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The Gospel in the Canyon
The good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ must be proclaimed around the world; however, it must begin with us in our canyon. In order for us to understand the gospel, we must have a proper understanding of the Word of God. The purpose of this blog is to engage the reader and to inspire the reader to explore the Scriptures to, like the Bereans, see if these things are so. If you as the reader come away with a greater hunger to devote more time to God's Word, the Bible, then I believe this blog has fulfilled its intent.
JOSHUA VAN VLACK
Pastor, Canyon Bible Fellowship
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The Sacred and the Secular
As I write this, it is the first Tuesday in November, and which we all know means Election Day. With it being an off-year election, there typically isn't much to vote on. As a matter of fact, my ballot only had one item. Still, I dutifully marked my ballot and dropped it off at the closest designated drop-off place. As I think about it, I miss the old days of going to a polling place, walking in, finding my name on the list, getting my ballot, and filling it out there. There
Joshua Van Vlack
Nov 4, 20252 min read
Joyful Endurance
Freddie Freeman's walk-off homerun in the bottom of the 18th inning, October 27, 2025. (Photo Courtesy of Scripps News) Last night was epic. For those who aren't baseball fans, last night witnessed the longest game in World Series history. A marathon showdown between my beloved Los Angeles Dodgers and the Toronto Blue Jays went an astounding 18 innings. That's twice the length of a normal game. The game was filled with emotional highs and lows, with the only run scored aft
Joshua Van Vlack
Oct 28, 20252 min read
Fruit of the Vine
I am not a wine drinker. In fact, I have never consumed a recreational alcoholic beverage of any kind in my life. However, I do know that we live in some of the best wine country in the world. If you drive up from Albany to Salem, I-5 passes through Willamette Valley Vineyards. I had the opportunity to attend an even there many years ago, and I was amazed at the work that goes into maintaining the vines. The image of vines is a common one throughout the Bible. The words 'v
Joshua Van Vlack
Oct 21, 20252 min read
What About Me?
I've never been much of a country music fan. I know in some circles that is tantamount to heresy. However, I have enjoyed some of Toby Keith's songs from time to time, particularly his patriotic songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue" and especially "American Soldier." However, one of his songs, I think, captures an important aspect of fallen human nature. The chorus of his song "I Wanna Talk About Me" goes like this, "I wanna talk about me, I wanna talk about i. Wa
Joshua Van Vlack
Oct 14, 20252 min read
Sharing the Excitement
Solar Eclipse 2017 How many of you remember the solar eclipse of 2017? Karen and I were living in Keizer at the time, and this placed...
Joshua Van Vlack
Oct 7, 20252 min read
A Place of Worship
This past Friday, my wife and I, along with our exchange student and another couple from our church, had the privilege of taking the...
Joshua Van Vlack
Sep 30, 20252 min read
What Is Hope?
How many ways do we use the word 'hope'? I hope my Dodgers will be healthy enough going into the playoffs to win another World Series...
Joshua Van Vlack
Sep 22, 20252 min read
Faithful Endurance
This week has been a challenging week for many of us for a variety of reasons. Certainly, a number of people are still processing the...
Joshua Van Vlack
Sep 16, 20252 min read
Stolen Valor
I just recently discovered something about the Oregon State Fair that I never knew. On Labor Day, veterans and first responders and their...
Joshua Van Vlack
Sep 9, 20252 min read
Cross Cultural
A new phase of the year has begun. Kids are starting back to school, and the relative simplicity of the summer is transitioning to...
Joshua Van Vlack
Sep 2, 20252 min read
Christ and Family
This past week, I took some time away from the office to tackle some honey-do chores, work on a project, and help my parents prepare for...
Joshua Van Vlack
Aug 26, 20253 min read
Justice from the Heart
Distributive, retributive, procedural, economic, restorative, corrective, social, political. What do these words have in common? They...
Joshua Van Vlack
Aug 12, 20252 min read
Dirty Laundry
Joshua the High Priest (Zechariah 3) One of the chores that seems almost endless in the home is doing laundry. I'm convinced that...
Joshua Van Vlack
Aug 5, 20252 min read
A Lesson from Mt. Washington
Mount Washington and Suttle Lake (courtesy of wikipedia.org ) One of the advantages of living in Lyons, is that the tourist town of...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jul 28, 20252 min read
The Good Fight
When I was a kid, probably 5 th or 6 th grade, I got in the only fight I was ever involved in. I don't remember the name of the other...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jul 22, 20252 min read
Childlike Faith
We are waist-deep into the busyness of the summer. Currently, our church is hosting the community Vacation Bible School. This year for...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jul 15, 20252 min read
For Freedom's Sake
I hope everyone had a restful Independence Day weekend. On the 4 th , I took advantage of the opportunity, along with some of the rest of...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jul 8, 20252 min read
Light and Clarity
This morning, I had the opportunity to participate in an online meeting with James Gleason, our Regional Executive Director, and about a...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jul 1, 20252 min read
Spiritual Maintenance
One of the ongoing responsibilities of home ownership is maintenance. I am amazed at how quickly a yard can get out of control. As I sit...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jun 24, 20252 min read
Finding Rest
Moolack Beach, Oregon In the aftermath of the trailer incident (if you don't know about that, I would encourage you to read last week's...
Joshua Van Vlack
Jun 17, 20252 min read
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