12-25-2020

  Good Morning All, 

     Luke 2:16; “And they went with haste and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby lying in a manger”

      Merry Christmas!!!

    I do not know about you, but when I read, I visualize the events as I read them.  I can imagine that there are these six to eight men, smelling like sheep, wandering around this little sleepy village of Bethlehem in the middle of the night.  They poke their heads in all the stables as they find them.  They maybe even know of a couple of hidden ones to search.  They probably were not very quiet, they were just told some amazing news, from an angel no less!  They are desperate to find the baby, so much depends on finding the baby.  I wonder if they looked a long time or if they found him right away.  I wonder if they split up and then one shouts excitedly, “over here, I found him!!”  I do not know exactly how these shepherds went about it, but I do know; they found Mary and Joseph and the baby lying in swaddling cloths in a manger!

    Can you find Jesus?  Most definitely, especially when someone tells you exactly where to look!  That is the work of the Holy Spirit, who calls to you through and by the Gospel.  He says to you, “look over here” and guides you to his Word, the Word made flesh, and to his holy Sacraments where he resides for you to touch and to hold.  You can find the Baby because God invites you to look and to find.  It is no secret once you have heard the Good News.  It is no secret as God invites you into his beloved and holy family.

    When you find Jesus, right where he said he would be, you also find his comfort, his forgiveness, his comfort, and his peace.  When you find Jesus, you find eternal life and a light to guide you and to comfort you in the darkest of times because not even death can extinguish the light of hope that we have in Jesus.

    For many, this has been a tough year, tougher than any in recent memory.  Yet even now, God shines his light that we may have hope.  Many things were changed this year but the coming of Jesus and the wonderment of love and peace and joy that he brings is still the same.  Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow and no great upheavals in our life will change that truth.  This is where we find our anchor.  The ways of our world may be twisting but in Jesus we have peace.

    So, in the darkness of these times, see the light of Jesus, find where he lay, go where he says he will be, and you will find peace in His name.

Lord Jesus, as we celebrate your coming as a baby let us look to you as our King, our Savior, our hope, and our God!  Let us see your light and follow it to everlasting peace.  Be with those who are suffering greatly and give them your Spirit of courage that they may withstand all that the devil and the world throws at them.  Keep them safe in your loving arms.  In your precious name we pray, amen!!

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-24-2020

  Good Morning All, 

    John14:3; “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.” 

    Here is a touchy question, are you a person who will loan out your things?  This can be a serious dilemma for some people, especially for the little quirks that we all have.  Mine are books.  I have a lot of books, but I am hesitant to loan them out.  If I loan a book to you, I trust you completely.  Some people are this way about their tools, or their special silverware, or cookware.  Some people will loan out clothes while others would never think about it.  One thing about loaning things out, it shows trust in the other person.

    One thing that we often do not see is that all the relationships that we develop with other Christian brothers and sisters are really only loans from God.  See in our verse “I will come again and will take you to myself.”  To a believer, our destiny is heaven and then the resurrection.  It is a great future.  But until this happens, we wait here on earth.  In order to make this wait a little more tolerable, God gives us the gift of companionship.  This gift comes in the form of spouses, children, siblings, parents, friends, and whatever other relationships we have.

    Yet these gifts do not all last our lifetime.  Some of them may end sooner than we plan or expect.  While this may be uncomfortable or sad to us, it is the truth.  Our relationships are only loans from God.  One day, they will return to God.  One day we will have to give them back. 

     God gives us these gifts of relationships to help us as we go through our life here. They are to be treasured and never taken for granted.  We can never fully know God’s will so we should never feel we have many tomorrows.  This is not to make us sad or lonely just cognizant of the fact that our many relationships may cease as we know them sooner than we plan.  So, God encourages us to maximize these relationships while we have them. This is why he encourages us to “not let the sun go down on your anger” or for us to reconcile with our brother as soon as we can.  Forgiveness is always the key for us to remember for our relationships to continue on.

    We also need to remember that while our relationships here are important, our truly important relationship last forever.  God love for us is eternal.  It is through his love and forgiveness that we have everlasting life.  We will live with God and all believers forever!  One day, after Jesus has returned, we will all live together in the re-created creation.  All of those who we loved in the past, who lived in faith, will be there.  The “loaner” relationships will fade away as eternal ones grow.  We will live together in joyous praise and wondrous love.

