Pastor Jeremy Laitinen
St. Michael
To the Point of Death: Body and Blood
To the Point of Death: The Keys of Heaven and Hell
To the Point of Death: From Depths of Woe
A Water Station on the Marathon of Life
Thank you, God! This Changes Everything!
The Light Shining in the Darkness
God Saves through the Washing of Rebirth
Is it okay to celebrate birthdays? Years ago, musicians sang a hit song about a birthday girl feeling miserable at her own party. We’ve all known of or felt it personally when the birthday star is the one who has the worst time at the party. And lots of people don’t want anyone drawing attention to them getting another year older.
To the Point of Death: Buried through Baptism
Naaman is the commander of Aram’s army. He is a powerful warrior and a great man in the eyes of the king (2 Kings 5:1). But he has a problem. A big one. He also has leprosy. An even bigger problem is that he is a pagan – an unbeliever.
A servant girl from Israel tells Naaman, “Master, you’re a leper. No big deal. My God can fix that. Go see his prophet in Samaria” (2 Kings 5:3). When Naaman arrives at the prophet Elisha’s home, Elisha sends out a messenger who tells the leprous pagan commander, “Go and wash seven times in the Jordan. Then your flesh will be restored and you will be clean” (2 Kings 5:10).