About Us

 “      

 December, 2024

             It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

                                                — Lamentations 3:26 

 

Waiting. And waiting. And still waiting. 

That is how I felt as a child during the month of December. The month that initiated the official start of winter seem to creep along slower than a sloth in a sea of molasses. I was waiting for school to end. I was waiting for my parents to hide the Christmas gifts. Then I was waiting for my parents to leave so I could find where they hid them. Finally, I was waiting for church to end. In the old days, Christian Day School teachers had devised a new form of torture: holding the Christmas program at 7:30 pm on Christmas Eve. We said our memorized lines, we sang the well-rehearsed songs, but our hearts and minds were elsewhere. 

As an adult, I still find myself waiting. Waiting in line at the store. Waiting at the stoplight. Waiting in the dentist’s office. Waiting for test results. Waiting for the date of a scheduled surgery. Waiting for my Amazon order to arrive. Young or old, it seems that none of us can escape of inevitable fate of waiting – for something. Even as I write this, I am waiting for my kids to arrive for our annual Thanksgiving Day
celebration. 

During the month of December, we will be looking at Jesus through the eyes of the ancient Israelite prophets. The prophets were people who knew how to wait. Having received a message from the Lord, they would proclaim it to their compatriots. Then they waited. Sometimes, it was a message of God’s wrath, as when they predicted the fall of Jerusalem. Other times, it was a message of comfort and hope, as when they predicted the coming of Israel’s Messiah. One way or another, they knew their prophecies would come to pass because they were based on the promises of God, not the wishes of an over-active imagination. 

The verse at the head of this page was written by the prophet Jeremiah
after the destruction of Jerusalem. Despite years of warnings, Jeremiah watched as his friends and neighbors were dragged off to a foreign
land. He was left behind, alone but not forgotten. Even in the worst of times, God had shown him the Light at the end of the tunnel, namely, the birth of God’s own Son. Jeremiah would not live to see that day with his physical eyes, but within his heart and mind it was just as real as gravity itself. He knew it is never a lost cause to wait on the Lord. 

………..And then he added that one word: “quietly.”

This is a rare word in Hebrew. It does not mean “silence.” Rather, it refers to a confidence and stillness in the heart that can only come through faith. Generation after generation had waited for a Savior but most of them died without seeing its realization. And even though we live after the fact, we still live in expectation of His Second Advent, when he shall bring His people home to a world so changed and so marvelous that there are no words to describe it. Can we trust in those promises? Look in the manger! God does not lie! If we wait long enough, everything He has spoken will come to pass. 

I have heard of families who keep giving the passing the same gift, like an ugly sweater, from relative to relative every year. They mean it as a gag; God means it in earnest. Every year, He keeps giving the same gift to His people: salvation through His Son. Somehow, it gets better and more precious as time goes on. So please, join me in the joy! What (and Whom) are you waiting for? 

 

Your servant in Christ, 

Pastor Mike 

 

   November, 2024    

 “All the days of the oppressed are wretched, but the cheerful

                      heart has a continual feast.” —  Proverbs 15:15

 It is hard to believe it, but the holidays are upon us! Thanksgiving is less than a month away and it is only a little over 7
weeks before Christmas arrives. That is especially hard to believe considering, at the time of this writing, the temperature nearly hit 80° today! Five years ago, we already had more than 5 inches of snow on the ground by this point. It reminds me of the time I went trick or treating in the mid 1960’s during a blizzard. As I remember, my costume didn’t fit too well over a heavy winter coat. Ah, the price a child will pay for a bagful of free candy.

But the holidays don’t guarantee happiness. Many people experience seasonal depression at this time of the year. Some of it is due to the increased stress of “having” to buy gifts and send out Christmas cards, making sure we don’t offend by  leaving some one out. In addition, many people feel obligated to decorate the
house, entertain friends and relatives, and cook meals that would rival a high school cafeteria. To be honest, it is enough work just making Thanksgiving Dinner for me and my three kids; I cannot imagine doing it for 20 or more people! Add to that the diminished amount of sunlight during the winter months, and you have a formula for seasonal depression. It is little wonder that even Elvis Presley could have a “Blue Christmas” occasionally. 

