3-13-2026

Good Morning!

       1 Timothy 2: 3-4; “This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior,  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.”

        Over the last few years, we have read about or seen on the news about people, or groups of people who claim that God hates someone.  It might be homosexuals, or abortionists, or pedophiles, or any one of a number of other people.  When these comments start showing up there is a firestorm of protest.  It seems that the idea that God hates causes people to come completely unglued.  It is true that God hates but we must be careful in how we read it.

    Scripture tells that God hates, he abhors, he finds things detestable.  There are plenty of verses that tell us that.  Yet we also have verses like the one we have today that show that God wants all people to be saved.  So how do we balance these two thoughts?

    So, what does God hate?  God hates sin.  God hates sin and what it does to the relationship between God and man.  Sin separates us from God’s love.  Sin corrupts God’s perfect creation causing all the pain, destruction, and death.  Sin leads us away from God’s perfect harmony and into a life of selfishness and greed.  Sin leads us to turn our back on God and despise all he does for us.  Sin leads us to run from God and seek after other gods of our own making.  God hates sin because it leads us to harm one another and to harm his creation.  God hates sin because it pollutes, corrupts, and destroys the creation and the creatures which he created to be perfect.

    God does not hate people; his desire is for all to be saved.  Yet God abhors sin and what sin is and what sin does to us.  But in his mercy, he forgives sin.  He forgives sin because by his very nature; God loves us.  If God hated us, we would be long since destroyed.  Yet God did not destroy us, rather he went the other way; he redeemed us.  He bought us back at a terrific price, the death of his only son.  All out of love for you.  We know that God hates our sin because of what it does to us and to our love for him.  We know God hates our sin because of what sin does to our relationships with our fellow man.  We know God hates our sin which causes us to abuse his creation.  Yet we know, without a doubt, that God loves us.

    So, we can see that God does not hate us, rather he hates what is separating us from hid love and benevolence.  So, no matter how horrible you think the sins you committed are, no matter how much you think God might hate you; he doesn’t.  He is pained and saddened that the perfect relationship that man once had with him is now broken but it is being restored, one heart at a time.  God’s love for you is immeasurable.  He wants you to be with him, in his kingdom for eternity; that’s a promise!!

Father of love, we come to you praising your name for the mercy you show us.  Through you we know love.  Send your Spirit to those who experience only hate.  Be with them and give them your comfort and your peace.  Lead them to know your love.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-12-2026

 Good Morning!

      James 5:16; “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.”

     Do you remember The Beatles song, “Do you want to know a secret?”  It was the first top ten song sung by George Harrison.  It was a song about a young man telling his new girlfriend that he was in love with her, but it was a secret.  So apparently this song was way before Twitter or Facebook.  It is somewhat unique how Facebook and Twitter have changed our definition of what is or should be private or public knowledge.  It is at times, staggering, what some people think is “fair game.”

    Our verse takes a look at this but in a far more serious manner.  It doesn’t mean the mind-numbing frivolity of Facebook but a serious look at our life.  So, could you confess your sins, those deep down hard-to-throw away sins to your Christian brother or sister?  That can be a tough call.  Many of us would be too embarrassed to do this.  Yet here we see James telling us to do so.  Why does he do this?  It is not some quirky early version of Twitter, rather it serves a very valid reason.

    If you go to a brother or sister (a confessor) and confess a sin, it becomes very real to all involved.  It exists and it is out there to be spoken of.  It forces us to truly look at it and sense it and realize what it is.  It forces us to truly acknowledge it.  Yet it is also an opportunity.  By confessing it and getting it out there to be seen, we can be healed or at least begin the healing process, especially if the one we confess to prays with us for strength in our battle with temptation.  It is also a blessing when that brother or sister speaks the words of God’s forgiveness of that sin.  It can relieve a lot of stress.

    Confessing to our confessor can have a secondary benefit as well. If we have a temptation that is especially strong, we can use that brother or sister as a buffer.  When we feel tempted, we can call our confessor and try to talk it through, maybe even alter our plans if that is what it takes.  Our confessor can also help us by being willing to be someone to whom we hold ourselves accountable for our actions.  This is especially true if we are fighting addictions like drugs, alcohol, or pornography.  Having someone who will hold us accountable can make this task easier.

