9-4-2026

Good Morning!

         Mark 4:41; “They were terrified and asked each other, “Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!”

     I remember a conversation that I had with a friend.  He was hiking through the woods in the Black Hills Forest.  He was following a path when he came upon a nest of baby rattlesnakes.  He was afraid of what might be.  Not knowing if momma rattler was around, he gave the spot a wide berth.  The problem that occurred was that when he returned to the path, it was the wrong path.  Soon he was very lost and it was getting very dark.  He was now terrified.  Not sure what to do, he climbed one more hill and saw a highway.  He went to the highway and waited for a ride back to his car.  He was a long way from where he wanted to be but eventually, he made it home.

    Our verse comes from the story of Jesus calming the storm.  As Jesus slept in the back of the boat, a storm raged.  While it raged, the disciples were afraid.  These were experienced professional fishermen; they knew this lake like they knew the back of their hand.  This storm frightened them.  They may have had thoughts of going missing until broken parts of the ship were washed up and maybe a couple of the bodies were recovered.  They were so frightened that they finally got brave enough to wake Jesus.  He rose up and rebuked the wind and the waves the way a mother rebukes her young rambunctious children.

    The disciples looked at each other and now they were terrified!  They had never witnessed anything like this in their life.  They had just watched Jesus still the wind and the wave with just his spoken word.  This was totally beyond their understanding or even imagination and they were terrified.  They were terrified because this was an entirely new experience.

    Does the thought of this unimaginable power frighten you?  The power to create everything with the spoken word, the power to stop the sun in the sky, the power to shake mountains, the power to overcome death, all things that might terrify us.  It should terrify you, for you are a sinner.  Yet in what is the most amazing twist in human history, we can take comfort in this fact.

    Jesus showed his love for you by his death and resurrection and now all that power is directed to giving us life.  All of the chaos that makes up our lives, all of the havoc-bringing storms in our lives are subject to his power.  All of the trials in our life are under his power.  We have nothing to fear but God Himself and he has promised to love you and to never let you out of his loving embrace.  Our Savior, our Redeemer is not a powerless wimp.  He is not helpless, or absent or uncaring.  Regardless of what we feel; Jesus is in control of our out-of-control life.

Gracious Lord, you speak and the wind and the waves obey you.  We know that you are in control of our life as well.  Give us the peace that comes from trusting in your amazing love.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret       

9-3-2026

Good Morning!

     Genesis 22:5; “Then Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; I and the boy will go over there and worship and come again to you.”

    This is one of the most amazing verses in the Bible.  On the first pass, we usually read right through this but this is an amazing verse.  This verse is from the story of Abraham when God tells him to sacrifice his son Isaac.  While this may seem very strange to us, it was probably common among the people of Canaan who lived near and around Abraham at this time.  Yet Isaac was the promised child.  Isaac was the son that Abraham and Sarah had waited for.  He was the only son they had and now Abraham and Sarah were well over 100 years old so having more children seemed bleak.  Yet God was telling Abraham to offer Isaac as a burnt offering to God.

    Even as God required this, he reminded Abraham that Isaac was “your son, your only son;” there were no others.  When Isaac died so would the line of Abraham; so, would the promise that God made to Abraham.  So much would go by the wayside that wasn’t supposed to go.  Yet as we read this story there are some things that are curious.  At no time do we read about Abraham questioning God.  Abraham never asks, “Are you sure?”  “Perhaps there is a mistake.”  He never questioned God in any fashion.  Abraham simply gathered Isaac, the wood for the fire, the knife for killing Isaac and a couple of servants and headed for the appointed place.  For two days they journeyed; did Abraham wonder what was going to happen?  At the start of the third day, Abraham told the two servants to wait here and that he and Isaac would return later. 

    Now Abraham knew that God had told him to sacrifice Isaac; Isaac would not return unless God did something miraculous.  Abraham had faith, tremendous faith that God would do something to keep him promise, the promise that God made to Abraham so many years before.  Scriptures does not tell us what Abraham expected; we only know he believed that God would keep his promise.

