4-30-2026

Good Morning!

      2 Corinthians 3:5; “Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God.”

    Are you one of those people who question their ability once and a while?  Many do, in some areas of life.  Very, very few people are completely comfortable in all aspects of life and those that claim they are comfortable are usually kidding themselves.  We all have areas of our life that we are very self-conscious of.  I am not a dancer.  I would rather stand up in front of a huge crowd and give a 5-to-10-minute spur of the moment speech on any topic that someone chose rather than dance in public.  I feel awkward, clumsy, and totally unskilled.  It seems that the whole crowd of people is watching me and critiquing my very limited ability.  I know that this is an illogical thought but it is what I have.  Chances are you have something in your life that you feel that way about.

    One of the standing jokes that they tell at the seminary is that, as an ordained pastor, you need to be ready to get invited to a lot of dinners.  Most people would rather feed you than to pray before a meal.  This actually seems to be truer than it isn’t.  This is one area where some feel uncomfortable; they feel incompetent.  Most feel very uncomfortable speaking in public; add on a profession of faith and it can get tough in a hurry.

    One of the most freeing messages that I was taught was that “God does not call the qualified; he qualifies the called.”  God doesn’t call you to be a child of God because of your skills or abilities; he gives you the power, through his Spirit, to use those skills to give glory to God and to aid your neighbor.      

    The thing to remember is that we are God’s hands or arms or feet in this world.  Martin Luther calls this “the masks of God.”  It looks like you but it is God’s Spirit at work.  Basically, we just need to let it work.  We need to not stand in the way.  If we feel the urge or desire to help someone, we should allow it to occur.  Don’t suppress it for it is probably God’s Spirit at work.

    When the time comes to speak or act, trust God’s Spirit to be there with you and for you.  Trust him to lead you through it.  He has promised to always be with you; he has promised to never forsake you.  So, we can take comfort in the fact that God does not deliver us from the devil only to throw us to the world.  He stands with us and comforts us.  So, as we look at our faith, we know that it is entirely because of God and his mercy.  God has given it to us and has promised to sustain us by his grace.  Trust in him to give you the courage to go forward.

Father of all peace and goodness, you give us the things that are needed and necessary in our life.  Give us the courage to trust them to carry us through life’s journey.  Give us the wisdom to share your love with those around us.  Give us a willing heart to aid our brothers and sisters who are in need of comfort or peace.  Give us a willing heart to feed the hungry and to clothe the naked.  Lead us in your love.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

4-29-2026

Good Morning!

        Romans 12:12; “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.”

        A few years ago, there was a mix up in my health insurance and it needed my attention.  So, I called the toll-free number and was told that my call was important to them but that all available representatives were currently assisting other callers so would I please hold onto the line.  I heard that four times before I got a real person.  I told him this call was in response to a letter that I had received.  He asked me to hold while he found that letter.  A few minutes later he came back on and couldn’t find the letter so we started over.  I had to fill out an entire new form for him.  I told him what had happened.  He told me that he hadn’t heard of that so he needed to ask someone else and could I hold.

    My beautiful blushing bride got me a fresh cup of coffee as I sighed and sat down on my chair.  Then this very polite man came back on the line on said this is what we are going to do.  So, he began the process again.  I gave him my name, my address, my birth date, my social security number and then we agreed to the wording of the brief reason for the correspondence.  He then began this conversation; “Ok, Mr. Bierman, we are almost done all I have to do is send this and…NO, NO, NO, NO, Oh NO, please no.”  There were a few moments of silence and then he came back on the line and said, “I hit delete instead of send and lost all our data, WE have to start over again.”  I sighed; again, my patience in tribulation was being tested.

    I can do the first part; I can rejoice in hope.  I have that down but patient in tribulation; that one I struggle with.  And struggle I do, partly, because I am supposed to be the calming voice; partly because I need to learn patience.  Yet this is most difficult and not just for me for many that I minister to.  Often times, as we set in a hospital room, the phrase, “if they would only give me some explanation as to why this is happening, I could live with it.  It is not knowing that is hard.” 

    Even though it is hard, we don’t need to see the entire route of the journey that we travel.  Knowing may actually make the journey more difficult as we may travel it with sadness.  We know that God is leading us down the path.  He is providing for the needs that we will have as we go.  He places the people that we need to be there and, above all, we have his Word to give us the comforting words of hope and salvation that he gives us.  He gives us his Spirit to guide and protect us.  God promises us that the tribulation will not overtake us.  He is always there with us.

    Faith is trusting that God will never leave us.  Faith is knowing that God will see us through the trials of this life and give us victory in the end.  Faith is being patient in this life while we are waiting for Christ to return.  Faith is saying, “I trust God to care for me.”    

Gracious Father, help me to be patient.  Give me the ability to remain calm and faithful in the face of this world.  Send me your Spirit of peace so that I may live in peace.  Give me the strength to be patient in the face of tribulation.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

4-28-2026

Good Morning!

       Psalm 116: 1-2; “I love the Lord, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.  Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.”

       “Hello? is anybody out there?” This was a tag line from a “Twilight Zone.”  Like many of the episodes, it was predicated on a nuclear attack between the United States and the Soviet Union.  In this episode, Burgess Meredith was a man who hated people.  He never wanted to interact with people; his only passion was his books.  He loved books.  He was in his basement when he heard the civil defense sirens.  After the explosion, he waited a few weeks and then went out to look at the city.  As he wandered, he found that he was all alone; there was no sign of life anywhere.  He wandered until he found what he wanted to find; he found the library and he found most of the building and the books were intact.  He was ecstatic; he had all those books and no one to bother him.  As he sat down, he stumbled.  His glasses fell off and broke.  He could no longer read.  So, he set off, with a book in his hand, looking for someone to help him read his book. 

     Most of us never seek this kind of solitude.  There may be times when we seek a little alone time but we rarely want to be completely alone.  This is especially true when we are hurting or lost.  At times like that we usually look for someone to hear us and more importantly to listen to us.

    It is one of the devil’s greatest ploys.  He puffs us up when something seems to be going well.  He tells us that it is all because of our talent, our skill, and just the fact that we just deserve some good luck.  He tells us that we accomplished this on our own without any help from anyone.  He tells us we are self-made.  He tells us that we are invincible.  Then he leaves and we are left to strut on our own.  All is fine until trouble strikes.  Maybe it is an illness, maybe it is a job-related setback, or it may be a health issue; something happens and then we find that we are alone.

    We try to fix the problem on our own but it only gets worse.  We call out for help but the devil, who puffed us up, is long gone and laughing at our pain.  People, some we may have pushed away, are too far away to hear us.  We are left alone, lost and crying for help.  The pain and the sorrow become too great for us to bear.  The suffering weighs us down like a stone.  Soon we are completely defeated; all alone and suffering immensely.

    Yet God hears our cries and he rescues us from the suffering.  He listens to us and knows our pain.  He knows our fears and our deepest concerns.  He comes to us with his Spirit of comfort and he comes to us with his words of comfort and hope.  He brings into our lives the people whom he has to speak to us and to comfort us and to ease our pain.  God is always listening, inclining his ear to hear each whispered word; to hear each hushed sigh of pain.  God is always listening and offering us hope through his love and through his promise of salvation.  It is ours to hold.

Father, you hear us as we cry.  Give us the certainty that you listen and give us the peace that we so desperately need.  Cradle us in your loving arms.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret               

4-27-2026

Good Morning!

       2 Corinthians 5:19; “That God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation.”

          One of the most popular genres in movies is the one where two people who been long apart from each other are reunited together again.  It is most common in the Christmas movies.  Someone, a long-lost daughter or a long-lost son, returns home.  It might be because a parent is sick or the family business is in trouble.  Sometimes it is that the long-lost soul has run out of options and has no choice but to come home.  Sometimes it gets the double and the long-lost soul also reconnects with the long-lost love interest.  So, we can have the reconciliation of child and parent, the renewed love interest and the first snow for Christmas.  It is an instant classic!

    Ok, that maybe was a little sarcastic but most of us like a story where people get back together.  One of the more popular MASH shows was when Hawkeye and Radar reconnect two Korean brothers, one North Korean and one South Korean, so they can talk to each other.  People loved the way that love of family trumped politics.  Most of us enjoy when people get back together.

    So, if you enjoy those types of stories, the Bible is the book for you.  The entire Bible is one long continuing story of God reconciling man to himself and to other men.  It starts with everything perfect; man in perfect harmony with God and each other.  Yet soon sin entered the world and man was soon split apart from God and from each other.  Then we read of all the pain and the problems that exist in this world because we do not care for our fellow man.  We read how greed, envy, jealousy, lust, and other selfish passions soon rule man and lead him even farther from God and his mercy.

