After Pentecost | Wednesday 24 Jul 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
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.
“All the tax collectors and sinners
came to listen to Jesus.”
(Luke 15:1)
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From Psalms: Psalm 61:1-4 “Hear My Cry, O God” (Esther Mui)
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OT Reading: 2 Samuel 9:1-13 (GW)
David Keeps His Promise to Jonathan
9:1 David asked, “Is there anyone left in Saul’s family to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
Now, Saul’s family had a servant whose name was Ziba. He was summoned to ⌞come to⌟ David. “Are you Ziba?” the king asked him.
“⌞Yes,⌟ I am,” he answered.
David asked, “Is there someone left in Saul’s family to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
“Jonathan has a son who is disabled,” Ziba answered.
“Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba replied, “He is at the home of Machir, Ammiel’s son, in Lo Debar.”
So King David sent men to get him from the home of Ammiel’s son Machir in Lo Debar. When Mephibosheth (son of Jonathan and grandson of Saul) came to David, he quickly bowed down with his face touching the ground.
“Mephibosheth!” David said to him.
“Yes, sir,” he answered.
“Don’t be afraid,” David told him, “I will certainly show you kindness for your father Jonathan’s sake. I will give back to you all the land of your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
Mephibosheth bowed down ⌞again⌟ and answered, “Who am I that you would look at a dead dog like me?”
Then the king called for Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You, your sons, and your servants should farm the land for him and harvest ⌞the crops⌟ so that your master’s family will have food to eat. However, your master’s grandson Mephibosheth will always eat at my table.” (Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.)
Ziba responded, “I will do everything you’ve commanded, Your Majesty.” From then on, Mephibosheth ate at David’s table as one of the king’s sons.
Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Mica. Everyone who lived at Ziba’s home became Mephibosheth’s servant. 13 However, Mephibosheth, who was disabled, lived in Jerusalem. He always ate at the king’s table.
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To The Table – Zack Williams – brotherearl1944
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NT Reading: Luke 15:1-7 (GW)
The Lost Sheep
15:1 All the tax collectors and sinners came to listen to Jesus. But the Pharisees and the experts in Moses’ Teachings complained, “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Jesus spoke to them using this illustration: “Suppose a man has 100 sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the 99 sheep grazing in the pasture and look for the lost sheep until he finds it? When he finds it, he’s happy. He puts that sheep on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says to them, ‘Let’s celebrate! I’ve found my lost sheep!’ I can guarantee that there will be more happiness in heaven over one person who turns to God and changes the way he thinks and acts than over 99 people who already have turned to God and have his approval.”
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Softly and Tenderly – Anne Murray / Jesus Christ is my Lord
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+ Merciful God, you desire not the death of sinners, but rather that they should turn to you and live; and through your only Son you have revealed yourself as the God who pardons iniquity. Have mercy on the unrepentant and those who do not believe. Awaken in them, by your Word and Holy Spirit, a deep sense of their sinfulness and peril. Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of your Word. Grant them to know and feel that there is no other Name under heaven given among men by which they must be saved, but only the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so bring them home and number them among your children, that they may be yours for ever; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. 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.
+ 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.
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 