We, the Sheep

Good Shepherd Sunday, celebrated on the forth Sunday of Easter, isn't for a while yet, but many of the Readings this past Sunday mentioned sheep.  In LSB, the closing hymn that we sang is paired nicely with the tune KOMMT HER ZU MIR, a minor tune with a somewhat obscure meter.  It reflects both the fear we sometimes feel as sheep and the hope we have in Christ Jesus, our Shepherd.

From the July 22nd bulletin:

God Is Our Shepherd:

Psalm 23, Jeremiah 23, and Hymn 666

     Part of the message for God’s people that is recorded in Jeremiah included a warning to the leaders of Israel who were leading their people astray.  “You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them.  Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds,” declares the LORD (Jer. 23:2).  The message that Jeremiah brought to Israel resonates well with us today; there are those in our society who would lead us astray, even some who call themselves Christians.  In Psalm 23 we acknowledge that “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil” (verse 4).  Both the last part of this verse and the opening stanza of our closing hymn, O Little Flock, Fear Not the Foe (LSB 666), remind us that in spite of the unrighteousness that surrounds us, we should not despair.  Even though Israel was under the influence of bad shepherds, Jeremiah was reassuring them when he proclaimed:  “I will set shepherds over them who will care for them, and they shall fear no more, nor be dismayed, neither shall any be missing,” declares the LORD (Jer. 23:4).  We see numerous examples in the Old Testament that no mere human can be a perfect shepherd for God’s people.  Thanks be to God that Jesus has fulfilled this role and is our Good Shepherd (John 10:11)!  We can proclaim with David that “The LORD is my shepherd” (Ps. 23:1, emphasis added).  He fulfills our every need and we can “leave it to Him, our Lord” (stanza two).  Since the LORD is our righteousness (Jer. 23:6), “not earth nor hell’s satanic crew against us shall prevail” (stanza three).   We  know that we “shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever” (Ps. 23:6) and “so shall Thy saints and martyrs raise a mighty chorus to Thy praise forevermore.  Amen” (stanza 4)!

-Kristen                                                                         

“Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!

For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of living water,

and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”

Rev. 7:10b and 17

Connecting the Introit to Hymnody

I think that oftentimes the Introit is one of those pieces of liturgy that we sing or speak, but we don't really pay attention to how it connects to the rest of the worship service.  There is always so much emphasis on the Readings and how they connect to the sermon and to the hymns that the Introit (or Psalm, depending on what your church uses) gets de-emphasized.  This week I tried to chose a hymn that could be tied to the Introit.  If your church uses the Psalm in place of the Introit (this week it was Psalm 85), you might want to take a look at LSB 917:  Savior, Again to Thy Dear Name We Raise.

From the July 15th bulletin:

Connecting Liturgy to Hymnody:  Psalm 143

     As we close service today, we sing the Chinese hymn, Greet the Rising Sun (LSB 871).  This hymn is reminiscent of the words of Psalm 143 that we chanted in the Introit earlier in the service.  The first stanza of the hymn reminds us of the beautiful morning God has given to us as we came to “hear in the morning of your steadfast love” (Ps. 143:8a).  “Father, hear my prayer” we cry with David (stanza two; Ps. 143:1).  David wrote that “no one living is righteous before you” (Ps. 143:2).  We recognized this when we confessed our sins this morning and when we came to the Lord’s Table to receive the forgiveness He won for us because of our unrighteousness.  With David we declare “for in you I trust” (Ps. 143:8a) as we acknowledge that “knowing all I need from Your kindness springs” (stanza three).  David cries in verse 11 for God to “preserve my life” and “bring my soul out of trouble!”  So too we ask God to “sanctify my thoughts, all I do and say” (stanza two) and “let no evil thought cloud the clear blue sky” (stanza three) as we go about our day and our week.

-Kristen

“Make me know the way I should go,

for to you I lift up my soul.”

Ps. 143:8b

Hymnody and Scripture: the Sixth Sunday After Pentacost

The Old Testament Reading today, taken from Series B of the Three-Year Lectionary, is Ezekiel 2:1-5.  While I wrote about the hymn in today's bulletin insert in relation to the Old Testament Reading, Bible Class this morning made me realize that it also connects well with today's Gospel Reading, Mark 6:1-13.  In verses 7-13, Christ sends out the apostles in pairs.  God sent both Ezekiel and the apostles out to proclaim His Word, despite the reception the people they were sent to might have given them (Ezek. 2:3-5; Mark 6:11).  Many times we act as the very people Ezekiel and the apostles were sent by God to proclaim "His unchanging Word" to (stanza one).  How wonderful it is, then, that God still gives us the gift of faith (Eph. 2:8-9)!  

