After Pentecost | Monday – 24 Oct 2022
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you govern all things both in heaven and on earth:
Mercifully hear the prayers of your people,
and in our time grant us your peace;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“It is no shame to suffer for being a Christian.
Praise God for the privilege
of being called by his name!”
(1 Peter 4:16)
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Psalm 87 – My Jerusalem ~ Jason Silver
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OT Reading: Joel 3:1-8 (NLT)
Judgment against Enemy Nations
3:1 “At the time of those events,” says the Lord,
“when I restore the prosperity of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather the armies of the world
into the valley of Jehoshaphat.
There I will judge them
for harming my people, my special possession,
for scattering my people among the nations,
and for dividing up my land.
They threw dice to decide which of my people
would be their slaves.
They traded boys to obtain prostitutes
and sold girls for enough wine to get drunk.
“What do you have against me, Tyre and Sidon and you cities of Philistia? Are you trying to take revenge on me? If you are, then watch out! I will strike swiftly and pay you back for everything you have done. You have taken my silver and gold and all my precious treasures, and have carried them off to your pagan temples. You have sold the people of Judah and Jerusalem to the Greeks, so they could take them far from their homeland.
“But I will bring them back from all the places to which you sold them, and I will pay you back for everything you have done. I will sell your sons and daughters to the people of Judah, and they will sell them to the people of Arabia, a nation far away. I, the Lord, have spoken!”
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ZION – Aaron Shust
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NT Reading: 1 Peter 4:12-19 (NLT)
Suffering for Being a Christian
4:12 Dear friends, don’t be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world.
If you are insulted because you bear the name of Christ, you will be blessed, for the glorious Spirit of God rests upon you. If you suffer, however, it must not be for murder, stealing, making trouble, or prying into other people’s affairs. But it is no shame to suffer for being a Christian. Praise God for the privilege of being called by his name! For the time has come for judgment, and it must begin with God’s household. And if judgment begins with us, what terrible fate awaits those who have never obeyed God’s Good News? And also,
“If the righteous are barely saved,
what will happen to godless sinners?”
So if you are suffering in a manner that pleases God, keep on doing what is right, and trust your lives to the God who created you, for he will never fail you.
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Son Of Suffering – Matt Redman
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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 God, you alone gave us the breath of life, and you alone can keep alive in us the holy desires you impart. We beg you, for your compassion’s sake, to consecrate all our thoughts and endeavors, that we may neither begin an action without a pure intention nor continue it without your blessing. And grant that, having the eyes of our mind enlightened to behold things invisible and unseen, we may in heart be inspired by your wisdom, in work be upheld by your strength, and in the end be accepted as your faithful servants; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
God bless the steps you take
and the path you tread.
May they bring you safely
to where God needs you
at the start of this new day
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 