Friends of Immanuel,

One of the great things about Immanuel is that we have opportunities for people of all ages to learn, grow, serve, and be engaged in the Lord’s ministry here. We have people across all age demographics represented – and that is awesome! Today I want to highlight our senior adult ministry, the Young At Hearts (YAH). This is such an active group – you see the various activities and events regularly in these email updates. Jim Found leads the charge of this ministry (among others!) and seems to be a man of endless energy. So what’s happening with the Young At Hearts? Read on!

Tomorrow, THIS Friday, February 20^th at 1:00pm here at Immanuel, Justin and Jordan Logston, members of Imanuel and YOUR missionaries, will speak to Immanuel’s Young At Hearts group (YAH) and will share about the Lord's work across Latin America and the Caribbean. Their new role at the regional office based out of the Dominican Republic has been very eye-opening in how the Lutheran Church has grown in almost every country in South America, Central America, and the Caribbean. Come and learn more – all are welcome. Any questions can be directed to Jim Found (inquirer.jim@gmail.com, 970-663-5490).

Another big event for the YAH is coming up on Sunday, March 1^st – an annual luncheon for all of retirement age. Last year there were 55 people who joined together for a free lunch right here at Immanuel after the late worship service. If you are considering attending this event, please note that the deadline for registering is THIS Sunday, February 22^nd, so plans can be made for enough food and enough tables and chairs. It was a fun event last year, being able to hear some of the many ways our Immanuel senior adults are involved in so many ways in sharing their faith and sharing Jesus’ love in our greater Loveland community. Thank you to all those who have already registered! To register, you may contact Jim Found by phone or email, put a note in Jim’s church mailbox, or use the sign-up on the table in the atrium.

In addition, there are all of these upcoming opportunities:

• Thursday, February 26^th, 11:30am – Eat together at Doug’s Diner (29^th Street)
• Tuesday, March 3^rd, 7:00pm – Christ our Savior Lutheran Church at 640 Alpine Street is hosting a Guest Speaker on Islam named Rev., Hesham Shahab. He was raised as a Muslim in Lebanon, and is now an LCMS pastor.
• Friday, March 20^th, 1:00pm at Immanuel – Nolan Wittrock speaking about legal aspects of estate administration
• Friday, April 17^th, 1:00pm at Immanuel – Slide show by Jon Kindschy of his nature pictures
• Friday, May 15^th, 1:00pm at Immanuel – Ronnie Gray speaking about working with people in prison

What a blessing to have so many opportunities like these! And what a blessing to have a leader like Jim – thank you, Jim, for your love for Jesus and for your desire to help people grow together in Him!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

On Wednesday we begin a new season of the Church Year – the season of Lent. Historically, the season of Lent is a more somber and reflective season. The traditional themes of Lent are prayer, fasting, and almsgiving (helping, serving, and giving to those in need). Lent is 40 days, not counting Sundays (which are always “little Easter” celebrations), beginning on Ash Wednesday and going through Easter Saturday.

Ash Wednesday begins the season on Lent, and we will have worship services at 1:00pm and 7:00pm which will include the Lord's Supper as well as the Imposition of Ashes. You may be wondering why we use ashes and what their significance is. Ash Wednesday is intended to be a bold confrontation with death—“Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.” (Genesis 3:19) The ashes, a sign of death, are put on our forehead not in a random pattern but in the shape of a cross which changes everything. We will die, but when baptized into Christ’s death, we will also rise with Christ (Romans 6:5). Death is our enemy (1 Corinthians 15:26), but we need not fear death as nothing can separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 8:39).

Ash Wednesday will also mark the beginning of our new Lent worship series. This year we’re going to Worship in the Wilderness. Our desire to live as Jesus did must involve us following Him into the wilderness. He invites us to journey with Him through forty days of testing, prayer, reflection, and transformation. This series and the accompanying Personal Devotions book are designed to help each of us walk though this Spirit-filled, sacrificial, and surprising journey together.

In Scripture, wilderness does not have one simple meaning. Instead, it is a rich metaphor which holds various things in tension. On the most basic level, the desert was a dry, lifeless, and lawless place, which made the Israelites confront their fears, frailty, and mortality. Their experience after the Exodus, when they persistently disobeyed God and were punished, also added a layer of guilt and repentance to their mental picture of the wilderness.

Along with these negative associations with the desert, the Israelites also saw it as a place of provision, transformation, and encounter with God. Countless characters including Jacob, Hagar, Job, David, and Elijah met with God in the wilderness. This leads Jenny Phillips to write:

“The wilderness of the Bible is a liminal space—an in-between place where ordinary life is suspended, identity shifts, and new possibilities emerge. Through the experiences of the Israelites in exile, we learn that while the biblical wilderness is a place of danger, temptation and chaos, it is also a place for solitude, nourishment, and revelation from God.” (Jenny Phillips, “Jesus and Wilderness” http://bibleresources.americanbible.org/resource/jesus-and-wilderness)

And Michael Card, one of Kathy’s and my favorite artists and song-writer, wrote a song called, “In the Wilderness,” which speaks powerfully to what this series is about. Here’s a link to this song if you’d like to listen: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssI7iudTwm8&t=68s. In a book he wrote in 2005, entitled A Sacred Sorrow (page 24), Card wrote:

“The wilderness is still the place of worship. But for you and me it is not a matter of dunes and dry ground; in fact, it may be deceptively green. Our hunger and thirst are more spiritual realities than physical ones. The desolation we often experience involves our yearning for a more palpable feeling of the Presence of God. We need spiritual bread every bit as much as they needed the manna in the wilderness. Our deep need for Living Water is just as intense as any thirst their parched throats ever knew.”

I’m looking forward to our journey together into the wilderness where, I pray, we will grow in our faith, in our appreciation for our Savior and His love for us, and in better understanding how we can walk together through the wilderness of this world!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

With Saturday being Valentine’s Day, it piqued my curiosity regarding St. Valentine and this celebration of love. So I did a little research and here’s some of what I discovered by way of a couple sources, including Christianity.com and the pioneerwoman.com.

Saint Valentine, also known as Saint Valentine of Rome, is a historical figure who is associated with the celebration of Valentine's Day. In early Christian history, there were several martyrs named Valentine, and scholars still debate the true identity of the Saint Valentine who inspired the holiday. The most frequently cited historical account suggests that Saint Valentine was a priest in Rome during the third century and martyred on February 14^th, around the year 269 AD.

According to one story, he was a priest imprisoned and persecuted for his faith. The story goes on to say that Valentine was also imprisoned for performing marriages for soldiers of the Roman army. At this time, married soldiers could avoid the call for military service during wartime. Keeping soldiers from military service may seem odd from our modern view, though less so in Valentine’s period (the third century). Several historians have argued that before Christianity became Rome’s official religion, Christians discouraged serving in Rome’s armies—so Valentine probably viewed marrying off soldiers as a way to keep men from dying while serving a pagan power. However, if married men avoided the military, military numbers would plummet, something Emperor Claudius II didn’t care for. The emperor had Valentine imprisoned for subversiveness. The story tells that Valentine was on good terms with Claudius II until he attempted to persuade him on the validity of Jesus. Growing tired of his attempts, Claudius II sentenced him to death unless he abandoned the faith.

While the official recognition of Saint Valentine’s Day came in the late fifth century, it was not widely celebrated as a day of romance until the fourteenth century. It seems the romantic tradition came by way some writings by Geoffrey Chaucer and also later by William Shakespeare. By the mid-18^th century, it was routine for friends and lovers to exchange small tokens and notes on Valentine’s Day. In the 19^th century, the Industrial Revolution helped make printed Valentine’s Day cards the hot new thing! Later in the 19^th century came the creation of the first heart-shaped box of chocolates, thanks to Richard Cadbury. In 1913, Hallmark Cards of Kansas City, Missouri, began mass-producing valentines.

So there you have it! While there seem to be definite ties to Christianity, the stories are a little hard to pin down between fact and fiction. But the celebration is not going away, which is not all that bad. As it’s evolved to pretty much a secular holiday, it’s not a bad thing to celebrate God’s gift of love – with spouses, friends, and family. My simple encouragement would be to keep Jesus at the center of your celebrations, knowing the ultimate gift of love that He has shown to us. What a blessing that we can share that love with each other in our marriages, with our friends, and in our families with valentine cards, chocolates, date nights, red roses, stuffed animals, and all the rest! So Happy Valentine’s Day!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Yesterday with my sermon on The Darkness of Injustice, I shared a lot of information when it came to the ways in which we seek to bring justice to those in need, as the Lord urges us through the prophet Isaiah as we heard in chapter 58. I acknowledged how challenging it can be for us as individuals, even as an entire community of faith, when it comes to helping and serving those in need, simply because of how many needs there are.

