Epiphany Season | 5th Sunday 04 Feb 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord, our heavenly Father,
keep your household the Church
continually in true faith and practice,
that we who trust in the hope of your heavenly grace
may always be defended by your mighty power;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
now and for ever. Amen.
“So [Jesus] went to spread ⌞the Good News⌟
in the synagogues all over Galilee,
and he forced demons out of people.”
(Mark 1:39)
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Sing Praise to God Who Reigns Above | Joslin Grove Choral Society
1 Sing praise to God who reigns above,
the God of all creation,
the God of power, the God of love,
the God of our salvation.
With healing balm my soul is filled
and every faithless murmur stilled:
To God all praise and glory.
2 The Lord is never far away,
but through all grief distressing,
an ever present help and stay,
our peace and joy and blessing.
As with a mother’s tender hand,
He gently leads the chosen band:
To God all praise and glory.
3 Thus all my toilsome way along,
I sing aloud His praises,
that earth may hear the grateful song
my voice unwearied raises.
Be joyful in the Lord, my heart,
both soul and body bear your part:
To God all praise and glory.
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From the Old Testament: Isaiah 40:21-31 (GW)
40:21 Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
Haven’t you been told from the beginning?
Don’t you understand the foundations of the earth?
God is enthroned above the earth,
and those who live on it are like grasshoppers.
He stretches out the sky like a canopy
and spreads it out like a tent to live in.
He makes rulers unimportant
and makes earthly judges worth nothing.
They have hardly been planted.
They have hardly been sown.
They have hardly taken root in the ground.
Then he blows on them and they wither,
and a windstorm sweeps them away like straw.
“To whom, then, can you compare me?
Who is my equal?” asks the Holy One.
Look at the sky and see.
Who created these things?
Who brings out the stars one by one?
He calls them all by name.
Because of the greatness of his might and the strength of his power,
not one of them is missing.
Jacob, why do you complain?
Israel, why do you say,
“My way is hidden from the Lord,
and my rights are ignored by my God”?
Don’t you know?
Haven’t you heard?
The eternal God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth,
doesn’t grow tired or become weary.
His understanding is beyond reach.
He gives strength to those who grow tired
and increases the strength of those who are weak.
Even young people grow tired and become weary,
and young men will stumble and fall.
Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the Lord
will be renewed.
They will soar on wings like eagles.
They will run and won’t become weary.
They will walk and won’t grow tired.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 147:1-5 – [Nava Tehila] – Miqedem Official Video
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From the Epistles: 1 Corinthians 9:16-23 (GW)
9:16 If I spread the Good News, I have nothing to brag about because I have an obligation to do this. How horrible it will be for me if I don’t spread the Good News! If I spread the Good News willingly, I’ll have a reward. But if I spread the Good News unwillingly, I’m ⌞only⌟ doing what I’ve been entrusted to do.
So what is my reward? It is to spread the Good News free of charge. In that way I won’t use the rights that belong to those who spread the Good News.
Paul’s Work as an Apostle
9:19 Although I’m free from all people, I have made myself a slave for all people to win more of them. I became Jewish for Jewish people. I became subject to the laws in Moses’ Teachings for those who are subject to those laws. I did this to win them even though I’m not subject to Moses’ Teachings. I became like a person who does not have Moses’ Teachings for those who don’t have those teachings. I did this to win them even though I have God’s teachings. I’m really subject to Christ’s teachings. I became like a person weak in faith to win those who are weak in faith. I have become everything to everyone in order to save at least some of them. I do all this for the sake of the Good News in order to share what it offers.
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Worship: John 3:16 in Hebrew, Arabic, Russian, English, Korean and Persian | One For Israel
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Gospel Reading: Mark 1:29-39 (GW)
Jesus Cures Simon’s Mother-in-Law and Many Others
1:29 After they left the synagogue, they went directly to the house of Simon and Andrew. James and John went with them. Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever. The first thing they did was to tell Jesus about her. Jesus went to her, took her hand, and helped her get up. The fever went away, and she prepared a meal for them.
In the evening, when the sun had set, people brought to him everyone who was sick and those possessed by demons. The whole city had gathered at his door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases and forced many demons out of people. However, he would not allow the demons to speak. After all, they knew who he was.
Spreading the Good News in Galilee
1:35 In the morning, long before sunrise, Jesus went to a place where he could be alone to pray. Simon and his friends searched for him. When they found him, they told him, “Everyone is looking for you.”
Jesus said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else, to the small towns that are nearby. I have to spread ⌞the Good News⌟ in them also. This is why I have come.”
So he went to spread ⌞the Good News⌟ in the synagogues all over Galilee, and he forced demons out of people.
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We’ve A Story To Tell To The Nations – Parkside Evangelical Church
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+ Almighty God our Savior, you desire that none should perish, and you have taught us through your Son that there is great joy in heaven over every sinner who repents: Grant that our hearts may ache for a lost and broken world. May your Holy Spirit work through our words, deeds, and prayers, that the lost may be found and the dead made alive, and that all your redeemed may rejoice around your throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Bring home 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, politically, diplomatically, and especially to those who will restore Israel 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil,
and keep us in eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus said to them, “Suppose one of you has a sheep. If it falls into a pit on a day of rest—a holy day, wouldn’t you take hold of it and lift it out? Certainly, a human is more valuable than a sheep! So it is right to do good on the day of rest—a holy day.”
You were indeed called to be free, brothers and sisters. Don’t turn this freedom into an excuse for your corrupt nature to express itself. Rather, serve each other through love. All of Moses’ Teachings are summarized in a single statement, “Love your neighbor as you love yourself.” But if you criticize and attack each other, be careful that you don’t destroy each other.
The Peanut Gallery 