"Worship Resources" Now Online

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

A voice says, “Cry!” And I said, “What shall I cry?”
All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field.
The grass withers, the flower fades
when the breath of the LORD blows on it;
surely the people are grass.
The grass withers, the flower fades,
but the word of our God will stand forever.

-- Isaiah 40:6-8

I hope and pray that you are well in body and soul; all of us are adjusting to a "new normal" as our nation and community joins the rest of the world in efforts against the coronavirus pandemic.

When we announced the suspension of all church activities at Messiah through April 5, we promised to provide you with resources for our common worship and devotional life, even though we are physically absent from one another.  Today's message is to inform you about the steps we're taking to that end.

There's a new page on our website in the "Ministries" section named "Worship Resources"; you can check it out here.  Starting on or about Sunday, March 22, we will post audio recordings of worship services — instrumental music, hymns, responsive readings, the appointed Scriptures and a sermon by Pastor Blain. You'll be able to listen to the service by clicking on a "play" button, and follow along with a service folder by clicking on a link to a separate browser window. We currently plan to post services for:

• Sunday, March 22

• Wednesday, March 25

• Sunday, March 29

• Wednesday, April 1

• Sunday, April 5

But please don't wait -- you can try this new page out now!  We've uploaded The Litany (the great responsive prayer of the Church, often used in Lent), sung by the Kantorei of Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana, as well as two matching service folders ("words only" or "words and music").  I encourage you to take ten minutes and pray The Litany yourself today.  And tomorrow.  And every day that our current situation continues.  (Thanks go to Pastor Hoese for this idea.)

"Worship Resources" also has links to streamed services from reliable ministries, plus connections to more printed and audio materials.  I especially recommend the fine devotional booklet "40 Daily Devotions of God's Comfort," produced by LCMS Disaster Relief. 

Also, those of you who follow Messiah's Facebook page know that we continue to post brief devotions (a Psalm verse, appointed readings with links to the online English Standard Version and a prayer) every morning Monday through Saturday.  I encourage you to join me in praying them!

Like all of you, I yearn for the day when we can gather again at Messiah to be strengthened in faith by the hearing of God's Word and the body and blood of Jesus given in His Supper.  I yearn for the day when we can raise our voices together in prayer and praise, thanking our heavenly Father for His unending mercy to us. To quote a friend, Satan has put Christian churches around the world in a fearsome bind, "torn between the importance, necessity, urgency, and value of the Gospel and the care and concern that we owe to our neighbors in the frailty of this body and life." 

But until the day that God delivers us from this dilemma -- and He will, in whatever way He sees best -- His enduring Word stands forever, binding us together in our common fellowship.  May we walk by faith, not by sight, together through this challenging time, and sing together with the Church:
 

When life’s troubles rise to meet me,
though their weight may be great,
they will not defeat me.
God, my loving Savior, sends them;
He who knows all my woes
knows how best to end them.

God gives me my days of gladness,
and I will trust Him still
when He sends me sadness.
God is good; His love attends me
day by day, come what may,
guides me and defends me.

("Why Should Cross and Trial Grieve Me," Lutheran Service Book 756, stanzas 2-3).

Yours in Christ,

Rick Krueger

Urgent Update

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Events surrounding the spread of coronavirus and society's efforts to mitigate it continue to move at astonishing speed.  On Monday night, Messiah's Church Council decided to suspend all church activities as of this morning. This difficult decision was taken in the light of new recommendations on gathering sizes from the US Centers for Disease Control (50 for large group events) & The President's Coronavirus Guidelines for America (10 for social gatherings).

Here are the immediate results of this decision:

• The Lenten worship services and supper scheduled for Wednesday, March 18 are cancelled.

• All Bible studies, group musical practices, meals and other group activities are cancelled from now through Sunday, April 5.

• All other public worship services through April 5 are cancelled. Audio recordings of the service for the day  -- service music, hymns, responsive readings, the appointed Scriptures and a sermon -- will be posted on Messiah's website (as well as an order of service to follow as you listen) for these dates:

  • Sunday, March 22

  • Wednesday, March 25

  • Sunday, March 29

  • Wednesday, April 1

  • Sunday, April 5

The suspension of church activities will be reviewed at the next Board of Elders meeting, scheduled for Monday, March 30.  

As you can imagine, this was not an outcome anyone serving on Church Council would have contemplated before the events of the past week; thorough discussion preceded the final decision. Suspending activities was proposed and ultimately approved as a prudent, loving way to deal with an extraordinary situation, enacted in the interest of our members and the community at large.  But we also know that there is a broad range of opinion on the right course of action in this situation.  We ask for your understanding, trust, patience and prayers as we continue to discern how to share the strength and comfort of God's Word and Sacraments with you and others in this uniquely challenging time.  We also respectfully ask that, during this period, those of you who have pledged your support of Messiah's ongoing ministry continue to do so.

Pastor Blain, our office manager, and I remain on duty to serve you on our Savior's behalf; we are praying for you and your loved ones. Pastor Blain would be happy to come to your home and give you Christ's gifts of Word & Sacrament as you desire; please contact him directly (at 616-288-5594) or through the church office.   

Finally, it's comforting to remember that God's people have been in this situation before. The Lord once sent a pestilence on Israel, but David, the Lord’s anointed, bore the guilt of sin and offered the sacrifice that “[stayed] the hand” of the Lord’s avenging angel (2 Samuel 24). So much more has Jesus Christ, our Savior, borne the wrath of God against our sin and offered Himself as the atoning sacrifice that spares us. “With his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). So we boldly beseech the Lord’s mercy upon us for Christ’s sake. “Death [reigns]” over all of Adam’s children in this world because of sin, yet “through our Lord Jesus Christ” comes the “gift of righteousness” that brings “eternal life” (Romans 5). May each of us implore God’s mercy in repentance and faith for the sake of Christ, whose hand alone can heal every disease (Luke 4), and in whom is salvation, life and resurrection from the dead.

O God, You desire not the death of sinners, but rather that we turn from our wickedness and live. Graciously behold Your people who plead to You and spare us. Withdraw the scourge of Your wrath and be moved in mercy to turn away this pestilence from us; for the sake of Jesus Christ, Your Son, our Lord, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

Yours in Christ,


Rick Krueger
Messiah Lutheran Church