The Season of Advent | 3rd Tuesday 19 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance
and prepare the way for our salvation:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise make ready your way,
by turning the hearts of the disobedient
toward the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world,
we may be found a people acceptable in your sight;
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“Then times will come
when the Lord will refresh you.
He will send you Jesus,
whom he has appointed to be the Christ.”
(Acts 3:20)
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From Psalms: Psalm 125 – “Not Be Moved” – James Block
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OT Reading: 2 Kings 2:9-22 (GW)
2:9 While they were crossing, Elijah asked Elisha, “What should I do for you before I’m taken from you?”
Elisha answered, “Let me inherit a double share of your spirit.”
Elijah said, “You have asked for something difficult. If you see me taken from you, it will be yours. Otherwise, it will not.”
As they continued walking and talking, a fiery chariot with fiery horses separated the two of them, and Elijah went to heaven in a windstorm.
When Elisha saw this, he cried out, “Master! Master! Israel’s chariot and horses!” When he couldn’t see Elijah anymore, he grabbed his own garment and tore it in two ⌞to show his grief⌟. Then he picked up Elijah’s coat (which had fallen off Elijah), went back, and stood on the bank of the Jordan River. He took the coat and struck the water with it. He asked, “Where is the Lord God of Elijah?” As he struck the water, it divided to his left and his right, and Elisha crossed ⌞the river⌟.
The disciples of the prophets who were at Jericho saw him from a distance. They said, “Elijah’s spirit rests on Elisha!” Then they went to meet him and bowed in front of him with their faces touching the ground. They said to him, “There are 50 strong men here with us. Please let them go and search for your master. Maybe the Lord’s Spirit lifted him up and dropped him on one of the hills or in one of the valleys.”
Elisha answered, “Don’t send them ⌞to look⌟.” But the disciples kept urging him ⌞to send the men⌟ until he was embarrassed. So he said, “Send them.” They sent 50 men who searched for three days without finding him. They returned to Elisha in Jericho, where he was waiting. He said, “Didn’t I tell you not to go?”
Elisha Purifies Jericho’s Water
2:19 The people of the city ⌞of Jericho⌟ told Elisha, “This city’s location is as good as you will ever find. But the water is bad, and the land cannot grow crops.”
Elisha said, “Bring me a new jar, and put salt in it.” They brought it to him. He went to the spring and threw the salt into it. Then he said, “This is what the Lord says: I have purified this water. No more deaths or crop failures will come from this water.” To this day the water is still pure, as Elisha had said.
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Days of Elijah – Robin Mark [Jesus Church]
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NT Reading: Acts 3:17-4:4 (GW)
3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that like your rulers you didn’t know what you were doing. But in this way God made the sufferings of his Messiah come true. God had predicted these sufferings through all the prophets. So change the way you think and act, and turn ⌞to God⌟ to have your sins removed. Then times will come when the Lord will refresh you. He will send you Jesus, whom he has appointed to be the Christ. Heaven must receive Jesus until the time when everything will be restored as God promised through his holy prophets long ago.
“Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me. Listen to everything he tells you. Those who won’t listen to that prophet will be excluded from the people.’ Samuel and all the prophets who followed him spoke about these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’ God has brought his servant back to life and has sent him to you first. God did this to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”
Peter and John’s Trial in Front of the Jewish Council
4:1 Some priests, the officer in charge of the temple guards, and some Sadducees approached Peter and John while they were speaking to the people. These religious authorities were greatly annoyed. Peter and John were teaching the people and spreading the message that the dead will come back to life through Jesus. So the temple guards arrested them. Since it was already evening, they put Peter and John in jail until the next day.
But many of those who had heard the message became believers, so the number of men who believed grew to about 5,000.
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I Am Not Ashamed Of The Gospel – Heritage Singers [KJV 1611 Gospel Music]
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+ O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that your Son’s life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. 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.
+ Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of the Israeli Defense Forces. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ 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, politically, diplomatically, and especially those who will restore Israel spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Put on all the armor that God supplies. In this way you can take a stand against the devil’s strategies. This is not a wrestling match against a human opponent. We are wrestling with rulers, authorities, the powers who govern this world of darkness, and spiritual forces that control evil in the heavenly world. For this reason, take up all the armor that God supplies. Then you will be able to take a stand during these evil days. Once you have overcome all obstacles, you will be able to stand your ground.
“Which of the two sons did what the father wanted?”
I threw it all away in order to gain Christ and to have a relationship with him. This means that I didn’t receive God’s approval by obeying his laws. The opposite is true! I have God’s approval through faith in Christ. This is the approval that comes from God and is based on faith that knows Christ. Faith knows the power that his coming back to life gives and what it means to share his suffering. In this way I’m becoming like him in his death, with the confidence that I’ll come back to life from the dead.
The Peanut Gallery 