Instead grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen. (2 Peter 3:18) Following the celebration of the Day of Pentecost, we shift into the second half of the Church Year, known as the non-festival half or the Time of the Church. The festival half the year is called the Time of Christ, because from Advent through Easter we trace the major events of Jesus' work of salvation. During the Time of the Church, the focus remains on Christ. But while the first half of the year emphasized Christ for us, the second half contains more ..read more

But in fact Christ has been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep. (1 Corinthians 15:20) Christ is risen! He is risen indeed! After the muted contemplation of Lent, the Church once again bursts into jubilant song to celebrate the Resurrection of Our Lord, the second major festival of the Church Year and the highpoint of the year. Easter, like Christmas, is an entire season and not just a day. This is highlighted by the way that the following Sundays are traditionally called the Sundays "of Easter." The season is an extended celebration of that Resurrection Day ..read more

As they went on their way, Jesus came into a village, and a woman named Martha welcomed him into her home. She had a sister named Mary, who was sitting at the Lord’s feet and was listening to his word. But Martha was distracted with all her serving. She came over and said, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her to help me." The Lord answered and told her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and upset about many things, but one thing is needed. In fact, Mary has chosen that better part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (EHV) You’ve prob ..read more

From that time, Jesus began to preach: “Repent, because the kingdom of heaven is near.” (Matthew 4:17) Repentance is a daily activity in the life of a Christian. As we hear the commands and warnings of God's Law, we realize more and more just how sinful we are. We recognize the reality that we sin every day. We hear our Savior's call to repent, to turn away from sin and to trust in him. While not all of Martin Luther's *Ninety-five Theses*—published in 1517 and often cited as the beginning of the Reformation—fully reflect the truth of Scripture, the first was spot-on: "When our Lord and Master ..read more

The announcement below was shared by Pastor Snyder following worship services on January 21. Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, After prayerful consideration, it is with confidence in our Lord’s promises for each and every one of us that I tell you today that I have accepted the call to serve at St. John Lutheran Church in Lewiston, MN. I understand that this may be disappointing news to you, but it should not be despairing news. While it may not seem to you that this is a good time or the right time for me to leave, our Lord promises his grace and blessing in all things. He is the Lord of t ..read more

But when the kindness and love of God our Savior toward mankind appeared, he saved us—not by righteous works that we did ourselves, but because of his mercy. (Titus 3:4,5a) "I've had an epiphany!" Someone might say that when they've had a captivating thought, figured out the solution to a problem, or worked out some puzzle or riddle. It is like the idea just suddenly appeared in their mind. The word "epiphany" comes from a Greek word that means "appearance" or “reveal.” During the Epiphany season, we don't celebrate any ordinary appearance. We celebrate the Epiphany, the appearing and revealin ..read more

The Word became flesh and dwelled among us. We have seen his glory, the glory he has as the only-begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John 1:14) The Advent anticipation has reached its climax. The preparations are complete. It's time to celebrate Christmas! Of all the Christian festivals, Christmas is certainly the one that has most readily been adopted by the secular world, at least in name. Sadly, the world's so-called Christmas celebrations never get to the true meaning of Christmas. Even when the world focuses on virtues like love and generosity, it does not proclaim the cen ..read more

Over the past several weeks, we have laid out some goals of The Peter Plan. All of the goals could be classified as “in-reach.” In-reach is any ministry that a congregation performs to help members that are in need, including helping members who are perhaps straying from the faith. But that is only half of what God calls a congregation to do. It is also God’s will that a congregation engages in evangelism, doing all it can to share the gospel with unbelievers or unchurched individuals. The Peter Plan will help us with evangelism too. St. Paul says, “If an unbeliever or an inquirer comes in whi ..read more

The one who testifies about these things says, "Yes, I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus! (Revelation 22:20) Happy New Year! No, I'm not a month early. While people wish each other a happy new year as we flip the calendar from December 31 to January 1, there is another year that begins a little earlier on the civil calendar: the Church Year. From the early centuries of the Christian church all the way up to the present, the Church Year has run alongside the civil calendars of people around the world. Even all the way back in Old Testament times, the Israelites had both a civil calendar ..read more

Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do.” Thankfully, Aristotle was no theologian! For while we repeatedly sin, through faith in Christ Jesus and for his sake, God does not count us as sinners, but holy saints. However, Aristotle was onto something. Repeated behavior eventually becomes normal behavior. We call it habitual behavior. For example, if every morning you go for a run, we call you “a runner.” That is your normal behavior. “We are what we repeatedly do.” How long does it take for habits to form? There have been many psychological studies done on that topic. The answer to the que ..read more