Easter | Thursday 23 Apr 2026
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
Almighty God,
you gave your only Son to be for us
both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living:
Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits,
and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Keep away from worldly desires
that wage war against your very souls.
(1 Peter 2:11)
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Psalms: Psalm 23 – Phil Wickham ( ft. Tiffany Hudson)
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OT Reading: Exodus 2:15b-25 (NLT)
2:15b Moses fled from Pharaoh and went to live in the land of Midian.
When Moses arrived in Midian, he sat down beside a well. Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters who came as usual to draw water and fill the water troughs for their father’s flocks. But some other shepherds came and chased them away. So Moses jumped up and rescued the girls from the shepherds. Then he drew water for their flocks.
+ When the girls returned to Reuel, their father, he asked, “Why are you back so soon today?”
+ “An Egyptian rescued us from the shepherds,” they answered. “And then he drew water for us and watered our flocks.”
+ “Then where is he?” their father asked. “Why did you leave him there? Invite him to come and eat with us.”
+ Moses accepted the invitation, and he settled there with him. In time, Reuel gave Moses his daughter Zipporah to be his wife. Later she gave birth to a son, and Moses named him Gershom, for he explained, “I have been a foreigner in a foreign land.”
+ Years passed, and the king of Egypt died. But the Israelites continued to groan under their burden of slavery. They cried out for help, and their cry rose up to God. God heard their groaning, and he remembered his covenant promise to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He looked down on the people of Israel and knew it was time to act.
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Chosen | Matthew West
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NT Reading: 1 Peter 2:9-12 (NLT)
2:9 But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light.
+ “Once you had no identity as a people;
now you are God’s people.
Once you received no mercy;
now you have received God’s mercy.”
+ Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls. Be careful to live properly among your unbelieving neighbors. Then even if they accuse you of doing wrong, they will see your honorable behavior, and they will give honor to God when he judges the world.
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I Don’t Belong (Sojourner’s Song) | Buddy Greene / Peter C3
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O God, without whose beauty and goodness our souls are unfed, without whose truth our reason withers: Consecrate our lives to your will, giving us such purity of heart, such depth of faith, and such steadfastness of purpose, that in time we may come to think your own thoughts after you; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.
O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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