Tag: be on your guard

After Pentecost | Wednesday 20 Nov 2024: Psalm 3; 1 Kings 8:22-30; Mark 13:9-23 ~ “Be on your guard!”

After Pentecost | Wednesday 20 Nov 2024

+ 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.

“Everyone will hate you
because you are committed to me.
But the person who endures to the end
will be saved.”
(Mark 13:13)

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From the Psalms: Psalm 3 | Poor Bishop Hooper

you oh lord are a shield around me
you oh lord are my only glory
i cried out and you heard my story
and you answered and you answered

i slept in fear but i woke in safety
for you oh lord are always watching over me
though ten thousand though ten thousand stand against me
you answered oh you answered

salvation belongs to only you god
arise oh lord arise oh lord
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OT Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-30 (GW)

Solomon’s Prayer

8:22 In the presence of the entire assembly of Israel, Solomon stood in front of the Lord’s altar. He stretched out his hands toward heaven and said,

“Lord God of Israel,
there is no god like you in heaven above or on earth below.
You keep your promise  of mercy to your servants,
who obey you wholeheartedly.
You have kept your promise to my father David, your servant.
With your mouth you promised it.
With your hand you carried it out as it is today.

“Now, Lord God of Israel,
keep your promise to my father David, your servant.
You said, ‘You will never fail to have an heir
sitting in front of me on the throne of Israel
if your descendants are faithful to me
as you have been faithful to me.’

“So now, God of Israel,
may the promise you made to my father David,
your servant, come true.

“Does God really live on earth?
If heaven itself, the highest heaven, cannot hold you,
then how can this temple that I have built?
Nevertheless, my Lord God, please pay attention to my prayer for mercy.
Listen to my cry for help as I pray to you today.
Night and day may your eyes be on this temple,
the place about which you said, ‘My name will be there.’
Listen to me as I pray toward this place.
Hear the plea for mercy
that your people Israel and I pray toward this place.
Hear us ⌞when we pray⌟ to heaven, the place where you live.
Hear and forgive.

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Solomon’s Prayer | Liberated Wailing Wall / Kenneth Hinkley

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NT Reading: Mark 13:9-23 (GW)  

13:9 “Be on your guard! People will hand you over to the Jewish courts and whip you in their synagogues. You will stand in front of governors and kings to testify to them because of me. But first, the Good News must be spread to all nations. When they take you away to hand you over to the authorities, don’t worry ahead of time about what you will say. Instead, say whatever is given to you to say when the time comes. Indeed, you are not the one who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit will.

“Brother will hand over brother to death; a father will hand over his child. Children will rebel against their parents and kill them. Everyone will hate you because you are committed to me. But the person who endures to the end will be saved.

“When you see the disgusting thing that will cause destruction standing where it should not (let the reader take note), those of you in Judea should flee to the mountains. Those who are on the roof should not come down to get anything out of their houses. Those who are in the field should not turn back to get their coats.

“How horrible it will be for the women who are pregnant or who are nursing babies in those days. Pray that it will not be in winter. It will be a time of misery that has not happened from the beginning of God’s creation until now, and will certainly never happen again. If the Lord does not reduce that time, no one will be saved. But those days will be reduced because of those whom God has chosen.

“At that time don’t believe anyone who tells you, ‘Here is the Messiah!’ or ‘There he is!’ False messiahs and false prophets will appear. They will work miraculous signs and do wonderful things to deceive, if possible, those whom God has chosen. Be on your guard! I have told you everything before it happens.

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Only Jesus | Casting Crowns / Christ The King Music

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

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

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

Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

+ Do what only you can do to make your faithful people the blessing promised to every family on earth.

+ Protect them from the assaults of the evil one, coming  from every direction and in every form.

+ Grant your heavenly wisdom to Israel’s leadership; give them the courage to do what’s right in your sight.

+ Comfort all those who mourn the loss of loved ones; deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls.

+ Destroy every stronghold and every expression of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East.

+ Protect the Israel Defense Forces and every soldier engaged in their mission to root out this evil.

+ Strengthen the Messianic communities; use them to restore your faithful people to their proper place in your kingdom.

+ Unify your faithful people around your promise to Abraham – to bless every family on earth through them.

+ Intervene in the Middle East in ways that only you can; protect the innocent and punish the guilty, that all may live in peace.

We ask in Jesus’ name. 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

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.

Wednesday, 17 Nov 2021: Psalm 3; 1 Kings 8:22-30; Mark 13:9-23 ~ Endure to the end and be saved.

Wednesday, 17 Nov 2021:

+ 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.

And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake.
But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
(Mark 13:13)

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Psalms: Psalm 3 – James Block
Lifter of My Head

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OT Reading: 1 Kings 8:22-30 (ESV)

Solomon’s Prayer of Dedication

8:22 Then Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the presence of all the assembly of Israel and spread out his hands toward heaven, and said, “O Lord, God of Israel, there is no God like you, in heaven above or on earth beneath, keeping covenant and showing steadfast love to your servants who walk before you with all their heart; you have kept with your servant David my father what you declared to him. You spoke with your mouth, and with your hand have fulfilled it this day. Now therefore, O Lord, God of Israel, keep for your servant David my father what you have promised him, saying, ‘You shall not lack a man to sit before me on the throne of Israel, if only your sons pay close attention to their way, to walk before me as you have walked before me.’ Now therefore, O God of Israel, let your word be confirmed, which you have spoken to your servant David my father.

“But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, heaven and the highest heaven cannot contain you; how much less this house that I have built! Yet have regard to the prayer of your servant and to his plea, O Lord my God, listening to the cry and to the prayer that your servant prays before you this day, that your eyes may be open night and day toward this house, the place of which you have said, ‘My name shall be there,’ that you may listen to the prayer that your servant offers toward this place. And listen to the plea of your servant and of your people Israel, when they pray toward this place. And listen in heaven your dwelling place, and when you hear, forgive.

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There is None Like You – Lenny LeBlanc | Praise and Worship Music

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NT Reading: Mark 13:9-23 (ESV)

13:9 “But be on your guard. For they will deliver you over to councils, and you will be beaten in synagogues, and you will stand before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them. And the gospel must first be proclaimed to all nations. And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit. And brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death. And you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.

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You Are My Strength – Hillsong Worship

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Prayer:

Daily Reading: 29 July – Paul to the Leaders: The Coming of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11

Friday of the Seventeenth Week in Ordinary Time

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

E100:18.e – Paul to the Leaders

The Coming of the Lord – 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11 (NLT)

The Hope of the Resurrection

1 Thessalonians 4:13  And now, dear brothers and sisters, we want you to know what will happen to the believers who have died so you will not grieve like people who have no hope. 14 For since we believe that Jesus died and was raised to life again, we also believe that when Jesus returns, God will bring back with him the believers who have died.

The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism Gustave Doré, 1899 The Joey and Tobey Tanenbaum Collection, 2002. Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario.
The Triumph Of Christianity Over Paganism
Gustave Doré, 1899
The Joey and Tobey Tanenbaum Collection, 2002.
Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario.

15 We tell you this directly from the Lord: We who are still living when the Lord returns will not meet him ahead of those who have died. 16 For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God. First, the believers who have died will rise from their graves. 17 Then, together with them, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever. 18 So encourage each other with these words.

1 Thessalonians 5  Now concerning how and when all this will happen, dear brothers and sisters, we don’t really need to write you. 2 For you know quite well that the day of the Lord’s return will come unexpectedly, like a thief in the night. 3 When people are saying, “Everything is peaceful and secure,” then disaster will fall on them as suddenly as a pregnant woman’s labor pains begin. And there will be no escape.

4 But you aren’t in the dark about these things, dear brothers and sisters, and you won’t be surprised when the day of the Lord comes like a thief. 5 For you are all children of the light and of the day; we don’t belong to darkness and night. 6 So be on your guard, not asleep like the others. Stay alert and be clearheaded. 7 Night is the time when people sleep and drinkers get drunk. 8 But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation.

9 For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us. 10 Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever. 11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.
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Prayer

Lord Jesus: We wait patiently with faith-filled expectation for your imminent return. Prepare your Church in every way to receive you – as  a bride awaits her groom. Specifically, we pray –

  • that those whose loved ones have died in Christ would rejoice in the certain hope of their resurrection
  • that your people would live today with the end in mind – life with you forever
  • that your people would live today alert and clearheaded – prepared for your return
  • that your people would live in the light today – protected by faith and love and confident in our salvation

Gracious God: Thank you for choosing to save us through your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. May we encourage each other today in faith and love and so be ready for his return in your good time. Amen.
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“Even So Come” – Chris Tomlin


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Closing Sentence

He who is the faithful witness to all these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon!”

Amen! Come, Lord Jesus!

Revelation 22:20 (NLT)

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

Morning Prayer: 20 May – Acts 20:28-38; John 17:11-19 ~ keep watch over yourselves

Wednesday of the Seventh Week of Easter

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

Opening sentence and prayer:

The Holy Spirit joins with our spirit in bearing witness that we are children of God.
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God of patience and encouragement: grant that we may agree with one another by following the example of Christ – united in mind and voice, let us glorify You. May I think of my brother’s good and strive to please him – enable me to strengthen his faith. Do not allow me to be led astray by the power of the Evil One – fill me instead with the Spirit who comes from You. Lord, You know everything that is in my heart – lead me in the ways of integrity and truth. Father, hear Your children. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

A Reading from Acts: Acts 20:28-38 (NLT)

The Shepherd Julien Dupre (1851-1910) Private Collection
The Shepherd
Julien Dupre (1851-1910)
Private Collection

To the Ephesian Elders: Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood. I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them. So be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears.

“Now I commit you to God and to the word of his grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I have not coveted anyone’s silver or gold or clothing. You yourselves know that these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions. In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ ”

When Paul had finished speaking, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.
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Your word, O Lord, is truth; consecrate us in the truth. (John 17:17)
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A Reading from the Gospels: John 17:11-19 (NLT)

demon locked within

I will remain in the world no longer, but they are still in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me. None has been lost except the one doomed to destruction so that Scripture would be fulfilled.

“I am coming to you now, but I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them. I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify myself, that they too may be truly sanctified.
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Canticle

Christ, as a light illumine and guide me. Christ as a shield overshadow me. Christ under me; Christ over me; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful. Be in the heart of each to whom I speak; in the mouth of each who speaks unto me. This day be within and without me, lowly and meek, yet all-powerful.

Christ as a light; Christ as a shield; Christ beside me on my left and my right.

Blessing:

May the Lord Christ go with you, wherever He may send you. May He guide you through the wilderness, protect you through the storm. May He bring you home rejoicing at the wonders He has shown you. May He bring you home rejoicing once again into our doors.

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