Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,

Hear this from Proverbs 24:3-4 ESV:
³ By wisdom a house is built,
and by understanding it is established;
⁴ by knowledge the rooms are filled
with all precious and pleasant riches.

Our Redeemer Lutheran Church built their first house in 1958. You can still see the cornerstone in our Narthex. The congregation was formed, a call committee found a pastor, and ground was broken at the corner of Court Street and the new, gravel road, First Avenue.

Subsequent building projects happened. Over the last sixty-seven years, some of these have been lost to time, and we are left with the building project outcomes, but we certainly recall recent building projects.

In 1996, a significant expansion of the building footprint was made by adding numerous classrooms, a nursery, a choir room, and a youth room.

In 2007, the East Wall Project was completed, featuring new windows and an exterior design that matched the overall architecture of the building.

In 2016, we renovated the building’s infrastructure, including asbestos abatement, roof replacement with a new plywood base, and an overhaul of the electrical and HVAC systems. The Sanctuary was remodeled, featuring new flooring, a painted reredos wall, refinished pews, and an expanded communion rail. The AV equipment in the sanctuary was upgraded entirely and replaced with top-of-the-line equipment. The dividing wall between 208 and 210 was opened to create our Adult Education Room. The entire building was refreshed with new paint and flooring, and the Gathering Place was created by opening the library and relocating the chapel to its new location, providing us, as the name implies, with a place to gather. This new space has been beneficial to the ministries at this house of God.

That is the point. Over the many decades, through wisdom, we have improved and expanded the physical building of Our Redeemer Lutheran Church for ministry, worship, for the purpose of Instruction, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Service. The pneumonic is WIFES. These are the five areas of the Christian life. These are the pleasant and precious riches that fill the rooms of the house of God.

I promised that Vision 2020 (the 2016 building project) would not be the end. There is never an end to the improvements to the house of God for ministry. We must consistently determine how our facility and its improvements will aid in enhancing and expanding the Christian life through Worship, Instruction, Fellowship, Evangelism, and Service.

You might recall that a committee was formed a couple of years ago called the Cross and Entrance Committee. They have written articles and even had a display at our entrance for a while. After much diligent work, utilizing the expertise of Neumann Monson Architects and receiving a bid from Merit Construction, we have a presentation for the congregation. The first presentation will be at the September Voters’ Meeting on September 21, 2025. Additional presentations will be announced.

It has been almost a decade since our last building project. By wisdom and understanding, let us continue to establish and build this house of God for His ministry.

Blessings,
Pastor Hartwig

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to invite you into a memory.  It is not particularly spectacular.  It isn’t a memory of a heroic conquest.  It is not a memory that would be played on the big screen.  It isn’t a memory that people would come far and wide to be told.  It is a memory of… well it is a memory of the normal, the daily grind, the day in and day out of a life of purpose.  It is a memory of a house that is well maintained by people who care.  Who pick up the phone and dedicate time to fix a toilet or move a piano.  It is a memory of a friendly conversation, a discussion across a desk about the pronunciation of a minor prophet.

This memory has vivid moments, emotional moments, moments of deep pain as a once full pew sits empty, as a body exits the sanctuary for… well for the last time.  But it’s not just pain.  There are vivid moments of joy, as a child is born and food floods a house for months, delivered with love by people who care, people who just want to give because they love their neighbor.  And then the baby is born again, welcomed from Satan’s kingdom, the kingdom of the damned, into God’s kingdom by a simple action, just some water and a few words spoken by a sinful man but carrying the weight of God’s own promise.  And man, this memory has its vivid moments of sheer laughter.  Eye rolls and grunts of amused agony as another punny comment is made.  A grin from ear to ear waiting for the satisfaction of a joke that lands.  Laughing to the point of tears as a simple comment mixed with the right moment becomes a bookmark that elicits laughter every time it is stated… and restated… and stated again.

It isn’t all vivid though, some of this memory sits in the fog.  Hours on the road, hours in study, beautiful conversations that serve their purpose and fade to the recesses of the mind, never again to be articulable but leaving their own implicit impact.  Impromptu sermons that… sometimes… go a bit longer than they should, and the laughs that follow.  Meetings and studies and sermons and services, all so deep yet so common place they overlap like paper-mâché forming a greater image but, themselves, losing their own individual properties.

Yes, I’d like to tell you about this memory, this memory of the church being the church.  Of you, God’s people, living your life to serve Him, to love your neighbor, to train a [future] pastor and treat his family like your own.  To walk alongside and support someone you didn’t know but chose to love because you want nothing more than to reflect the love you have been shown by Christ.  This memory, this wonderful beautiful profoundly simple memory is one I will carry with me for the rest of my life.  So thank you, for sharing the love of Christ with me and my family.  May He continue to bless you and yours from now into all eternity.

