Thursday Psalms: Be Glad In this Day!

 

In three days we'll celebrate Palm Sunday and worship the greatest King the world will ever see, who entered Jerusalem one last time, riding on a humble donkey.  Jesus comes for His coronation, to His throne of glory, not in Jerusalem's temple but on Golgotha's horrid tree.

Verses 19 and 20 of Psalm 118 paint beautiful pictures of our entering into the gates of righteousness, which Jesus has opened for us.  Today, I encourage you to pause your mind, confess your sins, receive God's forgiveness, and see yourself walking through the gates of heaven on the Last Day.  What a promise Jesus has given to you!  Soak it in for a few moments.

PSALM 118:19-29

¹⁹ Open to me the gates of righteousness,

    that I may enter through them and give thanks to the Lord.

²⁰ This is the gate of the Lord;

    the righteous shall enter through it.

²¹ I thank You that You have answered me

    and have become my salvation.

²² The stone that the builders rejected

    has become the cornerstone.

²³ This is the Lord’s doing;

    it is marvelous in our eyes.

²⁴ This is the day that the Lord has made;

    let us rejoice and be glad in it.

²⁵ Save us, we pray, O Lord!

    O Lord, we pray, give us success!

²⁶ Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

    We bless you from the house of the Lord.

²⁷ The Lord is God, and He has made His light to shine upon us.

    Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar!

²⁸ You are my God, and I will give thanks to You;

    You are my God; I will extol You.

²⁹ Oh give thanks to the Lord, for He is good;

    for His steadfast love endures forever! 

And here's some more really good news:  your righteousness and your entering into the gate of the Lord is not just a future event when Christ returns.  Every day begins anew, every day is a new creation, made so by your Heavenly Father forgiving your sins!  Every day, we are welcomed into the gates of righteousness, to live a new day, washed clean of our sins!

These eleven verses of Psalm 118 contain more memory verses than any other short section of Scripture which comes to my mind.  Grab a few and commit them to memory, storing them up for your future blessing and encouragement!  In every one of these verses, it is as if the psalmist is standing right in front of us, excitedly pointing with his outstretched hand and saying:  "Here is Jesus, your King!"  So, let's read each of these verses, pausing to reflect on how each verse is a prophecy of Jesus, now fulfilled.  

This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it!

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:2  

Pilgrim Lenten Vespers March 29, 2023

 

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Lenten Vespers

March 29, 2023

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

You may not know until now...     

Vespers comes from the Latin word vespere which can be translated as "evening star" or "evening".  In the Church's historical liturgy, Vespers was a daily fixed time of evening prayer & worship, as the sunset approached.  At Pilgrim we've been using the Vespers liturgy only during Advent and Lent, but historically, Vespers is used year-round, giving thanks for the day just past, and making an evening sacrifice of praise to God.  If you have a hymnal at home, it's a very nice option for personal or family evening devotions.

SCRIPTURE READINGS 

       First Reading:  Isaiah 13:9-11
  Second Reading:  1 John 2:15-17
      Third Reading:  John 18:33-38a
                 Gospel:   Mark 15:1-20

OUR THEME FOR VESPERS 
This Lenten season, we will use the metaphor of eyesight to examine how the various people in Mark’s Gospel viewed Jesus during His Passion.  In most cases, they misunderstood who He was and what He was doing; then again, sometimes by faith people did recognize Him correctly.  Pilate can only view matters in a worldly, pragmatic way, wishing to placate the Jewish leaders and crowd, so he consents to handing Jesus over for crucifixion.  The soldiers see the opposite of a worldly king, but their ironic hailing of Him as “King of the Jews” proclaims who He really is.  The world looks for power and glory; God’s way is suffering and the cross.

SCRIPTURE READINGS

        First Reading: Job 24:13-17
   Second Reading: 1 John 3:11-15
       Third Reading: Matthew 23:29-36
                  Gospel: Mark 14:1, 53-65

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us for worship services every Sunday morning at 10:30 am!

Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

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

Peace in Christ, who turns our worldly eyes to Himself,

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"  Zephaniah 3:17

Pilgrim Worship Sunday March 26, 2023

Christ raises Lazarus from His Tomb.   Etching by C. Bogerts after H. Singleton

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Fifth Sunday in Lent

March 26, 2023

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!  Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about today's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

   Old Testament:  Ezekiel 37:1-14

                Psalm:  Psalm 130
               Epistle:  Romans 8:1-11
               Gospel:  John 11:1-45

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY
The gospel reading this week is the amazing account of Lazarus’ death & resurrection.  Yet in the entire chapter, Lazarus does not say one word, and is actually a minor character in this very human drama.  Instead, this text is really all about Jesus & Martha, a grieving sister, who makes four profound statements of faith as she grieves and suffers as we all do.  

What will we discover about ourselves in what we see & hear in Jesus & Martha?

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

Peace in Christ, the Resurrection and the Life,

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"  Zephaniah 3:17 

Thursday Psalms: Your Life, Forgiven!

  

When we read this short psalm, the memorable verses about waiting jump out at us.  We wait so much, and waiting is such a challenge for us.  As Christians, we are very blessed to wait & hope in God's Word, by the faith God has given to us!  But first I'd like us to focus on another blessing the Lord reveals to us in this psalm.

Dr. Martin Luther included this psalm as one of his four "best psalms of all", because in it we find so clearly laid out the realities of our sin, God's grace and our salvation won for us on Golgotha's cross by Jesus Christ.

PSALM 130     A Song of Ascents.

¹ Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

² O Lord, hear my voice!

     Let Your ears be attentive

        to the voice of my pleas for mercy!

³ If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

     O Lord, who could stand?

⁴ But with You there is forgiveness,

     that You may be feared.

⁵ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,

     and in His word I hope;

⁶ my soul waits for the Lord

     more than watchmen for the morning,

        more than watchmen for the morning.

⁷ O Israel, hope in the Lord!

     For with the Lord there is steadfast love,

        and with Him is plentiful redemption.

⁸ And He will redeem Israel from all his iniquities. 

When we take a serious look at our sins, we join the psalmist in the depths of despair.  We plead for God's mercy, because without the mercy of Jesus Christ, we cannot even stand or come into God's presence.  In verse 3 the psalmist prays the Lord would not mark iniquities, which has the sense of writing down our sins as a legal record of offenses.  Unfortunately, this is our sinful habit; we're all too happy to remember, preserve and record others' sins for their future punishment.  If God did this for us, we'd be  hopelessly doomed!  But the psalmist quickly assures us God does not mark our iniquities, but with Him, there is forgiveness!  Thanks be to God!

And yes, we who ask the Lord's mercy must often wait.  We leave our requests to God's gracious will.  He will determine when, how, where, and by what means He will help us.  But remember, this is NOT a bad place to be, this is the BEST place to be!  Why?  Because we hope in His word where we find all of God's blessed promises to hear our prayers, to comfort and preserve us, and to never leave us nor forsake us!  We are so blessed to wait for the Lord, like watchmen for the morning;  joyfully anxious for the sun to arise, but never doubting that it will!

By God's mercy and grace, you can be JOYFUL today, living your life, FORGIVEN!  Be assured, for with the Lord there is steadfast love, and with Him is plentiful redemption!  He will redeem Israel [ & YOU!!] from all YOUR iniquities!  

Thank You God, for my life, FORGIVEN!

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:2  

Pilgrim Lenten Vespers March 22, 2023

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Lenten Vespers

March 22, 2023

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

You may not know until now...     

Vespers comes from the Latin word vespere which can be translated as "evening star" or "evening".  In the Church's historical liturgy, Vespers was a daily fixed time of evening prayer & worship, as the sunset approached.  At Pilgrim we've been using the Vespers liturgy only during Advent and Lent, but historically, Vespers is used year-round, giving thanks for the day just past, and making an evening sacrifice of praise to God.  If you have a hymnal at home, it's a very nice option for personal or family evening devotions.

SCRIPTURE READINGS
        First Reading: Job 24:13-17
   Second Reading: 1 John 3:11-15
       Third Reading: Matthew 23:29-36
                  Gospel: Mark 14:1, 53-65

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY
This Lenten season, we will use the metaphor of eyesight to examine how the various people in Mark’s Gospel viewed Jesus during His Passion.  In most cases, they misunderstood who He was and what He was doing; then again, sometimes by faith people did recognize Him correctly.

The Jewish leaders [chief priests and scribes] saw Jesus as an obstacle to be rid of by violence.  They plotted against Him, finally murdering Him on Calvary’s hideous cross.  Yet by crucifying Jesus during the Passover festival, without realizing it, they would bring about the Father’s sacrifice of the ultimate Passover Lamb.

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us for worship services every Sunday morning at 10:30 am, and on Wednesdays in Lent at 4pm or 7pm!

Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

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

Peace in Christ, who saves us,

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"  Zephaniah 3:17

Pilgrim Worship Sunday March 19, 2023

 

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Fourth Sunday in Lent

March 19, 2023

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!  Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

Here is information about today's worship service:

SCRIPTURE READINGS FOR TODAY

   Old Testament:   Isaiah 42:14–21

                Psalm:  Psalm 142
               Epistle:   Ephesians 5:8–14
               Gospel:  John 9:1–41 

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP SUNDAY
This week, we're blessed to spend time with a man born blind, the third in our series of four people whose lives were amazingly changed when they encountered Jesus.

John chapter 9 is an engaging story, the concepts are easy to understand.  It’s a fast-moving story, with at least a couple profound truths for us to discover.  Jesus gives sight to this man, who then sees others.  And so it is with us also!

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

Peace in Christ, who gives us spiritual sight,

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"  Zephaniah 3:17 

Thursday Psalms: God is Your Refuge!

 

Because Saul disobeyed the Lord, the Lord chose David to be the next king over the nation Israel.  Jealousy filled Saul's heart, and he pursued David relentlessly, even though David showed only mercy and honor to Saul, even sparing his life on two occasions.  On two occasions while being chased, David found himself in a cave, which is the physical context of today's psalm.  

We can easily imagine David's situation:  a sense of imprisonment, of being buried in the depths of despair, both physically & emotionally.  In the depth of this cave, David turns to the Lord in fervent and honest prayer.

Psalm 142    A Maskil of David, when he was in the cave.  A Prayer.

¹ With my voice I cry out to the Lord;

   with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord.

² I pour out my complaint before Him;

   I tell my trouble before Him.

³ When my spirit faints within me, You know my way!

   In the path where I walk, they have hidden a trap for me.

⁴ Look to the right and see:  there is none who takes notice of me;

   no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.

⁵ I cry to you, O Lord;

   I say, “You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.”

⁶ Attend to my cry, for I am brought very low!

   Deliver me from my persecutors, for they are too strong for me!

⁷ Bring me out of prison, that I may give thanks to Your name!

   The righteous will surround me, for You will deal bountifully with me. 

In the first two verses, it's like David is explaining how he will handle his terrible predicament.  Then, he cries out to the Lord,  when "no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul."  The final verse summarizes this psalm; David's hopeless prison, and his thankfulness that the Lord will deliver him. 

Are you in a cave or prison today?  Often our prisons are of our own making; we're isolated from others by our sins and feel cut off from other Christians in shame or fear.  Other times our prisons are beyond our direct control; we're tormented by physical sickness, were persecuted by emotional suffering, we're isolated and lonely without others to care and comfort us.  

No matter where you are today, cry out in prayer to the Lord who knows your way, who takes notice of you and cares for your soul.  Today you can be encouraged by David's confidence that the Lord will bring you out of your prison and deal bountifully with you!  The Lord forgives your sins and sets you free!

Give thanks that  the Lord is your refuge today, in the land of the living! 

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

"My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth."  Psalm 121:2  

Pilgrim Lenten Vespers March 15, 2023

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Lenten Vespers

March 15, 2023

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

You may not know until now...     

Vespers comes from the Latin word vespere which can be translated as "evening star" or "evening".  In the Church's historical liturgy, Vespers was a daily fixed time of evening prayer & worship, as the sunset approached.  At Pilgrim we've been using the Vespers liturgy only during Advent and Lent, but historically, Vespers is used year-round, giving thanks for the day just past, and making an evening sacrifice of praise to God.  If you have a hymnal at home, it's a very nice option for personal or family evening devotions.

SCRIPTURE READINGS 
       First Reading:  2 Timothy 2:8-13
                  Psalm:   Psalm 27:1-5
  Second Reading:  Mark 8:27-36
   Gospel Reading:  Mark 14:26-31, 66-72

WORSHIP & SERMON THEME

This Lenten season, we will use the metaphor of eyesight to examine how the various people in Mark’s Gospel viewed Jesus during His Passion.  In most cases, they misunderstood who He was and what He was doing; then again, sometimes by faith people did recognize Him correctly.

This week our focus will be on “Denying Eyes” based primarily on the Mark 14 readings.  At first, Peter and the other disciples can't see how they could ever fall away from Jesus.  Then when Peter is spotted by a servant girl and realizes that his own neck is on the line, he sees fit to deny Jesus.  The rooster' second crowing leads Peter to see his sin, and his denying eyes weep in sorrow.  

We're sinners like Peter, and we deny our Lord in many ways.  Thanks be to God, that Jesus denied Himself, taking up the cross for our salvation!

If you live in the Burton area, please consider joining us for worship services every Sunday morning at 10:30 am, and on Wednesdays in Lent at 4pm or 7pm!

Anyone can watch our services live on Facebook or later on Pilgrim's website.

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

Peace in Christ, who denied Himself to save us,

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

Pilgrim Website

Pilgrim Facebook page

Soli Deo Gloria

“The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save"  Zephaniah 3:17