8-1-2026

Good Morning!

    1 Corinthians 1: 21; “For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.”

     I think most people have one.  Most of us have that one friend that, for whatever reason, makes us smile.  Whenever we see him, our hearts are lifted and our day is brightened.  This friend can usually elicit a smile if not a total laugh from us.  This friend always seems to have an aura of lightheartedness about them.  They seem to lift us from the doldrums upon their appearance.  Which leads to my question; do we have a playful God?

    As I look back over the years, I am always amazed at how someone would come along at just the right moment to restore my spirit.  It might have been a phone call or a letter; it might have been an email or even a real in the flesh moment when someone near and dear or even someone seldom known would help to lift me up would.  As you think of that, think back to your own life and how often someone comes along to offer a lift to our mood or spirit.  Perhaps, if we are truly honest and observant, there were times when we didn’t want to have our spirits lifted and we brushed off the attempt.

    It is somewhat of a sad truth in that many times we would rather stay in our sorrows and doldrums than be lifted out of them.  We would rather wallow in self-pity rather than enjoy God’s gracious world.  The devil will feed into this and so do some of those who like to aid him.  Yet God offers us something better. He offers us some joy and contentment when the world and the devil want us to be sorrowful.

    The devil and the world will always try to use complicated ways to bring you down.  They will always try and tie all the pain together into one long chain and then fasten that chain to you in order to bring you down and to cast a pall over your life.  Yet God offers us a different way and, sometimes, he delivers it through a smile or a joke or a kind word from a friend.  God uses the beauty of a sunrise or sunset in order to provide us with a sense of peace.

    So, God takes the simplicity of his creation, a smile, or a kind word to overcome the confusion and anger that the devil tries to cause.  The more confusion that the devil can cause; the more he likes it.  This draws more people down, causes sadness and sorrow.  This gives the devil what he wants, gloom, doom, pain, and suffering.  Yet God comes to us with the simple laugh of a child or a smile from a friend to give us a lift of joy in this world.

    We can receive this gift from God because it is built on his eternal truth; nothing can separate us form his love.  Nothing can pull us out of his loving hands.  There is nothing on this earth, above or below it that can pull us from God’s incredible love.  Because this is true, God does not need the complex because the simple is so true.   Through all this the devil gets more and more complicated to deceive you; maybe God is playful after all.

Father, you lift me up with the simple joys of life.  Guard and protect me from the devil that I might always enjoy the life you give me.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

7-31-2026

Good Morning!

    Romans 8: 26; “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.”

       I was watching the news the other day.  One of the stories was of a set of parents whose teenaged daughter had gone to school and did not come home.  They were anguished with the details.  They were pretty sure that she had run away.  They thought that she was in trouble somehow and had fled.  She may have been in the company of a man twice her age.  The pain in their eyes, in their voice and even in their posture as the stood and talked to the news reporter was evident.  They leaned on each other, wondering and suffering.

    There are times when we see this.  It often occurs when something happens that we simply cannot comprehend.  I hear it in the voice of those whose loved ones are suffering and the doctor’s prognosis is not good.  I hear it in the voice of those whose loved ones have laid suffering for years and yet are not called home.  I hear it in the voice of the person whose spouse just walked away without even a goodbye or an explanation.  I hear it in the voice of children who feel unloved.  We see the pain, the suffering, and the confusion.

    How do we approach this?  How do we offer comfort?  How do we receive comfort?  Many question this.  Where is our comfort?  We know that our comfort, our only comfort, and hope is Jesus.  We know that Jesus is our hope far more than just offering it or providing it; Jesus is our hope.  He is our only hope but when we suffer, how do we access that hope?

    Scriptures tells us to “stay in the Word.”  We do this by prayer and by the reading/hearing God’s Word.  Yet, if we are like the parents looking for their daughter, what do we ask?  Probably the best thing to ask for is God’s peace.  We may not know where to turn but we know that we are in turmoil and what we need is for that turmoil to end.  It ends where God’s peace begins.  It begins when we see that, as God’s children, we remain his beloved family.

