Trinity Lutheran Church Cape Cod

06/05/2026

YOUR TLC NOTES!!!

Greetings!

I guess it’s the OPPOSITE of Christmas…Oh, the weather outside is delightful! Kind of a nice change, though Sunday’s forecast means someone was singing “let it rain, let it rain, let it rain,” or something. Oh, well.

Nice, though, to get a taste of summer which this year the dynamic duo of Val and Bryan are back! Val looks great and is ready soon to tickle the organ keys in her usual spot. We had choir rehearsal last night and it was SO nice to have her back. Also it’s great having Bryan back so now I don’t have to take the church trash and recycling for a while! 🤓

You can see what else is coming up in the TLC Notes attached below.

Have a GREAT weekend, and I’ll see you on Sunday!

Yours, in Christ Jesus,
Pastor B.

05/31/2026

TRINITY SUNDAY ON YOUTUBE

YouTube:

STREAMED WITH PERMISSION UNDER ONE LICENSE # M-402089.ALL RIGHTS R...

05/31/2026

STREAMED WITH PERMISSION UNDER ONE LICENSE # M-402089.
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

05/31/2026

TRINITY SUNDAY SERMON: ST. MATTHEW 28:18-20

IN NOMINE JESU

Prayer: O Lord God, heavenly Father: We poor sinners confess that in our flesh dwells no good thing, and that, left to ourselves, we die and perish in sin, since that which is born of flesh is flesh and cannot see the kingdom of God. But we pray that You would grant us Your grace and mercy, and for the sake of Your Son, Jesus Christ, send Your Holy Spirit into our hearts, that being regenerate we may firmly believe the forgiveness of sins according to Your promise in baptism, and that we may daily increase in Christian love and in other good works, until we at last obtain eternal salvation; through the same, Your beloved Son Jesus Christ, our lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one true God, now and forever. Amen.

Text: The Holy Ghost has caused to be written in St. Matthew 28,18/20: And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.

Some pastors say at the start of the Sunday service: “We begin in the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” Normally, though, those first two words are supposed to be left out. Why? Because the Sunday Divine Service does not and should not focus on us beginning because it is God who begins and does all things for us. And so, to say “We begin” can speak of the pride that is in each one of us that looks for glory in what we do rather than in what God does.

The beginning of the Divine Service is an important thing. Those words the pastor speaks are not just thrown out to set some kind of mood, but they tell an important truth that gives focus to the reason why we are gathered here Sunday after Sunday. The beginning of the service is in the Name of the Triune God, Him in whom we live, move, and have our being; and so it is He who is the Actor here. And when we understand that very basic fact, then we will have a clearer understanding of what is done here each week.

In the book of Moses called Genesis we read these words (4,26): And as for Seth, to him also a son was born; and he named him Enosh. Then men began to call on the name of the Lord. That is to say, the Gospel of the coming Descendant of Eve who would crush the head of Satan was told and told again from one generation to the next. Adam proclaimed it to his son Seth. Seth preached it to his son Enosh. In this way, the promise made just after the Fall into sin would not fade into the mists of history. It would be a living promise, a continuing word of comfort for those who were born and who lived in this world so full of sorrow, and death.

Thus, when the Name of the Lord was “called upon,” it was “declared as the only help in times of distress. His Name was preached so that His mercy might be given, forgiveness granted, and the sure hope of heaven proclaimed to those for whom the memory of the paradise they had lost was still fresh in their minds.

This is why there is that close connection made between the pastor saying: In the Name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and the congregation responding: Amen, because the only way to have the hope of help is to have the Name of the Lord put upon us. Then we are made free to confess our sins and have their guilt taken away by the Creator of the universe Himself! That is, the very first words of each Divine Service remind us of who we are and whom the Lord is so that when we need Him, we know what our relationship to our God really is.

What is that relationship? It is what we have been given all good things from our Maker as His children. How are we who were born His enemies made into His children? As Jesus said and as St. Paul later taught, it is by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit. By being reborn – by being baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – we are given the life-restoring Name of the Lord as our very own. And since we have been chosen by God to live as His offspring, we have every right to go to Him in anticipation of the great gifts He promises to give us. And not only to wish for those gifts, but actually to receive them!