    Yet God chooses to reconcile man, to bring man back into fellowship with him.  He does this by having Jesus come into this world and begin the healing process.  This process includes Jesus’ death and resurrection, as a payment and a guarantee that the reconciliation is under way.  Each day it gets closer to completion.  So, as we go along the journey, we have opportunities to reconcile with our fellow man and to tell them how they can be reconciled to Jesus.  This is part of our goal in this life to bring people back together; first with God and then with each other.

    This reconciliation is a major part of the Bible.  It is a major theme throughout Scriptures.  Think of the parables, the lost sheep, the lost coin, the Prodigal Son are all about reconciliation.   The man who fields the pearl is about God reconciling with you.  God wants us back together as a happy family.  So be part of God’s plan, rejoice in the reconciliation to God and seek to reconcile with your brothers and sisters.  It will bring contentment to your life.

Father, guide us as we reconnect with those in our lives with whom we are at odds.  Help us to restore one another to the peaceful and loving family which you first created.  Guide with your Spirit of peace and hope.  Be with those who are especially hurt by the estrangement of this world.  Give them your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

4-26-2026

Good Morning!

       Matthew 6:6; “But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”

      When you were a child, did you ever play game “Truth or Dare”?  The premise of the game was that a group of friends would sit together and then each person would get a choice of being asked a “truth” or given a dare.  The questions are somewhat embarrassing; of course, the dares are as well.  It used to be popular at the first “boy/girl” party.  It has been known to send many a young lad or lass home crying with embarrassment.  Yet what do we expect; most people, young or old, have some things that they just want to keep quiet about.  

    This is what our verse for today is really about.  Too many read this and think that prayer is something that we need to hide or to keep away from others.  Some read it as something to be embarrassed about.  It actually is quite the opposite.  In this verse, we are told to be honest and truthful.  It is not a dare or a challenge; it is a chance to free yourself from pain and sadness.

    God knows all that is in your life; ha will never need to have you tell him what you fear, desire, or know.  God already knows.  The reason that we are to go into our room and close the door is to remove our inhibitions.  There are just some things in our life that we do not want many, if any, to know.  There are thoughts, desires and dreams that are too often beyond what we want others to know about.  These are the worst kinds.  They are the ones we try to hide or deny; yet deep down we know they are there.

    These are the ones that the devil loves to torment us with.  These are the little, yet persistent sinful desires that nag at us and keep getting in the way of our complete trust in God.  These are the doubts that the devil throws at us.  These are the things that open the door to hearing the devil whisper to you, “Did God really say?” or worse “when God finally sees what you really are, he will throw you out.”  So, we sit and wonder, sometimes all alone if that is true.  Sometimes, when we are facing a struggle or a challenge in life, those whispers get a little louder as the devil tries to tell you that God is “getting” you for something.

    These are lies pure and simple.  They are designed to draw us from God’s grace and into a place of despair and a place of hopelessness.  They are designed to leave us in fear.  Yet we don’t need to be there.  God wants us to be close to him.  God wants us to be near him so that we can rest safely in his arms.  God wants us near so that we can know and experience his peace.  This is why God invites us to close the door; he wants us to speak from the depths of our heart, in whispers of confidence that he has already wiped away those sins.  He wants us to speak truthfully from the heart so that we may free ourselves of the sins that the devil uses to taunt us with.  When you lose the sin, the devil loses his ammo.

Dearest Father, lead me to close the door and to speak to you with all my heart and all my focus.  Lead me to know the greatness of your love and the heights of your forgiveness.  Lead me to trust in your grace to always protect me.  Help those who struggle in the darkness of the devil’s lies.  Lead them to the light and warmth of your mercy.  In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

4-25-2026

Good Morning!

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

    “Boys and girls take warning, "If you go near the lake; keep your eyes wide open and look for sneaky snake" that is the first line from a country song by Tom T. Hall titled “Sneaky Snake.”  The good thing about this snake is that it only steals your root beer.  It may not be what you want to have happen but you could live with it.  This sneaky snake isn’t quite as bad as the real sneaky snake.  The real one steals your hope, your peace and, eventually, your soul.   The devil wants all that and more just because he does.  His only desire is pain and suffering because he likes to watch it.

