1-20-2025

Good Morning All,

     Acts 1:1; “In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach,”

    Are you a starter?  Do you have a lot of projects started?  Do you like to start projects and then get someone else to finish them?  It is kind of interesting that some of the world’s greatest masterpieces are unfinished.  Franz Shubert has the “Unfinished Symphony;” Charles Dickens has “The Mystery of Edwin Drood;” these are just two of unfinished projects.  Of course, these projects went uncompleted by accident not by design.  Our verse speaks of a project that is unfinished by design.

    The Book of Acts is the second book of the bible that speaks of Jesus beginning.  The Book of Mark starts with “The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.”  Now Acts starts with “with all that Jesus began to do and teach.”  Both speak of Jesus beginning his ministry.  We see where Jesus is starting but we never see where He finishes it.  As you look through the Bible, you never see or read of Jesus finishing his ministry.  He finishes the sacrifice on the cross “It is finished” yet in three days he rises again and keeps on ministering to his disciples.

     The Gospel of Jesus began and what Jesus began to do and to teach, yet neither of these ends.  We see a start, but we don’t see an end.  The Bible ends, doesn’t it?  Why doesn’t it tell us that the Gospel of Jesus and what he did and taught ever got finished?  It almost sounds like it isn’t finished.  That is because it isn’t.

    What Jesus began doing, he continues to do through the Church by the Holy Spirit.  The message of the Bible isn’t some past event or ancient history; it is the start of your life story, and it is the start of my life story.  It is in the Bible where God tells us of his love for us; it is where God shows us his love for us by the offering up of his son.  The Bible is where God brings us into His story, the story of restoring, reclaiming, and redeeming his creation, of reclaiming you and me.  The message of the Bible is today, and it is tomorrow.  It is God’s life refreshing message of hope and salvation.  It is God telling you that you matter; you are his redeemed child.  Jesus began this ministry and won’t finish it until he returns again. 

      This means that we, as Christians, live in a state of “already but not yet.”  We are already saved; our name is already in the Book of life, but we aren’t there yet.  Jesus has begun this good work in you and will see it completed in his day and time.  Our life with him has just started and our time to serve with him has just started.  It has only begun.  The old has passed away and the new is here just not all of it.  We live in the time of grace.  We live in the time of God’s grace not yet perfected, not yet completed.  We are given the time and the task of continuing the ministry of Jesus until he returns.  Jesus has begun this work, continues it through us until He finishes it when He returns.  God’s story of salvation continues through you and through me.  It is our hope and our salvation.

Dear Father, you choose to wait for the completion of Jesus’ ministry.  Move us to use this time to bring others into your kingdom.  Let them see in us the wonders of your love and grace.  Keep us strong by living in the message of hope that you give us.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.     

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret   

1-19-2025

Good Morning All,

     Ephesians 2:14; “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”

    Some of you remember the Berlin Wall.  It was the dividing wall between East and West Berlin with the east being under the control of the Soviet and the west being under the influence of the western democracies.  For many years, it was the symbol of the Cold War.  It divided a city, even families into to very separate entities.  That wall stood for years until it was finally torn down, brick by brick, literally destroyed by the people on each side of the wall yearning for an end of the divisions and longing for the reconciliation of the families, the friends and neighborhoods, the whole city become one again.

    It is very easy to build walls in our own lives as well.  It can be a very natural defense strategy.  If I build a wall around me than nothing can get to me and I cannot be hurt or called upon to worry about someone else.  If I build a wall I can avoid any chance of involvement.  We use the walls to divide our time, our loyalties, our passions, our trust, or dreams and our hopes.  It seems easier somehow when we wall off portions of our lives; we think it cleaner that way.

    We build walls in our faith life as well.  We build great big walls.  We build walls so thick and so high; we don’t even remember what is on the other side.  We build walls to keep God out.  When we build walls to keep God out, we let the devil tell us what God is like.  Since we don’t see God or truly know God, we listen to the devil tell us that God is vengeful, angry, and full of hatred.  The devil tells us that if we even try to even touch that wall, we will be struck down.  The devil will tell you the best thing to do is to build the wall thicker and higher making the distance between you and God even farther causing you to be even more hostile toward. 

    So, God did the only thing that would work.  He intervened in our life.  God broke down the wall between us.  Jesus died to destroy that wall then rose again to open the door of salvation.  There is no wall between us; God has put it to an end.  We can see God for what he truly is.  He is a God who loves us and loves his creation.  If the devil was right, why didn’t God just totally destroy everything and start over?  He kept it because he loves it; he loves us.  We still face our challenges, but God is there to comfort us, defend us and to give us hope.  The devil will continue to tell us to rebuild the wall and at times we do, but God continues to destroy it until the day when we finally receive the ultimate act of God’s love, when we reach heaven to live in eternity with him.     

Gracious Lord, you have destroyed the walls that separate us from your love.  Forgive as we try to rebuild them.  Shower your wondrous love upon us.  Give us strength to face the day, comfort those in need of your love and bring peace to the hearts that are restless.  In your precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

1-18-2025

Good Morning All,

         John 10:9; “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” 

    The place you want is three doors down.  The door was locked so we came back later.  The door was stuck so I couldn’t get in.  The door was open, so we went in and made ourselves at home.  We use the word “door” often in our language.  We emphasize its importance.  When our children are young, we teach them that if the door is closed, they should knock and ask to go in.  We have doors that are solid while others we can see through.  Doors serve to protect us, to invite us, to keep us warm or to keep us hidden.  Doors are very important in our lives.

     When Jesus spoke these words to his disciples, he had these ideas in mind.  Jesus is the door in that he is how we enter the kingdom of heaven.  When Jesus carried out his earthly ministry, he performed two functions.  First, by his death, he defeated sin, death, and the devil.  His death was the final sacrifice which was accepted by the Father as payment for all sins.  By keeping the law perfectly, Jesus fulfilled the requirements for you and for me; thus, the devil had nothing left to control us with; we are free form the devil’s reign.

     By Jesus’ resurrection, he opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.  He ushered in the start of the new era, the time of grace when we live not under the law but under his love and mercy.  There is only one way into this kingdom and that is through Jesus; he is the door.  He is the door to God’s heavenly kingdom.

    In serving as the door, Jesus invites us into the kingdom.  He calls us daily by his Word to come to him.  He invites us with his gentle call of peace and hope; he beckons us to come in, to enter.

    In serving as the door, he protects us from the devil.  The devil cannot enter the door of Jesus.  His sin and refusal of Jesus keeps him locked out and we are protected from him and all his attacks.  We are free to enter in and out of the door in safety.  We are able to share in the lushness of the pastures like the sheep of the flock of the gentle Shepherd.  He protects us at every turn from the devil’s arrows of despair. 

     The devil continually seeks to harm us and destroy us.  Jesus continually protects us from the devil’s harm.  We are safe and secure behind this door; the door which leads into the heavenly kingdom.  The door for us is open and so we can and will follow the path that Jesus took.  That path is the path of the resurrection of the glorified perfect body.  That path is to eternal bliss and glory with him.  Jesus is the door to a whole renewed world to us.  The world where we are restored to God’s wonderful kingdom; the world of God’s everlasting mercy awaits us.  Jesus is our door to this kingdom.  By his resurrection we enter into it to share in his kingdom forever.

Father of all mercy, your blessings overflow us with your great love.  By your grace, you lead us into your eternal kingdom.  Keep us safe from the devil’s attacks.  Be with those who suffer in any way and give to them your holy comfort.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret        

1-17-2025

Good Morning All,

 Matthew 28:51; “And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.” 

    “I’m kind of a big deal you know!”  It was all I could do to keep from laughing out loud.  A couple of years ago I was listening to my great nieces and nephews play at Christmas time.  They were quite, probably 5 on down.  One of them wanted to play the way he wanted, and a different one wanted to do something else.  The first one wondered why the second one got to decide what they were going to do.  The response, “Well, I’m kind of a big deal you know!” 

    When you are “kind of a big deal”, you tend to think that the world revolves around you.  When the one who says this is two or so, it is funny.  When the one that says this is twenty-two, it is more troublesome.  Yet as we look at the events of our lives or the people of our lives there are times when it was “kind of a big deal” to us.  When I finally convinced the girl of my dreams that I would try and be a good spouse and she agreed, it was kind of a big deal.  When each of our boys was born, it was kind of a big deal.  Marriages, births, and deaths are kind of big deals in our lives.  So are health issues, job changes, graduations, empty nests, retirement, and the like are kind of big deals. 

    Our verse is from Matthew’s account of Jesus’ death.  The moment he died, the curtain torn in two from top to bottom and the earth shook and the rocks split.  That would have been kind of a big deal.  Not only did this happen but graves opened up and many saints were seen.  The death of Jesus was kind of a big deal.  It changed mankind’s direction.  For those of us who are the redeemed children of God, this event brought an end to the devil’s tyranny.  This event took us out of the spiral of sin and lifted us into Christ’s resurrection.  This event paid our debt, a debt that we could never pay and put us righteous before God. This event gave us hope, security, and life.

     The Temple curtain tore, top to bottom, showing that God had destroyed the veil between us and opening up the path for us to come to him directly as a loving child comes to his loving father.  The earth shook and the rocks split; even creation knew that this was a big deal.  Christ took on mankind’s sin and paid for it all.  More importantly, Jesus took on your sins and mine.  We are part of this great blessing, this wonderful gift from God; it is kind of a big deal.  We have the promise of the Creator-Redeemer God that we will have eternal life with him.  That is kind of a big deal.

Dear Father, your mercies are new to us every day.  We give you thanks for the blessings of this life especially for giving us the hope of salvation in Jesus.  Be with those who are in most need of your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret          

1-16-2025

Good Morning All,

 Genesis 3:19; “By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread, till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken; for you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

    That didn’t take long.  38 verses were all it took.  38 verses ago we read where God formed man out of the earth and breathed into him life and he became a living soul.  Now Adam is told “dust you are and to dust you shall return.”  The truth is we have no idea of how much time elapses between these verses; we are not told.  What we are told is the definite break by man from God because of sin.  We often refer to this event as “the fall of mankind.”

     We use that phrase in a way that sounds like something you do when you trip over your own shoelaces. We may even have visions of the Three Stooges and their slapstick falls.  But the truth is that while we see the fall as a one-time event, it is really a continual process of sinful man.  We don’t just fall to the ground; this implies that somehow, we can get back up.  The real way to view the fall of man is not like the Three Stooges but more like the way they used to portray the astronaut whose airline gets cut when he is outside the spacecraft and he begins to tumble out of control and the last we see of him; he is hurtling out into the vastness of space never to be seen or heard from ever again.  That is how we fall; completely out of control with no way to stop and with no hope.  The fall of man is not a one-time event; it is a continual process in which we have no sense of bearing or direction; we have no way to stop; we don’t even realize how far we have fallen or where we are going.

     That is what sin does to us.  It throws us so out of control that we cannot even recognize how lost we are.  We may even think that this tumbling is the way that it is supposed to go.  Yet all this tumbling does for us is disorient us and cause us to leave God.  At this time, the fall of man, life went from a gift from God to a command of God.  We were lost, condemned to hard labor with the sentence of death at the end.

    This is where Jesus steps in.  He takes hold of us, stops our tumbling and hurtling out of control and brings us back.  He removes the command of life before God and returns it back to the gift of God.  This is part of being reconciled to God; we are brought back into his presence with his peace.  We are no longer enemies of God flying away from him at breakneck speed.  We are returned to his loving kindness not his holy anger and judgment.

    In many respects, that is one way to tell the Christmas story.  When the angels told the shepherds,” peace, goodwill toward men on whom his favor rests.” This is what Jesus was talking about when he referred to himself as the “Bread of Life” or the “Living Water.”  Jesus gives us life, the gift of life restoring us back to God’s favor, back to peace and goodwill.

Dear Father in heaven, your mercy overflows us daily.  Too often we choose to tumble rather than be rescued by you.  Forgive us for our arrogance and self-conceit.  For the sake of Jesus restore us to your kingdom by your grace.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

1-15-2025

Good Morning All,

     Colossians 4:12b; “(He is) always struggling on your behalf in his prayers, that you may stand mature and fully assured in all the will of God”. 

    Have you ever watched any of the old Jimmy Stewart movies, one like “Mr. Smith goes to Washington”?  At some point during the movie, he will be arguing for someone or something and he gets real worked up about it.  His collar is flipped up, his hair is disheveled, sometimes he is sweating so profusely, you think he will drown.  He really portrays the idea that he is wrestling with his opponent in an attempt to win the day even when the odds of his success look slim.  It almost seems like he is going to win just because of his sheer determination.

    It is always comforting to know that someone is struggling for you; that out there, somewhere, someone is struggling for you on your behalf.  For most of us, it was probably a parent who took up that role first, maybe a grandparent.  Maybe you have a spouse that fights and struggles for you.  Perhaps an employer has been your best ally or maybe your best friend. 

    In our verse for today, we read of someone struggling for you in his prayers.  Most of us probably have more people who struggle in their prayers for us.  Parents, grandparents, sponsors, teachers, pastors, friends, prayer partners all combine to struggle mightily for us in prayers.  When our needs are known to others, the prayers are lifted up to God in humble intercession for those needs.  This is part of prayer, interceding for one another, struggling in our prayers on behalf of others.   

    The first part of the verse has a man named Epaphras praying for the Colossians, but we all have someone praying for us, struggling mightily for us at God’s Altar.  We have the Holy Spirit praying for us with groans that cannot be understood.  We have Jesus, himself, praying at God’s very altar as our high priest.  Someone is praying for you struggling on your behalf.  We receive God’s promise to hear our prayers and to share with him the peace that we can never understand.

    If you have a small group like a Bible study group; gather together and each of you writes one or two prayer petitions down on a sheet of paper. Now take them and pass them to the person to your left.  Read them out loud as a prayer ending each person’s petitions with the phrase “Lord in your mercy’ and the rest of the group responding, “hear our prayer.”  Then take those petitions which you were given home and pray for them for the next week. 

    Throughout the Bible we are encouraged to pray for one another; this is one way to do this.  Another is to take home the prayer list that is in the church bulletin and make those prayer requests part of your prayer.  If you are really organized, you can agree to have your group all pray at the same time every day, wherever you are, agree to stop and pray at the same time.  All of these help us to experience the blessings of living in God’s presence through a life of prayer.  No prayer ever goes unheard or unanswered.

    Father in heaven, give us the will to struggle in prayer for our brothers and sisters in Christ.  Lead us to be partners in faith for each other, lifting each other up with prayer.  Strengthen and preserve us, Lord.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret                

1-14-2025

Good Morning All,

     Romans 5: 3-5; “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

    Have you ever seen an antique sale of old furniture?  I’ve watched a couple.  I remember the first time I watched as an old table was sold.  I couldn’t figure out why anyone would pay that much for a beat-up table when they could buy a new one for a lot less.  So, I listened to the people around me talk about the table and how the table had real character.  Now to me it only had some dings and burn marks and a stain on it.  Yet they called this character, a sign that it had survived while serving the purpose for which it was constructed.

    Now I really like a table with character.  Actually, I like to be around the people who know the character of the table.  You can listen as they tell how their older sister put a hot kettle on the table without a pad under it and it burned a ring into the table.  They can point to the spot where they all bumped their heads as they started to take their first steps.  All that “character” tells the story of the family that grew up around that table.

    We too, develop character as we age.  It comes at different rates and stages, but we all have some.  We all have those little marks or big marks that showed we lived a life.  We have scars on our body from injuries or surgeries.  We may be missing a tooth from a fall on an icy sidewalk.  We may have a shoulder or an arm that doesn’t work quite the way it should. We all have those little signs of living a life that banged us around once in a while.

    Our faith life is the same way.  We have all experienced times in our life when we got a little beat up.  Maybe it was when one of your parents died or maybe it was a spouse.  Perhaps you had a serious health scare.  Maybe there was a time when you thought that your financial situation was failing.  Perhaps here was a rough time in your marriage. We have all had some things which tormented us and caused us to ache in one way or another.  But suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character.  All those things which we have endured left a little mark on us, but they never defeated us.

    When we see that God’s love is there to provide for us as we suffer through those events, we see that we are not the strong ones but rather he is.  We know that the scratches and burn marks show us that we have endured our life because of God’s grace and in his grace, we have hope.  We have hope because God has been faithful to us in the past and he is faithful to us today and he will be faithful to us tomorrow.  Being sure of that hope, not because of some wishy-washy feeling inside but because of the testimony and the certainty of Scripture; we have a hope that never fails and is never put to shame.

Dear Father, Your mercies are new to us every day.  We give you thanks for the character of our life.  Through it you have molded us into the disciples which you want us to be.  Use our character to reach out to others and to show them the Gospel even if we have to speak it.  All this we ask in Jesus’ precious name, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret