In the Sacrament of the Lord’s Supper, you receive amazing, unimaginable gifts. You receive the body and blood of Jesus – he communes with you. You receive the forgiveness of your sins in those elements. The Scriptural words are not difficult to understand.

Matthew 26:26–28
While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”

1 Corinthians 10:16
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in the blood of Christ? And is not the bread that we break a participation in the body of Christ?

This heavenly gift to you enrages the devil. It must. He devotes tremendous energy to belittling the sacrament and trying to distract us from the heavenly blessings we receive. If he cannot rob the simple words of their wonderful meaning, he tries to make the reception of the sacrament ordinary, mundane, or thoughtless so that we miss out on the joy and comfort God gives us.

As you receive the Lord’s Supper – whether you kneel or stand or the pastors bring it to your pew or home – you receive indescribable blessings from your Savior. Believe the promises of our Lord. Receive the Lord’s Supper in confident faith that sees the reality of Jesus’ presence in your life and the reality of his forgiveness.

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

The temptation never goes away to see the ways of the world and be envious. There is a part of each of us – our sinful nature – that wants to indulge in sin and all sorts of selfishness.

Psalm 37:1–6 (NIV)

"Do not fret because of evil men

or be envious of those who do wrong;

for like the grass they will soon wither,

like green plants they will soon die away.

Trust in the LORD and do good;

dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

Delight yourself in the LORD

and he will give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD;

trust in him and he will do this:

He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,

the justice of your cause like the noonday sun." 

The Psalmist reminds believers that we have a different focus. We are renewed through faith in Jesus. We see life through his forgiveness and the promise of eternal life that he freely offers to us. We find joy and delight in the Lord and his ways. We are eager to do good – as defined by God. We are confident that he will bless those who trust in him, even though we know that those blessings may not be things we can see. God will be with us, always!

Do not be envious of what you see in the world. Their ways lead to destruction. Instead, find the joy that comes from trusting in the Lord and doing good. The narrow, less-traveled path of faith is God’s will for you. Don’t be fooled by what others do. You are a child of God. Trust and serve him.

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

The gospel message that you, by God’s grace, believe is nothing new. As he began writing his epistle to the Christians in Rome, Paul commented that the gospel message of Jesus as the Savior was promised through the prophets in the Old Testament.

Romans 1:2 (NIV) ". . . the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures."

Granted, because of their place on the timeline of history, the Old Testament people did not see all the details that we can see in the life of Jesus. Nonetheless, they were looking forward to a Savior who would take away the sin of the world. They believed a promise of God that was not yet fulfilled. Through that faith in God’s promise, the Old Testament believers were saved.

You might compare it to what Judgement Day is to us. We know it is coming, and we know some of what will happen based what the Scriptures tell us. But we do not know all the details yet. Yet, we believe the promises of God of future deliverance for all who believe in Jesus when the world comes to an end.

God’s plan has always been the same – he will save those who believe in him. By his grace, you live each day under the promise of salvation. Because of Jesus – who lived, died, and rose for you – you know that God’s forgiveness is real, and his plan is to deliver you to heaven. Live in the comfort of God’s consistent love for all his people. This love covers you too!

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling

The waters of the ocean are powerful! They are intimidating to the most seasoned sailors. The ocean is unforgiving in its power.

Psalm 93:4 (NIV) "Mightier than the thunder of the great waters, mightier than the breakers of the sea—the LORD on high is mighty."

Life is a voyage across a wild ocean. The waves and storms of life come and go without warning.

The Lord is mightier than any storm we may face, no matter the type of storm. And the Lord always stands with his people. He will sustain and bless us with the comfort of his love – a love that led Jesus to die on the cross for us. Even when he allows the storms of life to continue, we know that his actions are always driven by love. He is working something amazing and mighty in our lives. Even if a storm should end our lives, we know of the victory that our Lord has perfectly prepared for us by Jesus’ death and resurrection. Nothing can hurt us!

For centuries the Christian Church has called the place where the congregation sits in a church the nave. This comes from the Latin word for ship. The intended picture is that as we journey through the stormy seas of life we need to be in a ship to protect us. Our “ship” is the time we spend hearing God’s Word and receiving his sacrament. These make us strong and remind us of the love of our God. In our “ship” we see Jesus at the helm as he speaks to us and comes to us with his forgiveness. He is the mighty Lord who keeps us his people safe in the powerful seas of life.

Pastor Aufdemberge

Pastor Kneser

Pastor Wempner

Pastor Zarling