.png)
Mentoring the Next Generation: Why Older Women Still Matter in the Church
12/10/2025
Older women play a vital role in mentoring younger believers. Learn why they matter in a West Palm Beach, FL, Lutheran Church.
Old Testament Stories Every Christian Should Know (But Many Don’t)
12/3/2025
Discover essential Old Testament stories that many believers overlook. Explore more through Bible study at a Lutheran Church in West Palm Beach.
FIRST WORD "Stand Firm"
12/13/2025
“You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:8 What is Christmas about? Do you ever get confused? I recently passed by a neighbor’s holiday display that summed up what we often experience this time of year. First, I came upon a beautiful creche scene – with Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus in a stable, surrounded by wise men, shepherds and animals. It was the traditional Christmas story we all know and love.
FIRST WORD "A Branch"
12/6/2025
A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit. Isaiah 11:1 Isaiah’s prophesy comes true about 700 years later through Joseph and Mary, descendants of Jesse. Isaiah goes on to say that this lowly shoot will grow into a mighty branch that would bear fruit. He uses the metaphor of a nearly dead tree to tell us that God can and does use the least of us to do great things! First Evangelical is like that stump – a once mighty church that was nearly thought to be dead. But we’ve seen a shoot of hope pop up and grow! We’ve got a long way to go, but at least we’re making progress.
FIRST WORD "Father Forgive Them"
11/21/2025
When they came to the place called the Skull, they crucified him there, along with the criminals—one on his right, the other on his left. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” Luke 23:33-34 “I forgive him.” Millions heard those words a few months ago from Erika Kirk for her husband’s funeral service after being assassinated on a college campus. Would you be able to say those words, and really mean it? If someone had killed your husband, father, or child, would you be able to say these words? Yet, as Jesus hung on the cross, he did just that. He prayed to his Father in heaven to forgive the people who were killing him. He asked forgiveness…
FIRST WORD "For the Least of These"
11/13/2025
But Anthony shared that there isn’t the same kind of emphasis on exchanging gifts like Americans do. Instead, they use this time to remember the less fortunate and help those in need. Churches and charities organize events and activities to distribute food and clothes to the poor and homeless. The spirit of generosity and kindness even crosses the boundaries of faith, with Christians and Moslems gathering for celebrations that mix both tradition and culture. This is a good reminder for us to remember those less fortunate or in need. One way you can do that this year is through the Angel Tree and Toy Drive we are doing this Christmas season.
FIRST WORD "Reincarnation or Resurrection?"
11/7/2025
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.” Luke 20:38 Many years ago I was teaching a Confirmation class where I had my ninth graders write a “faith statement”, an essay where they would describe their core beliefs. When completed, they would read it in front of the congregation on Confirmation Sunday. This was to be a powerful moment for everyone as they publicly confess their faith – something you want to get right. Parents were also encouraged to work together with them, a wonderful family faith building experience!
FIRST WORD "All Saints"
11/1/2025
Looking at his disciples, he said: “Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Blessed are you who hunger now, for you will be satisfied. Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh. Luke 6:20-21 The little country Lutheran church where I grew up had a cemetery right behind it. As a little kid, we’d often play around the tombstones – a great place for hide and go seek! It was a little bit spooky, but the names engraved on the stones were familiar. They were neighbors, friends, who had helped plant and grow that church since 1881.
FIRST WORD "It's Time for Reformation!"
10/25/2025
“To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." John 8:31-32 Reformation Sunday is a celebration in which we remember the actions of a German monk, Martin Luther, who long ago on All Hallows’ Eve, October 31, 1517, nailed his 95 theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg, Germany. The theses presented his rationale for disagreeing with the Catholic Church’s sale of indulgences, limitations of papal power, and the gift of salvation through faith alone.
FIRST WORD "Harvesttime"
10/9/2025
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Matthew 9:37 Next week I’m traveling to Minnesota for a few days to help my brother with harvest and visit family. He’s finishing up with the field corn right now – the kind you feed to livestock, make corn flakes, and ethanol. It is difficult to find laborers at harvest time, like Jesus says in this passage. My brother has a few neighbors he knows who he hires to drive truck or tractor for him. He can’t do it all by himself, he needs help. When I’m there, I often do the odd jobs that need to be done or simply speed up things by having more hands-on deck.
FIRST WORD "Faith"
10/4/2025
Jesus replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you. Luke 17:6 Most of us are familiar with this saying about the mustard seed. It is no accident that Jesus picks the mustard seen as an example of faithfulness here in Luke 17. Mustard’s reputation for being proverbially small (though not actually), is a wonderful example of how a seed sized faith is capable of accomplishing miraculous feats.
FIRST WORD "Now I Lay Me Down To Sleep"
9/26/2025
Brothers and sisters, we do not want you to be uninformed about those who sleep in death, so that you do not grieve like the rest of mankind, who have no hope. For we believe that Jesus died and rose again, and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 Did you grow up with the childhood prayer "Now I lay me down to sleep?" I was little surprised to learn that it is a shortened version of an Old English prayer, which goes like this: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, bless the bed that I lie on. Before I lay me down to sleep, I give my soul to Christ to keep.
FIRST WORD "Spiritual Bank"
9/19/2025
“No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” Luke 16:13A church member came to his pastor’s study one day. The pastor could see that the man looked deeply troubled. The man said, “Pastor, I need to talk. I feel so empty, so dried up inside, I’m scared.” His voice began to quiver just a bit. He said “Pastor, I have just come from the doctor’s office, and he told me that I have only six months at best to live. After I left the office, I realized that I have no spiritual resources, no inner strength to cope with this. There is nothing to fall back on, to lean against. Many people would be surprised to hear me say that, for I have made lots of money, and people think I am a success not only at making money, but at being a strong, powerful person.”
FIRST WORD "Grace and Peace"
9/13/2025
"Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 Corinthians 1:3 This verse is a part of a greeting at the beginning of Paul’s first letter to the church in Corinth, a greeting that he uses with some variation in his other letters. Paul’s use of the two words “grace” and “peace” isn’t random, they are intentional and serve an important purpose, they represent what Christianity is all about.As Christians, we are “saved by grace”, meaning we don’t deserve it, nor can we earn our salvation. In fact, we deserve the opposite. Our sin separates us from God, but the Good News (Gospel) is that God sent his son Jesus to pay the price for our sin and restore our relationship with God. Instead of eternal punishment, we receive eternal life through our faith and trust in him. This is not because of anything we’ve done, but it is purely by God’s grace.
FIRST WORD "He Leadeth Me"
9/6/2025
He leadeth me, he leadeth me;by his own hand he leadeth me:his faithful follower I would be,for by his hand he leadeth me. Refrain from the hymn “He Leadeth Me”Rev. Joseph Gilmore, the author of this popular American hymn, was preaching at a mid-week prayer service on the topic of Psalm 23. He wrote later, “I set out to give the people an exposition of the 23rd Psalm, but I got no further than the words ‘He leadeth me.’ Those words took hold of me as they had never done before. I saw in them a significance and beauty of which I had never dreamed… At the close of the meeting a few of us kept on talking about the thoughts which I had emphasized; and then and there, on a back page of my sermon notes, I penciled the hymn just as it stands today, handed it to my wife, and thought no more of it… She sent it without my knowledge to the Watchman and Reflector magazine, and there it first appeared in print December 4, 1862.”