    The thing to remember is that this is not about titillating or surprising or shocking the one to whom we confess.  This is about recognizing something that is seriously damaging our relationship with God and possibly our fellow Christian.  God gives us the tools to fight this battle; we need to faithfully sue them.

Father, too often we are too weak to stand up to the many temptations of life.  We need someone to help us.  Give us the wisdom and courage to seek out those brothers and sisters who will serve you by giving us the comfort, forgiveness, and the support to wage this battle.  Send us your Spirit to strengthen us.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

3-11-2026

Good Morning!

              Mark 2:16; “And the scribes of the Pharisees, when they saw that he was eating with sinners and tax collectors, said to his disciples, “Why does he eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

     “I won’t sit by HER!! She’s got cooties!!  Well, I was 6 at the time so cut me a little slack.  It only took a few years to learn that girls didn’t really have cooties; but I did learn.  Yet how often do we still act like that?  What is it that makes us see things this way?  Why do we feel this way?

    There is an old story about a man who went to a church.  He always had dirty shoes and very dusty clothes and never put anything in the collection plate.  People smiled and nodded at him but never sat too close or shook his hand or ever really talked to him.  One Sunday little Timmy and his family sat by the man.  After services we over, little Timmy introduced himself to the man.  “Hi, I’m Timmy, what’s your name?”  “My name is Ben, nice to meet you, Timmy.”  Timmy looked at him and asked, “Why are your clothes so dirty?”  You can imagine Timmy’s mother’s reaction.  The man smiled and told Timmy that he had to walk three miles to church down the dirt road in back. 

     The mother apologized but the man told her that Timmy was the first person to talk to him since he started coming to church here and he liked the conversation.  Then the mother was really embarrassed.  Then she felt guilty.  So, she asked the man about his life and he told her that his car broke down and he couldn’t afford to fix it.  He lived alone but liked the church.  Timmy’s father was listening and asked the man if he would like a ride home.  The person behind them told him he could ride with them next week.  Soon the man was involved in a lively conversation.  He was finally home.

    Why does Jesus eat with tax collectors and sinners?  Because he looks into their heart and sees faith and what the future holds for them.  His love, mercy and forgiveness give them hope.  Why do we eat with tax collectors and sinners?  Because that is where we were.  Jesus looked at us and saw someone in need of redemption; someone in need of hope.  That is how we should look at our “tax collectors and sinners.”  We should not look at their past or even their present situation; rather we should see the need for redemption and the need for hope.

    God empowers us with his Holy Spirit to bring redemption and hope to the world.  Sometimes, those who need it the most have on really dirty clothes but they are still God’s children.  We need to see past the dirt and the grime, the sins of the past or the struggles of today.  We need to see in them someone whom God wants to redeem; someone with whom we can share hope.

Father of all hope, by your Spirit move us to reach out to the hurting and the suffering.  Guide us to see that you desire all to be saved.  Use us to bring about this reconciliation.  We pray for those who feel they are tax collectors and sinners.  Give them the assurance of your forgiveness. Protect our servicemen and women.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

3-10-2026

Good Morning!

             Matthew 22:39; “And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

     One day we were having a discussion in a Bible Study.  We were discussing Christian ethics.  We had a short discussion about how Christianity brought orthodoxy and orthopraxy together (Orthodoxy is proper faith while orthopraxy is proper action).  It is possible to do the “right thing” for all the wrong reasons.  For example, a wealthy person who donates a million dollars to the church in order to “buy” his way into heaven.  It doesn’t work but the church still got a million dollars.  This is based on the premise that all I have to do is the right thing and that is Christianity.

    Many would agree with this.  These are the people who see Christianity as one big “good works” event.  As long as we do the right and kind thing we are fine.  Most of us even know the way we always say it.  Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, give water to the thirsty, visit those in prison; we know the section by heart.  For most of us, we see this as the standard answer to what does it mean to be a Christian.  It means that we do kind things for those who are in need and probably will never be able to repay the kindness they receive.  We have even made a game of this.  Some call it the circle of kindness, or the circle of love, or pay it forward.  Do something nice for someone and then tell them to do something nice for the next person.  It sounds good; it provides civic righteousness but is it what it means to be a Christian?

