Yesterday was a special day at Faith Lutheran Church of Grand Blanc. We were able to honor Rev. Dr. John Heins as he has reached the milestone of being a pastor in the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod for sixty years. This is an achievement worthy of recognition in itself, but the reason why we’re especially grateful here at Faith is that John began his public ministry as the first pastor of the congregation. John was leading worship and his...
Posts Tagged "thankfulness"
This week I received notice that I had been nominated as Citizen of the Year for an annual awards banquet hosted by our local Chamber of Commerce. My first response was, “WHAT? Why me?” Then, as I read the letter asking me to answer three further questions about myself, I said, “No way! I’m not going to brag about myself!” However, I was softened by the wise input of my dear wife and some other trusted friends who...
It was such a joy to preach and celebrate with my dad in honor of the 55th anniversary of his ordination into the pastoral ministry. Dozens of family and friends were present at Dad’s home church, Grace Lutheran, in Wayne, Nebraska yesterday to show him how much they love him and thank God for his many years of faithful service. Throughout those years he has always pointed everyone to Jesus as Lord and Savior. I’m proud of my awesome...
The leadership of my congregation, Faith Lutheran Church, Grand Blanc, MI, has just agreed to join me in a grand adventure for the summer of 2018. Together, we will seek God’s blessing on a time of sabbatical renewal. Now that I’ve been serving at Faith for 10 years, we want to join in thanking God for guiding us to His way for awesome relationships with Jesus and everyone else. During these years, I’ve completed my DMin...
Back in my summer camp counselor days, a favorite song at camp was “Friends Are Friends Forever” as sung by Michael W. Smith. The key line to that song is what follows the title…”Friends are friends forever, if the Lord’s the Lord of them.” In Jesus, friendships can, indeed, last forever. What a JOYOUS message that is! I experienced a taste of the enduring power Jesus gives to friendships on my family’s...