After Pentecost| Wednesday – 13 July 2022
+ 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.
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth,
when you did it to one of the least of these
my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
(Matthew 25:40)
__________
Psalms Reading: Psalm 25 – (Show Me Your Ways) (feat. Raelyn) – The Psalms Project
__________
OT Reading: Ecclesiastes 9:13-18 (NLT)
Thoughts on Wisdom and Folly
9:13 Here is another bit of wisdom that has impressed me as I have watched the way our world works. There was a small town with only a few people, and a great king came with his army and besieged it. A poor, wise man knew how to save the town, and so it was rescued. But afterward no one thought to thank him. So even though wisdom is better than strength, those who are wise will be despised if they are poor. What they say will not be appreciated for long.
Better to hear the quiet words of a wise person
than the shouts of a foolish king.
Better to have wisdom than weapons of war,
but one sinner can destroy much that is good.
__________
Seeking Wisdom – Colton Kelley | seeking wisdom ministries
__________
NT Reading: Matthew 25:31-46 (NLT)
The Final Judgment
25:31 “But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left.
“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’
“Then these righteous ones will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
“And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!’
“Then the King will turn to those on the left and say, ‘Away with you, you cursed ones, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his demons. For I was hungry, and you didn’t feed me. I was thirsty, and you didn’t give me a drink. I was a stranger, and you didn’t invite me into your home. I was naked, and you didn’t give me clothing. I was sick and in prison, and you didn’t visit me.’
“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
“And he will answer, ‘I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me.’
“And they will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous will go into eternal life.”
__________
Matthew 25 – SeventhDaySlumber
I call myself a man of God
While laughing at my brother
I crossed the heart of a hungry man
Instead of giving him some bread
And what I say
And what I do
Are not the same anymore
And who I slay, who I betray
Lord have mercy on my soul
And you were hungry
And you were thirsty
You were lonely you were cold
And you were hurting, you were dying
I just left you all alone
I watched a mother who had her children
They all three crying out for help
But no one heard them
And I just passed them and
I screamed “Lady get a job!”
She took her own life
Under the bridge that day
While her children sat and cried
I could have told her about my loving father
Instead I spit in Jesus face, when I heard her voice
What you do unto the least of them
You do unto me
And when you see one of my hurting children
I want you to see
Cause I was hungry
And I was thirsty
I was lonely I was cold
And that was me hurting, that was me dying
And you just left me all alone
I call myself a man of God
While laughing at my brother
__________
+ 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.
+ Go before us, O Lord, in all our doings with your most gracious favor, and further us with your continual help; that in all our works begun, continued, and ended in you, we may glorify your holy Name, and finally, through your mercy, obtain everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May my life be… centered
less on self and more on You,
and through You to the world
in which I live and move.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.
For example, suppose someone comes into your meeting dressed in fancy clothes and expensive jewelry, and another comes in who is poor and dressed in dirty clothes. If you give special attention and a good seat to the rich person, but you say to the poor one, “You can stand over there, or else sit on the floor”—well, doesn’t this discrimination show that your judgments are guided by evil motives?
“Then a despised Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he felt compassion for him. Going over to him, the Samaritan soothed his wounds with olive oil and wine and bandaged them. Then he put the man on his own donkey and took him to an inn, where he took care of him. The next day he handed the innkeeper two silver coins, telling him, ‘Take care of this man. If his bill runs higher than this, I’ll pay you the next time I’m here.’
“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.”
The Peanut Gallery 