    Some even point to what Jesus did as support.  Jesus healed the sick, cured the lame, the deaf and the blind.  He died and rose again for us; he did the “right thing.” So, what does it mean to be a Christian?  Jesus tells us that to be a Christian means to love one another.  Love, not just be nice or play fair but to love one another.  This is what makes our faith so different from the rest of the world and other religions.  Jesus came to earth out of love, not duty or other expectations.  Jesus showed us love and then told us to love as he loved us.  Our actions are based in love not duty.

    Actions based in love do not need to be planned or put into some program.  We don’t see our actions as helping some poor or unfortunate beings, rather we are acting out of love just like we would for a beloved family member.  God, by nature, is a loving god.  His desire is that we be loving creatures.  Our faith does not seek mechanical actions or recitation of doctrine; it seeks to bring a loving relationship into the lives of the people.  What does it mean to be a Christian? To love one another, even as God has loved us.   To respond out of love for one another; not just to help but to restore and to reconcile with each other.  To love as we want to be loved.

Father, in your mercy you have shown us love.  By Jesus dying on the cross and rising again to seal our victory, we know love.  Give us the strength to love one another, as we want to be loved, as you first loved us.  Be with those who feel unloved.  Be with those who suffer in loneliness.  Send your spirit of comfort and hope and bring us to be your arms and voice of love in this dark world.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-9-2026

Good Morning!

            Psalm 145: 15-16; “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season.  You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”

    I have been reading again about the nutritional value of various foods.  I feel like I am watching a ping pong match.  As food goes from good to bad to good to bad for you.  Dairy, eggs, red meat, butter, bread have all switched sides through the years.  It seems we never really know what is good or bad for us.  We know what tastes and usually just hope it is, at least, not really bad for us.

    They try and use a food pyramid to help us understand the number of servings that we need to eat each day.  It advises different amounts of fruits and vegetables, dairy, proteins, and fats.  It seems at times that this pyramid changes shape as the recommendations change but it is still pretty much the same.

    In our faith life, we need to be fed and nourished as well.  We need to do so for most of the same reasons we need physical nourishment.  It provides us with energy for building muscle.  It provides for the needs of our body on a daily basis.  God provides these for us.  He gives us His Word and sacraments, prayer and praise and worship.  We need to see these as the faith pyramid.  These are the elements by which our faith is strengthened.

    We have God’s Word where he reveals his love for us.  He reveals his plan of salvation for us.  He offers us his words of forgiveness and hope.  We need to daily take this important nutrient to heart to find the comfort and the consolation we seek.

   We have his sacraments to nourish our soul and to give us forgiveness.  It is through these gracious gifts that we receive the nourishment that we can feel and taste.  We can taste just a tiny bit of the heavenly feast that we will share with Jesus and all the believers.  We need to consume these on a regular basis.

    God gives us prayer to help nourish us.  We can use prayer to speak to God from our heart.  We can go to him crying from the depth of our fears; we can go to him lamenting the pain of our suffering and we can go to him singing with joyful hearts the wonder of his love and blessings for us.  God uses prayer as a way to nourish us by changing us as we speak to him.  We should be in constant communication with our God.

     Through all of this we will experience God’s mercy and we should give thanks.  We should give thanks to God for his wondrous mercy showered upon us minute by minute.  We should praise his glorious name as a way to remind us of what God does for us at all times and in all ways.  We should praise him in the morning, noon, and night.  The wonders of his love are never lost.

Father of all love and mercy, you nourish us so that we may be stronger in this walk of life.  Through your generous gift of hope, we sing with joy. Guard us by your Spirit.  Be with those who are undernourished and are feeling weak.  Bring them safely into your loving arms.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen savior we pray amen,

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

3-8-2026

 Good Morning!

     Luke 17:21; “They can’t say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘There it is!’ You see, the kingdom of God is within you.”

    We like to play a lot of games that involve searching for something.  From “Hide and Seek” to board games that involve hidden treasures, we like to look for things.  There aren’t many people who aren’t fascinated by treasure hunting or wonder about buying a metal detector and finding some valuable coin or trinket.  We are an inquisitive species.

    We seek answers to problems; we seek information for the sake of knowing what is going on.  We are always on the lookout for new ideas, new theories, or new thoughts which make us wonder about tomorrow.  We tend to think that we can find the answers to everything and then solve every problem.  But what happens when we can’t?  What happens when events go unexplained or unanswered?  Many people, at this time, decide to blame God or the people who believe in God.

