The Lenten Season | Thursday 07 Mar 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Heavenly Father,
you have made us for yourself,
and our hearts are restless until they rest in you:
Look with compassion
upon the heartfelt desires of your servants,
and purify our disordered affections,
that we may behold your eternal glory
in the face of Christ Jesus;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Before the creation of the world,
he chose us through Christ
to be holy and perfect in his presence.”
(Ephesians 1:4)
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From Psalms: Psalm 107 – “Praise the Name” // Melanie Waldman (Official Lyric Video)
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OT Reading: Genesis 9:8-17 (GW)
God’s Promise—the Sign of the Rainbow
9:8 God also said to Noah and his sons, “I am going to make my promise to you, your descendants, and every living being that is with you—birds, domestic animals, and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ship—every living thing on earth. I am making my promise to you. Never again will all life be killed by floodwaters. Never again will there be a flood that destroys the earth.”
God said, “This is the sign of the promise I am giving to you and every living being that is with you for generations to come. I will put my rainbow in the clouds to be a sign of my promise to the earth. Whenever I form clouds over the earth, a rainbow will appear in the clouds. Then I will remember my promise to you and every living animal. Never again will water become a flood to destroy all life. Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember my everlasting promise to every living animal on earth.”
So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the promise I am making to all life on earth.”
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Promise Keeper // Hope Darst (Official Lyric Video)
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NT Reading: Ephesians 1:3-6 (GW)
God Chose Us Through Christ
1:3 Praise the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Through Christ, God has blessed us with every spiritual blessing that heaven has to offer. Before the creation of the world, he chose us through Christ to be holy and perfect in his presence. Because of his love he had already decided to adopt us through Jesus Christ. He freely chose to do this so that the kindness he had given us in his dear Son would be praised and given glory.
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Chosen // Sidewalk Prophets (Official Lyric Video)
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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. Amen.
+ O God, you desire that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth: Prosper all those who live, preach, and teach the Gospel at home and in distant lands [especially in the Middle East]; protect them in all perils, support them in their loneliness, sustain them in the hour of trial; give them your abundant grace to bear faithful witness; and endue them with burning zeal and love, that they may turn many to righteousness; 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.
+ Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May God our Redeemer
show us compassion and love.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 