    There are many times when we cannot see our way out.  There are many times when what seems to be happening should not be.  These are the times that require faith.  These are the times when we say, “God, I don’t see it but I know that you keep your promises and I will cling to that fact.  You keep your promises and you promised me life, forgiveness, and salvation.”  That is all we need to say, “I trust in your promise.”  Just like Abraham, we can trust God to keep his word.  God made a promise to you in your Baptism and he will never go back on it.  You are his redeemed child and his love for you knows no bounds or ends.  Trust him to deliver.

Gracious Father, you sent the Lamb to redeem me from the devil.  Keep me safe in your loving arms.  Protect me from all harm and danger.  Strengthen my faith by your Spirit as you clothe me in your loving grace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

9-2-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 9:39; “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

     As World War II came to an end in Europe and the Allied forces moved into German held territory, the Allied armies came upon places that would be burned into the world’s psyche, places like Dachau, Buchenwald, Treblinka and Auschwitz.  As the allied soldiers began to try and help the emaciated and suffering prisoners, many of the soldiers became physically sick as they looked on at the conditions under which the prisoners existed for many years.  They were so moved by the total helplessness of the prisoners that these battle hardened and weary soldiers, many who had witnessed great horrors, became sick as they tried to aid the prisoners.  The soldiers experienced compassion for the prisoners.

    The word compassion in the Bible literally means a deep-felt pain or reaction deep in the bowels or in your stomach.  It is when you see a person in such pain or need that you feel the pain in your most inward parts.  It is what Jesus felt when he looked at the crowds of people.  He looked at them and saw a people who were like sheep without a shepherd.  He looked at the people as sheep that had been harassed and helpless.  They were like sheep that had been attacked by wolves. They were cut up, bloodied, injured and lost.  They were beaten and defeated.  Jesus saw their pain and he was moved, deep down inside, he felt their pain and suffering and he acted.  He healed the blind and the lame.  He drove out demons and brought comfort to those who knew suffering and pain.

     Many people read this and see it as a blueprint for their own life.  We should have compassion on our brothers.  We should have the compassion of Jesus.  We should not judge how or why the injured person got where he got.  We should not focus on bad choices or bad decisions because when a person is in need of comfort, we simply must meet the need.  Whether the pain is self-inflicted from personal failures does not lessen the pain or the sorrow.  Many read this and think of how they should act and that is a good thing.  We should be quick to have compassion on those who are around us.  But this is not the crux of the story.

    The real crux of the story is that you and I are still the sheep.  You and I still desperately need Jesus’ compassion.  We sin daily and we put ourselves into situations that cause us nothing but pain.  We are our own worst enemy; we desperately need compassion and healing and Jesus provides it to us daily and freely.  He looks at you and he sees your pain and through his forgiving words and his loving kindness he takes the pain away.  Trust in his grace; trust in his mercy.

Father of mercy, in your wonderful mercy you gave your Son to have compassion on us.  You free us from the tyranny of the devil.  You gather us into your flock and you protect us.  Lead us by your gracious Spirit.  Lead us in peace and harmony.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

9-1-2026

Good Morning!

     Psalm 130:1; “Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!”

     One warm spring morning the homeowner knew there was a problem when the shower stopped draining.  He called the local plumber who called the local construction company and by noon the yard was dug up as the septic system had failed.  It was old and couldn’t handle the level of use a family of 5 placed on it.  They dug up the old lines and the old tank.  They piled the sludge and mud and dirt off to the side.  The “water” was pumped off to the edge of the work area as the pile of sludge, mud, dirt sort of oozed out.  Everyone knew enough to stay away; until 4:00 pm.

    The three young boys got off the bus and immediately headed for the activity.  A backhoe at work, a crane truck at work, drain tile laid out, men with tools working; it was a boy’s heaven.  So, they decided to “help.”  Soon they were covered in sludge, mud and dirt.  They began to wrestle each other, throwing each other into the oozing pile.  They splashed through the “fragrant” water and threw handfuls of the ooze at each other.  They were having the time of their life until mom saw them.  She shook her head; it wasn’t the first time that the boys had pulled something like this.  So, she headed out and brought them into the garage and there they waited.

    She came out of the house with a basin full of warm soapy water and started by washing their faces.  Now, even the boys realized that their smell was not the greatest.  She washed them, threw out the water, got fresh water and repeated the process.  The clothes ended up out on the lawn by the garden hose, a later project.  Yet mother continued to scrub and scrub and after a while three clean, cherubic boys appeared with rosy cheeks from the scrubbing.  Hopefully, they learned their lesson but mom knew they would find a different one.

