SHEPHERD OF THE VALLEY LUTHERAN CHURCH
READINGS, PRAYERS and DEVOTION
SUNDAY, JULY 17
Psalm 122:1 I was glad when they said to me, Let us go to the house of the Lord!
NEWS: A big thank you to all who made our Eat-O-Vision event a success yesterday, including but not limited to, the Cerny’s and Kolkman’s. Thanks to all who attended as well!
Today we are in our Fathers house for Bible study and worship. Bible study starts at 9 AM and Pastor Joel is leading a study on the Lord’s prayer, with insights from Martin Luther’s Small and Large Catechisms. Our worship is at 10 and the title of Pastor Joel’s sermon today is, “What’s Necessary?” It’s based on text from Luke 10:38-42 which is our Gospel reading for the day. Our other readings are Genesis 18:1-10 and Colossians 1:21-29 After the Lord’s supper and the conclusion of our service its POTLUCK time! Please proceed to the Fellowship Hall for food and more socializing together!
TODAY IS THE DEADLINE for reservations to go to the Storm baseball game at the Diamond in Lake Elsinore, Friday, August 12. Tickets are $14.00 each, which includes parking and a non-alcoholic drink. Please see Rick Adams to pay and sign-up.
We pray all can join us for part of their Sunday but for those unable to worship in person, we stream our service live. The link is here: www.facebook.com/shepherdofthevalleyoceanside Click on that, then click on the More dropdown arrow, then click Live. If you have a moment, please “Like” us and leave a brief comment about your online worship experience. Thank you! Also serving the Lord and our congregation today are:
Fellowship: Potluck
Flowers: Allen & Debbie Kolkman
Techies: Ian Andrews, Chris Roth
Reader: Allen Latall
Acolyte: Josphine Neemia
Greeter: Kathy Andrews
Ushers: Victor Dille, Bill Sperberg
PRAYERS: Today we especially pray for the Neemia family: Mike, Fale, Easter, Penny, Josephine and Jeremiah. Prayers are requested for Mike’s sister who, after going into remission, has had a return of cancer. Also, for Fale’s work place, where some are dealing with Covid. Additional prayers are requested for all who are in need, financially, spiritually or emotionally.
COLLECT OF THE DAY: O God, so rule and govern our hearts and minds by your Holy Spirit that, ever mindful of Your final judgement, we may be stirred up to holiness of living here and dwell with you in perfect joy hereafter; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
READINGS: Psalm 92; 1 Samuel 1:1-20; Galatians 5:1-26
DIGGING DEEPER: Isaiah 44:6-8; Psalm 119:57-64; Romans 8:18-27; Matthew 13:24-30, 36-43
Alleluia. I will open my mouth in parables; I will utter what has been hidden since the foundation of the world. Alleluia.
DEVOTION:
Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries
“Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle”
“Sing, my tongue, the glorious battle; Sing the ending of the fray. Now above the cross, the trophy, Sound the loud triumphant lay; Tell how Christ, the world’s Redeemer, As a victim won the day.
“Faithful cross, true sign of triumph, Be for all the noblest tree; None in foliage, none in blossom, None in fruit thine equal be; Symbol of the world’s redemption, For the weight that hung on Thee!”
Our hymn celebrates the cross as a trophy, an emblem of victory. The cross is not the “true sign of triumph” because it was covered with gold or silver like the world’s shining awards. The rough-hewn wooden cross was the “symbol of the world’s redemption” because of the weight that hung from it, the blessed weight of God.
We do not usually think of God as having weight, and rightly so: “God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24). He is the God who “dwells in unapproachable light, whom no one has ever seen or can see” (1 Timothy 6:16a). Yet in Jesus Christ, “all the fulness of God was pleased to dwell” (Colossians 1:19b). In Jesus, God had weight. God took on human flesh, from the few pounds of the newborn infant in the manger in Bethlehem, to the weight of a little boy in Nazareth, to the young man who grew into adulthood and proclaimed His kingdom.
God in Christ also knew a greater weight. Jesus “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:4a, 6b). For the sake of our salvation, Jesus took up the heavy burden of the cross. The weight of God the Son hung from the cross as Jesus suffered and died to atone for the sins of the world. Jesus’ body was taken down from the cross and His followers carried that sad weight to the tomb.
On the first Easter morning, Jesus rose from the dead. Unbelievers today may say that Jesus did rise from death, but that He arose only in spirit or merely lived on in the memories of His followers. By faith we know the truth, expressed in the eyewitness testimony of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus rose bodily, physically, from death. The risen Lord came to His astonished disciples and invited them, “See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Touch Me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have” (Luke 24:39).
The day is coming when we, like those first disciples, will see God the Son, Jesus our Lord, in the flesh. When Jesus returns on the Last Day, we will be raised bodily from death as He was raised and know once again the weight of living flesh, ours and His, the blessed weight of God the Son.
WE PRAY: Lord Jesus, I look forward to the day of Your return. Come, Lord Jesus! Amen.
This Daily Devotion was written by Dr. Carol Geisler. It is based on the hymn “Sing, My Tongue, the Glorious Battle,” which is number 454 in the Lutheran Service Book.
Reflection Questions:
1. Have you ever won a trophy? Does this accomplishment carry a different or expanded meaning for you today than when you first won it?
2. How is it possible that Jesus could bear the weight of the world’s sin in His body?
3. Do you think anything could weaken your faith if you had seen Jesus alive after His crucifixion?
Today’s Bible Readings: 2 Kings 17-18 Galatians 4
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 you 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.”
Now you can 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 Lutherans for Life: https://lutheransforlife.org/
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 Lord’s Day and Sunday to everyone! For any needs or prayer requests, please contact us.
Pastor Joel at pastor@svlchurch.org
