After Pentecost | Friday 28 Jun 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
Graft in our hearts the love of your Name,
increase in us true faith and practice,
nourish us with all goodness,
and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“They made an appeal to us,
begging us to let them participate
in the ministry of God’s kindness
to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟.”
(2 Corinthians 8:4)
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From Psalms: Psalm 130 – Sons of Korah
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OT Reading: 1 Samuel 20:1-25 (GW)
David Makes a Promise to Jonathan
20:1 David fled from the pastures at Ramah, came to Jonathan, and asked, “What have I done? What crime am I guilty of? What sin have I committed against your father that he’s trying to kill me?”
Jonathan answered, “That’s unthinkable! You’re not going to die! My father does nothing without telling me, whether it’s important or not. Why should my father hide this from me? It’s just not that way.”
But David took an oath, saying, “Your father certainly knows that you support me, so he said ⌞to himself⌟, ‘Jonathan must not know about this. It will bring him distress.’ But I solemnly swear, as the Lord and you live, I’m only one step away from death.”
Jonathan said to David, “I’ll do whatever you say.”
David replied, “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival, when I should sit and eat at the king’s ⌞table⌟. But let me go and hide in the countryside for two more nights. If your father really misses me, tell him, ‘David repeatedly begged me to let him run to Bethlehem, his hometown, because his relatives are offering the annual sacrifice there.’ If he says, ‘Good!’ then I will be safe. But if he gets really angry, then you’ll know for sure that he has decided to harm me. Now, be kind to me. After all, you forced me into an agreement with the Lord. If I have committed any crime, kill me yourself. Why bother taking me to your father?”
Jonathan answered, “That’s unthinkable! If I knew for sure that my father had decided to harm you, I would have told you about it.”
Then David asked, “Who will tell me whether or not your father gives you a harsh answer?”
Jonathan said, “Let’s go out into the country.” So they went out into the country.
“As the Lord God of Israel ⌞is my witness⌟,” Jonathan continued, “I’ll find out in the next two or three days how my father feels about you. If he does feel kindly toward you, then I will send someone to tell you. If my father plans to harm you and I fail to tell you and send you away safely, may the Lord harm me even more. May the Lord be with you as he used to be with my father. But as long as I live, ⌞promise me that you will⌟ show me kindness because of the Lord. And even when I die, never stop being kind to my family. The Lord will wipe each of David’s enemies off the face of the earth. At that time, if Jonathan’s name is cut off from David’s family, then may the Lord punish David’s house.”
Once again Jonathan swore an oath to David because of his love for David. He loved David as much as ⌞he loved⌟ himself. “Tomorrow is the New Moon Festival,” Jonathan told him, “and you will be missed when your seat is empty. The day after tomorrow you will be missed even more. So go to the place where you hid on that other occasion, and stay by the rock. I will shoot three arrows from beside it toward a target. Then I will send out a boy and say, ‘Go, find the arrows.’ Now, if I tell the boy, ‘Look, the arrows are next to you; get them,’ then come ⌞back with me⌟. You will be safe, and there will be no trouble. I swear it, as the Lord lives. But if I tell the boy, ‘The arrows are next to you,’ then go, because the Lord has sent you away. We have made a promise to each other, and the Lord is ⌞a witness⌟ between you and me forever.”
So David hid in the countryside. When the New Moon Festival came, King Saul sat down to eat the festival meal. He sat in his usual seat by the wall, while Jonathan stood. Abner sat beside Saul, but David’s place was empty.
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All Because of Mercy – Casting Crowns
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NT Reading: 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 (GW)
The Collection for Christians in Jerusalem
8:1 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness to the churches in the province of Macedonia. While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous. I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it.
Indeed, the more your faith, your ability to speak, your knowledge, your dedication, and your love for us increase, the more we want you to participate in this work of God’s kindness.
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Lovingkindness [Official Lyric Video] – Matt Redman, Matt Boswell, Matt Papa, Keith & Kristyn Getty
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+ Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: We hold up all our weaknesses to your strength, our failures to your faithfulness, our sinfulness to your perfection, our loneliness to your compassion, our little pains to your great agony on the Cross. We pray that you will cleanse us, strengthen us, guide us, so that in all ways our lives may be lived as you would have them lived, without cowardice and for you alone. Show us how to live in true humility, true contrition, and true love. 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 