In this sermon, Pastor Aaron Vriesman provides an introduction and thorough overview of John's gospel, including of course highlighting how it is different from the other three New Testament biographies of Jesus.
Thursday, July 9, 2026
OPEN MIC AT GOLD RUSH BREWERY IN MADOC THIS SATURDAY JULY 11 6:00-9:00 P.M.
Dear Friends:
Such a great Open Mic June 27!! You just never know WHO will be there! And it's always a great night. How can you go wrong with Live Local Music, Fine Cold Craft Beer and Barbee's Smoking Bar-B-Q Food Truck just off the patio ?! You can sit inside or outside and still enjoy the music on these warm summer evenings.
So see you THIS Saturday 6:00-9:00. Next Open Mic July 25.
We'll have all the sound equipment you need - just bring your instrument. Come to play or just enjoy! Everyone welcome!
Elizabeth & Robert
Wednesday, July 8, 2026
GOSPEL OF LUKE IN A NUTSHELL (NEW TESTAMENT IN A NUTSHELL)
In this sermon, Pastor Aaron Vriesman provides an introduction to and summary of Luke's gospel as well as highlighting its unique aspects and themes.
WAYMO DRIVES THROUGH EXPLODING FIREWORKS AS PASSENGER LEFT HELPLESS
New York Post
Terrifying moment Waymo drives through exploding fireworks as passenger left helpless
By Daniel Farr
Published July 5, 2026, 4:56 p.m. ET
A Fourth of July robotaxi ride in San Francisco turned terrifying after a Waymo vehicle appeared to drive directly through an exploding firework while its passengers watched in horror.
As a person standing on a sidewalk appears to ignite a firework in the middle of an intersection, a passenger inside the self-driving car films through the window.
The firework begins detonating just as the Waymo continues moving forward instead of stopping. “Oh no, no, no,” one passenger can be heard saying as the autonomous vehicle enters the blast.
Colorful smoke is visible coming from what appears to be beneath the robotaxi, prompting another passenger to ask, “Are we on fire, dude?”
The passengers were not injured.
The fireworks scare unfolded during a night of severe congestion across Northern San Francisco, where unusually heavy traffic created widespread problems for Waymo’s fully electric fleet.
“Our priority is keeping San Francisco moving safely, especially during major city celebrations. On July 4th, extreme traffic congestion in Northern San Francisco disrupted normal operations for several Waymo vehicles.
“In coordination with local authorities and emergency services, our roadside assistance team worked quickly to clear our vehicles from the area.
“Our team is always evaluating ways to strengthen Waymo’s resilience in major traffic disruptions,” a Waymo spokesperson said in a statement to KRON4.
Waymo is owned by Alphabet Inc., Google’s parent company. The autonomous driving program began in 2009 as the Google Self-Driving Car Project, internally known as Project Chauffeur, before becoming a standalone Alphabet subsidiary in December 2016.
The company currently leads the autonomous ride-hailing market with 577 registered driverless vehicles and roughly 500,000 paid rides each week across 10 cities. Its system relies on an advanced LiDAR sensor suite.
Tesla, by comparison, is expanding localized public trials in Texas with 42 registered driverless vehicles using a camera-only vision system while developing its purpose-built Cybercab.