    The devil uses many tactics to distract us.  He uses the same question on us that he used on Eve; “Did God actually say?”  His goal, quite simply, is to make you doubt, just a little, because that doubt is like a little water in a tiny crack in a wall.  If that water freezes; the crack gets bigger and soon more water more freezing and soon the crack is gaping and the wall will soon begin to fall down.  It never takes much water to start with; it just slowly occurs sometimes it is almost imperceptible at first.  Soon the crack is huge and just like that; doubt can drive us to despair. 

    The devil also likes to keep you looking around, trying to distract you.  It is a lot like driving your car, if you don’t pay attention, you can soon find yourself in a wreck.  The devil tries to get you to look away from God and his grace and to doubt that it even exists.  This is the devil’s favorite ploy, plant a little doubt and watch what happens.

    This is why it is so important for us to really take the time to focus on God and his grace. We need to spend time in his Word and to spend time in prayer.  The devil will always whisper in your ear, “Did God really say...?”  He will then go on to cause you to doubt your value, your self-worth, the love of those around you, the love that God has for you, really anything he can find to make a small crack in your wall of faith.  He wants anything to cause you to separate from God and to lose sight of God’s grace and goodness.  He will attack; we always need to be prepared.

    We are best prepared when we stay close to God.  Martin Luther told us to always cling to the cross that way we would always have hope.  Trust in God’s mercy for you.  In the face of everything that the devil will throw at you, God never stops loving you.  In the end we cling to God’s promise of mercy and salvation.  So, when the devil asks, “Did God really say?”  You can answer confidently, “Yes, God really said that I am his beloved child.”  Trust in God for his mercy.

Gracious Father, I often experience doubts and at times feel weak.  Give me your Spirit of strength that I may stand up to the devil’s attacks.  Be with those who are especially struggling with all the devil throws at them.  As they waver, give them the certainty of your grace and goodness.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret     

4-24-2026

Good Morning!

       Luke 8:24; “The disciples went and woke him, saying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!”  He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm.”

   The last couple of months have been a little hectic. Along with Lenten/Easter services, we have had a few funerals, confirmation class, adult membership classes and few pre-marital classes and then trying to fit in the regular visitations and the fact that I am older than I used to be, all seem to overwhelm me. Sometimes, It feels like I look up to see a huge wave about to crash down.

   I don’t say this to look for sympathy; I know that all of you have had similar times in your life when it seems like it is all going to come tumbling down.  It seems to come all at once; the job requirements are heavier than usual, the kids are sick, your spouse doesn’t seem to offer much help, then the car won’t start or something like that occurs.  We have all been there.  It just seems to pile up and come at us at once. 

    Sometimes it might even be worse, health struggles pile upon relational issues with a dash of financial battles.  It can get even the best person down.  Like in our verse, the disciples, for the most part, were all very experienced fishermen; they knew the lake and had probably battled other fierce storms.  Yet this one was different; this one really scared them and they saw only their impending doom ahead.

   We face the same type of struggles; times when we see no hope.  We look at the situation and the events around us and we feel like we are going to drown.  The doctors can’t figure out why we are sick.  The job seems to never get going properly, the kids or your spouse or your parents just seem to lack any type of support or affection.  We are drowning and we can’t seem to stop.

    We need to do what the disciples did; we need to call to Jesus to strengthen our heart, to revive our faith and to encourage our spirit.  No matter how great the problem is, it is not greater than God.  No wave coming at us can ever separate us from God’s love.  There is no task so daunting; there is no trial so great that God will ever walk away from you.  You will never stand alone.  The truth for us is no secret; God’s grace will carry us through.

    That is always the basic truth to hold onto.  Whether you are a young couple just starting out together or you are saying goodbye to a loved one, God’s grace is our rock and our fortress.  It is in his grace that the storms of life may batter us but they will never destroy us.  God is always there to calm the storms, to lead us through them and to use them to strengthen our faith.  Each trial we pass builds our faith as we experience God’s grace in our life.  Trust in God to deliver from drowning in the battles of life and to give you life, life eternal with him.

Father, in you we have hope; at times it seems like we are drowning in the struggles of this life.  It feels like the cares of this world can be too great.  But we know you are with us and that your loving arm is protecting us.  Defend us from all perils.  Be with those who see no hope; lead them to the knowledge of your tender mercy and the safety of your loving arms.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

4-23-2026

Good Morning!

