5-15-2026

Good Morning!

            John 3:17; “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”

     In our Sunday School program, we encourage our students to ask any question they want about the Bible. They write it down and then once a month I meet with them and we talk about them. Sometimes it is about who God is, where He came from and things like that.  It is always interesting to watch how they think.  The way they process things is a little different and sometimes pretty insightful.  Our discussion the other day was about the “have tos.”  Kids this age just bristle when they think that they “have to” do something.  They are getting to the age where they feel that they are old enough and independent enough to make their own decisions.  They don’t want to “have to” do something.  They are concrete thinkers who want a pliable life; it gets interesting and I like to make them think once in a while.

    So once again, the questions began.  “Do we ‘have to’ go to church?”  “Do we ‘have to’ say the confession of sins?” “Or the Apostle’s Creed” “or the Lord’s Prayer?” “Or do we ‘have to’ sing the hymns?”  I love these questions; I long for these questions because my answer always throws them for a loop.  Do we ‘have to’….? The answer is “no.”  None of these things will get us into heaven.  None of these things impress God.  None of these things are required of us for salvation.  No, we don’t ‘have to’ come to church or say the Lord’s Prayer or the Creed or sing the hymns; we don’t have to do these things but because of God’s grace; we get to.

    Because God loves us so much, we get to do these things.  I ‘get to’ come to worship, at the invitation of Jesus, to hear his words of love, of forgiveness and of hope.  I get revitalization in my heart and in my soul from hearing those words of his love. I ‘get to’ confess my sins, release them from me, and lay them upon Christ’s throne.  They no longer burden me.  They no longer haunt and taunt me.   They are no longer the devil’s ammunition.  I ‘get to’ say the

Creed where I am reminded of all that God has/ is/ and will do for me.  From my creation, redemption, sustaining, fulfilling, encouraging, guiding, comforting; all my needs are met in God and the Creed helps to remind me of this.  I ‘get to’ speak the Lord’s Prayer, and all prayers, to God.  I ‘get to’ enjoy this holy conversation.  I am given the permission to speak to God, the creator of the entire universe, as I would speak to my dear father.  I ‘get to’ do all of this, and more, because Jesus came to pay for my sins.

    The confirmands always kind of shake their heads.  Many of us do.  We struggle trying to keep straight that God’s love for us precedes any action on our part.  Nothing we do will ever make God love us.  He chose to do that long before you and I ever existed and that love will continue long after you and I have returned to dust. We ‘get to’ live in God’s holy presence and remain in his loving arms.  Because of Jesus, we ‘get to’ have eternal life.  What a deal for us!!

Father, in your mercy you have brought me into your holy family and given me all the rights and privileges of being your child.  Guide me to know and to use these wonder blessings that I may grow in faith and serve you in your holy kingdom.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-14-2026

Good Morning!

    Matthew 9:36; “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.”

     Sheep are defenseless animals.  About all they can do is charge you.  They do not have sharp teeth to bite with.  They are easily attacked by any wild animal.  They are also very docile animals that need to be led, fed and cared for.  Left to their own ways, they get lost easily.  Without guidance and direction, they will wander aimlessly and soon be separated from each other.  They are easily spooked and will run in all different directions.  They will end up totally lost, totally disconnected, beaten down and completely helpless.

    In our verse Jesus looks out at the crowd of people and compares them to sheep.  These are sheep which had a bad shepherd.  He was careless and lazy.  He didn’t take care of them properly and then just ran off and left them.  They were left to be attacked by the wolves.  They were bloodied, bruised, and destroyed.  They were lost and completely helpless; sort of like we can be.

    Being described as sheep can be very accurate.  We are easily misled.  We are often told something that sounds too good to be true but we believe it anyway.  We see dozens of others doing it so we assume that it must be ok.  We don’t think for ourselves we just follow the crowd.  We are easily led astray and soon are far from the safety of the watchful eye of the shepherd.  We soon are beaten down by the ravages of the devil and this world.  We are tormented and attacked.  We are trampled on and depleted.  We follow the wrong shepherd and end up abandoned.

