SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
READINGS, PRAYERS and DEVOTION
PENTECOST MONDAY, JUNE 6
NEWS: Yesterday we celebrated Pentecost Sunday in God’s house. We give thanks to the Lord for Pastor Joel, all who served to make our worship experience enjoyable and all who joined us in person or online. Blessings to all in this new week.
Tomorrow evening the Tuesday evening Bible study takes place at the Kolkman’s house. The series, from Lutheran Hour Ministries, is on The Two Kingdoms of God. It starts at 6:30 PM with a short devotion, followed by the study. Then there is fellowship time, with the evening concluding at 8.
Wednesday evening the ladies meet for their Wednesday evening Bible study. That is online, via Zoom, and starts at 5 PM. The Max Lucado book, “Experiencing the Heart of Jesus,” is being studied. Lori Dowe is leading.
PRAYERS: Today we especially pray for Berand Kirschner. Berand asks prayers for all those in the world under oppression, attack and hunger, that the Lord may bring peace, calm and sustenance to them. It seems like a timely request as part of todays readings seem to cover this. See Psalm 72:12-14
READINGS: Psalm 128; Psalm 72; Numbers 22:1-20; Luke 22:1-23
ADDITIONAL READINGS FOR PENECOST MONDAY: Isaiah 57:15-21; Psalm 43; Acts 10:42-48; John 3:16-21
COLLECT OF THE DAY: O God, who gave Your Holy Spirit to the apostles, grant us that same Spirit that we may live in faith and abide in peace; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“Crowned with Glory”
Psalm 8:4-6 – What is man that You are mindful of him, and the son of man that You care for him? Yet You have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings and crowned him with glory and honor. You have given him dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet.
The experience of standing beneath a clear night sky with its expanse of stars or viewing a seemingly endless landscape can make us feel very, very small. Perhaps the psalmist felt small as he sat beneath the canopy of countless stars or viewed the hills stretching into the distance. He was moved to ask God, “What is man that You are mindful of him?”
What is man, what are human beings, that God should pay attention to them? God created human beings in His own image, “male and female He created them” (Genesis 1:27b). Although a “little lower” than the heavenly beings, the man and woman were created to worship and serve the Creator. Crowning the people He had made with glory and honor, God made them the managers or caretakers of the world He made. He gave to them dominion over the works of His hands, telling them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Genesis 1:28b).
God announced that all He had made was very good, but that very good creation was plunged into the darkness of sin and death when the first man and woman rebelled against the Creator and disobeyed His Word. Each of us has inherited that sinful inclination to rebel against God and His Word. We sin daily against our Lord’s will and ways, feeling prideful and imagining that we are bigger than we really are. Yet out of His love for the world and people He made, God acted to restore His creation, to once again bring light into the darkness, sending His Son Jesus, the Light who shines in the darkness.
The writer to the Hebrews provides the prophetic meaning of our psalm. Jesus, the Son of God, took on human flesh. He was born in Bethlehem and, for a little while, was “made lower than the angels.” For our sake, Jesus suffered and died on the cross, taking onto Himself the penalty of death for our sins and “tasting death for everyone” (Hebrews 2:9).
Jesus was raised from death, crowned with glory and honor. He was exalted to reign at the Father’s right hand, “far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come” (Ephesians 1:21). We, small as we are, have been created anew through faith in Jesus and crowned with glory and honor as God’s holy people. We are called to care for the world that God made and, like the heavenly beings, we joyfully worship and serve the God who created and redeemed us.
WE PRAY: Lord God, accept my worship and humble service. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler.
Reflection Questions:
1. What in creation—when you see it or think about it—do you really sense God’s hand in it?
2. Why would God in Jesus become one of us? What does that say about Him?
3. How has mankind been given dominion over the work of God’s hands? What does this mean to you?
Today’s Bible Readings: Psalms 109-110,138 John 16
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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:
Our church website is: https://www.svlchurch.org/
Below is our Facebook page:
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 Monday and new week to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us
Pastor Joel at pastor@svlchurch.org
