After Pentecost | Saturday 15 Jun 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Grant, O Lord,
that the course of this world may be
so peaceably ordered by your providence,
that your Church may joyfully serve you
in quiet confidence and godly peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
[Jesus] used stories as illustrations
to teach them many things.
(Mark 4:2)
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From Psalms: Psalm 20 – Psalm 20 (We Will Trust) (feat. Aubrey Dale) – The Psalms Project
May the LORD answer you in the day of trouble
May the name of the God of Jacob shelter you
May He send you help from His sanctuary
May He strengthen you from His dwelling place
May He remember all of your offerings
May He look with favor on your sacrifice
May He grant You all of your heart’s desire
May He fulfill all your purpose
We will rejoice in Your victory
And in the name of our God will our banners rise
May the LORD fulfill all of your petitions
For now I know He saves His anointed ones
He will answer them from His holy heaven
With the saving strength of His mighty hand
Some trust in horses, some in chariots
But we will trust in the name of the LORD, our God
They collapse and they fall
But we rise and stand tall again
Save us, O LORD
Save us, O LORD
May our king answer us when we call
May our king answer us when we call
When we call
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OT Reading: 1 Samuel 13:1-15 (GW)
The Lord Rejects Saul as King
13:1 Saul was ⌞thirty⌟ years old when he became king, and he was king of Israel ⌞forty-two⌟ years.
Saul chose 3,000 men from Israel; 2,000 of them were stationed with Saul at Michmash and in the mountains of Bethel, and 1,000 were stationed with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. But the rest of the people he sent home.
Jonathan defeated the Philistine troops at Geba, and the Philistines heard about it. With the sounding of the ram’s horn throughout the land, Saul announced, “Listen, Hebrews!” (So all Israel listened.) “I, Saul, have defeated the Philistine troops, and now Israel has become offensive to the Philistines!” All the troops rallied behind Saul at Gilgal.
The Philistines assembled to fight against Israel. They had 30,000 chariots, 6,000 horsemen, and as many soldiers as the sand on the seashore. They camped at Michmash, east of Beth Aven. When the Israelites saw they were in trouble because the army was hard-pressed, they hid in caves, in thorny thickets, among rocks, in pits, and in cisterns. Some Hebrews crossed the Jordan River into the territory of Gad and Gilead. But Saul remained in Gilgal, and all the people who followed him trembled ⌞in fear⌟.
He waited seven days, the time set by Samuel. But Samuel had not come to Gilgal, and the troops began to scatter. Then Saul said, “Bring me the animals for the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.” So he sacrificed the burnt offering. As he finished sacrificing the burnt offering, Samuel came, and Saul went to greet him.
Samuel asked, “What have you done?”
Saul replied, “I saw the troops were scattering. You didn’t come when you said you would, and the Philistines were assembling at Michmash. So I thought, ‘Now, the Philistines will come against me at Gilgal, but I haven’t sought the Lord’s favor.’ I felt pressured into sacrificing the burnt offering.”
“You did a foolish thing,” Samuel told Saul. “You didn’t follow the command of the Lord your God. ⌞If you had,⌟ the Lord would have established your kingdom over Israel permanently. But now your kingdom will not last. The Lord has searched for a man after his own heart. The Lord has appointed him as ruler of his people, because you didn’t follow the command of the Lord.”
Samuel left Gilgal.
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Wait – Phil Wickham
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NT Reading: Mark 4:1-20 (GW)
A Story about a Farmer
4:1 Jesus began to teach again by the Sea of Galilee. A very large crowd gathered around him, so he got into a boat and sat in it. The boat was in the water while the entire crowd lined the shore. He used stories as illustrations to teach them many things.
While he was teaching them, he said, “Listen! A farmer went to plant seed. Some seeds were planted along the road, and birds came and devoured them. Other seeds were planted on rocky ground, where there wasn’t much soil. The plants sprouted quickly because the soil wasn’t deep. When the sun came up, they were scorched. They didn’t have any roots, so they withered. Other seeds were planted among thornbushes. The thornbushes grew up and choked them, and they didn’t produce anything. But other seeds were planted on good ground, sprouted, and produced thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.” He added, “Let the person who has ears listen!”
When he was alone with his followers and the twelve apostles, they asked him about the stories.
Jesus replied to them, “The mystery about God’s kingdom has been given ⌞directly⌟ to you. To those on the outside, it is given in stories:
‘They see clearly but don’t perceive.
They hear clearly but don’t understand.
They never return to me
and are never forgiven.’ ”
Jesus asked them, “Don’t you understand this story? How, then, will you understand any of the stories I use as illustrations?
“The farmer plants the word. Some people are like seeds that were planted along the road. Whenever they hear the word, Satan comes at once and takes away the word that was planted in them. Other people are like seeds that were planted on rocky ground. Whenever they hear the word, they accept it at once with joy. But they don’t develop any roots. They last for a short time. When suffering or persecution comes along because of the word, they immediately fall ⌞from faith⌟. Other people are like seeds planted among thornbushes. They hear the word, but the worries of life, the deceitful pleasures of riches, and the desires for other things take over. They choke the word so that it can’t produce anything. Others are like seeds planted on good ground. They hear the word, accept it, and produce crops—thirty, sixty, or one hundred times as much as was planted.”
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Open My Eyes That I May See ~ Joslin Grove Choral Society / Easy Worship Resources
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+ Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that by patience and the comfort of your Holy Word we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
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- Protect Israel from the fiery darts of the evil one coming from every direction, both within and without.
- Grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, and diplomatically;
- Give them hearts to receive, and the courage to do, what’s right in your sight.
- Comfort those who grieve and mourn the loss of loved ones;
- Rebuke those who would use grief for evil purposes.
- Bring swift and certain justice to all those complicit in the Oct 7th atrocities;
- Deliver the hostages from captivity, and restore their souls.
- Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East.
- Strengthen the Messianic communities – Jew and Arab alike – bind them together in love, that they may be a source of help, and healing, and hope;
- Use them in the restoration of your people to their proper place in your Kingdom.
- We pray in Jesus’ Name. 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 