    The God who loves you like that will never close His ear or turn His head.  He mourns alongside you and laughs with your joy.   He seeks to enfold you and those whom you love, even when you have wandered away.  He loves you in a way beyond what we will never understand and He will answer your cries. Even as we cry, maybe without even knowing what or how to cry, God hears our spirit and our heart.  He hears your sorrow and sends you his peace.  It may be painful but it will not last forever; only God’s love lasts forever.

Father, there are so many times when I do not know what or how to pray; yet you hear me.  You send your Spirit to comfort me.  You send your Spirit to bring me peace.  It is your peace that I need and it is your peace that I desire.  Be with those who are especially troubled in their heart and in their life.  Send them your Spirit we pray.  Give them and to all your healing.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

7-30-2026

Good Morning!

       Mark 16:6; “And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him.”

    There was a small group gathered at one of the local assisted living centers. The “birthday boy” had turned 101 years-old and they were celebrating. He was still very active and enjoyed playing cards with anyone who would play. (I didn’t, he played for blood!). Everyone was asking him about all the changes that he had witnessed in his lifetime. He witnessed many events and changes. He witnessed a world war (served in it, Thank you sir!) many “conflicts. He grew up during the Great Depression.

    He experienced 18 presidents, and 24 South Dakota governors. He witnessed the TVA, the CCC, and the growth of Social Security. The rural electrification and the coming of the telephone, the computer, international flights, the space program with a man walking on the moon and the birth of 5 children, 18 grandchildren, 45 great grandchildren, and 7 great, great grandchildren. So, some of the staff were trying to get him to tell them about the greatest event. He said that is easy, “the greatest event that I have ever experienced was the Resurrection of Jesus! That changed me forever!”

    I have to confess, I didn’t see that coming; but after he said it, I should have known. He is a man of unshakable faith. The real amazement came from some of the staff. To them, church was something “you did.” You checked off the box that said, “I went to church, I am good for this week.” He lives it, every day. He clings to his faith; he breathes his faith, and his faith lives and breathes in him. He will interact with the staff and the other residents, and his faith will show. He is fully confident that Jesus is risen from the dead and now lives and reigns to all eternity.

    Christ is risen!! He is risen indeed!! Does that cry speak of a whole new world to you? It should!! Jesus conquered sin, death, and the devil. He paid for our sins so that we would not have to pay. He opened the door of heaven to all believers. We no longer need to fear death. It is now only a door, or a good nap. One day, God will awaken everyone from this nap, and we will enter into his eternal perfect creation to live with Him for eternity. Our whole way of looking at the world should be completely different because of this phrase. The collusion of the sinfulness of this world, our own sinfulness, our own guilt, and fears do not need to dry us to despair. In all things, Christ is the victor, and we are more than conquerors through Him. Jesus came to give us life; let us go forth in the peace of the Lord!

Gracious Lord and Savior, on this day you opened the door of your most gracious kingdom to all believers. Give us the joy of your salvation. Lead us to proclaim your saving name to all the world that all may know your love. Defend us, protect us, and keep us under your sheltering wings until the day of your glorious return and our entry into your eternal kingdom. Through Jesus, our risen and reigning KING, AMEN!

God’s Peace!!

Pastor Bret

7-29-2026

Good Morning!

               Isaiah 40:8; “The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”

       I admit it. At a very certain and basic level I am a cynical, skeptical pessimist.  This is especially true with almost any guarantee that comes with a product that I purchase.  I feel a little sorry for the poor salesperson who tries to sell me the “extended warranty.”  If they ask me if I want it, I say “no, thank you.”  If the salesperson is smart enough to let it go everything will be fine but it never takes long if they keep trying to sell me the “you simply can’t live without this warranty;” I start to get a little growly.  One time, I didn’t buy the product I took up to the sales counter because the gal won’t take no for an answer when asking about the warranty.

    I didn’t used to be such a cynical, skeptical pessimist.  I used to follow the rules.  I kept the sales receipt.  I kept the original box.  I sent in the paperwork.  Yet after a few fails, I could never remember where I put the box or where the sales receipt.  A couple of times, the company went out of business.  A couple of times, the store where I bought it went out of business and there was no way to return it to the “point of purchase.” A couple of times, the salesman never stopped again to make sure everything was working right.  It took a few times of the “lifetime warranty” to fall through that I stop believing in guarantees.

