St. Paul Lutheran Church

If Beauty is in the Eye of the Beholder, how does God see you? We don't have to wonder or doubt but instead can know that because of Christ we are forgiven, loved and precious in the eyes of God. So precious that our names are engraved on His hands and He desires to be the ever faithful groom to us!

Our identity is important to us! But sometimes we confused as to where our identity comes from with the temptation to find that identity in the creation instead of the creator. Fortunately for us our Creator does not abandon or forsake us despite our sinfulness and pursuit after things that can never really satisfy and only cause us to fear. We can find that hope and assurance that He is for us in the incredible gift of our baptism!

A very special message from the Rev. Dr. Gerald Kieschnick a grandson of the congregation of St. Paul who joined us to share a word of encouragement when it comes to the Gifts that God has entrusted to us and how we steward those gifts both now while we are alive and when we die. For more information on the work of Legacy Deo visit LegacyDeo.org

Rejoice in the Lord Always? Sounds hard to do. But that is only if you see it as a command of the Law and not as a joyful invitation of the Gospel thru Jesus Christ!

This season of Advent and Christmas is filled with high expectations for our family and friends and for ourselves. What happens when those expectations are not meet? If we shake the family tree of Jesus we find a number of people who don't live up to the expectations of being related to Jesus. But then again that is the point of the story! Jesus comes to save His people from their sins! Even when we let him down his promised presence continues to assure us we are a part of the family not based on our performance but on his perfect performance.

Where God Guides, God Provides! That is what Abraham learns when God makes a seemingly strange request regarding his son Isaac. In all the tests of life and in the the sometimes chaotic and surprising circumstances of life we too can rest on the never changing promises of God and the assurance of what he has already done for us! God is Faithful!

It may seem strange to us to start the story of the most important person ever to walk this planet by first telling you about His family tree, yet that is exactly what Matthew does in his account about Jesus. When we meet some of the characters that Matthew highlights we are reminded of the reason that Jesus came, "to seek and to save the lost" After all sinners aren't just a part of the story of Jesus, they are the point of the story.

As we approach the end of the church year the Apostle Jude in his short letter reminds us of the Hope that we have in God who is able to keep us from stumbling and present us blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy.

What if there was something never ending to supply all of our needs?

On All Saints Day the church remembers that great multitude that have died in Christ Jesus who will one day be in the presence of Jesus as described by John in the book of Revelation. Yet we don't get lost in the crowd and find comfort too in the assurance of the promise of that God himself will wipe away every tear from our eyes. So while we wait we continue to do the work of the church on earth in the places and positions that Jesus has perfectly positioned us for.

Here we still stand on the truth of the good news of Jesus Christ proclaimed by scripture alone and saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ Alone. 501 years into the reformation we can not forget the treasure of the truth of Holy Scripture!

What are your spiritual gifts? You may not think about them very often but the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given to you are purpose filled gifts! It is through these gifts that others get to see the generosity of God as we carry out the things that God has already prepared for us to do! Let's discover our gifts, encourage others in their gifts and be available to put those gifts into action for God's Glory!

The Story of the Good Samaritan is well know by many. But sometimes we miss the whole point of the story if we see it simply as a message to do good and not as Jesus taught it. To really understand the story we need to start with the reality that we are the person who is halfdead in need of rescue and there is only ONE who can truly rescue and heal us. When we have received what Jesus alone can give then we are freed to live loved to the people around us!

Our enemy is constantly trying to deceive us in many ways, our flesh is also guilty of sin, together our accuser and our guilty conscience will set us up for failure and fall. When we are tempted in our selves we are guilty, powerless, and without hope. Only through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior, we can be victorious and secure.

When we deal with pain and suffering in our world so often we find ourselves asking a lot of questions that start with the word "why" Yet our best answer to that question may no be a list of reasons but in fact, I don't know. We may not know why about a lot of things but there is one thing we can be sure of and that is the goodness of God and the incredible way that He loves us.

"The LORD is near to all who call to him, to all who call on him in truth. He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them." These words from Psalm 145 are beautiful prayer and one that God answers through the person and work of Jesus who continues to intercede on our behalf!

Happily ever after? Is that really possible to have the story of our life end that way? After all, our lives are connected to the tragic story of Genesis chapter 3 and the fall of mankind. Left on our own the story of our lives don't have a very good ending yet what if there was a better option than happily ever after? Jesus extends and invitation for not just a better story someday in heaven but a better story even right now and he has given us gifts so that we don't have to go it alone.

Every tree needs a healthy and vibrant root system in order to survive and thrive in this world. Followers of Jesus have a root system too given to them by God in the gift of faith. We want to strengthen that root system with the gifts that God gives us so that no matter what happens in the world around our roots stay firmly planted and growing in the faithfulness of Jesus Christ.

Where does our strength come from? our plans and preparation or the one who is with us always and already knows what is coming!

Traditions were do they come from and what are there purpose? Jesus addresses this topic one day and reorientates it towards himself.