In Christ, Vicar Tyler Simmons

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Welcome to the season of “Life in the Church”.  With our upcoming celebration of Pentecost, we will be moving into the second half of the church season: the one in which we focus on the life of the church.

For those that do not remember, the church year is broken into two six-month chunks.  The first 6 months, beginning with Advent, follow the life of Christ from His birth to His ascension.  The second six months, beginning with the celebration of Pentecost, focus on the life of the church and how to walk in faith as one of God’s people.  During this season, we tend to read through whole epistles in the lectionary as well as focus on how we can serve God in and as the Church.

It is easy for us, as Christians, to forget how important the church is for the life of our faith.  However, we should consider the words of St. Paul in Ephesians:

“So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.” – Ephesians 2:19-21

Consider what this means for our lives: to be baptized into Christ is to be called into His church. We are not here to have a “me and Jesus” relationship, we are here to be part of His body and serve Him in the church.  That is what this season is all about. It is about learning and growing together as we work as the Body of Christ to serve Him in the various vocations that He has called us into.  So how do we continue to nurture and grow in this calling in our lives?  Here are three ideas to help you grow as part of the church.

• Attend the Divine Service: We are so blessed to live in a time where live streaming is an available option for when we are sick or unable to make it to worship; however, we should be cautious not to use this as a means to avoid attending worship in person whenever possible.  Just as attending a family gathering via FaceTime is not the same as being there in person, so attending worship in person allows us to grow with our family in ways the online will never be able to compare.
• Attend Bible Study: Services are important for receiving God’s Word and Sacraments and calling upon Him in prayer and praise, but we stunt our spiritual growth when we only set aside 1 hour a week to fill ourselves with God’s word in the company of other believers.  Attending Bible study allows us to dive deeper into God’s word and its impact on our lives.
• Assess your skills: See what gifts God has given you. Are there ways you can translate these skills to serve God in the church?  Utilizing the skills God has given you to serve Him in both your career as well as the church, you may find, not only serves to sharpen your skills, but also strengthens your faith and promotes spiritual growth.

As we move into this season of growth, it is my prayer that you allow the Holy Spirit to work in you and strength your faith, that you may grow into the Body of Christ both here in our small community and as the One Holy Church.

In the Love of Christ,

Vicar Simmons

Grace, mercy, and peace be unto you!

This weekend the 8^th graders will be confirmed. During the last few classes, we talked about what it means to be a Christian and a member of the church.

There are five aspects of congregational life, and I remember it by the acronym WIFE’S.

Worship (receiving forgiveness of sins and, in response, singing praises)
Instruction (studying the Word from God privately and with others in small and large groups)
Fellowship (sharing time and your faith with one another)
Evangelism (serving others in love and telling other the good news of salvation)
Stewardship (understanding that all you have is owned by God to be used in God pleasing ways)

The students were excited to look back and see how they have grown during the confirmation program which includes all five aspects! Worship, instruction, and fellowship are easy concepts. Evangelism and stewardship are more challenging.

We are called to share the good news of Jesus Christ with others, and we are called to be good stewards of all we have been given. Stewardship is really ownership!

This understanding of ownership is crucial to our understanding of what it means to be faithful stewards. As stewards, we acknowledge that who we are and what we have are gifts from God. God’s Word tells us that nothing actually belongs to us.

Granted, it is difficult to remember that God really owns everything, because we work hard for our incomes. We have sweated and toiled in our jobs and focused energy on our careers, which has allowed many of us to increase our net worth.

But the truth is that we came into the world with nothing, and we will leave with nothing. Only for a short time that God gives us on this earth will we have possession of a few things. These possessions belonged to somebody before us, and they will belong to others after us.

The air we breathe, the water we drink, the land we live on are gifts we enjoy out of the overflow of God’s love. The love of God, the gift of God’s Son, Jesus, the forgiveness of sins, the comfort of the Holy Spirit, and life eternal are gifts to us from God.

This understanding that all of life is a gift and that God owns everything prompts a shift in our understanding of stewardship. We no longer see stewardship as just acts of giving. Through faith, we see stewardship as faithfully receiving and taking care of all that God entrusts to us.

What a privilege it is to enjoy, use, and manage what belongs to God. Everything ultimately belongs to God. It isn’t the other way around at all. We only think it is.