A key in all of this, when it comes to biblical justice, is that we remember this is not just a matter of our need to carry out social justice in the world. We need to keep first things first. And the first thing is that we know and believe in Jesus as our Lord, our Savior, and our King! It is out of our faith in Him that flows the actions behind our faith.

Here are the statistics I shared yesterday when it comes to how we, as a community of faith, are doing what we can to help and assist those in our greater Loveland community who are in need. The dollars that are given to the following community agencies/ministries do not come out of Immanuel’s budget. These are all monies that are given to Immanuel’s Community Assistance Fund, the door offerings we have on the first Sunday of every month along with donations given via online giving. This is what we did together in 2025:

• In 2025, we contributed $12,000 to House of Neighborly Service who, in turn, helped stabilize almost 2800 households, distributed 10,360 food baskets, offered 6000 nights of shelter to families experiencing temporary homelessness, and provided almost 130,000 clothing items.
• In 2025, we contributed $8000 to Neighbor to Neighbor, an agency who helps people stay in their homes. Neighbor to Neighbor prevented 458 evictions and enabled 92 families to move into stable housing.
• In 2025, we contributed $1800 to The Community Kitchen, which provides meals 7 days a week without interruption, including holidays, and typically serves over 100,000 meals annually. In 2023, there were over 133,000 meals served! Immanuel has a group of people led by Jim Found of our congregation who serve at The Community Kitchen once a month. If you’re interested in participating in this, please contact Jim at inquirer.jim@gmail.com or 970-663-5490.
• In 2025, we contributed $1800 to St. Matthew’s Clinic, a free medical clinic with Immanuel origins, that provides preventative care services, and treatment and management of acute and chronic diseases to all who are in need. This is staffed by doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel who volunteer their time.

This is amazing – way to go! What a beautiful light that we can shine into so much darkness. Thank you for being part of this important ministry of Immanuel and for your contributions toward the Community Assistance Fund.

I know that many of us also support various other local, national, and international ministries as opportunities arise here at Immanuel, as well as opportunities coming to us from other sources – from supporting children, to clean water, and lots more. Again, way to go! That’s how we live out that mandate from our Lord, flowing from our faith in Him! The gifts we give are always undergirded by the desire that those gifts would help people come to know and believe in Jesus, further His Kingdom and share His love. To that end, here is this week’s What Now?

What Now?

What is one way you can “let your light shine” this week – to seek to bring about justice in some aspect of our life together and to glorify our Father in heaven?

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
While neither my Packers nor your Broncos (or many of the other fan bases represented here at Immanuel) will be playing in this year’s Super Bowl, many of us along with millions across the world will be tuning in and watching on Sunday afternoon. For many people, it’s more of an excuse to get together with friends and family to have a party, while the actual game between the Seattle Seahawks and the New England Patriots is nothing more than a minor piece of the overall Super Bowl experience.

I learned yesterday in our monthly all-staff meeting that there is a personal connection with Laura Paterson (preschool teacher) and the flyover at the end of the Star-Spangled Banner will be a historic one. The flyover will feature a joint operation by the Air Force and Navy as they are set to deploy some of their most iconic aircraft for a once-in-a-lifetime flyover to commemorate the 250^th birthday of the United States. The flyover will be a formation of Air Force B-1 Lancers, F-15C Eagles, alongside the Navy’s F/A-18E Super Hornets, and F-35C Lightning IIs. Laura shared that her husband used to fly the Air Force B-1!

