Posts with the category “notes-from-pastor”

     At the end of this month we will celebrate the Last Sunday of the church year and acknowledge the quickly approaching return of Christ, when we sing, “The day is surely drawing near, when Jesus, ...  Read More

     This month we will celebrate the anniversary of the Lutheran Reformation. Unfortunately, for the past 500 years, both Roman Catholics and Protestants have often accused us of worshipping a man. T...  Read More

“I give thanks to my God always for you because of the grace of God that was given you in Christ Jesus, that in every way you were enriched in him in all speech and all knowledge— even as the testimon...  Read More

    King David wrote in Psalm 96, “Oh sing to the LORD a new song; sing to the LORD, all the earth! Sing to the LORD, bless his name; tell of his salvation from day to day. Declare his glory among the...  Read More

        According to the apostle, St. Peter, from his First Epistle, chapter 3,“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to d...  Read More

St. Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae, “Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit,...  Read More

    “He’s risen, He’s risen indeed! Alleluia!”  This is the Biblical greeting which celebrates the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.  Remember the angel told the women who came to find Jesus’ dea...  Read More

During March, we move steadily through the season of Lent to Holy Week and the cross as we prepare to celebrate our Lord’s resurrection from the dead on Easter Sunday.  Throughout these forty days of ...  Read More

For the first two weeks of February, we will celebrate the pre-lent Sundays of Sexagesima and Quinquagesima as the Word reveals how God works through Grace alone, Scripture alone and faith in Christ a...  Read More

 “God the Father was His source, back to God He ran His course. Into hell His road went down, back then to His throne and crown.”  This verse is from the hymn, “Savior of the Nations Come,” and is the...  Read More

The beautiful Latin hymn, “Veni Emmanuel,” which we know as in English, as “O Come, O Come, Emmanuel,” is a paraphrase of the great “O” antiphons of the western church dating back to the sixth century...  Read More

The Gospel readings and the hymns during the month of November focus on the “Eschatological” or “End Time” reality of the church.  The hymn of the day for the last Sunday of the church year is Wachet ...  Read More

In Luther’s Smalcald Articles, he writes the following concerning the First and Chief article of faith, “That Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, died for our sins, and was raised again for our justificat...  Read More

This month the 68th Regular Convention of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod, will be held from July 29 to Aug. 3, in Milwaukee.  The convention theme is, “We Preach Christ Crucified,” According to th...  Read More

Jesus told His apostles, “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my n...  Read More

In the great Lutheran Hymn, “Salvation Unto Us Has Come,” published in 1524, as one of the eight hymns in the first truly Evangelical hymnal, Paul Speratus wrote, “Since Christ has full atonement made...  Read More

During Holy Week this year, I found myself in the hospital for a serious infection that I am still recovering from.  As I am sure you are all aware, this is not an ideal time for a pastor to be sick. ...  Read More

April begins with Holy Week and the celebration of Easter. Throughout the month we will be focusing on the resurrection of our Lord and His victory over sin, death and the power of the devil.   In his...  Read More

“Christ sacrificed Himself in His own body on the tree for our sins, so that we who have died to sin, live in righteousness; through His wounds we are healed.”  The following is a portion of a sermon ...  Read More

  The season of Lent begins with Ash Wednesday on February 22.  However, already at the beginning of the month we enter the season of what is called pre-Lent.  While still officially part of the Epiph...  Read More

“And behold, the star that they had seen when it rose went before them until it came to rest over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy.  And ...  Read More

Throughout the month of December we celebrate the season of Advent, remembering how the prophet Isaiah declared the miraculous birth of Jesus with these words, “Behold the virgin will conceive and bea...  Read More

  As we move into November, the readings and the hymns emphasize the Judgment Day and the return of Christ.  “The day is surely drawing near,” we sing, “when Jesus, God’s anointed, in all His power sh...  Read More

Luther was in his study at Wittenberg one day when he heard a beggar singing these words out in the street, 'Es ist das Heil uns kommen her…” As we sing in English, “Salvation unto us has come by God'...  Read More

The apostle Paul exhorted Timothy saying, “But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted ...  Read More

As we approach Catechesis classes and school starting, we have another treat from Pastor Johnson. Pastor Johnson presented on Catechesis in the Home at this year's ACELC conference. You can watch his ...  Read More

In place of his normal monthly note, here's Pastor's Paper presented at Iowa District East Symposia on "Obeying God Rather Than Man: When to Remove Your Children From Public Schooling". Enjoy!......  Read More

 The Apostle Paul wrote, “I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first da...  Read More

According to Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.”  Remember God’s Word given to the prophet Jeremiah, “But this command I gave the...  Read More

“Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia! The strife is o’er, the battle done; now is the victor’s triumph won; Now be song of praise begun. Alleluia!” (LSB 464, v. 1) Yet, before the battle was done, and the al...  Read More

“Yet even now,” declares the Lord, “return to me with all your heart, with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning; and rend your hearts and not your garments.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is...  Read More

As we enter the penitential season of Lent, now is a good time to review how Luther taught on God’s Law, Gospel and of the need for repentance. Luther wrote, “This, then, is the thunderbolt of God by ...  Read More

Greetings!"I was glad when they said to me, "Let us go to the house of the Lord!" Psalm 122:1Tomorrow is the second Sunday in pre-Lent, Sexagesima Sunday.  "Sexagesima" is approximately 60 days before...  Read More

The following is from Gene Edward Veith’s blog: “On Monday the trial began in Finland for Lutheran Bishop Juhana Pohjola and Member of Parliament Dr. Päivi Räsänen, charged with hate crimes for teachi...  Read More

“Savior of the nations come, Virgin son, make here your home, marvel now O heaven and earth, that the Lord chose such a birth.” (LSB 332)  This hymn is one of the oldest in our hymnal and has been tra...  Read More

As we move into November, the readings and the hymns emphasize the Judgment Day and the return of Christ.  “The day is surely drawing near,” we sing, “when Jesus, God’s anointed, in all His power shal...  Read More

 “Salvation unto us has come, by God’s free grace and favor. Good works cannot avert our doom, they help and save us never. Faith looks to Jesus Christ alone, Who did for all the world atone; He is ou...  Read More

From Luther’s Preface to the Large Catechism, a quote to encourage the study of the Small Catechism...  Read More

“Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,” Psalm 33:18     As I write this, new mask mandates are going into effect as COVID-19 and its various mu...  Read More

As we celebrate Independence Day, remember the words of the Apostle Paul to the Romans, “Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those ...  Read More