June 2026

The Duck Story

I read this story about a duck, and I thought I would share it to remind us of our Father’s love for us.

There once was a young farm boy named Billy, who loved almost more than anything to go out with his bee-bee gun and shoot at various targets and objects around the yard.  He loved to pretend he was defending his home, but one day, while he was defending his family, while he was sneaking around the barn, he quickly jumped around the corner of the barn and took a shot--but to his horror, he saw the bee-bee strike a duck in the yard and kill it instantly.  Now this was no ordinary duck, it was practically a family pet that loved his father, it would even loving follow the father all around the farmyard while he did some of his work.

As the crushed and terrified boy picked up the limp body of the duck, he quickly decided to try and hide this horrible mistake, and snuck into the barn, dug a hole and covered it up with hay.  But he could barely cover his own remorse and fear.

That night at dinner, of course the conversation turned to about the duck. “What happened to the duck?” “Do you know what happened to the duck?”  Everyone kept discussing and asking questions about it.  Billy couldn’t dare to look at his father’s face, but quietly stared at his plate.

Now the next day, the hired hand came up to Billy and said “Time for you to fill the wood box”.  Billy answered, “I’m not going to fill the wood box, that’s your job”.  “Billy, I saw what happened to the duck yesterday.  I saw you shoot it, dig a hole in the barn and bury it and cover it with straw.  What do you think your father would say if I told him what I saw, Billy?”  Well the boy wasted no time in filling the wood box.

The next day, the hired hand came up to the boy and said, “Time for you to clean out the chicken pen”.  Billy answered, “That’s your job, I’m not going to clean that out”. “Billy, what do you think your father’s going to do to you after I tell him about the duck?” Well Billy immediately set about cleaning out the chicken pen.

Well, this went on day after day for several days, and Billy was dragging around the place, with all of the extra work on top of his chores, but mainly from the guilt, for he still could not look at his father’s face.  He just couldn’t take it anymore, and so finally, with tears in his eyes, he went to his father and confessed, “Daddy, I killed the duck and buried him in the barn--I’m so sorry”--and he ran into his father’s arms.  His father said, “Son, that’s okay, I forgive you--it will be alright.”

The next day, the hired hand came up to Billy and said, “Well, the wood box is getting low again, time for you to fill it.” “NO, that’s your job and I’m not going to do it!”  “Billy, remember that duck and your father...”  And Billy joyfully shouted back “I already told my father about the duck, and he told me that its okay, that everything is alright--so get away from me, I am not going to do it!”  He had been freed from the burden and slavery of guilt and fear, freed by the forgiveness of His loving father. By confessing his sin, he was able to be restored to the relationship with his father that he enjoyed before, not having to hang his head in shame, or walk in fear that his accuser might tell his father bring down punishment.

My family in Christ, because of the cross and tomb of Jesus, your Father has already declared you forgiven, completely.  In the waters of your baptism, God has washed away the stain of your sinful guilt and the accuser Satan has nothing to accuse you of.  It’s okay, it’s alright--all of your sin has been forgiven.  There is nothing that you have done or could do that is beyond the shed blood of Jesus, it is already washed away.  You don’t have to be afraid; you can go to a loving Father like that.

There is no need for you to try and cover up your deeds from your Father--He has already seen what you have done, thought, or said.  And, He has already forgiven it for Jesus’ sake.  There’s no need for you to listen any longer to the accusing voice of Satan in your ear telling you what you’ve done and what God’s going to do to you--no need to hang your head in shame, instead you can go to your loving Father and confess your sin without fear for you know that He will forgive you.  Indeed, looking back at your baptism, you know that He has already forgiven you.  Live in that freedom and joy!

Pastor Doug

May 2026

GENERATIONS OF FAITH

Matthew 1:1-17

1 This is the genealogy [a]  of Jesus the Messiah [b]  the son of David, the son of Abraham:

2  Abraham was the father of Isaac,

Isaac the father of Jacob,

Jacob the father of Judah and his brothers,

3  Judah the father of Perez and Zerah, whose mother was Tamar,

Perez the father of Hezron,

Hezron the father of Ram,

4  Ram the father of Amminadab,

Amminadab the father of Nahshon,

Nahshon the father of Salmon,

5  Salmon the father of Boaz, whose mother was Rahab,

Boaz the father of Obed, whose mother was Ruth,

Obed the father of Jesse,

6  and Jesse the father of King David.

David was the father of Solomon, whose mother had been Uriah’s wife,

7  Solomon the father of Rehoboam,

Rehoboam the father of Abijah,

Abijah the father of Asa,

8  Asa the father of Jehoshaphat,

Jehoshaphat the father of Jehoram,

Jehoram the father of Uzziah,

9  Uzziah the father of Jotham,

Jotham the father of Ahaz,

Ahaz the father of Hezekiah,

10  Hezekiah the father of Manasseh,

Manasseh the father of Amon,

Amon the father of Josiah,

11  and Josiah the father of Jeconiah [c]  and his brothers at the time of the exile to Babylon.

12  After the exile to Babylon:

Jeconiah was the father of Shealtiel,

Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel,

13  Zerubbabel the father of Abihud,

Abihud the father of Eliakim,

Eliakim the father of Azor,

14  Azor the father of Zadok,

Zadok the father of Akim,

Akim the father of Elihud,

15  Elihud the father of Eleazar,

Eleazar the father of Matthan,

Matthan the father of Jacob,

16  and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and Mary was the mother of Jesus who is called the Messiah.

17  Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exile to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.

I don’t know about you, but I always used to skip over the first seventeen verses of Matthew. “Why read this stuff?” I often reasoned. “I can’t pronounce half the names, and they don’t make sense anyway. Matthew must have been overly involved with detail when he decided to put this in his gospel.”

If one looks more closely, this is hardly the case. These verses are alive with the faith of the people of God over many generations.

We remember Abraham, “the Father of Nations,” and the wondrous promises God made to him. We see that God’s promise to Abraham is coming true in Jesus, The Messiah.

We remember David, the great and glorious King. We read how the promise of God traced from Abraham, through David, unto Jesus.

WE are startled to find the names of four women in this list. (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba – wife of Uriah). Startled because men dominated official genealogies in that day. Startled because the worth of children was often traced to the worth of the faither. Startled because of these four women, three who were clearly Gentiles, or outsiders of the Jewish faith. Startled because Tamar was a victim of neglect, Rahab was a prostitute, Ruth was a risk-taker, and Bathsheba was a victim of sexual abuse.

The Messiah, Jesus Christ, came from the depths of our human condition. This genealogy reminds us how God works so wonderfully in and through all sorts of people to bring about God’s purpose. In these seventeen verses we see that Matthew was not just some ordinary zealous “number cruncher.” He wanted us to know who this Messiah was and from whence he had come.

He had come from the less-than-perfect, but faithful generation s of people who called upon the name of the One, true God.

PRAYER THOUGHT: Give thanks to God for those of your ancestors who brought the faith to the next generation. Ask God for the strength and wisdom to do the same for the generations that will follow after you.

God is counting on us!

Pastor Doug