After the Lord’s Ascension | Friday 17 May 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O God, the King of glory,
you have exalted your only Son Jesus Christ
with great triumph to your kingdom in heaven:
Do not leave us comfortless, but send us your Holy Spirit
to strengthen us, and exalt us to that place
where our Savior Christ has gone before;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, in glory everlasting. Amen.
“This body that decays
must be changed into a body that cannot decay.
This mortal body must be changed
into a body that will live forever.”
(1 Corinthians 15:53)
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From Psalms: Psalm 33 – “Blessed the People the Lord has Chosen” – Francesca LaRosa (Official Lyric Video)
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OT Reading: Job 37:1-13 (GW)
Elihu Continues: God’s Ways Are Beyond Human Understanding
37:1 “My heart pounds because of this
and jumps out of its place.
Listen! Listen to the roar of God’s voice,
to the rumbling that comes from his mouth.
He flashes his lightning everywhere under heaven.
His light flashes to the ends of the earth.
It is followed by the roar of his voice.
He thunders with his majestic voice.
He doesn’t hold the lightning back when his thunder is heard.
God’s voice thunders in miraculous ways.
It does great things that we cannot understand.
“He says to the snow, ‘Fall to the ground,’
and to the pouring rain, ‘Rain harder!’
He makes it impossible to do anything
so that people will recognize his work.
Animals go into their dens
and stay in their lairs.
A storm comes out of its chamber.
It is cold because of the strong winds.
God’s breath produces ice,
and the seas freeze over.
Yes, he loads the thick clouds with moisture
and scatters his lightning from the clouds.
He guides the clouds as they churn round and round
over the face of the inhabited earth
to do everything he orders them.
Whether for discipline,
or for ⌞the good of⌟ his earth,
or out of mercy,
he makes the storm appear.
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“For God Is With Us” by for King & Country / Landon’s Lyric Videos
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NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 15:50-57 (GW)
15:50 Brothers and sisters, this is what I mean: Flesh and blood cannot inherit God’s kingdom. What decays cannot inherit what doesn’t decay.
I’m telling you a mystery. Not all of us will die, but we will all be changed. It will happen in an instant, in a split second at the sound of the last trumpet. Indeed, that trumpet will sound, and then the dead will come back to life. 
They will be changed so that they can live forever. This body that decays must be changed into a body that cannot decay. This mortal body must be changed into a body that will live forever. When this body that decays is changed into a body that cannot decay, and this mortal body is changed into a body that will live forever, then the teaching of Scripture will come true:
“Death is turned into victory!
Death, where is your victory?
Death, where is your sting?”
Sin gives death its sting, and God’s standards give sin its power. Thank God that he gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
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Kitty Parham – We Shall Be Changed (Live) / Gaither Music TV
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+ Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, through your mercy, obtain everlasting life; 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.
+ 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 the Spirit kindle in us the fire of God’s love.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 