 

From the July 8th bulletin:

 

God Speaks Through His Prophets and Through Song

    During the Old Testament Reading, we heard the Word of God proclaimed through the prophet Ezekiel.  It was through people like Ezekiel that God spoke His word to ancient Israel, as we sing in stanza one of our Gradual hymn today, God Has Spoken by His Prophets (LSB 583).  God sent Ezekiel to a rebellious people (Ezek. 2:3).  We, like Israel, are rebellious and stuck “in the world’s despair and turmoil” (stanza one), but thanks be to God that He sent His Son to bear our sin for us!  Now, just as He once spoke to His people through the prophets, “God has spoken by Christ Jesus, Christ, the everlasting Son” (stanza two; Heb. 1:1-2).  He is the “Light of Light, to earth descending” (stanza two; John 1:9), come to earth to redeem us.  Today “God is speaking by His Spirit” (stanza three) to us, for just as He entered into and spoke to Ezekiel (Ezek. 2:2), so too the Holy Spirit dwells in us, giving us life (Rom. 8:10-11).

-Kristen

  

“God the first, and God the last.” stanzas one and three

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God,

“who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Rev. 1:8

Praying for Those Who Serve

To correspond to the Forth of July, my home congregation observed Armed Forces Sunday on July 1.  The hymn mentioned in this bulletin insert is rather appropriate not only for those in our armed forces, but also for those who protect us here at home, such as firefighters and police officers.  The line "from rock and tempest, fire and foe" is especially appropriate as we think of those fighting fires in Colorado and the surrounding states.

 

From the July 1st bulletin:

 

Armed Forces Sunday:

A Prayer for Their Safety Through Song 

   Today, as we approach the celebration of our country’s independence, we remember those who have fought and continue to fight for the safety of our nation.  Our closing hymn for today is the Navy hymn Eternal Father, Strong to Save (LSB 717).  The armed forces, whether it be “from rock and tempest, fire and foe” (stanza 4) have sacrificed much, both at home and abroad.  As we sing this hymn in prayer, we sing with the psalmist, asking God the Father, who created the sea and set limits upon it (Ps. 104:6-9; also Gen. 1:9-10), “to hear us when we cry to Thee” (stanza 1; Ps. 141:1) for those serving our country.  We ask Christ to “protect them by Thy guarding hand” (stanza 2; Ps. 140:4).  We pray that the Holy Spirit would “keep them by Thy watchful care” (stanza 3; Ps. 139:7-10).  So wherever those who seek to protect our nation serve, whether by “air and land and sea” (stanza 4), we pray that the triune God “protect them wheresoe’er they go” (stanza 4;  Ps. 121:7-8).

-Kristen

"Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you!

Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples

with equity and guide the nations upon earth."

Ps. 67:3-4

Confession Through Song

Historically,  the Lutheran Church has celebrated the Reformation on October 31, when we commemorate Luther posting his 95 Theses.  Increasing, more people are recognizing the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession as an important event in the Reformation.  This year my home church recognized this day and below is a bulletin insert I wrote for the occasion.

From the June 24th bulletin:

What We Believe:

The Augsburg Confession and Hymnody

Today we celebrate the Presentation of the Augsburg Confession that took place on June 25, 1530.  The basic doctrines defended by the signers of the Augsburg Confession are still held by the Lutheran Church today and are reflected in our hymnody.  As you sing hymn 602 (from the Lutheran Service Book), The Gifts Christ Freely Gives, during service this morning, think about the doctrines we boldly proclaim with the signers of the Augsburg Confession.  Here are some of the doctrines found in this hymn and the articles of the Augsburg Confession where these same doctrines are addressed.

• We confess the triune God in stanzas two and five (Article I).
• We believe that it is through the “water and His Word” (stanza two) in Baptism that we are saved (Article IX).
• We believe in the true presence of Christ’s body and blood in, with, and under the bread and wine (stanza five; Article X).
• We believe that in the absolution, the “forgiveness that we need is granted to us there” (stanza three; Article XXV).

“For by grace you have been saved through faith.  And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” Ephesians 2:8-9

-Kristen

A summary of the articles of the Augsburg Confession

consulted in the writing of this article may be found at

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augsburg_Confession