God be with you!
Pastor Hartwig

Dear Christian Friends:

Christ Is Risen!  Are you excited to start hearing that?  Me too!  How exciting it is as we move into the month where we will celebrate Christ’s victory over death and His resurrection, where He showed without a doubt that He truly is the Son of God.  Still, there are a lot of different rumors floating around about how this holiday got its origin, and whether or not a “good Christian” can celebrate a holiday named after an “Anglo-Saxon goddess”.  If you have never heard of these rumors, consider yourselves lucky.  If you have and they have left you thinking “why does the church celebrate Easter?  Did we re-appropriate an ancient pagan tradition for our own purposes?”  I hope to help you navigate these questions in this article.

I would like to start by dispelling a rumor that Easter is just the Roman Catholic church’s way of taking a pagan holiday named after the celebration of the Goddess of Spring named Ishtar and reforming it into a church celebration.  You must understand that those who make this claim do so based on an assumption that does not have definitive evidence.  People can be bold in making any statement they want when they are talking about “what if’s” that cannot be proven false.  What I mean by this is: they cannot prove this theory any more than you can disprove it.  However, even if the modern name of the holiday comes from a pagan tradition and even if secular traditions surrounding the holiday also come from that, Resurrection Day was celebrated long before it was assigned the name “easter” and egg hunts were started.  The celebration of Christ resurrection is, in fact, the oldest known church tradition, far exceeding the establishment of the papacy or even Emperor Constantine’s legalization of Christianity.   We have records from the Second Century… 100’s A.D. showing definitively that churches had already set aside one day out of the year to celebrate the resurrection, long before “easter” was designated to be the name of the celebration.

Another awesome thing to know about the celebration of Christ’s resurrection is that it is likely the reason we now worship on a Sunday rather than a Saturday (the traditional Jewish Sabbath).  This celebration was done on the “eight day” according to second century documents, and was considered to be the “Lord’s Day” as it was the day we celebrate His resurrection. Contrast this to the Christmas celebration, which there is no documented evidence for prior to the 4th century A.D.  What does this mean for us?  When we celebrate easter we join with Christians from the earliest churches in acknowledging the resurrection of Christ to be the greatest event in all of human history!

If you are tired of the commercialization of Easter and seeing all the bunnies and eggs around, that is perfectly understandable.  I also understand if you prefer to refer to it as “Resurrection Day” rather than “Easter.”  We certainly like to strip holidays of Christ in our modern culture, and that can be frustrating for those of us who know what the holiday is really about.  Still, be careful not to throw the baby out with the bathwater.  Rather than allowing Easter to be a time when you find yourself upset, perhaps you can use the cultural traditions around easter as a means of sharing the Gospel of Christ with those you wouldn’t otherwise be able to reach!

Regardless of what you choose to call it, or what traditions you choose to embrace during this season, my prayer is that you do not allow exterior factors to steal your joy at the celebration of what Christ has done for us.  This is an excellent time where our voices join with all Christians who compose the Body of Christ past, present, and future, in triumphantly proclaiming He Is Risen Indeed, Hallelujah!

In the love of Christ, Vicar Simmons

Dear Christian Friends:

As we progress into the penitent season of Lent, you may be wondering: “why name a season out of that flammable stuff I pull out of my dryer?”  First, it is the season of Lent, not the season of lint! Although, that would make for an interesting forty days… In all seriousness, Lent is an abbreviated version of the old English word lecten which means “spring season”.  We can be thankful it doesn’t still go by the old Latin name for it which was Quadragesima.  Try asking your friends what they’re planning on giving up for Quadragesima and you’re guaranteed to get weird looks.

The observance of the 40 day period before Easter can actually be traced all the way back to the 4^th century AD. (That’s less than 300 years after Paul was writing his letters!). Originally, it was a season of fasting where Christians would restrict their diets heavily to focus on prayer and reflect on what Christ gave up in order to free us from our sins.  Today, we still carry some of this tradition as many Christians also fast from one thing or another as part of their Lenten observance.

“But Why!” You might ask.  After all, Christ has absolved us from all of our sins!  Every day we are to die to sin and rise again with Christ. Why should these 40 days be any different from the other 325 days of the year?  The truth is Lent is not a requirement for a proper Christian life. You are certainly no more or less sinful during this season, nor are you any less forgiven of your sins.  Still, setting aside 40 days a year to really focus on how helpless we are in the face of sin is a beneficial practice, and it’s not completely foreign to us either.

We set aside time every year to celebrate birthdays, although we are no less alive any other day of the year.  Similarly, we celebrate anniversaries, though we are no less married any other day of the year.  We do the same for Mother’s Day, Father’s Day, Valentines Day, and the list goes on. The truth is, we don’t have the time on any given day to focus and reflect on all the things we should focus and reflect on.  We cannot dote on our mothers or fathers every day of the year, or have a party for the fact that we are alive every day, so we set aside one day to demonstrate how truly important these things are.

The season of Lent is no different.  It is a scheduled 40 days of the year where we are to remind ourselves of things that should always be very aware of: the damaging wickedness of our own sin. Praise God He did not leave us in this state, however.  Rather than awarding us the eternal hell and damnation we deserve, He sent His only Son to take on our flesh, die our death, and rise again as the first of the resurrection.  This season of Lent I invite you to set aside time to reflect on the terror of sin, that you may also hold fast to the beautiful love show for us by God in that, while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son to die for us.

In the love of Christ, Vicar Simmons

Dear Christian Friends:

Modern marketing statistics articulate that the average American is expected to see 4,000 – 10,000 ads… PER DAY.  Take a second to let that soak in.  I was aghast when I read this statistic as I would have never guessed the number to be so high in my life (but I certainly believe it!).  This means that 4,000 – 10,000 times a day, you look at something that has been specifically designed by paid and trained professionals to influence your brain into thinking in a certain way.  I don’t care how disciplined you may be, certainly some of these ads will accomplish their mission.

As I am sure you have seen, not every ad is innocent.  In fact, more and more ads are designed to lead us into some form of sin whether it be: envy, lust, materialism, or despair.  You see, every ad may be completely unique and offer products that are entirely different, but they all have one thing in common: they are designed to keep you from being joyful and content.  After all, nobody ever came up with a slogan “joyful contentment sells” because it just isn’t true.  For us Christians, this poses a problem, after all joyful contentment is the way St. Paul tells us we are to live (Philippians 4:11-13).  So what are we supposed to do?  Do we throw away our phones, move out into the middle of nowhere and go off the grid with nothing but a Bible and a roll of duct tape?  As tempting as that may sound for some of us, I’d like to offer a far more practical solution: we must be intentional about filling our mind with positive Biblical influences (Philippians 4:8).

This starts with getting into our Bibles daily.  For many of you, this is already a practice you are taking part of as you continue with our “Read Your Bible in 2 Years” plan.  For those that are finding it difficult, I fully understand, we all have busy schedules.  Still, you will always have time for the things in your life you prioritize.   When you consider all the other things in life that are specifically designed to draw you into idolatry and discontentment, escaping from these things regularly and filling yourself with the counsel of

Perhaps it would help to think about this from a different perspective.  When I was a criminal investigator, one of my favorite parts of the job was conducting interrogations.  This was not because I am particularly skilled at the actual interrogation portion, but rather because I loved the set up.  You see, half the battle with an interrogation is how you set up your interrogation room.  If you are able to create an environment that is friendly yet subliminally says “I have you dead to rights”, you start an interrogation having already accomplished half the battle.  Once the subject is in the room, you just talk friendly and confidently and allow their mind to wander.  Most individuals fall prey to the setup and, imagining you already know the whole story, confess fairly early with very little prompting.  Before they know it, they are shaking my hand and signing a statement swearing everything they said was the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth.  Often times, they would even thank me for listening to them confess to their crime.

Friends, Satan has your flesh dead to rights and he has set this world up to lead you right into his trap.  Your only chance to see through his schemes is to prioritize your faith.  Never forget, his goal is to have you smile and thank him as he leads you away from the salvation you have in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  There is no greater priority.

In the love of Christ, Vicar Simmons

Dear Christian friends:

Happy new you!  Yes, Art Linkletter, kids do say the darndest things.  After listening to a few Christmas songs, Micah (age 2) began saying, “Happy new you!”

We deduced he meant “Happy new year!”  But he got something right.

One author wrote:
The beginning of every year brings in new hope and enthusiasm. We look forward to a new beginning and hope things to improve from the last year. We like to forget about our pasts and its daunting memories and wish for a new start. Hence, New Year is celebrated with pomp and joy by every race around the world.

And Benjamin Franklin said:
Be always at war with your vices, at peace with your neighbors, and let each New Year find you a better man.

There is something about the New Year’s holiday where we focus on improving ourselves.
A 41 billion dollar industry can prove it.  Happy New You!
We look to books and videos and seminars.
We look to motivational speakers and mentors and personal coaches.

Each New Year’s Eve we look forward to the new year with a gleam of self-improvement.
Weight loss, stop smoking, exercising…
Financial management, time management, stress management…

All the while, Sunday during the divine service the dream of your heart and the gleam of your eye is obtained.  In the stead and by the command of my Lord, Jesus Christ, I forgive you all your sins, in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen!

