SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
READINGS, PRAYERS and DEVOTION
SATURDAY, MAY 21
NEWS: Tomorrow we return to God’s house for Bible study and worship. It’s the Sixth Sunday of Easter and Pastor Joel continues study on the miracles of Jesus and how they apply to our lives at 9 AM. In our 10 AM service the title of Pastor Joel’s sermon is, “A Glimpse of Home.” It’s based on our second reading of the day, Revelation 21:9-14, 21-27 Our other readings are Acts 16:9-15 and the Gospel reading, John 5:1-9 After the Lord’s supper and the completion of our worship, please plan to stay with us. We have fellowship time with coffee and goodies. Then, we have our twice-yearly CONGREGATIONAL MEETING. We pray you can attend as we go about our Father’s business and that of our congregation. We will be electing new Board members for two-year terms. Those being voted on are:
Care and Worship: Allen Latall; Growth and Outreach: Rick Adams; Education: Kay Bernie; Stewardship: Ian Andrews; Property: Bruce Woodward. We have one position of which there is no candidate yet and that is for Hospitality/Fellowship. If you can help or would like to fill that, please contact Bruce Woodward.
Those serving us in our Sunday worship are:
Fellowship: Terry & Alba Reilly
Flowers: The Neemia family
Techies: Chris Roth, open
Reader: K Berni
Acolyte: Open
Greeter: Open
Ushers: Victor Dille, Keith Neblett
Please let us know asap if you cannot serve as scheduled or to volunteer for one of the openings. Thanks!
PRAYERS: Today we especially pray for Bill and Pat Sperberg.
READINGS: Psalm 63:1-5, 8-11; Psalm 78; Leviticus 26:21-33, 39-44; Luke 14:1-24
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“Rest in the Race”
Exodus 20:10 – But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates.
One of my favorite Bible verses is Isaiah 40:30-31: “Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
Weariness is something we all experience, but its cause is not simply from overwork or having the weight of the world on our shoulders. The root cause of weariness is our disconnect with God, the One who loves us. We’re disconnected because of our sin and guilt. This broken connection with the One who cares for us leaves us weary and worn out. And like Isaiah reminds us, even the strongest get overwhelmed, eventually.
But the God of heaven created us to be at rest with Him—not at odds with Him. He created us to be in harmony with Him—not out of tune, totally on our own. Though we don’t have the power to fix this situation, God does. And He did so through His Son Jesus who gave His life to bring us back to the Father.
The Sabbath rest in Genesis reminds us that God desires rest and harmony for us, not weariness and discord. And by the way, such rest doesn’t mean idleness. Life is meant to be lived—fully and vigorously—mindful of Him who created and redeemed each one of us to be His own.
A few years ago, we did an event at Lutheran Hour Ministries called “Run with the Rev.” Yep, the Rev was me. Several people and I “trained” online for 12 weeks to run a half-marathon. On race day we gathered, put on our running shoes and T-shirts, and took off running. Guess what verse we had on the back of those shirts? That’s right: Isaiah 40! It empowered each of us with a Sabbath-rest confidence throughout the grueling half-marathon.
But here’s something else we found out that day: among the other runners participating, many were not Christian. They saw the Isaiah verse on the back of our shirts, and afterwards many of them came up to us at the finish line. One runner said, “Thanks for the verse. It was encouraging to see the words, and to see you running with that mindset. It helped me get to the finish line. Thanks again!”
That’s God at work, isn’t it? His Words of refreshment and rest are meant for everyone. There is hope and encouragement in His truth—no matter who you are or what your relationship is with Him. And how He wants all of us to turn to Him when we’re weary and exhausted! Jesus, God’s preeminent long-distance runner, said it best: “Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). Amen.
From “Rest for the Weary!” a devotional message from Rev. Dr. Gregory Seltz, former Speaker of The Lutheran Hour
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you prefer team sports or individual athletics? Why?
2. Why do you think God would give mankind a day of rest each week?
3. Do you take time and turn to Jesus for rest and refreshment when you’re tired?
Today’s Bible Readings: Psalms 4-6 John 7:1-27
To Download Devotion MP3 to your computer, right click here and select “Save Link As” or “Save Target As” or “Download Linked File As”
Luther’s Morning Prayer
In the morning, as soon as you get out of bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father through Jesus Christ your dear son, that you have protected me this night from all harm and danger, and I ask you that you would also protect me today from sin and all evil, so that my life and actions may please you completely. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
After singing a hymn or whatever else may serve your devotion, you can go about your day joyfully!
Luther’s Evening Prayer
In the evening, when you go to bed, you are to make the Sign of the Cross and say:
“God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit watch over me. Amen.”
Then, kneeling or standing, say the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer. In addition recite this prayer as well:
“I give thanks to you, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ your dear Son, that you have graciously protected me today, and I ask you to forgive me all my sins, where I have done wrong, and graciously to protect me tonight. For into your hands I commend myself: my body, my soul, and all that is mine. Let your holy angel be with me, so that the wicked foe may have no power over me. Amen.”
You can now go to bed quickly and cheerfully.
OTHER RESOURCES:
www.facebook.com/shepherdofthevalleyoceanside
Here is the website for Lutheran Hour Ministries: https://www.lhm.org/
Lutheran Public Radio is listener supported and has two channels, one for sacred music and the other for talk, including news, current issues, politics and spiritual matters from a Lutheran perspective. Hosted by Pastor Todd Wilken, Issues, Etc. airs live Monday thru Friday from 1 to 3 pm Pacific, with the “Best Of” running at other hours: https://lutheranpublicradio.org/
KFUO is the listener supported radio station owned and operated by the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod. Based in St. Louis, their format consists of teaching, preaching, ministry and sacred music: https://www.kfuo.org/
A very blessed Saturday and weekend to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us
