SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
READINGS, PRAYERS and DEVOTION
FRIDAY, JULY 1st
A HAPPY, BLESSED JULY and SECOND HALF OF 2022 TO ALL!
NEWS: Please refer to the Weekly Church E-News sent out by Allen Kolkman yesterday. It has all you need to know. Don’t forget it’s Wine on the Patio at the Kolkman’s house tonight. The info is in the E-News.
PRAYERS: Today we especially pray for the Cerny family” Amanda, Josh, William and Daniel.
READINGS: Psalm 47:1-7; Psalm 75; Joshua 6:6-27; Acts 10:18-33
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“Play the Sunset”
Ecclesiastes 2:25-26 – For apart from Him [God] who can eat or who can have enjoyment? For to the one who pleases him God has given wisdom and knowledge and joy, but to the sinner he has given the business of gathering and collecting, only to give to one who pleases God.
This devotion pairs with this weekend’s Lutheran Hour sermon, which can be found at lutheranhour.org.
Gertrude Lang wears her red hair in pig tails and practices her clarinet till her lips swell up. Gertrude is a minor character in the 1995 film, Mr. Holland’s Opus. She’s a member of Mr. Holland’s band and has been practicing the clarinet for three years, negotiating with it to get the right notes, but the thing still squeaks like rusty brakes on a second-hand ten-speed. And the prospect of failure is too much for her. Her siblings are on full-ride scholarships. Her mother is a talented artist. And her father, her father has the most beautiful singing voice. And she’s trying to negotiate a place for herself. She’s got her self-worth wrapped up in how well she performs, and because she’s not performing well, she’s beginning to believe that she’s worthless. But Mr. Holland won’t give up on her.
King Solomon, traditionally taken as the speaker of the book of Ecclesiastes, tells us how he had practiced his part, negotiating to get the right notes. There were moments when he found the melody, but his mortality still groaned like a dying animal. And we hear him waver back and forth between feelings of favor and vapor. He shows us that if we try to negotiate with mortal life it will always fail us. Mortal life cannot give you what you want because what you want is infinite. And this life is finite.
You desire what is infinite because, as Ecclesiastes says, God has put eternity into your heart (see Ecclesiastes 3:11). You have a God-sized hole in your heart and only God can fill it. And you can’t negotiate with God, either, because God needs nothing you have and has everything you need. But, before you or any other human being ever gave a thought to negotiating, God was already giving. It was only when the devil convinced us to negotiate for more that we fell into sin (see Genesis 3:4). And to us stubbornly self-sufficient negotiators, Solomon says, God has given the fruitless task of heaping up only to hand it over to the “one who pleases God.” And who is the one who pleases God? Only One: God’s beloved Son, Jesus (see Matthew 3:17). And Jesus, like His Father, is not a negotiator. He is a giver. And on the cross and in His resurrection, there He is: God, in the flesh, giving Himself for you.
So, what if we stopped seeing life as negotiation? That’s what Mr. Holland did for the red-headed Gertrude Lang. She was ready to quit. So, he asks her, “Gertrude, when you see yourself, what do you like best about what you see?” She says, “My hair.” “Why?” he says. She answers, “My father says it reminds him of the sunset.” Mr. Holland gestures towards her clarinet: “Play the sunset,” he says. That is, play from the place where you know you’re loved. Now Gertrude didn’t become a virtuoso clarinetist overnight, after this conversation. She still had to negotiate to get the right notes. But she stopped using music to negotiate her value. And she started receiving it like the gift it is—a gift she cherished through long hours of practice, a gift she shared with others, a gift that was an expression of her father’s voice speaking love for her. And Jesus promises even more for us, for everyone who will trust in Him and be taught by Him. He promises life, true life—not a deal won by negotiation, but a gift given in love.
WE PRAY: Dear Father, as we learn to play our part, let it be that what we like best about ourselves, is that You think we we’re worth dying for, through Jesus Christ, our Lord, Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler, Speaker of The Lutheran Hour.
Reflection Questions:
1. Read Ecclesiastes 2. List three ways that Solomon tried to negotiate with mortal life.
2. How would you express his evaluation of his negotiations (Ecclesiastes 2:20-26) in your own words?
3. Is there a simple way you could remind yourself to keep receiving life as a gift from Jesus?
Today’s Bible Readings: Ecclesiastes 10-12 Acts 10:24-48
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 Friday to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us
Pastor Joel at pastor@svlchurch.org
