Thursday Psalms: Love God, Your God!

 

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

Throughout His Word, God speaks to us a lot about sacrifice.  It is the central theme of your salvation.  However, nobody likes sacrifices.  

Psalm  50:1-15

¹ The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth

      from the rising of the sun to its setting.

² Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God shines forth.

³ Our God comes; he does not keep silence;

      before him is a devouring fire, around him a mighty tempest.

⁴ He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:

      ⁵ “Gather to me my faithful ones, who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!”

⁶ The heavens declare his righteousness, for God himself is judge!

⁷ “Hear, O my people, and I will speak;

      O Israel, I will testify against you.  I am God, your God.

⁸ Not for your sacrifices do I rebuke you;

      your burnt offerings are continually before me.

   ⁹ I will not accept a bull from your house or goats from your folds.

   ¹⁰ For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills.

   ¹¹ I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine.

   ¹² “If I were hungry, I would not tell you, for the world and its fullness are mine.

   ¹³ Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?

¹⁴ Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving,

      and perform your vows to the Most High,

¹⁵ and call upon me in the day of trouble;

      I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me.

Nobody really likes sacrifice.  Sure, we may value it for a time, when it leads directly to a reward or goal.  You may sacrifice to lose weight, to train and strengthen your muscles or your mind, you may save money to buy something you need or want, etc..  But nobody really likes sacrifice, and this includes sacrifices made for God, resulting from your faith in Him.  

Verse five speaks of a covenant [agreement] with God by sacrifice.  God calls you to sacrifice many things which feel good & are a part of your sinful, me-centered nature but they dont please, glorify or obey God.  Satan constantly tempts & attacks you, corrupting God's good gifts to become sins in your life.  Whether many or few, your good sacrifices & works cannot appease God, who is just & must punish all sins.  God speaks to this in verses 8-13 of this psalm.

God has punished all sins, which brings us to the best & most important sacrifice.  God the Father sent Jesus His Son to become your perfect, sinless sacrifice, taking your sins and their punishment upon Himself.  Jesus died, in your place!  This brings us to verse 14 and a sacrifice God desires from you today.  Because of the forgiveness Jesus won for you, offer to God sacrifices of thanksgiving for His love, continually given to you.  God speaks of these sacrifices in verses 14-15.  Today and this coming week focus on giving thanks to God, making vows of thanksgiving to God, calling upon God and glorifying God.  In these ways, you love God, who is your God!

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 17, 2025

 

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

The Tenth Sunday after Pentecost

August 17, 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

In the Gospel text today, we find challenging words from our Savior, words to which we’ll give some careful attention.  Did Jesus come to bring peace or division?  Well, yes.  Jesus did and does bring peace, but is it the peace we might want or expect?  Jesus does bring division, but what kind and why?  Don’t we all just want to get along, and live in a sort of “kumbaya” peace, a harmony among folks who are all essentially good people?

I believe we’ll come to a good understanding in short order, but what question is Jesus asking us, sort of hidden behind all this “division” talk in these verses?

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: Wineskin Woes, Surely Gone!

 

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

Today's Psalm is a short section from Psalm 119, the longest of all the psalms.  The psalmist is praying for help and strength as he struggles to lead a God-fearing and God-pleasing life in the face of persecution.  In his prayer "When will You comfort me?", he is praying for peace and relief from feeling dried and shriveled up like a wineskin over the heat and smoke of a fire.  In the end, the psalmist prays not for the death of his enemies, but that God would give him life, that God would sustain, nourish and strengthen him so that he may remain steadfast in Godly living.

Psalm 119:81–88

⁸¹ My soul longs for Your salvation; I hope in Your word.

⁸² My eyes long for Your promise;

      I ask, “When will You comfort me?”

⁸³ For I have become like a wineskin in the smoke, yet I have not forgotten Your statutes.

⁸⁴ How long must Your servant endure?

       When will You judge those who persecute me?

⁸⁵ The insolent have dug pitfalls for me;

       they do not live according to Your law.

⁸⁶ All Your commandments are sure;

       they persecute me with falsehood; help me!

⁸⁷ They have almost made an end of me on earth, but I have not forsaken Your precepts.

⁸⁸ In Your steadfast love give me life, that I may keep the testimonies of Your mouth.

Today, are you feeling like a dried-up wineskin?  Is your skin even a bit wrinkled, perhaps you're feeling empty and used-up?  Are you longing for God to answer you; "When will You comfort me?"  Sickness & disease often plague us, sometimes chronically, without end.  How long must Your servant endure?, we pray.  If these are not your prayers today, I'll bet you've endured these feelings before. 

As you long & hope for God's promise-keeping, notice what He tells you in verses 86 and 88.  God's commands, all that God tells you, including His promises, are all sure!  When the only true God, who created and sustains the entire universe tells you His promises are sure, BELIEVE HIM!  

Because God loves you forever, He also cares for you, He forgives you and He has saved you from the sin punishment you deserve.  In His steadfast love, God does give you life; abundant life, forgiven life, a life at peace with God.  Even when God allows you to struggle and requires you to wait for His answers, His abundant & steadfast love never wavers, His love never weakens, nor does God's love ever go away!  Be SURE of that!

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