THE PERVERTS ARE COMING, THE PERVERTS ARE COMING
Two posts from x:
Róisín Michaux @RoisinMichaux: Last week I went to pride in Dublin. I was in shock at the mix of childish aesthetics and hardcore porn on display. I saw a girl standing at the side of the road roaring crying and I asked her what happened. She said a man had sexually assaulted her: he ran up to her and put his hands under her clothes, molested her and forcibly kissed her. She looked about 15. All of her friends (all dressed up in the “queer” uniform, girls who looked like they would have been emos a decade ago) were all freaking out, trying to get help. One of them went up to the police who were passing in their rainbow squad car, she was telling the guards through the window of the car but they just kept going. So I ran off and found another Garda (on a bike) who wasn’t “marching” in the parade but “working”. He was having a great time chatting to people and wouldn’t budge. I said “a girl has been sexually assaults down there” and he said “if she comes up this way I’ll have a word with her”. The girl told me the man was “brown with a Palestine hat” so I went looking for him myself. I couldn’t find him. He may have been from a culture where all sexuality is taboo and here he was in an open air sex club with children everywhere. Paradise
James P. Sullivan @JustinK69383351: I was in Temple Bar on the Friday before the parade. I saw 2 50 something "trans women", one in a tiny miniskirt with a fake dick hanging out and the other one kept fondling it. This was around 6pm with children around.
Tuesday, July 7, 2026
11 YEAR OLD GIRL SHOT WHILE WAITING FOR FOOD IN MCDONALDS PARKING LOT
PEOPLE
Bullet Cannot Be Removed from Head of Girl, 11, Shot While Waiting for Food in McDonald’s Parking Lot
By Bailey Richards Published on July 5, 2026 01:27PM EDT
A girl and her father — described as “innocent bystanders” — were shot in the parking lot of a Florida McDonald's. A bullet became lodged in the daughter’s head, and doctors now say they cannot remove it yet.
The 11-year-old girl and her father — identified by NBC 6 South Florida as Dora Belen Rivera and Oscar Roman Miron — were struck by bullets while sitting in a vehicle outside a McDonald's in Hallandale Beach on the afternoon of Saturday, June 27.
A GoFundMe created on the family's behalf reveals new details about the tragic incident and the condition of the victims.
“As reported by local authorities, Oscar and his family had just arrived at the restaurant while his wife went inside to pick up food. Oscar remained in the vehicle with their three children. Without warning, an altercation broke out between other individuals in the parking lot, and gunfire erupted,” Miron's co-worker Reyna Mateo wrote on the GoFundMe fundraiser.
Rivera was shot in the head and her father was shot in the hip, per NBC 6.
A 2-year-old and 5-year-old child, whom the outlet identified as Rivera's siblings, were also inside the vehicle at the time of the incident, but they were not wounded, police previously said. The GoFundMe added, “Their two other children, who were also inside the vehicle, were physically unharmed but witnessed the terrifying incident.”
As of Monday, Miron was treated and released from a hospital, where his daughter remained in stable condition. He is “continuing his recovery at home,” per the GoFundMe.
Rivera, meanwhile, remains at the hospital in stable condition. She has undergone surgery, per the fundraiser, but the bullet from the shooting remains in her head.
“Doctors have advised the family that they are not removing the bullet at this time because doing so could cause even greater harm,” the fundraiser states. “She continues to receive specialized medical care and faces a long road to recovery.”
Ralph N-Kosi Blue III — who was arriving at work at the restaurant, per NBC 6 — was arrested in connection with the shooting, the Hallandale Beach Police Department previously confirmed.
The incident originated outside Hallandale Beach, police previously said.
In a statement previously shared with PEOPLE, Brad Ashlin, the owner and operator of the McDonald's location, said, “We are devastated by the shooting that occurred outside our restaurant. Our thoughts are with the father and young daughter who were injured, as well as their family during this difficult time."
Ashlin added, "The individual reported to be involved is no longer employed at our organization. We will continue to support the Hallandale Beach Police Department, including providing surveillance footage and any assistance needed for their investigation.”
Police described the family as “innocent bystanders.” The GoFundMe further states, “Oscar and his family had no involvement whatsoever in the incident.”
Per NBC 6, Blue, 18, was charged with two counts of aggravated battery with a deadly weapon and two counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon without intent to kill. He is no longer employed at the McDonald's, and he is being held at the Broward County Jail without bond, per NBC 6.
It is not immediately clear whether Blue has acquired legal representation.
