After Pentecost | Tuesday 21 May 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God, on Pentecost,
through the outpouring of the Holy Spirit,
you revealed the way of eternal life to every race and nation:
Pour out this gift anew, that by the preaching of the Gospel
your salvation may reach to the ends of the earth;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
“You are Christ’s body and
each of you is an individual part of it.”
(1 Corinthians 12:27)
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From Psalms: Psalm 104:24-35 – Paul Burton
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OT Reading: Genesis 11:1-9 (GW)
The Tower of Babel
11:1 The whole world had one language with a common vocabulary. As people moved toward the east, they found a plain in Shinar [Babylonia] and settled there.
They said to one another, “Let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used bricks as stones and tar as mortar.
Then they said, “Let’s build a city for ourselves and a tower with its top in the sky. Let’s make a name for ourselves so that we won’t become scattered all over the face of the earth.”
The Lord came down to see the city and the tower that the descendants of Adam were building. The Lord said, “They are one people with one language. This is only the beginning of what they will do! Now nothing they plan to do will be too difficult for them. Let us go down there and mix up their language so that they won’t understand each other.”
So the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth, and they stopped building the city. This is why it was named Babel, because there the Lord turned the language of the whole earth into babble. From that place the Lord scattered them all over the face of the earth.
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Tower of Babel – Don Francisco/Genesis And Job | Rock 4 Yeshua
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NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (GW)
12:12 For example, the body is one unit and yet has many parts. As all the parts form one body, so it is with Christ. By one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Whether we are Jewish or Greek, slave or free, God gave all of us one Spirit to drink.
As you know, the human body is not made up of only one part, but of many parts. Suppose a foot says, “I’m not a hand, so I’m not part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? Or suppose an ear says, “I’m not an eye, so I’m not a part of the body!” Would that mean it’s no longer part of the body? If the whole body were an eye, how could it hear? If the whole body were an ear, how could it smell? So God put each and every part of the body together as he wanted it. How could it be a body if it only had one part? So there are many parts but one body.
An eye can’t say to a hand, “I don’t need you!” Or again, the head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you!” The opposite is true. The parts of the body that we think are weaker are the ones we really need. The parts of the body that we think are less honorable are the ones we give special honor. So our unpresentable parts are made more presentable. However, our presentable parts don’t need this kind of treatment. God has put the body together and given special honor to the part that doesn’t have it. God’s purpose was that the body should not be divided but rather that all of its parts should feel the same concern for each other. If one part of the body suffers, all the other parts share its suffering. If one part is praised, all the others share in its happiness.
You are Christ’s body and each of you is an individual part of it.
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We Are The Body of Christ (acapella) / Federal Way Church of Christ
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+ O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 