built on a rock
- By Pastor Andrew Palmquist, Bethany Lutheran Church, LuverneFebruary 05, 2025“Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God. The Lord is one! Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. These words that I am commanding you today are to be on your heart. Teach them diligently to your children.” Deuteronomy 6:4-7 These powerful words are part of the “Shema,” a prayer that is spoken daily in Jewish tradition. Those verses were some of…
- By Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, St. John Lutheran Church, LuverneJanuary 29, 2025Imagine a book that is at once beautifully bound and yet deadly to hold? Such a book would be quite the epitome and symbol of deadly knowledge, wouldn’t it? Like a cursed object one might encounter in a fantasy novel. But this isn’t fiction, it’s real and there isn’t only one. Thousands of such books, bound with vibrant green covers, were produced in the 19th century. Their unique and tantalizing…
- By Pastor Sarah Zender, Grace Lutheran Church, LuverneJanuary 22, 2025This week I’ve been thinking a lot about words that, when used as a noun, should probably be used as a verb. The first definition of love, for example, is “an intense feeling of deep affection.” That is a noun. It is also used as a verb, but it reflects the moment of feeling that sense of deep affection. This is a great word to have in our vocabulary tool kit. A Wheel of Emotion is a tool used…
- By Pastor Praveen Muthsuamy, Hills United Reformed ChurchJanuary 15, 2025You may have come across the idiom, “All roads lead to Rome.” It means that there are many ways to achieve the same goal or result. It suggests that no matter which path you choose, you will eventually reach your desired outcome. This saying may be true for some areas of life. For example, if someone wants to lose weight, they can try the vegan diet, Keto diet, Paleo diet, carnivore diet, and…
- By Rev. Dr. Steven Voris, First Presbyterian Church, LuverneJanuary 08, 2025We celebrated the passing of another year on the Gregorian calendar last week, which has been the standard measure for recording the passage of time since 1582. The Gregorian calendar was an improvement over the Julian calendar which went into effect in the Roman Empire on January 1, 45 BCE. If the goal of a calendar is to keep the solstice and equinox dates the same, so that a year is…
- By Pastor Walt Moser, First Baptist Church, LuverneDecember 30, 2024There is reason to believe that much Bible reading and study in recent years has brought little spiritual benefit to many who engage in it. God's gifts can be misused, and His blessings abused. The evidence of this is seen in the results. Even those without a genuine faith may study the Bible with the same enthusiasm they might have for science or literature. When this happens, their knowledge…
- By Pastor Joe Steenholdt, Christian Reformed Church, LuverneDecember 24, 2024Another Christmas has come and gone, leaving us in this reflective week at the end of the year—an in-between week to consider when to take down decorations and plan for New Year’s. We may feel hopeful about the future or anxious about what lies ahead. The message of Christmas is still fresh in our minds, yet I invite us to reflect beyond just the baby in Bethlehem. In the Gospel of Mark, he…
- By Pastor Mark Eliason, Palisade Lutheran Church, Rock CountyDecember 11, 2024And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. Luke 1:46-49 (NRSV) Imagine, if you can, the story of a young girl, around 14 years old, engaged to a man she barely knows…
- By Pastor Andrew Palmquist, Bethany Lutheran Church, LuverneNovember 20, 2024Psalm 147:7 says, “Sing out your thanks to Him, sing praises to God.” Nothing makes you more aware of God’s presence than praising him. There’s a story about a woman who struggled to believe. She said, “When I go to church with my family and sing a song, during the song I’ll believe in God — for five minutes. But when the singing stops, my doubts begin.” How wonderful it is that singing the…
- By Rev. Dr. Phil Booe, St. John Lutheran Church, LuverneNovember 13, 2024The mythical King Arthur was known as the “Once and Future King.” T.H. White, in his book by the same name, described a prophecy that Arthur would return when Britain needed him most. The legend of King Arthur seems to reappear quadrennially in American politics. Every four years each political faction seeks to persuade us that their candidate alone is the savior we need to rescue society from…
- By Pastor Sarah Zender, Grace Lutheran Church, LuverneNovember 06, 2024As I write this article, it is the day before our national election. When this is published, I hope that the results are clear and defined. Uncertainty creates a lot of tension in our collective hearts. It does not always bring out the best in people’s actions. As I prepare to vote, I am also preparing to preach on Sunday. At the church in which I serve, we follow a lectionary, which is a…
- By Pastor Joe Steenholdt, Luverne Christian Reformed ChurchOctober 09, 2024Seeing the combines out in the field reminded me of a phrase that stood out in a series study on the book of James this past summer, “a harvest of righteousness.” (James 3:18). As we assess this year’s crop yields, let’s also consider the yields of our lives. Is there evidence of a harvest of righteousness in 2024? The book of James is a lot like the book of Proverbs in showing the value of…
- By Pastor Jeremy Wiersema, Reformed Church of SteenOctober 02, 2024I am sure that many of us have noticed the extra farm vehicles on the road recently. In southwest Minnesota it is harvest time, and I love it. This love for the harvest began in me at an early age. I have fond memories of riding with my grandpa in the combine or my uncles in the tractor pulling wagons. I also remember the rides to the elevator, and if I was good, there might have been a glass…
- By Pastor Mark Eliason, First Lutheran Church and Palisade Lutheran ChurchSeptember 25, 2024For years churches have been coming up with ways to give people the opportunity to worship with their congregation. Since the early 1930s, churches have broadcast their services on the radio. One of the longest-running radio broadcasts is Lutheran Vespers. It has been on the air since the mid ’50s and continues today on radio stations in the Chicago area. Also, for years many congregations…
- By Pastor Josh Hayden, Living Rock Church, LuverneSeptember 17, 2024I’m going to open a can of worms and discuss something that will not be resolved in this article. It will lead to another discussion, but the issue I think that is interesting to think about is social media censorship. How much should social media be held accountable to what is promoted, shared, posted, not posted? Who should be held responsible for things being posted and being taken down?…
- By Pastor Bob Junak, Rock River Community Church, LuverneSeptember 11, 2024I like riding motorcycles. In fact, I belong to a local chapter of Christian motorcyclists. In our Chapter, several of us ride Harley Davidsons. However, not all of us. If you were to join us on one of our rides, you would find Hondas, Yamahas, Can Ams, and one guy rides a big ole’ Indian. As a Harley guy, I often joke that if you have to shut your bike off to hear if the bike next to you is…
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