Enter King Solomon with his divinely wrought insight. In the verse above, the Wise King reminds us that much of our attitude depends upon our perspective. If we are feeling oppressed, if there is “too-much” on our “to-do list,” it is little wonder that we enter the holidays with skepticism and the feeling of being overwhelmed. Our
word “holiday” is derived from an Old English word meaning “holy day.” It is the cheerful heart that makes every day a “holy day,” a day set apart to enjoy the feast of God’s goodness in our lives. 

Solomon wants us to have an attitude adjustment. St. Paul intimated the same thing when he wrote in Romans 12:2: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing your mind.” When I feel anxious about having to prepare a big Thanksgiving meal, I remember those who will have nothing to eat that day. When I think about the time and money I must spend on getting each of my kids just the right gift, I remember those who will be spending Christmas alone. When I gripe about how commercialized and obligatory the holidays have become, I remember that I am
blessed to know the true meaning behind the holidays. 

Happiness or depression are issues of the heart. What a person is internally has more of an impact on their emotional state than external circumstances. Joy is one of the fruits of having the Holy Spirit at work in our lives. As the hymn goes, “Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.” Jesus is the one who changes the jaundiced eye of the cynic
into the wide-eyed expectation of a child running down the stairs Christmas morning. God help us to enter this holiday season with that kind of excitement!

Your servant in Christ,

 Pastor Mike

 

October 1, 2024

 

Starting from the beginning, Peter told them the whole
story…” — Acts 11:4 

 

Like most people, I enjoy a good story. As a pastor,
much of my reading is done in the non-fiction category, namely theology,
history, and philosophy. But when I read for personal enjoyment, I prefer short stories. My favorite authors are Edgar Allen Poe and Mark Twain. Even though their tales are over a hundred years old, their value has been proven by the test of time. Words well-written have an eternal glow about them. 

The Bible is a book with many stories in it. While its
contents span many genres, a generous portion of Scripture consists of
stories from the lives of God’s people. Sometimes, we get a very close look at scenarios from the lives of the saints. Abraham, Moses, David, Daniel, Esther, and Paul are but a few of the people who have multiple chapters devoted to their exploits. When God wants to say something to us, one of His favorite means is through a story. Perhaps that is why Jesus was so fond of telling parables.  

Its makes sense that God would teach us through
stories. Read a theological treatise to a 5-year-old and watch their eyes glaze over. But tell them the story of Noah’s Ark or Daniel in the lions’ den, and you pique their interest. Stories can be understood by both young and old alike. What is interesting about so many of the stories found in the Bible is that God does not provide a divine commentary on the matter at hand. Abraham sleeps with his wife’s maid. God offers no comment. Joseph’s brothers sell him into slavery. God offers no comment. The evil King Herod wants Jesus to entertain him with a miracle. God offers no comment. 

Could it be that sometimes God remains silent, allowing
us to fill in the blanks? Aesop concluded all his fables with a proverb
intending to teach us a moral principle. God’s way is not so immediate and
precise. It appears the Lord wants us to use our minds, or better yet, His mind to come to the right conclusions. The greatest story ever told is the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. But it took theologians like Paul, Peter, and John to explain its true meaning for our lives. In the 6^th century, Saint Gregory said, “Scripture is like a river, broad and deep, shallow enough for the lamb to go wading, but deep enough for the elephant to swim.” There is much in the pages of God’s Word to appeal to infant and intellectual alike. That is why I not only “love to tell the story;” I love to read it as well. 

So, what is your story? Every one of us has high and
low points along life’s journey. It would be safe to conclude that most of us
have experienced days we wished would never end—and days we thought we would never end. What was the Lord trying to say to us? That is a question only you can answer for yourself. But for those of us who live by faith, I know how the story ends: “…And they lived happily ever after.” 

 

Your servant in Christ, 

Pastor Mike