After Pentecost | Thursday 18 Jul 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and, that we may receive what we ask,
teach us by your Holy Spirit to ask
only those things that are pleasing to you;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who with you and the same Spirit
lives and reigns for ever and ever. Amen.
“He existed before everything
and holds everything together.”
(Colossians 1:17)
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From Psalms: Psalm 23: – “All of My Days” | Ellie Holcomb
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OT Reading: Jeremiah 10:1-16 (GW)
10:1 Listen to the message that the Lord has spoken to you, nation of Israel. This is what the Lord says:
Don’t learn the practices of the nations.
Don’t be frightened by the signs in the sky
because the nations are frightened by them.
The religion of the people is worthless.
Woodcutters cut down trees from the forest.
The hands of craftsmen prepare them with axes.
Craftsmen decorate them with silver and gold
and fasten them ⌞together⌟ with hammers and nails
so that they won’t fall over.
These trees are like scarecrows in cucumber gardens.
They aren’t able to speak.
They have to be carried, because they can’t walk.
Don’t be afraid of them.
They can’t harm you.
They can’t do you any good either.
No one is like you, O Lord.
You are great.
Your name is powerful.
Everyone fears you, O King of the Nations.
This is what you deserve.
No one is like you among all the wise people in the nations
or in all their kingdoms.
They are complete idiots.
They learn nonsense from wooden idols.
Hammered silver is brought from Tarshish and gold from Uphaz.
Craftsmen and goldsmiths shape these metals.
The clothing for the idols is blue and purple,
all made by skilled workers.
But the Lord is the only God.
He is the living God and eternal king.
The earth trembles when he is angry.
The nations can’t endure his fury.
Tell them this: These gods will disappear from the earth
and from under heaven because they didn’t make heaven and earth.
The Lord made the earth by his power.
He set up the world by his skill.
He stretched out the world by his understanding.
He speaks, and the water in the sky produces a storm.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth.
He makes lightning flash with the rain.
He brings wind out of his storehouses.
Everyone is stupid and ignorant.
Metalsmiths are put to shame by their idols.
Their statues are false ⌞gods⌟.
They can’t breathe.
They are worthless jokes.
When they are punished, they disappear.
Jacob’s God isn’t like them.
He made everything,
and Israel is the tribe that belongs to him.
His name is the Lord of Armies.
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There is none like You – Lenny LeBlanc & Rachel Robinson – TheCatLadyJ
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NT Reading: Colossians 1:15-23 (GW)
1:15 He is the image of the invisible God,
the firstborn of all creation.
He created all things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible.
Whether they are kings or lords,
rulers or powers—
everything has been created through him and for him.
He existed before everything
and holds everything together.
He is also the head of the church, which is his body.
He is the beginning,
the first to come back to life
so that he would have first place in everything.
God was pleased to have all of himself live in Christ. God was also pleased to bring everything on earth and in heaven back to himself through Christ. He did this by making peace through Christ’s blood sacrificed on the cross.
Once you were separated from God. The evil things you did showed your hostile attitude. But now Christ has brought you back to God by dying in his physical body. He did this so that you could come into God’s presence without sin, fault, or blame. This is on the condition that you continue in faith without being moved from the solid foundation of the hope that the Good News contains. You’ve heard this Good News of which I, Paul, became a servant. It has been spread throughout all creation under heaven.
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Alive In You (Live – Jesus Culture ft. Kim Walker-Smith
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Benedict of Nursia
+ Gracious and holy Father, please give us intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, hearts to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, tongues to proclaim you, ways of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you, and perseverance to look for you. Grant us a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. 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 of peace, who has taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of your Spirit lift us, we pray, into your presence, where we may be still and know that you are God; 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 real light, which shines on everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world came into existence through him. Yet, the world didn’t recognize him. He went to his own people, and his own people didn’t accept him. However, he gave the right to become God’s children to everyone who believed in him. These people didn’t become God’s children in a physical way—from a human impulse or from a husband’s desire ⌞to have a child⌟. They were born from God.
Suddenly, a large army of angels appeared with the angel. They were praising God by saying,
13:11 This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Don’t participate in the darkness of wild parties and drunkenness, or in sexual promiscuity and immoral living, or in quarreling and jealousy. Instead, clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And don’t let yourself think about ways to indulge your evil desires.
23:35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.”
The Peanut Gallery 