Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” -2 Corinthians 9:6 A while back one of our younger members and star acolytes, Kai, strolled into church brandishing a brand new Harry Kane trading card (Harry Kane is a soccer legend from England, who made a significant impact in the 2026 World Cup). It just so happens that Harry Kane is one of my favorite players

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world.” -Romans 1:8 Saint Paul’s letters, or epistles, constitute a significant chunk of the New Testament. How are those letters organized, and what determines the order in which they appear? Well, as it turns out, those faithful folks that finalized the biblical canon, began with the longest of Paul’s letters and concluded with the shorte

“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work among you will bring it to completion by the day of Jesus Christ.” -Philippians 1:6 (NRSVue) The picture that appears above is an interesting one. In it you see the structure that now houses the music room and Schmid Hall. You can see all the way down to the deepest foundational cornerstones. Those blocks were dug out and exposed so that the “new church” could be integrated into the “old church.

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” -1 Thessalonians 5:17 About a month ago, several of the faithful from Bethlehem Lutheran gathered for our first “Bethlehem Golf Night” of the season. Thanks to the weather, it turned out to be the only golf night of the season. As a pastor, I know that there may be some who ask, “what in the world does golf have to do with church?” I get

Father Henri J. M. Nouwen (1932-1996) Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “The Pharisee, standing by himself, was praying thus, ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people…’” -Luke 18:11 In his book, Reflection on the Christian Life, Henri Nouwen wrote that, “Compassion means full immersion in the condition of being human.” In my estimation, that’s a glorious and divinely inspired bit of wisdom. But, for some of us “being human” is not as easy as it sounds, in fact there are

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father in heaven.” -Matthew 5:16 Sometimes people make me wonder! I saw a beautiful tree recently; it might have been a White Oak tree, and in the side of that beautiful expression of God’s creative power was carved a heart, inside of which was two sets of initials. I can’t remember the initials exactly, but I am sure you can imagine

A word from our Associate Pastor Dear friends in Christ, To me, August serves as a month where we still hold on to summer and yet are looking forward to the activities of fall. Before we look too far ahead, I wanted to share one of my favorite moments of the summer. I got to attend Grown-up and Me Day at Lutherlyn this year. My sister invited me to attend on a day she would be there wit

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “For everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven… a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted.” -Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 I am not one to question the wisdom of scripture. As a result, I believe it’s a good thing to acknowledge that, “for everything there is a season and a time for every matter under heaven.” My struggle - and it could be the case that some of you wrestle with this just a bit as well - is that I wo

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “Again he asked them, ‘Whom are you looking for?’ And they said, ‘Jesus of Nazareth.’” -John 18:7 When the soldiers and the betrayer turn up in the Garden of Gethsemane Jesus is ready, they are not. Jesus stands there before them, it is portrayed so poignantly in the Gospel of John, but there is a momentary failure to act. Jesus has to ask them not once, but twice, “Whom are you looking for?” Why the delay? Why did it take so long before they act

Dearest Members of Bethlehem, “…Jesus said, ‘Let the little children come to me, and do not stop them, for it is to such as these that the kingdom of heaven belongs.’” -Matthew 19:14 The week of vacation Bible School truly is a marvelous time. The children, the volunteers, the music, lessons, games, and time in scripture are such a blessing. It’s only once a year, but to have a full week, day in and day out, during which we can devote ourselves to the faith formation of our y