After Pentecost | Wednesday – 21 Sep 2022
+ 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.
“[Beware of those who]
shamelessly cheat widows out of their property
and then pretend to be pious
by making long prayers in public.
Because of this,
they will be severely punished.”
(Luke 20:47)
__________
Psalms Reading: Psalm 12 – The Psalms Project
Help! Help, Lord
For the godly cease to be
For the faithful disappear from among the sons of men
Everybody speaks idle words with smooth-talking, flattering lips and a double heart
May the Lord cut off all truth-perverting, flattering lips and the tongue that speaks with pride
The tongue that speaks with pride
For this is what they say…
“With the words we speak we’ll conquer
With our tongue and our lips, the weapons of our choice
There’s no God over us”
It’s a war of words
And our enemies think they will win
“For the oppression of the poor, now I will arise,” says the Lord
“For the groaning of the needy, now I will arise, says the Lord
“I will give my salvation to whosoever yearns for it in his heart”
The words of the Lord are pure words
Not the lying wicked words of men
The words of the Lord are pure words
Purified pure as silver that’s purified seven times
You will keep them, You’ll preserve them for all time
Now and forever
The wicked prowl on every side when evil is exalted among the sons of men
__________
OT Reading: Proverbs 21:10-16 (NLT)
21:10 Evil people desire evil;
their neighbors get no mercy from them.
11 If you punish a mocker, the simpleminded become wise;
if you instruct the wise, they will be all the wiser.
12 The Righteous One knows what is going on in the homes of the wicked;
he will bring disaster on them.
13 Those who shut their ears to the cries of the poor
will be ignored in their own time of need.
14 A secret gift calms anger;
a bribe under the table pacifies fury.
15 Justice is a joy to the godly,
but it terrifies evildoers.
16 The person who strays from common sense
will end up in the company of the dead.
__________
Justice – Luke Finch & Ali McFarlane – The Revelation Room
__________
NT Reading: Luke 20:45-21:4 (NLT)
20:45 Then, with the crowds listening, he turned to his disciples and said, “Beware of these teachers of religious law! For they like to parade around in flowing robes and love to receive respectful greetings as they walk in the marketplaces. And how they love the seats of honor in the synagogues and the head table at banquets. Yet they shamelessly cheat widows out of their property and then pretend to be pious by making long prayers in public. Because of this, they will be severely punished.”
The Widow’s Offering
20:21 While Jesus was in the Temple, he watched the rich people dropping their gifts in the collection box. Then a poor widow came by and dropped in two small coins.
“I tell you the truth,” Jesus said, “this poor widow has given more than all the rest of them. For they have given a tiny part of their surplus, but she, poor as she is, has given everything she has.”
__________
Here’s My Life | Planetshakers
__________
+ 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.
+ 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.
+ Our God, in whom we trust: Strengthen us not to regard overmuch who is for us or who is against us, but to see to it that we be with you in everything we do. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
Be the Life I live
Be the Love I give
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Even though I am not subject to the law, I did this so I could bring to Christ those who are under the law. When I am with the Gentiles who do not follow the Jewish law, I too live apart from that law so I can bring them to Christ. But I do not ignore the law of God; I obey the law of Christ.
Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of our people, are we being questioned today because we’ve done a good deed for a crippled man? Do you want to know how he was healed? Let me clearly state to all of you and to all the people of Israel that he was healed by the powerful name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, the man you crucified but whom God raised from the dead. For Jesus is the one referred to in the Scriptures, where it says,
12:41 Jesus sat down near the collection box in the Temple and watched as the crowds dropped in their money. Many rich people put in large amounts. Then a poor widow came and dropped in two small coins.
The Peanut Gallery 