Dearest Father, help us to see that while our relationships here in this life are important, they are only loans from you.  Help us when we feel the loss of these relationships.  Keep us focused on your grace and mercy which is active in our lives.  Be with those who especially feel the loss of someone close at this time and give them the comfort of your Spirit.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

12-23-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Galatians 4:5; “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”

     Do you remember S&H Green stamps? I remember them from many years ago.  You used to get them when you bought stuff.  I remember it mostly from gas stations and a few grocery stores.  I can remember the salesclerk putting her finger in the right number and then spinning the coupon dispenser and you would get a handful of stamps.  Then you would go home, lick the stamps, put them in a book and then look at a catalog to see what you could get for a certain number of books.  It seemed like it took a million stamps to fill a book.  (No, it was not that much but when you were 5 or 6 and trying to figure out if you could finagle a toy out of the deal it did.) 

    I remember looking at the catalog and wondering how on earth anyone could possibly save that many stamps in order to redeem that many books of stamps and get some of that stuff.  It could take a hundred or more books for some of that stuff.  How on earth could anyone do that?  What did they buy that gave them that many stamps?  Of course, I was uninformed about “double stamp” days and promotions like that but still; that was a lot of stamps.  Yet the basic concept was good.  The retailer gave you stamps as a reward for shopping at their store.  After you had enough stamps, you could trade them in (redeem them) for something you wanted.  It could be a fancy set of steak knives or stainless-steel mixing bowls or a bow and arrow set or any number of things.

    This is what God did for you.  He redeemed you.  He traded Jesus’ life for yours.  He gave up the life of his only Son so that you can live.  Rather amazing if you stop and think about it.  Jesus, the king of kings, the Word Incarnate, the active creative agent of the Father, was traded for you and for me.  Yet this shows us how much the Father loves us.  He traded so much for us; he must value us greatly and he does.

    The great thing about this is that our salvation was complete with that trade.  You and I do not have to make it work anymore than that salad bowl or fondue set did when the green stamps were exchanged.  It is the value that the redeemer places on the item that matters and when God redeems us, he places an extraordinary value on us.  His desire is to have us live with him in eternal life.  His desire is for you to live in his loving kingdom.  His desire is for you to be his own dear child.  So, he traded the life of Jesus for yours.  He redeemed you from the consequences of sin. He freed you from eternal damnation and he gave you life.  So, you have been traded for, you have been redeemed.

Gracious Father, you sent Jesus to redeem me, a lost and condemned creature.  Through the wonders of your mercy, you chose to save me from my earned punishment.  Give me the strength to live as a redeemed child, trusting only in your grace.  Guide me and keep me safe.  Be with those who do not experience the joy of this redemption.  Bring them to the saving knowledge of your love.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret 

12-22-2020

 Good Morning All, 

          Jeremiah 29:11;” For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

     If you receive an ad or an offer in the mail in which you can buy something you need for a discounted price, do you take full advantage of the offer or not?  If you get the chance to buy 10 gallons of gasoline for $1.25 a gallon, would you buy all 10 gallons or would you only buy 5 gallons?  It may seem like a silly question yet, is it?  If you had in your possession a winning lottery ticket, would you settle for less than the full amount that you were entitled to?  Again, it sounds silly, but is it?

    Yet so often that is what we do with our faith.  We take just a little and live with it rather than live it. We go to church, most of the time anyway.  We go to a Bible Study class, once in a while.  We may even read the Bible on our own if the satellite TV is not working right.  We pray, when all else has been done.  We believe that God forgives our sins, but we do not let it or maybe do not want it to change our lives.

    God has a great and wonderful life planned out for you.  He gives us all we need to live it and live it to the fullest that he gives us.  Jesus told his disciples that he came to give life and give it abundantly; yet too often we only take advantage of a portion of it.  We fail to grab onto the wonderful life of love that he gives to us.  We hold back, thinking that the things of this world are so wonderful and, like a moth gets drawn to the flame, it entices us until we get burned, sometimes seriously burned. 

    God gives us the gift of life eternal and with that we need to understand that our life here on earth is but a twinkling of the eye when measured against eternity.  Yet he gives us the tools to face this life.  He gives us his Word both spoken and then the held and eaten Word.  Jesus nourishes us with his precious body and blood.  We have the adoption of sons of God.  We can call upon his name for hope, for comfort, for direction, for peace or for any one of a myriad of things that we need to support this body and life.  God gives us all we need; he gives us the desire to trust in his promise, but we must trust that promise.  When we hold back, we lose.  When we hold back, we are showing a weakening of faith and it is faith that truly makes us strong.

    So, pray for faith and more faith.  Use the tools that God gives you.  Go to worship and really listen and experience God’s love spoken to you.  You can hear it in the hymns, you can hear it in the liturgy, you can hear it in the absolution, you can hear it in the sermon, you can taste it in the sacrament.  You can hear the voices join together in God’s praise and then you can take it with you and use it throughout the rest of the week.  God has great plans for you; grab them and live!!

Father of all grace, you give us life.  You have wondrous plans for us to give us life and hope.  Guide us by your Spirit to live that life in faith that we may enjoy the sweetness of your love.  Be with those who are lost and missing the tenderness of your mercy.  Bring them home safely.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-21-2020

 Good Morning All, 

                Matthew 5:16; “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

      Did you ever see the movie “Mr. Holland’s Opus”?  It was in the mid 1990’s and starred Richard Dreyfuss as Glenn Holland.  He was a musician who became a teacher so he could have time to spend with his new wife and then have time to write the one great musical masterpiece which would give him worldwide acclaim and lots of money.  During the span of his teaching career, he never gets this great musical piece written.  Through all these years though he has an impact on the children of the school and the lives that they lead after graduation.

     As the thirty-year career ends, he is invited into the arena area where dozens of his former students are gathered to play in his band, including the governor of the state.  It is at this time that he realizes that the opus (great work) that he was trying to write was being written in and by the lives of the young people who he touched and influenced.  It is a rather heartwarming movie.

    It also can and should describe our lives as well.  Let your light so shine is not so much about being a blazing searchlight as a gentle flashlight that points the way.  Through our interactions with others, our faith should show through.  We, as Christians, know what is important and what is not quite so important.  So, when those around us point the wrong way we can gently point the right way.

    There are many ways to do this.  The most prevalent is to act as a mentor/coach to a younger person.  It might be the new guy at work or the high school kids down the street.  You do this by coaching or organizing events or just being there to help with homework if you can.  It is not very often that we are to be huge, bright spotlights; we are to be gentle flashlights that point the way to a more peaceful and contented life.  So, when those around you seem to be off kilter over some minor event, you can interject some sanity.  We know what is right, true, and important.  We know that it is our saving faith in Jesus that gives us the confidence to trust in God’s mercy in our life.  That is what matters, everything else comes in second maybe even fifth or sixth.

    Let your light shine and let others be drawn to this light.  Let them see the comfort that you have from your faith.  Let them know that the courage you have is not your own but from God.  Let them know that above everything else, you are a redeemed child of God and that trumps everything else.  God’s grace is alive in you, let it out.  Give this grace a place to show and let it show to those most closely around you.  Show it to your family, your friends, your neighbors, and your fellow Christians.  Let your light shine, be someone’s opus.

Merciful Father, in you we have forgiveness.  Give to us the courage to shine into the light of the world.  Give to us the strength to let our light shine.  Help us to change people’s lives by living the life which you have laid out for us.  Help us to show your love so that they may see your glory.  Bring them to faith, dear Lord.  In the precious name of Jesus, we pray. Amen

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-20-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Proverbs 10:20; “The tongue of the righteous is choice silver; the heart of the wicked is of little worth.”

     When you were young, were ever told, “don’t talk like that, here.”  “Don’t use that kind of language, here; someone might hear you.”  “We don’t talk like that here.” It is funny how we choose to think that there are places that we can talk like that and that there are places that we cannot.  Even as we hear these things said, deep down we know that they do not make sense.  Deep down we know that words that should not be spoken or thought in one place are wrong in another.

    Yet we try and do it.  We go to church on Sunday and sing of God’s praises.  We speak of our faith; we raise our prayers.  We say, “amen” and “halleluiah”; we sound so holy but what do we say on Monday or Tuesday?  Do we sound so holy then?  How is it that we can so wonderfully sing God’s praises one day and the next attack and destroy our neighbor?

    How do we go from singing to God to slinging mud?  We finish the “Alleluia” chorus and then go right in to viewing someone as “a lazy, slob who has never worked a real day in their life.”  We take into our mouth the Lord’s Supper only to later spew out venom and disgust at our fellow man.  We look down on those who are hurting, seeing their problems as some innate weakness on their part.  We do this, often without thinking it all the way through.  We often respond in this fashion because we do not listen to our better angels, we listen to our own demons and our selfish pride.

    This is part of what Jesus was referring to when he said, “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do.”  Too often, we speak without thinking.  Too often we let our sinful nature lead when we need to let our faith step forward first.  We need to think before we speak.  It is an adage that your mother probably told you years ago and she was right.  That is what the proverb is about having a righteous tongue that speaks only after thought.  Our first impulse may be sinful, especially if it is in an area where we are easily tempted.  Part of fighting off temptation is recognizing it and fighting it.  Sometimes this is best done with patience and thoughtfulness. 

    Patience and thoughtfulness are not two words which describe the devil, for his is quick to speak and with little concern for those around.  Yet Christ often waited for a little bit before he spoke, and his words were kind and gentle.  Which example should we follow?

    So, take your time and think before you speak.  Let your tongue be silver.  Let the words of your mouth be praises to God both on Sunday and the rest of the week.  Let your mouth speak of his love for you and for all.  Let your mouth show God’s mercy.

Father of all goodness, use our mouths to speak your love and mercy.  Guide us by your Spirit to move away from anger and hatred that so often spews out.  Move us to love others as you have loved us.  Guide us to speak mercy to those around and move us to ask forgiveness when we have spoken words which hurt.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret         

12-19-2020

 Good Morning All, 

        Luke 10:30; “Jesus replied, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead.” 

     This is the start of one of the most famous parables, “The Good Samaritan.” This is a very common story, but it may go a little different than you think.  We often hear this and think that this guy had some really bad luck. He went to Jericho and was robbed.  Yet did not he know that this was a dangerous route?  He should have; he should have known that it was a bad idea to go down that path by himself, everyone else knew this was a dangerous road.  It was dangerous but he went anyway.  After he was robbed and beat up, two people who he should have been able to count on, a Levite and a priest, walked by not even stopping.  His help came from a completely unexpected source. He was only helped by a Samaritan.

    Sometimes, we just make a wrong decision like the man in our story.  We take a course of action that is inadvisable.  We can call that “temptation.”  We know better, we know it will only end badly but we do it anyway.  Once we give into temptation, the devil and his demons fall upon us like thieves in the dark.  He will beat you up, steal all you have and leave for dead.  But you will not be dead, not yet; he will leave you there to suffer some more.  That is what sin really does to us, it beats us up and leaves us destroyed.

    Now we may think that we can handle it, or at least deal with it.  We may even have a couple of ideas of how to deal with the destruction.  We may think we can just handle it; we may think we can lie our way through it; we may think someone (parents or spouse or friend) will just bail us out, we may think that no one will ever know.  Yet when sin hits us with the guilt and the accusations.  We cannot hide from what we did, we know and deep down it hurts us, deeply hurts.  It paralyzes us; it leaves us suffering almost dead.

    It leaves us to where we cannot do anything to help our self.  There is only one way for us to be saved from the ravages of sin, God himself had to step in and save us.  In our life, Jesus is the only answer.  He is our only hope.  He picks us up, pays for our recovery and will pay for future “expenses” (sins).  This is our only hope all others will fail.  So, the great news is that we can trust in that hope with the certainty of God’s promised mercy and saving grace in our lives.  Even when we make really bad choices, he comes to save us and to rescue us from sin.

Father, in your mercy, you have sent Jesus to rescue us form sin.  You have rescued us from the devil and his torments.  Keep us safe on our travels.  Keep us free from temptation.  Guard us by your Spirit.  Be with those who are especially hurting at this time.  Be with those who are beaten and left along the side of the road.  Use us as your hands and feet to deliver them by your grace.  Bring them safely home.  In the precious name of Jesus, our risen Savior, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret