7-31-2025

Good Morning All,

         Mark 10:46; “And they came to Jericho. And as he was leaving Jericho with his disciples and a great crowd, Bartimaeus, a blind beggar, the son of Timaeus, was sitting by the roadside.”

   Have you ever watched the news when they show relief work done in a region where people are starving?  The people all look gaunt, even emaciated; each holding out a cup.  Into that cup is poured some type of porridge that is usually high in protein and carbohydrates.  Yet the one thing that you see is that everyone just waits, with their cup held out.  When you look at them, you can’t tell if one is a rich man and the next is a poor man.  You can’t tell if the woman is a mother, a widow, or a princess.  They all stand in line, no sense of rank or entitlement, just waiting for their meager ration.  It is never a lot, only enough for the day.

    In our verse, we read about one of the more pitiful people in the Bible.  We have a blind beggar named Bartimaeus.  Imagine his living condition.  He would sit beside the road, probably dressed in rags, probably dirty from the dust of the road.  He was probably hassled by the thugs and bullies who saw him as a good target.  Some of the kids would have made fun of him because he was blind.  The Pharisees blamed him for his circumstance and offered no compassion.  What a sorrowful life this was.

    You and I are Bartimaeus.  We are the pitiful, blind beggar and it doesn’t matter if you go to church every Sunday and sit up front or if you don’t remember the last time, you saw the inside of a church; you are a beggar.  We have no other way to view it.  We are completely at the mercy of God and his love.  The world and the devil love to taunt us, to bully us and to even look down upon us; for we are beggars.  We can only stand before God and ask for help.  Our only hope is from God, without his love we are pitiful, blind beggars. 

    The wonder of God’s love is that he has compassion on us.  We are not anything special; we are just us.  How often do you sit and think, “if only people knew what I am really like?”  Do you feel the devil knocking you down with that?  How often do you think, “If God really knows me; I don’t have a chance.”  Do you feel the dirt and the grime from the road?  Jesus died for you and me and we stand in line together, holding out the cup, looking for a day’s ration.  That is all we need; one day of God’s grace.  It will get us through until tomorrow when we will get one more day’s ration of grace. 

    That is really all we need, one day’s ration of grace.   One simple fill up and we can face the day’s struggle.  The devil and the world will still bully us, situations may leave us feeling dirty but God gives us that day’s ration of grace.  We are all beggars before God; but thanks be to God that he has compassion on us!

Gracious Father, we are humble before you.  We have nothing and we have no way to ever get anything.  All we can do is beg of you.  We beg for your forgiveness, we beg for your mercy, we beg for your grace and you supply it.  We give you thanks!!  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-30-2025

Good Morning All,

     Genesis 18:14a: “Is anything too hard for the Lord?”

   It has always been fascinating to me to watch people, especially children, “figure things out.”  I remember watching my oldest grandson try to figure out steps when he was a toddler. It was a little scary but he figured it out.  He would place a foot down and try to find the step.  He didn’t find it so he climbed back up, looked at the step, then tried again.  Eventually he figured it out.  It was hard for him at first but eventually it became easy for him.  He went through the same process when learning to walk.  He would stand in the middle of the room and just stare at his feet, almost as if he was trying to will them to move; eventually they did. 

     Soon he learning to talk, then read now it is math and English and whatever else there will be as he continues to grow.  Some of this will come easy but some will come a little harder.  That is how life works. It works this way for all children.  Sometimes learning is a hard thing to do.  There are some things that we can only learn “the hard way.” While learning can be tough; experiencing life can be even harder.  Sometimes, there are things that are so hard, we can’t do them.

     I have watched some people as they make some incredibly hard decisions in their lives.  When the doctor tells them that they have done all the can for their loved one.  He is only alive because of the ventilator; how do you decide?  Sometimes, a loved one may never understand or accept the consequences of what he does; it might be time for “tough love” but how do you know when to push back?  You are trying to deal with the emotions of a family where all want something different; how do you keep them talking to each other?  Sometimes the hardest things we face seem to have no good answer.

    Living in a sinful and corrupted creation causes us incredible amount of pain and anguish.  One of the devil’s favorite tools to deceive us with is doubt and he uses it whenever and wherever he can.  He will try to make you doubt every decision you make.  He will try and make you doubt everything you are told.  He will try and make you doubt everyone that you know.  Through this doubt, he attempts to isolate you and then torment you with those increasing doubts.  He tries to make it hard for our decisions.  He does this by causing us to doubt God’s love.

  While we face many troubles, there is nothing too hard for God.  We can only struggle with our decisions but if we make them in faith; we must trust God.  His will for us is to love us.  We are always his dear, redeemed children.  So, as life throws us the most difficult decisions, we know that through them all; God loves us and wants us to know this love is real.  His grace will carry us through.

Gracious Father, in your mercy nothing is hard for you.  All of our needs are met by you.  As we face the difficult times, give us your Spirit of comfort and peace.  Lead us in the path that you choose.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray.  Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-29-2025

Good Morning All,

        Jeremiah 16:19; “The Lord is my strength and my fortress, my refuge in times of trouble.”

    There is one thing that most people try to be aware of in the plains of the United States and that is where to go when a tornado is around.  You either have a basement, or a strong interior wall.  Some people have actual storm cellars that are there for protection.  If you live in a development there may even be a designated building for this purpose.  It is important to know where to go when there is danger.

    This past spring, the school that my wife is at had an “armed intruder” drill.  It was in conjunction with the county sheriff; it was a learning experience for everyone.  Yet it was a very important learning time.  They were determining how to keep the students and staff safe.  It is important for everyone involved to know what the best plan for an intrusion of some sort.

    Most people have some sort of plan for when something catastrophic occurs but it is usually only for those events that we expect.  We expect stormy weather.  We carry some form of a survival kit for winter driving.  We are supposed to have some money saved for “unexpected events.”  Some people have some form of a generator for power outages.  The problem with planning for disasters is that we always plan for the last disaster; it is impossible to plan for the next one because we can never be sure what it will be.

    That is the problem with our life; it isn’t as well scripted as we would like it to be.  When we get married, it is supposed to be forever.  But what happens when forever is only three years?  What happens when illness strikes and we no longer can move a leg or an arm properly?  What happens when our ability to earn a living is gone and we have nothing left?  What happens when the disasters we plan for don’t occur but the ones we don’t plan on do?  Where do we find shelter?  Where do we find refuge?

    Too often, we find our refuge in our own skills, knowledge, and abilities.  We think we can conquer anything but what do we do when we are not that strong?  Even the strongest storm cellar only protects for a few hours; what if it is weeks or months of ravaging storms?

     God is our only true refuge.  When all of our phony “safe places” in this world fail, only God’s grace will truly protect us, even when we may struggle in holding onto that faith; God doesn’t let go.  His love is our tower of strength.  It is where our refuge place is.  He is our only source of hope and comfort.

Dearest Jesus, you are our shelter and our hope.  Give us the faith to hold onto that hope; to seek that refuge.  We pray especially that for those who are struggling at this time.  Be with them and let them know that their refuge is in you.  All this we ask in your precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-28-2025

Good Morning All,

         Psalm 56:8; “You have kept a record of my wanderings.  Put my tears in your bottle.  They are already in your book.”

    So, I guess it is confession time again.  I am one of them; I am a crier.  I cry at movies, sad stories, sad songs, at touching events.  My wife laughs at me; I don’t care.  I don’t actually cry at everything just those stories or movies that strike close to home; the ones that I can see myself being involved in.  It might be a show about a young child who suffers some great illness. It might be about a person who battles back from a severe and debilitating disease. It can be anything where I have related to a person who has experienced an event and I remember their pain as they suffered through it. I remember the raw emotion and it comes back and then it floods out.

    In our verse, David writes about his life and about ours.  First David writes of a “record of my wanderings.”  This was written at a time when David wasn’t king and was wandering in the enemy land of Gath.  For us, we are wandering as well and in an enemy land.  This world is still ruled by sin.  The devil has many deceived by his lies and distortions.  Those who believe the lies serve as the devil’s tools to assault us.  Add this to the devil’s own whispering into our ear and we are often wandering; lost in a world of darkness, lies, and attacks.  Yet we don’t battle them alone, God knows our wanderings and he gives us the hope to persevere and the faith to stand up to them. 

