As I come to the end of a four week sabbatical I was blessed to visit four congregations and witnessed four different liturgical styles of Lutheran Worship, but all centered on the Word of God. Each were unique in certain elements with certain elements that were the same. All were centered in the Word of God, all stayed true to our Lutheran Confessions, and all were liturgical and Christ was central. Each welcomed my children and were glad that we were there and each greeted me as they came. Now I know my being there would be different because I was not visiting as any normal visitor, but as the Dean of the Sonshine Mission District of Florida, NALC. The worship I experienced was authentic with prayers, though some ancient, that were meaningful. Some of the prayers were prayers prayed every week by rote and others for the season, but all still true, deep, and meaningful. There was just as much connection within the differences as there were in there were in the things that were common because of the thread that united them all. The Word was preached in its purity and the Sacraments were rightly administered, Christ was present and the Means of grace were given. The triune God, the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, was honored. This is the God I worship Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob….the God proclaimed in the Old and New Testament…the God who died for our sins, was resurrected, and lives….May the peace of Christ which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in the true faith of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord.