Lessons and Suggested Hymns, Easter Sunday – Trinity Sunday, Cycle B March 31 – May 26, 2024   NOTE: LBW – Lutheran Book of Worship (The Green Book) WOV – With One Voice (The Blue Book) LSB – Lutheran Service Book (The Maroon Book) ELW – Evangelical Lutheran Worship (The Cranberry Book)   There are versions of some hymns that are superior in LSB and I recommend using them if possible. Also, there are some superb hymns in LSB that aren’t available in the other hymnals. When I suggest one of the latter, I try to include an alternative from LBW or WOV. I recommend that a license and DVD ..read more

“But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your charitable giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you” (Matthew 6:3-4). It sure seems that sometimes people give for all the wrong reasons.  When you give, seek to be sure it is a good place to which you are giving and then let it go.  Do not be one who meddles in the outcome, but one who gives grace in the same way you have received it.  Our Lord has been overly generous to you.  Be overly generous with others in th ..read more

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, so that they will be praised by people. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full” (Matthew 6:2). When you do what you do to receive the approval of men, you will get what you are after.  This is temporary and fleeting.  The Lord desires for you to do what you do not just for His approval, but because it will make you to become like Christ.  The Lord created you to live a certain way.  When you live that way, you will find the joy that comes ..read more

“Take care not to practice your righteousness in the sight of people, to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no reward with your Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 6:1). Too often, sinful humans play show and tell.  I’ll let you see what I want you to see and believe what I want you to believe.  Jesus is interested in the heart of the matter.  You should do what you do because it is right.  You should do what you do because it is pleasing to the Lord.  Look to the Lord, be led by Him, and walk in His royal law.  In Him is all the goodness and the fulfilment you ..read more

“And if you greet only your brothers and sisters, what more are you doing than others? Even the Gentiles, do they not do the same?  Therefore you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:47). The Lord God Almighty is complete in Himself.  He will give us His integrity also.  We are called out of ourselves to live as we have been created to live.  We begin with selfishness, by the example of Christ, He will lead us also to be selfless.  All whom you meet were created in God’s image and have the same potential to be sons and daughters of the Lord ..read more

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Even the tax collectors, do they not do the same?” (Matthew 5:46) It is not so much that we must be different for our own sake, but that when we learn to love all of our neighbors, we begin to see the world as the Lord does.  Unbelieving sinners, evil men, and most humans love their families and friends.  We are called to be willing to give grace to those who do not deserve it.  Has not the Lord done the same for us?  The reward of giving grace is that you receive grace. As we sow we shall also reap. Lord God, te ..read more

The Lutheran Church of Guam is a dynamic, multicultural congregation in the Western Pacific Ocean.  Begun as a Lutheran Servicemen’s Center in the early 1960s, the congregation still ministers to military personnel but now embraces a wide variety of Micronesian, Asian and international believers. One of our most significant ministries is our Tender Shepherd Preschool, which provides quality Christian education to 50 preschoolers.  Our worship life is strong with a cadre of trained lay pastors providing leadership during this pastoral vacancy and ready to assist our next pastor.  ..read more

“But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may prove yourselves to be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:44-45). Jesus is not telling us that we must have fond affections for others That is the stuff of Hollywood.  We are to see in others that they too are loved by our Lord.  God gives common grace to all impartially.  Sure, bad things happen.  There is evil in the world.  Our Lord was crucified.  Ev ..read more

“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy’” (Matthew 5:43). Does the world not operate this way?  Hate is often the order of the day.  Sure, we love our families, but we are fed all day long on the rivalries of this world.  Schools have rivals.  Politics have rivals.  We are asked to have loyalty for store chains, brands, and all kinds of other things.  That is the worldly practice.  Jesus introduced us to living differently and not living with hate as something that motivates us. Lord, You know where and when my hear ..read more

“WHY ARE YOU FRIGHTENED?” The Gospel reading from Luke 24 for April 14, the Third Sunday of Easter, tells of an incident that happened on Easter Sunday evening – after Jesus had spent some time with two of His followers on the road to Emmaus.  According to verses 33-35, after Jesus suddenly disappeared, the Emmaus disciples “got up and returned to Jerusalem and found the eleven and their companions gathered together.  They said, ‘The Lord has risen indeed!’  Then they told them what had happened on the road, and how Jesus had been made known to them in the breaking of the bread ..read more