A Sermon for Holy Cross Day & Current Events

[Adapted from my sermon on September 14, 2025]

Brothers and sisters in Christ, grace and peace to you, Amen.

What a world. Will the tragedies and heartbreak ever end?  Will mankind ever tire of the bloodlust we have in our hearts so full of hatred and violence?  It was 23 days ago that a Ukrainian refugee, a defenseless woman who was minding her own business in her seat on a train, was senselessly and inhumanely attacked and murdered.  We cannot even begin to imagine what kind of madness moves a human to do that to another.  It was 24 years ago just this past Thursday, September 11, that the equally inhumane attacks took place in New York and on our nation’s capital.  Planes flown into buildings.  Innocent people attacked and murdered.  This past Wednesday another attack on our kids in a school in Evergreen, Colorado.  More senseless, inexplicable violence.  What is the mental illness that moves these individuals to continue to copycat the hatred of others in attacking children in schools?  

The Cost of Discipleship

[This is my Faith Post for September 2025.] 
[Adapted from my sermon on September 7, 2025]

Around the year 200 AD was a young 20-something year old woman named Perpetua.  She was married and had an infant son whom she still nursed.  She came from a well-to-do family.  Her father was a pagan man but she had been introduced to Christ.  She was a self-professed Christian.  She lived in an era where Christians were under great persecution by the Roman Emperor and it happened she was arrested because of her faith in Carthage, North Africa.  In the midst of this she was also a writer.  She recorded the events of her imprisonment. Her writings are considered to be the earliest of any Christian woman in the history of the church.  

Mackinac Bridge Labor Day Walk 2025

This is a true Pure Michigan Classic. After having lived in Michigan for 19 years we decided it was time for us to join the tradition and take part in the Mackinac Bridge Walk. It's one of those things that's such a big deal, in particular for the bridge to be shut to traffic for 5 1/2 hours, that you see road signs reminding residents about it for months on end in all corners of the state, even hundreds of miles away.

For us this became a matter of fortuitous timing. My son Seth and I were already planning to travel up to Marquette in the U.P. to run a marathon on Saturday of Labor Day weekend, and it became obvious that while up north on Labor Day one needs to hit the bridge and so we did. The walk itself is free and open to all and we saw on our day people of all ages from young to old, and of all abilities. There were babies in wagons and elderly in wheelchairs. There was a strong sense of community and American spirit and all of that made for a wonderful event.

Marquette Marathon 2025

For about a year now my son Seth has been expressing his desire to run his first full marathon. We've done a couple of trail half marathons together and he had done training runs up to 16 miles on his own. He certainly appeared ready and able to handle the preparation and ultimately the race itself. The question then became which race and when. We had to balance his school schedule as well as cross-country, soccer, and track seasons to make sure the race we picked would fit all of it. We also wanted a race that would be on a fun course and a worthwhile first experience.

The Grand Teton, Grand Teton National Park, WY

The Grand Teton, Picture below taken Wednesday, August 20, 2025

The Grand Teton has been on my bucket list for some time after completing the Colorado 14ers 10 years ago with the summit of Capitol Peak. I was looking for something challenging that could incorporate my route finding skills from the 14ers and my rock climbing skills from my years of technical climbing. This created a bit of a conundrum with the Grand Teton because with any technical climb, you need a partner with equal or better skills than you to help belay. After asking around for some time if anyone was interested in joining me, and turning down several who had no idea about the technical nature of what I was seeking, I asked a caving expert from our church, Grace Lutheran in Little Rock, if he had any interest in the Grand Teton. He had already completed a guided hike of Mount Rainier many years ago and continues caving to this day. Shaun Baker quickly got back with me and said, "Yes, that sounds like fun!" He said he had the technical skill but had never done a high alpine climb before and so this started to interest him. Both of our talents started to mesh well as most of my experience was in high alpine environments with route finding capability and his with technical rigging. You need both to climb the Grand Teton.

Makapu'u Point Trail

My family and I found our way here at the tail end of a 10-day Hawaiian trip that included a 7-day Inter-Island Hawaiian Cruise. On our last day we disembarked our ship at 8am and had until 9pm when our flights left. We decided upon a tour of the east side of Oahu which included lunch in Kaneohe and then a drive down the coast past the beautiful Waimanalo Beach culminating at Makapu'u Point.

Pu'u Hinahina Trail

.Waimea Canyon State Park is one of the geological highlights of Kauai, and that's saying something on an island full of great sights. Many call the Canyon the "Grand Canyon of Hawaii" and it is a title well deserved. I would compare some of its better overlooks to that of Zion National Park, no joke.

