Epiphany Season | Saturday 08 Jan 2022:

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

O God, by the leading of a star you manifested your only Son to
the peoples of the earth: Lead us, who know you now by faith,
to your presence, where we may see your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Be careful how you live.
Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.
Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.
(Ephesians 5:15-16)

__________

Psalms: Psalm 72 – Heather Clark
The Higher Power

__________

OT Reading: Daniel 2:24-49 (NLT)

Daniel Interprets the Dream

2:24 Then Daniel went in to see Arioch, whom the king had ordered to execute the wise men of Babylon. Daniel said to him, “Don’t kill the wise men. Take me to the king, and I will tell him the meaning of his dream.”

 Arioch quickly took Daniel to the king and said, “I have found one of the captives from Judah who will tell the king the meaning of his dream!”

 The king said to Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar), “Is this true? Can you tell me what my dream was and what it means?”

 Daniel replied, “There are no wise men, enchanters, magicians, or fortune-tellers who can reveal the king’s secret. But there is a God in heaven who reveals secrets, and he has shown King Nebuchadnezzar what will happen in the future. Now I will tell you your dream and the visions you saw as you lay on your bed.

 “While Your Majesty was sleeping, you dreamed about coming events. He who reveals secrets has shown you what is going to happen. And it is not because I am wiser than anyone else that I know the secret of your dream, but because God wants you to understand what was in your heart.

 “In your vision, Your Majesty, you saw standing before you a huge, shining statue of a man. It was a frightening sight. The head of the statue was made of fine gold. Its chest and arms were silver, its belly and thighs were bronze, its legs were iron, and its feet were a combination of iron and baked clay. As you watched, a rock was cut from a mountain, but not by human hands. It struck the feet of iron and clay, smashing them to bits. The whole statue was crushed into small pieces of iron, clay, bronze, silver, and gold. Then the wind blew them away without a trace, like chaff on a threshing floor. But the rock that knocked the statue down became a great mountain that covered the whole earth.

 “That was the dream. Now we will tell the king what it means. Your Majesty, you are the greatest of kings. The God of heaven has given you sovereignty, power, strength, and honor.  He has made you the ruler over all the inhabited world and has put even the wild animals and birds under your control. You are the head of gold.

 “But after your kingdom comes to an end, another kingdom, inferior to yours, will rise to take your place. After that kingdom has fallen, yet a third kingdom, represented by bronze, will rise to rule the world. Following that kingdom, there will be a fourth one, as strong as iron. That kingdom will smash and crush all previous empires, just as iron smashes and crushes everything it strikes. The feet and toes you saw were a combination of iron and baked clay, showing that this kingdom will be divided. Like iron mixed with clay, it will have some of the strength of iron. But while some parts of it will be as strong as iron, other parts will be as weak as clay. This mixture of iron and clay also shows that these kingdoms will try to strengthen themselves by forming alliances with each other through intermarriage. But they will not hold together, just as iron and clay do not mix.

 “During the reigns of those kings, the God of heaven will set up a kingdom that will never be destroyed or conquered. It will crush all these kingdoms into nothingness, and it will stand forever. That is the meaning of the rock cut from the mountain, though not by human hands, that crushed to pieces the statue of iron, bronze, clay, silver, and gold. The great God was showing the king what will happen in the future. The dream is true, and its meaning is certain.”

Nebuchadnezzar Rewards Daniel

2:46 Then King Nebuchadnezzar threw himself down before Daniel and worshiped him, and he commanded his people to offer sacrifices and burn sweet incense before him. The king said to Daniel, “Truly, your God is the greatest of gods, the Lord over kings, a revealer of mysteries, for you have been able to reveal this secret.”

 Then the king appointed Daniel to a high position and gave him many valuable gifts. He made Daniel ruler over the whole province of Babylon, as well as chief over all his wise men.  At Daniel’s request, the king appointed Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to be in charge of all the affairs of the province of Babylon, while Daniel remained in the king’s court.

__________

King of Kings – Hillsong Worship

 

__________

NT Reading: Ephesians 5:15-20 (NLT)

Living by the Spirit’s Power

5:15 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise. Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days. Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do. Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

__________

Soli Deo Gloria – – Darlene Zschech & Mitch Wong
Integrity Music

__________

Prayer:

Love Life-Giving Water

Dear Abba, Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,

I recognize that I am in need of more of Your power in my life. Your Word promises that when we ask, we receive.

Please fill me with your Holy Spirit. I am asking this to you by faith right now…

I believe that you have filled me and I receive the infilling of Your Holy Spirit in my heart right now!

Thank you Holy Spirit for being the power at work in my heart and in my life!

I give you all the praise and all the glory, in Jesus’ name,

Amen!

__________

Closing:

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.