Zion Woman’s Book Club

The Saints of Whistle Grove by Katie Schuermann
Katie wrote the Anthems of Zion series we read during our first summer book club meetings.
Tuesday, July 30th - 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the home of Tracey Johnson
Bring your thoughts and a snack to share!

After 150 years of preaching the Gospel, the little country parish of Whistle Grove has closed its doors for good, but the faithful Rev. Edmund G. Oglethorpe remains. There is the empty building and the crumbling cemetery to maintain, and who else will bury old Miriam Werth when the time comes?

Told through the voices of generations past and present, The Saints of Whistle Grove follows the journey of a son in search of his mother, a daughter in need of connection, a family without a home, and the cemetery that brings them all together.

Join the blessed saints of Whistle Grove in pondering the wondrous mystery that, whoever believes in Christ, “though he die, yet shall he live.”

Link to Amazon store

---

For the Glory: The Untold and Inspiring Story of Eric Liddell, Hero of Chariots of Fire by Duncan Hamilton
Our fall book will be the inspiring story of Olympic athlete and Christian missionary Eric Liddell, hero of Chariots of Fire.
Sunday, October 6th — 11:30 a.m. - 1:00 p.m. in Zion’s Fellowship Hall
Bring a luncheon dish to pass!

Many people will remember Eric Liddell as the Olympic gold medalist from the Academy Award winning film Chariots of Fire. Famously, Liddell would not run on Sunday because of his strict observance of the Christian sabbath, and so he did not compete in his signature event, the 100 meters, at the 1924 Paris Olympics. He was the greatest sprinter in the world at the time, and his choice not to run was ridiculed by the British Olympic committee, his fellow athletes, and most of the world press. Yet Liddell triumphed in a new event, winning the 400 meters in Paris.

Link to Amazon Book Store

---

Zion Women’s Ministries Save the Dates:
Saturday, July 30, 2024 - LWML Prayer Service (Additional Details)
Thursday, September 19th - Ladies Dinner to welcome Deaconness Joanna Lee
September 20-22nd - Eastern District LWML Fall Retreat at Camp Pioneer (Additional Details)

Mark Your Calendars: Pastor’s 25th Anniversary

Join us for an all church potluck celebration on Sunday July 14th after the late service!
We’re Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of Pastor Grimenstein’s Ordination
Potluck sign up in the Narthex for main & sides
Dessert provided

VIDEO: Wednesday July 10, 2024 - Complete Service

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. — The Book of Hebrews
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

AUDIO: Readings & Sermon for Wednesday July 10, 2024

View the Bulletin for Wednesday, July 10, 2024
Worship Service: 2:00 p.m.
Bible Study: 2:30 p.m. — The Book of Hebrews
All are welcome, bring a friend, neighbor or relative

Visit our YouTube channel — Click the red “subscribe” box, and then click on the “bell” next to that box to receive Live Streaming notifications. You must be logged into YouTube to activate these features.

Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of BULLETINS

Judges 6:1-24 
The people of Israel did what was evil in the sight of the LORD, and the LORD gave them into the hand of Midian seven years. And the hand of Midian overpowered Israel, and because of Midian the people of Israel made for themselves the dens that are in the mountains and the caves and the strongholds. For whenever the Israelites planted crops, the Midianites and the Amalekites and the people of the East would come up against them. They would encamp against them and devour the produce of the land, as far as Gaza, and leave no sustenance in Israel and no sheep or ox or donkey. For they would come up with their livestock and their tents; they would come like locusts in number—both they and their camels could not be counted—so that they laid waste the land as they came in. And Israel was brought very low because of Midian. And the people of Israel cried out for help to the LORD. 

When the people of Israel cried out to the LORD on account of the Midianites, the LORD sent a prophet to the people of Israel. And he said to them, “Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: I led you up from Egypt and brought you out of the house of slavery. And I delivered you from the hand of the Egyptians and from the hand of all who oppressed you, and drove them out before you and gave you their land. And I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God; you shall not fear the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell.’ But you have not obeyed my voice.” 

Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the terebinth at Ophrah, which belonged to Joash the Abiezrite, while his son Gideon was beating out wheat in the winepress to hide it from the Midianites. And the angel of the LORD appeared to him and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.” And Gideon said to him, “Please, my lord, if the LORD is with us, why then has all this happened to us? And where are all his wonderful deeds that our fathers recounted to us, saying, ‘Did not the LORD bring us up from Egypt?’ But now the LORD has forsaken us and given us into the hand of Midian.” And the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this might of yours and save Israel from the hand of Midian; do not I send you?” And he said to him, “Please, Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father's house.” And the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you shall strike the Midianites as one man.” And he said to him, “If now I have found favor in your eyes, then show me a sign that it is you who speak with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to you and bring out my present and set it before you.” And he said, “I will stay till you return.” 

So Gideon went into his house and prepared a young goat and unleavened cakes from an ephah of flour. The meat he put in a basket, and the broth he put in a pot, and brought them to him under the terebinth and presented them. And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened cakes, and put them on this rock, and pour the broth over them.” And he did so. Then the angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in his hand and touched the meat and the unleavened cakes. And fire sprang up from the rock and consumed the meat and the unleavened cakes. And the angel of the LORD vanished from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that he was the angel of the LORD. And Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! For now I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.” But the LORD said to him, “Peace be to you. Do not fear; you shall not die.” Then Gideon built an altar there to the LORD and called it, The LORD Is Peace. To this day it still stands at Ophrah, which belongs to the Abiezrites. 

Acts 14:19—15:5 
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds, they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead. But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city, and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe. When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. And when they had appointed elders for them in every church, with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed. 

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples. 

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. So, being sent on their way by the church, they passed through both Phoenicia and Samaria, describing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles, and brought great joy to all the brothers. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and the elders, and they declared all that God had done with them. But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.” 

The Sacrament of the Altar
What is the Sacrament of the Altar? 
It is the true body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ under the bread and wine, instituted by Christ Himself for us Christians to eat and to drink.
Where is this written?
The holy Evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul write: Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the night when He was betrayed, took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it and gave it to the disciples and said: “Take, eat; this is My body, which is given for you. This do in remembrance of Me.” 

In the same way also He took the cup after supper, and when He had given thanks, He gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; this cup is the new testament in My blood, which is shed for you for the forgiveness of sins. This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.” 

Food Bank Sunday: July 14th

The July collection for the Bridgeville Area Food Bank is Sunday, July 14th.
The “item of the month” for July is COOKIES. 

The August collection for the Food Bank is Sunday, August 11h.
The “item for the month” is CRACKERS. 

Items may be placed in the wicker bin in the narthex near the coat rack.
Thank you for supporting this vital community service! 
At the June distribution, 99 families were assisted which included 26 children, 75 adults and 61 of the elderly. 

VBS Registration is Now Closed

VBS Registration is Now Closed

VBS at Zion Lutheran Church is July 22nd - 26th 9:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. 
Get ready, get set … because VBS is almost here! 

We're looking forward to a great week of sharing God's love in Jesus with 65 children!
There's still time to join us for this fantastic week … learn more at zlcb.org/vbs. 

Pastor’s Corner

Evening Prayer . . . A Great Way to End the Day! 
Last month, I mentioned how praying Luther’s Morning Prayer is a great way to start the day. Well, Luther also wrote an Evening Prayer that could be a great way to end the day! If you are unfamiliar with Luther’s Evening prayer, it reads as follows: 

I thank You, my heavenly Father, through Jesus Christ, Your dear Son, that You have graciously kept me this day; and I pray that You would forgive me all my sins where I have done wrong, and graciously keep me this night. For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things. Let Your holy angel be with me, that the evil foe may have no power over me. Amen. (Small Catechism, pg. 31) 

As Christians, we never know what a day is going to have in store for us when we wake up. However, when we are going to bed at night, we can think back on the day and know exactly how that day went. It could have been a good day, or the opposite could have been true. We sinned against God, we commit errors against each other, even our health may have taken an unexpected turn. We could have had a very bad day! 

So, there we are going to bed at night with a bad day in our rear view mirror. What do we do with that? Are we lying in bed stewing over what we did, and what we didn’t do? Are we laying there staring at the ceiling with regret thinking, “If only I had said that just a little bit differently.” As we are unable to sleep, are we thinking about what tomorrow is going to bring, afraid it might be worse than today? 

What I love most about the Evening Prayer is not only do we ask God to forgive us of any sins we committed that day, but even more so, we pray this, “For into Your hands I commend myself, my body and soul, and all things.” As we are preparing to close our eyes and rest for the night, we are resting not just into a bed, but even more so, we are resting in the loving embrace of our Savior Jesus Christ who will always order our days and our deeds with His peace. In this prayer, we are literally saying to Jesus, “Forgive me of my sins, turn the troubles of this life from woes into blessings, and allow me to receive a rest that you and you alone can give.” 

There is truly no greater way to rest at night, than to do so knowing we are always resting in the arms of our loving Savior, Jesus Christ.