Rev. Dr. Jonathan Blanke, Senior Pastor

 

 

 

 

 

 

T: 919-851-7248, ext. 22
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Pastor’s Corner for August 17-23, 2025

The One Who Started It All
(Hebrews 12:1-2)

Words are marvelous things. Ever noticed that sometimes in the Bible the same word can be translated from the original Greek language into the English language in many different ways? We know this is true because at times we find so many different English-language Bible translations of the same Greek word or words. That’s how language works. There isn’t always a one-to-one correlation between words. And in our Epistle reading for this weekend, that’s what happens with the words describing Jesus.

Hebrews contains a very long section describing many Old Testament heroes of the faith. Noah. Abraham. Sarah. Moses. Rahab. They endured hardships. Yet they had all received God’s promises… so that they lived by faith, “the confidence of what we hope for,” and “the assurance of what we do not see.” That’s a similar set of circumstances to what people of every age have done. Yet something distinguishes us from them. We have Jesus. Jesus is the “Author” (KJV), the “Pioneer” (NIV), the “Originator” (NASB), the “Founder” (ESV) of our faith! And the mysterious Greek word that can be translated four different ways is paired with another word in this text that means “to complete” or to “perfect.” In other words, Jesus is our faith beginner and completer! And His work as such is centered for us on His suffering and death on a cross. Not only did Jesus Himself live as the Faithful Son of Man in the face of the shame of a cross. In carrying our sins on a cross and taking them away from us forever by His death, Jesus, God’s Son, has also accomplished all that needed to be done for you and me to live by God’s promises! Now, no matter what we may face in life, no matter what sort of “race” we are given to run, God gives us all we need to fix our eyes on Jesus.

Words are marvelous things. The Word of God is richer still. In the weeks ahead, as small groups and Bible studies at RLC reconvene, take advantage of the opportunities provided to immerse yourself in it. We have Jesus, after all! Let’s encourage one another to look to Him as we run the race of life together.


RLC Office Assistant Linda Merrill Announces Her Retirement

Linda Merrill, faithful member of RLC's support staff for the last seven years, recently announced her upcoming retirement to begin at the end of this month. Linda has been a familiar morning face behind the desk in the Church Office, faithfully assembling all of our service bulletins, providing assistance over the phone, and being the unofficial greeter to visitors throughout the week. Linda's presence and contributions will be dearly missed! We extend our warmest wishes to her as she embarks on her new chapter while continuing to serve in a volunteer capacity at RLC as one of our co-leaders for Altar Guild and heads up our Quilters' (The Piecemakers) group.

We encourage you to send your own well-wishes with her as we give thanks to God for her service!


Love in Christ,
Pastor Jonathan

 

 


  

Pastor Jonathan Blanke grew up in Richmond, Virginia. He received his Bachelor's degree from College of William and Mary in Virginia and attended Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, Missouri, where he earned a Masters of Divinity degree and a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Biblical Studies, Book of John. He served as a Vicar at Messiah Lutheran Church in Richardson, Texas.

The Blanke family lived in Japan while he served as pastor and missionary to Okinawa Lutheran Church and taught Biblical Studies at Japan Lutheran College in Tokyo.

Pastor Jonathan lived in southern Maryland from January 2014 to November 2019 and was thankful to have served as the Sole Pastor at Trinity Lutheran Church in Lexington Park, Maryland.

He and his wife, Juli, have two grown children. In his free time, Jonathan likes to travel, "play around" on the piano, and enjoy the outdoors.

Click HERE to view a brief video from Pastor Jonathan.