    While we are on this wandering, we know that we will face tears, real tears.  We will experience pain in this world, both believers and unbelievers will experience sadness and pain.  This is the result of sin both personal and world sin.  Other people’s sin affects you and me.  Think of the drunk driver who kills a van full of kids.  Tears will flow in that event.  Enough tears to fill a bottle and God keeps each one; he keeps each one as he wipes them from our eyes.  He keeps a record of them. He does this, not as a way to keep score but he keeps it in his heart as he feels our pain and loves us.  He has no desire to hurt us.  He has no desire to see us in pain; rather his desire is to love us and for us to be his children in his kingdom.  His desire is to wipe away the tears, the pain that we feel. And when God wipes away the tears, He wipes away the cause of the tears so we no longer feel the pain but our joy is restored. God kept those tears in order to wipe them clean. God’s love is upon us.  He knows our pain, our tears.  He watches our wanderings and offers us comfort and hope.

Dearest Father, in our wanderings we have tears and feel alone; yet you are always with us.  Give us the comfort of your Spirit and the consolation of your mercy.  Guide us in our wanderings and comfort us in our pain.  Be especially with those who are in need of an extra grace as their tears are falling now.  Use us as your hands and arms to bring comfort and consolation to their lives.  Give us your peace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-27-2025

Good Morning All,

          Matthew 14:29; “He said, “Come.” So, Peter got out of the boat and walked on the water and came to Jesus.”

    With a summer heat wave well under way, much time is spent at the pool or at the lake or somewhere near water.  In this world there are two kinds of people, floaters, and sinkers.  There are those people who go into the water and can swim almost from the time that they are born.  Then there are the people like me; those of us who sink straight to the bottom.  Trust me, I know this, I’ve done it a time or two and was fortunate to have someone there to bail me out of some serious trouble.  Floating is impossible for me; sinking is really easy.

   That is part of the reason that this verse fascinates me.  Here we have Peter just getting out of the boat in the middle of the Sea of Galilee.  The Sea of Galilee has an average depth of 85 feet, so some places are a little deeper and some places a little shallower.  Peter just got out of the boat.  Yeah, he sunk like a rock but he got out as Jesus called to him to do so.  Peter got out of the boat.

    How about you, when Jesus calls, do you “get out of the boat?”  Most of us are “safe Christians.”  We go to church; we put money in the collection plate.  We take our turn at teaching Sunday School or being elder or treasurer.  We take food to the potluck and buy from the kids for the fundraisers.  We are safe in our boat.  We are safe in our life.  So, what happens when Jesus calls to you, “come, get out of the boat?” How do we respond?  Often times we try and deflect it.  After all, there are people who are trained for that or paid for that or at least are better skilled at that than I am.  I can’t talk to my neighbor or with the people I work with; what will they say?

   Our problem, our fear, is the same as Peter’s was.  Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and looked at the storm.  We do the same thing.  We look at the world, at its opinions and we listen to those who scoff and attack our faith and we can’t even get out of the boat.  We keep our faith squirrelled away, safe, and quiet.  Yet Jesus keeps calling you to get out of the boat.

    We always need to remember that Jesus is always greater than any wave in our life and he won’t give us a task that he hasn’t already made a path through it for us.  Our only need is to trust.  We need to have faith that God will give us the power to move through our challenges.  God gives us the strength to get out of the boat; to leave the old behind and walk with him in faith into and through the struggles of this life.  We can trust God to get us out of the boat safely and securely in his arms.

Dearest Father, too often we like the safety of the boat and we miss the walk with you.  Give us the courage to follow you and to live the life that you have laid out for us.  Give us the joy that comes from trusting you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

7-26-2025

Good Morning All,

      Job 33:28; “He has redeemed my soul from going down into the pit, and my life shall look upon the light.”

     There once was a man who had bought a puppy.  He truly loved the little pup but one day the puppy got outside and ran away.  The man searched and searched for the puppy but couldn’t find it.  He was desperate but had no luck.  Soon he thought he would never see his puppy again.

    A couple of years later, he saw a man with a dog that looked like his would.  He watched as the man kicked and beat the dog.  He went to the man and asked him why he treated the dog so poorly.  The man replied, “It’s my dog and I’ll do what I like with it.”  The first man bent down to look at the dog and saw the dog tag on the collar and immediately saw that it was the puppy that ran away.  He looked up and asked him, “How much do you want?”  “$1000”, was the reply.  So, the first man gave him all his cash, his watch and his computer and took the dog and walked away.

