After Epiphany | Thursday 09 Jan 2025
+ In the name the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O God, by the leading of a star
you manifested your only Son to the peoples of the earth:
Lead us, who know you now by faith, to your presence,
where we may see your glory face to face;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“We preach Christ crucified,
a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles.”
(1 Corinthians 1:23)
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From the Psalms: Psalm 29 | (The Voice of the Lord)/strong> | The Psalms Project [feat. Nick Poppens]
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OT Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:1-11 (ESV)
All Is Vanity
1:1 The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
+ Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
+ What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
+ A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but the earth remains forever.
+ The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
+ The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
+ All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
+ All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
+ What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
+ Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been already
in the ages before us.
+ There is no remembrance of former things,
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things yet to be
among those who come after.
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All is Vanity | Caroline Cobb – Trinity Fellowship
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NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (ESV)
Christ the Wisdom and Power of God
1:18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.”
Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.
For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
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Christ Our Wisdom – Sovereign Grace / Scott Bacher
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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.
Gracious and holy Father, please give me intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you, and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. Amen. | Benedict of Nursia
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
May Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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