    Do you ever notice, when there is a catastrophe, people often blame God and then go looking for answers in all the wrong places?  When people face struggles in their lives, they often seek out answers from any source they can find.  Then they shout out that they have found the answer, “Here it is!”  We have found the answer to life’s problems; only they haven’t.

    But that doesn’t answer the question that many have and that is “Where is God?”  When there is pain, trouble, or sadness, where is God?  Have you ever asked, or heard someone ask that question, “where is God?”  Where was He when the flooding was going on?  Where was he when the forest fires were burning? Where was he when the gunman opened fire?  Where is God?

    We often struggle with this because when we read the Bible, we see all the extraordinary times that God intervened in man’s existence.  We want that type of experience, we want to say, “Here it is.”  The thing is that God has chosen not to work that way.  He has chosen to work through his Church at this time.  Jesus empowered his Church to forgive sins, to preach repentance, to bring reconciliation to the world; God is in you and has chosen that way to work in the world.  So next time we wonder where God is, he is in us wanting to use us to work his love throughout the world.  Maybe we cannot stop everything that is bad in this world, a sinful and broken creation will exist until Christ will return, but we can offer God’s grace to one person, right now.  It might be your spouse, your child, your neighbor, or even someone you don’t even know.

    God has chosen to dwell in you and to use you as the method that He touches the world.  Next time you think “Where is God?”  He is in you seeking to work his love and grace in this broken world.

Father, we see pain all around us.  Use us as your hands and ears to deliver your love.  Give us the courage to show that you live in us and we are your people.  Give us the wisdom to reach out to those who hurt the most and give them your grace.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,  

Pastor Bret

3-7-2026

Good Morning!

              Exodus 14:21b; “All that night the Lord pushed back the sea with a strong east wind and turned the sea into dry ground.”

    Do you remember that song by Simon and Garfunkel called “Sounds of Silence?”  It is a very plaintive song about a person who feels that he is completely isolated from anyone and everyone.  In the process of this event, he feels the cold and damp while seeing people who are talking but he doesn’t hear anything because they are speaking to him.  He feels lost and without hope.

    That is how the Israelites found themselves while they were in captivity in Egypt.  They were isolated from their land and were alone in a foreign land, enslaved by their cruel taskmasters.  They sat in bondage and cried to God to save them.  Even as they prayed, God seemed distant and unhearing.  The Egyptians continued to beat them and crush their spirit, crush their hope.

    There are times in our life when we probably feel the same way.  Perhaps it is waiting for the results from a doctor’s visit.  You know, one of those visits where cancer is still a possibility.  Or maybe even worse is when the doctor just scratches his head and says, “I just don’t know.”  Perhaps your boss keeps talking about “downsizing” or “re-structuring.”  Maybe it’s been more than a year of hearing, “we aren’t hiring right now.”  I visited with a young man whose family just showed him the door, gave him a suitcase, and then closed the door; how far away is God there?  These are but a few examples, you can probably add some of your own.   The thing is God is never far away; we just don’t always see it clearly.

    In our verse, God was at work for the Israelites at a very dark time in their existence.  The only life that they knew was slavery.  Then, miraculously, they were freed by the Egyptian Pharaoh only to have him change his mind and then begin to chase them through the desert.  Maybe you have felt that way.  Some pain just seems to chase after us.  It seems that many of us have some form of addiction.  It doesn’t have to be to a chemical, like drugs or alcohol, it might be a feeling or an inclination to a mood.  It might be that nagging desire to gossip or envy your neighbor.  Or it might be that constant feeling that, deep down, you don’t think you are good enough.  This can be dark times.

    Yet our verse gives us a clue into our God.  He used the very creation that is his to save his people.  The winds pushed back the sea to form dry land.  The Israelites were saved from the Egyptians and their slavery.  God does the same thing for us; he uses his creation, simple and plain, for our good.  He uses water connected with his Word to cleanse us of our sin and he uses bread and wine tied to his Word to nourish our spirit and to refresh our soul.  Yet he also uses the beauty of a flower or the freshness of a summer rain to give us comfort.  He uses the members of his church to console us as we need.  We don’t always “see” or “feel” God active in our life but he is.

Father, thank you for the blessing of today and the promise of tomorrow.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret