Swanville Bible Church

06/07/2026

06/07/2026

From the Desk of Pastor Bruce
This article might be full of theology! I am not apologizing for this but simply asking you to hang on and look at the Truth of the gospel. I have been thinking of the word Justification lately and thought about “why would a righteous and holy God forgive sinners, making them also holy”.
From the website Gotquestions.Org I was able to get some insight on how this really works. First, “Justification is an act of God whereby He pronounces a sinner to be righteous because of the sinner’s faith in God.” In other words, we are still sinners, but we are declared “not guilty”! The question is still, “Why would a righteous God forgive us”, especially since the penalty for sin is death! Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Justification declares us holy, even if we still sin. And our holiness is not contingent on the law or anything we can “do” to make us holy, only our faith in Jesus. 1Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit.”
“Justification does not excuse our sin, ignore our sin, or endorse our sin. Rather, our sin is fully punished!” Listen now, Jesus became our substitute! Jesus paid our debt! We are sinners, yes, and yet forgiven because of our faith, but we do not need to pay that debt because Jesus has already paid it for us.
To put this in a more practical way let’s say that you had committed a crime, maybe speeding, or theft, and you went through a trial and were found guilty (which you were). After the sentence was pronounced, someone in the back of the room stood up and told the judge that he was there to pay your fine. Now I know this isn’t exactly, the same thing, however, it’s the same result. Your fine was paid by someone else, and your account was paid in full.
Consider faith in Jesus, so that you can enjoy eternal life in its fullness, debt free!
Pastor Bruce Miller of Swanville Bible Church.

05/30/2026

From the Desk of Pastor Bruce
What would you think or say if I told you that Love has nothing to do with feelings? When the special person in your life tells you, “I love you” and it’s said with emotion what does that really mean? Love is a commitment! I am not talking necessarily about passionate love, I am simply saying, we need to commit ourselves to loving people, God’s special creation.
One of my favorite scriptures says it more plainly than I can, listen to 1 John 3:16-18 “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” This text is not necessarily saying to tell someone that you love them! What it is saying is prove your love by showing your love. Encouraging others is a form of love, by telling others how well they did, or doing something special for them. 1 Thessalonians 5:11 says “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”
Jesus is always our example of how to live. He shows us how to love, by giving of Himself. Maybe we ought to copy what He does and says and not let feelings get in the way. I love the “train” explanation of how life and relationships work. Fact: the engine who leads your life. Faith: the coal car, trusting in God’s work in your life. Faith gives direction, hope, and strength. Feelings: the caboose, which never leads a train because feelings can derail your life. Only trust facts, throw in faith, and let the feelings trail behind.
Pastor Bruce Miller of Swanville Bible Church

05/21/2026

From the Desk of Pastor Bruce
I was the Chaplain/Bible teacher at a private Christian boarding school for one year. I would still be there if it wasn’t for a home we owned that needed some work done and put back on the market. I was so impressed with the school as I was going through the interview process. They wanted me to teach the seniors doctrine, and I got to choose the curriculum. The book I choose was “The Cross of Christ” (Stott) and it was such a great learning tool, not for my students but for me. Two of the girls in that class were not disruptive, but as I was going through the lectures, I had key verses that I had picked out to put in the test. As they listened, and they looked ahead and saw the verse coming up, they pointed it out to each other, and they picked up on the word that would be missing for the test.
It is my goal and prayer that those in my congregation and those who read these articles are attentive enough to pick up on the importance of God’s Word. Even pick out the key words that are important enough notice. One text that has been on my mind lately is 2 Chronicles 7:14 “… if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” The key word that my mind pulls out as one to pay attention to is “humble”.
This word humble is misunderstood as weakness in our society. But it exemplifies the very nature and attitude of our Lord, Jesus Christ. One of my favorite texts is Philippians 2:5-8 “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!”
Our goal is to be more like Jesus, so humble yourself and consider others more important than yourself. Pastor Bruce Miller of Swanville Bible Church

05/13/2026

From the Desk of Pastor Bruce
There was something that happened last week that was disturbing yet, full of grace; helpless but reminded me of God’s mercy and provision; lonely yet not alone! Our granddaughter has been in Switzerland for the last year and was on her way home. She got stuck (stranded) in Toronto Canada! She was supposed to land in Minneapolis International airport about 9 PM but she was literally stranded. Her ticket wouldn’t work, she was there all by herself and even though we tried to help her, I could not walk this path with her. We saw God’s protection and mercy and provision, but it was her that needed to rely on God (and Grandma and Grandpa also needed to trust God.
Joseph had a similar situation in his life. His brothers hated him and threw him in a pit, until he was sold into slavery. He knew no one, and nothing was familiar yet, God watched over him. Later Joseph was unjustly thrown into prison, and I’m sure it was very difficult for him in this very dark place. As we read the rest of the story, we know that God’s provision was for his whole family. God used Joseph for the purpose of saving the Israelite Nation.
God’s Word reminds us of His everlasting Promises. Look at Abraham and Isacc in Genesis 22:7-8 “Isaac spoke up and said to his father Abraham, ‘Father’ Yes, my son, Abraham answered, “The fire and wood are here, Isaac said, but where is the Lamb for the burnt offering? Abraham answered, God himself will provide the lamb for the burnt offering my son.” And the two of them went on together.” Abraham called that place, “Jehovah Jirah!” The Lord will provide.
There are many examples in scripture that talk of God’s provision but one of my favorites is Philippians 4:6-7 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
God providing peace during our storm.
Pastor Bruce Miller from Swanville Bible Church

05/08/2026

From the Desk of Pastor Bruce
A question was asked of me the other day, and it has taken over my thoughts. The question went something like, “Have you ever thought about the second you get to heaven? Will you remember all the bad things in this world?” I think of heaven often, what a place to be and to look forward to.
The things in this life consume our thoughts! All of the pain, death, tragedies, violence, aches and pains, weather, jobs, friends and relatives… all these things we think about here on this side of heaven! But what about when we get to glory, what about then” Revelation 21:4 says “He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
I’m not sure how to answer this question! My first response is, it’s not going to matter anymore because there won’t be any of those issues anymore. Jesus gives us the hope that we are looking for in John 16:20-22 “Very truly I tell you, you will weep and mourn while the world rejoices. You will grieve, but your grief will turn to joy. A woman giving birth to a child has pain because her time has come; but when her baby is born she forgets the anguish because of her joy that a child is born into the world. So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.” Jesus gives us the reassurance that when we get to heaven, all our pain and sorrow will be gone, will we remember, maybe, but I believe it will be just a wisp of memory.
On the other hand, many people worry about what comes after death. Jesus died, so we don’t have to, Jesus rose from the dead and conquered death for all who have put their trust in Him, will live with Him in eternity. 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14 (NLT) “And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.”
Here is a question to ponder this week. Have you put your trust in Jesus? If so, then you have the hope of eternal life, full of joy!
Pastor Bruce Miller of Swanville Bible Church

05/02/2026

Here is a link to Leona Niemeyer's Funeral