Happy New You!  For you see, in that very moment you are new.
You don’t need to read books or watch videos or attend seminars.
You don’t need to listen to motivational speakers or find a mentor or hire a personal coach.
Christ forgives you and you are instantly new!

So as the clock strikes midnight and the new year begins, make your resolution.
Then become a new you and confess your sins!
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
Maybe we should celebrate with pomp and joy and the excitement of the New Year’s countdown the next time we have Confession and Absolution.

Merry Christmas and Happy New You!
Pastor Hartwig

Dear Christian Friends:

A new church-year is upon us.  The 27 long weeks of green have finally come to an end, and we can now pull out the beautiful blue colors as we reflect upon the season of Advent.  Because of this, it is only fitting that we take a moment to understand the way our church year is broken up.  It is rather simple, yet intentional and has been practiced for thousands of years.

Semester Domini: In Latin, “Semester” literally means 6 months.  Thus, the “Semester Domini” is 6 months of The Lord (Domini), which is the focus of the first 6 months of the church year.  It begins in Advent and ends with Christ’s Ascension.  This, of course, is not to say that the entire church year doesn’t center around Christ; however, the holidays and seasons of these 6 months focus on the life of Christ.  They begin with the Advent (anticipation), to the 12-day celebration of His birth (starting… not ending… on December 25^th).  Then we move into Epiphany and the Transfiguration. Lent is next, as we reflect upon Christ’s ministry and His path to the cross.  After this we proceed to the season of Easter which culminates in Ascension Day, which is typically celebrated on the Seventh (and last) Sunday of Easter.

Semester Ecclesia: The celebration of Pentecost begins the next 6 months of the church year, which is literally “6 months of the Church (Ecclesia)”.  During this time, our lectionary takes us through a few of the epistles from cover-to-cover and emphasizes what it looks like to live as the church.  During this time, we also get to enjoy a few breaks from the green paraments when we celebrate Reformation Day and All Saint’s Day. Compare these two holidays to those found during the Semester Domini.  Notice how they are focused on the lives of Christians (i.e. the church) rather than events from the life of Christ.

As Pastor Hartwig regularly discusses, it is essential that we know what we are doing and why we are doing it.  The Church year is a very thoroughly planned out structure that has been in place for thousands of years.  This intentionality allows us to receive the full council of Christ’s Body (that is the church) and grow and learn together as His people.

It is my prayer that, as you enter into this time of reflection, you enjoy the beauty and excitement that comes along with the Christmas season.  What a blessing it is to live in a time where we can so joyfully and publicly announce God’s greatest gift to the world, His Son, who brings with Him forgiveness of sins, salvation, and life everlasting.  Remember, although the sun may be absent for most of the month of December, the Son is certainly present with us as we celebrate His birth!  May His peace be upon you in this season.

In the love of Christ, Vicar Simmons

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ –

Jesus, speaking to His disciples, said, “A new command I give to you, that you love one another; just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are My disciples, ifyou have love for one another” (John 13:34-35).

“A new command.” Yet it is an old one. It was Moses, way back in the book of Leviticus, directed by God to speak His commands to His people, who said, “You shall not take vengeance.., but you shall love your neighbor as yourself, l am the Lord” (Leviticus 19:18).

Jesus amplified His command, however, We are to love, He said, “as I have loved you.”
We understand what Jesus is talking about for we know how He loved us.
He has loved us enough to leave the glories of Heaven.
He has loved us more than earthly power and status and honor.
He has loved us more than He loved His own life.

Jesus further said that love for one another would be the mark of members of the Family of God. Just as He gave sight to the blind, made the lame man walk, healed the sick, and preached the Gospel to eager ears, so did His followers. So should we today.

With the love of Christ in us…
Fourteen of members of the Panama Mission team traveled to Panama City, Panama to offer eyeglass clinics at the four churches of the Lutheran Church of Panama — El Redentor Lutheran Church in Balbo, Dios es Grande Lutheran Church in Loma Coba, Los Andes Mission Church, and Emanuel Lutheran Church in Sora. In five days we tested eyesight and gave out 1,120 pairs of glasses. During the clinics, we acted as the hands and feet of Jesus. We traveled to those in need and we served them.

Loving others as Christ has loved us means that we should be willing to lay down our lives for them. It means no less than laying down our lives.  This is a tall order.

Sinful beings that we are, we are not prone to love others as Christ has loved us. The apostle John tells us how it is possible: “Beloved, “he wrote in 1 John 4:7, “let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.”

We are born of God, and, by His grace, we can carry out His command to love one another through all the opportunities He gives us with all the gifts He gives us.

In the love of Christ, Pastor Hartwig