    This is part of what our verse is telling us.  The verse before this tells us that people are like the grass.  People fade away.  The promises, the guarantees, the “absolute certainties” that many a man claims to speak or possess tend to fade away.  We see that all around us.  Are eggs healthy or unhealthy this week?  Is coffee healthy or unhealthy this time around?  When I was in high school in the mid 1970’s, scientists told us we were entering the next ice age; we were experiencing global cooling; now we have global warming.  They may be right or they may be wrong but I am not going to get too excited because they will certainly change.

    Man’s thoughts may be correct or incorrect but God’s Word stands the firm forever.  God’s Word never fails.  Through His Word, God promises and delivers to us eternal life.  He promises and delivers to come into our life and to bring to us healing.  He promises and delivers to bring about the restoration of his creation to perfect completion.  We are his people; we are safe within his loving embrace.  God’s Word is forever; we can trust that to be true.  God has always kept his promises and he always will.

Father of all mercy, you alone stand forever.  You alone are the only truth as all others wither away.  Your Word stands forever.  In it we have hope.  We ask that you guard and protect those who are listening to the false promises of this world and are confused and lost.  Bring them safely back into your loving kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-28-2026

Good Morning!

  1 John 4:18; “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.”

       I remember as a kid I would stay up late on Friday nights and watch the old movies that used to come on after the 10:00 local news.  They were usually from the 1950’s and earlier; a lot of times they were black and white.  Once in a while they would be foreign.  This was my first experience with the mouths moving but not matching the words.  There were a variety of movie types.

    One that I vividly remember starred Vincent Price, Christopher Lee, and Peter Cushing.  It was entitled “Scream and Scream Again.”  I sat there and watched the whole thing and then sat in my bedroom with the light on all night.  That was one of the scariest movies that I have ever watched.  I still think the old movies are scarier than the new ones.  The old ones relied on camera angles, careful editing, and solid acting.  Today it relies on computer graphics and effects.  Yet as I watched that old Vincent Price movie; I was very afraid.

     There may be different times when you were very afraid and did not have anything to do with a movie.  Sometimes the most fearful events occur in real life; events that can cause us to leave a light on all night and to sit in fear.  It might be a sudden illness or a sudden death.  It might be a prolonged illness.  It might be a loss of a job.  For some it is actually a stretch of time where their life is going fairly smoothly.  These folks are just waiting for life to turn against them.  We live in fear and we live in fear because we fear punishment.  We fear punishment for sins we have committed.  We know these sins and the devil knows these sins and he reminds us of them any chance he gets.  We live in fear.

    Yet Jesus came to remove the fear.  Jesus came as God’s perfect love faced all the challenges that we face, even facing down the devil and death itself with God’s perfect love.  In that perfect love, whole and complete, God displayed that perfect love by giving the victory that Jesus earned over death and the devil to us.  He gives us the victory and along with that he gives us love and peace.

    Yet since we are not yet perfect, we still experience bouts of fear.  We still fear even when we know that we have nothing to fear.  When this fear occurs, we can only look to God, clinging solely and totally to his grace.  When we cling to God, through faith, we trust his perfect love to conquer our fears.  It is what we have and it is all we need.  Our imperfect love will fail but thanks be to God that he gives to us the victory.

Father, when my fears arise, lead me to look only unto you.  Guide me by your Spirit to rely on you.  Be with those who are in fear right now.  Calm their fears, give them peace.  Lead them into your wondrous light.  This we ask in the precious name of Jesus our risen Lord, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-27-2026

Good Morning!

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

           A number of years ago, I coached kid baseball.  I really enjoyed working with the kids and trying to get them to have some level of success when they played the game.  When they were quite young, the 5- and 6-year-olds, they were easily encouraged.  I remember one young guy who tried to catch a pop fly.  He ran in about 5 steps and the ball landed about 15 feet behind where he started from.  He had a dejected look and I told him he made a good try and he would catch the next one.  He smiled and said he would.  Yet as the players got older, it got tougher to convince them.  One of the greatest principles that I coached with was the idea that you have to have faith in yourself.  If you believe you will fail then you probably will.  You need to believe in your skill to have a chance.  Most of the players came to understand this but some never believed in themselves.  In some ways, our faith life works the same way.

    Doubt attacks us in many ways.  One way is that doubt can feed our own selfishness.  Faith requires that we trust others, in this case we must trust God, by doubting, we make ourselves the only one we trust even when we know we are too weak.  This is part of the devil’s deception and part of our sinful nature causing us to look inward and not outward.

    Doubting becomes easy especially if we neglect listening to God and his Word.  Even a few days away can allow the devil to ask, “did God really say?” and we are left wondering, doubting what we know to be true.  These doubts continue to feed our inward-looking curve; and our doubt grows and our faith weakens.

    Yet what is almost the most devastating thing is that doubting can be contagious.  As those around us doubt, we begin to question as well.  If the person beside us has doubts, it can cause us to think that we may be wrong and cause us to lose confidence.  It can cause us to lose faith.  Doubt is easily one of the devil’s favorite tools.  It is equal to envy and greed.  It feeds our selfishness and weakens our trust in God’s promises.

    This is why we need to cry to our Lord, “Increase my faith!”  We need to constantly renew our listening to his promises.  We need to constantly recharge our faith by reading his Words pf grace, hearing his Word spoken to us and through the regular reception of his sacrament.  God gives us the tools to strengthen the faith he gives us and we must use them.  Doubt is a powerful tool that the devil loves to use but it cannot overcome the wonders of God’s incredible grace.  Even as we doubt God’s mercy is actively seeking us to come back to him and trust his promise to protect us and to never abandon us.  Our faith will strengthen as long as we always remember that God is greater than any battle and stronger than any doubt we may have.  Just keep praying for an increase in faith.

Father, build our faith.  Strengthen us by your Spirit and remove our doubt.  Guard us with your mercy.  Send your Spirit of hope to those who struggle with doubt and fear.  Bring them home to your loving arms where they may be safe and at peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret         

7-26-2026

Good Morning!

   Isaiah 41:9; “you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off.”

       “Mr. Irrelevant.” This is the title they give to the very last person selected in the NFL draft.  The 256^th player drafted to play in the NFL.  You get the impression that the janitor is sweeping the floor; the lights are being shut off; they are taking down the signs; the reporters are gone except for the one who fell asleep in the back; the draft is over except for this last pick.  This guy rarely lasts more than a couple of weeks and then he is cut from the team.  He only gets picked because this is the number of picks that are made.  The first 100 or so picks will all get a good opportunity to play professional football but this guy usually goes home to his normal job.  He will always have a little memory of the chance to play but the reality is that he is not good enough to play.

    That is how the devil wants you to think of yourself; as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  First, he wants you to think that you are not even close to being good enough for salvation and, if you have a shot at all, it won’t last.  As soon as God knows you, he will cut you from the team.  The devil wants you to always think of past mistakes and past failures.  The devil wants you to think “if God knows how bad I really am; he’ll kick me out tomorrow.”  The devil wants you to think that your only chance is to hide from God and be left alone.  The devil wants to lead or drive you to the ends of the earth, to get away from God.  The devil wants you to run and to never stop running, looking for some place to hide.

    Yet God does not view you as “Mr. Irrelevant.”  God chose you and he will not cast you off. 

He sent Jesus, born as a man to live the life of a man.  He ate, he drank, he slept, he felt sadness, he knew pain and sorrow.  Jesus knows every fear, pain, sorrow, disappointment, or rejection that you have ever experienced.  He knows your life but more importantly he knows your heart.  He places his Spirit in you so that you may desire Him; that you may desire to follow God’s will.  He forgives your sin and forgets your past so that you may live in his holy and loving presence.

    You will never be irrelevant to God.  You are the one who Jesus came to earth to redeem from sin, death, and the tyranny of the devil.  God chose you; it was no accident or mistake; God chose you because he loves you.  He chose you and because of his constant grace, he will never abandon you.  He will never leave you to face the devil by yourself.  You never need to face your fears, your sorrows, your pain by yourself.  You are important to God.  Trust his love and mercy; it is always there for you to give you hope.

Gracious Father, your mercies are new every day.  You lift me up from the pit to live with you in your loving arms.  Protect me from the devil and his assaults.  Keep me safe in the shadow of your wings.  We ask that you defend all those who are under attack at this time.  Keep them secure in the certainty of your grace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret