Pilgrim Worship

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Thursday, December 29, 2022

Thursday Psalms: Holy and Awesome!

Psalm 111 is recommended for this coming Sunday, the first Sunday after Christmas.  Most certainly this is a psalm of praise and glory to the Lord, who is majestic and righteous and gracious and merciful.  The verses below are packed full of reasons and justifications for us to Praise the Lord!

PSALM 111 1 Praise the Lord! I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart, in the company of the upright, in the congregation. 2 Great are the works of the Lord, studied by all who delight in them. 3 Full of splendor and majesty is His work, and His righteousness endures forever. 4 He has caused His wondrous works to be remembered; the Lord is gracious and merciful. 5 He provides food for those who fear Him; He remembers His covenant forever. 6 He has shown his people the power of His works, in giving them the inheritance of the nations. 7 The works of His hands are faithful and just; all His precepts are trustworthy; 8 they are established forever and ever, to be performed with faithfulness and uprightness. 9 He sent redemption to His people; He has commanded His covenant forever. Holy and awesome is His name! 10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! I'd like to focus on two verses, which highlight this psalm's use during Christmastide, or the Twelve Days of Christmas. Consider verse six, that the Lord gives to His people the inheritance of the nations. We can consider things like peace, comfort, protection from enemies as benefits or inheritances of nations. We certainly have been and are still blessed with these and many other inheritances living in these United States. Verse six is also a wonderful Gospel statement, that the Lord has defeated our ultimate enemy (the devil) and forgives your sins against Him. There is no greater inheritance! Praise the Lord! Holy and awesome is His name! Consider also verse nine, which gives us direct affirmation of our inheritance from the Lord. God sent Jesus His Son, whose virgin birth we just celebrated, to redeem His people from their sins. This fulfilled the covenant promise God made to Adam and Eve and continued through all God's works throughout history. You and I have been saved and redeemed and will live forever in the splendor and majesty of the Lord! There is no greater inheritance! Praise the Lord! Holy and awesome is His name! It is our honor and privilege to give thanks to the Lord with our whole heart!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Sunday, December 25, 2022

A Christmas Day Message December 25, 2022

I'm praying you enjoy a blessed and merry Christmas!

Please click HERE for a short Christmas Day message.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Saturday, December 24, 2022

Pilgrim Worship Christmas Eve, 2022

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Christmas Eve Worship

December 24, 2022

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

This was another exciting worship service at Pilgrim Lutheran Church, especially on Christmas Eve! The blizzard & dangerous cold temperatures put a damper on things, but the warmth & comfort of worship were much better!

Here is information about today's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR TODAY

Old Testament: Isaiah 9:2–7
Gospel: Luke 2:1–20

OUR THEME FOR CHRISTMAS EVE WORSHIP

O Come, O Come, Immanuel!
This is the prayer of every believer since Adam & Eve. And why would we join with Christ’s Church in this prayer? Because our sins separate us from God. We are lonely exiles, held captive by the devil, the world, and our sinful natures. We can do nothing else than cry out to the Christmas Baby Jesus. Come and save us! Come and be with us! Come and forgive our sins and ransom us back into Your family!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel HAS come and He HAS ransomed you!

Rejoice! Rejoice! Immanuel WILL come again on the Last Day to make all things new!

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

Peace to you and a blessed & merry Christmas to you!

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

Friday, December 23, 2022

Thursday Psalms: O, Sing!

In these final days of Advent, the waiting seems like it has been so long & slow to end.  The closer we get to baby Jesus' birth, our joy builds to its crescendo in just three days!  

PSALM 96
1 Oh sing to the Lord a new song;
      sing to the Lord, all the earth!
2 Sing to the Lord, bless His name;
      tell of His salvation from day to day.
3 Declare His glory among the nations,
      His marvelous works among all the peoples!
4 For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;
      He is to be feared above all gods.
5 For all the gods of the peoples are worthless idols,
      but the Lord made the heavens.
6 Splendor and majesty are before Him;
      strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
7 Ascribe to the Lord, O families of the peoples,
      ascribe to the Lord glory and strength!
8 Ascribe to the Lord the glory due His name;
      bring an offering, and come into His courts!
9 Worship the Lord in the splendor of holiness;
      tremble before Him, all the earth!
10 Say among the nations, “The Lord reigns!
      Yes, the world is established; it shall never be moved;
            He will judge the peoples with equity.”
11 Let the heavens be glad, and let the earth rejoice;
      let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
12 let the field exult, and everything in it!
      Then shall all the trees of the forest sing for joy
13 before the Lord, for He comes,
      for He comes to judge the earth.
14 He will judge the world in righteousness,
      and the peoples in His faithfulness. 

O, sing!  Sing of God's splendor and majesty, of His strength and beauty!  Sing of His glory and holiness, for the Lord reigns!  Be glad, rejoice, exult and sing...for He comes!

Tomorrow evening, once again we celebrate Jesus' first advent, His first coming.  O sing, for He has come in humility and mercy.  O sing, for He has come to be our suffering Servant.  O sing, for He has ransomed you from the prison of sin and death!  O sing, for He has come to take away your sins and give to you salvation.  O, sing!

But we also sing for joy, as we continue to await Jesus' second advent, when He will come to judge the earth and make all things new for those who believe and confess Him as their Savior.  

Oh sing to the Lord a new song; sing to the Lord, all the earth!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Monday, December 19, 2022

Pilgrim Worship Sunday December 18, 2022

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Fourth Sunday in Advent

December 18, 2022

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 10:30 am Worship Service. Afterward, we gathered for food, conversations, and Adult Bible study, 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!

Here is information about today's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

Old Testament: Isaiah 7:10–17

Psalm: Psalm 24
Epistle: Romans 1:1–7
Gospel Matthew 1:18–25

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP SUNDAY

In the Old Testament reading, King Ahaz refused to request a sign, to put the Lord to the test, even when the Lord asked him to! Then, the Lord gave a most astounding & wonderful sign. King Ahaz rejected this sign, but when this same sign was given to Joseph concerning his pregnant fiancé Mary, he accepted it. What will you do with this astounding claim the Lord makes?

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

Peace to you on this, the Lord's Day!

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

Thursday, December 15, 2022

Thursday Psalms: God is Present Among His People

Today's psalm has a definite Advent theme: God's presence among His people. There are three sections here for us to study, the first two verses begin by proclaiming the Lord as Creator, Owner, Founder and Establisher of the earth and everything around us. And then David asks "who can be in the presence of the one true God?" Certainly we are not deserving of this honor! However, we find the answer in verses 4&5.

PSALM 24 A Psalm of David.
¹The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof,
the world and those who dwell therein,
²for He has founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
³Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
And who shall stand in His holy place?
⁴He who has clean hands and a pure heart,
who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully.
⁵He will receive blessing from the Lord
and righteousness from the God of his salvation.
⁶Such is the generation of those who seek Him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob.
⁷Lift up your heads, O gates!
And be lifted up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
⁸Who is this King of glory?
The Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle!
⁹Lift up your heads, O gates!
And lift them up, O ancient doors, that the King of glory may come in.
¹⁰Who is this King of glory?
The Lord of hosts, He is the King of glory!

Do you meet the standards set in verse four? If you're like me, the answer is "...sometimes, I think?" You and I don't like to admit it, but our hands are never really clean, our hearts are never really pure and deception and dishonesty are tools of our daily lives. Things are really hopeless, if our own merit is all we have.

But Jesus has intervened for you! If you believe in Jesus as your Savior, you receive great blessings (v 5) from the Lord! Because Jesus took your punishment for all your sins, you have received His righteousness and salvation! We are the people, we are the "generation" who seek Him by seeking to live lives which glorify Him. Because Jesus has cleaned our hands and made our hearts pure, we can joyfully ascend the hill of the Lord and stand in His holy place!

In the final four verses, David calls all creation (including you & me!) to worship Jesus, the King of glory! These verses are the basis for one of our beautiful Advent hymns, Lift Up Your Heads, Ye Mighty Gates (LSB 340). These verses are also sung beautifully as part of Handel's Messiah, entitled Lift Up Your Heads, O Ye Gates.

What a fitting psalm and theme for Advent, as we await the King of glory's birth in just a few days! We also keep our heads uplifted as we wait His second and final return, when the the Lord, strong and mighty, returns for His final judgement of the world, and the bodily resurrection of all believers to eternal life!

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Pilgrim Advent Vespers December 14, 2022

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Advent Vespers

December 14, 2022

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

This is our last of three Wednesdays in Advent, when we gathered for Vespers worship at 4pm and 7pm. Here is information about this Wednesday's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR TODAY

Old Testament: 2 Samuel 18:24-33

Epistle: Ephesians 5:1-10
Gospel: Matthew 22:41-46

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY

Good looks and beautiful, flowing hair can only get you so far. They got Absalom, the son of David, caught in a tree and put to death for his rebellion against his own father. Yet despite his rebellion, David still loved his son and wanted him to live.

