A New Call!

PRAISE GOD!!!

Thanks to our many dear friends for the prayers and support as I deliberated with prayer and godly counsel over the call to serve as Pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church. As a church body we believe that God has His hand in the movement of ministry personnel when and where it pleases Him. So we pray that God fills the need of the churches as he sees fit. That’s why we call it a “divine call” when it is issued. I want to thank you for your prayers that God would direct Trinity to her next pastor.

I have been waiting for God to move with decisive clarity to reveal His will for my future ministry. My own prayers and ponderings have left me hoping that I would soon be serving again, in full time ministry. I am now very convinced and filled with deep peace that God Himself, moving with His Holy Spirit, The Counselor, has given me a clear and compelling call to serve Trinity. I joyfully accept that call and look forward to building our lives under the Word of God to extend his kingdom near and far. I look forward to the vision we will see together as He enables us to follow His call as an entire body of faith-filled travelers on the journey of life.

When I return from the Philippines, I anticipate very exciting days through the month of July as we make the necessary transitions and settle into the community as a family. Diana and all the children join me in this excitement as we eagerly embrace a new day together. They, like me, are happy about the new ministries they will come to serve as members of the body.

New Testament Postcards

A new summer sermon series!

"New Testament Postcards" are the quick little notes that were sent to the people of the early church. They are not as theologically packed as the "Letters" or Epistles, like Romans or 1st & 2nd Corinthians. But they have great things to say to us today. I'm looking forward to sharing these messages in the summer time because each message can stand alone on its own. During the summer, the church has some guests who are just passing through while they are away from home. Likewise, some of the local church members are out of town, at the cabin, or on vacation during the summer and often miss one or more of the series' messages. Stop by, and let me share a postcard with you. Titus, Philemon, 1st and 2nd Peter, 1st, 2nd, & 3rd John, and Jude have much to say about our walk with Christ.

It's a Beautiful Day In The Neighborhood

New Sermon Series for June...


It’s a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood!

Summer is right around the corner. The neighborhoods are coming to life once again. People are out walking, working in their yards, grilling on their patios. It’s the perfect time to reflect on our life as God’s neighbor. He has a neighborly calling on each of our lives and wants us to make an impact for Him in the world around us. Your neighborhood is a beautiful place to let your faith show. God has always wanted to have a neighbor just like you. He’s always wanted to live in the neighborhood with you. I'm really looking forward to sharing these messages at Trinity Family Center in Hudson, Wisconsin. We're going to get into the Bible with a twist on some themes from one of my all-time heroes, Fred Rogers.

June 3rd “I Like You Just The Way You Are” – 1 Cor 1:26-31
June 10th “Let’s Make The Most Of This Beautiful Day” – Col 4:2-6
June 17th “Would You Be Mine, Could You Be Mine?” – John 17

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What To Do With A New Life: Practical Christianity

A New Post-Easter Sermon Series!

New life! When the grace of God comes to us we are offered a totally new life, one that the Bible describes as life "in Him." The constant presence of God is the most practical part of your life and ministry. Unfortunately, we often assign God to a limited place in our lives. Then we call on Him whenever we need help. That is the exact opposite of what we find in the Word of God. He is the One who is working in our world. He invites you to relate to Him, so He can accomplish His work through you. His whole plan for the advance of His kingdom depends on His working in real and practical ways through His relationship to His people.

Knowing and experiencing God through a real and personal relationship was practical in the Scriptures. In this new sermon series, I want to cover a lot of ground. I believe you will find the new life to be a walk with God that is exceedingly "practical." God can make a practical difference in your relationships in your family, in your church, and with many others in the world.

Wipe Out!

Talk about wipe outs, I had a bad one on Wednesday, March 21, 2007. I was enjoying my "secon-to-last" run of the day. Hoping to get to the chair lift before they closed it and wanting to sail righ up to the line without have to push myself with the poles, I tucked like a professional and tried to grab all the speed I could muster. I was going way too fast. When my left ski hit a patch of ice, my wonderful "tucked position turned into a flurry of flying ski equipment and very suprised skier taking to the air and comming down in a crumble. My right ski did not come off and so my right achilles tendon was torn. I had surgery a week later to repair it and I'm now doing a lot of sitting. I'm not used to sitting so long and in one place. I asked several friends and family to pray for me. I was worried about the post-operative pain (It was worse than my kidney stone incident) but I'm over it now and looking forward to getting my surgical dressing removed on Tuesday, April 10th. The doctor tells me that I'll be in an "achilles boot" which is like a legbrace where my foot will rest on wedges to prop up my heel. Gradually we will reduce the number of wedges so that my tendon will be stretched to its normal condition. He says the process will take about 8 weeks. Would you join me in praying for patience and quick healing. My hope is to be completely restored before my scheduled departure for the Philippines mission trip in June. I want to thank all the prayer warriors who have joined me thus far in this journey. God is answering those prayers and I feel great.

Pastors Are Thankful For Your Prayers!

This past week I had the wonderful privilige of going to King of Kings Lutheran Church in Omaha, Nebraska. It has to be one of my very favorite churches. They have a powerful prayer ministry that I admire so much. While I was there with my collegues from the Pastoral Leadership Institute, their prayer warriors did much to minister to us. Each of us was treated to a significant amount of personal prayer. Much grace was flowing from God's throne. We were made acutely aware of the warfare around us as pastors. I sensed a tremendous love from God through these brothers and sisters in the Lord. The healing was fantastic! At one point, during the Sunday service we were called to the front and surrounded by prayer team they were directed by their pastor to remember the unique challenges and struggles that pastors face. Then they started praying... All at once, out loud, and with great passion. These people knew how to lift up their pastors. The petitions were "real" and dealt with life and ministry in an honest way. Thanks to all those wonderful prayer partners for such a blessing. I know that there are others who remember me in daily prayer. You have no idea what a lifeline you are. I thank God for each of you and pray that His blessings fall abundantly in your life and ministry too!

http://www.kingofkingsomaha.org