After Pentecost | Sunday 21 Jul 2024
+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O God, you declare your almighty power
chiefly in showing mercy and pity:
Grant us the fullness of your grace, that we,
running to obtain your promises,
may become partakers of your heavenly treasure;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
When Jesus got out of the boat,
he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them.
They were like sheep without a shepherd.
(Mark 6:34)
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Immortal, Invisible, God Only Wise / Chet Valley Churches
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OT Reading: Isaiah 57:14-21 (GW)
57:14 It will be said:
“Build a road! Build a road!
Prepare the way!
Remove every obstacle in the way of my people!”
The High and Lofty One lives forever, and his name is holy.
This is what he says:
I live in a high and holy place.
But I am with those who are crushed and humble.
I will renew the spirit of those who are humble
and the courage of those who are crushed.
I will not accuse you forever.
I will not be angry with you forever.
Otherwise, the spirits, the lives of those I’ve made,
would grow faint in my presence.
I was angry because of their sinful greed,
so I punished them, hid ⌞from them⌟, and remained angry.
But they continued to be sinful.
I’ve seen their ⌞sinful⌟ ways, but I’ll heal them.
I’ll guide them and give them rest.
I’ll comfort them and their mourners.
I’ll create praise on their lips:
“Perfect peace to those both far and near.”
“I’ll heal them,” says the Lord.
But the wicked are like the churning sea.
It isn’t quiet,
and its water throws up mud and slime.
“There is no peace for the wicked,” says my God.
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From the Psalms: Psalm 22:23-31 | All The Earth Shall Turn To God | Lectionary bible reading
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NT Reading: Ephesians 2:11-22 (GW)
God Has United Jewish and Non-Jewish People
2:11 Remember that once you were not Jewish physically. Those who called themselves “the circumcised” because of what they had done to their bodies called you “the uncircumcised.” Also, at that time you were without Christ. You were excluded from citizenship in Israel, and the pledges ⌞God made in his⌟ promise were foreign to you. You had no hope and were in the world without God.
But now through Christ Jesus you, who were once far away, have been brought near by the blood of Christ. So he is our peace. In his body he has made Jewish and non-Jewish people one by breaking down the wall of hostility that kept them apart. He brought an end to the commandments and demands found in Moses’ Teachings so that he could take Jewish and non-Jewish people and create one new humanity in himself. So he made peace. He also brought them back to God in one body by his cross, on which he killed the hostility. He came with the Good News of peace for you who were far away and for those who were near. So Jewish and non-Jewish people can go to the Father in one Spirit.
That is why you are no longer foreigners and outsiders but citizens together with God’s people and members of God’s family. You are built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Christ Jesus himself is the cornerstone. In him all the parts of the building fit together and grow into a holy temple in the Lord. Through him you, also, are being built in the Spirit together with others into a place where God lives.
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He Is Our Peace – Maranatha Music | Worship The King
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Gospel Reading: Mark 6:30-44 (GW)
Jesus Feeds Five Thousand
6:30 The apostles gathered around Jesus. They reported to him everything they had done and taught. So he said to them, “Let’s go to a place where we can be alone to rest for a while.” Many people were coming and going, and Jesus and the apostles didn’t even have a chance to eat.
So they went away in a boat to a place where they could be alone. But many people saw them leave and recognized them. The people ran from all the cities and arrived ahead of them. When Jesus got out of the boat, he saw a large crowd and felt sorry for them. They were like sheep without a shepherd. So he spent a lot of time teaching them.
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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Guide Me, O Thou Great Jehovah (Grace Community Church)
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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.
+ Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
+ Lord hear our prayers for the Church and the world:
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- We pray for the peace of the whole world;
- and for the well-being and unity of the people of God.
- We pray for all those who proclaim the Gospel at home and abroad;
- and for all who teach and disciple others.
- We pray for our brothers and sisters in Christ who are persecuted for their faith;
- and for all those supporting them.
- We pray for our nation, for all those in authority;
- and for a spirit of repentance and revival throughout the land.
- We pray for the peace of Jerusalem;
- and for the restoration of your people to their proper place in your Kingdom.
- We pray for all those who are in trouble, sorrow, need, sickness, or any other adversity;
- and especially for those in the Middle East.
- We pray for all those who have departed this life in the certain hope of the resurrection;
- and for those who mourn their loss.
+ 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.
The Peanut Gallery 