Lutheran Church of the Pines

Lutheran Church of the Pines Because of Jesus, we are forgiven and privileged to be the "Pipeline."

06/09/2026

When people complain to God, he does not always put his arm around them and comfort them. Sometimes he gives them a swift kick in the pants.

To Job, he says, “Dress for action like a man” (Job 38:3). After the prophet Jeremiah has been whining about the prosperity of the wicked, the Lord says, “If you have raced with men on foot, and they have wearied you, how will you compete with horses?” (Jer. 12:5).

In other words, Jeremiah, if you are already worn out by this level of opposition, what are you going to do when things really heat up? If you are moaning and groaning about the burden you have to carry now, how will you handle it when the road gets steeper, and the cross gets heavier?

Do you want to run with horses or shuffle with sloths?

The same question confronts us. If we are constantly grumbling over small inconveniences, small sufferings, small acts of obedience, how will we endure when true trials come? How will we follow Jesus down the hard road of costly discipleship?

Yes, there are many times when we need the Lord to put his arm around us, bind up our wounds, and speak tenderly to us. And he does. But there are also times when we need him to shake us awake, get in our face, and rebuke our spiritual laziness and self-pity. And he does that, too.

Do we want easy, spiritually apathetic lives? Or do we want the long, difficult, but deeply blessed life of running with horses on the path Christ has set before us?

So let us hear the exhortation: “Let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance [run with horses!] the race that is set before us” (Heb. 12:1).
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We read Jeremiah 12 today in Bible in One Year. Join us at https://www.1517.org/oneyear

06/07/2026

+SERVICE OF THE WORD+
Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5A)
June 7, 2026

OLD TESTAMENT
Hosea 5:15–6:6

I will return again to my place,
until they acknowledge their guilt and seek my face,
and in their distress earnestly seek me.

“Come, let us return to the Lord;
for he has torn us, that he may heal us;
he has struck us down, and he will bind us up.
After two days he will revive us;
on the third day he will raise us up,
that we may live before him.
Let us know; let us press on to know the Lord;
his going out is sure as the dawn;
he will come to us as the showers,
as the spring rains that water the earth.”
What shall I do with you, O Ephraim?
What shall I do with you, O Judah?
Your love is like a morning cloud,
like the dew that goes early away.
Therefore I have hewn them by the prophets;
I have slain them by the words of my mouth,
and my judgment goes forth as the light.
For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice,
the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings.

EPISTLE
Romans 4:13–25

The promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith. For if it is the adherents of the law who are to be the heirs, faith is null and the promise is void. For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression.

That is why it depends on faith, in order that the promise may rest on grace and be guaranteed to all his offspring—not only to the adherent of the law but also to the one who shares the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all, as it is written, “I have made you the father of many nations”—in the presence of the God in whom he believed, who gives life to the dead and calls into existence the things that do not exist. In hope he believed against hope, that he should become the father of many nations, as he had been told, “So shall your offspring be.” He did not weaken in faith when he considered his own body, which was as good as dead (since he was about a hundred years old), or when he considered the barrenness of Sarah’s womb. No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

GOSPEL
Matthew 9:9–13

As Jesus passed on from there, he saw a man called Matthew sitting at the tax booth, and he said to him, “Follow me.” And he rose and followed him.

And as Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and his disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to his disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?” But when he heard it, he said, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

06/07/2026

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
Second Sunday after Pentecost (Proper 5A)
June 7, 2026

In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For repentance, that the Lord who both strikes down and heals would revive us and raise us up to live before Him, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the ongoing call of pastors, that as Matthew left his tax booth for the apostolic ministry, so men in our day would enter into this ministry to proclaim God’s Word and administer His Sacraments in righteousness, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For parents, that our Father in heaven would strengthen them to train their children diligently, defend them from discouragement and apathy, and convince them that He is able to do what He has promised, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For peace among the nations, that our Lord, who calls everything into existence and governs it for good, would guide those in authority to reflect His order and purpose in their work, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For those suffering from illness, that according to the compassion of our great Physician they might be restored to health and strength; and that they might remain firm in faith and trust in the midst of these difficulties, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For those who receive the Lord’s Supper this day, that they would hold firmly to the promises of their righteous Savior who was handed over for our trespasses and raised again for our justification; and that the presence of His crucified and risen body would forgive, nourish and strengthen their faith, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For a cheerful and willing spirit, that God would preserve us from a grudging heart and lead us joyfully to pursue good because of the good done for us in Christ, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For His kindness to Abraham, Sarah and all the saints who have received Christ’s eternal promises, let us give thanks to the Lord; and that He would preserve us in faith and righteousness to glorify Him now and forever, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

To Him we give all glory, honor and worship, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

06/02/2026

Christianity has far too many voices that would have us believe in a God who doesn’t wound us. But the Lord declares otherwise: “See now that I, even I, am he, and there is no god beside me; I kill and I make alive; I wound and I heal” (Dt. 32:39).

Or as we read today in Bible in One Year from Hosea, “Come, let us return to the LORD; for he has torn us, that he may heal us; he has struck us down, and he will bind us up. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will raise us up, that we may live before him” (6:1-2).

Verses like these are summarized perfectly by Proverbs 3:12, “The LORD disciplines the one he loves” (see Hebrews 12:6).

Would a loving parent let a child get away with everything? Pour rat poison into his cereal? Run onto an interstate? Play with a loaded pistol? Of course not. That is the definition of unloving parenting.

So with our Father. He disciplines us because he cares for us. He knows that we often learn hard but necessary lessons only in our woundedness.

Our Father knows that it is only in our weakness and woundedness that we simultaneously discover our own ineptitude and his healing power. Without wounds, we foster an image of ourselves as strong and healthy.

But the hands that wound us—they themselves bear the stigmata of grace. Our Savior kills, but only to make alive; wounds, but only to heal. He is conforming us to his cruciform likeness so that we see ourselves exclusively in his resurrection reflection.

This is Christian growth: to become in our weakness more and more dependent on his strength, to seek in our woundedness more and more of his healing.

05/31/2026

Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts! We celebrate Trinity Sunday this weekend. Hear Christ for you at kfuo.org!

The Holy Trinity

Lutheran Service Book 498/499

Isaiah 6:1-7
Psalm 29
Romans 11:33-36
John 3:1-15 (16-17)

05/31/2026

PRAYER OF THE CHURCH
The Holy Trinity
May 31, 2026

In peace, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the Church of God, called out of darkness into His marvelous light and purchased with the precious blood of Christ, that she would be kept in the true faith, without error, schism or compromise, until He welcomes her home as His spotless bride, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For the floor committees who prepare the work of our Synod’s convention, that they would walk in a manner worthy of Christ and be guided by God’s Word throughout their labors, so that the Lord’s good and gracious will may be done among us, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For creation and the good gift of man and woman with whom God has crowned it, let us give thanks to the Lord; and for His continued blessing of marriage with its callings and promises, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For nations, governments, leaders and civil servants, that peace and justice may abide here in our land and throughout the world, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For those afflicted in body or mind, soul or spirit, that the Lord would give them grace to entrust themselves to their Savior’s loving hands and to await relief according to His good and gracious will, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For all who receive the blessed Sacrament, that they may show forth the fruits of the Spirit in lives of faith, repentance and goodness, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

For wisdom, that as faithful stewards we may govern His creation well and use the earth’s resources in a God-pleasing manner, let us pray to the Lord: Lord, have mercy.

Lord God, heavenly Father, You have called Your Church from every tribe and nation. Grant that Your people throughout the world would rejoice in the death and resurrection of Christ and live as those who have died and risen with Him in Holy Baptism; through the same Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Address

309 Highway 90
Waveland, MS
39576

Opening Hours

Tuesday 9am - 5pm
Wednesday 9am - 7pm
Thursday 9am - 5pm
Friday 9am - 4:30pm
Sunday 8:30am - 1pm

Telephone

+12284676771

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