       Jonah 2: 1-2; “From inside the fish Jonah prayed to the Lord his God.   He said: “In my distress I called to the Lord, and he answered me.  From deep in the realm of the dead I called for help and you listened to my cry.”

       Have you ever been there?  Have you ever been in the belly of the fish?  Have you ever felt so cut off that there seemed to be no hope?  I can honestly say that I have never been there.  I have never felt that much pain.  I remember talking to a young man who was there.  It was quite a revealing conversation.

    He was a young man who was very exuberant in his faith.  He expressed it freely with you.  As we discussed his enthusiasm, he was very quick to tell you that it wasn’t always this way.  There was a time when he used drugs and alcohol frequently.  There were very few nights when he was sober.  He seldom had a job for more than a week.  He had been arrested a few times and spent the night in jail more than once.  He often slept in the park.  He had stolen money from his family and used people to get what he wanted.  He hadn’t been married but was father to two children by women he hardly knew.  He only chased the next fix or the next drink.  One day it caught up to him.  He had been arrested, again, for possession of narcotics.  This time, no one bailed him out.  So, he sat in the jail cell waiting for his trial.

    About a week into his wait, his brother came into the cell and looked at him and asked him, “Have you finally sunk low enough?  Have you been in the belly of the fish long enough?”  The young man said that what was really strange to him was that he understood his brother’s question; he didn’t know why but he did.  He looked at his brother and told him, “Yes, I have been here long enough.”  They prayed together and the young man began the long journey back.  His long dormant faith was bringing him back.  He is mostly reconciled with his family and is working on a relationship with his children.  That is hard because the mothers are still into the drug and alcohol and he can’t be around that yet; it is still too enticing.

   Maybe you have been there or maybe you are there.  Maybe you have hit as far down as you can.  It may be drugs, it may be promiscuity, it may be abandonment of family or faith; it may be a lot of things but right now you are in the belly of the fish.  Call out to God and he will answer you.  Cry to the Lord in your pain or your sorrow and he will answer you.  It might take a while to get out of the fish.  There may be some healing to accomplish with those whom you have hurt but God is with you and he will heal you by his grace.  He will first reconcile you back to himself through Jesus.  Then, slowly and with a lot of help, he will reconcile you to the world around you. 

    It can be a tough row to hoe but God will help you through.  Know that whatever has been done; God will forgive you and will bring you home to be with him.  God wants you out of the belly of the fish; hear his call to salvation.

Father, we pray for those who are suffering in the belly of the fish.  Whatever their pain, Father we ask that you bring them comfort and to know the hope that we have in the cross.  Lead those who can help to reach out to them.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

4-22-2026

Good Morning!

      Romans 12:15; “Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”

     Once, one of the confirmands asked about preaching and were there times when it was difficult. I told them about the weekend where I had a wedding, a Sunday morning service and then a funeral on Sunday afternoon.  We literally went from rejoicing with those who rejoice and mourning with those who mourn.  It was a short turn-around time.  While many people would look at this weekend and ask how can you possibly swing from one emotion to the other so quickly?  Were you sad at the wedding or were you too happy for the funeral?  I am not real sure what that question really means but I think the answer is “no;” I wasn’t too happy or too sad.  However, I did see something that I hadn’t really thought of before.  Weddings and funerals are a lot alike.

     Now I am sure you are thinking; “I’ve been to weddings and I’ve been to funerals, about all they have in common is the church.”  Yet there is a far deeper truth involved.  Both weddings and funerals show us examples of what faith is.  We see times when we go forth trusting in God’s grace to get us through.

     As you counsel and the marry two people, you can’t help but think of the marriage statistics and wonder and worry but especially pray for this newlywed couple.  They seem to be in love; they seem to give the right answers and the right attitude.  Yet in the end, we only have God’s grace to rely on.  We trust and pray that the newly married couple will always look to Christ for guidance and direction.  We pray that God will sustain them through whatever comes their way.  In the end, a wedding is joining two people together, trusting that God, in his grace and mercy, will protect them from all harm and danger.

    In a funeral, we see God’s grace in action on the other end.  In a funeral, we plead to God to give us strength to see the victory that is ours in the death and resurrection of Jesus.  We trust in God and his promise that our salvation is guaranteed and that our loved one is now resting in the loving arms of our Savior and that in this knowledge we take comfort because we know that we will see, touch, love and rejoice with our loved ones again. 

