After Pentecost | Wednesday 31 Jul 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty and everlasting God,
you are always more ready to hear than we to pray,
and to give more than we either desire or deserve:
Pour down upon us the abundance of your mercy,
forgiving us those things of which our conscience is afraid,
and giving us those good things for which we are not worthy to ask,
except through the merits and mediation of Jesus Christ our Savior;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“All of them ate as much as they wanted.
When they picked up the leftover pieces,
they filled twelve baskets with bread and fish.”
(Mark 6:42-43)
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From Psalms: Psalm 111 – “The Lord will remember His covenant forever.” | Dennis Murray
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OT Reading: Isaiah 25:6-10a (GW)
Death Will Be Swallowed Up
25:6 On this mountain the Lord of Armies will prepare for all people
a feast with the best foods,
a banquet with aged wines,
with the best foods and the finest wines.
On this mountain he will remove
the veil of grief covering all people
and the mask covering all nations.
He will swallow up death forever.
The Almighty Lord will wipe away tears from every face,
and he will remove the disgrace of his people from the whole earth.
The Lord has spoken.
On that day ⌞his people⌟ will say,
“This is our God; we have waited for him, and now he will save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him.
Let us rejoice and be glad because he will save us.”
The Lord’s power will be on this mountain.
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This Is Our God | Phil Wickham
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NT Reading: Mark 6:35-44 (GW)
6:35 When it was late, his disciples came to him. They said, “No one lives around here, and it’s already late. Send the people to the closest farms and villages to buy themselves something to eat.”
Jesus replied, “You give them something to eat.”
They said to him, “Should we go and spend about a year’s wages on bread to feed them?”
He said to them, “How many loaves do you have? Go and see.”
When they found out, they told him, “Five loaves of bread and two fish.”
Then he ordered all of them to sit down in groups on the green grass. They sat down in groups of hundreds and fifties.
After he took the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and blessed the food. He broke the loaves apart and kept giving them to the disciples to give to the people. He also gave pieces of the two fish to everyone. All of them ate as much as they wanted. When they picked up the leftover pieces, they filled twelve baskets with bread and fish. There were 5,000 men who had eaten the bread.
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“Provider” | Urban Rescue (Official Lyric Video)
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+ Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks that demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments that satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for your Son Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying, through which he conquered death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. 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 October 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.
+ 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
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.
When the collection is completed and I have officially turned the money over to the Christians in Jerusalem, I will visit you on my way to Spain. I know that when I come to you I will bring the full blessing of Christ.
4:10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
3:14 This is the reason I kneel in the presence of the Father from whom all the family in heaven and on earth receives its name. I’m asking God to give you a gift from the wealth of his glory. I pray that he would give you inner strength and power through his Spirit. Then Christ will live in you through faith. I also pray that love may be the ground into which you sink your roots and on which you have your foundation. This way, with all of God’s people you will be able to understand how wide, long, high, and deep his love is. You will know Christ’s love, which goes far beyond any knowledge. I am praying this so that you may be completely filled with God.
Jesus told them, “My food is to do what the one who sent me wants me to do and to finish the work he has given me.
The Peanut Gallery 