Harrison elected to sixth term as LCMS president

The Rev. Dr. Matthew C. Harrison, having received more than 50% of the votes cast in the third ballot for the election of the president of The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), is the president-elect for the 2026–2029 triennium. It will be his sixth term in office.

The election for the position of Synod president began last fall with an online nominating process, conducted by YesElections, that concluded Feb. 18, or five months prior to the start of the Synod convention, with a report to the secretary of the Synod.

The resulting candidates for the office of president were the five ordained ministers who received the highest number of votes in the nominations process and who consented to serve if elected. The voting began, according to Bylaw 3.12.2.4, starting June 6 (six weeks prior to the convention) via Internet balloting provided by YesElections.

The 5,478 pastoral and lay voters validly registered by the congregations and parishes of the Synod (Bylaw 3.12.2.3) before the deadline (electronic registration by March 8) or their substitutes (as validly submitted before May 29) served as the voters for this election. Of those, a total of 5,038 votes were cast in the third round of voting, constituting a vote percentage of 92.0% of the electorate. (The voter percentage was 85.4% in the first round and 88.4% in the second round.)

The results of the third ballot tallied and reported to the secretary of the Synod are as follows:

• Harrison was voted president-elect with 2,524 votes (50.1%);

• The Rev. Dr. Joel D. Biermann received 2,414 votes (47.9%); and

• The Rev. Benjamin T. Ball received 100 votes (2.0%).

Harrison responded to the news of his election.

“First, thank you to the candidates who were willing to be subjected to this grueling processof public scrutiny, and especially to Dr. Biermann. I had prepared a concession speech thanking Joel for standing, noting how blessed we are in the LCMS to have such a capable theologian as our new president, and vowing my support. Thanks, too, to First Vice-President Lange, Brady Finnern and Ben Ball. Any one of them would be a blessing.

“Thank you for this amazing opportunity to serve a final term. Please forgive me my many faults and sins. I plead for your prayers for fidelity to the Gospel of Christ’s blood-bought forgiveness, and prayers that I may serve all of you as Christ would have me do in these final three years.

“‘Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.’” (Heb. 13:20–21)

The Bylaws of the LCMS instruct the secretary of the Synod to notify the candidates in the Synod’s presidential election of the results of the balloting at least two weeks prior to the convention. The candidates were informed earlier today, June 24, of the results of the June 20–23 ballot. Additional information about the election result will be published in the second issue of Today’s Business , which will be available at the beginning of the convention. For more information about the election or candidates, see lcms.org/ convention/elections. The 69th Regular Convention of the LCMS will take place July 18–23 at the Phoenix Convention Center under theme “Christ Is Risen Indeed.”

VIDEO: Wednesday, July 15, 2026 - Complete Service

Bulletin for Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

2:00 p.m. - Worship Service
2:30 p.m. - Bible Study: The Book of Ruth
This service will be LIVE STREAMED on our YouTube Channel

Audio: Readings & Sermon for Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Audio: Readings and Sermon for Wednesday, July 15, 2026

Rev. Dr. Edward O. Grimenstein

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Bulletin for Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

2:00 p.m. - Worship Service
2:30 p.m. - Bible Study: The Book of Ruth
This service will be LIVE STREAMED on our YouTube Channel

First Reading -- Judges 15:1—16:3 
After some days, at the time of wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife with a young goat. And he said, “I will go in to my wife in the chamber.” But her father would not allow him to go in. And her father said, “I really thought that you utterly hated her, so I gave her to your companion. Is not her younger sister more beautiful than she? Please take her instead.” And Samson said to them, “This time I shall be innocent in regard to the Philistines, when I do them harm.” So Samson went and caught 300 foxes and took torches. And he turned them tail to tail and put a torch between each pair of tails. And when he had set fire to the torches, he let the foxes go into the standing grain of the Philistines and set fire to the stacked grain and the standing grain, as well as the olive orchards. Then the Philistines said, “Who has done this?” And they said, “Samson, the son-in-law of the Timnite, because he has taken his wife and given her to his companion.” And the Philistines came up and burned her and her father with fire. And Samson said to them, “If this is what you do, I swear I will be avenged on you, and after that I will quit.” And he struck them hip and thigh with a great blow, and he went down and stayed in the cleft of the rock of Etam. 

Then the Philistines came up and encamped in Judah and made a raid on Lehi. And the men of Judah said, “Why have you come up against us?” They said, “We have come up to bind Samson, to do to him as he did to us.” Then 3,000 men of Judah went down to the cleft of the rock of Etam, and said to Samson, “Do you not know that the Philistines are rulers over us? What then is this that you have done to us?” And he said to them, “As they did to me, so have I done to them.” And they said to him, “We have come down to bind you, that we may give you into the hands of the Philistines.” And Samson said to them, “Swear to me that you will not attack me yourselves.” They said to him, “No; we will only bind you and give you into their hands. We will surely not kill you.” So they bound him with two new ropes and brought him up from the rock. 

When he came to Lehi, the Philistines came shouting to meet him. Then the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon him, and the ropes that were on his arms became as flax that has caught fire, and his bonds melted off his hands. And he found a fresh jawbone of a donkey, and put out his hand and took it, and with it he struck 1,000 men. And Samson said, 

“With the jawbone of a donkey,
heaps upon heaps,
with the jawbone of a donkey
have I struck down a thousand men.” 

As soon as he had finished speaking, he threw away the jawbone out of his hand. And that place was called Ramath-lehi. 

And he was very thirsty, and he called upon the LORD and said, “You have granted this great salvation by the hand of your servant, and shall I now die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” And God split open the hollow place that is at Lehi, and water came out from it. And when he drank, his spirit returned, and he revived. Therefore the name of it was called En-hakkore; it is at Lehi to this day. And he judged Israel in the days of the Philistines twenty years. 

Second Reading – Galatians 3:23--4:11 
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. 

I mean that the heir, as long as he is a child, is no different from a slave, though he is the owner of everything, but he is under guardians and managers until the date set by his father. In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. 

Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.

The Ten Commandments 
What is the third commandment.
Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 
What does this mean? 
We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. 

Bulletin: Wednesday July 15, 2026

Bulletin for Wednesday, July 15, 2026
Archive of AUDIO “Readings & Sermons”
Archive of VIDEO “Complete Service”
Archive of Bulletins

2:00 p.m. - Worship Service
2:30 p.m. - Bible Study: The Book of Ruth
This service will be LIVE STREAMED on our YouTube Channel

Portals of Prayer

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Adult Instruction Classes

Pastor Grimenstein has started an Adult Instruction Class which will now meet on Wednesday’s at 7:15 p.m. for those interested in learning more about the Lutheran faith. The class is also open to current members interested in a "refresher" on the basics of the faith. The class will meet Wednesday’s from 7:15-8:00 for six weeks and will cover topics ranging from Baptism to the Ten Commandments.

Please email Zion secretary Susie Bishop secretary@zlcb.org to let her know you’re interested in joining the class.