    In both these events, and in all our other life events, we only truly have God’s grace to sustain us.  We are creatures of God that rely solely on his mercy for all that we have.  We are his redeemed and beloved children to whom he has promised to pour out his grace upon us and we take comfort and we can have joy knowing that the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is dwelling in us and giving us peace.  All of our life events are connected because our entire existence is a loving mercy from God.

Father of all goodness and mercy, we look to you in our joy and in our sorrow for you alone are the holy One.  In your mercy you give to us as we need and you bring us the wonders of your love.  You protect us from the evils of the devil and you give to us the hope of life, perfect life with you.  Keep us strong in our faith; keep us strong in living the life that you give us.  Guard as we go.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

4-21-2026

Good Morning!

              James 4:8; “Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

      I remember watching a documentary on the History Channel about WW 2.  It was about the Japanese occupation of China.  The Chinese were not powerful enough to fight the Japanese Imperial Army head on.  It could not attack the Japanese Army posts directly so the Chinese would cause small disturbances that the Japanese would send a small detachment of troops to investigate.  When the troops were separated from the main unit, the Chinese would then attack the smaller groups.  It was the only way the Chinese could really fight the Japanese in many places throughout China.  While this tactic did not kill many soldiers, it did cause the Japanese to send much larger sized units of soldiers to patrol and to investigate problems.  This hampered the Japanese war effort in China and bogged the Japanese down.

    In many ways, this is the devil’s strategy with us.  As long as we are near to God, as long as we are surrounded by the saints and by God’s grace, the devil cannot touch us.  Yet the devil entices us to go out on our own, away from the safety of God’s loving protection.  The devil wants to lead us astray so that we are easier targets for him to attack.  The devil can never attack God and if he attacks those who are clinging to God he fails as well.  Yet if he can get you separated from God, then he can succeed.

    The devil might do this by leading us to believe that we are “above” sin.  The devil might try to convince us that whatever we do can be justified because of who we are.  The devil loves to play this game with preachers.  This is the cause of so many of the downfalls of prominent or famous preachers; they thought they were too great and too important to sin and whatever action they were doing; whether stealing money or someone else’s wife, they were “allowed” because of who they were.

    Sometimes the devil uses the trick of leading us to think that we aren’t really that far from God so we are safe.  If we go just a few steps away from the base, we are still safe, right?  Then maybe just a couple steps more.  We are “only seeing what is out there;” how can we get in trouble?  Yet that is exactly what we get, in trouble.  So, we need to stay close to God.  We need to stay in his Word and we need to stay in our prayers.  We need to listen to his call to repentance, to turn from our sin and to stay close to Him.  We are to stay focused and single-minded, remembering to trust in his Word for all our needs.

Father of all mercy, you are the only true source of our salvation.  Defend us by your Spirit and keep us safe from all the devil’s attacks.  We ask that you especially defend those who are straying from your loving protection.  Bring them back safely to your gracious kingdom.  Bring healing to those who are broken by the weight of sin.  Bring them to the knowledge of your true and loving grace.  We pray for peace in our land and in our world. Please keep all our servicemen and women safe. In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

4-20-2026

Good Morning!

     Matthew 18:21; “Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

   Have you ever seen the movie “Men in Black”?  The original came out in 1997.  It starred Tommy Lee Jones and Will Smith.  They are two special agents of a secret government agency that polices extraterrestrial aliens in the United States.  It is a science fiction adventure comedy and like any good science fiction movie; it has some neat gadgets.  The one I like is a device that looks like a big ballpoint pen.  It is a memory eraser and when it flashes, the memory of those who see the flash is erased.  The agents have special sunglasses that they put on in order to avoid being “zapped.” I wish I had a gizmo like that.  It would come in handy sometimes.

    It might help us to address one of the toughest things for us to do; to truly forgive our brother.  You hear it often, “I’ll forgive but I’ll never forget.”  Or it might take the form of “everyone gets another chance but not a third.”  There are other variations but they all leave the impression    that forgiveness is not complete.  This might take many forms.  It might be withholding trust, expecting failure, or even putting distance between you and the other person.  This distance might be physical or emotional.

    When we withhold trust, we tend to hold to the past and recall every single instance of pain in our relationship.  We remember how they hurt us in 1999 but we fail to remember the love they showed us at all the other times.  True forgiveness should reestablish and then build trust.  If you find yourself not trusting the other person, you probably haven’t truly forgiven them.

