After Pentecost | Saturday 29 Jun 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Lord of all power and might,
the author and giver of all good things:
Graft in our hearts the love of your Name,
increase in us true faith and practice,
nourish us with all goodness,
and bring forth in us the fruit of good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“What kind of command is this?
With authority and power he gives orders
to evil spirits, and they come out.”
(Luke 4:36)
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From Psalms: Psalm 130 – “Wait for You – Psalm 130” | Ellie Holcomb
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OT Reading: 1 Samuel 20:27-42 (GW)
20:27 But on the second day of the month, David’s place was still empty.
Saul asked his son Jonathan, “Why hasn’t Jesse’s son come to the meal either yesterday or today?”
Jonathan answered Saul, “David repeatedly begged me ⌞to let him go⌟ to Bethlehem. David said to me ‘Please let me go. Our relatives will offer a sacrifice in the city, and my brother ordered me to be there. If you will permit it, please let me go to see my brothers.’ This is why he hasn’t come to your banquet.”
Then Saul got angry with Jonathan. “Son of a crooked and rebellious woman!” he called Jonathan. “I know you’ve sided with Jesse’s son. You have no shame. ⌞You act⌟ as if you are your mother’s son but not mine. As long as Jesse’s son lives on earth, neither you nor your right to be king is secure. Now, send some men to bring him to me. He’s a dead man!”
Jonathan asked his father, “Why should he be killed? What has he done?”
Saul raised his spear to strike him. Then Jonathan knew his father was determined to kill David. Jonathan got up from the table very angry and ate nothing that second day of the month. He was worried sick about David because Jonathan had been humiliated by his own father.
In the morning Jonathan went out to the country to the place he and David had agreed on. Jonathan had a young boy with him. “Run,” he told the boy, “please find the arrows I shoot.”
The boy ran, and Jonathan shot the arrow over him. When the boy reached the place where Jonathan’s arrow ⌞had landed⌟, Jonathan called after him, “The arrows are next to you!” Jonathan added, “Quick! Hurry up! Don’t stand there!” Jonathan’s young servant gathered the arrows and came to his master. The boy had no idea what was going on, but Jonathan and David understood. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to the boy. He told the boy, “Take them back into town.”
When the boy had left, David came out from the south side ⌞of the rock⌟ and quickly bowed down three times with his face touching the ground. Then they kissed each other and cried together, but David cried the loudest.
“Go in peace!” Jonathan told David. “We have both taken an oath in the Lord’s name, saying, ‘The Lord will be ⌞a witness⌟ between me and you and between my descendants and your descendants forever.’ ”
So David left, and Jonathan went into the city.
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Be Not Afraid by Catholic Artists from Home / Salt + Light Media
v1. You shall cross the barren desert
but you shall not die of thirst.
You shall wander far in safety
though you do not know the way.
You shall speak your words to foreign lands
and all will understand.
You shall see the face of God and live.
R. Be not afraid.
I go before you always.
Come follow Me
and I will give you rest.
v2. If you pass through raging waters
in the sea, you shall not drown.
If you walk amidst the burning flames
you shall not be harmed.
If you stand before the pow’r of hell
and death is at your side,
know that I am with you, through it all. /R
v.3 Blessed are your poor
for the Kingdom shall be theirs.
Blest are you that weep and mourn
for one day you shall laugh.
And if wicked men insult and hate you
all because of Me,
blessed, blessed are you! /R
v.4 And when the earth has turned beneath you
and your voice is seldom heard.
When the flood of gifts that blessed your life
has long since ebbed away.
When your mind is thick and hope is thin
and dark is all around,
I will stand beside you till the dawn. /R
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NT Reading: Luke 4:31-37 (GW)
Jesus Forces an Evil Spirit out of a Man
4:31 Jesus went to Capernaum, a city in Galilee, and taught them on a day of rest—a holy day. The people were amazed at his teachings because he spoke with authority.
In the synagogue was a man possessed by a spirit, an evil demon. He shouted very loudly, “Oh, no! What do you want with us, Jesus from Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!”
Jesus ordered the spirit, “Keep quiet, and come out of him!” The demon threw the man down in the middle of the synagogue and came out without hurting him.
Everyone was stunned. They said to one another, “What kind of command is this? With authority and power he gives orders to evil spirits, and they come out.”
So news about him spread to every place throughout the surrounding region.
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Majesty – Maranatha! Music / Jesus Christ is my Lord
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+ Father, I pray that You will protect me from the evil one. I pray that You will be a shield about me, behind, beneath, and above. Help me to detect Satan’s wiles, his deceitful ways, and his suggestions. I confess my sins and receive Your forgiveness that I might be clean before You. May there be no evil crevice within my soul that gives Satan permission to tempt or harass me. Put a cloud of glory between me and Satan.
+ I pray for all who are struggling with spiritual oppression that they might be protected from Satan’s designs. Put distance between them and sin; place Your Spirit between them and the deceptions of the flesh. Protect them from pornography, from sexual temptations, and lies that permeate our culture. Protect them from evil people, from those who would deceive, manipulate, or even destroy. Deliver us from all evil, I pray. I trust Your Word to do as You have promised.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
For the Peace of Jerusalem
+ 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 Oct 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.
For The Acceptance of Prayer
+ Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son 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.
8:1 Brothers and sisters, we want you to know how God showed his kindness to the churches in the province of Macedonia. While they were being severely tested by suffering, their overflowing joy, along with their extreme poverty, has made them even more generous. I assure you that by their own free will they have given all they could, even more than they could afford. They made an appeal to us, begging us to let them participate in the ministry of God’s kindness to his holy people ⌞in Jerusalem⌟. They did more than we had expected. First, they gave themselves to the Lord and to us, since this was God’s will. This led us to urge Titus to finish his work of God’s kindness among you in the same way as he had already started it.
When you became distressed in a godly way, look at how much devotion it caused you to have. You were ready to clear yourselves of the charges against you. You were disgusted with the wrong that had been done. You were afraid. You wanted to see us. You wanted to show your concern for us. You were ready to punish the wrong that had been done. In every way you have demonstrated that you are people who are innocent in this matter. So, when I wrote to you, I didn’t write because of the man who did the wrong or the man who was hurt by it. Rather, I wrote because I wanted you to show your devotion to us in God’s sight. This is what has comforted us.
Jesus saw that they were in a lot of trouble as they rowed, because they were going against the wind. Between three and six o’clock in the morning, he came to them. He was walking on the sea. He wanted to pass by them. When they saw him walking on the sea, they thought, “It’s a ghost!” and they began to scream. All of them saw him and were terrified.
19:1 Saul told his son Jonathan and all his officers to kill David. But Saul’s son Jonathan was very fond of David, so he reported to David, “My father Saul is trying to kill you. Please be careful tomorrow morning. Go into hiding, and stay out of sight. I’ll go out and stand beside my father in the field where you’ll be. I’ll speak with my father about you. If I find out anything, I’ll tell you.”
The Peanut Gallery 