    This is why Jesus had to come to the world.  We were so hopelessly lost that we would never find our way and those who should lead us had abandoned their duties.  Nothing short of God’s intervening in our lives was going to change things, so he did.  God intervened and completely changed the way the sheep lived.  The sheep (us) got the true shepherd, the one that would lay down his life for the sheep.  Because of his great love for us, Jesus had compassion on us and did whatever was necessary to bring us back into the flock of his children.  He even gave his life so we could have ours.  He healed our wounds and defeated our enemies; all because he loves us. 

    So, no matter what the world throws at us, we know that Jesus, our true Shepherd, is there to guard and protect us.  He is there to comfort us and to apply the balm of forgiveness to our wounds of sin.  He is there to offer us hope and peace.  He gathers us up and leads us to the quiet still waters and lush pasture where we can live contented lives with him.

Gracious Lord, you are the shepherd who saves us.  You are the shepherd who provides for us and protects us.  Lord, there are so many of your children who are lost and harassed, like sheep without a shepherd.  Bring them safely into your loving embrace so that they too may know your boundless grace.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

5-13-2026

Good Morning!

       Job 1:10; “Have you not put a hedge around him and his house and all that he has, on every side? You have blessed the work of his hands, and his possessions have increased in the land.”

      It is sort of like the backyard fence.  You put it up and then you let the children play.  As long as they are within the fenced in area, they are safe.  However, if they are ever outside of the fenced in area, then danger lurks.  Stay inside the fence and you are safe; outside the fence and problems will arise.

    Our verse is part of the conversation between Satan and God as they discussed Job.  Satan claimed that the reason Job was faithful was because God had put a fence around him and only good things had happened to Job.  He was the wealthiest man in the region.  He had a large family; life was good.  So, Satan claimed that the only reason that Job was faithful was because God protected him from the pain of the world. 

    So, God, in essence, let Satan into the fenced in area to test Job.  Job eventually stood the test, as great as it was.  Yet, he was still inside the fenced in area.  He was still protected by God.  God was allowing Satan the freedom that he had but it was never out of God’s control.  Even though there were times when Job probably wasn’t really sure; he was always under God’s loving arm and protective eye.

   We are as well.  God’s grace is poured out upon us and we are protected from all that the devil will throw at us.  He can never separate us from God’s love.  God’s grace is always there for us.  The only time it is gone is when we leave the fenced in area, when we walk away from God.  Then we have made the choice to do battle with the devil all on our own.  We will fight and we will lose.  The devil is far too powerful for us to win against.  He will torment and lead us into all sorts of pain, emotional, physical, and spiritual.  Out there, we have no chance but if we stay in God’s hedges, the fenced in area, we will always be safe.

    God sent Jesus to die for us in order that the devil may not harm us but the devil still prowls around looking for new victims.  But God’s mercy is in full effect for us.  He seeks us our and places us back into the safe area.  He keeps placing us under his loving arms and care and no matter how many times we run; He will always bring us back.  Yet if we keep running, eventually the devil may trap us. 

    So, we can live contented; we can live safe within the hedge that God provides. We can remain safe in his loving arm.  We can remain safe under his watchful eye.  It is here we can live the life he has for us to enjoy.

Gracious Father, in you we have our salvation.  You keep us protected from all the devil wants to throw at us.  Keep us safe.  Bring back those who have run away and fear to return.  Bring them safely home; end their torment and their fear.  Give them the peace that only you can give.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

5-12-2026

Good Morning!

    Philippians 3:14; “I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

        It was really funny to watch.  We had set up a 2x4 board on edge.  It was 6 feet long and the mounting had it two inches off the floor.  So, we challenged the kids to walk the “balance beam of destruction.” It was 1.5 inches wide and 6 feet long.  Very few could do it.  Most made it less than half the way down.  The problem was that they would look either down at the board or around at their friends; a few tried to look behind them.  The very small number who made it from one end to the other looked forward to a small sign that was on the wall directly behind the beam.  They focused on the sign and went straight down the board.

    It doesn’t matter what you are trying to do; whether it is walking a straight line, plowing a straight furrow, making a straight path; you accomplish this by focusing your sight on a specific point out way ahead, way past your intended ending point, and walk directly toward it.  You can’t look directly down at the path or you will waver.  You can’t look around or look back if you want to walk the line.  If you do that, you will fall off the beam.  Our life is the same way.

