Before entering the ministry, I was a salesman. I worked for a company that sold home décor to little “mom and pop” shops across the Midwest. We sold figurines, clocks, and Christmas ornaments. I continued in that job part-time while at Seminary. I would travel the...

On Christmas Day 1863, poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, sitting before a table in Cambridge, Massachusetts, took up his pen and paper. His heart was filled with despair. A few years earlier, his wife of eighteen years had tragically died in an accidental fire, and he...

Let me tell you about Derrick Hayes. While in the Oakland-San Francisco area on a youth mission trip with Atonement Lutheran Church of Fargo, North Dakota, our group decided to go out for ice cream after a long day of helping the homeless. Little did we know that a...

When I was introduced to him, John was only one bad “fix” away from death. John had been actively using drugs since the age of nine. His father introduced him to drugs and alcohol to calm him down when he was acting up or just trying to be a kid. As you can imagine,...

Isaiah prophesied that the Prince of Peace would reign over his kingdom. In the New Testament we discover that this Prince would not establish his rule with armies and weapons but through followers and the gospel. Jesus Christ has been calling disciples to carry his...

Some of my fondest memories of community life in the Muslim village in Chad that my family lived in for nearly ten years revolve around the holidays—not only Christian holidays, but also Muslim ones. Perhaps the most popular Muslim holiday of the year is Eid al-Adha...

If you were to lump together the sense of family, friends, and feasting of Thanksgiving, the deep well of tradition at Christmas, and the pomp and celebration of New Year’s Day, that may get you close to what Lunar New Year is like. It is arguably the oldest and most...

I grew up in a non-Christian household, so I never heard God’s Word until coming to Hillcrest Academy in Fergus Falls, Minnesota. Coming into an environment where God’s Word was constantly spoken was a challenge for me. Not only was I confused and didn’t fully...

Years ago, the Minnesota Vikings had a quarterback by the name of Christian Ponder. I always thought his name should have an application in an article or a sermon, but I could never find one… until now. Now there is a great difference between ponderous and pondering....

It would be the last time the young pastor would visit the old man, and there was something heavy on the old man’s heart. He had spent the last few months in physical pain, but that was not what troubled him now. Now he seemed at peace with the pain, and even to...

“Then the eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had told them to go. When they saw him, they worshiped him; but some doubted. Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me’” (Matthew 28:16-18)....

The grace of God is backwards. It does not make any sense. At least that is how things look from the world’s perspective. If you want something in this world you must work for it—you put in the time and effort. You give the blood, sweat, and tears necessary to earn...

It’s been wedding season in our extended family, with two of our sons and two nephews marrying in the last nine months! I had the privilege of officiating all four. At the last wedding, Sam and Meghan’s, I gave them this verse: “…as God’s chosen people, holy and...

Has life ever caused you great doubt? What do you do? Where do you go? There are times when we are crying out saying, “Dear Lord, I have no idea what to do. Please show me the way.” This last year has given out crazy things to deal with like never before, and...