Community of Joy Lutheran Church issued the following announcement on Jan. 4.
Psalm 29 (NRSV)
1 Ascribe to the Lord, O heavenly beings, ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
2 Ascribe to the Lord the glory of his name; worship the Lord in holy splendor.
3 The voice of the Lord is over the waters; the God of glory thunders, the Lord, over mighty waters.
4 The voice of the Lord is powerful; the voice of the Lord is full of majesty.
5 The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars; the Lord breaks the cedars of Lebanon.
6 He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, and Sirion like a young wild ox.
7 The voice of the Lord flashes forth flames of fire.
8 The voice of the Lord shakes the wilderness; the Lord shakes the wilderness of Kadesh.
9 The voice of the Lord causes the oaks to whirl, and strips the forest bare; and in his temple all say, “Glory!”
10 The Lord sits enthroned over the flood; the Lord sits enthroned as king forever.
11 May the Lord give strength to his people! May the Lord bless his people with peace!
Devotion
Hymn Reflection: ELW 632 Full disclosure: storms used to scare me. My mother always said reading the psalms helps in finding peace within life’s storms. The summer of 1989, I drove up to Alexandria, Minnesota, in a terrible thunder storm and I ran off the road into a ditch. With water rising into the car and no one stopping to give help, I was afraid. But in the midst of that storm and my fears I turned to the only One I could rely on and turned to prayer, hymns. and the psalms I could remember. This psalm reminds us, when caught up in life’s struggles, we can rely upon God’s promises. There will be storms throughout our lives, literally and figuratively, they will always be there, but so will the voice of the Lord which is stronger than any storm in overcoming any fear. God got me through that night through the care of a trucker who stopped to help me out.
Prayer
Holy God, in the midst of life’s storms you are with us, promising us that we are not alone. Help us to hear your voice speaking to us in so many ways, encouraging us to be at peace and trust in your presence here and now with us. In Christ’s name. Amen.
Andrew Bernard Hinderlie ’92 M.Div.
Part time Pastor, Trinity Lutheran Church, Bonners Ferry, ID
We invite you to join us online for chapel service.
Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible, copyright 1989, Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Original source can be found here.
Source: Community of Joy Lutheran Church
