12-16-2025

Good Morning All,

          John 3:5; “Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

       When I used to coach the teeners in baseball, I spent much of my time teaching the kids about baseball.  I spent a lot of time just talking to them.  It might be in practice or in a game or just riding on the bus to and from the games.  When I would talk to them, there were three types of discussions.  The first one was just a general talk.  An example of this would be when I was coaching third base and just yell at the batter with some encouragement.  The second type was a little more personal.  An example of this would be that I would call the batter toward me and I would walk toward him and then place my arm around his shoulder and speak to him.  This might involve a specific direction like for him to bunt or swing at this pitch or to not swing.  The third type was very personal.  If, after the “arm around the shoulder” talk failed; I would place my hands on his helmet, one hand on each side of his head and slowly lift his head up so that I looked him in the eye and he looked at me.  I then very slowly explained, again, what was expected of him.  In our verse for today, Jesus is holding Nicodemus by the helmet.

    Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a teacher, who didn’t understand what Jesus was explaining to him.  This occurred primarily because Nicodemus and the other Jewish leaders had stopped listening to God and his Word.  They had corrupted the true teaching of Scriptures and twisted into a self-serving ritualistic action.  They were no longer following their “shama.” The word “shama” means “hear.”  It is the first word of the great Hebrew statement of faith in Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is One.”  They failed to listen closely to what God was saying; they were not listening to God and thinking “this is what God is telling me; I should follow God’s direction” rather they were thinking “I have a better way than God’s way”   So God sent Jesus to get their attention with the preaching of the truth and sometimes Jesus did this by grabbing them by the helmet and speaking to them very directly.

    Jesus continues to speak to us.  He speaks to us with love but warns us if we twist his truth or replace his truth or corrupt his truth; he will take us by the helmet and start speaking “truly, truly I say to you.”  God’s Word will always accomplish the purpose that God intended it to do; to declare the great truth of his love given to us through Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.  Any other use will lead us down the wrong path and into a path of destruction.  Take care to listen closely to God as he speaks to us.  Hear what he says to you; salvation only comes through Jesus our Lord.

Father, lead me in the path of your righteousness.  Keep me securely in your grace.  Guide me by your Spirit of Truth that I may live according to your will.  Be with those who are not listening to your voice and bring them home.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-15-2025

Good Morning All,

          Psalm 6:2; “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled.”

      Psalm 6 is generally viewed as the first of the seven penitential psalms.  It was written by King David.  We are not really sure what the circumstances surrounding the psalm were; it may have been associated with the rebellion of David’s son Absalom but no one is certain.  There is one thing that most everyone agrees with and that is that David is dealing with a mental and emotional torment that is causing him to experience doubt and despair.  This is as ugly a pair of emotions to deal with as there are.  Many people experience this sense of despair and doubt. 

    I was recently talking with a young man who has made a few bad decisions over the past few months.  He is trying to crawl back up but he is experiencing the old “two steps forward and then one back” mode of life.  He tries to get a job but he has some things in his past that make it difficult to get a job.  He can get some day laborer work but those are few and hard to get sometimes.  He has lost a home, a vehicle, a couple of apartments and a lot of self-respect.  He experiences doubt and despair.

    I visited with parents who have seen their children get in trouble with the law and now the parents can only sit and watch as the judicial system moves forward.  They have at times experienced despair and doubt.  So have parents whose children no longer come to church.  They are unsure how to proceed so they sit and feel forlorn, filled with despair and doubt.

   People who lose a job, lose a farm, have health issues, have family members with health issues; pretty much everyone has at one time or another experienced this type of pain.  Sometimes it lasts just a little while and sometimes it lasts for days and days and for some it seems to last a lot longer.

     The pain of life in a sinful world can come crashing down on us at any time.  We need to always remember that doubt and despair are powerful on their own but immensely more potent when combined.  Both are the result of losing sight of God and of not hearing his Words.  God loves us and he tells us this over and over.  He showed us this love by sending Jesus to remove our sins and to destroy our past failures so that they can no longer pull us down.  God empowers us to look up and to see his love and our future with him.  It is the certainty of that promise that lets us live forward and not backwards.

