Thursday Psalms: You're Already Restored!

This coming Sunday begins the season of Advent, when we intentionally wait & prepare to celebrate Jesus' Bethlehem birth.  The psalmist is also waiting on God.  His prayer mirrors many of our feelings and concerns as we navigate our daily lives.  "Restore us, O God!"  "Come to save us!"  How long...must we wait?

  PSALM 80:1-7

¹ Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, You who lead Joseph like a flock.

    You who are enthroned upon the cherubim, shine forth.

² Before Ephraim and Benjamin and Manasseh,

    stir up Your might and come to save us!

³ Restore us, O God;

    let Your face shine, that we may be saved!

⁴ O Lord God of hosts,

    how long will You be angry with Your people’s prayers?

⁵ You have fed them with the bread of tears

    and given them tears to drink in full measure.

⁶ You make us an object of contention for our neighbors,

    and our enemies laugh among themselves.

⁷ Restore us, O God of hosts;

    let Your face shine, that we may be saved!  

The psalmist waited a long time to see the answer to his prayer.  We will wait a short time to celebrate Jesus' first coming.  We are waiting an unknown time for Jesus' final return, but not in idle  helplessness.  Because God has kept all His promises to us, we wait patiently, suffering whatever is required.  Why?  Because we know the glory which awaits us is so great, we cant even compare it to our current situations.  

So we wait for God to restore us to a perfect relationship with Him and all saints in heaven.  But we also wait, already restored by the forgiveness of our sins which Jesus won for us!  Jesus takes your sins away and gives you His righteousness in exchange!

Wait with joy & peace, knowing the God of hosts HAS restored you, He makes His face SHINE on you, and you are SAVED!

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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a  

Pilgrim Worship Sunday November 26, 2023

The Seven Acts of Mercy   Pieter Brueghel the Younger (1564–1638)

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Last Sunday in the Church Year

November 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 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 today's worship service:

BIBLE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

   Old Testament:  Ezekiel 34:11-16, 20-24

                Psalm:  Psalm 95:1-7a
               Epistle:  1 Corinthians 15:20-28
              Gospel:  Matthew 25:31-46

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY
Sometimes in our lives, final judgements are not what we expect.  Neither the sheep nor the goats in Jesus’ parable expect to hear the words Jesus speaks to them.  In this parable Jesus reveals to us a purpose which is likely not what we expect.

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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a 

   

Pilgrim Worship Sunday November 19, 2023

The Talents     Eugène Burnand  1850 - 1921

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Twenty-fifth Sunday after Pentecost

November 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 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 today's worship service:

BIBLE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

   Old Testament:  Zephaniah 1:7–16
                Psalm:  Psalm 90:1–12
               Epistle:  1 Thessalonians 5:1–11
               Gospel:  Matthew 25:14–30

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP SUNDAY
On this next-to-last Sunday of the church year God’s prophet Zechariah proclaims “The great day of the LORD is near” in crushing and frightening words.  Left to one’s own merit, there can be no response to the judgement we all will face.  If we don’t read the 9th verse of today’s Epistle, today’s readings speak only of despair and fear.  Our Lord Jesus also speaks of fear in His parable of the Talents, a fear which is connected to His Last Day return.  This fear often gets the best of us, and we’ll unpack that today.

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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a 

Thursday Psalms: You Can Rejoice!

Today's Psalm is not a song of "feel-good" encouragement. This is a psalm of lament The eternal nature & strength of God stands in sharp contrast to the brevity of our lives, which are full of sinfulness, frailty, and weakness. As punishment for the first sins in the garden of Eden, physical, bodily death is unavoidable for all God's creation, including you, me and all people [v 3].

With the last Sunday of the church year quickly upon us, our worship and Bible readings point us to the Last Day, when Jesus Christ will return in triumph, to judge all people and rescue His children. With the Last Day in view, verses 7, 8 and 11 are particularly frightening.

PSALM 90:1-14

1 Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations.

2 Before the mountains were brought forth,

or ever You had formed the earth and the world,

from everlasting to everlasting You are God.

3 You return man to dust and say, “Return, O children of man!”

4 For a thousand years in Your sight

are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night.

5 You sweep them away as with a flood;

they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning:

in the morning it flourishes and is renewed;

in the evening it fades and withers.

7 For we are brought to an end by Your anger;

by Your wrath we are dismayed.

8 You have set our iniquities before You,

our secret sins in the light of Your presence.

9 For all our days pass away under Your wrath;

we bring our years to an end like a sigh.

10 The years of our life are seventy,

or even by reason of strength eighty;

yet their span is but toil and trouble;

they are soon gone, and we fly away.

11 Who considers the power of Your anger,

and Your wrath according to the fear of You?

12 So teach us to number our days

that we may get a heart of wisdom.

Death is God's unavoidable punishment for our sins. We deserve nothing but God's anger, His wrath and His punishment. There is nothing you or I can do, we can't be good enough so God would turn away and not punish our sin.

But God, who IS love, did something about our terrible condition. Check out Romans 5:8 "but God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.". Death is God's unavoidable punishment for your sins, so God punished His Son Jesus as He died on Calvary's cross.

Jesus had pity on you. Jesus took your sins and your death upon Himself, setting you FREE from both! God points us in this direction in the next two verses of this psalm:

13 Return, O Lord! How long? Have pity on Your servants!

14 Satisfy us in the morning with Your steadfast love,

that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.

Rejoice! Be Glad! By His steadfast love for you, Jesus Christ satisfied the wrath and anger of His Father, so you can rejoice and be glad all your days! Start today!

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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a 

Pilgrim Worship Sunday November 12, 2023

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost

November 12, 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 9:30 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:

BIBLE READINGS FOR TODAY

   Old Testament:  Amos 5:18–24
                Psalm:  Psalm 70
               Epistle:  1 Thessalonians 4:13–18
               Gospel:  Matthew 25:1–13

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY
Today is the third-to-last Sunday in this church year; our attention focuses even more clearly on the Parousia, the day of Jesus’ physical return to His earth.  Christ will return suddenly and without warning, coming in glory and victory, to destroy, to judge and to rescue.  Today Jesus gives us one of many “kingdom of heaven” parables, picturing Himself as the Bridegroom who is delayed in coming, but arrives as promised.  The foolish are unprepared and will remain outside.  The wise are ready, and Jesus will take them in with Him!

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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a 

Thursday Psalms: God Is Your Help!

In today's Psalm, King David is in urgent despair.  He is being attacked by others around him; those who want to hurt him, and who desire his death.  David's enemies take great joy in his suffering, saying “Aha, Aha!”.  David cries out to God:  Help me, and now!  In verse four David pauses to consider others who are not in despair, and then returns to his own urgent needs for God's help.

PSALM 70 

¹ Make haste, O God, to deliver me!

      O Lord, make haste to help me!

² Let them be put to shame and confusion who seek my life!

      Let them be turned back and brought to dishonor who delight in my hurt!

³ Let them turn back because of their shame

      who say, “Aha, Aha!”

⁴ May all who seek You rejoice and be glad in you!

      May those who love Your salvation say evermore, “God is great!”

⁵ But I am poor and needy;

      hasten to me, O God!

   You are my help and my deliverer;

      O Lord, do not delay! 

David's prayer in this psalm is our prayer also.  We often despair and are helpless as we endure the attacks, rejection and conflict from others.  If we're honest with ourselves, we often selfishly smirk and say “Aha, Aha!” about others, even other Christians with whom we don't get along.  O Father in heaven, forgive our petty and selfish sins!  We're also attacked by loneliness, sickness, financial despair, and the loss of loved ones.  We think about broken relationships which we can't change, including ourselves.  In all our struggles, we join David in praying urgently "I am poor and needy; hasten to me, O God!".

But in all his and our despair, David reminds us in the final verse:  God is your help and your deliverer.  God never promises to fix all the attacks you suffer, but does promise to help us through our struggles.  Consider God's promise in Joshua 1:9  "Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."   God is your Help! 

God is also your Deliverer!  He has delivered you out of the hands of the most horrible attacker, the devil.  Confess your sins, and be delivered by your heavenly Fathers love & forgiveness!  Trust in the sure certainty that God has already delivered you to blessed life, here in the now and eternally in the not-yet.  

Give thanks to God, who is your 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

“Be to me a rock of refuge, to which I may continually come..."  Psalm 71:3a

Pilgrim Worship Sunday November 5, 2023

The Holy Trinity and Saints in Glory   Sebastiano Conca  1680-1764

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost

All Saints Sunday

November 12, 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 9:30 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:

BIBLE READINGS FOR SUNDAY

   First Reading:  Revelation 7:2–17

               Psalm:  Psalm 149
              Epistle:  1 John 3:1–3
             Gospel:   Matthew 5:1–12

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP TODAY
In the earthly sense, to be made a saint is to be “recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God”.  Today we make a special point of remembering all saints, especially those we know who have died in faith and gone before [ahead] of us to heaven.  However, God’s Word is clear; it’s not the goodness of a person which makes them a saint.  Jesus our Savior has redeemed us to God the Father, having taken God’s punishment of sins onto Himself.  Jesus has made you holy, like and close to God.  In fact, God the Holy Spirit lives IN you!  We are all saints, forgiven and made so by Jesus!

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

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

Thursday Psalms: God's Great River!

Today's Psalm is the fourth of five "Hallelujah" psalms which close out this fabulous songbook.  It seems curious; joyful praise to the Lord is suddenly interrupted with calls for God's vengeance and punishment.  This psalm describes a festival procession to the Temple, apparently celebrating a victory over an opposing nation.  But what does God say to you & me today in this psalm?

PSALM 149    

¹ Praise the Lord!

      Sing to the Lord a new song, His praise in the assembly of the godly!

² Let Israel be glad in his Maker;

      let the children of Zion rejoice in their King!

³ Let them praise His name with dancing,

      making melody to Him with tambourine and lyre!

⁴ For the Lord takes pleasure in His people;

      He adorns the humble with salvation.

⁵ Let the godly exult in glory;

      let them sing for joy on their beds.

⁶ Let the high praises of God be in their throats

      and two-edged swords in their hands,

⁷ to execute vengeance on the nations

      and punishments on the peoples,

⁸ to bind their kings with chains

      and their nobles with fetters of iron,

⁹ to execute on them the judgment written!

      This is honor for all His godly ones.

           Praise the Lord! 

Check out verse 4, a great proclamation of God's gospel message for you & me.  The Lord, the all-powerful, all-knowing, all-creating God takes pleasure in YOU!  God loves YOU, and He delights in YOU [nota bene Psalm 35:27, Isaiah 62:4].  He does NOT delight in your struggles, your failures, your sins.  No, the Lord delights in saving you, He takes pleasure in rescuing you.  

The Lord adorns you with salvation!  Adorning is a cool word here.  Adorn means to decorate, to honor, to lift up.  The Lord adorns you with an eternal crown of everlasting life!  The Lord adorns you with a white robe, washed clean in the blood of the Lamb [Revelation 12:14].  Every single day, the Lord adorns you with His forgiveness, setting you free from the guilt and shame of all your sins!

Join me today in giving our best and most sincere thanks to the Lord, who adorns us with His love and forgiveness!

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

“You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in Your Word." Psalm 119:114