Remember the events surrounding those two so un-alike twins Esau and Jacob? Esau was the oldest and it was his right to receive his father’s inheritance and, to our thinking, to be the ancestor of the Descendant through whom all the nations of the earth would be blessed. Jacob, though, at the urging of his mother, pretended to be his brother in order to trick his nearly blind father into giving him those blessings.

For you, though, such deceit is not necessary. You do not have to pretend to be good and holy in order to get God to think enough of you to forgive you your sins and give you eternal life. Why? Because you can’t! You do not have to act like Jesus so that God the Father thinks you are Jesus in order to bless you, that’s something which your sin keeps you from doing. No, you are given for free by baptism actual membership in the family of God, an adoption so sure that it cannot be taken away from you by any other man, devil, or even an angel. You wear Jesus as Jacob wore the lamb’s wool, and God the Father blesses you, not because you’ve fooled Him, but because He gave you Jesus’ holiness to wear as though it were your own.

It is a profound act of God that does this as He is motivated by His love for you, just as we are reminded by the prophet Isaiah who once said (43,5/7): Fear not, for I [am] with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, And gather you from the west; I will say to the north, 'Give them up!' And to the south, 'Do not keep them back!' Bring My sons from afar, And My daughters from the ends of the earth -- Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory; I have formed him, yes, I have made him.

Notice how the verbs – the “action words” – are used in those verses. The Lord says, I am with you…I have made you. Thus, whatever you have of the presence of God and the blessing of His Name today is because of what God has done for you.

1 John 1 verse 9: If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Not “we are faithful,” but “God is faithful!” In other words, we are saying: “I will confess my sins because You have done everything already to forgive them,” Our confession and request for forgiveness does not cause God to forgive. Just as Jesus said from the cross: It is finished. And thus you are given the promise of heaven now because of what God has already done for you.

n a similar way, Jesus will say to those sheep on His right hand on Judgement Day (Matthew 25,34): (Now) Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Your forgiveness, your life, and your salvation, are things which God has worked out for you from before the very beginning of time when He then chose to love you. St. Paul put it this way in Ephesians 1,3/5: Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly [places] in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.

And it is in this way that you can hear the Name of God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – and not be afraid. It is in this way that you can come into His very presence and not simply stop existing. By what your Savior has done for you, you are called acceptable to Him. You are adopted and embraced by Him, instead of being rejected because of the sin with which you were born.
How? Through this: (sign of the cross). The sign of the cross is made at the beginning of the Divine Service so that we can know of what wondrous love that Name of God consists. The glory of that Name is found in the mercy shown you by the Father sending His only Son to this cross to take upon Himself the very fires of hell you deserved in order to pay the great debt for you.

The glory of that Name is found in the pain borne by the Christ. The abuse…the stripes…the mocking. And this same sign of the cross was made over you at your baptism, thus marking you with the badge of God’s grace, marking you as His child, now. And because of what was done on the cross and because of how what was done on the cross has been given here to you, you can pass through those doors without fear whether coming in or going out, because you no longer have to try relying on how well you worship Him; because He is here to do for you everything you cannot do for yourself.

This is why Jesus said (Matthew 18,20): "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, there I am in the midst of them." It is in His Name that you are gathered by Him to receive His love. His Name, which as St. Paul said is above every name, His name is bestowed upon you because by baptism you have been made the brother of Jesus and are now sons ers of the Most High King. You are given the holiness of the Christ and are granted the blessing of God the Father as though you were His firstborn child and thus you have been made set to inherit absolutely everything that is His.

Yes, as sinners we are ever conscious of how we have failed and how we wish we could make it up to our God. And though in the Divine Service we do give Him our offerings of thanks and praise and money, it is not to earn His love. No, every time we are drawn by God the Holy Spirit into His presence we receive from Him far, far more than we can ever give.

And so, it is not we who begin the Divine Service in God’s Name. No, He begins His service to you, baptized ones. It is this Name which guarantees that His blessings are for you now even in this life of sickness, sorrow, and death, so that you will enjoy eternal life which will be full of the rest and peace Jesus earned for you Therefore on that day the angels take you to heaven, on that day Jesus returns, on that day which will last forever you will live in peace and joy in the presence of the Lamb of God who was slain but who now lives and whose perfect life and all-atoning death is made yours in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Forevermore. Amen.

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

05/31/2026

TRINITY SUNDAY HYMNS
SUNDAY, MAY 31, 2026

OPENING HYMN: TLH 38

1 The Lord, my God, be praised,
My Light, my Life from heaven;
My Maker, who to me
Hath soul and body given;
My Father, who doth shield
And keep me day by day,
Doth make each moment yield
New blessings on my way.

2 The Lord, my God, be praised,
My Trust, my Life from heaven,
The Father's own dear Son,
Whose life for me was given;
Who for me sin atoned
With His most precious blood,
Who giveth me by faith
The highest heav'nly good.

3 The Lord, my God, be praised,
My Hope, my Life from heaven,
The Spirit, whom the Son
In love to me hath given.
'Tis He revives my heart,
'Tis He that gives me pow'r,
Help, comfort, and support
In sorrow's gloomy hour.

4 The Lord, my God, be praised,
My God, who ever liveth,
To whom the heavenly host
All praise and honor giveth.
The Lord, my God, be praised,
In whose great name I boast,
God Father, God the Son,
And God the Holy Ghost.

5 To Him with joyful song
Our praises we are bringing
And with the angel throng
Thrice "Holy" we are singing.
With one united voice
The Church doth Him adore.
The Lord, my God, be praised
Now and forevermore.

PSALM 8

Antiphon
P: O `Lord, our Lord,/ How excellent is Your name `in all the earth.
Psalm
P: Who have `set Your glory/ a`bove the heavens!
C: Out of `the mouth of babes/ and `nursing infants
P: You have ordained strength, Because of `Your enemies,/ That You may silence the enemy and `the avenger.
C: When I consider Your heavens, the work `of Your fingers,/ The moon and the stars, which `You have ordained,
P: What is man that You are `mindful of him,/ And the son of man that `You visit him?
C: For You have made him a little lower `than the angels,/ And You have crowned him with glo`ry and honor.
P: You have made him to have dominion over the `works of Your hands;/ You have put all things `under his feet,
C: All `sheep and oxen;/ Even the `beasts of the field,
P: The birds of the air, And the `fish of the sea/ That pass through the `paths of the seas.
C: O `Lord, our Lord,/ How excellent is Your name `in all the earth!
ALL: Glory be to the Father `and to the Son/ and to `the Holy Ghost;
ALL: As it was in the be`ginning, is now,/ and ever shall be, forever`more. Amen.
Pastor Repeats Antiphon

CHIEF HYMN: ELH 40

Isaiah, mighty seer, in days of old
The Lord of all in Spirit did behold
High on a lofty throne, in splendor bright,
With flowing train that filled the Temple quite.
Above the throne were stately seraphim,
Six wings had they, these messengers of Him.
With twain they veiled their faces, as was meet,
With twain in reverent awe they hid their feet,
And with the other twain aloft they soared,
One to the other called and praised the Lord:
"Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Holy is God, the Lord of Sabaoth!
Behold, His glory filleth all the earth!"
The beams and lintels trembled at the cry,
And clouds of smoke enwrapped
the throne on high.

Now let us to the Lord lift up our hearts
By faith which God the Holy Ghost imparts,
Now let us with the angel host unity
And with the company of saints in light,
TO bring our thanks and praise to God the Lord
Almighty, everlasting, gracious God.
For all creation’s splendor, earth, and light;
For our redemption and eternal life,
Bought with the precious blood of Christ our Kind
Whose gracious Name we magnify and sing:
“Holy is God the Lord of pow’r and might!
Holy is God, the Lord of pow’r and might!
Holy is God the Lord of pow’r and might!
His love and glory fill the heav’n and earth!”
Blest is the One who comes in God’s own Name,
Hosanna! Save us, Lord! Your grace we claim!”
DISTRIBUTION 1: TLH 237

1. All glory be to God on high,
Who hath our race befriended!
To us no harm shall now come nigh,
The strife at last is ended;
God showeth His good will to men,
And peace shall reign on earth again;
Oh, thank Him for His goodness!