While I wish we had time for a more full hike in the canyon we decided to at least do a little something during our visit. From the Pu'u Hinahina Parking Area there is trailhead signage for the Canyon Trail. I honestly thought we were starting onto the Canyon Trail but other trail sites suggest that's not what we did. Rather we were on a Pu'u Hinahina connector trail that heads to the lookout and the actual Canyon Trail. Either way, we made the nice hike down to a cliff overlook and enjoyed the sights. The trail started flat and then eventually began a steep and very rooted descent. It then began to climb again and this confused me. I thought we were still heading north and it felt like we were climbing back up to the Canyon Road where we started. In actuality, we had descended down to the Halemanu Stream bed and the ascent was coming back up the other side to the overlook. The jungle forest was so thick it was truly hard to keep bearings. We encountered a steady stream of hikers along the trail. The overlook had a guard rail as it very dramatically was on a cliff with a deadly dropoff. The trail was entirely in the trees until we reached the overlook.

1974 Lava Flow (Hawaii Volcanoes)

There was no trail here, but there was plenty to explore. As we drove the Chain of Craters Road through Hawaii Volcanoes National Park we saw the parking and the signs for Luamanu Crater. What we found even more interesting than the crater was the 1974 Lava Flow. It was easily walkable and gave plenty of room for adult and kid alike to explore this unique landscape. If time had allowed we would have been able to go much further. We wondered if this flow came from the Keanakako'l Crater which the maps suggest. It would be reasonable to conclude all of these flows and craters connect back to the Kilauea Volcano.

Sliding Sands Trail (Haleakala)

The Sliding Sands, or Keonehe’ehe’e Trail is the easiest and best ways to hike into the Haleakalā crater. We used it as a way to get just a tip of the iceberg taste of hiking here. I stumbled upon it as an idea on another site which recommended the Sliding Trails trail as a combo with the Halemau'u Trail. From one trailhead to the other was 11.4 miles and would cover gorgeous terrain. We were planning this in the middle of a family visit to Maui and in particular the Haleakala Sunrise. We had our reservation in places for the Sunrise and our whole family group of 15 would be up there in 3 rental jeeps. We just had to figure out who was hiking and who wasn't and how to handle the vehicles. If we did this great combo hike we'd have to shuttle vehicles between trailheads or figure something else.

Diamond Head Crater

We got to Diamond Head parking at 753. It was interesting driving through the one-lane tunnel to get into the Crater area. The entry gate didn't make a big deal we were 7 minutes early. The hike up Diamond Head was fantastic. The early part was paved nicely and then eventually it changes into a nice switching backing trail. It was mostly slabby rocks and firm trail the whole way, very sustainable for the large crowds. Railings were on the sides of the trail for much of it. Near the top there was a long staircase and then a walking tunnel we went through. At the top of the tunnel there was a trail option. Another steep staircase which would lead into the bunkers or a more gradual ascending trail to the summit area.

Mt. Democrat 2025

There were some who questioned our decision to hike the Decalibron on the 4th of July with all the potential crowds. It was a reasonable question. But the crowds weren't the issue for us today. While there were a fair amount of people on trail in the relatively short time we were up there, that wasn't really the problem. In fact, we've now spent 2 years in a row on 14ers on the 4th of July and it becomes quite fun to wish random people on the trail "Happy 4th" as you enjoy what should be a favorite pastime of America: enjoying our beautiful outdoors.

Mt. Massive and South Massive Peak

The North Halfmoon Creek basin is quite the lovely place. I've been eyeing some camping and exploring up there for several years now. My brother and I had at one time planned a summit of Oklahoma with a traverse over to Massive but it never quite came to fruition.

As my father and I looked for backpacking and camp options for our 2025 travel I planned a return to the basin. The initial plan was to camp and likely hit Oklahoma. It seems a great Centennial summit and a fun bit of bushwhacking to get it. When my two sons and I finally got down to it we ultimately decided on Massive so they could get a new 14er summit. We made plans for the Southwest Ridge route on Massive which my father and I had previously done in 2018.

Lake Ann to Hartenstein Lake Backpacking

Approaching Brown's Pass with
13er Magdalen Mt in background

With options wide open for us and a summer 2025 Colorado trip we explored wide and far what we might do. Did we want dayhikes and summits? Did we want backpacking? As much as I love a good summit, I equally loved it when my boys said backpacking would be fun. I explored options in the San Juans, in the Gores, in the Sangres and our beloved Sawatch. While some tempting options came forward in every range we finally settled on the "easier" answer of sticking to our familiar Sawatch. No reservations or permits needed. No extra hours of driving. Close and familiar.

My father had spoken for years of having a hike up to Lake Ann. Pretty much everytime we went in to summit Huron Peak we looked with interest at the trail breaking off to Lake Ann. I decided now was the time and looked for ways to pair Lake Ann with something like a full backpacking loop. Couple this with meeting the needs of our family on this trip. My father was joyful to join us for some backpacking but he is also in his 70s and his ability for distance is not quite what it used to be. On the other hand my boys and I are happy to cover some miles on the trail (that being true, mostly regarding me). We settled on a plan where the four of us hike together to Lake Ann to camp. the next day my father hike's out to the Jeep and drives it around to the Denny Creek TH. He hikes up to Hartenstein Lake to await us. His mileage is relatively short and he gets to enjoy both lakes with us. The younger crew hikes the 15+ miles of trail in between. It was a great plan, now just to bring it to fruition.

Trip Summary:
June 30 Clear Creek Trailhead to a camp just below Lake Ann following the Colorado Trail/Continental Divide Trail. July 1 Camp to Lake Ann to the Lake Ann Pass. Following the Timberline Trail to the Texas Creek Trail and then to the Brown's Pass Trail. Camped at the Brown's Pass Trail Jct with the Hartenstein Lake Trail July 2

Hartenstein Lake Trail out and back, then the Denny Creek trail out to the Trailhead.

Stat Totals: 30.04 miles 5923 ft. ascent 6261 ft. descent

Hope

[This is my Faith Post for June 2025.] 
[Edited from my Ascension Day Sermon, May 29, 2025]

Past, present, and future, together all play a role in defining our lives and who we are and what we will be. God’s Word speaks clearly to all three and what God is doing for us in our lives.  When it comes to our past, we might look at this with guilt and shame.  We have memories of poor choices and sins of our own making.  We might also bear sorrow and loss when we think of our past. Hopefully we also have a few joyful memories to treasure in our past as well.  But when God looks at our past, He does so with forgiveness and mercy.  This is the benefit of Baptism and being an adopted child of God.  Our past sins are forgiven and we enter each new day of the present with a clean slate, washed by the blood of the Lamb.

Bring This Man's Blood Upon Us

 [This is my Faith Post for May 2025.] 

In my congregation this past weekend we read Acts 5:12-32, a passage which recounts the preaching and teaching of the Apostles Peter and John in Jerusalem.  They are preaching in a post-resurrection and post-Pentecost context.  That gives Peter and John plenty of life-saving content to share and also supreme confidence and hope in what they are doing.  They get to preach about the Author of Life.  They get to heal the sick, drive out demons, and enjoy a front-row seat at being a part of the Kingdom of God ushering into this world.  They get to see the full power and authority of Jesus on display through their own fingertips and words.

Babies & Baptism

 [This is my Faith Post for April 2025.] 

I've been blessed to get some baby time lately. I have a new niece and our family spent spring break getting to meet her.  While I've been through my fair share of baby time in my years (*ahem* 5 kids) my youngest is now 3+ and those days are increasingly behind us. Still, there is nothing quite like holding a newborn in your arms.

I've also spent a fair amount of time thinking about baptism lately.  I've been in the midst of several new member classes at my church and with each of them the topic of baptism comes up. I also met with a younger couple at my church preparing for the baptism of their first-born and we went through the nice review of Baptism and its ins and outs. 

Babies and baptism make a great combination, without a doubt.  Being a Lutheran pastor I spend a fair amount of time teaching and preaching on this very thing.  The Scriptures are quite clear on what a wonderful thing it is to baptize, and babies are surely a part of it.  Nonetheless, not all of Christianity agrees with this sentiment.  That's unfortunate.

What If ... Joseph?

 [This is my Faith Post for March 2025.] 

I am always moved by the words of Genesis 45:3 "I am Joseph! Is my father still alive?”  These words come from the great reunion of Joseph and his brothers.  After many years of Joseph living in Egypt, having been sold off as a slave, and then imprisoned and forgotten, there is a moment of reckoning and reconciliation.  In those words Joseph reveals his true identity to the brothers who for all intents and purposes thought him dead.  No doubt the brothers are shocked ... and likely mortally afraid.  But Joseph comes at it from a different emotion.  He is full of joy.  He is full of tears.  He is ready to be reconciled to these brothers who had wronged him terribly.

In the conversation that ensues Joseph makes a pretty spectacular claim about all the events that have transpired to this moment.  In Genesis 45:7 he says "God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God."

Release

[This is my Faith Post for February 2025.] 

It was early in his earthly ministry that Jesus makes a public return to His hometown of Nazareth.  One must certainly wonder what that relationship looked like with these citizens who had witnessed the growth and maturity of Jesus as He went from infant to boyhood and eventually manhood.  They got to see the teenage Jesus, something the Scriptures leave out for the rest of us.  What did they think of Him now that He returns as a man.  And not just any man.  He has a reputation with Him already.  He is a miracle-worker, a great teacher.  And for those of us who know the whole story, He is also the Messiah, the Christ, God in the flesh.  Will the Nazarenes see that?

The Great Exchange

[This is my Faith Post for January 2025.] 

This post is adapted from my Christmas Eve Sermon from 2024.

The year was 1867.  The Russian Empire was deciding what to do with the great Territory of Alaska.  The land was thought to be mostly barren and uninhabitable.  There was little interest in settling it further and so they looked to sell it off.  Enter US Secretary of State William Seward.  He began negotiations with the Russian diplomat and eventually a treaty was signed for the sale of Alaska to the United States. It was sold for the sum of $7.2 million which amounted to about $0.02 per acre. Many in America thought the purchase to be useless and a fool’s bargain, it was called by some Seward’s Folly.