     In many ways, you and I are like that little dog.  We ran away from God.  We ran from the loving relationship that he had with us and we took off and never looked back.  Soon we found out that it is a cruel world out there.  This new master wasn’t kind at all.  He was incredibly cruel.  Often times we were near death but survived only to be abused again.  Our future existence was extremely bleak.

    Then one day a kind man came and bought us for a ridiculous amount of money.  The truly amazing part is that he already owned us but he bought us back anyway.  He did this just so we would know how much he loves us.  He bought us away from that horrible owner, away from the pit that our life was.  He brought us home and cleaned us up and fed us.  He did this all out of love for us.

    So now we have a new life.  A new life that is really our first life; a life living with our loving Father.  We are in his kingdom; protected by his grace and mercy from the old evil owner.  We no longer need to fear the old master for God, our heavenly Father, has defeated him for us.  We can live our life in the newness of light.  We are no longer destroyed but are now living in his presence.  This allows us to live the life that God has designed for us.  This allows us to be free from the clutches and control of the old evil master.  God has bought you back and declared you to be his redeemed child.  Live each day with the certainty of this hope.

Gracious Father, you sent Jesus to be the price to redeem us back from our sin and debt.  You have freed us from despair and the suffering under the weight of that sin.  Give us the power to love and to live the life which you have given to us.  Lead us to be the light in this dark world so that others may see your grace in our lives and in our heart.  Bring the lost into the fold.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-25-2025

Good Morning All,

         2 Corinthians 5:21;” For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”        

     Three of my grandchildren have been involved in baseball/softball tournaments. There were the usual grumblings about the umpire’s eyesight.  Umpiring baseball is always a unique experience.  Baseball, in and of itself, is a very unique game. What most people don’t realize is that if you follow the rules to the letter, the umpire can do no wrong.  Whatever the umpire calls, that is the right call. 

    Now that is quite a statement; I know, however; that is an accurate statement.  There truly is no appeal or questioning the umpire.  Now most umpires know that they are human and know that they can miss or make mistakes on a play.  When in doubt, most will ask the other umpires for help or advice.  That is the way you should do it; get it right.  Yet, if the umpire calls the runner “safe;” he is safe.  It doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks or says.  If the umpire calls the runner safe, he is safe.

    It is also important to note that what the umpire calls is right.  You don’t get to claim that the runner is really out but the umpire called him safe.  The runner is safe because the umpire called him safe.  The game continues and the runner is safe and if he scores, it counts.  What the umpire calls becomes the reality.

    This is how it is for us before God.  We become the righteousness of God not because we earned it but because God declared it so.  No matter how many times the devil or the world try to tell you that “you really are bad; God just missed the call;” it simply is not true.  You are righteous because God says so.  Through his omnipotent power he is the judge of everything.  When God declares you righteous because of Jesus; you are righteous.

    Nothing matters other than God judgment.  He has judged us righteous because of Jesus’ sacrifice.  Because of this we are holy; we are righteous before God; that is the “call” he makes and that is the right one.  Life goes on from there.  At that point we are destined to be saved by his grace alone.  We are declared righteous and no matter what anyone else thinks, says, saw or claims; God has declared us truly holy and righteous.

    The beauty of this is that now we are the redeemed children of God with all the rights and privileges that the children of the king have.  We are now able to boldly come before God’s throne and call him Father.  We are able to come to him with our fears and worries and leave them with him for him to remove.  This is the wonder of God’s grace.  God declares you to be righteous and you are.  God declares you to be his and you are.  God declares you to be saved and you are.

Dear Father, your mercies are new every day.  Give us the courage and strength to trust in your declaration of righteousness.  Lead us to trust in your word.  Show us your wonderful grace that we may live eternally with you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-24-2025

Good Morning All,

     Jeremiah 17:14; “Heal me, O Lord, and I will be healed.  Rescue me, and I will be rescued.  You are the one I praise.”

     Have you ever had someone tell you to eat or drink something because “it’s good for what ails you?”  It is really amazing all the things they tell you to try to fix whatever is wrong with you.  I think what fascinates me the most is how the advice about what is and what isn’t good for you changes from year to year.  A few years ago, I had a heart attack.  I was put on fish oil pills, 4 pills a day.  They told me that the omega-3 was good for me.  Now I read where omega-3 may cause some types of cancer.  Coffee was good and then bad but now it is sort of ok again.