    The Apostle Paul told us to “press on toward the goal.”  The goal of course is eternal life in Christ.  The best way to accomplish this task is by focusing, not on what is happening around us, but rather by focusing on the target, the goal, our eternal life.  We can’t be distracted by the lumps and bumps of life.  We can’t look back at the past; we need to look forward.  We need to press on toward our goal, toward our eternal life with God.

    The devil wants us to look at everything around us.  He wants us to look down or back or side to side, anywhere but at Christ.   By getting us to look away from Jesus, the devil wants you to see pain, failure, and hopelessness.  When we do this, we fall off of the very path that Jesus has laid out for us.  We fall off the path of contentment.  The devil inflicts his pain.

    This is why God tells us over and over that we need to keep our eyes on him; that we need to press onward toward him, toward our goal of eternal life.  God gives us this hope for life eternal.  It is the great good that we need to keep in our line of sight so that the brokenness of the world does not detract us from the beauty of his grace.  In our life, the devil will try to cause all sorts of confusion and distress.  We best deal with this by keeping our eyes and our faith focused on Jesus and keep pressing forward to that truth.

Father of all mercies, your wonderful love and mercy roll over us like a river.  Your grace is new to us each day.  Guide us to keep pressing onward toward your great mercy, to our eternal reward.  Be with those who are distracted by the cares this life and this world.  Help them to get back on the path to walk in your light and grace.  Return them to your holy flock.  Protect our service men and women, especially those in harm’s way. In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-11-2026

Good Morning!

              James 4:3; “When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.”

      A while back, I was talking with a six-year-old and this young person was telling me that they were “mad at God.”  So, I asked, “Why are you mad at God?”  The answer, “I want a pony but God won’t make my mom and dad buy one.”  I tried to explain that it might be that God doesn’t think you are ready for a pony just yet; maybe he is telling you that there will be one when you are older.  That wasn’t the answer being sought.  I think the expectation was that I was supposed to pray for a pony as well.

    It was an amusing exchange.  It is always interesting the way that young ones think.  They always see things in concrete terms and in a manner that is completely logical to them.  While we may smile at it, we aren’t that much different.  When we pray, we often have the same thought process. “I want a pony and I want it now.”  So, when we don’t get the pony, we are mad at God.

   Too often our prayers are manipulative in nature.  It may be a prayer when we ask God to “change the other guy.”  It may be a prayer where we “explain” to God the right way to solve a situation that needs to be “fixed.”  We aren’t praying for God’s will; we are praying that our will trump God’s will.

    Sometimes our prayers are designed to impress others.  We think big words and fancy prose are the way to go.  We think that if others are impressed by what we say then certainly God will be impressed and will have to give us what we ask for no matter what it is.  Whatever our “pony” is, we want God to give it to us and right now.

    So, James speaks directly to our failure in prayer.  We do not pray in accordance with God’s will nor do we truly want God’s will to prevail.  We simply see God as an ATM machine that spews out our wishes and wants regardless of our motives or wants.  James tells us this is the reason our prayers fail, we do not have the right motive.  So, what is the right motive?  It is that God’s will be done here on earth.  It is that the kingdom of God may spread throughout the world.  It is that all may come to know the saving grace of Jesus.  It is that we may always be God’s active agents of love and peace.

    So, when you pray, pray with the right motive.  Seek God’s kingdom to advance and that we may be agents of that advance.  Pray that Jesus would come to restore his creation to perfection.

Father, too often we seek our own desires and follies; too often we want for me and what I want and not what I need or what my neighbor needs.  Forgive our hollowness and our shame.  Bring us to speak with you in that holy conversation which strengthens and affirms our faith.  Be with those who feel that you are far away because they do not see their prayers answered as they seek.  Guide them by your Spirit to return to you in humility and wonder.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

5-10-2026

Good Morning!

      Romans 8:34; “Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us.”

          I remember one of those brain teaser problems a few years back.  It was a list of about 25-30 instructions.  Most of them were silly and embarrassing; things like “stand on one foot and sing ‘Twinkle, Twinkle.”  The trick was that the first instruction told you to read ALL the instructions before you did anything else.  Instruction #22 told you to only follow instructions 1, 22 and the last one which told you to sit quietly.  Those who read and followed the directions would sit quietly.  Those who chose just to start doing the list did anything but sit quietly; they would sing and dance and twirl around.

