We left the Centre Mall parking lot at 8:15 and arrived at Little Sioux Park at 9:30. It was sunny, calm, and 64 degrees when we left; perfect riding weather. We counted 25 Bikes and 3 cars when we arrived. The service started at 10 singing some familiar hymns. The speaker was an orthopedic surgeon from Sioux City who talked about his life story and how he met and followed Christ. He went on several medical mission trips helping lots of people on those trips. Following the message we were treated to a delicious pot luck lunch with lots of delicious choices served by the Salem Lutheran and St. Johns Lutheran Church of Correctionville. We have enjoyed their service and hospitality since the summer of 2020.
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25 bikes and 2 cars left the Centre Mall at 9:30 for the 10:30 service at Inspiration Hills joining the Rock Rapids 1st Ref. Church worship Service. It was perfect weather, calm and cool. We arrived at the Hills around 10:10 and joined their congregation for the start of the service. The service began with worship songs and favorite hymns. The pastor then followed with the congregational prayer and a children's message about being truthful. The sermon followed from Proverbs 6:16-19 entitled "Truthful verses Lying Tongue". He showed us how Satan uses lies to get us to turn from God. Following that there were more hymns and a closing benediction.
Following the service approximately 30 of the riders went to the Canton Pizza Ranch where we enjoyed great food and fellowship. All in all a great way to celebrate the Lord's day! 21 bikes and 2 cars arrived at Westside Park in Rock Rapids for our annual Rods N' Rides service hosted by the Rock Rapids First Reformed Church. We were greeted and welcomed with a delicious light breakfast consisting of mixed fruit, homemade cinnamon rolls, muffins, orange juice and coffee.
Following the breakfast the worship team from 1st church led us in worship with several praise songs. Their new pastor, Steven Van Wyhe then read scripture from John 15:1-5, the story of the vine and the branches. He then brought us the message entitled "I am the Vine". We were challenged as Christians to bear fruit by spreading the message of Salvation to others who may not have heard. Following the service, some of the riders went to the Pizza Ranch, and others went to Fiesta Brava for Mexican food. There we enjoyed great food and at the same time solved most of the worlds problems. This concludes our Rods N' Rides season. We have been coming to the Westside Park since 2012 and have always been welcomed and received warm fellowship with the members of 1st Reformed. Our committee would like to thank all who have joined us this past Summer and we hope to continue in 2023. God has blessed us with good weather and safe passage once again this year. We would also welcome any suggestions on improving our rides and hope to see you again next year. God Bless you all!! 23 bikes and 3 cars left the Centre Mall parking lot at 8:15 a.m., but 27 bikes and 3 cars arrived at Little Sioux Park just South of Correctionville at 9:40. We must have picked up some followers along the way. We were greeted by the friendly people of the Salem Lutheran and St. John Lutheran congregations.
Pastor Jody Still Herbold led the service and brought us and inspirational message entitled "The Healing Power of Music". Steve Lenters led us in singing 4 old favorite hymns: AMAZING GRACE TIS SO SWEET TO TRUST IN JESUS IT IS WELL WITH MY SOUL and HOW GREAT THOU ART Pastor Jody spoke about the history of these hymns and who wrote them. It was very interesting and informative. Following the service we were treated to a wonderful meal of Broasted Chicken and more side dishes than you can imagine. Very Delicious! This was a great time of fellowship with fellow riders as well as the people of the 2 churches. They have already invited us to come again next year on the last Sunday of July. (They seem to like our singing?) 28 bikes and 3 cars left from the Centre Mall parking lot for our annual trip to "Vision on Vine". This is a biker event put on by Curt Van Engen at his farm place 5.75 miles North of Hartley. His life was changed when He accepted Christ as his Savior back in 2010. He wanted to do something for the biker community and in 2013 he started Vision on Vine. He and his wife opened up their farm place on the 4th Sunday of June for bikers to come for fellowship, have a worship experience, a great meal, and a Blessing of the Bikes every year since then (except 2020 when Covid hit). This year was no exception and we were blessed by a great worship time and meal.
