After Pentecost | Saturday 21 Sep 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord,
you have taught us that without love,
all our deeds are worth nothing:
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts
that most excellent gift of charity,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you;
grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem…!
How often I wanted to gather your children together
the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings!
But you were not willing!”
(Matthew 23:37)
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From Psalms: Psalm 1 // Psalm 1- Sons of Korah
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OT Reading: Ecclesiastes 1:1-18 (GW)
Introducing the Spokesman
1:1 The words of the spokesman, the son of David and the king in Jerusalem.
The Theme
1:2 “Absolutely pointless!” says the spokesman. “Absolutely pointless! Everything is pointless.”
Life Is an Endless Circle
1:3 What do people gain from all their hard work under the sun?
Generations come, and generations go,
but the earth lasts forever.
The sun rises, and the sun sets,
and then it rushes back to the place where it will rise ⌞again⌟.
The wind blows toward the south and shifts toward the north.
Round and round it blows. It blows in a full circle.
All streams flow into the sea, but the sea is never full.
The water goes back to the place where the streams began
in order to ⌞start⌟ flowing again.
All of these sayings are worn-out phrases. They are more than anyone can express, comprehend, or understand.
Whatever has happened before will happen ⌞again⌟. Whatever has been done before will be done ⌞again⌟. There is nothing new under the sun. Can you say that anything is new? It has already been here long before us. Nothing from the past is remembered. Even in the future, nothing will be remembered by those who come after us.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Everything under Heaven
1:12 I, the spokesman, have been king of Israel in Jerusalem. With all my heart I used wisdom to study and explore everything done under heaven.
The Spokesman’s General Conclusion
1:13 Mortals are weighed down with a terrible burden that God has placed on them. I have seen everything that is done under the sun. Look at it! It’s all pointless. ⌞It’s like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
No one can straighten what is bent.
No one can count what is not there.
The Spokesman Begins to Study Life
1:16 I thought to myself, “I have grown wiser than anyone who ⌞has ruled⌟ Jerusalem before me. I’ve had a lot of experience with wisdom and knowledge.” I’ve used my mind to understand wisdom and knowledge as well as madness and stupidity. ⌞Now⌟ I know that this is ⌞like⌟ trying to catch the wind.
With a lot of wisdom ⌞comes⌟ a lot of heartache.
The greater ⌞your⌟ knowledge, the greater ⌞your⌟ pain.
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Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD Hebrew & English // Psalm 51
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NT Reading: Matthew 23:29-39 (GW)
23:29 “How horrible it will be for you, experts in Moses’ Teachings and Pharisees! You hypocrites! You build tombs for the prophets and decorate the monuments of those who had God’s approval. Then you say, ‘If we had lived at the time of our ancestors, we would not have helped to murder the prophets.’ So you testify against yourselves that you are the descendants of those who murdered the prophets. Go ahead, finish what your ancestors started!
“You snakes! You poisonous snakes! How can you escape being condemned to hell? I’m sending you prophets, wise men, and teachers of the Scriptures. You will kill and crucify some of them. Others you will whip in your synagogues and persecute from city to city. As a result, you will be held accountable for all the innocent blood of those murdered on earth. This includes the murder of Abel, who had God’s approval, to that of Zechariah, son of Barachiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. I can guarantee this truth: The people living now will be held accountable for all these things.
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you kill the prophets and stone to death those sent to you! How often I wanted to gather your children together the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings! But you were not willing! Your house will be abandoned, deserted. I can guarantee that you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
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If I Speak Words of Wisdom – Resound Worship
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+ 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.
+ 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, you desire that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth: Prosper all those who live, preach, and teach the Gospel at home and in distant lands [especially in the Holy Land]; protect them in all perils, support them in their loneliness, sustain them in the hour of trial; give them your abundant grace to bear faithful witness; and endue them with burning zeal and love, that they may turn many to righteousness; through 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 Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by God’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors. God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone. In the past, you disobeyed God. But now God has been merciful to you because of the disobedience of the Jewish people. In the same way, the Jewish people have also disobeyed so that God may be merciful to them as he was to you. God has placed all people into the prison of their own disobedience so that he could be merciful to all people.
2:1 Brothers and sisters, when I came to you, I didn’t speak about God’s mystery as if it were some kind of brilliant message or wisdom. While I was with you, I decided to deal with only one subject—Jesus Christ, who was crucified. When I came to you, I was weak. I was afraid and very nervous. I didn’t speak my message with persuasive intellectual arguments. I spoke my message with a show of spiritual power so that your faith would not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.
The Pharisees heard the crowd saying things like this about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.
Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.
The Peanut Gallery 