2. We praise, we worship Thee, we trust,
And give Thee thanks forever,
O Father, that Thy rule is just
And wise and changes never.
Thy boundless power o'er all things reigns,
'Tis done whate'er Thy will ordains:
Well for us that Thou rulest!

3. O Jesus Christ, Thou only Son
Of God, Thy heavenly Father,
Who didst for all our sins atone
And Thy lost sheep dost gather:
Thou Lamb of God, to Thee on high,
From out our depths, we sinners cry,
Have mercy on us, Jesus!

4. O Holy Ghost, Thou precious Gift,
Thou Comforter unfailing,
O'er Satan's snares our souls uplift
And let Thy power availing
Avert our woes and calm our dread.
For us the Savior's blood was shed;
We trust in Thee to save us.

DISTRIBUTION 2: TLH 238

1. All glory be to God alone,
For evermore the Highest One.
He is our sinful race's friend;
His grace and peace to us extend.
May humankind see his good will,
May hearts with deep thanksgiving fill.

2. We praise you, God; your name we bless
And worship you in humbleness;
From day to day we glorify
Our everlasting God on high.
Your splendor's glorious light we sing,
And to your throne our thanks we bring.

3. Lord God, Our King on heaven's throne,
Our Father, the Almighty One.
O Lord, the Sole begotten One,
Lord Jesus Christ, the Father's Son,
True God from all eternity,
O Lamb of God, to you we flee.

4. You take the whole world's sin away;
Have mercy on us, Lord, we pray.
You take the whole world's sin away;
Oh, listen to the prayer we say.
From God's right hand, oh, send today
Your mercy on us, Lord, we pray.

5. You are the only Holy One,
The Lord of all things, you alone.
O Jesus Christ, We glorify
You and the Spirit, Lord Most High;
With him you evermore will be
One in the Father's majesty.

6. This truth divine, this mystery
The angles sing adoringly.
By all creation, far and wide,
You, Lord, are ever glorified;
For all your people sing your praise
Now and through everlasting days.

DISTRIBUTION 3: TLH 236

1. Creator Spirit, by whose aid
The world's foundations first were laid,
Come, visit every humble mind;
Come, pour Thy joys on humankind;
From sin and sorrow set us free
And make Thy temples worthy Thee.

2. O Source of uncreated light,
The Father's promised Paraclete,
Thrice holy Fount, thrice holy Fire,
Our hearts with heavenly love inspire;
Come and Thy sacred unction bring
To sanctify us while we sing.

3. Plenteous of grace, descend from high
Rich in Thy sevenfold energy;
Make us eternal truths receive
And practice all that we believe;
Give us Thyself that we may see
The Father and the Son by Thee.

4. Immortal honor, endless fame,
Attend the almighty Father's name;
The Savior Son be glorified,
Who for lost man's redemption died;
And equal adoration be,
Eternal Paraclete, to Thee.

CLOSING HYMN: TLH 644

1. Praise God, from whom all blessings flow;
Praise Him, all creatures here below;
Praise Him above, ye heav'nly host:
Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.

05/29/2026

YOUR TLC NOTES!!!

Greetings in Jesus’ holy Name!

Well, the summer season seems to be here! The first orange cones of the season, blocking one of our parking lot entrances, have been spotted!

We’re about to start the second half of the Church year with Trinity Sunday. Once again hearing about and being reminded of the true nature of our Creator, Redeemer, and Comforter, we celebrate each coming Sunday of all those things done for our salvation by our merciful God.

Though we will hear once again those familiar accounts, we need to be reminded of all those things our God has promised to do for us as we live our lives trusting in Him for our forgiveness, life, and salvation!

I pray you have a great weekend, and I’ll see you on Sunday!

Yours, in the Name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit:

Pastor Braun

05/25/2026

05/24/2026

PENTECOST SERVICE ON YOUTUBE:

STREAMED WITH PERMISSION UNDER ONE LICENSE # M-402089.ALL RIGHTS R...

05/24/2026

A wonderful morning and lunch visit from Bethany Lutheran College's own Don Westphal! An enjoyable and informative time was had by all! Thanks, Warren, for the pics!