    When we expect failure, it also shows that we are holding onto the past.  When we see a coming event and think, “well, they will hurt me again” we are expecting failure.  We do not see the other person as being capable of not wanting to hurt us.  We think they just don’t care.  We sometimes even make it so that they do fail just to show that we are right.

    The other sign that we aren’t forgiving is to maintain distance from the other person.  We may avoid them in terms of being in the same room as they are or it may be that we are emotionally distant, partly because we don’t trust and we expect them to hurt us again so we stay back.  All of these responses are human but are harmful.  Jesus calls us to a higher level.  His call to forgiveness is to bring about healing.  When we fail to forgive, we keep the painful wound open and an open wound is susceptible to infection, just like our relationships are.

   So, if these sound familiar to you, repent and ask God to help you change so you can help your relationship change. God wants us to have healthy relationships with each other and, for us, it begins with forgiveness.  It started with God forgiving you, now we need to forgive as well.

Father, help me to forgive others, especially those whom I love.  I struggle, Father, so send your Spirit upon me that I may see that forgiveness is healing, that forgiveness is restoration.  Be with those who especially struggle with letting go of past pain.  Help them to step beyond the imagined pain and into your wondrous light of grace and mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

4-19-2026

Good Morning!

             2 Kings 5: 2-3; “Now the Syrians on one of their raids had carried off a little girl from the land of Israel, and she worked in the service of Naaman's wife.   She said to her mistress, “Would that my lord were with the prophet who is in Samaria! He would cure him of his leprosy.”

    She was just a little girl.  She had been captured in a raid launched by the Syrians into Israel.  She was taken away as a captive, a slave, far away from her home, her family and from her native land.  She should have been frightened.  She should have been cowering in the corner in total fear.  Yet she calmly spoke to her owner, the wife of the second most powerful man in Syria and witnessed her faith.  There was a prophet in Samaria who could cure Naaman.  She had no doubt she had total faith.

    It is amazing the number of times I hear people say that they are “just a.”  I am “just a housewife” “I am just a farmer” “I am just s student” “I am just a retired person.”  “I don’t know what to say, I don’t know how to talk.”  “I don’t know how to witness to others.”  We have all sorts of excuses.  “There are professional missionaries to do that; I just pay them and then stay out of their way.”  Yet the bottom line is that we are all missionaries.  In our own way and in our own manner, we are missionaries.

   You may feel that you have no contact.  You do not meet strangers from a foreign land.  You see the same people every day.  You think they go to church, somewhere.  You are pretty sure anyway.  After all you are “just a.”  We don’t know what to say or how to, so we say nothing.  We think we have to be like Peter, who preached before thousands and thousands of people.  We don’t have to be like Peter or Paul; we can be like Andrew who introduced Peter to Jesus or we can be like the little slave girl; simply tell them what we know.

    Maybe all you can do is listen to them.  Maybe all you can do is to direct them to your local pastor.  Maybe all you can do is pray with them.  All of these are valid and valued witnesses.  These are the types of things that a “just a” can do.  You might be surprised how many people you meet in a day need to have these types of witnesses occur for them.  To listen, to pray, to care about me enough to offer direction can mean far more than you will ever know.  Many people go through the day knowing nothing but pain and sadness; they need a word of encouragement, again, something a “just a” can do. 

    Just a slave girl spoke of the true God of Israel with simple confidence.  She didn’t launch into a long theological dissertation; she simply said, with all confidence; that she knew the God who could help.  You know the God who can help.  There are no minor missionaries; there are no minor opportunities to witness.  You matter and your witness matters.  Trust God to help you.

Gracious Father, give us the courage to speak your words of hope and comfort to a lost world.  Help us to be the light of mercy in a dark and cold place.  Build us up and give us the right words at the right time to be your voice.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,                                 

Pastor Bret

4-18-2026

Good Morning!

       Psalm 86:5; “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.”

       Given that so many people are using their cell phones and other PED’s today, it is rapidly becoming a thing of the past.   “It” is the family calendar.  Ours is always on the refrigerator.  On it we put important events that are up coming.  We put down doctor appointments, accountant appointments, special church events, scheduled babysitting events, or any one of a number of things.  This is to keep us from putting two things on the same night.  We were going to spend one weekend with family celebrating a wedding anniversary until we looked at the calendar and saw that we were already committed to a wedding. 

    One of the time-honored traditions with the family calendar was to take the really important dates, like anniversaries, birthdays, special party days was to circle the date.  Many would take a red marker and circle the date so that everyone would see and remember how important it was.  This one usually had the time written on it as well.  Yet it was circled to mark it as the priority date.  It was what we waited for or knew was important and we didn’t or shouldn’t miss it.

   When something is of major importance, we circle it.  It is having a huge impact on what we are doing or experiencing.  We should do that with our faith life as well.  At the end of the day, think of the worst part of today and think of the best part of today.  In your prayers, give thanks for the best thing of today and ask God to remove, alleviate, correct or in some other manner “fix” the problem.  Take the highs and the lows, circle them, and then speak them to God in prayer.

    This is a good form of family devotional time.  Gather your family together and have each share the low point and the high point of the day.  Then join in prayer together, praising God for the good and asking for help with the bad.  This does two things. First, we remember that, in spite of what we think sometimes, there is always something good in our day and we should give thanks.  Secondly, we need to remember to “give to God” our pain and not hold onto it and focus on it.  Sometimes, the devil wants us to focus on what is sad, bad, or painful in order to cloud our vision of God.  This helps us to look up, call upon God, in both the good and the bad, just as He wants us to. 

   So, try this in your prayers, especially with your family, it can help to draw you to focus on God’s grace both in good times and in tough times.  This can be one way to help build your faith.  By focusing on God’s steadfast love for you, it can make the difficult bearable and the joyous more gratifying.

Gracious Father, we call upon your holy Name that we might be blessed by you.  Draw us closer to you; strengthen our faith so that we may ever praise your name.  Help us to see the wonderful things in our life far out -weigh the sadness.  Lead us to seek your mercy and grace in all things.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

4-17-2026

Good Morning!

              Luke 7:12; “As he (Jesus) drew near to the gate of the town, behold, a man who had died was being carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow, and a considerable crowd from the town was with her.”

      I have never experienced a real traffic jam.  I am not saddened by this; being in a traffic jam is not on my “bucket list” but I am fascinated by them.  I cannot ever imagine how they ever get untangled from them.  It looks like one big mess and as the bottleneck occurs, more vehicles come in from the rear and just keep it more bottled up.  It looks like it would be a time of great frustration and anger.  It looks like a mess.

    That is what our verse is about, a traffic jam.  We have two large crowds of people, one a funeral procession heading out the gate of the city.  This procession would have had the mother, the only relative, family and friends, some from the local synagogue, perhaps a few professional mourners.  They would have been heading out to the burial site which was outside the city walls.  It would have been a sad procession.

    On the same road, going through the same gate was a different procession.  This one had Jesus, the disciples, some of the other followers, some from the outlying region who heard Jesus was in the area.  This procession would have been very lively, full of excitement and wonderment.  These two very different processions would have met at the gate of the city and a huge traffic jam would have occurred.  The funeral procession, with its wailers and mourners would be packing through the gate to get out and those following Jesus would be talking and singing trying to get in the gate; what a jam.

    The truly amazing part is that the woman, the mother who had just lost her only son, who would have been completely despondent and lost would have met face to face with Jesus as he led his procession into town.  The hopeless met the source of hope.  The sad and downhearted met the great Comforter.  The broken heart met the great Physician.  Jesus looked at her and had compassion.  He raised the boy back to life and gave him back to his mother.

    When you or I am burdened by the battles of this life, it can feel like we are in a funeral procession marching out of town.  There is so much pain and sadness.  There can seem to be no comfort, nowhere to turn, just no hope.  We are being hustled out because no one wants to deal with us and the devil is leading the procession to the burial site where he plans to leave you among the dead.

     Blessedly, we are met at the gate by Jesus, who stops the devil’s procession.  He stops the veritable stampede to death and gives us life.  Jesus stops our rush to pain and sadness, to an emptiness that cannot be filled.  He fills us with his Spirit so we can trust in his wonderful promise of salvation and we can live in hope.

Father, guide us to the gate where Jesus is.  Guide us so that we may know the compassion of our Savior.  Guide us so that we will always be a person of hope.  Help us to be a comfort to those whom we meet at the gate.  Help us to bring them the good news of your grace and mercy.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret