I have asked that you get a special insert in the newsletter this month. We have been studying First Peter in Bible Class. I am inviting you to concentrate on this letter with me during 2008. We will reflect on parts of it in the newsletter each month. I invite you to put in a special place the printed version of 1 Peter, along with a powerful hymn of Luther and my translation of Luther's explanations to the three articles of the Apostles' Creed.

I encourage you to read this letter at least once a week. This will help you to focus on words from the Holy Spirit to a congregation that came into being among those who were not interested in the Gospel and were even hostile to it. We assume that our fellow citizens are favorable toward or accepting of our faith in Jesus Christ. But that is not always so. It is easy to be lulled into keeping the Good News to ourselves or forgetting how central it is to our eternal life and daily life. We need to strengthen our Christian community, to gather together to worship and study the Scriptures, and to be proud of our gentle witness to the eternal life given us in Christ.

1 Peter 1:1-12 sounds a wonderful high note. The news is that God the Holy Spirit makes us holy, perfectly holy in his sight, that we might walk through this world honoring the Father as our Lord did. Our allegiance is most importantly to our Savior and Lord. We GET to boast and brag of our forgiveness and eternal life, not of our own goodness. The world tries to keep our eyes on paying bills, buying things, getting along in silence, and pretty much wondering what life is all about. But we are able to do more than keep our nose above water. We get to thank and praise, serve and obey the God who created and owns the whole universe, including our own bodies and souls, those of our dear family members and friends, and even those who irritate us. Our gaze goes right up into the heavens!

We will begin, already this month, to remember our Lord's slow trail to take our death on the cross and commence next month with his glorious resurrection. So we have a living hope. Everything temporal has its ups and downs. Not our relationship with the Triune God! That is steady forever. Peter says so to people then and to us now. Suffering in our life does not come from God, since that is finished for us on the cross. It comes from a world that makes it seem foolish for us to believe.

Peter writes to various communities of Christians. We need each other. We certainly need to get to know each other better and carry each other on our hearts. The Holy Spirit has drawn each of us to be members of this body of believers, to worship, praise, and serve him. Please make it your weekly plan to worship, study, and serve the one who will give all of us the benefits of life everlasting. If you have not refreshed your faith in a Life with God class recently, please join with us Monday, February 11 (6:30-8:30 PM). Bring others that they too might be touched by the really Good News. I am here to assist you in your mission for our Lord.

In Christ our Lord and Savior,
Pastor Thomas Trapp