CONEY ISLAND MASS SHOOTING MAY HAVE BEEN GANG RETALIATION
New York Post
Coney Island mass shooting may have been gang retaliation: ‘They aimed for babies’
By Fenix Suriel, Joe Marino and Jorge Fitz-Gibbon
Published July 5, 2026, 5:34 p.m. ET
The brazen gunman who launched a mass shooting at a July 4th family cookout on Coney Island “aimed for babies,” a victim’s mom told The Post — as police probed whether the violence was gang-related.
Cops are still looking for the black-clad thug who pulled the trigger at the horrific Saturday night shooting, which left eight people wounded, including four youngsters, and traumatized a family whose celebration turned into tragedy.
“They just didn’t care,” said Tiffany Williams, whose 21-year-old daughter was shot in the chest and left fighting for her life in a coma, referring to the criminals who caused the bloodshed.
“They aimed for babies,’’ the mom said Sunday from the hospital.
The youngest victims were a 6-year-old boy who was shot in the stomach and a 7-year-old boy and 12- and 14-year-old boys who were shot in the legs, police said. They are expected to survive.
The senseless shooting came as friends and relatives gathered outside a Brooklyn building for an Independence Day celebration involving a family cookout in a gated area on West 30th Street and Surf Avenue.
Everything changed shortly after 10:30 p.m.
A lone gunman wearing all black and a black ski mask approached the group and fired at least 10 shots before fleeing, authorities said.
“The next thing you know, we see people falling on the ground, running,” Williams said. “Then I realize two of my daughters got shot. My two nephews, babies, innocent babies. My cousin.
“Innocent people that had nothing to do with nothing. Babies, and they was just shot.”
NYPD Commissioner Jessica Tisch told reporters that the shooting may have been in retaliation for a fatal gang-related bullet spree on the same block earlier in the week.
“There is no indication at this time that there was any argument or altercation at the barbecue before the shooting occurred,’’ she said.
“Earlier this week, we had a confirmed gang-related homicide that occurred on the same block,’’ she said. “We are looking into whether there is a nexus between the two incidents.
“A Tec-9 style firearm equipped with an extended magazine was recovered on that scene, along with 10 discharged shell casings.’’
Williams’ son, DeJhan Williams, 22, said Sunday, “All we heard was a loud firework go off outside of the gates.
“After the fireworks went off, we just heard gunshots, bah, bah, bah, bah. Everybody just got down. You see blood everywhere.
“Three of my baby cousins, two of my sisters got hit. My cousin got hit in the chest. One of the other men got hit in the arm,” he said. “I just felt rage. I can’t explain it. My family just got shot.”
He said his family was not the intended target. It remains unknown who was.
Also among the wounded were a 37-year-old man shot in the shoulder, a 33-year-old man shot in the chest, and a 25-year-old woman shot in the leg. They were expected to survive.
The senseless shooting rattled neighbors, some of whom first thought the gunfire was celebratory fireworks for Independence Day.
“I’m thinking they’re fireworks, because, of course, it’s the 4th of July,” said Coney Island local Erica Borrelli to The Post.
“My son is 10 years old. He ran over to me and he was like, ‘Mom, those are gunshots.’
“He instantly knew the difference,” Borrelli said, adding he was aware because he plays “Fortnight’’ and “Call of Duty.’’ “He was like, ‘That is not a firework. That is a gunshot.’ ”
Another neighborhood resident who asked not to be identified recalled the outburst of bullets.
“It was really hard to tell exactly how many, but at least 16,” the local said. “I was watching the fire works from my apartment. I saw police speeding down the street like a cowboy movie.”
Residents said the building at the scene of the incident has long been troublesome.
“They’re vandals in the projects over there,” a local said. “They’re out here at all times of the day, jumping on people’s cars, throwing eggs, throwing rocks, at people’s cars as they’re driving by.”
Another neighborhood resident agreed — and said she knew what was happening right away.
“I know the difference between gunshots and fireworks,” she said.
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