+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
Teach me again, Lord, to number my days.
Call out in me again a willingness to love and serve.
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Reading: Psalm 25:5-6 (NLT)
Lead me by your truth and teach me, for you are the God who saves me. All day long I put my hope in you. Remember, O Lord, your compassion and unfailing love, which you have shown from long ages past.
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Reading: Proverbs 3:3-6 (NLT)
Never let loyalty and kindness leave you! Tie them around your neck as a reminder. Write them deep within your heart. Then you will find favor with both God and people, and you will earn a good reputation.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do, and he will show you which path to take.
__________ Reading: Luke 10:1-3 (NLT)
The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. These were his instructions to them: “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves.”
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Prayer for Strength in Weakness:
Christ is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, and the first to be born from the dead. All things are to be reconciled through him because he made peace by his death on the cross.
Lord Jesus, come to us today.
+ We have been baptized into your death: clothe us in the strength and gentleness of your love.
+ We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit; help us to bear witness to you in the society in which we live.
+ We have been sent out as lambs among wolves; grant us wisdom and sound judgement as we speak the truth in love.
+ We have been granted citizenship in Your Kingdom; make us loyal ambassadors of kindness, freedom and hope.
Lord Jesus, come to us today. Work within us to keep us faithful to Your commandments, comfort us in this present life and encourage us with the promise of eternal joy in the next. To the honor and glory of Your name. Amen.
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“My Only Hope is You” – The Acappella Company
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Blessing
May I embody You ready kindness in these days, for things will not be as they were before.
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
Opening Sentence
Entrust your cares to the Lord and he will support you.
Morning Reading: Galatians 2:19-20 (NLT)
I died to the law—I stopped trying to meet all its requirements—so that I might live for God. My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Morning Prayer
Christ is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, and the first to be born from the dead. All things are to be reconciled through him because he made peace by his death on the cross. Lord Jesus Christ, come to us today.
+ We have been baptized into your death: may we be cleansed of greed and envy, and clothed in the strength and gentleness of your love.
+ We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; confirm us in your service, and help us to bear witness to you in the society in which we live.
+ We have been raised to new life in you: may we readily tell others of the changes you have made in us.
+ You continue to work in your faithful people: use us to create a new world where injustice and destruction will give way to growth, freedom and hope.
Lord Jesus Christ, come to us today. Give us the courage to face the challenges of this day trusting in your love and certain of eternal life with you – who lives and reigns with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
“Trust In You” – Hillsong
Blessing
For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38-39)
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen!
+ In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening sentence and prayer:
Through the loving mercy of our God, the Rising Sun has come to visit us.
_____
Christ is the image of the unseen God, the first-born of all creation, and the first to be born from the dead. All things are to be reconciled through him because he made peace by his death on the cross.
+ We have been baptized into your death: may we be cleansed of greed and envy, and clothed in the strength and gentleness of your love.
+ We have been sealed with the Holy Spirit who has been given to us; confirm us in your service, and help us to bear witness to you in the society in which we live.
+ You continue to work in your faithful people: create through them a new world where injustice and destruction will give way to growth, freedom and hope.
Lord Jesus, come to us today.
A Reading from the Letters: Hebrews 13:1-8 (NLT)
Keep on loving each other as brothers and sisters. Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it! Remember those in prison, as if you were there yourself. Remember also those being mistreated, as if you felt their pain in your own bodies.
Give honor to marriage, and remain faithful to one another in marriage. God will surely judge people who are immoral and those who commit adultery.
Don’t love money; be satisfied with what you have. For God has said, “I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”
So we can say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper, so I will have no fear. What can mere people do to me?”
Remember your leaders who taught you the word of God. Think of all the good that has come from their lives, and follow the example of their faith.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.
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Blessed are they who have kept the word with a generous heart, and yield a harvest through perseverance. (Luke 8:15)
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A Reading from the Gospels: Mark 6:14-29 (NLT)
Herod Antipas, the king, soon heard about Jesus, because everyone was talking about him. Some were saying, “This must be John the Baptist raised from the dead. That is why he can do such miracles.” Others said, “He’s the prophet Elijah.” Still others said, “He’s a prophet like the other great prophets of the past.”
Salome with the head of St. John the Baptist Andrea Solario, 1507 Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City
When Herod heard about Jesus, he said, “John, the man I beheaded has come back from the dead.”
For Herod had sent soldiers to arrest and imprison John as a favor to Herodias. She had been his brother Philip’s wife, but Herod had married her. John had been telling Herod, “It is against God’s law for you to marry your brother’s wife.” So Herodias bore a grudge against John and wanted to kill him. But without Herod’s approval she was powerless, for Herod respected John; and knowing that he was a good and holy man, he protected him. Herod was greatly disturbed whenever he talked with John, but even so, he liked to listen to him.
Herodias’s chance finally came on Herod’s birthday. He gave a party for his high government officials, army officers, and the leading citizens of Galilee. Then his daughter, also named Herodias, came in and performed a dance that greatly pleased Herod and his guests. “Ask me for anything you like,” the king said to the girl, “and I will give it to you.” He even vowed, “I will give you whatever you ask, up to half my kingdom!”
She went out and asked her mother, “What should I ask for?”
Her mother told her, “Ask for the head of John the Baptist!”
So the girl hurried back to the king and told him, “I want the head of John the Baptist, right now, on a tray!”
Then the king deeply regretted what he had said; but because of the vows he had made in front of his guests, he couldn’t refuse her. So he immediately sent an executioner to the prison to cut off John’s head and bring it to him. The soldier beheaded John in the prison, brought his head on a tray, and gave it to the girl, who took it to her mother. When John’s disciples heard what had happened, they came to get his body and buried it in a tomb.
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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
The Peanut Gallery 