July 21, 2024 - Ninth Sunday after Pentecost

Note: Hymn titles which are underlined include a link to the music

In the Old Testament reading, the prophet laments the "shepherds" who scatter the flock instead of gathering it together. The shepherd motif continues through the Psalm (23) and into the Gospel reading. Here we see Jesus the true shepherd having compassion on those who are "like sheep without a shepherd." He gathers them together and has them sit on the "green grass" (Psalm 23: "He makes me lie down in green pastures.") and gives them not only their daily bread, but leftovers!

But Jesus is more than a shepherd, he is "The Lord our Righteousness" (Jeremiah 23:6). He is the cornerstone of the church, those he has gathered together as one flock, as described in the Epistle reading. Our first hymn is a favorite, The Church's One Foundation (644) which describes how God created and has sustained His church throughout history and to eternity.

Church of God, Elect and Glorious (646) was written by an Anglican Pastor, James Seddon, who also served as a missionary to Morocco. It is one of 30 hymns he wrote during the mid-20th century. The text very closely follows the Epistle reading from Ephesians.The soaring and beautiful tune, Abbot's Leigh, was composed in that village in England where the composer, Cyril Taylor, was a religious producer for the BBC as well as being a pastor and church musician.

Our offering response hymn is Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings (782). This hymn was written in 2004 by LCMS Pastor Gregory Wismar. It is set to the lovely melody Holy Manna, a Southern folk tune from the early 1800's.

As Jesus fed the 5000, we feast on Living Bread from Heaven (642).  Though Jesus has thousands in his flock, we are happy to know that He knows each of us by name. We sing this truth in the Sunday School song penned by a German Moravian teacher, Henriette Louise von Hayn. I am Jesus' Little Lamb (740) was written in the mid 1700's.

Our communion hymns continue with All Depends on our Possessing (732). This is a hymn that begins to appear in German hymnals in the mid-1600's. The composer is not known. We will sing only 4 stanzas on Sunday, though the entire hymn is well worth reading.

We will finish with Christ be My Leader (861). With Christ as our shepherd, foundation and righteousness, we depend on His leadership throughout our lives. Timothy Dudley-Smith wrote this beautiful prayer/hymn in England in the late 20th century. It is set to the familiar Irish tune Slane.

July 7, 2024 - 7th Sunday after PENTECOST

Prophets have a rough lot. The news they offer is not always welcome (nobody wants to hear that they're a sinner), and many suffered mightily for their faith. Our first hymn 583: God Has Spoken by His Prophets reminds us that though prophets may change, God's word is "unchanging." The second stanza reflects on the Gospel text where Jesus calls Himself a prophet. Amazingly, He could be not only the prophet, but the fulfillment of the prophecy "He reveals our God to us." Stanza three reminds us that God still speaks to us by His Holy Spirit. In this time of celebrating our country and facing an election, the hymnwriter reminds us "Through the rise and fall of nations ...God abides..God the first, and God the last." George Briggs wrote this hymn for the Hymn Society in America in 1952 in celebration of the publication of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible.

In the second half of our Gospel reading, Jesus sends out the Twelve two by two to share the Good News. The sermon hymn, 856:O Christ, Who Called the Twelve, by LCMS Pastor Herman Stuempfle, Jr., outlines how "he went among the villages teaching" (Mark 6:6b), in preparing them for this mission. Each stanza begins with an exposition of what Christ did for the twelve and an exhortation to us to continue that work.

During the offering, we will sing, for the second time, 762: There is a Time for Everything. Pastor Stephen Starke wrote this hymn in wake of the events of September 11. It reminds us that, in spite of tragedies personal or national, "beneath the cross we've safely stood." It closes with a stanza to the Trinity, who is eternal.

During communion, we will sing 839 O Christ, our True and Only Light which carries on the theme of sharing the light of Christ to all. 630 Now, My Tongue, the Mystery Telling, is one of the oldest texts in the hymnal, written by Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century. We will use the more familiar tune (621) to help us appreciate the gift of the Lord's supper.

Our worship will close with two hymns asking God to bless our nation. If we haven't fainted from the heat 

June 2, 2024 - Second Sunday of Pentecost

Our Psalm for this Sunday asks us to "sing aloud to God our strength" and "raise a song." We will do just that with our opening hymn, How Great Thou Art (801). This hymn is rated in one poll as the most popular hymn in America. Interestingly, it is an English translation of a Russian version of a German translation of a Swedish hymn! The powerful melody was written by a British evangelist, Stuart W. K. Hine.

