Pilgrim Worship Sunday August 10, 2025

 

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

August 10, 2025

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

Today we worshiped outside, in the Pilgrim Pavilion!

This was another exciting Sunday at Pilgrim Lutheran Church!  We're now in our Summer Schedule starting with our 9:30 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

  Old Testament:  Genesis 15:1–6

       Psalm:  Psalm 33:12–22

      Epistle:  Hebrews 11:1–16

      Gospel:  Luke 12:22–34

THEME FOR WORSHIP 

This Sunday in particular, our readings picture the Christian life of faith, both of strong faith and of little faith.  Abraham [Abram] is often held up as a model of great faith; today’s Old Testament lesson is one example.  Today’s Epistle lesson lists Abraham as the most prominent member of the “Faith Hall of Fame”.  

On the other hand, today’s Gospel scolds “you of little faith”, who are anxious about are lives, what we will eat, or about our bodies, what we will put on.  This sounds familiar to you, because all of us have times of strong and little faith.  Your good news today is this:  no matter the strength of your faith, God the Father has promised you a rich inheritance, a bright and enduring future!

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 for the oppressed, 

    a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9

Thursday Psalms: God Is Your Shield!

 

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

Today we have these verses from Psalm 33 which teach us about hope.  The deeds and works of man [kings, armies, warriors, etc...] only produce false hope which cannot rescue anyone.  But those who fear the Lord and walk in His steadfast love will be delivered from death!

     Psalm 33:12–22

¹² Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord,

     the people whom He has chosen as His heritage!

¹³ The Lord looks down from heaven;

     He sees all the children of man;

¹⁴ from where He sits enthroned He looks out

     on all the inhabitants of the earth,

¹⁵ He who fashions the hearts of them all

     and observes all their deeds.

¹⁶ The king is not saved by his great army;

     a warrior is not delivered by his great strength.

¹⁷ The war horse is a false hope for salvation,

     and by its great might it cannot rescue.

¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him,

     on those who hope in His steadfast love,

¹⁹ that He may deliver their soul from death

     and keep them alive in famine.

²⁰ Our soul waits for the Lord;

     He is our help and our shield.

²¹ For our heart is glad in Him,

     because we trust in His holy name.

²² Let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us,

     even as we hope in You. 

If you're like me, verse 20 is both encouraging and frustrating.  Consider Abram and his conversation with God in our Old Testament reading for this Sunday [Genesis 15:1-6].  God says "Fear not, Abram, I am your shield..."   But Abram reminds God "I'm still waiting...!!!"  God had promised Abram & Sarah a son even though they were already old, and God had not yet delivered on this promise.  So God renewed His promise to Abram, showing him all the stars in the heavens and said "So shall your offspring be."   As they say, "the rest is history".  God kept His promise and from Abram came eventually Jesus, who has redeemed all people into God's family.

May your heart be glad in Him, as you trust in His holy name.  Our hope is in Him, not a vain and unsure hope, but a confident hope because God keeps all His promises.  Jesus Christ has delivered your soul from everlasting, eternal death.  God the Father is your help and your shield!  Count on it, because God has done it for you!

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 for the oppressed, 

   a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9

Pilgrim Worship Sunday August 3, 2025

 

The Rich Fool, an illustration by Eugène Burnand  1850-1921

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Eighth Sunday after Pentecost

August 3, 2025

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!  We're now in our Summer Schedule starting with our 9:30 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

   Old Testament:   Ecclesiastes 1:2, 12–14, 2:18–26

            Psalm:   Psalm 100

               Epistle:   Colossians 3:1–11

      Gospel:    Luke 12:13–21

THEME FOR WORSHIP

In today’s Gospel text, Jesus warns us about the sin of coveting material possessions and our tendency to define and construct our lives around them.  The sin of covetousness is serious in God’s eyes and should be in ours also.  As examples, in today’s Epistle text God tells us that covetousness is idolatry, and of course two out of the Ten Commandments God gave to us speak against us coveting things.

Today we’ll unravel a couple of questions.  What is at the root of covetousness that makes it so dangerous?  In the parable of the Rich Fool, why does God care about who will get the rich man’s stuff after he dies?  What is Jesus getting at here, and what is He teaching us?

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 for the oppressed, 

    a stronghold in times of trouble."  Psalm 9:9