Easter | Wednesday 06 May 2026: Psalm 102; Proverbs 3:13-18; John 8:31-38 ~ “The truth will set you free.”

Easter | Wednesday 06 May 2026

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

Almighty God,
whom truly to know is everlasting life:
Grant us so perfectly to know your Son Jesus Christ
to be the way, the truth, and the life,
that we may steadfastly follow his steps
in the way that leads to eternal glory;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free.”
(John 8:36)

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Psalms: Psalm 102 – from the Genevan Psalter | The Psalternative

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OT Reading: Proverbs 3:13-18 (NLT)

3:13 Joyful is the person who finds wisdom,
the one who gains understanding.
+ For wisdom is more profitable than silver,
and her wages are better than gold.
+ Wisdom is more precious than rubies;
nothing you desire can compare with her.
+ She offers you long life in her right hand,
and riches and honor in her left.
+ She will guide you down delightful paths;
all her ways are satisfying.
+ Wisdom is a tree of life to those who embrace her;
happy are those who hold her tightly.

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More precious Than Silver – Steffany Gretzinger

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NT Reading: John 8:31-38 (NLT)

Jesus and Abraham

8:31 Jesus said to the people who believed in him, “You are truly my disciples if you remain faithful to my teachings. And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

+ “But we are descendants of Abraham,” they said. “We have never been slaves to anyone. What do you mean, ‘You will be set free’?”

8:34 Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave of sin. A slave is not a permanent member of the family, but a son is part of the family forever. So if the Son sets you free, you are truly free. Yes, I realize that you are descendants of Abraham. And yet some of you are trying to kill me because there’s no room in your hearts for my message. I am telling you what I saw when I was with my Father. But you are following the advice of your father.”

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The Truth Will Set You Free | Original Christian Worship Song / Sounds of Exodus

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP 2019

Dear Lord and Savior Jesus Christ: I hold up all my weakness to your strength, my failure to your faithfulness, my sinfulness to your perfection, my loneliness to your compassion, my little pains to your great agony on the Cross. I pray that you will cleanse me, strengthen me, guide me, so that in all ways my life may be lived as you would have it lived, without cowardice and for you alone. Show me how to live in true humility, true contrition, and true love. 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.

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. | Thomas à Kempis

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.

Easter | Tuesday 05 May 2026: Psalm 102; Proverbs 3:5-12; Acts 7:44-56 ~ Israel’s rejection of the Messiah.

Easter | Tuesday 05 May 2026

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

“Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute!”
(Acts 7:52)

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Psalms: Psalm 102 – “Don’t Hide Your Face” | Caroline Cobb

Oh, Lord, my God
Don’t hide Your face
I am overwhelmed with sorrow
So please hear me when I pray
My heart is struck down
Withered like grass in the heat
I lie awake in bed
And I cannot sleep

But You, You are on Your throne
Help me to remember You
One day You will come
I know that You remember me
You hear and You remember me

Ashes my food
And tears are my drink
A fever burns deep in my bones
I’m forgetting to eat
And oh, Lord, please look down
Rise up, have pity on me
Oh, let me praise You one day
For how You rescued me, oh

For You, You are on Your throne
Help me to remember You
One day You will come
I know that You remember me
You hear and You remember me

Oh, my God, I know that You hear my groans
You will not leave me alone
You have said that You will come
When every tear, You’ll wipe away
And everyone will fear Your name
When all the earthly powers fade
You will still remain

For You, You are on Your throne
Help me to remember You
One day You will come
I know that You remember me
You hear and You remember

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OT Reading: Proverbs 3:5-12 (NLT)

3:5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart;
do not depend on your own understanding.
+ Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.

+ Don’t be impressed with your own wisdom.
Instead, fear the Lord and turn away from evil.
+ Then you will have healing for your body
and strength for your bones.

+ Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the best part of everything you produce.
+ Then he will fill your barns with grain,
and your vats will overflow with good wine.

+ My child, don’t reject the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t be upset when he corrects you.
+ For the Lord corrects those he loves,
just as a father corrects a child in whom he delights.

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God of Our Fathers | Olive Tree Hymns

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NT Reading: Acts 7:44-56 (NLT)

7:44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

7:46 “David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built it. However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

+ ‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
asks the Lord.
‘Could you build me such a resting place?
+ Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

7:51 “You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

7:54 The Jewish leaders were infuriated by Stephen’s accusation, and they shook their fists at him in rage. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed steadily into heaven and saw the glory of God, and he saw Jesus standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand. And he told them, “Look, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing in the place of honor at God’s right hand!”

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Rachem – Beth Avodah

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP 2019

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.

Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. 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.

Easter | Monday 04 May 2026: Psalm 102; Exodus 13:17-22; Acts 7:17-40 ~ Israel’s rejection of Moses.

Easter | Monday 04 May 2026

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

“But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses.
They rejected him
and wanted to return to Egypt.”
(Acts 7:39)

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Psalms: Psalm 102 – Poor Bishop Hooper

hear my prayer god and let my cry
of help come to you do not hide
listen closely to me in the day of my distress
my days consumed in smoke my bones they burn like a furnace

indeed i forget to eat
i can’t sleep my bones cling to my flesh
and mingled with my drink is my weeping
for i have eaten ashes like my bread

my days are like a shadow i wither like the grass
but you abide forever arise in compassion
be gracious now to zion the appointed time has come
your servants surely pity her find pleasure in her stones

indeed i forget to eat
i can’t sleep my bones cling to my flesh
and mingled with my drink is my weeping
for i have eaten ashes like my bread

oh let it be written for those to come
a people yet created may praise the lord
he looked down from his heights he gazed to earth from heaven
to hear the prisoner’s cry set free those doomed to die
so that they might praise him

long ago you made the earth the heavens are your work
even they will perish lord but you will endure
you’ll change them like a garment as robes they’ll pass away
but you are the same but you are the same

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OT Reading: Exodus 13:17-22 (NLT)

Israel’s Wilderness Detour

13:17 When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” So God led them in a roundabout way through the wilderness toward the Red Sea. Thus the Israelites left Egypt like an army ready for battle.

+ Moses took the bones of Joseph with him, for Joseph had made the sons of Israel swear to do this. He said, “God will certainly come to help you. When he does, you must take my bones with you from this place.”

+ The Israelites left Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. The Lord went ahead of them. He guided them during the day with a pillar of cloud, and he provided light at night with a pillar of fire. This allowed them to travel by day or by night. And the Lord did not remove the pillar of cloud or pillar of fire from its place in front of the people.

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Guide Me O Thou Great Jehovah – Worship Lyrics Online

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NT Reading: Acts 7:17-40 (NLT)

7:17 “As the time drew near when God would fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased. But then a new king came to the throne of Egypt who knew nothing about Joseph. This king exploited our people and oppressed them, forcing parents to abandon their newborn babies so they would die.

7:20 “At that time Moses was born—a beautiful child in God’s eyes. His parents cared for him at home for three months. When they had to abandon him, Pharaoh’s daughter adopted him and raised him as her own son. Moses was taught all the wisdom of the Egyptians, and he was powerful in both speech and action.

+ “One day when Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his relatives, the people of Israel. He saw an Egyptian mistreating an Israelite. So Moses came to the man’s defense and avenged him, killing the Egyptian. Moses assumed his fellow Israelites would realize that God had sent him to rescue them, but they didn’t.

+ “The next day he visited them again and saw two men of Israel fighting. He tried to be a peacemaker. ‘Men,’ he said, ‘you are brothers. Why are you fighting each other?’

+ “But the man in the wrong pushed Moses aside. ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ he asked. ‘Are you going to kill me as you killed that Egyptian yesterday?’ When Moses heard that, he fled the country and lived as a foreigner in the land of Midian. There his two sons were born.

+ “Forty years later, in the desert near Mount Sinai, an angel appeared to Moses in the flame of a burning bush. When Moses saw it, he was amazed at the sight. As he went to take a closer look, the voice of the Lord called out to him, ‘I am the God of your ancestors—the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.’ Moses shook with terror and did not dare to look.

+ “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground. I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groans and have come down to rescue them. Now go, for I am sending you back to Egypt.’

+ “So God sent back the same man his people had previously rejected when they demanded, ‘Who made you a ruler and judge over us?’ Through the angel who appeared to him in the burning bush, God sent Moses to be their ruler and savior. And by means of many wonders and miraculous signs, he led them out of Egypt, through the Red Sea, and through the wilderness for forty years.

7:37 “Moses himself told the people of Israel, ‘God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from among your own people.’ Moses was with our ancestors, the assembly of God’s people in the wilderness, when the angel spoke to him at Mount Sinai. And there Moses received life-giving words to pass on to us.

+ “But our ancestors refused to listen to Moses. They rejected him and wanted to return to Egypt. They told Aaron, ‘Make us some gods who can lead us, for we don’t know what has become of this Moses, who brought us out of Egypt.’

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Rachem (Have Mercy | Hila Ben David (HALO)

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP 2019

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.

Easter | Saturday 02 May 2026: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; Jeremiah 26:20-24; John 8:48-59 ~ Before Abraham was, “I AM!”

Easter | Saturday 02 May 2026

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

O God, whose Son Jesus Christ
is the Good Shepherd of your people:
Grant that, when we hear his voice,
we may know him who calls us each by name,
and follow where he leads;
who, with you and the Holy Spirit, lives and reigns,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Jesus answered,
“I tell you the truth,
before Abraham was even born, I am!”
(John 8:58)

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Psalms: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16 – Bethlehem Lutheran

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OT Reading: Jeremiah 26:20-24 (NLT)

26:20 At this time Uriah son of Shemaiah from Kiriath-jearim was also prophesying for the Lord. And he predicted the same terrible disaster against the city and nation as Jeremiah did. When King Jehoiakim and the army officers and officials heard what he was saying, the king sent someone to kill him. But Uriah heard about the plan and escaped in fear to Egypt. Then King Jehoiakim sent Elnathan son of Acbor to Egypt along with several other men to capture Uriah. They took him prisoner and brought him back to King Jehoiakim. The king then killed Uriah with a sword and had him buried in an unmarked grave.

+ Nevertheless, Ahikam son of Shaphan stood up for Jeremiah and persuaded the court not to turn him over to the mob to be killed.

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God Has Spoken by His Prophets – Chet Valley Hymns and Songs

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NT Reading: John 8:48-59 (NLT)

8:48 The people retorted, “You Samaritan devil! Didn’t we say all along that you were possessed by a demon?”

8:49 “No,” Jesus said, “I have no demon in me. For I honor my Father—and you dishonor me. And though I have no wish to glorify myself, God is going to glorify me. He is the true judge. I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”

8:52 The people said, “Now we know you are possessed by a demon. Even Abraham and the prophets died, but you say, ‘Anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!’ Are you greater than our father Abraham? He died, and so did the prophets. Who do you think you are?”

8:54 Jesus answered, “If I want glory for myself, it doesn’t count. But it is my Father who will glorify me. You say, ‘He is our God,’ but you don’t even know him. I know him. If I said otherwise, I would be as great a liar as you! But I do know him and obey him. Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. He saw it and was glad.”

8:57 The people said, “You aren’t even fifty years old. How can you say you have seen Abraham?”

8:58 Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am!” At that point they picked up stones to throw at him. But Jesus was hidden from them and left the Temple.

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Great I Am – Phillips, Craig & Dean

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP 2019

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 Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will. Amen. | Joseph Mercier

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.

Easter | Friday 01 May 2026: Psalm 31:1-5, 15-16; Exodus 3:1-12; Acts 7:1-16 ~ “I will be with you.”

Easter | Friday 01 May 2026

+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen

Opening prayer:

“Now go,
for I am sending you to Pharaoh.
You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”
(Exodus 3:10)

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Psalms: Psalm 31 – wcfamilychurch (Cape Town, South Africa)

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OT Reading: Exodus 3:1-12 (NLT)

Moses and the Burning Bush

3:1 One day Moses was tending the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian. He led the flock far into the wilderness and came to Sinai, the mountain of God. There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the middle of a bush. Moses stared in amazement. Though the bush was engulfed in flames, it didn’t burn up. “This is amazing,” Moses said to himself. “Why isn’t that bush burning up? I must go see it.”

3:4 When the Lord saw Moses coming to take a closer look, God called to him from the middle of the bush, “Moses! Moses!”

“Here I am!” Moses replied.

+ “Do not come any closer,” the Lord warned. “Take off your sandals, for you are standing on holy ground.

+ I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” When Moses heard this, he covered his face because he was afraid to look at God.

+ Then the Lord told him, “I have certainly seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their cries of distress because of their harsh slave drivers. Yes, I am aware of their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the power of the Egyptians and lead them out of Egypt into their own fertile and spacious land. It is a land flowing with milk and honey—the land where the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites now live. Look! The cry of the people of Israel has reached me, and I have seen how harshly the Egyptians abuse them. Now go, for I am sending you to Pharaoh. You must lead my people Israel out of Egypt.”

+ But Moses protested to God, “Who am I to appear before Pharaoh? Who am I to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt?”

+ God answered, “I will be with you. And this is your sign that I am the one who has sent you: When you have brought the people out of Egypt, you will worship God at this very mountain.”

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Go down, Moses (Let my people go!) | Nat King Cole / Ove Heradstveit

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NT Reading: Acts 7:1-16 (NLT)

Stephen Addresses the Council

7:1 Then the high priest asked Stephen, “Are these accusations true?”

+ This was Stephen’s reply: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me. Our glorious God appeared to our ancestor Abraham in Mesopotamia before he settled in Haran. God told him, ‘Leave your native land and your relatives, and come into the land that I will show you.’ So Abraham left the land of the Chaldeans and lived in Haran until his father died. Then God brought him here to the land where you now live.

+ “But God gave him no inheritance here, not even one square foot of land. God did promise, however, that eventually the whole land would belong to Abraham and his descendants—even though he had no children yet. God also told him that his descendants would live in a foreign land, where they would be oppressed as slaves for 400 years. ‘But I will punish the nation that enslaves them,’ God said, ‘and in the end they will come out and worship me here in this place.’

+ “God also gave Abraham the covenant of circumcision at that time. So when Abraham became the father of Isaac, he circumcised him on the eighth day. And the practice was continued when Isaac became the father of Jacob, and when Jacob became the father of the twelve patriarchs of the Israelite nation.

+ “These patriarchs were jealous of their brother Joseph, and they sold him to be a slave in Egypt. But God was with him and rescued him from all his troubles. And God gave him favor before Pharaoh, king of Egypt. God also gave Joseph unusual wisdom, so that Pharaoh appointed him governor over all of Egypt and put him in charge of the palace.

+ “But a famine came upon Egypt and Canaan. There was great misery, and our ancestors ran out of food. Jacob heard that there was still grain in Egypt, so he sent his sons—our ancestors—to buy some.

+ The second time they went, Joseph revealed his identity to his brothers, and they were introduced to Pharaoh. Then Joseph sent for his father, Jacob, and all his relatives to come to Egypt, seventy-five persons in all. So Jacob went to Egypt. He died there, as did our ancestors. Their bodies were taken to Shechem and buried in the tomb Abraham had bought for a certain price from Hamor’s sons in Shechem.

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There Will Be a Day – Caroline Cobb / Trinity Fellowship

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP 2019

Almighty God, from whom all thoughts of truth and peace proceed: Kindle, we pray, in the hearts of all people the true love of peace, and guide with your pure and peaceable wisdom those who take counsel for the nations of the earth; that in tranquility your kingdom may go forward, till the earth is filled with the knowledge of your love; through 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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