Our daily thoughts, words, and actions reveal our rebellious hearts against our heavenly Father and King. Yet God desires not the death of the wicked and rebellious, but that we would turn and live! To that end, God sent forth His Son, the true Son of David, to perfectly obey His Father’s will. Through Jesus, the Kingdom is ours forever!

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

Peace to you on this, the Lord's Day!

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

We are Pilgrims with a purpose: Sharing God's love & mercy with each other & the world.

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

Monday, December 12, 2022

Pilgrim Worship Sunday December 11, 2022

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Third Sunday in Advent

December 11, 2022

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

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us on Sunday mornings!

Here is information about today's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR TODAY

Old Testament: Isaiah 35:1–10
Psalm: Psalm 146
Epistle: James 5:7–11
Gospel: Matthew 11:2–15

THEME FOR WORSHIP THIS TODAY
In today’s Old Testament reading, Isaiah speaks a great deal about the wilderness being miraculously changed, with waters and streams breaking forth, the desert rejoicing and the dry land being glad. As we wait and anticipate Jesus’ second Advent on the Last Day, these images make us think of eternal life in the new heaven and new earth God promises us.

But you & I live in the very real wilderness today; this transformation has not yet happened. Aren’t you tired of walking through burning sand and fighting off the jackals? Of course, we are! Doesn’t your heart get anxious, your hands get weak and your knees become feeble? Of course, they do! What does God’s words of Isaiah tell us about wilderness living today?

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

Peace to you on this, the Lord's Day!

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

Thursday, December 8, 2022

Thursday Psalms: Trust In Tension

Today's psalm is Psalm 146, most certainly a psalm of praise to and for the Lord. But there is another important message here for us, especially during this season of Advent, a season of waiting. We are living in Advent tension; waiting again to celebrate the first Advent of Jesus, while also waiting for Him to come again on the Last Day, His second Advent.

There is a related tension in this psalm, and we live in this tension, too. In whom do you put your trust and hope?

PSALM 146

¹Praise the Lord!

Praise the Lord, O my soul!

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

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

³Put not your trust in princes,

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

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

on that very day his plans perish.

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

whose hope is in the Lord his God,

⁶who made heaven and earth,

the sea, and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

⁷who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry.

The Lord sets the prisoners free;

⁸the Lord opens the eyes of the blind.

The Lord lifts up those who are bowed down;

the Lord loves the righteous.

⁹The Lord watches over the sojourners;

he upholds the widow and the fatherless,

but the way of the wicked he brings to ruin.

¹⁰The Lord will reign forever,

your God, O Zion, to all generations.

Praise the Lord!

The psalmist presents this tension between verses three and five. It is pretty clear how the psalmist desires you to answer this question, with only a few words about the failings of mankind and many verses about what glorious things the Lord his God does.

When you find yourself trusting in princes, in yourself or in any other human thing more than God...watch out! Be on guard! There may be temporary benefits, but they are only fool's gold with no eternal benefit. Only the Lord will reign forever, ...to all generations. Only the Lord sets you free from sin. Only the Lord makes you righteous!

O Lord, help us not to put our trust in people, but in You alone. AMEN.

Peace in Christ,

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627

Soli Deo Gloria

"But you, O LORD, are a shield about me, my glory, and the lifter of my head." Psalm 3:3

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose: sharing God’s love & mercy with each other and the world.

Pilgrim Advent Vespers Wednesday December 7, 2022

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Advent Vespers

December 7, 2022

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

For three Wednesdays in Advent, we will gather for Vespers worship at 4pm and 7pm.

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us for either of these services!

Here is information about this Wednesday's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR TODAY

Old Testament: Genesis 16

Epistle: Galatians 4:21 - 5:1
Gospel: Luke 3:1–9

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY

Our Advent expectation continues as we wait to celebrate the gift of God’s promised Son to be our Savior. Like us, Abraham struggled as God’s promise seemed less likely to come about, especially as the years passed into decades. As our faith may at times grow weak, we are tempted to take matters into our own hands, only to discover that our efforts fail.

That is one reason we are here again this day, in order that God’s Word and Spirit strengthen our faith, even in the face of all doubts, to wait upon God’s sure and gracious promises. The true Son of Abraham is the One whom God has sent and designated, saying, “This is My beloved Son.” Jesus brings all of God’s promises together to make us sons and daughters of God. Believe it. Live it.

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

Peace to you on this, the Lord's Day!

Pastor Mark

Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan

office: 810.744.1188

mobile: 248.881.7627