Yesterday, I posted a quote from the Pastoral Prayer Companion on Facebook. It was about how pastoral care always flows from and leads back to the Divine Service. The Companion speaks of the Divine Service saying, "The liturgy itself is the primary place of ongoing pastoral care as week after week Christians are called together in the name of the triune God to receive His gifts in sermon and Sacrament and are enlivened to live in Christ by faith and in love toward the neigh or. All pastoral care radiates from the preaching of the Gospel and the administration of the Sacraments and ultimately culminates in the reception of the Lord's gifts proclaimed and distributed in the liturgy. Just as the planets are in orbit around the sun, so the rites of pastoral care revolve around the Divine Service, reflecting the light of Christ's gifts on our living and dying, hallowing grief and pain with His promises." (PCC viii).  

 This is why I and Pastoral Daniels want you to be in the Divine Service every Sunday, and at every opportunity of prayer and preaching during the week at Zion. WE want you there so we can care for you spiritually and tend to your eternal salvation. We do this by preaching the Gospel, leading through the liturgy, and by feeding you Jesus' Body and Blood in the Lord's Supper. If you aren't at the Divine Service, you are missing out on the care of your soul in the forgiveness of your sins. This is a life and death issue. We aren't dealing with a mere temporal consequence, but rather an eternal one. Think about it. 2 hours a week, for both Divine Service and Bible study, over the year you spend maybe 150 hours at Church being forgiven and hearing about how Jesus loves you and saves you. That's not alot. But, the consequence of rejecting this is eternity in torment. Fun times right. So, read the quote above a few times today and I pray that the Holy Spirit continues to work on you to bring you to the Divine Service so that you receive the forgiveness of your sins toward life everlasting. 

Peace be with you. May the devil be silenced, the world be hushed, and the Old Adam be drowned anew so that you hear only the peaceful voice of your Savior Jesus who says, "I forgive you. I love you. I claim you as My own forever," Amen.

Jesus' Sheepdog,

Pastor Hull