Month: April 2024

Easter Season | Tuesday 30 Apr 2024: Psalm 80; Isaiah 32:9-20; James 3:17-18 ~ Sow seeds of peace.

Easter Season | Tuesday 30 Apr 2024

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Almighty God,
whom truly to know is everlasting life:
Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the way, the truth, and the life,
that we may steadfastly follow his steps
in the way that leads to eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A harvest that has God’s approval
comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.
(James 3:18)
__________

From Psalms: Psalm 80 – Poor Bishop Hooper

oh god restore
shine your face
once more
on us

hear us shepherd of israel
you who shepherd your people well
who sits among the light

oh god restore
shine your face
once more
on us

come again almighty one
the vine you’ve chosen needs the son
who sits at your right hand
the one whom you’ve raised up

oh god restore
shine your face
once more
on us

__________

OT Reading: Isaiah 32:9-20 (GW)

32:9 Get up, and listen to me, you pampered women.
Hear what I say, you overconfident daughters.
In a little less than a year
you overconfident women will tremble,
because the grape harvest will fail
and no fruit will be brought in ⌞from the fields⌟.
Shudder, you pampered women.
Tremble, you overconfident women.
Take off your clothes, walk around naked,
and wear sackcloth around your waists.
Beat your breasts as you mourn for the fields,
for the vines bearing grapes.
Mourn for my people’s land where thorns and briars will grow.
Mourn for all the happy homes in a joyful city.
Palaces will be deserted.
Noisy cities will be abandoned.
Fortresses and watchtowers will become permanent caves.
They will be a delight for wild donkeys and pastures for flocks
until the Spirit is poured on us from on high.
Then the wilderness will be turned into a fertile field,
and the fertile field will be considered a forest.
Then justice will live in the wilderness,
and righteousness will be at home in the fertile field.
Then an act of righteousness will bring about peace,
calm, and safety forever.
My people will live in a peaceful place,
in safe homes and quiet places of rest.
The forest will be flattened because of hail,
and the city will be completely leveled.
Blessed are those who plant beside every stream
and those who let oxen and donkeys roam freely.

__________

Shalom Aleichem / English Lyrics Hebrew Maayan Band

https://youtu.be/Ya8BqLJRH9A?si=p6tjW9cOjOkkYdfc?rel=0
__________

NT Reading: James 3:17-18 (GW)

3:17 However, the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure. Then it is peaceful, gentle, obedient, filled with mercy and good deeds, impartial, and sincere. A harvest that has God’s approval comes from the peace planted by peacemakers.

__________

Instruments of Your Peace // Sounds Like Reign

__________

Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all people the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is  filled with the knowledge of your love; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Lord, make me an instrument of your peace: where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is discord, union;  where there is error, truth; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; where there is sadness, joy. O divine Master, grant that I may seek not so much to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive, it is in pardoning that we are pardoned, and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Easter Season | Monday 29 Apr 2024: Psalm 80; Isaiah 5:1-7; Galatians 5:16-26 ~ Live as your spiritual nature directs.

Easter Season | Monday 29 Apr 2024

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Almighty God,
whom truly to know is everlasting life:
Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the way, the truth, and the life,
that we may steadfastly follow his steps
in the way that leads to eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Let me explain further.
Live your life
as your spiritual nature directs you.
(Galatians 5:16)

__________

From Psalms: Psalm 80 – Hymn “Restore us, Oh God!” – Psalm Musicals – Christian Music Channel

__________

OT Reading: Isaiah 5:1-7 (GW)

The Song about the Vineyard

5:1 Let me sing a lovesong to my beloved about his vineyard:
My beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill.
He dug it up, removed its stones,
planted it with the choicest vines,
built a watchtower in it,
and made a winepress in it.
Then he waited for it to produce good grapes,
but it produced only sour, wild grapes.

Now then, you inhabitants of Jerusalem and Judah,
judge between me and my vineyard!
What more could have been done for my vineyard
than what I have already done for it?
When I waited for it to produce good grapes,
why did it produce only sour, wild grapes?

Now then, let me tell you what I will do to my vineyard.
I will tear away its hedge so that it can be devoured
and tear down its wall so that it can be trampled.
I will make it a wasteland.
It will never be pruned or hoed.
Thorns and weeds will grow in it,
and I will command the clouds not to rain on it.

The vineyard of the Lord of Armies is the nation of Israel,
and the people of Judah are the garden of his delight.
He hoped for justice but saw only slaughter,
for righteousness but heard only cries of distress.

__________

What More / Chad Woodburn

__________

NT Reading: Galatians 5:16-26 (GW)

5:16 Let me explain further. Live your life as your spiritual nature directs you. Then you will never follow through on what your corrupt nature wants. What your corrupt nature wants is contrary to what your spiritual nature wants, and what your spiritual nature wants is contrary to what your corrupt nature wants. They are opposed to each other. As a result, you don’t always do what you intend to do. If your spiritual nature is your guide, you are not subject to Moses’ laws.

Now, the effects of the corrupt nature are obvious: illicit sex, perversion, promiscuity, idolatry, drug use, hatred, rivalry, jealousy, angry outbursts, selfish ambition, conflict, factions, envy, drunkenness, wild partying, and similar things. I’ve told you in the past and I’m telling you again that people who do these kinds of things will not inherit God’s kingdom.

But the spiritual nature produces love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There are no laws against things like that. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified their corrupt nature along with its passions and desires. If we live by our spiritual nature, then our lives need to conform to our spiritual nature. We can’t allow ourselves to act arrogantly and to provoke or envy each other.

__________

Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) – Hillsong UNITED – Live in Israel

__________

Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

Joseph Mercier
+ O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will. Amen.

+ Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, for ever and ever. Amen.

+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Thomas à Kempis
+ Our God, in whom we trust: Strengthen us not to regard overmuch who is for us or who is against us, but to see to it that we be with you in everything we do.  Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Easter Season | 5th Sunday 28 Apr 2024: Acts 8:26-40; Psalm 22:25-31; 1 John 4:7-21; John 15:1-8 ~ The True Vine

Easter Season | 5th Sunday 28 Apr 2024

+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

Almighty God,
whom truly to know is everlasting life:
Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the way, the truth, and the life,
that we may steadfastly follow his steps
in the way that leads to eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“I am the vine. You are the branches.
Those who live in me while I live in them
will produce a lot of fruit.
But you can’t produce anything without me.”
(John 15:5)

__________

Praise My Soul the King of Heaven / Redemption Hymnal / ExaltHIMvdo

__________

Reading from Acts of the Apostles: Acts 8:26-40 (GW)

Philip Tells an Ethiopian about Jesus

8:26 An angel from the Lord said to Philip, “Get up, and take the desert road that goes south from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So Philip went.

An Ethiopian man who had come to Jerusalem to worship was on his way home. The man was a eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of all the treasures of Queen Candace of Ethiopia. As the official rode along in his carriage, he was reading the prophet Isaiah out loud.

The Spirit said to Philip, “Go to that carriage, and stay close to it.”

Philip ran to the carriage and could hear the official reading the prophet Isaiah out loud. Philip asked him, “Do you understand what you’re reading?”

The official answered, “How can I understand unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to sit with him in his carriage.

This was the part of the Scriptures that the official was reading:

“He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
He was like a sheep that is silent
when its wool is cut off.
He didn’t open his mouth.
When he humbled himself,
he was not judged fairly.
Who from his generation
will talk about his life on earth being cut short?”

The official said to Philip, “I would like to know who the prophet is talking about. Is he talking about himself or someone else?” Then Philip spoke. Starting with that passage, Philip told the official the Good News about Jesus.

As they were going along the road, they came to some water. The official said to Philip, “Look, there’s some water. What can keep me from being baptized?”  The official ordered the carriage to stop. He and Philip stepped into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they had stepped out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away. The official joyfully continued on his way and didn’t see Philip again.

Philip found himself in the city of Azotus. He traveled through all the cities and spread the Good News until he came to the city of Caesarea.

_______

From the Psalms: Psalm 22 – “I Will Praise You, Lord” – Francesca LaRosa

__________

Reading from the Letters: 1 John 4:7-21 (GW)

God’s Love Lives in His People

4:7 Dear friends, we must love each other because love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born from God and knows God. The person who doesn’t love doesn’t know God, because God is love. God has shown us his love by sending his only Son into the world so that we could have life through him. This is love: not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the payment for our sins. Dear friends, if this is the way God loved us, we must also love each other. No one has ever seen God. If we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us. We know that we live in him and he lives in us because he has given us his Spirit.

We have seen and testify to the fact that the Father sent his Son as the Savior of the world. God lives in those who declare that Jesus is the Son of God, and they live in God. We have known and believed that God loves us. God is love. Those who live in God’s love live in God, and God lives in them.

God’s love has reached its goal in us. So we look ahead with confidence to the day of judgment. While we are in this world, we are exactly like him ⌞with regard to love⌟. No fear exists where his love is. Rather, perfect love gets rid of fear, because fear involves punishment. The person who lives in fear doesn’t have perfect love.

We love because God loved us first. Whoever says, “I love God,” but hates another believer is a liar. People who don’t love other believers, whom they have seen, can’t love God, whom they have not seen. Christ has given us this commandment: The person who loves God must also love other believers.

__________

God So Loved | We The Kingdom

__________

Reading from the Gospels: John 15:1-8 (GW)

Jesus, the True Vine

15:1 ⌞Then Jesus said,⌟ “I am the true vine, and my Father takes care of the vineyard. He removes every one of my branches that doesn’t produce fruit. He also prunes every branch that does produce fruit to make it produce more fruit.

“You are already clean  because of what I have told you. Live in me, and I will live in you. A branch cannot produce any fruit by itself. It has to stay attached to the vine. In the same way, you cannot produce fruit unless you live in me.

“I am the vine. You are the branches. Those who live in me while I live in them will produce a lot of fruit. But you can’t produce anything without me. Whoever doesn’t live in me is thrown away like a branch and dries up. Branches like this are gathered, thrown into a fire, and burned. If you live in me and what I say lives in you, then ask for anything you want, and it will be yours. You give glory to my Father when you produce a lot of fruit and therefore show that you are my disciples.

__________

I Am The Vine | ILP music

__________

Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

William Laud
+ Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in  error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it;  for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

+ God, you made us in your own image, and you have redeemed us through your Son Jesus Christ: Look with compassion on the whole human family; take away the arrogance and hatred which infect our hearts; break down the walls that separate us; unite us in bonds of love; and work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish your purposes on earth; that, in your good time, all nations and races may serve you in harmony around your heavenly throne;  through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily,  politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ O Lord our God, accept the fervent prayers of your people; in the multitude of your mercies, look with compassion upon us and all who turn to you for help; for you are gracious, O lover of souls, and to you we give glory, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and for ever. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Easter Season | Saturday 27 Apr 2024: Psalm 22:25-31; Amos 9:7-15; Mark 4:30-32 ~ Planting Kingdom seeds.

Easter Season | Saturday 27 Apr 2024

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

O God, whose Son Jesus Christ
is the Good Shepherd of your people:
Grant that, when we hear his voice,
we may know him who calls us each by name,
and follow where he leads; who,
with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“[The Kingdom of God] is like
a mustard seed planted in the ground.”
(Mark 4:31)

__________

From Psalms: Psalm 22 – PSALM 22 // Betania Worship Dublin

__________

OT Reading: Amos 9:7-15 (GW)

9:7 You people of Israel are like the people from Sudan, says the Lord.
Didn’t I bring Israel from Egypt?
Didn’t I bring the Philistines from Crete and the Arameans from Kir?

I, the Almighty Lord, have my eyes on this sinful kingdom.
I will wipe it off the face of the earth.
But I won’t totally destroy the descendants of Jacob, declares the Lord.
I’m going to give the order.
I will sift the nation of Israel out of all the nations
as if I were using a sieve.
Not one pebble will fall to the ground.
All the sinners among my people are thinking,
“Destruction will not catch up to us or run into us.”
In spite of this, they will be killed with swords.

The Lord Will Restore His People

9:11 On that day I will set up David’s fallen tent.
I will repair the holes in it.
I will restore its ruined places.
I will rebuild them as they were a long time ago.
They will capture the few survivors of Edom
and all the other nations that were under my authority,
declares the Lord, who will do these things.

The days are going to come, declares the Lord,
when the one who plows will catch up to the one who harvests,
and the one who stomps on grapes will catch up to the one who plants.
New wine will drip from the mountains
and flow from all the hills.
I will restore my people Israel.
They will rebuild the ruined cities and live in them.
They will plant vineyards and drink the wine from them.
They will plant gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant the people of Israel in their land,
and they won’t be uprooted again from the land that I gave them,
says the Lord your God.

__________

You Restore | CRC Music

__________

NT Reading: Mark 4:30-32 (GW)

A Story about a Mustard Seed

4:30 Jesus asked, “How can we show what God’s kingdom is like? To what can we compare it? It’s like a mustard seed planted in the ground. The mustard seed is one of the smallest seeds on earth. However, when planted, it comes up and becomes taller than all the garden plants. It grows such large branches that birds can nest in its shade.”

__________

Mustard Seed | AIDA LYRICS

__________

Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. 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 justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Almighty God, you sent your Son Jesus Christ to reconcile the world to yourself: We praise and bless you for those whom you have sent in the power of the Spirit to preach the Gospel to all nations. We thank you that in all parts of the earth a community of love has been gathered together by their prayers and  labors, and that in every place your servants call upon your Name; for the kingdom and the power and the glory are yours, for ever and ever. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Easter Season | Friday 26 Apr 2024: Psalm 22:25-31; Amos 8:11-13; Acts 8:9-25 ~ The Samaritans receive the Holy Spirit.

Easter Season | Friday 26 Apr 2024

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

O God, whose Son Jesus Christ
is the Good Shepherd of your people:
Grant that, when we hear his voice,
we may know him who calls us each by name,
and follow where he leads; who,
with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“Peter and John placed their hands on them,
and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.”
(Acts 8:17)

__________

From Psalms: Psalm 22 – Singing Our Stories 

__________

OT Reading: Amos 8:11-13 (GW)

8:11 The days are going to come, declares the Almighty Lord,
when I will send a famine throughout the land.
It won’t be an ordinary famine or drought.
Instead, there will be a famine of hearing the words of the Lord.
People will wander from sea to sea
and roam from the north to the east,
searching for the Lord’s word.
But they won’t find it.

On that day beautiful young women and strong young men
will faint because of their thirst.

__________

The Passover Song – Sean Carter and Caroline Cobb – Trinity Fellowship

__________

NT Reading: Acts 8:9-25 (GW)

8:9 – A man named Simon lived in that city. He amazed the people of Samaria with his practice of magic. He claimed that he was great. Everyone from children to adults paid attention to him. They said, “This man is the power of God, and that power is called great.” They paid attention to Simon because he had amazed them for a long time with his practice of magic. However, when Philip spread the Good News about God’s kingdom and the one named Jesus Christ, men and women believed him and were baptized. Even Simon believed, and after he was baptized, he became devoted to Philip. Simon was amazed to see the miracles and impressive things that were happening.

When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that the Samaritans had accepted God’s word, they sent Peter and John to them. Peter and John went to Samaria and prayed that the Samaritans would receive the Holy Spirit. (Before this the Holy Spirit had not come to any of the Samaritans. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.) Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and the Samaritans received the Holy Spirit.

Simon saw that the Spirit was given to the Samaritans when the apostles placed their hands on them. So he offered Peter and John money and said, “Give me this power so that anyone I place my hands on will receive the Holy Spirit.”

Peter told Simon, “May your money be destroyed with you because you thought you could buy God’s gift. You won’t have any share in this because God can see how twisted your thinking is. So change your wicked thoughts, and ask the Lord if he will forgive you for thinking like this. I can see that you are bitter with jealousy and wrapped up in your evil ways.”

Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me that none of the things you said will happen to me.”

After they had boldly spoken about the message of the Lord, they spread the Good News in many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem.

__________

Holy Spirit Rain down Hillsong / Highfield Community Baptist Church

__________

Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ 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 justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your 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

May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.