9-25-2026

Good Morning!

          Psalm 18:30; “This God—his way is perfect; the word of the Lord proves true; he is a shield for all those who take refuge in him.”

    “Thick skinned;” it is something that we tell ourselves we have to be.  “You have to be thick skinned to be a ________.”  You can fill in the blank with a teacher, or a coach or a nurse or a secretary or whatever profession that you wish.  We all know that we face times, times of stress or attacks, when we need a thick skin in order to avoid the pain that can occur when cruel remarks or times of harsh criticism strike.  You might be the clerk who has to listen to a customer berate you for the store not having the product they want to buy.  You might be the waiter or waitress who has to listen to the customer who is dissatisfied with the quality of the meal.  You might be the employee who receives the blame from your boss over the loss of a sale.  The list goes on and on.  There are many times when we need to be thick skinned.

    Our verse speaks of God who provides a thick skin for us.  The word shield here roughly translates to the scaly hide of a crocodile.  It was one of the better shields at this time.  It was lightweight, easy to carry and maneuver but able to resist the attacks that were launched at it.  This is how we can see God.  He protects us from the attacks of the devil.  He is able to quickly and easily respond to all the different ways that the devil will attack us.  Whether it is through causing doubts, or encouraging fear, or causing intense sorrow, the devil has many ways to attack us.  Yet we only have one defense, we only have the Word of the Lord as our shield as our thick skin.  And we know that the Word of the Lord is living and active.  We know that it will protect those whom he loves and he loves you.

    So, when the battles of this life occur, we need to seek out our refuge in the only sure defense that we have; we need to hide in God’s eternal love.  We will face problems in this world; God has warned us of that.  We know that they are only temporary and that the devil will not win.  We know that our victory is guaranteed by the blood of Jesus and that victory has been given to us through faith at our Baptism.  It is at our Baptism, where we are marked and claimed by God, where the down payment for God’s promise to us is made, that we begin to get to use the shield forever.  The shield is given to us to protect us from the devil and his pain.  We are given God’s great promise of love and mercy.  We have God as our shield and nothing can ever harm that.

Father, you are our rock and our fortress.  You alone give us hope.  In you we have a shield to defend us from all that the world throws at us.  You lift us up with your mercy that we might be saved by you.  Grant us peace in this life that we may ever hold fast to you.  In the precious name of Jesus our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-24-2026

Good Morning!

      Psalm 32:5; “I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

      A small group of preteen boys were huddled and engaged in an intense discussion.  One of them had thrown a baseball and broke a window.  Some wanted to just run away; some advised telling the owner and offering to fix the window.  The discussion was pretty intense but had a common theme- fear.  The ones who voted to just run away were afraid of getting in trouble for breaking the window.  The ones who voted to tell the owner were afraid of greater punishment for not telling.  Their logic was that, eventually, they would get caught and be punished more severely for lying and trying to hide the truth. 

    So, when you approach a confession of sins; do you do so from an attitude of fear?  Do you speak the confession of sins because you are afraid that God will find out later and then really punish you?  Many do; many think that confession of sins to God is telling God, “I know you don’t know this but this is what I have done.”  This is a human view of confession; it is not how God views it.  God views it as a way to relief pain; we should as well.

    The first thing we need to know is that God knows everything.  When you confess your sins to Him, you are not telling him something that he doesn’t already know.  Confession is not about informing God or giving him so new information.  Confession is not about making God feel better; confession is about relieving our guilt and brightening our soul.

    Confession is about ridding the guilt of our sin and laying it at God’s altar.  You may even think of it as carrying out the garbage.  When you feel that you have some sins that are just too great to confess or that you feel are just unforgiveable, you simply are keeping garbage that you do not need.  This excess garbage is used by the devil to cause you guilt; guilt about sins that God has already forgiven.  So, confession can be seen as you and I going to God and saying, “Dear Father, I am tired of carrying this garbage around.  It stinks and it weighs me down; please take it from me.”  The wondrous love of God means he will take it and throw it away for us.

   So, we do not need to view confession with fear; rather we can approach it as God defines it; as a way to free ourselves from pain and sorrow.  It is a way to relieve our heart of guilt and to give our souls peaceful rest.

Gracious Father, you cleanse me of my sin and I am whiter than snow.  With your great mercy, I have peace in this life and the hope of life eternal with you.  Keep me safe in your loving arms.  Strengthen me so that I do not fall for the devil’s lies.  Be with those who are struggling against his lies at this time.  Free them from his voice.  Give your Spirit to them so that they may clearly hear your voice.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

9-23-2026

Good Morning!

      Mark 1:15; “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

       The kingdom of God; what do we mean by that?  Some will tell you that it refers to heaven; it refers to the place where God will perfectly rule.  Some see it as a future place and a future event.  Some read this and think that this phrase refers to Jesus himself.  Hence the reference to being “at hand” as in “I’m standing right here!”  These are a couple of ways to look at it but there is another way to view it.

    The kingdom of God really can be viewed as God, through Jesus, actively restoring all of creation to its perfect state.  Think of it as a wave moving through a pond or a lake.  It begins and moves through the whole pond.  The kingdom of God begins with Jesus entering into the world and going about village to village, person to person, bringing healing to those with whom he has contact with.  We see it in each event of Jesus’ life here on earth.  He brings healing, he brings compassion, he brings about the cares for the physical as well as spiritual needs of the person.  In short, we see God in Christ has come to reestablish his rule over creation, and his desire to restore everything that is broken or twisted or amiss or dying.  All of the different manifestations of creation’s brokenness give rise to the Savior’s compassion.

    This occurs now, not just at some future event.  Jesus comes to give us healing now.  He comes to free you from the past.  He comes to heal your brokenness.  So, whether you are a young person that society has declared unworthy and unfit because of past events and choices; Jesus will pull you from this brokenness and give you hope for a better today.  If you are a not so young person who has a lifetime of struggles and failures; Jesus wants to heal you and for you to change for today.  We are not defined by the past; God defines us with a future and there is no amount of the past that cannot be overcome.

    Never underestimate how much God wants to begin your healing right now.  You are his beloved child.  Just as an earthly father would want his child to be healed today from any illness or affliction so our heavenly Father seeks the same truth.  God, through Jesus, comes to you seeking to bring you healing.  He seeks to help you address all of your needs.  He does this through the use of created things around you to bring you hope.  He has given this task to his church.  This is the task of the church; to bring about healing and hope to the world that is lost and broken and it does it one person at a time; attempting to heal one wound at a time.  The kingdom of God is at hand; grab hold and let it begin the healing.

Father, your love moves you to give us healing.  Be with those who are suffering at the hands of the world and are left to feel rejected and reviled.  Use us to be your hands and voice to bring about the wonderful message of hope that is your holy Gospel.  Direct us by your Spirit to those in need and help us to draw them to you.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-22-2026

Good Morning!

      Galatians 6:2; “Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

    “Can I help you?”  That is a question that gets asked in many different settings.  We hear it when we walk into a retail store and we start to look at a particular piece of merchandise.  We might hear it if we walk into a room or an area of a building where we are not supposed to be.  Usually, the person asking will direct you to the appropriate area.  I hear it a lot when I am in a hospital or in a nursing home and trying to find a specific room number for a patient.  The nurses and the nurses’ aides are really very helpful.  Eventually, I find everyone I am looking for.  “Can I help you?” is also the question which Paul tells us as Christians to ask, especially of our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to make ourselves available and useful to one another.

    As we look at this, the “law of Christ” is that we love one another (John 13:34).  Paul is telling us that when we bear each other’s burdens, when we come to the aid and comfort of a brother or sister in Christ, we are showing that we love one another.  Yet we often struggle with this task.  We find it difficult, “I don’t know what to do!” is the phrase that is most often muttered; sometimes as an excuse but often times as an honest plea for direction because at some point in time, our theology has to be our biography.  We must live the faith we profess.  One way to think of this is in the poem entitled “Sharing” by an author unknown.

 

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my bread with you, and sometimes share a sorrow, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can sit an hour with you, and I can share a joke with you and sometimes share reverses, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my flowers with you, and I can share my books with you and sometimes share your burdens, too—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my songs with you, and I can share my mirth with you, and sometimes come and laugh with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my hopes with you, and I can share my fears with you, and sometimes shed a tear with you—as on our way we go.

    There isn’t much that I can do, but I can share my friends with you, and I can share my life with you, and oftentimes share a prayer with you—as on our way we go.

 

Father in heaven, help me to see that sharing burdens with my brothers and sisters brings about healing and hope.  Guide me when I feel weak or afraid to offer a simple glass of water or a simple piece of bread.  Help me to see that the greatest gift I give is my time and my heart.  Lead me to bear my brother and my sister up that they may know your holy peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-21-2026

Good Morning!

      Ephesians 4:32; “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

     It is the call throughout the Bible; we are to forgive.  We are to forgive one another even as God has forgiven us.  This is our goal; we aim for it, we desire it, we seek it and yet we struggle with it more than almost anything else.  It is the sinful nature in us that we battle every day.  It is that sinful nature that we need to drown every day through repentance and absolution.

    Forgiveness must take place every day.  First, we need to come before God asking for the forgiveness of the sins we commit.  We need to do this in order to see our need for this forgiveness and for the fact that we are freely forgiven by God.  We are then to see that there are others who seek and need our forgiveness and this includes forgiving ourselves.  This forgiveness needs to occur each time the thought to “un-forgive” in our life.  Every time we recall the hurt and we think that forgiveness may not be what we want to give.  We may want to hold onto the anger and the pain.  Yet we need to struggle with this and ask God to continue to turn our heart so that we can forgive and release the pain and sin.

    In order to do this, we may have to leave a toxic or poisonous relationship.  If we find ourselves being dragged back down by the attitudes or actions of others, we may have to walk away, at least until we have healed some.  We may have to avoid those who want to keep us living in the pain and the sorrow.  We need to forgive but we may need to walk away, at least until we can leave the toxic portion behind us.

    We also need to remember that forgiveness can be more of a process than an event.  We may have to revisit it more than once.  We may even find that it occurs in increments.  For us, forgiveness may be a long and slow process but it is a process that we must choose if we are to be healed and healing is the goal.

    The thing we need to always remember is that forgiveness is about healing.  It is about healing the pain that we either experience or cause.  Forgiveness is not about giving or taking but it is about being healed.  It is about healing the brokenness in the relationships that we have.  Forgiveness from God heals our relationship with God.  Forgiveness heals the rupture inside of us.  Forgiveness heals the rupture in our relationships with others.  Forgiveness brings about the healing that can restore us to the life which God created us to live.  Forgiveness provides the balm for our wounded souls.

Father of mercy, lead us to forgive.  Lead us to follow the path of healing and restoration.  Lead us by your Spirit to seek out the love that you give to us.  Lead us to live in peace.  Lead us to live in the joy of your mercy.  Heal us that we may be yours.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

9-20-2026

Good Morning!

      Galatians 4:5; “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

     There was a young man who was troubled about his past.  He had been adopted at a very young age and had no recollection about his “real” parents.  He loved his adoptive family but felt there was a hole in his life as part of it was missing.  All he knew was that his mother had given him up at a very young age because she was unable to care for the young man and his brother.  He knew he was loved but always wondered about his past.

    Yet one day while in a weekly Bible Study, they looked at Galatians and about receiving “adoptions as sons.”  Suddenly he saw his life and faith in a new light.  “I was adopted by my parents and given a new family.  In the same way, I have become a member of God’s family and given a new identity, God’s identity.”

    Adoption is a fascinating event.  It is, at one level, very personal and emotional.  Yet it is also very much a legal event.  Adoptions have to be formalized in a courtroom with a judge present.  So, while adoption is a very subjective event with all the warmth and emotional actions, it is also very objective in the way it works.  Adoption is bridge between the personal and the legal.  It takes a legal action and morphs into a very personal, new relationship between the parent and the child.

