Pilot Knob Lutheran Church - Forest City, IA

09/13/2026

I am Speaks 9-13-2026

09/09/2026

Pilot K**b Lutheran Church Communique

Children at Risk - Respond September 9, 2026

Responding to questionable behavior can be more spontaneous and reactionary than thoughtful and informed. After we Recognize (Communique 8/12) and Relate (Communique 8/26) we will be in a far better position to respond with grace, patience and humility. Not with immediate correction, teaching or preaching. Young people don’t always look for immediate answers as much as they are looking for someone to be present with them. Remember the three friends of Job who came and sat with him in his profound grief and said nothing for a week. Best support he had until they began preaching at him and correction his ‘faulty thinking.’

How should we respond? With grace; humility, empathy, consistency, truth and love. What do our children and youth need particularly from parents, but other adults they look up to? Someone who will fight for them, advocate for them, believe in them, encouraging them and consistently loving them. Picture yourself speaking life, resilience and hope into a hurting or wounded youth.

Does a response with grace require we compromise truth? No, that is not grace or love. People, young and old alike are wanting truth, structure, and consistency even when they act like they don’t want any part of it.

All of this builds trust and respect, opening the door to build together a game plan for a safer and healthier life.

Next: the last R; Refer.

Pr. Bob Snitzer

By the Way:

Sunday 13, 9:00 Morning worship. Sermon:

Sunday school begins for everyone September 20. Confirmation September 23.

Past communiques and sermons can be read and heard on our website: www.pilotknob.org and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PilotK**bLutheran

Our service also airs on: KGLO 1300 AM at 10:00 AM, and KIOW 107.3 FM at 7:00 AM. Spread the word.

Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Worship God and proclaim His Word so people will experience salvation in Jesus,
mature in the faith and equip all to serve in the church and world.

09/06/2026

9-6-26 "Watch and Warn"

08/30/2026

8-30-26 "Precious Words for a Troubled World"

08/26/2026

Pilot K**b Lutheran Church Communique

Children at Risk - Relate August 26, 2026

In my last communique we had a small glimpse of the challenges youth face today. I also mentioned the 4R Model to support young people who are struggling. The First ‘R’ was Recognize. The second ‘R’ is Relate.

It is easy to notice when a young person’s behavior changes and we point the finger and say; “What’s wrong with you?”, “What’s wrong with that kid?”, or “Knock it off or I will.” A healthier question is: “What happened to this child?” This approach opens the door to their world and looking at things through their eyes. It means earning their trust instead of demanding it. It means not telling them what to do, but taking time to understand what life feels like from where they are. This is healthier than judging, scrutinizing, criticizing or correcting before knowing what is going on in their world and mind. We should connect before we correct.

One way to do this often happens while doing things together: working on a project, playing catch, shooting hoops, taking a hike, just the two of you going out for breakfast or anything that removes barriers and creates conversation and connection without being interrupted by cell phones or iPads.

This comes down to joining a child in doing something they want to do and not making them do what you want them to do. Enter their world with humility, consistency and love, focusing on them: not ‘let’s hurry so I can go do what I want to do.’

Next: the third ‘R is’: Respond (9/9)

Pr. Bob Snitzer

By the Way:

Sunday 6, 9:00 Morning worship. Sermon: Precious Words Amid A Troubled World

Past communiques and sermons can be read and heard on our website: www.pilotknob.org and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PilotK**bLutheran

Our service also airs on: KGLO 1300 AM at 10:00 AM, and KIOW 107.3 FM at 7:00 AM. Spread the word.

Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Worship God and proclaim His Word so people will experience salvation in Jesus,
mature in the faith and equip all to serve in the church and world.

08/23/2026

What Will Heaven Be Like pt4 8-23-26

08/16/2026

Arrested! 8-16-2026

08/12/2026

Pilot K**b Lutheran Church Communique

Children at Risk August 12, 2026

I’m taking a break from Sunday’s sermon and focusing on youth. Young people are often over looked in church and elsewhere due to their age, education, experience and other factors. Today’s youth are facing challenges that we adults never thought of let alone face. Because of our rapidly changing society it can be difficult understanding what they are experiencing and their temptations.

Some of the challenges they face are: 53% of girls in the U.S. are reporting Persistent Sadness and depressive symptoms at alarming rates. About 30% contemplate su***de and 75% of girls say they wish they could surgically remove or change something about their bodies.