The Old Testament and Gospel readings for this Sunday have a focus on the Sabbath. Our sermon hymn will be O Day of Rest and Gladness (906). This hymn reminds us of the many reasons we have to thank God for the gift of the Sabbath and ends with a Trinitarian verse for which we will stand.

O Worship the King (804) leads off our communion hymns. This hymn also expresses the sentiments of Psalm 81. Stanza 5 is a reflection of one verse of the Epistle "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us."

             Frail children of dust and feeble as frail,

             In Thee do we trust, nor find Thee to fail.

The Old Testament lesson reminds us why the Sabbath should be holy:

5You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.’”  (849) Praise the One Who Breaks the Darkness reminds us that God's mighty hand and outstretched arm of grace have liberated us from our slavery to sin through Christ.

In our jars of clay, we look to Christ and His power to not only rescue us from sin but to guide us in our daily lives. The powerful German hymn If Thou But Trust in God to Guide Thee (750) is a personal favorite of mine, especially the last line "God never yet forsook in need the soul that trusted Him indeed." The lilting melody is one of the rare cases where the composer of the hymn was also the author of the lyric. The lightness reminds us of the hope in Christ which undergirds all of our trials.  There are several translations of this hymn, here is one. If Thou But Suffer God to Guide Thee

The closing communion hymn, Thy Body, Given for Me, O Savior (619) reminds us that Christ's body and blood "are my life and strength forever." And, despite our jars of clay, "My heart has now become Thy dwelling, O blessed, holy Trinity."

May 19, 2024 - Pentecost

It's Pentecost! The liturgical color for Pentecost Sunday is red for the tongues of fire that appeared over the heads of the disciples when they received the gift of the Holy Spirit. So feel free to wear red on this day. 

Most of our hymns will be reflective of that gift of the Holy Spirit. We have one new one - "Come, Holy Spirit," which is found in the new children's hymnal One and All Rejoice. We are singing this in school chapel each week through the end of the school year. It has a simple, lilting refrain and should be pretty easy to pick up. Sorry I don't have a recording to link.

As our response to the sermon, we will be singing "For the Fruits of His Creation" (894) In this hymn, stanza 3 reminds us that all the ways we share God's love are "harvests of the Spirit." My favorite line is the last one, "Most of all, that love has found us..." We could put a capital L on this instance of love to remind us that love is a person - Jesus Christ.

We will repeat the hymn "Water, Blood and Spirit Crying" (597) that we learned 2 weeks ago in order to get it more cemented in our mind.

The closing communion hymn was listed as a favorite in our hymn/song survey. "Savior,Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise" (917) reminds us of the peace of God we receive throughout the day and throughout our lives. The hymn-writer, John Ellerton, was an English clergyman during the Victorian era. He has penned several other beloved hymns, including "The Day Thou Gavest, Lord, Has Ended." 

May 5, 2024 - Sixth Sunday of Easter

Our worship this Sunday will begin with a 1 stanza Easter hymn listed as a favorite to at least one Pilgrim Member. This hymn is appropriate for its powerful proclamation of the message that Peter and the disciples shared in our Acts reading. He is Arisen! Glorious Word (LSB 488)

Water, Blood and Spirit Crying (LSB 597) is by Lutheran Pastor Stephen Starke. The title and first stanza are taken from the Epistle reading from 1 John. The repetition of musical phrases helps in learning this hymn. We will have some singers introduce it and sing it on Pentecost as well. The words tie together the gift of the Holy Spirit and the sacraments of Baptism and the Lord's Supper.

The first communion hymn, We are Called to Stand Together (LSB 828) is another reminder of the lesson from Acts. As the apostles spread the word of Christ, we too share it with others. This is also the commission we receive from Jesus Himself in the Gospel reading in appointing us to go and bear fruit. We will sing this hymn to the familiar tune for Praise My Soul the King of Heaven (793).

In the communion hymn, What is this Bread (LSB 629), the hymn-writer uses the catechism style of asking questions and offering answers. In the elements of bread and wine, we taste and see the goodness of our Lord's grace and love.

Lord of all Nations, Grant Me Grace (LSB 844) again echoes the admonition from Jesus to love one another and bring forth fruit. Stanza 1 reminds us "And in each person may I see my kindred, loved, redeemed by Thee." Stanza 5 reminds us that we can only love with God's love and by the Holy Spirit.

We have been hearing a lot about love in the Sundays since Easter. Love in its many manifestations - God's love for us, especially in sending His Son, our love to Him and our love to others.  So our final hymn this Sunday will be the beautiful "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling" by the prolific hymn-writer Charles Wesley. Stanza 2 reminds us that the power to love comes from the Holy Spirit. 

May God bless our worship.

April 21 - Good Shepherd Sunday

The 4th Sunday of Easter is generally celebrated as Good Shepherd Sunday. We will read Psalm 23 and the Gospel lesson will remind us of Jesus' words "I am the Good Shepherd." We will sing two hymns based on this theme. The Sermon Hymn will be "The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll not Want" (710) which is a paraphrase of Psalm 23. During communion, we will sing "Savior, Like a Shepherd Lead Us." The words in the refrain "You have bought us; we are yours" and "You have loved us, love us still" hearken not only to the Gospel but to the Epistle reading from 1 John 3. This hymn also reminds us that, as sheep, we ask our Shepherd to "let us do your will" and "with Your love our spirits fill." Love that makes us want to share with and care for those around us.

The first reading, from Acts, follows up on the healing of the crippled man from last week. Peter reminds those in the crowd "that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead—by him this man is standing before you well. ...And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”  So we begin and end our service with one of the hymns from our Pilgrim favorites list "All Hail the Pow'r of Jesus' Name." (549)

We will keep the Easter spirit by singing "Christ the Lord is Risen Today" (469) which includes the beautiful line "Love's redeeming work is done," a sentiment echoed in the reading from Acts and the Epistle.

During communion we will sing a hymn that was introduced two weeks ago. "We Walk by Faith and Not by Sight." We do this as we follow Christ, our Good Shepherd!

April 7 - The 2nd Sunday of Easter.

We get to celebrate Easter for 40 days! So our worship will begin with Now All the Vault of Heaven Resounds (LSB 465) We will also sing the Easter hymn Come, You Faithful, Raise the Strain (LSB 487) 

The scripture reading for the Second Sunday of Easter typically recounts the well known story of "Doubting Thomas." But let's put a positive spin on things and call him "Believing Thomas" for his confession when He spoke to Jesus "My Lord and my God!" (John 20:28). 

Three of our hymns will relate to this Biblical narrative:

O Sons and Daughters of the King (LSB 470) dates from the 15th century. This hymn, originally in Latin, ends each stanza in joyful alleluias.

These Things did Thomas Count as Real (LSB 472) is by a contemporary hymn writer named Thomas Troeger who, before his death in 2022 was a professor at Yale Divinity School. Because the tune is unfamiliar, we will be singing it to a more familiar tune.

We Walk by Faith and not by Sight (LSB 720), weaves together Jesus' words to Thomas "Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29) with the words from the Epistle (1 John 1:7) about walking in the light. It also recalls 2 Corinthians 5:7 ("For we walk by faith, not be sight"). Though the tune is new, it is easy to learn by listening here.

During communion, we will sing one of my personal favorites, I Want to Walk as a Child of the Light (LSB 411).This hymn references our Epistle lesson.

We will have a guest Pastor this Sunday, Rev. Kris Morris. Rev. Morris recently retired from Christ the Vine Lutheran Church in Damascus, Oregon. We will be using a variation of Divine Service V from the hymnal. This liturgy is mostly spoken, with hymns replacing some of the traditional sung portions of the liturgy.

Songs we will be using during the liturgy include:

This is the Feast (LSB 155)

At the Lamb's High Feast (LSB 633)

Christ Has Arisen, Alleluia! (LSB 466). We will be singing only the refrain of this Tanzanian hymn that we learned on Easter Sunday. The refrain will be our response to the absolution throughout the Easter season.

A special treat will be an offertory with flute and piano - an Easter Alleluia medley. Thank you Carol Ewing and Kim Darby for working on this special musical offering!

Holy Week and Easter

With three services this week, there is lots to cover...!

Maundy Thursday

On Maundy Thursday, the Scripture readings focus on Jesus as the Bread of Life. This is very appropriate as we recognize and celebrate our Lord's Last Supper. Our music for that evening will be centered around that theme.

Preservice music will include two beautiful piano arrangements by John Carter. The first, "I am the bread of life" is a familiar song to many. The second is an arrangement of our sermon hymn "You Satisfy the Hungry Heart" LSB 641.

The prelude is totally different, featuring an organ piece by Johannes Brahms based on our final communion hymn "Feed Your Children, Lord Most Holy." LSB 774 - a lovely closing table prayer.

Good Friday

The prelude for Good Friday will be a passacaglia by Donald Busarow based on "O Sacred Head, Now Wounded" LSB 450. A passacaglia is a musical phrase that is repeated over and over in the lower voice (the pedals on the organ), with other music played above it. In this case, the organ will be joined by Kim Darby on the flute. It will take careful listening to find the hymn tune in the flute part.

As is appropriate on Good Friday, we will ponder the 7 last words of Christ with scripture, prayer, and song. In our recent hymn/song survey, "Go to Dark Gethsemane" LSB 436 was cited most often as a favorite Lenten hymn and it will begin our worship. We will be singing several other hymns that were mentioned in the survey:: "Were You There" LSB 456, "O Sacred Head" LSB 450, "Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted" LSB 433, and "How Deep the Father's Love for Us." This song is found in the new hymnal for Lutheran schools, One and all Rejoice, 203.

At the time of Jesus' words "It is finished," the choir will introduce us to LSB 454, "Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle." The text is an ancient hymn written in the 6th century, but the tune was written in the 20th century by Lutheran musician and professor Carl Schalk. Although it is not as somber sounding as many other Lenten hymns, it reminds us that Christ's death on the cross was a victory over sin, death, and the devil. You may want to listen to the hymn here.

Easter Sunday

The preservice music and prelude for Easter will be quiet pieces that prepare our hearts for the good news that Christ is risen. After the confession and absolution, we will let our Alleluias ring out with the favorite Easter processional "Jesus Christ is Ris'n Today" LSB 457.

The sermon hymn will be "Awake, My Heart, with Gladness" LSB 467. We will sing only stanzas 1 - 3, though I urge you to look up the hymn and read the rest of the stanzas. This is a popular German Lutheran hymn, written by the prolific pastor Paul Gerhardt in the 1600's. It's lilting tune is hard to sing without a smile on your face. If you are not familiar with this hymn, you might choose to listen here.

Those first two hymns were listed as favorite Easter hymns in our survey. Two other favorites will be featured in our service: "In Christ Alone" and the top vote-getter, "I Know That my Redeemer Lives" LSB 461.

Last year, the choir introduced us to the lively Tanzanian hymn "Christ has Arisen, Alleluia." LSB 466. The congregation will join on the refrain and last few stanzas. Enjoy it here.  Feel free to open your hymnal and sing the refrain in 4 parts or clap a drum rhythm on your pew! 

The choir will also sing our Introit for the day, the traditional Easter Psalm verses from 118. The congregation will join on the dancing refrain. This is the Day

The postlude will be based on two Easter hymns we will not be singing "He's Risen, He's Risen" and "Christ is Arisen."

How God used St. Patrick to Spread His Word

Our worship on Sunday, March 17, will be on how God used St. Patrick to spread His word and bless those who did not know the one true God. 

We will be using the following Scripture readings:

Old Testament: Isaiah 61:1-3,8-11 (God's plan for His people to care for others and spread His word)

Psalm 96 (Our God is living and active, not an idol. All nature proclaims His splendor)

Epistle:1 Peter 4:7b-11 (Using our gifts to serve one another) Gospel: Luke 5:1-11 (Through a miraculous catch of fish, Jesus makes Himself known and calls His disciples)

St. Patrick wrote a prayer for protection that is called the "Lorica of St. Patrick." You can read the Lorica here: Lorica of St. Patrick The Lorica has been adapted many times into different prayers, songs and hymns. One of those hymns is in our hymnal. Its Irish tune can be challenging to sing, but we wanted to include it in worship on this special day. You might want to listen to this a few times to get the tune in your head before Sunday. It is a much beloved hymn particularly in Ireland and the British Isles. This recording is from Ireland: I Bind Unto Myself Today  (LSB 604)

One interesting side note on the Lorica for us as we study Ephesians is the section 

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left

Christ where I lie, Christ where I sit, Christ where I arise.

This brings to mind those passages in Ephesians that remind us of the Spirit dwelling in us and the fullness of God that is in us and surrounds us.

Another hymn that might be less familiar is Gracious God, You Send Great Blessings.  Instead of an Irish tune, here we have an American folk tune. This hymn (LSB 782), by a Lutheran pastor, beautifully encapsulates all of the Scripture readings - that the blessings we receive from God are ours to give and share.

The remaining hymns are

Hail to the Lord's Anointed (LSB 398) which celebrates the majesty of Christ as depicted in both Psalm 96 and the Isaiah reading.

Oh that I had a Thousand Voices (LSB 811) reflects Psalm 96 in the praise of creation (even shamrocks and fish!) and how it shows us God's love and majesty.

Sent Forth by God's Blessing (LSB 643) again pulls together all of the readings and our reception of the Lord's Supper into a final proclamation.

May God bless our worship!

Julie Bedard