Pilgrim Lutheran Church, 3222 S Genesee Road, Burton, MI (2026)

09/03/2026

Thursday Psalms: You're Covered!

Today we'll look at the first seven verses of Psalm 32, one of several Penitential psalms in the psalter. As we look first at verses 3-5, all of us will say "Oh yeah, that describes me every day." Soak in these verses today; I'm sure you'll find them very relevant & personal.

Psalm 32:1-7
1 Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered.
2 Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit.
3 For when I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me;
my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and I did not cover my iniquity;
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,”
and You forgave the iniquity of my sin.
6 Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to You
at a time when You may be found;
surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach Him.
7 You are a hiding place for me; You preserve me from trouble;
You surround me with shouts of deliverance.

Keeping silent, keeping sins unconfessed and hidden is never a good idea. Doing so harms us and those against whom we've sinned. We feel God's heavy hand upon us a when our guilty conscience steals our peace. Unconfessed sins entirely disrupt our relationships with others and especially with God. David paints vivid pictures of this: wasting bones, constant groaning, our strength gone. These are terrible places to be, yet how often do we keep going there!

In verse five, God gives you the solution to these results of sin: acknowledge, confess, stop covering up. Our sinful natures hate doing these things, but we know we must. Then, God does the really hard part: He forgives your sins, all of them! This takes us back to the first verse. Blessed are YOU whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!

There's another beautiful discovery here for us; consider the word covered in verses one and five. In verse five, our covering does nothing except prolong our guilty shame and suffering. Our covering only extends our separation from God, and reinforces the divisions in our relationships. But in verse one, God the Father covers your sins with the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son! Jesus covers your sins, having redeemed you, paid your debt and taken your punishment on Calvary's horrid cross! God covers your sins with the white robe of righteousness which will be given to you and is described in Revelation 7:14.

O, how blessed we are, that God covers our sins!
Give thanks, you're covered!

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other and the World.

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

08/30/2026

Jesus bore His cross, He died for you, He lost everything to save you! Set your mind on God’s things; Jesus gives you everlasting life!

08/27/2026

Blessed Thursday to each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, your Savior!

In our Psalm for today, David speaks a lot about how he has walked his daily life. Of course, neither David nor any of us walk perfectly, but David highlights what is God-pleasing. His list includes walking with integrity, trusting in the Lord, being tried and tested by God, and others. David also encourages us to avoid sinfulness in verses four and five. All of us join David, trying to walk in God-pleasing ways every day.

Psalm 26 Of David.
1 Vindicate me, O Lord, for I have walked in my integrity,
and I have trusted in the Lord without wavering.
2 Prove me, O Lord, and try me;
test my heart and my mind.
3 For Your steadfast love is before my eyes,
and I walk in Your faithfulness.
4 I do not sit with men of falsehood,
nor do I consort with hypocrites.
5 I hate the assembly of evildoers,
and I will not sit with the wicked.
6 I wash my hands in innocence and go around Your altar, O Lord,
7 proclaiming thanksgiving aloud,
and telling all Your wondrous deeds.
8 O Lord, I love the habitation of Your house
and the place where Your glory dwells.
9 Do not sweep my soul away with sinners,
nor my life with bloodthirsty men,
10 in whose hands are evil devices,
and whose right hands are full of bribes.
11 But as for me, I shall walk in my integrity;
redeem me, and be gracious to me.
12 My foot stands on level ground;
in the great assembly I will bless the Lord.

But our most important walking is not found in the choices we make, what we do, nor where we walk. Verse three tells us about this walking, but what does it mean for us to walk in God's faithfulness?

Because God loves you, me, and all of His creation far more than we can understand, God is faithful to Himself and all His promises. God's most important promise was made to Adam & Eve just after their first sin. God promised to send a Savior, to redeem all people from the sins we inherit and those we commit ourselves. Jesus, God's only Son, was born a human baby and lived a sinless life on this earth. Furthermore, Jesus allowed Himself to suffer and be killed, so He could be faithful to His Father's will and take the sin punishment you and I daily deserve. That's faithfulness beyond what we can even imagine!

In verse eleven, David was looking forward to the promised Savior as he prayed that God would redeem him and be gracious to him. You and I are even more blessed, that we can look back in time and point to Jesus, our Savior. God HAS redeemed you! God HAS been gracious to you, and still is gracious and loving and forgiving to you every day of your life!

Today, let's join David in God-pleasing walking, to the best of our abilities. Best of all, since God was and continues to be faithful, we walk everyday in His faithfulness, His love and His forgiveness!

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other & the World.

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

08/23/2026

Jesus is unmovable and unchangeable; His forgiveness of your sins is your rock of protection and a joyful life!

08/20/2026

Thursday Psalms: God's Purpose for You

This week's Psalm is a delightful song of thankfulness and praise for all things the Lord gives to you & me!

Psalm 138
1 I give You thanks, O Lord, with my whole heart;
before the gods I sing Your praise;
2 I bow down toward Your holy temple
and give thanks to Your name
for Your steadfast love and Your faithfulness,
for You have exalted above all things Your name and Your word.
3 On the day I called, You answered me;
my strength of soul You increased.
4 All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O Lord,
for they have heard the words of Your mouth,
5 and they shall sing of the ways of the Lord,
for great is the glory of the Lord.
6 For though the Lord is high, He regards the lowly,
but the haughty He knows from afar.
7 Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life;
You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies,
and Your right hand delivers me.
8 The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me;
Your steadfast love, O Lord, endures forever.
Do not forsake the work of Your hands.

Notice the final three verses, which really summarize the loving relationship God gives to you and to me. David observes what is undeniably true: the Lord, the Creator of all things, the One who is
"higher" above and over all things, "regards the lowly". That's you and me! The God of the universe loves you, and cares for you, and provides all things for you! How awesome is that?

Today, I'd like to focus on the last verse, especially the first clause: The Lord will fulfill His purpose for me. What a trusting statement! As you wander about your life, crashing & bumping into troubles and crises and things we can't explain, this promise keeps you focused on God. In all things, God leads you according to His purpose, which matters here and eternally. Why? Because God's love for you is steadfast, unchanging, constant and yes, it endures forever!

Thank You, O Lord for this psalm, and for how You wonderfully regard us, in Your love and mercy! Teach me to trust in You to fulfill Your purpose for me. AMEN

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other and the World.

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

08/16/2026

God's mercy is so abundant and freely given, yes especially to you!

08/13/2026

Thursday Psalms: God's Face Shines on You!

Especially for Missouri Lutheran worshipers, the first verse of today's Psalm reminds us of the familiar benediction spoken at the end of the Divine Service on Sunday mornings. God uses this idea of His face shining on people many times in the Bible. We remember and pray for God's grace and blessing, because God loves each of us so very much and gives them to us. This is personal: God loves YOU so very much, and gives His grace and blessing to YOU!

This psalm also introduces another reason why God would be
gracious to us and bless us and make His face to shine upon us.

Psalm 67
1 May God be gracious to us and bless us
and make His face to shine upon us,
2 that Your way may be known on earth,
Your saving power among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You!
4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy,
for You judge the peoples with equity
and guide the nations upon earth.
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
let all the peoples praise You!
6 The earth has yielded its increase;
God, our God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us;
let all the ends of the earth fear Him!

We find this reason in verse two: [so] that Your way may be known on earth, Your saving power among all nations. God blesses His people, so all people would learn of Him and believe in Him. With this in mind, we should always give thanks to God for His blessings, given for His purposes. We should also ask ourselves: "How can I use the blessings God has given me, so others would also receive God's grace and blessings?"

God is gracious and blesses you greatly; may He lead you to be grace & blessing to others!

Your servant in Christ,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other and the World.

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

08/11/2026

Here is the short video of our worship service last Sunday, August 9th.

08/02/2026

God invites you to His eternal feast without cost and gives to you His everlasting covenant promises!

07/30/2026

Thursday Psalms: Give Thanks to the LORD!

The psalmist has written 26 verses in Psalm 136, each ending responding to who God is and what God has done for us. Knowing every word of Scripture is God-given, here we have God Himself reminding us that His steadfast love endures forever. Since I haven't included all verses, you may want to open your Bible and read through all of them. While the repetition may feel tedious, it's a great reminder of God's never-ending love and forgiveness for YOU. God is always faithful in His mercy, and gives it to YOU over-and-over-and-over!

Psalm 136:1–3, 23–26
1 Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good,
for His steadfast love endures forever.
2 Give thanks to the God of gods,
for His steadfast love endures forever.
3 Give thanks to the Lord of lords,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
23 It is He who remembered us in our low estate,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
24 and rescued us from our foes,
for His steadfast love endures forever;
25 He who gives food to all flesh,
For His steadfast love endures forever.
26 Give thanks to the God of heaven,
for His steadfast love endures forever.

In the first three verses God calls us to be thankful, not only that the Lord is good, but also that He is God and Lord over all nations, kings, and all people. In verses 4-9 we are reminded that God shows His steadfast love by the great wonders in His created natural world. In verses 10-22 the psalmist reminds us of God's steadfast love and faithfulness shown as God rescued His children from slavery in Egypt and established them in the land He promised to give them.

In the final section of this psalm [verses 23-26 above], the focus becomes more personal. The one true God, who created and is Lord over all things, remembers YOU! You're not just one of billions of people currently breathing air on this earth; YOU are a loved and remembered child of God, whose steadfast love for YOU endures forever! Give thanks to the Lord, who rescues YOU from many earthly disasters, struggles and foes. And even better, God ALWAYS rescues you from the evil foe, the devil and all the sins he tempts you to commit. Give thanks to the Lord, who gives to YOU food and all other needs and comforts of your life!

Let's all pause many times today to commit the first verse of this psalm to memory.., and actually do what it says!

Giving thanks to the Lord for His steadfast love,
Pastor Mark
Pilgrim Lutheran Church, LCMS Burton, Michigan
office: 810.744.1188

We are Pilgrims with a Purpose:
Sharing God’s Love & Mercy with Each Other and the World.

Soli Deo Gloria

"The LORD is a stronghold in times of trouble." Psalm 9:9

Pilgrim Lutheran Church

09/03/2026

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