Speakers included: Duane Hooge, Kent Vickery, and Rev. Kenneth Eberline. Praise songs, hymns, and inspirational testimonies were shared. Following the service we enjoyed a meal of pork loin, baked beans, potato salad, and a variety of bars and cookies for dessert. Several riders then went to Lake Park to view the Freedom Rock that is placed there. This has always been a great Rods N' Rides trip for us and this year was no exception! We left the Centre Mall parking lot at 8 a.m. for the 9:30 service at the American Reformed Church in Luverne, MN. It was a beautiful ride to Luverne as God gave us clear skies and cool temperatures after the threat of rain. He has been very faithful to us over the 12 years we have had Rods N' Rides. 23 bikes and 1 convertible joined us as we travelled to our destination.
After a warm welcome to their service we had a time of praise and worship, and then enjoyed a video of their past weeks Vacation Bible School where over 130 youngsters were in attendance. Following that, their pastor Mike Altena brought us the message entitled "Chosen Strangers-How Fortunate We Are." He talked about how our world is changing and how much wickedness is increasing just as the scripture in 1 Peter 1:1-12 predicts. As Christians we need to be strong and not bow to the sinful pleasures of the world, but instead enjoy the pleasure given to us by God and look forward to spending eternity with Him. Following the service we were treated to a meal of hot dogs with all the trimmings, potato salad, potato chips, beans and cookies which were very delicious and enjoyed by all. About 10 of the bikes then travelled to Falls Park in Sioux Falls where we enjoyed ice cream overlooking the beautiful falls on the Sioux River. The ride home was much warmer (IT WAS HOT), than it was travelling in the morning, but it was a great day of Riding, Worshipping, and Fellowship with the gracious people of the American Reformed Church as well as with our fellow riders. THANKS BE TO GOD!! 24 Bikes and 4 Cars left the Centre Mall for the worship service held inside the 1st Reformed Church (due to wet conditions at West Side Park; over 3" of rain overnight.) We were welcomed with a breakfast of Cinnamon roles, muffins, fruit, juice, & coffee. DELICIOUS!!! Following breakfast we went into the sanctuary for praise worship and a message from Interim Pastor Troy Van Beek entitled "The Supreme Gift of Grace: Love. The Scripture, 1 Corinthians 13, was read from the Message bible which expressed it in modern day language.
Following worship, 13 of the riders traveled to the Luverne Pizza Ranch for lunch and a time of fellowship. We had perfect weather, a great service, and a beautiful ride to end our 2021 season. We hope you will consider riding with us again next year and we thank God for his protection as we rode this past season. GOD BLESS YOU ALL!! KK 18 bikes and 5 cars left the Centre Mall at 7:15 this morning heading for Little Sioux Park just South of Correctionville for the combined worship service of St. John Lutheran of Cushing and Salem Lutheran of Correctionville. We had to change our original route plan due to RAGBRAI which was leaving from Le Mars this morning. We actually saw those riders at the corner of county road C-38 and highway 140 where we turned towards Kingsley. There were several highway patrol directing traffic at that intersection. This was quite a sight to see along our way. We also road past some of the crops that were completely hailed out a few weeks ago along that road. We arrived at the park at 9 a.m. in plenty of time for the 9:30 service. This gave us some time to fellowship with some of the riders as well as the people from the 2 churches hosting the event. Following the worship service we were treated to a delicious pot luck lunch and ice cream treats provided by the ladies of the 2 churches. Everyone seemed to have a great time visiting and getting to know our hosts. A very enjoyable morning in spite of the hot July temperatures.
26 bikes and 1 car left the Centre Mall at 7:45 for the 9:30 service at Good News Church held at the convention center in Arnolds Park. We enjoyed a beautiful, cool ride up to the lakes region and upon arrival worshipped with several praise songs and heard the message about Jesus, our High Priest. Following the service some of us went to Godfathers Pizza for lunch and others went to various places in the Lakes Region. We tried to dodge a few scattered showers on the way home without success. All in all a pleasant day spent with fellow riders and the congregation of the Good News Reformed Church!
32 bikes and 5 cars joined us for the 1st Rods N' Rides of 2021. We met at the Centre Mall and traveled to the American Reformed Church in Luverne, MN. Pastor Mike Altena (Sioux Center Native) welcomed us and brought a great message about Joy in the Christian Life. He told us that even through hardships we can still have joy in knowing that Christ is our Savior.
Following the service approx. 20 of us enjoyed a meal at the Fiesta Brava Mexican restaurant in Rock Rapids. We had several 1st time people joining us today. The trip to Luverne was pleasant in the mid 70's with the wind at our backs. Coming home was much warmer as we rode into the wind, but all in all, we had a great time and enjoyed fellowship with our fellow riders and car buffs. KK |
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