After Pentecost | Thursday 20 Jun 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord, from whom all good proceeds:
Grant us the inspiration of your Holy Spirit,
that we may always think those things that are good,
and by your merciful guidance may accomplish the same;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Whenever God’s spirit came to Saul,
David took the lyre and strummed a tune.
Saul got relief ⌞from his terror⌟
and felt better, and the evil spirit left him.”
(1 Samuel 16:23)
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From Psalms: Psalm 9 ~ Priscilla Cooper – Official Lyric Video
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OT Reading: 1 Samuel 16:14-23 (GW)
David Plays the Lyre for Saul
16:14 Now, the Lord’s Spirit had left Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him. Saul’s officials told him, “An evil spirit from God is tormenting you. Your Majesty, why don’t you command us to look for a man who can play the lyre well? When the evil spirit from God comes to you, he’ll strum a tune, and you’ll feel better.”
Saul told his officials, “Please find me a man who can play well and bring him to me.”
One of the officials said, “I know one of Jesse’s sons from Bethlehem who can play well. He’s a courageous man and a warrior. He has a way with words, he is handsome, and the Lord is with him.”
Saul sent messengers to Jesse to say, “Send me your son David, who is with the sheep.”
Jesse took six bushels of bread, a full wineskin, and a young goat and sent them with his son David to Saul. David came to Saul and served him. Saul loved him very much and made David his armorbearer. Saul sent ⌞this message⌟ to Jesse, “Please let David stay with me because I have grown fond of him.”
Whenever God’s spirit came to Saul, David took the lyre and strummed a tune. Saul got relief ⌞from his terror⌟ and felt better, and the evil spirit left him.
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It Is Well – Kristene DiMarco / Music Meets heaven
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NT Reading: Acts 20:1-16 (GW)
20:1 When the uproar was over, Paul sent for the disciples, encouraged them, said goodbye, and left for Macedonia. He went through that region and spoke many words of encouragement to the people. Then he went to Greece and stayed there for three months.
Paul in Troas
20:3 When Paul was going to board a ship for Syria, he found out that the Jews were plotting to kill him. So he decided to go back through Macedonia. Sopater (son of Pyrrhus) from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia accompanied Paul. All these men went ahead and were waiting for us in Troas. After the Festival of Unleavened Bread, we boarded a ship at Philippi. Five days later we joined them in Troas and stayed there for seven days.
On Sunday we met to break bread. Paul was discussing ⌞Scripture⌟ with the people. Since he intended to leave the next day, he kept talking until midnight. (Many lamps were lit in the upstairs room where we were meeting.)
A young man named Eutychus was sitting in a window. As Paul was talking on and on, Eutychus was gradually falling asleep. Finally, overcome by sleep, he fell from the third story and was dead when they picked him up. Paul went to him, took him into his arms, and said, “Don’t worry! He’s alive!” Then Eutychus went upstairs again, broke the bread, and ate. Paul talked with the people for a long time, until sunrise, and then left.
The people took the boy home. They were greatly relieved that he was alive.
Paul’s Trip to Miletus
20:13 We went ahead to the ship and sailed for the city of Assos. At Assos, we were going to pick up Paul. He had made these arrangements, since he had planned to walk overland to Assos. When Paul met us in Assos, we took him on board and went to the city of Mitylene. We sailed from there. On the following day we approached the island of Chios. The next day we went by the island of Samos, and on the next day we arrived at the city of Miletus. Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia. He was in a hurry to get to Jerusalem for the day of Pentecost, if that was possible.
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Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) | Hebrew – English – Arabic | Worship from Israel
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Thomas Aquinas
+ Give me, O Lord, a steadfast heart, which no unworthy thought can drag down; an unconquered heart, which no tribulation can wear out; an upright heart, which no unworthy purpose can tempt aside. Bestow upon me understanding to know you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, and faithfulness that finally may embrace you. 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.
+ Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
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- Protect Israel from the fiery darts of the evil one coming from every direction, both within and without.
- Grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, and diplomatically;
- Give them hearts to receive, and the courage to do, what’s right in your sight.
- Comfort those who grieve and mourn the loss of loved ones;
- Rebuke those who would use grief for evil purposes.
- Bring swift and certain justice to all those complicit in the Oct 7th atrocities;
- Deliver the hostages from captivity, and restore their souls.
- Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East.
- Strengthen the Messianic communities – Jew and Arab alike – bind them together in love, that they may be a source of help, and healing, and hope;
- Use them in the restoration of your people to their proper place in your Kingdom.
- We pray in Jesus’ Name. 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
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.
6:43 “A good tree doesn’t produce rotten fruit, and a rotten tree doesn’t produce good fruit. Each tree is known by its fruit. You don’t pick figs from thorny plants or grapes from a thornbush. Good people do the good that is in them. But evil people do the evil that is in them. The things people say come from inside them.
22:1 The angel showed me a river filled with the water of life, as clear as crystal. It was flowing from the throne of God and the lamb. Between the street of the city and the river there was a tree of life visible from both sides. It produced 12 kinds of fruit. Each month had its own fruit. The leaves of the tree will heal the nations. There will no longer be any curse. The throne of God and the lamb will be in the city. His servants will worship him and see his face. His name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night, and they will not need any light from lamps or the sun because the Lord God will shine on them. They will rule as kings forever and ever.
But it’s unthinkable that I could ever brag about anything except the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. By his cross my relationship to the world and its relationship to me have been crucified. Certainly, it doesn’t matter whether a person is circumcised or not. Rather, what matters is being a new creation. Peace and mercy will come to rest on all those who conform to this principle. They are the Israel of God.
5:14 Clearly, Christ’s love guides us. We are convinced of the fact that one man has died for all people. Therefore, all people have died. He died for all people so that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for the man who died and was brought back to life for them.
The Peanut Gallery 