Acts 16:6-10 - And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in Asia. And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. So, passing...

John 10:27-29 - (Jesus said) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all, and no one is able to...

John 21:1, 9-14 – After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in this way. … When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” So Simon Peter went aboard and hauled the net ashore, full of large fish, 153 of them. And although there were so many, the net was not torn. Jesus said to them, “Come and have breakfast.” Now none of the disciples dared ask Him, “Who are you?” They knew it was the Lord. Jesus came and took the bread and gave it to them, and so with the fish. This was now the third time that Jesus was revealed to the disciples after He was raised from the dead.
Jesus cooking breakfast. What a quiet, humble, homely picture. It’s not at all the way I would expect the Son of God to reveal Himself after His resurrection. If He had consulted me, I probably would have recommended some blow-out miracle before thousands, with assorted explosions and fireworks.

But Jesus didn’t do that.

John tells us, “After this Jesus revealed Himself again to the disciples by the Sea of Tiberias, and He revealed Himself in this way. … When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread.” Think about the preparation of this meal. Jesus must have been on the shore for a little while, to have the fire at the right stage and the fish cleaned and ready to cook. And how exactly did He come by the bread and the fish? Certainly, He could have provided them by a miracle out of thin air, but that didn’t seem quite His style. I suspect he had visited one of the nearby villages for supplies.

Be that as it may, Jesus looks over the preparations and decides more fish are needed. He asks the disciples to fetch them. It’s a thing any campfire cook might ask. Never mind the fact that these particular fish Peter is running to fetch came by miracle. The emphasis here is not on glory. It’s on providing. Jesus is feeding the disciples, and He’s doing it partly through their own work.

When everything’s ready, He calls the group to breakfast. He takes the bread and the fish and serves it to them with His own hands. No doubt they got a good look at the scars in His hands while He was serving them. But John doesn’t say if they talked about that; he doesn’t tell us anything of what they talked about or what they said while they were eating. It’s not until after the meal that we get the account about Peter and Jesus and His question: “Do you love Me? Do you love Me?”

So what is the point of the breakfast by the sea? Perhaps simply that Jesus wanted to spend time with His disciples —to take care of them, to provide for them, to sit among them for a little while longer. Their company was precious to Him. Jesus revealed Himself as the God who desires our company, who wants to provide for us. Because He loves us, He has called us to believe in Him, to trust and follow Him until we are with Him forever.

THE PRAYER: Lord Jesus, be with us and keep us with You. Amen.

We are grateful to Lonny and Korri Lang as they share information with the congregation related to their participation in Doxology and a recent congregation conversation. They will share their findings on Sunday.

Hope Manor – Sober Living Homes is our 2nd quarter focus for Human Care. Their mission is to provide an environment where people can apply the tools of recovery in a comfortable, safe and stable environment so that the individual has the opportunity to realize true freedom in sobriety.

We have set May 18 as Shepherd of the Valley Volunteer Day at Heaven’s Helpers Soup Kitchen. Please consider when during that Saturday you might be able to help. Please visit with Micheal Henke and see the sign up sheet in the narthex.

VBS volunteers wanted: Please visit with Carrie Harling to let her know that you desire to help with VBS which is scheduled May 28, 29, & 30 from 9am to noon. Online registration for students and helpers can be found at www.vbsmate.com/sotvbismarck. Email Carrie at carrieharling14@gmail.com.

The next Hang Out will take place on Tuesday, May 21, 6:00 PM at Shepherd of the Valley. Join us for supper, fellowship, and Bible Study with Vicar Woodside.

The People Matter Community Carnival will take place on Saturday, May 11, 11:00-2:00 on the grounds of Wachter Middle School. This is a wonderful opportunity to reach out to our community and invite them to Vacation Bible School and tell them of Jesus’ love. Volunteers are needed to help with registration and to hand out materials.

Youth in grade 8-12 are invited to join Pastor Wolfgram for Bible Study and appetizers on Wednesday, May 15, 8:00 PM at the church. Following conversation and study at Shepherd of the Valley we will go to Applebee’s on South Third for appetizers at 9:00 pm.
Richard Dailey has been assigned to serve as Vicar at Shepherd of the Valley and Bethel. Richard and Sarah have three young children. We look forward to meeting the Daily family as they anticipate their move to Bismarck.

We rejoice with Jeffrey Kyler as he has been called to serve Mount Olive Lutheran Church Bovey, MN and Grace English Lutheran Church Marble, MN. We pray God’s rich blessing upon Pastor Elect Kyler and family.

Crisis Care Chaplaincy night with the Larks is Thursday, June 13. Tickets are $12.00 for bleacher ticket or $20.00 for bleacher ticket, hat, and all-you-can-eat Ballpark Food for 90 minutes. Ticket goal is 75 tickets to support Crisis Care Chaplaincy. Please purchase tickets by May 23. Purchase online at LARKSBASEBALL.COM with promo code: CRISISCARE.

TruNorth, Bismarck’s newest theatre company, invites you as they present John Osborne’s play: LUTHER. John Osborne’s play, LUTHER, chronicles from 1505, the year of Luther’s entrance into service as an Augustinian Monk, to the year 1530. The play will be performed May 10-11, and the 16-18 at 7:30 PM with a matinee on the 19th at 2:00 PM. Tickets are $17.00 at TruNorth Theatre, 1810 Schafer Street, Bismarck.

*May 5                Carrie & Nate Harling                                                  815am Leon & Jerry Lippert                                                    1045am   May 12                Don...