     Sometimes, we read the Bible like this.  We don’t read it all the way through and we only see parts of it.  We tend to focus on the death of Jesus.  We tend to focus on his suffering and then his dying.  While this is a significant event, the Son of God dying in your place, it is only part of the story.  We really shouldn’t separate Good Friday from Easter but we do.  We should look at the time from Good Friday until Easter morning as one continuous event.  Jesus’ death is important but so is his resurrection. 

    Jesus’ resurrection is the sign that Jesus’ words are true and are valued and accepted by the Father in heaven.  It is also the preview to our future when Jesus returns.  We get a glimpse of our perfected bodies.  The resurrection gives us hope.  The resurrection reveals to us what God’s promise to us looks like.

   The resurrection of Jesus also means that he is not dead but that he lives in heaven, with the Father, and pleads and intercedes for us.  We often ask others to pray for us but do we ever stop and realize that Jesus is also praying for us?  What a comforting thought this should be!!  The Son of God prays for you all the time.  

    So, as we look with joy at what Jesus has done for us.  We look not only at his death but at the death and resurrection, together as one great mercy given to us.  Through this event we have the forgiveness of sins and the promise of the resurrection.  Through this event, we can live with the certainty of our life eternal. 

    So don’t stop with “Jesus died for me!” but continue on with “Jesus rose for me that I might have life!”  Because it is by his glorious resurrection that we have the promise sealed by his blood and given to us by the Father.  This makes this event joyful and worth celebrating.  Jesus lives and he lives so that you and I may have life and have it abundantly.

Father of all good things; grant to us your Spirit that we may live in the wonders of your mercy.  Keep us alive in your grace.  Guide us to rejoice in the living Savior who reigns with you.  Be with those who are lost and suffering.  Be with those who are in pain.  Comfort them and give them the hope of life eternal.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

5-9-2026

Good Morning!

      Psalm 119:50; “This is my comfort in my misery:  Your promise gave me a new life.”

 So, when you are down or sad or just in need of comfort, where do you turn?  Many of us turn to food.  In fact, we have a whole host of food that we call “comfort food.”  It seems that much comfort food has a common element; it is simple.  The favorite comfort food listed is macaroni and cheese.  It doesn’t get much simpler than that.  Other foods are meatloaf, fried chicken, some put tuna sandwiches on the list but I prefer shrimp and grits.  There is chicken potpie or chicken noodle soup or mashed potatoes and gravy.  Personally, I prefer pie and ice cream.

     It is interesting how we turn to food for comfort.  I suppose part of it goes back to our early childhood when a full tummy and a soft blanket solved all the world’s problems.  Part of our comfort from food may be this.  It also may be that preparing simple food doesn’t require a lot of thought allows us to “mull” while we work.  It also might be that simple foods, foods that we associate with growing up or home, gives us a sense of being home, safe from all the struggles of the world and it may even remind us of simpler times.  It might remind us of times when our big decisions were which color shirt to wear.  It might have the effect of reminding us of the safety we found in the walls of our childhood home.

     At times of stress or sorrow we often seek comfort.  From the time we are a child and seek mom or dad to kiss an “owie” through our younger years when that certain boy or girl who was “to die for” turned us down; we sought comfort.  When the stress of a job or a lack of rain, or low prices causes us to wonder about decisions made, we seek comfort.  We seek comfort from different sources whether it is food, family or perhaps the solace of a quiet space.  All of these may offer a temporary respite, the stress or the sorrow may return.  We need to find a place of lasting comfort and that is in God’s grace.

    The Apostle Paul tells us that “for those who love God, all things work together.”  Now that doesn’t mean that there won’t be some pain or struggle.  What it means is that we will never face it alone, never be left to be left dangling in the pain or sorrow.  God gives us comfort.  We take comfort in the certainty of his promise.  God has made to us a promise, delivered at our Baptism, to always hold us close to him.  He has promised to always give to us the forgiveness of sins and to always call us back to his loving mercy.  This mercy is always extended to us at all times.

    When the stress or pain of this world expresses itself in our life, God is ever present and ready to provide for us the words of comfort that we need to live our life in the contented and restful manner that God seeks to give us.  He is our hope and comfort, at all times.

Father of mercy, you are our only true source of comfort.  You are our only safe place.  Give us the wisdom to know this and the faith to trust in you as our rock and our fortress.  Father, there are many who struggle with the pain and the sadness of this world.  Give to them your Spirit of comfort that they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret