Thursday Psalms: Offer Thanksgiving!

    

Today is Maundy or Holy Thursday, in the middle of the holiest of weeks of the year.  The psalm verses assigned for today are given below, and contain two of the thematic ideas of this holy day in the Church year.  

Of course, on this night, Jesus instituted His holy Supper, commanding His disciples of all time "This do in remembrance of Me."  The gift of this glorious feasting is reflected in the second verse of this psalm.  We joyfully raise the glorious cup, remembering "the peace of the Lord [is] with us all"!

PSALM 116:  12-19

¹² What shall I render to the Lord

     for all His benefits to me?

¹³ I will lift up the cup of salvation

     and call on the name of the Lord,

¹⁴ I will pay my vows to the Lord

     in the presence of all His people.

¹⁵ Precious in the sight of the Lord

     is the death of His saints.

¹⁶ O Lord, I am Your servant;

     I am Your servant, the son of Your maidservant.

         You have loosed my bonds.

¹⁷ I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving

     and call on the name of the Lord.

¹⁸ I will pay my vows to the Lord

     in the presence of all His people,

¹⁹ in the courts of the house of the Lord,

     in your midst, O Jerusalem.

         Praise the Lord! 

Another Maundy Thursday theme comes from the Gospel reading we will use at Pilgrim tonight.  Jesus washes the feet of His disciples, and then calls them to likewise serve each other.  Later, in John 13:34, Jesus gives them & us a new commandment, to love [and serve] one another, just as He has loved [and served] us.  We see this blessed servanthood in verse 16 of our psalm, and the great reason for our serving & loving:   the Lord has loosed our bonds!   The Lord forgives our sins!   ...and so we serve & love & lift up His cup of salvation!

Lastly, consider verse 17, which summarizes our lives of forgiveness and freedom from sin's bondage.  We get to fashion our lives into sacrifices of thanksgiving!  Not sacrifices which are painful and give up something we need.  No, our lives are joyful sacrifices, where our offerings are gladly given in thanks & praise to the Lord, who loosed our bonds!

Give extra thanks this day, for the blessed gift of the holy Supper, and for the freedom to offer our lives of joyful thankfulness to the Lord!

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 Worship Palm Sunday April 2, 2023

 

Entry of Christ into Jerusalem (1320) by Pietro Lorenzetti

  Pilgrim Lutheran Church

Palm Sunday

April 2, 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:  Isaiah 50:4-9a

               Psalm:  Psalm 118:19-29
              Epistle:  Philippians 2:5-11
              Gospel:  John 12:12-19

OUR THEME FOR WORSHIP
In many ways and places, we’re surrounded by signs in our lives.  Some we miss, some we mis-read, some we ignore, and to some we pay close attention.  The Palm Sunday crowd, and all others around Jesus during Holy Week were no different; signs missed, mis-read and ignored.  What would we have done, had we been there?

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

Peace in Christ, our Savior & King,

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: 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