Pastor's Corner

FILLED WITH HOPE

I recently visited a man in the hospital who was very ill. In fact, the doctors weren’t certain that he would survive. His life literally “hung in the balance.” But looking into his eyes, I could see that this man – while frightened – was not overwhelmed by fear. Indeed, he was serene, confident, and filled with hope.

How could this be? Well, my friends, this man was prepared for the time he would stare death in the face. His parents had raised him in the Christian faith. He attended worship and Sunday School as a child. He went to confirmation classes and was confirmed in the Lutheran Church. Throughout his adult life, he regularly fed his faith upon Word and Sacrament ministry. As result, he had a humble trusting faith in Jesus as his Savior. His faith enabled him to face an uncertain future with hope and peace!

So how about you and me? Are we ready to stare death in the face? Are we prepared to face an uncertain future? And how about our children and our grandchildren? Do they have a humble, trusting faith in Jesus Christ?

My friends, God wants to fill us with the hope that is available in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! Jesus – the babe born at Bethlehem – grew and lived a perfect life. What’s more, He ultimately took all our sins and shortcomings upon Himself and received the punishment that we rightly deserved. Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead for our forgiveness and eternal salvation. Therefore, trusting in Him and His saving work, we need not fear the future! As we feed the faith God richly bestowed upon us in Holy Baptism through God’s Holy Word and Holy Sacraments, we can be certain that “nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

So then, as we begin the New Year, let’s resolve to regularly feed our faith upon God's Holy Word and life-giving sacraments. Let's resolve to

regularly bring our children to Sunday School and attend Adult Bible Class. Let’s resolve to read Scripture, read our devotions, read Bible stories and pray with our children. Let's resolve to prepare to face death by feeding our faith and growing closer to our Savior, Jesus!

See you in God's House,

Pastor Schwartz

Meet Pastor Schwartz, Gretchen, and Andrew!

Pastor Nathaniel Schwartz graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, with a Master of Divinity (M. Div.) in 1989 and a Master of Sacred Theology (S.T.M) in 1995. He was pastor of St. Paul Lutheran Church of Lexington, Illinois, from June of 1990 to October of 1994. On November 6, 1994, he was installed as pastor of Beautiful Savior Lutheran Church.

Since that time our church body has seen tremendous growth. Our average weekend attendance in 2008 was 314, including Saturday evening and Sunday morning. Our Sunday School/Bible Class attendance lately has been averaging about 110. We are a growing family that seeks to reach out even more into the community with the love of Jesus.

"Pastor" is a Latin word that means "shepherd". Pastor Schwartz sees himself as a shepherd who has been placed here by God to care for the sheep (God's people) in this place. He believes that as the under shepherd of the Good Shepherd he is faithfully to follow the example set by Jesus Christ who laid down His life for the sheep. Therefore, he joyfully and consistently goes the extra mile to care for God's people and to be "Jesus with skin on" to them whether they are grieving difficult times or are joyfully celebrating God's many blessings.

Email: Pastor Schwartz