    If your despair or doubts last longer than a few days be sure to talk to someone, a friend, a pastor or some other professional.  The devil can cause a lot of pain if we let it run wildly in our heart or mind.  God loves you and he wants you to live a life that is full of peace and contentment.

Father, at times I feel lost.  Help me by keeping me focused on what I know for certain, and that is your love for me.  The love you pour over me because of Jesus washes away my fear.  Be with those who are struggling with doubt and despair.  Send them your healing.  Give them the comfort they need and the peace to give them rest.  In the name of Jesus we pray, amen. 

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret  

12-14-2025

Good Morning All,

          Mark 5:19; “And he did not permit him but said to him, “Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

     Let’s stretch our imagination a little bit.  Imagine that you went to your mailbox and in it you found a letter from your favorite restaurant has awarded you first prize in their anniversary give away.  You have won $50,000 worth of meals at this restaurant; what would you do?  I would probably start by trying to get my wife and kids and grandkids together for a meal.  Then my wife’s mom and my sisters and my wife’s sister and their families together.  I don’t remember the last time that all my nieces and nephews were all together.  That would be a fun meal.

     Then I would get some of our closest friends and go out for a good meal.  Then we would probably try to get hold of those people who we used to spend a lot of time with but through the years have lost touch with them.  It would be great to reconnect with them and find out what has been happening in their life. 

    We know some people who have had a tough year or two.  They have had health setbacks and some have had job setbacks and a couple of others have lost their spouses.  They could use a pickup and this could be fun.  It would be a chance to connect with them as meal partners.

    Who would you pick?  How would you use this prize?  Would you try to keep it all for yourself?  That would be difficult and even your favorite restaurant would get old after a while.  I think a prize this grand requires sharing; it would lose its enjoyment.  You would always have it but sharing it, especially with family and friends, makes it even better.

    This is what Jesus wants us to do.  He wants us to share our good fortune.  He wants us to share the blessings that he has bestowed on us, especially the good news of salvation which we have because of his own death and resurrection.  This is something that we should be bursting with joy and excitement to do. This is the greatest news that you and I have ever received.  It is news to be shared.

    This is why Jesus told the man that he healed in our verse and refused to let the man follow him but rather instructed him to go home and tell your friends.  The spread of the Gospel is an oral event.  It is an event that truly should be an intimate sharing among family and friends.  It is an experience that should be done with joy and comfort.  It is best when done in a setting where you have a relationship with the other person and best occurs in a family friendly setting, like a meal together. 

Gracious Lord, we thank you for the gift of life we receive from you through your sacrifice on the cross.  Lead us to joyfully share this news with those around us.  Lead us to bring the good news of salvation to all.  Lead us to be healers in this world.  In the precious name of Jesus our Risen Lord we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret    

12-13-2025

 Good Morning All,

     John 13:17: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.”

     This verse comes from what we call the “Upper Room” discourse.  Jesus is spending the last night with his disciples before he is betrayed by Judas.  He was giving them the instructions that they would need to manage the coming days.  In the first part of chapter 13, we see Jesus as he demonstrates true humility.  In the next section he teaches about holiness.  In this verse, Jesus tells us about happiness or being blessed.  Our happiness is based on holiness and humility.  We are given Jesus’ holiness so that we can stand before God, so we can come to God in prayer in confidence. 

    We can take comfort in the fact that we do know these things.  We know that Jesus died and rose again and he now sits in heaven protecting his church.  We can take comfort in the fact that we know how the story ends; we are victorious in Christ.  This victory is handed to us freely by our loving Savior.  This is given to us; we do nothing to earn it.  Because of this fact, we should be humble, humble before God.

    But we see that knowing what is right isn’t enough to keep us happy; we must put this knowledge into practice.  Jesus has just shown his disciples a lesson in humility, in serving others.  The world will ask,” how many people serve you?”  God asks us,” how many do you serve?’  How many do we help?  How many feet have you washed today?  While this may sound strange to the world, God gives us peace and happiness in our task.  We have no great effort to do to earn our salvation, we have no great work to do to battle the devil; Jesus has done this already for us.  Now that we are saved; we are free to enjoy his grace and to share his love with those around us. 

    This action is a response, a thank you, to God for his wondrous love that is poured out upon us at all times.  We simply say, “thank you” and we do this best by caring for God’s creation of which our fellow humans are the preeminent portion.  Yet all of God’s creation is to be treasured and held in honor and respect.  It is ours to take care of, a trust placed in our hands.  It is a way to honor God and all that he has done and continues to do for us. This is how God designed it for us; to be caretakers of each other and of the rest of creation.  This is part of God's plan for you; to enjoy the life that He gives you.  So be happy and content with God's blessings!

Lord Jesus, we are too often unhappy because we do not place our trust in you and it causes us to lose our way.  Forgive us our weaknesses and sins.  Give us strength to follow you with all humility and holiness.  Use us as your hands to serve others that we know true happiness in your grace. Use us to bring about your healing.  In your precious name we pray, Amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-12-2025

Good Morning All,

          2 Corinthians 2:7; “So now forgive and comfort him. Such distress could overwhelm someone like that if he’s not forgiven and comforted.”

     “Oh, forgive me; I must have made a mistake.”  Maybe you have heard that before; I know that I have.  I have heard that when I got a phone call and the person wanted someone that I have never heard of.  I have heard this when someone took my cart in the grocery store.  I have used it in the same situations.  Most people do.  We use it as a semblance of a civil society; it represents the opposite of the “road rage mentality” that we see once in a while.  It is used to stave off an angry response.  It is easy to say and, for the most part, is easy to forgive.  We might exhale in exasperation as we either have had something broken or spilled or stepped on. 

    It seems so easy; one asks and one responds and life goes on.  It almost seems that it occurs with little, if any, thought.  There seems to be little, if any, emotional connection, and this is why we struggle with forgiveness.  Too often, we go through the actions of asking for forgiveness the same way whether it is for bumping into someone or we have caused real pain in a person’s life.

    Forgiveness is where Christianity differs from other religions.  It is also where the rubber meets the road, so to speak.  It is the core of our faith; it is who we are or at least claim to be.  Yet we struggle with both sides of the equation.  If someone hurts us, really hurts us; forgiveness can be the hardest thing to do.  I always counsel forgiveness what might surprise some is that I do not always counsel it right away.  If a spouse is unfaithful or abusive and causes the rupture of the marriage, forgiveness takes a while.  If a friend tells a major lie about you or does something to hurt your reputation, it can be very difficult to forgive.  We know these situations; maybe you have even experienced it.

    Forgiveness does two things.  First, it releases the control of the past upon our present and future.  If we keep looking back, especially at what hurts, we will often miss the blessings of today.  It leaves our future in the hands of someone who hurt us.  So, we forgive, we no longer demand repayment for the injury.  Is this tough to do?  It is without a doubt the hardest thing you will ever do but God tells us to do it because there can only be healing if there is forgiveness; without forgiveness we are left with pain.

     That is what the verse tells us.  When someone sins against you, the weight of that sin remains with them.  The pain that they caused you will remain with them.  In order for them to be released from the pain, from the debt they owe, we need to forgive them so that they too can heal.  It is hard; it can be incredibly hard but God invites us to forgive in order that healing and reconciliation can occur and that we can be whole again.

Father of love and mercy, you have given me your forgiveness in order that I might be reconciled to you.  Lead me by your Spirit to forgive as you have forgiven me.  Lead me to give the healing that you so freely give to me.  Send your powerful healing to all.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-11-2025

 Good Morning All,

      Jeremiah 17:14; “Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved, for you are my praise.”

    A few years ago, I was listening to a radio program where the host was interviewing a recovering addict.  That is how he referred to himself as “recovering;” he said,” The beast is never far away.”  As I listened, in my cynical judgmental fashion, I thought he really has a way with words.  Yet I kept listening and his story got more intriguing.  He had tried to defeat his addiction many times and many times he failed.  He was addicted to cocaine for over 26 years and with his family’s encouragement and demands; he went through 8 different rehab stints.  None of them lasted longer than 9 months before he was back using cocaine.

    The interviewer asked him how he finally won.  The man’s answer was refreshing.  He told her that he didn’t win but that Jesus won for him.  He told her that until he accepted Jesus as his personal savior (not exactly a Lutheran phrase but it was his phrase) his battle with the beast was always won by the beast but Jesus is stronger than the beast.  He ended the interview with an observation that intrigued me.  He said,” we are all addicts; we all have destructive beasts within us which we can never defeat on our own.  As long as we battle them by our power we will lose, we need something else to win; for me it is Jesus Christ.”

     We are all addicts; Paul said we are all sinners.  Yet I really like how he phrased the idea that we are all “addicts.”  We all have those sins which just seem so hard to shake.  We maybe aren’t addicted to drugs or even to many other sins but there is always one or two which seem to really pull us down.  The early Church used to speak of the seven deadly sins, wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony, as the fallen human tendency toward sin.  If we look at this list, it pretty much gets to all our issues.  We may have some subsets that have appeared given our technology and current style of living but for the most part we can find our self in this list. 

     There are a lot of things that can be said about this list but one thing I hope we all take away from this is that we are ALL on this list.  You might be one sin and I might be another but we are all sinners and thus we should not judge others for where we think they sit on the list.  I may think that one person is greedy or another is lustful yet if I am envious of my neighbor; I am no different than they are. 

    So, what do we do?  First, we see life as Jeremiah does, “Heal me, O lord, and I shall be healed, save me and I will be saved.”  Jesus is our only true salvation and our only way to defeat our addictions, our sins.  So, we struggle on as recovering addicts, fighting the beast within our sinful nature.  With Christ, we are all in this together, offering each other comfort, hope and consolation because of Christ’s free gift to us.  We are all recovering addicts and we need each other’s prayers and support.

Gracious Lord, defend me from the beasts that seek to devour me.  Keep me close to you so that I may remain in you.  In Jesus name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret

12-10-2025

Good Morning All,

          Matthew 16:5; “Watch and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”                                                                                                                                     

     Some of you remember the Beatles.  They were/are one of the biggest bands in the history of rock and roll music.  When the band broke up forty years, it was quite the spectacle.  There were many theories as to why the broke up; drug use, creative differences, differences in management thought and the like.  The most common reason for the breakup was believed to be because of the relationship between John Lennon and Yoko Ono.  Yoko Ono and John Lennon took a path of unique events like spiritualisms, drugs, etc.  Many of the fans of the band would call radio stations and claim that “Yoko, you’re splitting up the band!”  After years of working together, the band split up because of the influence of a single person. 

    In our verse, Jesus is warning his disciples about the leaven of the Pharisees.  The little influences which can infect the teaching of truth and the well-being of the Church, which can lead it in a way or direction that it is not supposed to go.  These little, seemingly meaningless comments or actions can cause harm.  He is warning them about the little influences which can destroy “the group” the amazing thing is that it never takes much leaven (yeast) to work this way.

    We see the “leaven of the Pharisees” often, unfortunately, we don’t recognize it.  It occurs every time and any time that we allow sin to harm the body of Christ.  It can occur in ways that we don’t see at the time. Perhaps a person has an idea for a service project or a worship experience but it gets voted down.  Are we hurt because our idea didn’t fly?  Were we one of those who shot the idea down because deep down we were jealous?  Do we let little comments come from our mouths which are little cuts into another person, slicing them down to size a little at a time?  Do we refuse to admit that we are wrong and simply dig our heels in?  Do we let the idea of control and power rule our thoughts?  Are we easily offended by the slightest comment or action?

    These are a few ways that the “leaven of the Pharisees” can infect the Body of Christ, causing us to battle with each other rather than place all our efforts into the service of Jesus.  The disciples fought this same leaven, as the too wondered about who was the greatest; the struggle is as old as the Bible and will continue until Christ returns; the cost of working with sinful men.  We must be on guard at all times against this leaven.  We must be careful to make sure that when we look or listen; we do so with faith, trusting in God to lead his Church.  In the explanation to the eighth commandment, we are told to “put the best construction on everything;” giving all a chance to aid the body of Christ in its growth and expansion in the task of bringing Christ message of redeeming love to all. 

Father of mercy, remove the leaven in my life.  Bring me closer to you.  Help me to see that all can work together to serve you.  We all have many gifts or talents which, when shared, bring glory to you and aid to our neighbor.  Give us that unity to grow in you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret