Thursday Psalms: God Draws You Near!

Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!

King David may have written this psalm as a song of praise for a festival or as part of a worship liturgy.  I commend the entire psalm to your reading; it contains witness after witness to God's loving gifting and blessing for HIs creation.  All things and for all things, praise is due to You, O God, in Zion!  Today I'd like you to focus on these first few verses, as they highlight the blessed actions God has taken on your behalf.

Psalm 65:1-5

¹ Praise is due to You, O God, in Zion,

        and to You shall vows be performed.

² O You who hear prayer,

        to You shall all flesh come.

³ When iniquities prevail against me,

        You atone for our transgressions.

⁴ Blessed is the one You choose and bring near, to dwell in Your courts!

        We shall be satisfied with the goodness of Your house, the holiness of Your temple!

⁵ By awesome deeds You answer us with righteousness,

   O God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth 

         and of the farthest seas;

Of course, our response to all God's blessings come from our thankfulness and our desire to be like Jesus in all we do.  We perform vows, we care for others, we love our neighbor as ourselves, etc....  The greatest and most blessed gift we see in verse three.  Our sins prevail against us, they win the battle in our hearts [nota bene:  Romans 7:19] and we give into temptations.  The penalty for your sins is death [Romans 6:32], but God atones for your sins, Jesus paid for your sins when He died on Calvary's cross!  You, I and all who confess their sins to God are truly forgiven and blessed!

Which brings us to the great encouragement for today, seen in verses four and five.  Your faith is a gift from God Himself, not a choice you make or any kind of thing you do.  If you believe in Jesus Christ, God has drawn you to Himself by grace, see Ephesians 2:8-9.  Nothing can separate you from God and the faith He has given you, even though the devil is constantly trying!  God has chosen YOU and has brought you near to Himself!  God has made YOU holy and has given to YOU His own righteousness!  

For His grace, mercy and forgiveness, give thanks to the God of our salvation, the hope of all the ends of the earth and of the farthest seas!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188 

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

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

Pilgrim Website       Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9

Pilgrim Worship Sunday July 5, 2026

Come To Me   J. Kirk Richards  2021

 

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Sixth Sunday after Pentecost

July 5, 2026

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!  Our Summer Sunday schedule has started with our Worship service beginning at 9:30 am.  Afterwards, around 10:30 or so, please join us and enjoy food and conversations together.

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

Here is information about this worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS

Old Testament:  Zechariah 9:9-12

Psalm:  Psalm 145:1-14

Epistle:  Romans 7:14-25a

Gospel:  Matthew 11:25-30

THEME FOR WORSHIP

Today’s Old Testament reading proclaims God’s joyful encouragement to those in bondage, specifically to God’s people having just returned from Babylon to Jerusalem.  We hear Advent and Palm Sunday echoes in this text, since it is ultimately a prophesy about Jesus, the long-promised Savior.  Zechariah has the privilege to announce a compassionate and powerful King will deliver to us hope, peace, freedom and joy.  

In today’s Gospel, Jesus fulfills Zechariah’s prophesy with the gracious invitation “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”

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

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188   

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

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

Pilgrim Website           Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9

Thursday Psalms: God Is Good to You!

Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!

How would you respond if I asked you "Is God good to you?"  

If you're like me, on some days we may say, "Well, not always."  Or you might say "Not today, really."  When our prayers seem to be unanswered, when our bodies remain unhealed, when our hearts remain anxious and worried, we often ask "If God is so good, where is He now, when I need Him?"  Yet, in verse nine of today's Psalm, God tells us He is good to all that He has made.  Does this include you?

Psalm  145:1-14

¹ I will extol You, my God and King,

        and bless Your name forever and ever.

² Every day I will bless You

        and praise Your name forever and ever.

³ Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,

        and His greatness is unsearchable.

⁴ One generation shall commend Your works to another,

        and shall declare Your mighty acts.

⁵ On the glorious splendor of Your majesty,

        and on Your wondrous works, I will meditate.

⁶ They shall speak of the might of Your awesome deeds,

        and I will declare Your greatness.

⁷ They shall pour forth the fame of Your abundant goodness

        and shall sing aloud of Your righteousness.

⁸ The Lord is gracious and merciful,

        slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.

⁹ The Lord is good to all,

        and His mercy is over all that He has made.

¹⁰ All Your works shall give thanks to You, O Lord,

        and all Your saints shall bless You!

¹¹ They shall speak of the glory of Your kingdom

        and tell of Your power,

¹² to make known to the children of man Your mighty deeds,

        and the glorious splendor of Your kingdom.

¹³ Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,

        and Your dominion endures throughout all generations.

        [The Lord is faithful in all His words and kind in all His works.]

¹⁴ The Lord upholds all who are falling

        and raises up all who are bowed down. 

How is God good to you, even on your worst days?  Check out verse eight which contains the best possible news for sinners like you and me!  The Lord is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.  In His love, we find the greatest and most awesome of the Lord's goodness.  Your heavenly Father sent His only Son to be a willing sacrifice, taking all your punishment for all your sins upon Himself!  Jesus Christ did this good thing for YOU, because He is gracious and merciful and abounding in love for you!

Check out the promise God makes to you in verse 14:  The Lord upholds all [YOU] who are falling, and raises up all [YOU] who are bowed down.  Many times every day you & I fall down in our sins and failures.  Every day suffering, hardship, pain and so many other burdens bow us down.  You just can't carry it all by yourself.  But we live constantly in God's goodness, His good grace, mercy and steadfast love!  And verse nine assures us that God shows mercy to all that He has made, to all people, and most certainly to you!

Today, praise the Lord who is good to you, every day, including today!

Your servant in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS    Burton, Michigan

office:  810.744.1188 

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:  

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

Pilgrim Website       Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9