Worship has been described as "the primary work of the congregation." It is certainly critical in the life and ministry of the church. Worship is the one activity that involves the entire congregation. It is our primary contact with our community. When people are looking for a church they start by attending worship. And often it is worship that becomes the deciding factor in determining whether or not a person will continue a relationship with a church. Most people consider worship to be the primary motivation and encouragement for the life of faith.
At First Presbyterian worship is a vibrant blend of worship styles, music, the dramatic and visual arts, and participatory engagement of the congregation. Our aim is to capture the energy and spiritual quality of contemporary worship while embracing the richness of traditional worship.
Worship design and content are highly regarded at First Presbyterian. Staff resources are devoted to the careful planning of each service. We began 2025 with the annual worship theme: “Rooted in Faith, Growing in Grace”. A monthly theme is selected to support that theme. Recent themes include:
A Message From Pastor RJ Leek
07/17/26
In Genesis 1:2, the ruach Elohim—the Spirit of God—hovers over the deep like a bird over her nest. Ruach is a slippery word: it means breath, wind, and spirit all at once, often in the same verse. It is elemental, atmospheric, almost impersonal in its grammar—something that blows, fills, rushes, and departs. Saul has the ruach come upon him and then leave him (1 Samuel 16:14). It is power more than person, force more than fellowship. The Old Testament saints knew God's Spirit as wind knows a sail: real, effective, but not yet named "Comforter."
Then John writes his Gospel, and Jesus breathes on His disciples: "Receive the pneuma hagion" (John 20:22). Pneuma carries the same root idea as ruach—breath, wind—but in the New Testament it gathers personhood. The Spirit teaches (John 14:26), intercedes with groanings (Romans 8:26), grieves (Ephesians 4:30), testifies (Romans 8:16). The wind has a will. The breath has a voice.
Here is the movement of redemptive history in two words: ruach hovering, and pneuma indwelling. What brooded over the waters in Genesis now broods within the believer. The same Spirit who moved over unformed creation now forms Christ in us (Galatians 4:19).
Don't miss the continuity, though—it's the same Spirit, not a different one. The wind that shaped the deep is the breath that fills your lungs this morning. He hasn't changed. He has simply come closer.
"The wind blows where it wishes... so is everyone who is born of the Spirit." (John 3:8)