Behold the King is coming... to little baby Mary Jane!

When a king comes, you expect him to breeze right by the "little people" in search of those who are at least interesting, if not 'worthy' of him. But at the start of Advent, on December 2nd, 2001, the King of Kings and the Lord of the Universe, Jesus Christ the eternal Son of God, came... to dwell with little baby Mary Jane... and to fight all her battles for her!

This King does not come to gather praise and glory, as though they were His "bread and butter". He has all the praise and glory of heaven, and indeed, He has praise and glory in Himself -- He IS the glory of the Lord, what artists try to depict when they paint halos around the heads of believers in the Bible, or around the head of Christ Himself. Except that when Christ came, he set aside His "halo" and was no glow-in-the-dark Jesus -- He was so well hidden that it took angels lighting up the night sky and a wild-man prophet dressed in camel's hair to get peoples' attention and point to Him, "I tell you this night is born in the city of David a Saviour, who will be for all the people"; "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!"

Who is afraid of a baby? Not us. But the devil is; and our sinful flesh is. Christ our King has come to gather to himself the spiritually wounded, weak, and lowly, so that the battle that He has now fought to conquer sin, death, and the devil in the place of sinners might be for our benefits.

And that's why He baptized (that is, washed) little Mary Jane... with His Saving Name, with His death and His resurrection, with His forgiveness -- so that she would have a gift of a new heart, and a solid ground on which to build and rest her God-given faith in the Saviour God has supplied for her... and for you!

Behold, your King comes to you, to save you too! Don't miss it because you were blinded by all the fancy decorations! He comes through simple water and the Almighty and Saving Word of God!

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

The Gates of Heaven Opened Wide Enough for Two -- and more!

The gift of Holy Baptism was given by God -- through His Word combined with the water He commanded -- to not one, but TWO infants (Zackery and Kayley) this past September 9th, 2001, during the Divine Service at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, Moncton, NB, to wash their sins away through the merits of Christ Jesus, the crucified and risen One, the Son of God and the Saviour for sinners, and in order that these little ones might have a solid foundation for a Christ-centered life of repentance and glad faith: "I believe it because God told me so, and Jesus died on the cross to make it true!"

Our Lord Jesus Christ said to His apostles, just before His Ascension:

• "Go and make disciples of all nations..." (how could we make followers of Jesus out of those who are headed in a different direction, inevitably headed anywhere but in Jesus' direction, heading instead for sin, its shame, and its punishment?),


• "... baptizing them in the Name of the Father and of the + Son and of the Holy Spirit..." (Aha! GOD will do it, for we baptize with His Name and Word, at His command -- He is the One at work and able even to remove sin and its shame from us!),


• "... and teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you..." (and they will be preserved and rescued through the Words of Chirst, spoken to the Church for this very purpose).


• "... And, behold, + I am with you always, to the end of the age." (St. Matthew 28:19-20).

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!

Mounties 'Get Hitched' at Good Shepherd

On September 1st, 2001, Jim... and Rhonda... got married at Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in a simple ceremony and a dazzle of Mountie uniforms!

The + Peace of the Lord be with you always!