After Pentecost| Friday – 24 June 2022
+ 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 religion, 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.
Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you
to live as I do in freedom from these things,
for I have become like you Gentiles—
free from those laws.
(Galatians 4:12)
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Psalms Reading: Psalm 16 – Psalm 16 Keep Me Safe | Sons of Korah
Ed Sullivan
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OT Reading: 2 Kings 1:1-16 (NLT)
Elijah Confronts King Ahaziah
1:1 After King Ahab’s death, the land of Moab rebelled against Israel.
One day Israel’s new king, Ahaziah, fell through the latticework of an upper room at his palace in Samaria and was seriously injured. So he sent messengers to the temple of Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether he would recover.
But the angel of the Lord told Elijah, who was from Tishbe, “Go and confront the messengers of the king of Samaria and ask them, ‘Is there no God in Israel? Why are you going to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether the king will recover? Now, therefore, this is what the Lord says: You will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’” So Elijah went to deliver the message.
When the messengers returned to the king, he asked them, “Why have you returned so soon?”
They replied, “A man came up to us and told us to go back to the king and give him this message. ‘This is what the Lord says: Is there no God in Israel? Why are you sending men to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.’”
“What sort of man was he?” the king demanded. “What did he look like?”
They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.”
“Elijah from Tishbe!” the king exclaimed.
Then he sent an army captain with fifty soldiers to arrest him. They found him sitting on top of a hill. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king has commanded you to come down with us.”
But Elijah replied to the captain, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” Then fire fell from heaven and killed them all.
So the king sent another captain with fifty men. The captain said to him, “Man of God, the king demands that you come down at once.”
Elijah replied, “If I am a man of God, let fire come down from heaven and destroy you and your fifty men!” And again the fire of God fell from heaven and killed them all.
Once more the king sent a third captain with fifty men. But this time the captain went up the hill and fell to his knees before Elijah. He pleaded with him, “O man of God, please spare my life and the lives of these, your fifty servants. See how the fire from heaven came down and destroyed the first two groups. But now please spare my life!”
Then the angel of the Lord said to Elijah, “Go down with him, and don’t be afraid of him.” So Elijah got up and went with him to the king.
And Elijah said to the king, “This is what the Lord says: Why did you send messengers to Baal-zebub, the god of Ekron, to ask whether you will recover? Is there no God in Israel to answer your question? Therefore, because you have done this, you will never leave the bed you are lying on; you will surely die.”
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Who Is Like Our God – Rivers & Robots
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NT Reading: Galatians 4:8-20 (NLT)
Paul’s Concern for the Galatians
4:8 Before you Gentiles knew God, you were slaves to so-called gods that do not even exist. So now that you know God (or should I say, now that God knows you), why do you want to go back again and become slaves once more to the weak and useless spiritual principles of this world? You are trying to earn favor with God by observing certain days or months or seasons or years. I fear for you. Perhaps all my hard work with you was for nothing. Dear brothers and sisters, I plead with you to live as I do in freedom from these things, for I have become like you Gentiles—free from those laws.
You did not mistreat me when I first preached to you. Surely you remember that I was sick when I first brought you the Good News. But even though my condition tempted you to reject me, you did not despise me or turn me away. No, you took me in and cared for me as though I were an angel from God or even Christ Jesus himself. Where is that joyful and grateful spirit you felt then? I am sure you would have taken out your own eyes and given them to me if it had been possible. Have I now become your enemy because I am telling you the truth?
Those false teachers are so eager to win your favor, but their intentions are not good. They are trying to shut you off from me so that you will pay attention only to them. If someone is eager to do good things for you, that’s all right; but let them do it all the time, not just when I’m with you.
Oh, my dear children! I feel as if I’m going through labor pains for you again, and they will continue until Christ is fully developed in your lives. I wish I were with you right now so I could change my tone. But at this distance I don’t know how else to help you.
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I AM THEY – Found My Freedom ( ft. Matthew West)
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+ Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord.
+ Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. | William Temple
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
By faith I know
you are there with me
in my sleeping and in my waking.
By faith I know
you will protect me
in my going out and my returning.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 