Mount Olive Lutheran Church LCMS

05/25/2026

The meeting of Mary and Elizabeth overflows with the physicality and joyful anticipation of birth. Echoing an Old Testament theme with women like Sarah, aging Elizabeth — who is beyond childbearing age — nevertheless bears John, the man who would plunge Christ into the waters of the Jordan. Then there is young Mary, the virgin, who bears Jesus, the God-man who came to plunge people into His life-giving kingdom waters. These bookends of maternity — the elderly mother of the greatest born of women under the old covenant, and the virgin mother of the incarnate mystery of the ages — embed the great acts of redemption in the family, much like God’s promise to Abraham that through his offspring “shall all the nations of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 22:18).

The Christmas story reflects the subversive and compelling role for the church and the family in a society that has forgotten what it means to be human.

05/25/2026

“Christ is the Morning Star who, when the night of this world is past, gives to his Saints the promise of the light of life, and opens everlasting day.” - Bede the Venerable (672-735), Priest and Monk of Jarrow, Teacher of the Faith

Bede was born in Northumbria in England and was seven years old when his family gave him to a nearby monastery. He became a monk and lived a quiet life of study and teaching. He wrote extensive commentaries on Scripture and works of scholarship about poetry, language, and history. He is best remembered for his Ecclesiastical History of the English People, in which he traces the story of Christianity in England from the earliest centuries up to his own day. Using the library at his monastery in Jarrow and also accessing ancient records from a monastery in Canterbury and from London, Bede’s work was the first known historical account of Anglo-Saxon England ever written. Bede is now considered “The Father of English History” and he is the first native-born British saint to be designated a “Doctor of the Church.”

O God, your blessed Son became poor for our sake, and chose the Cross over the kingdoms of this world: Deliver us from an inordinate love of worldly things, that we, inspired by the devotion of your servant Bede the Venerable, may seek you with singleness of heart, behold your glory by faith, and attain to the riches of your everlasting kingdom, where we shall be united with our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Art & bio by Ben Lansing

ORDER the book - www.ourchurchspeaks.com//

05/25/2026

Gracious Lord, heavenly Father, on this day we pause to remember the sacrifices made for freedom throughout the past centuries. We do indeed owe a debt of gratitude to those who have paid dearly for the liberty we enjoy. Yet, O Lord, I know that good government, peace, and freedom are really gifts granted from Your fatherly hand, as I confess in the Creed. As we remember those who have served our nation, help us to remember that civic duty, no matter how well done, does not grant entrance to Your kingdom. We are saved by grace, through faith in Christ, apart from our works. Freed from the Law’s demands, I know that I am now free to serve my neighbor for my neighbor’s sake. May the sacrifices of those who have gone before me serve as examples. When I meet those who have served, remind me to thank them. Almighty God, guide the leaders of our nation. Watch over those who serve in our armed forces, especially those far from home. And above all, grant that we, Your children by faith in Christ, may find a field of service in which we, as salt and leaven, may uphold righteousness, order, and peace in Jesus’ name. Amen.

Parades, cookouts, and summer kickoffs all happen on Memorial Day. Take time to reflect and pray for soldiers with a prayer from Lutheran Book of Prayer.

05/25/2026

In memory . . .

05/25/2026

05/25/2026

the most certain form of baptism is child baptism.
for an adult might deceive and come to christ as a judas and have himself baptized.
but a child cannot deceive.
he comes to christ in baptism, as john came to him, and as the children were brought to him, that his word and work might be effective in them, move them, and make them holy, because his word and work cannot be without fruit.
yet it has this effect alone in the child.
were it to fail here it would fail everywhere and be in vain, which is impossible.

— martin luther

05/25/2026

The key issue of the debates concerned Arius and his insistence that the Son was a creature of the Father, albeit highly exalted. The chief point of contention was the term homoousios (the

05/25/2026

“The universe has been wrought for us by a supremely good and orderly Creator.” - Nicolaus Copernicus (1473-1543), Astronomer

Nicolaus Copernicus was a Polish scientist, mathematician, and Roman Catholic cleric, living at the dawn of the scientific revolution. Though a man of quiet temperament, he played a significant role in instigating this scientific revolution and changed the world forever. A man of diverse talents and occupations, Copernicus is remembered most for proposing that the sun, not the earth, was the center of the solar system. This re-orientation of the heavens conflicted with earlier conceptions of the universe and woodenly literalistic interpretations of Scriptural passages (like Psalm 104:5 - “He set the earth on its foundations so that it shall never be moved.”). Acting as a canon within the Church, his work was supported, encouraged, and promoted by the church of his day and he became a renowned astronomer. His bold scientific theories were driven by his faith that God had created an orderly and logical universe. Copernicus said, “To know the mighty works of God, to comprehend His wisdom and majesty and power; to appreciate, in degree, the wonderful workings of His laws, surely all this must be a pleasing and acceptable mode of worship to the Most High, to whom ignorance cannot be more grateful than knowledge.” Later generations, embroiled by the turmoil of Reformation-era political conflicts, banned Copernicus’ writings and condemned his teaching. But once the fires of war had dissipated, Copernicus was once again elevated by the church as an exemplar of a uniquely Christian approach to bold, scientific exploration.

Almighty God, at your command all things came to be: the vast expanse of interstellar space, galaxies, suns, the planets in their courses, and earth, our home: Make us ever thankful for your loving providence; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing
Order the book ourchurchspeaks.com

05/25/2026

https://www.burkemortuary.com/obituaries/Robert-Bobby-Howard?obId=48439732

05/25/2026

“He will teach you all things.” John 14:26b

Pentecost

Pentecost is the name used by Greek-speaking Jews for the Jewish feast of Shavuot. It is a festival of first fruits, when God is given an offering from the land’s early produce. Ancient Jewish tradition connected this feast with the giving of the Torah to Moses on Mt. Siniai. Its name, “Pentecost,” refers to its placement on the calendar - fifty days after Passover - and it is now associated with the Christian feast commemorating the coming of the Holy Spirit. After Christ’s ascension into heaven, his disciples met in Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost. While they were together, the sound of a rushing wind filled the room and the Holy Spirit fell upon all, manifesting in flames of fire. The disciples began speaking in the languages of the Gentile nations and they were empowered to fulfill Jesus’ final command to “go into all of the world, baptizing in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Fifty days earlier, Jesus had promised that he would ask the Father to send the Helper (the Holy Spirit) who would be with them forever. Now, in the presence of all, this promise was fulfilled.

The cultural chaos following the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple in AD 70 led to conflicting traditions in how to calculate Passover. Today, Western Pentecost, Eastern Pentecost, and Jewish Shavuot all fall on different days. This reminds us to pray that through the Holy Spirit’s power, all of his people will be fully unified in his truth and love.

Almighty God, on this day, through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation: Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Art & history by Ben Lansing

Book now available 📚- www.ourchurchspeaks.com