After Pentecost | Thursday 23 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.
“So those who are believers in Christ Jesus
can no longer be condemned.”
(Romans 8:1)
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From Psalms: Psalm 29 | Exodus Road Band
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OT Reading: Isaiah 1:1-4 (GW)
1:1 This is the vision which Isaiah, son of Amoz, saw about Judah and Jerusalem at the time of Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
The Lord Accuses Israel of Sin
1:2 Listen, heaven, and pay attention, earth!
The Lord has spoken,
“I raised ⌞my⌟ children and helped them grow,
but they have rebelled against me.
Oxen know their owners,
and donkeys know where their masters feed them.
But Israel doesn’t know ⌞its owner⌟.
My people don’t understand ⌞who feeds them⌟.
“How horrible it will be for a nation that sins.
⌞Its⌟ people are loaded down with guilt.
They are descendants of evildoers
and destructive children.
They have abandoned the Lord.
They have despised the Holy One of Israel.
They have turned their backs on him.
The Lord Invites Israel to Turn Away from Sin
1:16 “Wash yourselves! Become clean!
Get your evil deeds out of my sight.
Stop doing evil.
Learn to do good.
Seek justice.
Arrest oppressors.
Defend orphans.
Plead the case of widows.”
“Come on now, let’s discuss this!” says the Lord.
“Though your sins are bright red,
they will become as white as snow.
Though they are dark red,
they will become as white as wool.
If you are willing and obedient,
you will eat the best from the land.
But if you refuse and rebel,
you will be destroyed by swords.”
The Lord has spoken.
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Come Let Us Reason Together (Ken Medema) | Emmanuel Church, Rio Rico
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NT Reading: Romans 8:1-8 (GW)
God’s Spirit Makes Us His Children
8:1 So those who are believers in Christ Jesus can no longer be condemned. The standards of the Spirit, who gives life through Christ Jesus, have set you free from the standards of sin and death. It is impossible to do what God’s standards demand because of the weakness our human nature has. But God sent his Son to have a human nature as sinners have and to pay for sin. That way God condemned sin in our corrupt nature. Therefore, we, who do not live by our corrupt nature but by our spiritual nature, are able to meet God’s standards in Moses’ Teachings.
Those who live by the corrupt nature have the corrupt nature’s attitude. But those who live by the spiritual nature have the spiritual nature’s attitude. The corrupt nature’s attitude leads to death. But the spiritual nature’s attitude leads to life and peace. This is so because the corrupt nature has a hostile attitude toward God. It refuses to place itself under the authority of God’s standards because it can’t. Those who are under the control of the corrupt nature can’t please God.
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No Condemnation – Hosanna Music / Peter C3
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+ Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 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.
+ O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through 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 