(Here is my sermon from yesterday in response to Genesis 1:1-5 and Mark 1:4-11. You can find the entire service at www.stephenlc.org). Martin Luther is quoted as saying that you are not only responsible for what you say, but also what you do not say.  Important words on a day...

I’m processing what happened on Epiphany, January 6. I’ve gone from shock to anger. That will change to sadness and then something else after that. Time will move me along in my processing of this. The hardest part for me is thinking back to my days working on Capitol...

Thursday, January 7, 2021 A Pastoral letter in response to the events at the US Capitol on January 6, 2021 by the Rev. Matthew Best Dear members, friends, and faithful disciples at St. Stephen Lutheran Church, Psalm 6:2-3 states: “Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing;...

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Prayer for January 6, 2021: Please pray with me. Lord of all creation, Lord of all the nations, hear us. In Psalm 120, it is written “In my distress I cry to the Lord, that he may answer me.” We cry out to you Holy One. Answer us. We...

Recently I read “Trouble I’ve Seen,” by Drew Hart. It’s a great book and I highly recommend it. It fed my soul. It is about race and the Kingdom of God and what it means to follow Jesus. And that short description doesn’t do it justice. One of the...

Prayer for January 5, 2021: Please pray with me. God help us! Please make the insanity that exists in our country stop. Please make the people who are causing chaos stop. Please help me to better see the Image of God in these people, because I’m having a difficult...

It doesn’t happen often. But I’m at a loss of what to say. Yet, here I am writing anyway. I’m not exactly sure what this post will turn into honestly. It could take a variety of roads. So what has put me into this state of uncertainty??? Actually, it’s...

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Prayer for January 4, 2021: Please pray with me. God who pays attention, you watch what goes on. I imagine you do a face palm often as you watch humanity make the same mistakes over and over again, regardless of the time or place. We think we know what...