. Blessings! Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan God of Wind and Spirit, continue to encourage us not to live in a spirit of fear but with the fresh breath and anointing of your Holy Spirit. Amen. d365.org

Timeline Photos

Greetings! Hope you have a Terrific Tuesday! If you have ever served in a leadership position you know the weight of responsibility and the heartburn of uncertainty. Moses most certainly did. The little band of God's children he was leading through the wilderness weren't the most cooperative of folks! While Moses and you and I often feel we are all alone with the weight of the world on our shoulders, it just isn't so. God sent God's Spirit to help Moses with the trials of leadership and God encouraged him to divide the responsibility with others. Friends, regardless of your job title or your responsibilities remember you are never alone. Let the Spirit lift your burdens and look to those God has sent into your life who might help. Blessings, Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan God of Moses and Joshua, remind us that we do not need to carry our burdens alone. In this time of Pentecost, guide us in relying on the Spirit’s availability and guidance. Amen. D365.org

Timeline Photos

Happy Memorial Day! While you are out and about enjoying the first holiday of summer take time to enjoy God's beautifully diverse creation. Let the Spirit fill you with awe of its shear magnificence. Give thanks to a loving God who provides such wonders as towering trees, crashing waves, and the gentle hum of a honey bee. This same God created you and loves you. God wants to be in relationship with you...all of creation was gifted into our hands in love. Today we must also give thanks to those who have served and are serving and those who gave their lives so that you and I could enjoy the freedom to worship and praise the God of this Glorious Creation. Let us always remember and never take our Freedom in Christ for granted for it to came at a great price. Peace be with you, Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan Gracious God, we ask for ears to hear, eyes to see, and a heart to receive the presence of your Spirit in the center of our daily life. May your Spirit consistently stimulate us in worship, praise, and witness as it orchestrates all of creations worship, praise, and witness of You, Creator God. We ask your blessings upon our Veterans, active Service Personnel, and the families of those for whom war took too high a price. We pray for the day when peace will engulf all of creation and flow from every creature. Amen. D365.org

Timeline Photos

Happy Friday! While we live in a free society that allows us to worship God and follow Jesus without the fear of persecution that wasn't true for the early Christians within the Roman Empire. Nor is it true for many of our sisters and brothers in countries were Christians face persecution and even death for their faith. How do we in our comfortable freedom begin to have an inkling of what 1 Peter 4:12 is speaking about? "Perhaps if we devoted ourselves to Christian practices that are out-of-step with majority culture, such as fellowship with the persecuted, the poor, the different, we would know what it means to suffer at the hands of the powerful, whose agenda will never align with that of the followers of Jesus." (Sarah McCaslin) Friends I couldn't have said it better myself! On whose behalf are you suffering? Blessings, Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan God of power and might, when we become fearful of the discomfort and suffering that comes as a result of being your follower, assure us that in your heavenly realm, there will be neither tears nor pain to bear. Amen. D365.org

Timeline Photos

Happy Wednesday! While the angels admonished the disciples for standing and gazing up in amazement as Jesus ascended to heaven...nudging them to remember their commission with the assurance that Jesus would someday return. Still, I think their behavior was an appropriate response! And the truth is there are times we should stop and lift our eyes to the skies. Take a moment today to look up and praise our awesome God! Blessings Pastor Canessa Lockhart Lagan God, when we find our gaze stuck to the ground, guide our eyes upward to the heavens to see the world anew, to welcome the clouds and stars into our line of vision, to greet you in amazement and awe. Amen.

Timeline Photos

Happy Tuesday! Beginning the third day and third leg of our journey. Looking forward to seeing my daughter and my son's family. Hope all is well with my church family! Blessings! Pastor Canessa God, help us to trust that we do not walk alone into an unknown future. Guide our feet where you would have them go, and grant us power by the Holy Spirit to be a guide to others. Amen.

Timeline Photos

Join us this Sunday, May 21st at 9:00 a.m. as we recognize our graduates! Congratulations Ross Bressner, Claire Nyi, Aaron Hoover, Logan Johnson, and Kate Roberts! God Bless You!