The Super Bowl halftime show is consistently one of the most-watched entertainment events globally, with recent shows drawing over 120 million viewers (133.5 million for last year’s show), often surpassing the viewership for the game itself. The shows have typically featured big-name entertainment stars. In my personal opinion, it’s been sad to see too many shows over the years that have displayed more than inappropriate sexualized music, dancing, and displays, “costume malfunctions,” and even some occultic rituals and symbolism either blatantly or discreetly on display. Unfortunately, this year’s show, even before it is seen on Sunday, has been fraught with political controversy with talk of “alternative” halftime shows being offered. I won’t step any further into the quagmire of that debate…

The television commercials are also one of the highlights of the Super Bowl. What are your favorite and most memorable commercials? I wouldn’t mind hearing from you on that – or from what we see for this year’s line-up. The Budweiser Clydesdale commercials of past years still hold a special place in my memory with often more of a heartstring-pull than anything else.

Why take time to write about all this? It’s a global event that millions of people will experience in some way or another, including many of us. As I wrote back in December after I was at the Packer-Bronco game, it has become part of our cultural make-up, and the rituals associated with and surrounding the Super Bowl, border on being a civil religious worship service. I say this as a fan who enjoys watching professional football and not simply to bash this billion-dollar industry. But I speak to it in order to remind ourselves that we must keep a proper perspective. As I wrote in December, it’s just a game. However, the Super Bowl transcends the game, with some of what I’ve written of today.

I encourage you to enjoy the day and any or all of the various elements surrounding the Super Bowl that you’re drawn to. Be discerning when it comes to your children and what they are seeing and hearing, particularly when it comes to the halftime show. Be proud with the show of patriotism and the love of our great country with the flyover, the singing, and the honoring of veterans and military personnel that are often part of the festivities. But remember who our God is and where our ultimate and full devotion as followers of Jesus must lie – it’s not in a game or its superstars, it’s not in the celebrities who sing and perform, and it’s not in our country. It’s in Jesus.

So enjoy the fellowship and gathering with friends and family; enjoy the unhealthy snacks; enjoy the commercials; enjoy the game; and enjoy a coming-together-moment for our country, even our world, to some degree. And through it all, give thanks to God for His presence, His promises, and the life He’s given us – a life filled with all manner of things for us to take in and enjoy as blessings of His good creation.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

Happy Groundhog Day! And it’s been reported that Punxsutawney Phil, prognosticator of prognosticators, emerged from his den in Pennsylvania this morning and saw his shadow. That means six more weeks of winter. Oh, well, we’ve had a pretty mild winter so far!

Yesterday in worship we talked about foolishness and wisdom. We had some fun with a clip of some very obvious foolishness that we had to both cringe and laugh at when it comes to how foolish we can be at times. (If you missed it or want another laugh, here’s the YouTube link to the clip I used: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qDvYkFwTeXM). We got serious as we considered some of the ways that foolishness and darkness can, at times, be like two peas in a pod – that is, basically synonymous with each other.

The reality is that not all foolishness is dangerous or harmful or serious. There’s plenty of foolishness that we can just laugh at or have fun with, like Groundhog Day. It’s something to help break up what can be a long, cold, dreary winter by celebrating a ground hog and all the silly/foolish activities and hype surrounding February 2^nd. To take the basic premise of the 1993 movie titled, “Groundhog Day,” starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell,

do you ever wish you could have a do-over-day? (Please don’t take this as my endorsement for watching this movie – look into it for yourself before you do!) As weird as this is, the time loop that cynical weatherman Phil Connors gets caught up in through the movie, can sometimes feel like something we long for – the opportunity to have a do-over. Whether that’s a do-over with an entire day, or a conversation, or an event, or a single thing that you may have said or done, it would be awesome to be able to do that!

However, as you and I know, once something is said or done, time marches on and we can’t go back. But here’s the thing. As followers of Jesus, we get do-overs. Maybe not in a “Groundhog Day” kind of way, but that’s truly what confession, repentance, and forgiveness are all about. Our Lord doesn’t turn His back on us and walk away when we mess up. Instead, when it comes to sin in our lives, He offers us forgiveness and then reaches down His hand to pick us up, dust us off, wash us clean, and help us to get back into that relationship, that situation, or whatever it may be. We can ask for forgiveness from those we may have hurt or upset or sinned against. That is a divine do-over which our Lord offers us daily.

I hope you take our gracious and loving God’s gifts to heart. He loves you! We know that from what He’s done for us on the cross and in the miracle of Easter; we know it from the promises that He’s made and kept; we know it from what we read over and over again in His Word.

