Bethany Lutheran, Port Orchard, WA

Bethany Lutheran, Port Orchard, WA Page for and about Bethany Lutheran Port Orchard's neighborhood Church, School, and Early Learning Center since 1945. We subscribe to (i.e. Come join our family!

follow) the Lutheran Confessions found in "The Book of Concord" from 1580. We are Biblical, traditional, reverent and part of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod (els.org)! In a world that is constantly changing, God and His Church remain constant.

06/15/2026

Summer Psalms Day 23
June 15, 2026

Psalm 4:8 (ESV)
8 In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.

What a contrast between the words of today’s Summer Psalm and the way I often collapse, overwhelmed, into bed. Concerns about bills, over home repairs, and for loved ones can be so consuming that even though I’m lying down exhausted but I’m not always lying down to sleep in peace.

The promise of Psalm 4:8 are words I need to learn and repeat to myself often. God knows my needs and He loves me passionately. His Son, my Savior, is proof of that and so are all the other things He’s given and done for me!

I still need to be diligent about those bills and home repairs but as one for whom Jesus died for I can also trust that God Himself loves me.

Heavenly Father, life in this world can be overwhelming, especially when I forget Your promises of love and care. Let Jesus’ cross remind me of the depth of Your love so that when I lie down tonight, I do so in peace. Amen.

06/14/2026

Divine Service for 2nd Sunday in Trinity, June 14, 2026, Pastor Pittenger, Bethany Lutheran Church, Port Orchard

06/14/2026

Summer Psalms Day 22
June 14, 2026

Psalm 139:13 (ESV)
13 For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.

Imagine the size of the instruction manual if a woman wanted to become a mother by assembling a baby inside of herself! One of the first things she’d need to know is how to disassemble her lunch and reassemble it into a baby; brain cells, bones, eyes, etc.

This is something only God does and only He can do. Though He’s “programmed” the fertilized egg to develop and “programmed” the mother’s body to assist, in today’s Summer Psalm He takes credit for making it all happen.

He’s made it all happen for you. Your hands and feet, eyes and ears, He’s given you your life as a gift.

Earlier in the psalm we’re told that He knows when we lie down and when we get up.

And then Psalm 139 ends with this prayer: “Lead me in the way everlasting.”

Lord God, as I go about my day today cause Psalm 139 to remind me of Your creative power over life. And may Jesus’ resurrection assure me that You are indeed leading me in the way everlasting. Amen.

06/13/2026

Summer Psalms Day 21
June 13, 2026

Psalm 104:14 (ESV)
14 You cause the grass to grow for the livestock and plants for man to cultivate, that he may bring forth food from the earth

It’s that time of year when the grass is growing and needs to be mowed at least once a week, maybe even every 5 days. I’ve always enjoyed the “solace” of mowing but I do look forward to the break when my lawn gets too dry to grow.

By God’s design, grasses and other such plants are food for sheep, cattle, even deer. He’s designed other things for us to eat.

God’s botanical world really is a remarkable system, not only growing for food but making seed to plant for more food down the road. All in His wisdom, all in His power.

So as you push, or ride, your mower around the yard this week, remember that His design in all this was—and still is—to feed His creation.

Lord God, help me remember Your creative wisdom and power as I go about mundane things like mowing the lawn. And remembering that the ground is where so much of the world’s food comes from, remind me also that in Jesus You’ve provided “bread” for eternal life. Amen.

06/12/2026

Summer Psalms Day 20
June 12, 2026

Psalm 2:1–2 (ESV)
1 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed.

Today’s Summer Psalm follows the same broad idea as yesterday’s. Yet today’s asks the question from a different angle, that of futility.

God is almighty. God is all-powerful. Though rebellion against Him may seem successful for a short while, in the end He will see His will done. Why resist Him?

Psalm 2 points out that in the end, resistance to God is resistance to Christ, “His Anointed.”

Yet in all this turmoil, amidst all the worldly powers that oppose Him and His people, you can take comfort in the words found later, Psalm 2:12 “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him.”

Evil kings and corrupt rulers could not, and cannot, stand against God’s desire to save His people. Thank Him for that!

Lord Jesus, You are the Anointed One. When we see this world appearing so out of control, comfort us with the promise that there is safe refuge in You. Amen.

06/11/2026

Summer Psalms Day 19
June 11, 2026

Psalm 94:3 (ESV)
3 O LORD, how long shall the wicked, how long shall the wicked exult?

Psalm 94 asks a question we’ve probably all wanted to ask, though maybe you’ve thought it was sinful or sacrilegious to ask it out loud.

Why do people get away with the things they get away with? In our communities, in our work-place, in government, and on the world-stage; why does wickedness seem to lead to success?

Why? Well, Satan certainly wants to “market” his side, his paths, his ways as “the side,” “the paths,” and “the ways” so it isn’t a surprise that sin leads to some success in a sinful world. More than keep unbelievers convinced of his ways, the devil wants to make you doubt God’s ways.

And in the end, God doesn’t force people to believe or behave according to His commands.

Psalm 94 gives voice to that frustration. Sometimes I just wish God would control people like robots or drones. But I guess their behavior still wouldn’t be coming from the heart.

Read the whole thing yourself to see that Psalm 94 doesn’t end with evil succeeding over all. It ends with God’s promise that He knows what’s going on and that He will watch over His people.

Lord Jesus, in Your own suffering and death it looks like we see evil triumphing over good. But in Your resurrection we see Your love, power, and wisdom in overcoming evil and in paying for sin. When we are frustrated by the wickedness so prevalent in this world, comfort us with Your victory over it all in Your cross and empty tomb. Amen.

06/10/2026

Summer Psalms Day 18
June 10, 2026

Psalm 46:7 (ESV)
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress.

What great words for today’s Summer Psalm! Rather well-known words too! They were the inspiration for Martin Luther’s hymn “A Mighty Fortress is our God.”

While we often hear words of doubt in the psalms (and thank God that He does not reject us when we doubt,) Psalm 46 are words of faith and trust.

Pastor Bryant, who served Bethany in the 1980s and 90s, used to ask people if they could imagine waking up, looking west toward the mountains, and finding them gone!

Psalm 46:2 says “we will not fear though…the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea.”

Something must have gone terribly wrong if the mountains were ever to suddenly disappear. Something we would have been powerless to stop. But even if that should happen God is our refuge, our strength, and our ever-present help in all the trouble of this world.

And ever since His incarnation, we can literally say that the Lord of hosts is with us, even physically with us, as the Bible calls Jesus “Immanuel—God with us.”

Lord Jesus, You are our refuge and strength, our help in all trouble, even when this world gives way. Help us to carry these words with us today, remembering that we need not fear anything in life or death because You have risen. Amen.

06/09/2026

Summer Psalms Day 17
June 9, 2026

Psalm 23:6 (KJV)
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

I didn’t want to get too far into these 107 days of Summer Psalms before opening to Psalm 23. While every line in this psalm is a treasure from Heaven, this last verse peers over the horizon to see what happens after we die.

Not only will Jesus Himself be with us as we travel that dark valley of death’s shadow, but “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

That’s good to know and that’s good to remember. Countless things in this life take our eyes off of that hope. We focus on the problems of here and now, trying to fix them or just trying to survive them. So caught up in today we lose sight of the hereafter.

Psalm 23 is insistent, emphatic. SURELY goodness and mercy SHALL follow, even pursue, me! And I SHALL dwell, live, reside in and be a member of, the house of the Lord forever!

This promise is true because of Jesus, YOUR Good Shepherd.

Lord Jesus, since You laid down Your life for me, help me to remember and find comfort in the words of Psalm 23:6, certain that You will be with me through all of this life and that I will be with You in the life to come. Amen.

06/08/2026

Summer Psalms Day 16
June 8, 2026

Psalm 92:13–14 (ESV)
13 They are planted in the house of the LORD; they flourish in the courts of our God. 14 They still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green,

They’ve been dubbed “The Greatest Generation.” Schooled in the disciplines of sacrifice and greater good, when World War II was over these people returned home and forged our country into a world power.

Most of the veterans of WWII have died, their bodies laid to rest with their souls in eternity. Those few who are still alive will be in their late 90s or older.

The people in Psalm 92 “still bear fruit in old age” and “are ever full of sap and green.” That’s not because of the lessons of some ancient war, that’s because whoever they are, in whatever era they lived, they are planted in the house of the Lord.

That same should, and can, be said of you. The more you yourself are planted the house of the Lord, the more our children live and grow there, the more of God’s fruit, faith and lives of faith, we will see.

Help us Lord Jesus! The reasons and temptations to ignore Your Word and Your worship services are too many to list. Help us to remember that faith comes by hearing. Root us in Your Word and raise us in Your house. Amen.

06/07/2026

Divine Service for Trinity One, June 6, 2026, Pastor Pittenger, Bethany Lutheran Church, Port Orchard

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151 Tremont Street
Port Orchard, WA
98366

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(360) 876-1300

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