    When the psalmist speaks of “the depths” we can think of a hole where much of the sewage from a village drains to.  Prisoners were often tossed in these to keep them.  It was a place of stench and despair.  It is a place that we can find ourselves from time to time.  Perhaps we have had a fight with a loved one or heard some painful comments made or we made some painful comments and now regret it.  Perhaps it seems that the world is totally against us and in our sorrow, we are in the hole, the pit, the depths of despair.

    Even through the stench, God reaches down and gives us comfort and hope.  He washes us off and cleans us up until we are clean, we are new creations.  We are clean enough to live in his presence and rest in his loving arms.  Even as we fall into the pit again, God continues to pull you out of the depths and clean you up so that you no longer live with the stench of sin.  God’s love pulls you up and out.  In his grace, he cleanses us from our sin.

Father, I cry out of the depths and you hear me and rescue me.  You give me hope.  You give me peace.  Be with those who are still in the pit.  Hear their cry and lift them up by your mighty Spirit.  Save them, Lord and give them the certainty of their salvation.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-31-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 28:20; “Teach them to do everything I have commanded you. “And remember that I am always with you until the end of time.”

         I had a friend who could not wait for whatever we were doing to get done.  When we were in high school and playing football, he couldn’t wait for football to get done.  Then he couldn’t wait for basketball to get done.  When we went to college he couldn’t wait until he was done with classes.  After his children were born, he couldn’t wait until they were old enough to drive and then he couldn’t wait until they graduated.  His job wasn’t any better; he couldn’t wait until he could retire.  He would always look forward to what was coming but he never really enjoyed what he was doing.

    This seems like a sad life to me; yet there are many Christians who live the same way.  It is easy to do and not entirely wrong.  We are eschatological; that is, we look forward to the end of time and look forward to the return of Jesus as King and Lord.  So, for Christians to look forward to the end times is not all bad.  Only when Jesus returns will all pain, sorrow, suffering, sadness, and death finally end.  This is why we look forward to Christ’s return; this is why we pray for Christ to return.  For when Christ comes, we will have the restored and recreated heaven and earth.  Everything will be perfect.

    Yet we don’t want to miss today either.  Jesus told us that tomorrow will have enough worries so live today.  Too often we miss this.  We fail to see the beauty of today because we want the beauty of tomorrow.  Just like my friend missed so much because he wouldn’t see today; he only wanted to get to tomorrow.  He missed a lot of his children growing up because he was trying to hurry them into the next phase.  He missed a lot of companionship today because he was always hurrying to get to tomorrow.

    One of the wonderful gifts that God gives us in our faith is that we have the certainty of tomorrow so we can enjoy today.  We don’t have to wait until we live with Jesus; he already lives in us right now.  He is with us all the time and we can not only take comfort in this; we can revel in it.  We can thoroughly enjoy his presence in our lives right now.  Since we have his guarantee to live with us at all times, we can enjoy the fruits of our salvation right now.  We can see it in the beauty of a star-filled night even when it is cold.  We can see it in the beauty of the eyes of small children as they gaze with wonder and awe at the new things they see and learn.  We can see it in the love that an elderly couple still shares even after all these years.  We can see it all around but we have to stop, look, and rejoice in what God gives us today.  We have his grace to surround us so that we may be forever safe and secure in his loving arms.  Enjoy today for God has given it to you.

Father, lead me to see that each day is a gift from you for me to enjoy in your presence.  Lead me to celebrate my days of faith with you.  Lead me to savor your grace and to look to share it with those around me.  Help me to slow down and live in your mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

8-30-2026

Good Morning!

           Acts 2:6; “And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language.”

      “Undo, Undo!!”  That is the cry that occurs when you push the wrong button on your computer.  I remember being in a sem class many years ago, where we were all diligently typing a rather lengthy paper.  All of a sudden, one of the guys sitting behind me let out a shriek and started yelling “Undo, undo, undo!!”  His computer did something and his screen went blank.  Fortunately, he was able to recover his work; the undo button worked.

