7th Friday of Easter: 21 May 2021
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O God, the King of glory, you have exalted your only Son Jesus
Christ with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven: Do not
leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit to strengthen
us, and exalt us to that place where our Savior Christ has gone
before; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
“Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory
through our Lord Jesus Christ.“
(1 Corinthians 15:57)
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Psalms: Psalm 33:12-22
I Will Wait – based on Psalm 33 – Joshua Huff
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OT Reading: Job 37:1-13 (ESV)
Elihu Proclaims God’s Majesty
37:1 “At this also my heart trembles
and leaps out of its place.
2 Keep listening to the thunder of his voice
and the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
3 Under the whole heaven he lets it go,
and his lightning to the corners of the earth.
4 After it his voice roars;
he thunders with his majestic voice,
and he does not restrain the lightnings when his voice is heard.
5 God thunders wondrously with his voice;
he does great things that we cannot comprehend.
6 For to the snow he says, ‘Fall on the earth,’
likewise to the downpour, his mighty downpour.
7 He seals up the hand of every man,
that all men whom he made may know it.
8 Then the beasts go into their lairs,
and remain in their dens.
9 From its chamber comes the whirlwind,
and cold from the scattering winds.
10 By the breath of God ice is given,
and the broad waters are frozen fast.
11 He loads the thick cloud with moisture;
the clouds scatter his lightning.
12 They turn around and around by his guidance,
to accomplish all that he commands them
on the face of the habitable world.
13 Whether for correction or for his land
or for love, he causes it to happen.
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Majesty by Delirious
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NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 (ESV)
Mystery and Victory
15:50 I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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We Shall Be Raised – Paul M Harvey
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Prayer
+ Almighty God, you knit together your elect in one communion and fellowship, in the mystical body of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord:
- Grant, we pray, to your whole Church in heaven and on earth, your light and peace.
- Grant that all who have been baptized into Christ’s death and resurrection may die to sin and rise to newness of life, that through the grave and gate of death we may pass with him to our joyful resurrection.
- Grant to us who are still in our pilgrimage, and who walk as yet by faith, that your Holy Spirit may lead us in holiness and righteousness all our days.
- Grant to your faithful people pardon and peace, that we may be cleansed from all our sins, and serve you in faithful obedience.
- Grant to all who mourn a sure confidence in your fatherly care, that, casting their grief on you, they may know the consolation of your love.
- Help us, we pray, in the midst of things we cannot understand, to believe and trust in the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, and the resurrection to life everlasting.
+ Almighty God, grant us, with all who have died in the hope of the resurrection, the fullness of life in your eternal and everlasting glory, and, with all your saints, to receive the crown of life promised to all who share in the victory of your Son Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Blessing
May the peace of the Lord Christ go with us, wherever He may send us.
May He guide us through the wilderness, protect us through the storm.
May He bring us home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown us.
May He bring us home rejoicing once again into our doors.
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+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 