3-17-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 9:13; “Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

     “You have to learn what it means!”  I don’t know how many times in my athletic career, playing, and coaching, that this phrase was used.  In either instance, it meant that the learning process was the old-fashioned way, some called it the school of hard knocks.  Sometimes you just have to experience an event to learn what it means.  It is hard to explain how it feels to come up to bat in the bottom of the last inning with your team behind by one run, a runner on third and you are batting.  You have to learn it.  Some things can only be learned by experience.  Riding a bull is something that can only be learned by riding a bull no amount of “book learning” will ever replace riding the bull.

     So how do we learn what it means “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice”?  Well, the best, and perhaps only way, is by experience and we have had a lot of experience.  We have received mercy from God over and over.  Jesus came into the world to die for sinners, you, and me.  He came while you and I were still enemies of God.  We were seeking after our own selfish and self-centered desires.  Because of this selfish desire, we were lost from God.  We were adrift in a broken world that the devil tormented.  We were tormented as well and we deserved it.  Yet God had mercy.  He showed us love that we did not deserve.  He shows us love we do not deserve.  He will show us love that we will not deserve.  Yet without that love, we would not be completely lost.

    So, Jesus tells us to share that mercy.  We live entirely before God because of his mercy.  There is nothing we can do to earn that love; there is no amount of sacrifices that we can perform to earn it.  So, Jesus tells us to live the same way; to show mercy to others as we have had mercy shown to us.  We are not to expect others to live up to a standard that we fail to meet.  This only serves to reinforce that failure.

    So, we see that, in order to reconcile with others, the only way is through mercy.  We are reconciled to God because of his mercy on us.  We reconcile with our brother through our mercy as well.  It also takes our brother’s mercy on us as well.  We can never build a relationship with each other by keeping score.  A relationship is not about winning or losing; it is not about control or dominance.  A relationship requires love; it requires mercy.  Without mercy, relationships shrivel up and die.  Sometimes, we learn that the hard way but we have the example and the experience of our own life with God.  We have received nothing but mercy from God in order to be part of his kingdom, a member of his family.  Mercy is how love works.

Gracious Father, in your mercy we find hope.  In your mercy, you spared us from the torment of the devil and from eternal condemnation.  Protect us by your grace.  Guide us by your Spirit to have mercy on those whom we meet, with those whom we love.  Be with those who are struggling showing mercy.  Help them to see that through you, mercy has been shown to them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret             

3-16-2026

Good Morning!

     Genesis 3:1; “Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the Lord God had made.  He said to the woman, “Did God actually say, ‘You shall not eat of any tree in the garden?”

     “You talkin’ to me?”  If you are a movie buff, you know that line.  Robert De Niro in “Taxi Driver” utters one of those lines that live far beyond and completely beyond the movie.  It gets used often; it is parodied often; it is one of the lines that gets quoted often.  I wonder, why Eve didn’t say this to the serpent?  Probably because the serpent was more crafty than any other beast. 

    The serpent was crafty; he was slick as could be.  He could slither his way up to Eve and begin a conversation with her that she didn’t want to have.  So, he asked and she pondered.  He asked and she questioned.  He asked and she doubted God’s Word.  He asked and she sinned.  He asked and she lost her faith.  So, what happens when he asks you?

    The devil asks this same question to you every day.  “Did God actually say…?”  Did God actually say that you would have eternal life?  Did God actually say that ALL your sins are forgiven?  Did God actually promise to be with you?  “Did God actually say…?”  He slithers up to us when we are most vulnerable.  Maybe we are stressed about a doctor’s test or worse, when the doctor says, “I don’t know what is wrong.”  Did God actually say, my strength is made perfect in your weakness?”  Maybe you and your spouse had a fight and you feel unwanted and unloved; “Did God actually say, I love you?”

    Maybe you fail to see what is ahead and all you see is pain and confusion, “Did God actually say, I know the plans I have for you?”  Maybe you feel all alone; did God really say, I won’t abandon you?  So, when the devil asks us this question, how do we answer?  It is always interesting to me that Eve went into a long description.  When we get asked these questions, our answers are easy, we say “yes.”  We say, Yes God said this and more than that God promised.  So, we can see that faith tells us the answer is “yes.”  Faith is saying that “yes” God said these things and means them.  I trust God’s Word.  God said it was so.  “Did God actually say…?”  “Yes, he did.”  Pau writes in 2 Corinthians 1:20; “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory.”  Jesus is the reason for our “yes!”  We can shout it from the mountain top or we can quietly cling to it while waiting in the doctor’s office.  It is what will calm our fears when faced with the unknown.  God said “yes” so we can say “yes.”  Did God actually say, come into my kingdom?  Yes, he does!

Father in heaven, in you we find “yes.”  You give to us eternal life.  You give us the answer to the devil’s question.  Give us the faith to respond with a resounding “yes!”  Be with those who are battling the slithers of the devil; those who doubt the answer to the devil’s challenge.  Help them to know the certainty of your “yes” so that they can find theirs.  In the precious name of Jesus, our Risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

3-15-2026

Good Morning!

           Luke 17:5; “The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”

     I like to watch football on TV. I prefer college to professional.  Even way back when I was in high school and college, I preferred college to professional.  So early in our marriage, just as VCRs came onto the market, I tried to record the college game and then watch it later.  This way I could get some work done on Saturday and then either Saturday night or Sunday afternoon, I would watch the game.  It sounded like a good plan.

    The trouble was trying to not hear the final score of the game.  It is amazing how, when you don’t want to hear something, it was on the radio or on the TV all the time.  If I had wanted to know the score, it would have probably never been on but it was and often.  So, more often than not, I knew the final score of the game before I began to watch it.  At first, that may sound somewhat boring.  If you know who wins, why watch?

     What became interesting were the games that the team that won was way behind at one point.  It was something to watch them mount their comeback.  There were more than a few games that I would think; “I know that this team will win but I sure don’t see how.”  There were times, I really questioned whether the news reporter had told me the right score.  At times it looked like they were wrong but in the end; they were always right.

     We, as Christians, are sort of in the same boat.  We know how our life and the world will end.  It ends with a beginning, a new beginning with the resurrection and the everlasting life.  We will live eternally, with god, just like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.  We will live victoriously forever.  We know how it ends but there are times, if we look around, we wonder how it could possibly happen.  We are banged around and buffeted by the world.  We look around and our faith is under attack and we wonder how it can possibly all work out.  When we have times like that, we need to turn to God and ask, “Increase our faith!”

    We know who the victor is; we need to have stronger faith that this is the way it will go.  Having stronger faith will allow us to weather the storms of life with far more confidence.  It makes it easier to see the end of the game.  We can live confident that any setback now, no matter how huge it looks now, is only a minor twist in the journey of our life.  God has promised us victory and we can cling to that promise with all the certainty that there is.  To see the victory assured before the game is even played is what faith is about.  We know we will win because God has promised it.  We can see the victory and we can see it clearer with a stronger faith; so, we pray, Lord, increase our faith!

Father of mercy, increase our faith!  Draw us closer to you so that we may cling tighter to you.  Give clear eyes of faith to see the victory we have because of your grace.  Be with those who are struggling at this time.  Preserve them with your loving arms.  Give them the assurance that they too will share in the glorious inheritance with you in life everlasting.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

3-14-2026

Good Morning!

  Deuteronomy 10:18; “He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing.”

     The singer James Taylor released a song in 1971 called “You’ve got a Friend.”  It is a song about the singer telling his friend that he could call him at any time.  It was supposed to convey a message of "a universal, sisterly/brotherly, agape-type love of one human being for another, regardless of gender.”  That is kind of a tall order but it is one that you and I as Christians should be familiar with. 

     So, do you need a friend?  Can you be a friend?  That is always the question before believers.  It speaks to the second layer of being a Christian and that is “love your neighbor as yourself.”  Christianity does not occur in a vacuum, which was quite different from the other religions that existed at the time of Christ.  The Greeks, and by extension the Romans, had separated belief from ethics.  The Greek and Roman idols placed no type of ethical requirements on their worshippers; they simply wanted offerings.  It was from the philosophic thinkers that the idea of ethics was derived.  Judaism had deteriorated into a religion that only required ritualistic actions but no faith.  So, when the teachings of Christ connected our faith life and its relationship between God and man to man’s relationship with each other, some would think this was a new idea or teaching.

    In fact, this teaching is as old as Genesis.  It is part of what “being human” means.  From the very creation of Adam and Eve, “to be human” meant three things: to worship and praise God, to take care of God’s creation and to take care of each other.  So, taking care of each other is an essential part of what makes us truly human.  This is how God designed us but sin destroyed that.  Now, through the new life that we receive from Christ, we are “becoming human” again.  Instead of our desire being for our own selfish wants, God’s Spirit instills in us a desire to love and care for others.

    So, God calls us to live as humans, to care for each other, especially those who are in greatest need.  We see basic humanity as for all, not just the wealthy or the beautiful, but for all of God’s creatures.  It is the love that God showed us.  He loved us at our most broken and crushed days.  He continues to love us as the world and the devil continues to try and crush us and break us down.  He picks us up and cleans us off and comforts us all our pain.  He provides us with all that we need.  For this we thank and praise him.

     Yet God is making us human again, we love one another, we come to each other’s aid and we comfort one another; most of the time.  Sin still rears its ugly head and causes us to hate and despise or to experience apathy and callousness.  Yet God Spirit keeps calling us back to him and back to being human.

Gracious Lord, in you we find our hope, our security, our humanity.  Help us to find and to keep our true humanity.  Help us to love and care for one another.  Be with those who are broken and hurt and in need of our compassion and move us to show that same compassion that you gave us.  In Jesus’ name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret            

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