     I don’t know about you but there are times when I wish I had an “undo” button in my life.  There are times when I said or did something I regretted doing or things I regretted not doing and an “undo” button would have been nice.  Maybe you have had that experience as well.  Perhaps a decision or two in your life could have benefitted from an “undo” button.  Perhaps you may even feel that these decisions have negated any hope in your life.  I recently had a conversation with a man about coming to church and listening.  He looked at me and laughed a little and said he didn’t think our ceiling would hold up if he came to church; he had lived a life that he wished he could “undo” a whole lot.

    Our verse is about one of God’s “undos”.  As the Holy Spirit filled the room, people from all over the known world heard the apostles preaching in their own language.  Parthians, Medes, Cappadocians, people from Asia, Egypt, Crete; all over listened to these Galileans preach and could hear in their own language.  In essence, God was “undoing the Tower of Babel.  God’s Spirit is unifying his people, the exact opposite of sin dividing man at the time of Babel.

    This is only one example of God “undoing” man’s failures.  Jesus came to undo all that we have done so that we can stand with God and before God in peace.  Jesus’ death paid for all our sins to undo all the damage that we did and do to our relationship with God.  Jesus paid for all our sins so that he would undo the destructive effects of the devil and the world can have on us.  Jesus’ death gives us new life; we are a new creation; our life experiences an “undo” because of God’s incredible love for us.

   So, if you need an “undo”; God offers you one.  He gives you the chance to start over.  He gives us the chance to change our life from one of pain and sadness to one of peace, contentment and hope.  God “undos” your pain in order to give you new life in him.  Take hold of his promise to new life and hope for today.  God has displayed the way he “undos” our sins trust him to continue to do so.

Father, in you we have new life.  You change my life by forgiving and “undoing” the pain that I cause you.  Lead me by your Spirit to reach out to those around me that I have hurt or that are in any type of pain.  Lead all those in pain into the wonderful comfort of your merciful arms.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

8-29-2026

Good Morning!

              Matthew 1:1; “The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.”

     The last one chosen.  That was the fear of many children during playground games.  Lined up against the wall and two people began to choose.  One by one they get picked until the last few get picked.  It can be a somewhat humiliating situation.  Yet most of us go through it at some time in our life and we survive but at the time it is not real fun.  We always place importance on the right one being chosen.  The tall and lanky ones, who move with the grace of a leopard or a cheetah with all the strength and speed; they have the eye-hand coordination to accomplish just about anything.  They are the perfect player, the perfect teammate, the usually victorious one.  The last ones picked; they usually lost if they got to play at all.

    When we look at the genealogy of Jesus, we expect the names of kings, like David and Solomon or the great patriarchs like Abraham and Isaac.  Yet do we expect the names of Tamar and Rahab?  One acted as a harlot and one was a harlot.  What about names like Abijah? He was a rebellious son who attacked his father.  Certainly, these must have been the last ones chosen.  Certainly, there had to be better choices than these; certainly, there had to be more virtuous options.  Somewhere in the selection had to be the tall, lanky, svelte warriors. 

    The truth is that there are no virtuous people.  Abraham and Isaac lied, denied God, and turned their back on God’s covenant.  David and Solomon took a very “liberal” view of what adultery really was.  Now the world may view some of these people who are listed in this genealogy are great and some are not.  Yet before God, they are all the same.  They are those whom he has chosen to serve him in the manner that he has decided.  Their background, their previous life was of no consequence.  God had a need and a plan for them so he used them to accomplish his goal.

    This is still true today.  There is a place that God can and will use you in service to his kingdom.  Your past, your history is of no matter to God.  God only looks at your future.  You may have always been the last one to be chosen.  You may have been viewed as the biggest loser on the playground but in God’s eye you are someone to be loved, to be wanted, to be chosen as one to serve him in his kingdom.  Your past may be as varied as those in Jesus’ family tree: harlots, cheats, liars, thieves, drunkards, and rebels.  Their pasts were sinful and wicked but they were forgiven by God and claimed as his children.  He does the same for you and me.  Through our Baptism, we are members of Jesus family as well.  We are inheritors of his glorious kingdom.  We are saved by his grace alone and in that we can place all our hope.

Father, you don’t let my past stand in the way of your grace.  Lead me to not let my past stand in the way of my faith.  Lead me by your Spirit to trust in your grace and to live in your wonderful kingdom.  Lead us to be your children.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret