Pilgrim Worship Sunday October 27, 2024

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Festival of the Reformation

October 27,  2024

We're thankful you've come here to watch our service and to worship the one true God!

This was another exciting Sunday at Pilgrim Lutheran Church!  Once again, we had lots of great activities going on, starting with our Adult Bible study at 9:15 am, then our 10:30 am Worship service.  Afterward, we gathered for food and conversations, while the children enjoyed Sunday School.  These classes are full of activities and teaching, so the children learn how much God loves them!

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us on Sunday mornings!  Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about this worship service:

BIBLE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

    First Reading:  Revelation 14:6-7

               Psalm:  Psalm 46
              Epistle:  Romans 3:19-28
              Gospel:  John 8:31-36

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP
What does it mean to be free of something?  Have you ever experienced being “set free” from something?  Do you remember feeling this way as a child on the last day of school, looking forward to a summer vacation?  What about the opposite?  Where in your life might you feel enslaved or entrapped?  In our gospel reading for today, Jesus tells you “…the truth will set you free”.  On most days, our sins trap us and we don’t really feel very free.  Do our sinful mistakes contradict what Jesus is telling us?   Come hear what God’s Word tells us and be encouraged again: “So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

To watch the video of today's service, please click HERE.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188     mobile:  248.881.7627

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

       Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"For You, O LORD, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth."  Psalm 71:5    

Thursday Psalms: Fear Not!

 

Fear Not; God is Your Fortress

This coming Sunday we will be celebrating the Reformation, and the assigned psalm in our lectionary is Psalm 46.  Dr. Martin Luther paraphrased this psalm as the basis for his most well-known and beloved hymn, A Mighty Fortress is Our God.  Notice the symmetry in these verses, with verse six being the central verse. 

Psalm 46

¹ God is our refuge and strength,

    a very present help in trouble.

² Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,

    though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

³ though its waters roar and foam,

    though the mountains tremble at its swelling.

⁴ There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,

    the holy habitation of the Most High.

⁵ God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;

    God will help her when morning dawns.

⁶ The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;

    He utters His voice, the earth melts.

⁷ The Lord of hosts is with us;

    the God of Jacob is our fortress.

⁸ Come, behold the works of the Lord,

    how He has brought desolations on the earth.

⁹ He makes wars cease to the end of the earth;

    He breaks the bow and shatters the spear;

        He burns the chariots with fire.

¹⁰ “Be still, and know that I am God.

     I will be exalted among the nations,

        I will be exalted in the earth!”

¹¹ The Lord of hosts is with us;

      the God of Jacob is our fortress.

In verse six we view our life & the world’s culture contrasted with the indescribable power of the LORD our God.  All around us we see the world’s biggest, most powerful institutions rage and totter.  These are institutions we trust, which control and affect our daily lives, such as world governments, our own government & its agencies, major companies & businesses, our employers, and so on.

We see & experience wars, pandemics, economic hardships, hatred & violence among our fellow citizens, strife & divisions in our families, and so forth.  All of these can seem so hopeless and overwhelming.  But in this psalm, as He so often does, God gives us His eternal perspective on the rage-filled and tottering world.  
God clears His throat, God speaks His Word, and the earth melts.  God is in complete control of everything which appears to us as complete, hopeless chaos.  When God decides, this world is judged and over, and He will create a new heaven and new earth, perfect and sinless.  In verse 10, the LORD speaks clearly to us about who He is, what we should do and what the future holds for His creation.

At the beginning, the middle and the end of this psalm, we see the loving encouragement from the LORD our God:  He is your very present help in trouble, He is always with you, and He is your Fortress.  This is true throughout all time:  the world’s existence, our country’s existence, and your life.  

The LORD is with you and protecting you all the days of your life, no matter what is going on around you or with you!  Thanks be to God, for His very present help!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188     mobile:  248.881.7627

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

     Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website       Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"Give me understanding, that I may keep Your law

   and observe it with my whole heart."  Psalm 119:34    

Pilgrim Worship Sunday October 20, 2024

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The 22nd Sunday after Pentecost

October 20,  2024

We're thankful you've come here to watch our service and to worship the one true God!

This was another exciting Sunday at Pilgrim Lutheran Church!  Once again, we had lots of great activities going on, starting with our Adult Bible study at 9:15 am, then our 10:30 am Worship service.  Afterward, we gathered for food and conversations, while the children enjoyed Sunday School.  These classes are full of activities and teaching, so the children learn how much God loves them!

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us on Sunday mornings!  Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about this worship service:

BIBLE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

   Old Testament:   Ecclesiastes 5:10–20

                Psalm:   Psalm 119:9–16
               Epistle:   Hebrews 4:9-16
               Gospel:   Mark 10:23–31

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP
Sometimes Jesus’ teaching is challenging because it is unclear.  Consider Luke 16:9, Matthew 10:34 and Luke 14:26 as examples.  In today’s Gospel, Jesus’ teaching isn’t challenging because it’s confusing.  It is problematic because it is clear.  “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God.”  [Mark 10:25]  The clear message from Jesus is that wealth and the reign of Jesus have a conflicted relationship.  The dialog which follows with Peter reveals even greater truths about our lives in God’s kingdom.

To watch the video of today's service, please click HERE.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188     mobile:  248.881.7627

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

       Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"For You, O LORD, are my hope, my trust, O LORD, from my youth."  Psalm 71:5