Pastor Rhoads graduated from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis with a
Master’s of Divinity degree in 2008. He has served as Associate Pastor at Christ Our Savior
since his graduation. Before entering the seminary, he served as a Director of
Christian Education at LCMS churches in Florida, Alabama, and Texas.
Pastor
Rhoads enjoys teaching the faith and providing opportunities for people to live
out their faith in daily life. “My greatest joy in ministry is helping people
grow in their knowledge and appreciation of the grace of God as revealed in the
Bible.” In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his family and hiking the
many trails in our area.
Pastor's Message
Promised Treasures
“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the
propitiation of our sins.” 1 John 4:10
February 14 is commonly known as Valentine’s Day. It is a day when the promised treasure of love is celebrated in many and various ways. This year, February 14 is also Ash Wednesday- a day when Christians celebrate the promised treasure of God’s love for us in Jesus Christ.
Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of the season of Lent. Like the children of Israel who spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness, we spend 40 days recognizing we are set apart and distinguished from the world. We spend time intentionally repenting of our tendency to get off track and recommitting ourselves to walk in the light of Christ.
When Christians regularly recount God’s gracious, saving acts in the past for His people, they are empowered to repent and live holy lives with renewed hope and joy. Israel did this annually with feasts such as Passover, in the same way, Lent and Easter are celebrated annually by Christians.
This year the theme of our midweek Lenten worship services is “Promised Treasures.” While we usu-ally talk about giving something up for Lent, this year you are invited to receive something from God. Each week an “object lesson” will help us see, touch, smell, and/or taste as we hear the love of God pro-claimed in worship. Our hope is that the Word of God will help us recognize that God is nearer to His people than often realized. By highlighting the promised treasures for baptized Christians, their eternal hope and joy will increase as they wander through the wilderness of this world toward the Promised Land.
You are a promised treasure of God. Take time this month to remember, recognize, and rejoice in the promised treasures that God gives you.
Pastor Mark