    All believers receive the adoption of sons.  We receive this in a very personal way; we receive it at Baptism.  Here we are received, one at a time by name, into God’s family and we receive this adoption because the only natural son, Jesus, gave up his life for us.  As a result, God makes us his sons, by adoption.  We are his beloved children in a very legal sense.  We have the full rights of sonship; we are co-heirs with Jesus in God’s kingdom.  We are co-heirs to eternal life and to the holy kingdom which will last forever.  We are the beloved sons and daughters in God’s family.

    Yet it is also very personal.  God chose you.  God chose you from before the foundations of creation were set.  God chose you to love and to declare a child of his own.  We not only have all the legal rights of a family member; we also have the familial rights.  We can come to our Father with our fears and our worries, our cries and our sorrows and God has promised to listen to us as a loving father listens to his dear children.  He has promised to comfort us and to hold us close in his loving arms.  We are safe in his protective care.  We are loved by our Father.

Gracious Father, you claim us as your children through the waters of Baptism.  We are marked as your dear children.  Our names are written in the palms of your hands.  Guard us by your Spirit as we are made part of your holy family.  Give us the certainty of your grace.  Lead us to live full and peaceful lives in your kingdom. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

9-18-2026

 

Good Morning!

      Luke 11:3; “Give us each day our daily bread.”

     Andy Warhol (1928 – 1987) is most known for his painting of “pop art” in the 1960s. He is known for paintings of Marilyn Monroe, Muhammad Ali, dollar bills, and many other iconic images. The Campbell’s Soup Can is one of those iconic images. For a movement of art that appeared to be anything but art, Warhol and pop art have remained influential.  It caused quite a stir in the art world.  Many questioned how something so mundane and “pedestrian” could be considered art.

     Yet this picture went on to be very famous.  This unassuming painting of a Campbell’s Soup Can blurs the line of art and the world. Warhol painted many soup cans from Tomato to Onion to a scene of 100 Campbell’s cans.  Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup Can is one of the greatest and most famous pieces of art in the history of modern pop art.

     “Lord, teach us to pray,” the disciples ask. It is such a simple request and Jesus offers simplicity in his answer. The prayer he gives to his disciples is unassuming and straightforward. There is no question that this is a prayer indeed. But how did the disciples not know how to pray? Before we hear Jesus’ answer to the disciples, we might listen and hear overtones of other prayers.  We could overhear disciples praying like the Pharisees, we could consider the temple rituals of the Sadducees, or even the total ignorance of the pagan world may come to mind. In contrast to these people and these prayers, Jesus offers a simple act of prayer; we call it The Lord’s Prayer.

    This prayer is near and dear to the Christian community. Yet at times it seems too simple to be a real act of prayer. Praying for daily bread might seem trite to some.  Particularly in a world where our basic needs are typically met. Praying short petitions seems rote and disingenuous in contrast to long prayers and meditations of the heart. This prayer, however, calls us into a world where the simple has beauty, and where the mundane has divine significance. Jesus leaves little to wonder, but much to appreciate when he teaches his disciples about prayer.

    A simple soup can.  It reminds us not just to pray for our own daily food from the gracious hand of our heavenly Father but to recognize the fullness of the kingdom of God. We pray these words because God promises to hear our prayers. But we also live these words.  Our lives become this prayer in action as Jesus calls us into a sacrificial love for neighbor that is simple and unassuming.  Drive around the city.  Watch as this prayer reminds you that giving to the poor and needy is part of the kingdom.  Dismissing the simple things, or even not asking for them in prayer, is like dismissing Warhol’s simple artwork. There is more to the kingdom of God. For this reason, Jesus teaches us to pray, and by praying to seek his kingdom, this simple and unassuming kingdom present in our world.

Gracious God, lead us to always pray for our needs and for the needs of others.  Lead us to see your love in all of our life.  Guide us to see that nothing is too small for your care and love.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret