Fountain Park Church

Today we worshiped at Fountain Park Church, 8533 Peters Road, Cranberry Township, PA 16066, 724.779.2003, www.fountainpc.com, R. Mark Plumb, Pastor.


Bob’s thoughts:

Sometimes it is good to return to a church you are comfortable in, where you know the theology is right, where you will be welcomed and hear a good message.

Fountain Park is a smaller facility and we have commented previously on its unique attributes. There was an improvement to the signage since our last visit and the coffee available at the rear of the Sanctuary was enjoyable (in case my cardiologist is reading this, I had decaf). There is something special about being in church with our children and grandchildren, a sharing of our family with church family; our church family is just a lot larger than it was.

When we have children in town we want to take them where they will be welcomed and hear a good message. Christ used Mark Plumb for a well-delivered message that we all needed to hear on the existence of Hell and how to avoid going there.

Existing without our son gives a small foretaste of what it would be like to be separated from God, which is perhaps the clearest definition of Hell.

We were blessed to hear some positive remarks about General Assembly from the Executive Presbyter of Beaver-Butler Presbytery. I feel we have become so overly anxious to accommodate that the substance of what we believe is lessened. The lowering of our standards is only weakening the body.


Jan’s thoughts:

Whenever we have family visiting from out-of-state some of our visitors are under 5 years of age, so we like to bring them here to worship because we know it’s a family-friendly, casual, atmosphere with a nursery attached to the Sanctuary, as well as a thought-provoking sermon.

Today’s sermon was more than thought-provoking. Based on I Corinthians 13:12, the message was entitled “The Reality of Hell.” Next week Mark will present part 2 about Heaven, but this week he spoke of the realities of life:
1 – God made you to love you and wants your love in return;
2 – You were made to last forever;
3 – God has prepared 2 eternal places;
4 – You choose where you’ll spend eternity; and
5 – There is no second chance after you die.

He pointed out that Hell is an actual place that is devoid of God or any shred of goodness and that we could settle the question of our eternal destiny today if we decide to accept Christ as our Savior.

This is what Mark preached (and with which I agree). Following is my own thinking on the topic.

Refusing to accept Christ as our Savior means we are gambling with our everlasting destiny, and not only our own but the destinies of those who might have come to Christ because of our witness. Since we do not live in a vacuum, our lives and who we are affect others in ways we will never know this side of Heaven.

I say this from the perspective of one who this month will remember the 4th anniversary of the Homegoing of a child. I have the privilege of looking back at the events in my life that God used to bring me back to Him and thus to help my son know the truth before he left us. For that reason I’ll forever be grateful for every difficult thing God allowed me to experience so my son could know Christ before he met Him face to face.

So, pay attention to what God is trying to show you. You never know what fruit He intends to bring from it.