Zion Lutheran Church LCMS, Sauk Centre

Zion Lutheran Church LCMS, Sauk Centre Divine Service
10:00 a.m. (fall through spring)
9:00 (summer)

08/31/2026

A parable...

Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised.

But presently he starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to?

The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of - throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace.

He intends to come and live in it Himself.

C.S. Lewis

08/31/2026

“Every one of us is going to have to give an account of our lives. We are going to be judged by works.
Now the question is, whether we are going to cling to Christ and His works, or whether we are going to say “You know, I’m going to be my own lawyer here. I’m going to argue in my own defense. I’m gonna go ahead and wear those filthy rags to the courtroom.”
The news on judgment day has already been delivered to those who have faith in Christ - we’ve already heard the verdict. Not only that we’re not guilty, but that we are perfectly holy, righteous, and acceptable in God’s sight because Jesus Christ’s righteousness is imputed to us. There is therefore now, no condemnation, for those who are in Christ Jesus.

Michael Horton

08/31/2026

Introit

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
Commit your way to the LORD;
Trust in him, and he will act.
He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
and your justice as the noonday.
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.

Delight yourself in the LORD,
and he will give you the desires of your heart.


Collect of the Day

Almighty God, Your Son willingly endured the agony and shame of the cross for our redemption. Grant us courage to take up our cross daily and follow Him wherever He leads; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

08/26/2026

“For the discipline of life; for the endurance which is learned through drudgery ; for the work which is its own reward; and for the difficulties which are the materials of victory, Thy victory in us: Glory be to Thee, O Lord!” Vespers of Trinity XII in *The Daily Office.*

08/23/2026

The Divine Service & the liturgy

The liturgy is the Word in action. It is the present and ongoing work of the Word Incarnate, Jesus Christ, the crucified, risen, and reigning God-man, who lords his saving death and resurrection over the world.

As Jesus once stood among his fearful locked-up disciples on the first day of the Resurrection to proclaim his peace and present his wounds (Jn 20:20), so in the Liturgy, the same Jesus is now present with his church, an equally frightened and locked-up band of disciples, to proclaim his peace and show forth his wounds in his Word and in the Supper of his body and blood.

Because the liturgy is the Word in action, the liturgy is properly called “Divine Service.” The liturgy is God’s leiturgia, his public service to his fallen creation through Jesus Christ in the Holy Spirit.
Here the Father creates true worshipers who worship him in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23-24). God’s liturgy for the life of the world are the deeds and words of Jesus.

Jesus’ words are Spirit and life, for Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life (Jn 6:63b; 14:6). His words are cleansing words (Jn 15:3).
With Jesus’ words come the fruits of his once-for-all-atoning sacrifice on the cross. Calvary’s gifts of forgiveness, life, and salvation are offered, delivered, and applied personally to the sinner.
Rev. William Cwirla, “The Law and the Gospel in the Liturgy”

08/23/2026

Proper 16 - A

Introit

But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!
As for me, I have set my King
on Zion, my holy hill.
I will tell of the decree:
The LORD said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you.”
praise the LORD, all nations!
extol him, all peoples!
For great is his steadfast love toward us,
and the faithfulness of the LORD endures forever. Praise the LORD!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.

But we will bless the LORD
from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!

Collect of the Day

Almighty God, whom to know is everlasting life, grant us to know Your Son, Jesus, to be the way, the truth, and the life that we may boldly confess Him to be the Christ and steadfastly walk in the way that leads to life eternal; through the same Jesus Christ, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

08/09/2026

Die with Jesus…

You can either die alone or die in Jesus.

In his death Jesus Christ swallowed up our death, and rose again triumphantly to take all of the teeth out of the grave. In the promise of the resurrection, death loses its power. When we die with Jesus, we really live.
Harold Senkbeil

08/09/2026

“The sound of a helicopter is really annoying until you're drowning, and it's there to rescue you.
Then it sounds like music.”

Tom Waits

(In a way, this relates to the Gospel and the "uncomfortable" nature of the preaching of Jesus Christ on the cross. It’s really annoying and bloody and harsh and primitive and so on.

But then you realize you're drowning and dying and that same bloody crucifixion sound is the sweetest melody and the sound of a distant triumph song and the music of resurrection).

08/09/2026

Christ: Everything or Nothing
If Christ provides only a part of our salvation, leaving us to provide the rest, then we are still hopeless under the load of sin. For no matter how small the gap which must be bridged before salvation can be attained, the awakened conscience sees clearly that our wretched attempt at goodness is insufficient even to bridge that gap. The guilty soul enters again into the hopeless reckoning with God, to determine whether we have really done our part.

And thus we groan again under the old bo***ge of the law.

Such an attempt to piece out the work of Christ by our own merit, Paul saw clearly, is the very essence of unbelief; Christ will do everything or nothing, and the only hope is to throw ourselves unreservedly on His mercy and trust Him for all.

J. Gresham Machen

08/09/2026

Proper 14 - A

Introit

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
and delivered me from all my fears.
Those who look to him are radiant,
and their faces shall never be ashamed.
This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him
and saved him out of all his troubles.
the angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him,
and delivers them.
Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessèd is the man who takes refuge in him!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and will be forever. Amen.

I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall continually be in my mouth.


Collect of the Day

Almighty and most merciful God, preserve us from all harm and danger that we, being ready in both body and soul, may cheerfully accomplish what You want done; through Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

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Sauk Centre, MN
56378

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