The Season of Advent | 1st Friday 01 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty and everlasting God, whose will it is to restore all
things in your well-beloved Son, the King of kings and Lord of
lords: Mercifully grant that the peoples of the earth, divided and
enslaved by sin, may be freed and brought together under his
most gracious rule; who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Now then, brothers and sisters,
because of the Lord Jesus
we ask and encourage you
to excel in living a God-pleasing life
even more than you already do.
(1 Thessalonians 4:1)
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From Psalms: Psalm 8 – “Lord Make Us Turn To You” / Bill Monaghan
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OT Reading: Zechariah 14:1-9 (GW)
The Lord Will Fight the Nations
14:1 A day is going to come for the Lord when the loot you have taken will be divided among you. I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem for battle. The city will be captured, the houses looted, and the women raped. Half of the people in the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people won’t be taken from the city.
Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as he does when he fights a battle. On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, just east of Jerusalem. The Mount of Olives will be split in two, forming a very large valley from east to west. Half of the mountain will move toward the north, and the other half will move toward the south. Then you will flee to the valley of my mountains, because this valley between the mountains will go as far as Azel. You will flee as you did from the earthquake at the time of King Uzziah of Judah. The Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones will be with him.
On that day there will be neither heat nor freezing cold. There will be one day—a day known to the Lord—with no difference between day and night. It will be light even in the evening.
Living Water from Jerusalem
14:8 On that day living water will flow out from Jerusalem, half of it to the Dead Sea and the other half to the Mediterranean Sea. It will continue in summer and in winter.
The Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be the only Lord and his name the only name.
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Come, Lord Jesus [Sovereign Grace Music]
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NT Reading: 1 Thessalonians 4:1-18 (GW)
Instructions on the Way Christians Should Live
4:1 Now then, brothers and sisters, because of the Lord Jesus we ask and encourage you to excel in living a God-pleasing life even more than you already do. Do this the way we taught you. You know what orders we gave you through the Lord Jesus. It is God’s will that you keep away from sexual sin as a mark of your devotion to him. Each of you should know that finding a husband or wife for yourself is to be done in a holy and honorable way, not in the passionate, lustful way of people who don’t know God. No one should take advantage of or exploit other believers that way. The Lord is the one who punishes people for all these things. We’ve already told you and warned you about this. God didn’t call us to be sexually immoral but to be holy. Therefore, whoever rejects this ⌞order⌟ is not rejecting human authority but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.
You don’t need anyone to write to you about the way Christians should love each other. God has taught you to love each other. In fact, you are showing love to all the Christians throughout the province of Macedonia. We encourage you as believers to excel in love even more. Also, make it your goal to live quietly, do your work, and earn your own living, as we ordered you. Then your way of life will win respect from those outside ⌞the church⌟, and you won’t have to depend on anyone else for what you need.
Comfort about Christians Who Have Died
14:13 Brothers and sisters, we don’t want you to be ignorant about those who have died. We don’t want you to grieve like other people who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and came back to life. We also believe that, through Jesus, God will bring back those who have died. They will come back with Jesus. We are telling you what the Lord taught. We who are still alive when the Lord comes will not go ⌞into his kingdom⌟ ahead of those who have already died. The Lord will come from heaven with a command, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet ⌞call⌟ of God. First, the dead who believed in Christ will come back to life. Then, together with them, we who are still alive will be taken in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. In this way we will always be with the Lord. So then, comfort each other with these words!
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More Like Jesus | Passion | Sounds of Hope Lyrics
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+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your Son, Christ Jesus, into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that his life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Set free the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, as well as those who will restore Israel politically and spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 