    Who really knows where eggs are?  They jump from good to bad like some version of a tennis match.  If you add in all the folk” remedies, it would seem that everything is both good and bad for you at the same time.  No wonder I get a headache but I am told chamomile tea will fix that.

    While some of our physical ails might be helped by a little herbal tea, the contentment of our heart and soul cannot.  When it comes to our soul and to our heart the only real healing comes from God.  The pain that exists in our heart is not easily soothed.  It takes a lot of care and a loving touch.  This we receive only through Jesus.

    We see and experience so much pain in this world.  Some seem so chaotic, such as a child that falls off a bike and dies of a brain injury. Some seem so cruel and random. Some seem so self-destructive we wonder why we even do them.  Yet all these actions cause a tremendous amount of pain and doubt, both of our own worth and of God’s love.  We wallow in self-pity and in pain.  Yet the biggest effect is that it erodes our relationships.  We are no longer able to trust our family and friends, our selves or God.  We see all these as enemies because of the pain which we endure.

    Despite all of our efforts, we find no comfort; we find no healing.  There is nothing in this world that is “good for what ails us.”  Our only source of comfort and hope comes from Jesus.  It is only through his redeeming sacrifice that we are truly healed.  It is through his grace that we are rescued from the pain that the devil inflicts upon us.  Through all the pain of this world we must always remember that we are God’s redeemed children and that the plight of this world will pass but God’s love will not.  Our only hope is in Christ; hold onto to that everlasting truth as it will cure what ails you.

   Dear Father in heaven, you give us healing in your Word and the soothing balm of your love.  Give us that sense of your touch in our lives.  Comfort us and give us the assurance of your everlasting love.  Be with those who especially are battling health or family struggles.  Give them your comfort and move us to be your arms and loving hands.  In Jesus precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-23-2025

Good Morning All,

             Proverbs 3:5; “Trust the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding.”

    Trust is a very important but fleeting experience.  Most people have the Reagan theory-trust but verify.  That really isn’t trust.  Trust is so crucial to some business teams and partnerships that companies send them to “trust building” seminars.  These seminars have “trust building” exercises.  One of these exercises involves one member standing tall with his arms crossed before him.  He then falls backwards; trusting one of the other members of the team to catch him before he hits the floor. 

    You have to trust one of your fellow employees.  They may catch you or look at each other and say, “I thought you had him!”  That is when you find out who your friends are.  You have to wonder about ever trusting those guys again.  I would think that falling to the floor in a heap would really test your trust of the other guy.

    Our verse today speaks of trusting the Lord with all your heart.  That can be easier said than done.  It might be easy if your life is going, for the most part, in the direction.  But what if it isn’t?  Think of John the Baptist.  He did everything that God asked him to do and he was imprisoned by Herod.  As he languished in the prison, he asked Jesus, “Are you the One?”  Jesus answered yes.  Yet John remained in prison and eventually was executed there.  Trusting in the lord can be tough.

    It can be very tough when we face those monumental tasks; those struggles that have no easy answer.  When facing the declining health of a family member or our own, trust can be a scarce commodity.  When it seems that every time you turn around, you get knocked down again and again; trust can seem like just a word.  When the people who you love and thought they loved you leave you with nothing but painful memories, trust can feel almost painful.  The thing we need to remember is that in most of these situations, we aren’t really trusting God as much as we are really trusting in our own understanding. 

    We may think we have it all figured out but we really don’t.  So much happens in this world that we think we can directly influence or change.  The truth is that the world is nothing but chaos and the only order is found through God.  Anytime we look to the world for answers all we get are guesses or hunches at best.  God is our only source of truth.  God is the one who controls what happens.  Things go according to God’s will; we may not like it at the time but God’s will is always the best.  We have to trust that; that has to be the basis for our faith and our hope.  Trusting in God is our only true security.

Dear Father, too often we trust our own instincts and desires only to have them fail.  Give us the courage and the faith to fully trust in your grace.  Give us the assurance that all things work for good for those whom you love.  Give extra assurance to those who are wrestling now with questions of trust.  Give them peace Lord.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-22-2025

Good Morning All,

         Matthew 18:20; “For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

       A few friends: that is how it always starts.  Then the planning; looking for new recipes to try.  Then it has to have a theme; whatever that means.  Then, do we have any games to play?  Then it is the invitations; mailed or e-mailed.  It started as a few friends and then it grew a little or maybe a lot.  Most people go through this every so often.  We are people who like to be with others.  We are social creatures; we long for companionship.  We are built to be in community.

    God created us to be part of a community.  We can even look at God and see community.  We see the Trinity, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, as a form of community.  We see three persons in one God.  God created us to be part of his community.  We were created to live in communion with Him and in community with each other.

     The problem came about when sin entered our world.  Man, then formed a very twisted view of community.  We began to see each other as competitors, steppingstones, or things to be used, abused and then disposed of.  Perhaps you have been on either or both sides of that description.  This is common for it is how the devil wants our world to exist.  For when this type of view of people exists, we begin to withdraw from society.  We experience pain so we withdraw.  We experience pain so we avoid others who we see as simply wanting to use us and then dispose of us.  Soon we feel that we are all alone.

    However, Jesus came to rescue us from this sin-imposed isolation.  Jesus came to bring us back into God’s community.  Jesus came to return us to His family.  Jesus came to give us this much so after community.  Listen to what he tells us in our verse “where two or three are gathered together.”  That is a small community.  It is a family and the family, as God designed it, is the base unit for human community.  When a family gathers together, in faith, Jesus dwells in the midst of it.

    Even in this sinful world, where some of these communities are broken; God reaches out to us in love to rebuild or build anew the communities built upon his love and grace for us.  He wants us to build these communities upon the selfless love for others.  He wants us to build upon the selfless love which Jesus demonstrated for us. God wants to use you to build these communities.

    So, as you go forth today, ask God to use you to build these communities, large or small, to bring about the kind of world that God desires.  Ask God to use you to bring a little community to a world that knows only loneliness.

Gracious Lord, you came to this world to restore the holy community of your people.  Through this you give us the comfort and hope to face the struggles that the devil throws at us.  Give to those who are struggling mightily the security of your community.  Let them feel safe and secure.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

7-21-2025

Good Morning All,

          Ephesians 2:8; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God.”

      Imagine, for a moment, that when you get your mail today; you receive a gift card to your favorite restaurant with a value of $5000.  It is a gift from an old acquaintance, quite a gift but a gift just the same.  What would you do? I don’t think you would just throw in a drawer and forget about it.   First you would go there a few times with your family and really enjoy it.  Next, you might think about sharing it with a few of your friends.

    Now perhaps you will call all the same friends.  You really enjoy their company and this would be a great way to celebrate.  Or would you think about some friends that you haven’t seen in a while?  Maybe when your children were in an activity you became close to some of those parents but now it has been a while.  This would give you a chance to reconnect.  Perhaps you might invite some people you just met.  Perhaps you would mix and match.

    Now after you have taken your family a few times and some friends a few times; you might look at your neighbors.  Perhaps you take the widow down the block.  Her husband died last year and it has been real tough on her; she might really enjoy a little fun again.  You always enjoyed their company and it might feel good too.  Maybe the family down the road who just lost their job could use a little boost.  It really wouldn’t cost you anything; the card was free; they would have some fun and you would too. 

    We have the greatest gift ever given; we have the forgiveness of sins and the certainty of heaven awaiting us.  We have this incredible gift that God’s wants us to share.  Yet many of us just put it in a drawer.  God wants us to share this good news of salvation.  He wants us to share with our family and our friends.  People we know well and others not so well.  He especially wants us to share it with those who are struggling with life right now.  There is no better salve than God’s wonderful mercy. 

    We are God’s redeemed children and we have this tremendous gift that we can both benefit from and share at the same time.  God’s grace is overflowing us and we cannot possibly contain it all so we might as well share it.  Share it with your family and friends but especially share it with those who are hurting right now.  God’s grace will always bring comfort and hope.  You don’t have to have a long sermon written out; sometimes a simple act of love or kindness speaks the language better anyway.  God gives us a gift, a gift to share and this is easily done with a hug or an ear that listens or hands that carry dinner or supper to someone.  We are saved by grace through faith; it is a gift, a gift worth sharing.

Gracious Lord, through your wonderful gift of forgiveness we have the hope for tomorrow and comfort for today.  Give us the desire to share this gift with those around us, especially those most in need of your comfort.  Open our hearts to them that we may be your ministers of reconciliation.  In Your most precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret