Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
Serving proudly since 1873 as the beautiful Nebraska Panhandle's first newspaper
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On Thursday, June 13, Sidney was at the center of the First National Eucharistic Pilgrimage, one of four routes traveled by walkers that will eventually converge in Indianapolis, Indiana. One of the organizers of the pilgrimage here in Sidney, Henrietta Pelster, helped coordinate the event, contacting media outlets like the Sun-Telegraph to get the message out that a historic event for the Catholic faith was going to be going through Sidney. Pelster is a Parish Council member at St. Patrick's Ch...
A man asked his pastor, “How do I make God’s voice louder…?” His pastor said, “God’s voice is as loud as it’s gonna get. Other things in your life have to get quieter so you can hear God better.” Pastor King Duncan said, “So, is that what we’re missing? Have other voices become so loud in our lives that they have drowned out God’s voice? We equate faith with healings and miracles and flashy evangelistic crusades where people shout and faint and speak in tongues. We want a loud, miraculous display of power to prove our faith. Instead, God p...
Of all the denominational traditions, Lutheranism is the only one that dedicates a Sunday to celebrate the legacy of the Reformation. Faithfulness to the day and the Reformation legacy, however, is not to celebrate the division of the church but to shine the bright light of the gospel and to remind the church that it is constantly being reformed. Reformation reminds us that God’s people have always needed renewal and reforming. The Babylonian exiles looked forward to their return to Jerusalem. Their return would be accompanied by the new h...
In the early 1900s, a man named A. T. Hiett moved to Sidney. It is likely he didn't expect his passion to influence the community for 110 years later. Hiett “lost no time in trying to establish a branch of the then-named Church of Christ,” according to “The First Christian Church of Sidney, Nebraska, Early History (March 12, 1912 to December 31, 1925).” The First Christian Church of Sidney has closed, but the building remains. A couple recently purchased the church building and are reopeni...
Many years ago, as a young woman, I was visiting with my grandfather in his later years. We were having a heart-to-heart talk. In the course of the conversation, I thanked him for sharing his Lutheran faith with our family. I thought what I had said would please him, but to my amazement, he shook his head and looked sternly at me. In his strong Swedish accent he replied, “No, no, Jan! It is not Lutheran. …. It is Jesus!” Now let me be clear here. My Grandfather loved his church and was in the pew every Sunday. As a young man, he brought his d...
Rest. You may say, “rest, what is that?” But it is necessary. In fact it is a something all of us need to do (and be better at). From the Beginning, the Father knew we needed rest, so He sat a specific time aside for us to do just that, both physically and spiritually. When we think of rest, we ultimately think, nap or sleep. That is physical rest. We need to sleep so our bodies and brains can function properly. Did you know that in the United States more than 60 percent of people do not get the amount of sleep that their body physically req...
Matthew 16:26: “What good will it be for a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul?” Bill Haber was once one of the most powerful people in Hollywood. For 30 years, his life consisted of making and breaking the careers of movie stars, and he did his job well. Then, in 1995, Haber left Hollywood and migrated to the nonprofit organization “Save The Children”where he supervised 4,000 employees in 41 countries. He left behind the glitz and glamor of Hollywood for the day-in-day-out realities of starving kids. Why would he make such a...
‘Loneliness’ is perhaps the most primitive of all human emotions. The Bible tells us this. God saw that man was alone. Giving him a partner in the form of a woman was the solution to it. Some people see even the creation of humans itself as an effort from the part of God, in order to escape from God’s own loneliness. Let’s look at it this way. The creation story in Genesis tells us that in five days God created everything – the earth, the Sun, the sky, the stars, the planets, the rivers and the seas, the hills and the valleys, the flowers,...
Some years ago, following fellowship dinner at church, the folks would gather together and have a good old fashioned testimony service with singing, sharing of blessings and telling what the Lord has done in their lives. The experience was like the words of the old song, “Count your blessings, name them one by one, count your many blessings, see what God hath done.” Singing for Jesus is all about the powerful sharing of our personal testimony, letting people know what the Lord has done or is doing in our life. I believe it would do us all wel...
What do we seek in Life? Some seek wealth, some good health some are looking for Peace. The Word seek has several definitions, To search out, to look for, to go searching for, or to seek to find. The best way I have found is to Seek after GOD. Why? First GOD wants to be found, in Matt 7:7 the Word of GOD states seek and you will find. So how do I seek after GOD, in Deuteronomy 4: 29 GOD’S word speaks about seeking GOD with your Whole heart and soul, and again in Jeremiah 29:13, seeking GOD with you whole heart. So, what does it mean with y...
I Love Meditating on the things God Has done for Me (us) in Christ Jesus And who i am in Christ and who Christ is in me. That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, concerning the Word of life — the life was manifested, and we have seen, and bear witness, and declare to you that eternal life which was with the Father and was manifested to us — that which we have seen and heard we declare to you...
In Luke 12.16-19 there’s a total of 11 personal pronouns: I – I – My – I – I – My – I – My – My – I – My. Read for yourself: “Jesus told them this parable: The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store MY crops.’ “Then he said, ‘This is what I will do. I will tear down MY barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all MY grain and MY goods. And I will say to MYself, ‘You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink, and be mer...
In her book How to Lead When You Don’t Know Where You’re Going, author Susan Beaumont discusses the liminal spaces many of us are facing. She writes, How do you lead an organization stuck between an ending and a new beginning – when the old way of doing things no longer works but a way forward is not yet clear? Beaumont calls such in-between times liminal seasons – threshold times when the continuity of tradition disintegrates, and uncertainty about the future fuels doubt and chaos. In a liminal season, it simply is not helpful to pretend...
The Lutheran Church first made its presence known in eastern Cheyenne County in the late 1800s. St. John’s Lutheran Church occupied a site northwest of the Village of Lodgepole, On Aug. 21, the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church will celebrate 100 years of service to the Lodgepole area. The Gloria Dei Lutheran Church traces its history to a time when the environment was rough, the people were few, but those who came were a hearty stock who didn’t give in easily. It was an area occupied by hom...
Recently, I was surfing the Christian TV channels and couldn’t help but notice that all of the Pastors was preaching on the challenges of our world today. There is, indeed, a lot of troubles that a lot of people are trying to work through. We know there is bound to be trouble in our lives… sometimes more, sometimes less. That has always been a fact. Those times can be tough! King David certainly had his share of trials, even though he was special to God and a forefather of Jesus. No one is exempt from trouble because we live in a fallen wor...
Over the last several months, I have had the blessing to disciple and train a young man that is preparing to be on the mission field in many countries, helping to combat human trafficking and work in family ministry. It has been such a refreshing blessing to see his heart for the Lord and for others to know Christ. It has reminded me over and over again about my own family’s journey, and as North American Mission Board Missionaries, what our call really is. It isn’t to lead a church or manage meetings, but to live a life on mission pro...
Matt 1:6 “And Jess the father of King David, David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife.” Matthew reports the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Messiah, “The son of David, son of Abraham (v.1).” He goes all the way back to Abraham, who obeyed God’s call to leave his homeland and establish a new nation. Matthew highlights David, who became Israel’s greatest king. This is significant because Jesus was referred to as “The Son of David” during His ministry. But notice what Matthew does when he reports that David is Solomon...
He can tell a person of how rough life has been. She can share personal experiences of how all that glitters is not gold. They will also without second thought tell how life is more than the struggles, and there is a way above the dark of midnight. At 940 13th St., in Sidney stands a church building that had been occupied by the First Christian Church. The church closed and has remained vacant until recently when it was purchased by Mike and Christel Anderson. The Andersons are reopening the...
4 Again Jesus began to teach by the lake. The crowd that gathered around him was so large that he got into a boat and sat in it out on the lake, while all the people were along the shore at the water’s edge. 2 He taught them many things by parables, and in his teaching said: 3 “Listen! A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun...
I believe we were created to be related. How do I know? Because God said in the beginning, “It is not good for humans to be alone.” (Gen. 2:18) God intended for us to live in groups or community. We were brought into existence for relationships and fellowship. But not all groups are caring and serve one another. The composition teacher asked the 4th grade class to write about an unusual event that happened during the past week. Little Johnny got up and read his essay. It began, “Daddy fell into the well last week...” Oh, my!” the teacher e...
In today’s world it’s all about me, and what I want and how I feel. We don’t live in a Bubble everything we do or say effects somebody else, In Matthew Chapter 7 the Bible first tells us not to judge others, for in the manner, you judge is the same way you will be judged, the chapter goes on to tell us to stop looking at everyone else’s Faults and take care of your own instead. Chapter 7 goes on to say he who asks will receives, they that seek will find, and the person who knocks the door will be opened to them, this is referring to asking,...
Jesus’ invitation has always been – and will always be – an invitation to action RIGHT NOW! Procrastination is a major problem in people’s lives – and it’s ALWAYS a stumbling block to progress. I’m awful about procrastinating, and for a long time, my motto was, “Why put off until tomorrow the things you can put off until next week…!” At one point in my life, I was so bad about gettin’ things done I even started putting off procrastinating! When I finally accepted my call into ministry, I had been stallin’ and puttin’ Jesus off for 18 years! I...
Most weeks we use the words of the Apostles Creed to confess our faith. The third article of the creed reads as follows: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting, Amen.” Martin Luther said “being made holy” is expressed and portrayed through the office of the Holy Spirit; meaning the Holy Spirit’s agency makes us holy. Luther goes on to say that we must concentrate on the term “Holy Spirit” because we can find no other name. O...
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Matthew 6:34 This is the Bible verse my Dad wrote in the Bible that he and my Mom gave to me many years ago when I was a young woman. I have referred to and counted on that verse many times in the years gone by and continue to hold it close in my daily life. ……one day at a time. I have heard many of you express the same sentiment as we journey through the turmoil going on in the world today and in our personal lives. It is a...
Discipleship. We hear that word thrown around a lot in western churchianity. Almost always it relates to a curriculum, program or a process. But What is it really? What does it mean, and how does one become a disciple of Jesus Christ? First and foremost, when we use the term disciple/ discipleship we must start with a biblical understanding of what a disciple is. A disciple was and is someone who wholeheartedly submits to the authority and teaching of Another. Not only do they learn, but they put into practice what they have learned. For one th...
