Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
2 Thessalonians 3:16
Shalom!
In Bible times, when people met or said goodbye, they used this word shalom, In Hebrew this word means peace, but could also be translated as harmony, wholeness, completeness, prosperity, welfare or tranquility. It is the absence of anything that can in some measure disturb our lives.
As you have come to this website to browse for information about our congregation, look for a sermon or for whatever reason you have come. This is our desire for all of you: Shalom!
I think we are all aware of the fact that in many places and lives peace is absent. It seems to be something elusive in our world. Perhaps someone who has come to this website has given up all hope on peace. Or, perhaps you came to find peace for your soul. I hope and pray that that’s why you came!
Because, through the Gospel, the church has a message of peace! It is a message that comes from the God of peace, as you can see in the verse above. God Himself is called there the Lord of peace. God is the God of peace! He is perfectly at peace, ever and always! Nothing that happens in this world truly disturbs Him. He knows it all, He ordained it all. So, there is a mighty calm in heaven… (cf. Lk. 19:38) He Himself has complete peace, harmony and glory in heaven!
Through Jesus, His Son, who is called the Prince of Peace (Isa. 9:6), He entered our troubled and war-torn world to bring real and lasting peace to sinful and troubled hearts and lives. The way we are born, without knowing Him, each one of us are enemies of God (Rom 5:10). Now the glorious thing is that Christ invades sinful and fearful hearts of enemies with His peace! He makes peace through the blood of His cross! (Col 1:20).
He brings peace with God (1 Pet 1:2), peace with one another (cf. Ps. 133:1, Rom 14:19, Col 3:12-15), and peace in our hearts and minds (Phil 4:7)! As we are being changed by the God of Peace Himself, we learn to live in peace, because He breaks our sinful and rebellious alienation. The result will be: the more we know the Lord of Peace Himself, the more we will experience His peace in our lives.
This God is able to give us peace always and by all means! So, in other words: God is able to give us peace always and in every way! How you wonder? Just as the text above shows us: when the Lord of Peace Himself comes to be with us and live in us! Then you and I will have true shalom in our hearts and lives. It doesn’t mean that our circumstances can be tumultuous. But when you know the God of peace is with you and for you, you can be like a little baby who sleeps during a tumultuous storm, because it knows, it is carried by the strong arms of his father (cf. Ps. 4:8).
No, here we won’t have perfect and undisturbed peace, though the Lord is able to calm our hearts, but, one day, there will be eternal shalom! And when we trust in the blood of Christ, by which He made peace for us, with us, and in us, we will one day enjoy eternal shalom! Then we will experience God’s full peace, then, we will truly prosper, and nothing will ever make us afraid! Then we will bask in the presence of the God of peace!
Isaiah already knew this when he wrote: They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, For the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD As the waters cover the sea (Isa 11:9). He tells us there about a time when the wolf and the lamb dwell together, when the leopard will lie down with a young goat, when a baby will safely play with a hole filled with snakes…
This is the Gospel (= good news) of peace! This will one day be a reality! Will you be there one day to experience that peace? As an ambassador of Christ, I am called to say to those who don’t know our God of peace yet: Be ye reconciled with God! Make peace with Him! (2 Cor 5:20)
Why and how is this possible?! 2Cor 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. That’s the only reason why sinners can have peace! That’s the only reason why sinners one day can and will enjoy eternal peace!
Now the Lord of peace himself give you peace always by all means. The Lord be with you all.
Shalom!
Pastor Pieter van der Hoek
Pastor Pieter van der Hoek was born and raised in the Netherlands. He started his career in business but switched to education as he desired to be more directly useful in God’s Kingdom. As a part of his studies to become a teacher of English, he joined a program called: Christian education crossing the border. This program involved an International Experience component in which he was expected to spend 3 months abroad.
In God’s providence, he ended up at the Puritan Reformed Theological Seminary in Grand Rapids, where he studied the Puritans on their view on authority and discipline. This was in the year 2010-2011. During this time the Lord through His Word and providence showed that he had to start studies at the PRTS.
Upon return, Hanneke and he prepared for their marriage and their move overseas. He started studies at PRTS during the Fall Semester of 2011. After having completed 2,5 years of his studies at the PRTS he joined the HRC as a student in 2013. During this time the Lord continued to confirm his call and he graduated from PRTS in 2016.
That same year he accepted the call from the HRC of Burgessville, Ontario. He was ordained and installed in the ministry in January 2017. For 6,5 years he worked together with Pastor David Lipsy in Burgessville, until the call from the Hull HRC came in December 2022. After acceptance of the call, he was installed in the Hull congregation in July 2023.
Pastor Pieter and Hanneke have five children, four daughters, and one son. Since 2023 they live in Hull Iowa, with the desire and prayer that God will make them useful for His Kingdom purposes.