After Pentecost | Wednesday 22 Nov 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people,
that bringing forth in abundance the fruit of good works,
they may be abundantly rewarded
when our Savior Jesus Christ comes to restore all things;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
How happy that servant is
if his master finds him [taking care of business]
when he comes home!
(Matthew 24:46)
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From Psalms: Psalm 83 – “Hold not thy tongue, O God” (Anglican Parish Psalter)
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OT Reading: Esther 7:1-10 (NLT)
7:1 And so the king and Haman went to eat with Esther for a second time. Over the wine the king asked her again, “Now, Queen Esther, what do you want? Tell me and you shall have it. I’ll even give you half the empire.”
Queen Esther answered, “If it please Your Majesty to grant my humble request, my wish is that I may live and that my people may live. My people and I have been sold for slaughter. If it were nothing more serious than being sold into slavery, I would have kept quiet and not bothered you about it; but we are about to be destroyed—exterminated!”
Then King Xerxes asked Queen Esther, “Who dares to do such a thing? Where is this man?”
Esther answered, “Our enemy, our persecutor, is this evil man Haman!”
Haman faced the king and queen with terror. The king got up in a fury, left the room, and went outside to the palace gardens. Haman could see that the king was determined to punish him for this, so he stayed behind to beg Queen Esther for his life. He had just thrown himself down on Esther’s couch to beg for mercy, when the king came back into the room from the gardens. Seeing this, the king cried out, “Is this man going to rape the queen right here in front of me, in my own palace?”
The king had no sooner said this than the eunuchs covered Haman’s head. Then one of them, who was named Harbonah, said, “Haman even went so far as to build a gallows at his house so that he could hang Mordecai, who saved Your Majesty’s life. And it’s seventy-five feet tall!”
“Hang Haman on it!” the king commanded.
So Haman was hanged on the gallows that he had built for Mordecai. Then the king’s anger cooled down.
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“Born For This (ESTHER)” – Mandisa
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NT Reading: Matthew 24:45-51 (NLT)
The Faithful or the Unfaithful Servant
24:45 “Who, then, is a faithful and wise servant? It is the one that his master has placed in charge of the other servants to give them their food at the proper time. How happy that servant is if his master finds him doing this when he comes home! Indeed, I tell you, the master will put that servant in charge of all his property. But if he is a bad servant, he will tell himself that his master will not come back for a long time, and he will begin to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. Then that servant’s master will come back one day when the servant does not expect him and at a time he does not know. The master will cut him in pieces and make him share the fate of the hypocrites. There he will cry and gnash his teeth.
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Faithful – Ryan Stevenson (feat. Amy Grant)
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+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Set free the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, as well as those who will restore Israel politically and spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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 the Middle East, that your faithful people 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.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May Christ, who has opened the kingdom of heaven,
bring us to reign with him in glory.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.