Thursday Psalms: God Sets You Free!

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

Today's psalm is Psalm 146, most certainly a psalm of praise to and for the Lord.  Besides praising the Lord for all His power & blessings, there are other uplifting and important encouragements for you in this psalm.  Verses 3-5 remind us to trust in God rather than man or any earthly thing.  Verse six points us to God the Creator; we should always praise and trust Him above all things.  Verses 8 & 9 remind us of God's love & care for all people, including widows, anyone fatherless, travelers, anyone blinded in sight or by sin, and those who are bowed down.  These are all great & valuable gifts from this psalm, but let's focus on perhaps the best action of all, seen in verse 7b.

Psalm  146

¹ Praise the Lord!

     Praise the Lord, O my soul!

² I will praise the Lord as long as I live;

     I will sing praises to my God while I have my being.

³ Put not your trust in princes,

     in a son of man, in whom there is no salvation.

⁴ When his breath departs, he returns to the earth;

     on that very day his plans perish.

⁵ Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

     whose hope is in the Lord his God,

⁶ who made heaven and earth,

     the sea, and all that is in them,

         who keeps faith forever;

⁷ who executes justice for the oppressed,

     who gives food to the hungry.

         The Lord sets the prisoners free;

⁸ the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

     The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

         the Lord loves the righteous.

⁹ The Lord watches over the sojourners;

     He upholds the widow and the fatherless,

         but the way of the wicked He brings to ruin.

¹⁰ The Lord will reign forever,

     your God, O Zion, to all generations.

         Praise the Lord! 

You, I and all people are prisoners of sin; we can't stop sinning, we can't avoid temptations longer than perhaps for a minute or two, we just can't stop.  We're both sinful by our natures, and we sin by our actions.  The devil makes us prisoners by tempting us to sin, and we can't avoid giving in.  By ourselves, we're simply and truly hopeless.  

But God loves you so much, He just can't leave you a prisoner in your hopeless sin!  God tells you in John 3:16 that He loved the world (including you!) so much that He sent His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will NOT die, but have everlasting life!  Confess your sins and the Lord sets you free in His forgiveness!  

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 April 26, 2026

 

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Fourth Sunday of Easter

April 26, 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 usual Sunday schedule starts with Adult Bible class at 9:15 am and 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 on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about this worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS 

  First Reading:  Acts 2:42–47

             Psalm:  Psalm 23

            Epistle:  1 Peter 2:19–25

            Gospel:  John 10:1–10

THEME FOR WORSHIP

The Fourth Sunday of Easter is commonly celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday.  Each of the assigned readings captures the nature of our Lord Jesus Christ as the Shepherd of His Church; the best-known being the 23rd Psalm.  Jesus is the only one who can truly gather, tend  and protect us, through His gracious and merciful love, given to us on Calvary’s cross.  Jesus does this all for you and for me; for the love of sheep!

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 Restores You!

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

Today's psalm may be the most beloved and best-known of all the psalms.  But questions may still come to us.  Are you wanting in any situation?  How green are your pastures?  Are the waters in your life still or rough?

Psalm 23

¹ The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

² He makes me lie down in green pastures.

      He leads me beside still waters.

³ He restores my soul.

      He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.

⁴ Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

      I will fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

      You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

⁶ Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life,

      and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 

Even though all of us have times of suffering, struggle and difficulty, God remains with you, He is your shepherd.  He does protect and provide for you in countless ways, but God does so always according to His will and timing.  We'll never understand everything God does or doesn't do.  But there is one thing for us to consider today, which is always true and sure.

Re-read this psalm, thinking about your countless sins and the forgiveness Jesus gives to you for every stinkin' one of them.  By His forgiveness, your relationship with God is fully restored.  The waters are still, not angry or punishing.  Your relationship with God is peaceful, like lying down in a green meadow and listening to the breeze and the birds.  You do not fear the shadow of death, because Jesus is risen from death and has defeated death for you!  

So, no matter what may be harming you today, let your confidence and peace be restored by God's mercy, which will certainly follow you all the days of your life!

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