So amidst all the dark and difficult foolishness we hear about and see in our lives and around our world, join me in giving thanks to our Savior for taking our foolishness from us. Let’s be fools for Jesus as we seek His wisdom, lean into His strength, and let His grace pour into us generously!

Here is this week’s What Now? for you to consider as well:

What Now?

Take time to reflect on where you look for wisdom. Pray for humility to seek God’s wisdom, even (especially!) when it doesn’t line up with what you hold to be true.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,
I want to let everyone know that I’ll be starting up my next Immanuel 101 class a week from Sunday, beginning on Sunday, February 8^th during the Education Hour (9:30am-10:20am). This is a 9-week class designed for those who are new to Immanuel and would like to learn more about who we are, what we believe and teach, and other basics that make us who we are. It’s also intended for anyone who wants to formally join our congregation and become a member. This is also a class that longtime members are welcome to take as a refresher course for some basic Lutheran theology.

If you or someone you know might be interested in attending the upcoming Immanuel 101 class, let me know so I can have enough materials prepared for the class. If you’re inviting a friend, family member, or acquaintance, I encourage you to join them in the class and be another friendly face to help make them feel comfortable. I already have four families who will be part of the class and I’d love to have more! Please give some thought as to who you could invite or if you yourself would like to join me.

I want to assure you, if you’re not a member of Immanuel, there is no obligation to join after attending the class. My hope and prayer is that many of your questions will be answered, whether the questions you have are about Immanuel or Jesus or church or the Bible. As you hear me say regularly, you don’t have to be a member of Immanuel to participate in most anything that happens here.

Lastly, with regard to everything that is happening here, I encourage you to read through the rest of this update and check out all the different events, activities, studies, and opportunities. Immanuel is a great community of faith and I’m glad you are here and part of it!

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen

Friends of Immanuel,

“Who or what are you following?” was a key question coming out of yesterday’s worship. Throughout our Darkness Overcome series, we’ve been exploring darkness from lots of different angles. I gave a number of big-picture global examples and could’ve given a lot more! I could’ve added the brutal persecution and murder of Christians around the world, which is particularly making headlines in Nigeria, the deadly train wreck in Spain that killed at least 41 and injured dozens more, the Swiss fire disaster that killed 40 just three weeks ago, and any number of other natural disasters, including this monster winter storm that blanketed the United States this past week. There is no lack of darkness in our broken world. And I know that every one of us could add our own personal list of “darkness” related things in our own lives – from health to jobs to stress to finances and so much more. The darkness is real!

When it comes to following Jesus, the devil likes nothing more than to cultivate chaos and confusion, to cause all sorts of arguing, quarrelling, fighting, and disagreeing. That’s what he accomplished in the church in Corinth that we read about in 1 Corinthians 1:10-13. I invited you to think about all the things that we follow – from the Broncos and Packers (and other sports teams and sports celebrities) to various social media to political figures to whatever is comfortable to the things I like and want. And the fact of the matter is, we all follow lots of things in our lives.

However, when it comes to following Jesus, this is different. Jesus is not just an “add-on” to all the other things we follow and things that we do. When Jesus calls us to follow Him, that’s our starting point. This relationship with Jesus into which we’ve been called must be our top priority. It doesn’t mean we have to disregard or get rid of everything else in our lives. But it does require discretion from us – to keep proper perspective on all the good things that the Lord has poured into our lives.

How does that happen? By being actively engaged with our Lord and our faith in Him through the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds. That includes weekly worship, being in God’s Word each day and listening to Him, praying daily, giving of ourselves and serving others. These are some of Immanuel’s Marks of Discipleship, the basics from God’s Word on what it means to follow Him.

What does following Jesus look like in your own life? That’s what I invited you to explore with this week’s What Now? –

What Now?

Take some time to reflect on your following of Jesus. What does following Jesus entail for you? What difference does it make in your life? 

I encourage you to take this seriously and have some more conversation with your spouse or family or friends. If you’re open to it, I’d love to hear from you – send me an email or text and share what following Jesus entails for you.

Jesus is our Hope and our Life! Following Him and putting our full faith, trust, and confidence in Him sets us up for quite an adventure! Let His light, the light of His love and grace and forgiveness, continue to shine brightly in each of us and through each of us as we strive to follow Him each day.

Serving together in Christ alone!
Pastor Glen