Then there is trauma: 66% of all children report experiencing at least one traumatic event by age 16.

One more: 10 million plus young people are being exposed to explicit material online. Many contract a sexually transmitted disease each year and also watch their parents scream and fight each day. In short: cutting, (Nonsuicidal Self Injury) substance abuse, anxiety, depression, addiction and suicidality are all on the rise as never before. (Statistics taken from American Association of Christian Counseling material.)

There was a young man who came from a broken home. His father was incarcerated, and his mother was struggling with drug addiction. He had been raised in inconsistency, pain, and instability. One day he came into counseling, looked up and said, “Wednesdays are my favorite.”

Most people think of Friday through Sunday as the best days. When asked why, he answered, “Because on Wednesdays, I get to see you.”

If you ever doubt the impact you can have in the life of a child simply by showing up, by being present, by being dependable, by being an encourager, by being a voice of truth and reason, then remember this: there is power in presence. Every child needs someone who is absolutely crazy about them.

All the more for parents and adults to observe and tune into their world, behavior and mind. What you have to say matters; it can make or break someone! There is what is called the 4R model providing a practical way to support young people who are struggling.

Recognizing the challenges youth are facing is the first step. This involves getting to know them, understand their story and pay attention to their struggle that exists beneath their story.
Ask questions; can you recognize when they are going through a difficult time, as well as behavioral and physical cues. Recognition begins with attention and empathy, and the greatest form of empathy is to ask good and effective questions, not judgment, criticism, or brushing them off.
Next: the second R: Relate

Pr. Bob Snitzer

By the Way:

Sunday 16, 9:00 Morning worship. Sermon: Arrested!

Past communiques and sermons can be read and heard on our website: www.pilotknob.org and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PilotK**bLutheran

Our service also airs on: KGLO 1300 AM at 10:00 AM, and KIOW 107.3 FM at 7:00 AM. Spread the word.

Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Worship God and proclaim His Word so people will experience salvation in Jesus,
mature in the faith and equip all to serve in the church and world.

08/09/2026

08/05/2026

Pilot K**b Lutheran Church Communique

*What is Heaven Like? August 5, 2026

I’ve been talking about heaven for the past two weeks and there will be one more. It’s a wonderful place where nearly everyone desires to go, a place with God, perfect peace, perfect health and no pain, temptation, death or evil for all eternity.

What makes heaven shine all the more in our minds and imaginations is its opposite – hell.
Hell is rarely discussed in churches, perhaps because it is so terrible and eternal, yet hell is the only other place a person will spend eternity.

What and where is hell? Like earth and heaven hell is a different dimension. We can’t pass into either heaven or hell from this present life. The dimension of hell is described as a place originally designed for Satan and his followers, i.e., fallen angels or demons. Matthew 25:41
“Jesus will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. We cannot say that all of the fallen angels are in hell at this time. Jude 6 The angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day. Hell is also where unredeemed people go, i.e., those who refuse to follow Jesus Christ and repent of sin.

Hell is described primarily as fire and darkness. Matthew 22:13; “Then the king told the attendants, ‘Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 13:40-42 “As the w**ds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. 41 The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will w**d out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Fire and darkness are used most often and metaphorically to describe profound and incalculable suffering, misery and pain. It is a dimension that is completely isolated from God, a total absence of grace, mercy, love, compassion, kindness, forgiveness, remorse or friends. (And there will be no partying with friends.)

Jesus is the light of the world and the unregenerate man walks in darkness due to original sin. In this life even the unbeliever experiences God’s goodness and light even though it is rejected. In hell there will not even be a pin hole of light. (spiritual light). Weeping and nashing the teeth vividly describe intense suffering and despair.
~ What is your eternal destiny at this moment? ~

Pr. Bob Snitzer


By the Way:

Sunday 9, 9:00 Morning worship. Sermon: What is Heaven Like Pt. 3

Past communiques and sermons can be read and heard on our website: www.pilotknob.org and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PilotK**bLutheran

Our service also airs on: KGLO 1300 AM at 10:00 AM, and KIOW 107.3 FM at 7:00 AM. Spread the word.

Isaiah 55:10-11 As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

Worship God and proclaim His Word so people will experience salvation in Jesus,
mature in the faith and equip all to serve in the church and world.