After Epiphany | 4th Sunday – 29 Jan 2023: Mic 6:1-8; Ps 37:1-11; 1 Cor 1:18-31; Matt 5:1-12 ~ “God blesses those….”

After Epiphany | 4th Sunday – 29 Jan 2023

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

Opening:

O God, you know that
we are set in the midst of many grave dangers,
and because of the frailty of our nature
we cannot always stand upright:
Grant that your strength and protection
may support us in all dangers
and carry us through every temptation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

God blesses those
who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.
(Matthew 5:3)

__________

All That We Have | Gary Ault | Catholic Hymn | Choir with Lyrics | Sunday 7pm Choir

__________

OT Reading: Mic 6:1-8 (NLT)

The Lord’s Case against Israel

6:1 Listen to what the Lord is saying:

“Stand up and state your case against me.
Let the mountains and hills be called to witness your complaints.
And now, O mountains,
listen to the Lord’s complaint!
He has a case against his people.
He will bring charges against Israel.

“O my people, what have I done to you?
What have I done to make you tired of me?
Answer me!
For I brought you out of Egypt
and redeemed you from slavery.
I sent Moses, Aaron, and Miriam to help you.
Don’t you remember, my people,
how King Balak of Moab tried to have you cursed
and how Balaam son of Beor blessed you instead?
And remember your journey from Acacia Grove to Gilgal,
when I, the Lord, did everything I could
to teach you about my faithfulness.”

What can we bring to the Lord?
Should we bring him burnt offerings?
Should we bow before God Most High
with offerings of yearling calves?
Should we offer him thousands of rams
and ten thousand rivers of olive oil?
Should we sacrifice our firstborn children
to pay for our sins?

No, O people, the Lord has told you what is good,
and this is what he requires of you:
to do what is right, to love mercy,
and to walk humbly with your God.

__________

From Psalms: Ps 37 – Sons of Korah

Ed Sullivan

__________

NT Reading: 1 Cor 1:18-31 (NLT)

The Wisdom of God

1:18 The message of the cross is foolish to those who are headed for destruction! But we who are being saved know it is the very power of God. As the Scriptures say,

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise
and discard the intelligence of the intelligent.”

So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish. Since God in his wisdom saw to it that the world would never know him through human wisdom, he has used our foolish preaching to save those who believe. It is foolish to the Jews, who ask for signs from heaven. And it is foolish to the Greeks, who seek human wisdom. So when we preach that Christ was crucified, the Jews are offended and the Gentiles say it’s all nonsense.

But to those called by God to salvation, both Jews and Gentiles, Christ is the power of God and the wisdom of God. This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.

Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes or powerful or wealthy when God called you. Instead, God chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose things that are powerless to shame those who are powerful. God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important. As a result, no one can ever boast in the presence of God.

God has united you with Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made him to be wisdom itself. Christ made us right with God; he made us pure and holy, and he freed us from sin. Therefore, as the Scriptures say, “If you want to boast, boast only about the Lord.”

__________

The Perfect Wisdom of Our God – Keith & Kristyn Getty

__________

Gospel Reading: Matt 5:1-12 (NLT)

The Sermon on the Mount

5:1 One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.

The Beatitudes

+ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

+ God blesses those who mourn,
for they will be comforted.

+ God blesses those who are humble,
for they will inherit the whole earth.

+ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice,
for they will be satisfied.

+ God blesses those who are merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

+ God blesses those whose hearts are pure,
for they will see God.

+ God blesses those who work for peace,
for they will be called the children of God.

+ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right,
for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

“God blesses you when people mock you and persecute you and lie about you and say all sorts of evil things against you because you are my followers. Be happy about it! Be very glad! For a great reward awaits you in heaven. And remember, the ancient prophets were persecuted in the same way.

__________

Blest are They – David Haas

__________

Prayer:

A Prayer Based on the Beatitudes

God of the prophets,
God of Christ:
we are reminded today
that your blessings do not necessarily follow the logic of the world.

The world believes that the rich are blessed,
but Jesus reminds us that it is the poor who are blessed,
the poor in spirit
and the materially poor as well.
We pray for a more just world
in which all have enough and none are left behind.

Though we fear death and avoid its inevitable arrival,
Jesus tells us that those who mourn are blessed.
Help us to experience the truth of this mystery;
bring healing and wholeness to those who are sick;
and comfort those of us who have lost loved ones.

While people covet power,
Jesus blesses the meek;
instruct us, O God, in the ways of humility;
help us to stand in solidarity with the oppressed and marginalized;
show us your presence in the faces of those the world forgets.

Give us a hunger and thirst for righteousness;
fill our hearts with love, overflowing with mercy;
make our hearts pure, and give us a vision of your glory.

In a society divided by race, gender, class, ideology, sexual orientation,
and so many other labels we alone have created,
remind us that we are created in your image,
each of us a beautiful reflection of you,
each of us your beloved child.
Help us then to end our conflicts and wars,
help us to be peacemakers and agents of reconciliation.

Gracious God,
you have so richly blessed us with life,
with love and joy,
with hope in the midst of despair.
Help us to be the salt of the earth.
Help us to be the light of the world,
sharing with others that which we have received,
boldly proclaiming the good news of your love,
finding the seeds of your kingdom within us
and letting your way grow in our lives and throughout the world.

Amen

__________

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

Be the Life I live
Be the Love I give

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

Sunday, 01 November: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm 24:1-6; 1 John 3:1-3; Mathew 5:1-12 ~ a reward in heaven

All Saints Sunday

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

Opening Sentence and Prayer:

Today, we remember the great company of saints (men and women of every time and place) who were saved by grace, lived by faith and were received into heaven by the mercy of God. May we, one day, be among them.
_____

All-holy God, You call Your people to holiness. As we remember Your saints, give us their meekness and poverty of spirit, a thirst for righteousness, and purity of heart. May we share with them the richness of Your kingdom and be clothed in the glory You bestow. Grant this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God for ever and ever.
__________

Hymn: “For All the Saints”

__________

A Reading from the Book of Revelation: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 (NLT)
[This was written to reassure Christians suffering during Nero’s persecution. Christians today are protected as they were.]

And I saw another angel coming up from the east, carrying the seal of the living God. And he shouted to those four angels, who had been given power to harm land and sea, “Wait! Don’t harm the land or the sea or the trees until we have placed the seal of God on the foreheads of his servants.”

And I heard how many were marked with the seal of God — 144,000 were sealed from all the tribes of Israel:
_____

After this I saw a vast crowd, too great to count, from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb. They were clothed in white robes and held palm branches in their hands. And they were shouting with a great roar,

“Salvation comes from our God who sits on the throne and from the Lamb!”

And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living beings. And they fell before the throne with their faces to the ground and worshiped God. They sang,

“Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and strength belong to our God forever and ever! Amen.”

Then one of the twenty-four elders asked me, “Who are these who are clothed in white? Where did they come from?”

And I said to him, “Sir, you are the one who knows.”

Then he said to me, “These are the ones who died in the great tribulation. They have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb and made them white.”
__________

A Reading from the Psalms: Psalm 24:1-6 (NLT)

The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. For he laid the earth’s foundation on the seas and built it on the ocean depths.

Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place? Only those whose hands and hearts are pure, who do not worship idols and never tell lies. They will receive the Lord’s blessing and have a right relationship with God their savior. Such people may seek you and worship in your presence, O God of Jacob.
__________

“The earth is the Lord’s” by Rosalind Hershkovitz

__________

A Reading from the Letters: 1 John 3:1-3 (NLT)
[John assures us of God’s love and the hope for the future that comes with it.]

See how very much our Father loves us, for he calls us his children, and that is what we are! But the people who belong to this world don’t recognize that we are God’s children because they don’t know him. Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is. And all who have this eager expectation will keep themselves pure, just as he is pure.
__________

A Reading from the Gospels: Mathew 5:1-12 (NLT)
[The Gospel lists the kinds of people to whom the kingdom of heaven already belongs.]

One day as he saw the crowds gathering, Jesus went up on the mountainside and sat down. His disciples gathered around him, and he began to teach them.

+ “God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for him, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

+ God blesses those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

+ God blesses those who are humble, for they will inherit the whole earth.

blessed are those who are persecuted Jean-Michel Basquiat Manhattan Graffiti, 1981 — blessed are those who are persecuted
Jean-Michel Basquiat
Manhattan Graffiti, 1981

+ God blesses those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied.

+ God blesses those who are merciful, for they will be shown mercy.

+ God blesses those whose hearts are pure, for they will see God.

+ God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God.

+ God blesses those who are persecuted for doing right, for the Kingdom of Heaven is theirs.

Hymn: “Good Father” – Kalley Heiligenthal, Bethel Church

__________

Intercessions:

Good Father God – You created us and love us – hear the cries of our hearts:

+ For all baptized believers in Christ – that we may enter the company of the saints…. Lord, hear us.
+ For Christians in every tribe and nation – that we may live in Your love and work to rid this world of injustice…. Lord, hear us.
+ For Christians suffering persecution today, in Iraq, Syria and throughout the Middle East – that they may have courage…. Lord, hear us.
+ For those whose lives are plagued by doubt and despair – that Your grace may guide and illumine them…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all who are sick – that they may receive Your healing grace and find peace in the blessed hope of eternal life…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all who are lonely – that they may experience Your closeness as friend…. Lord, hear us.
+ For all who have gone before us in faith – that they may stand with the saints, rejoicing before the throne of the Lamb…. Lord, hear us.

God of heaven and earth, You reward those with clean hands and pure hearts: in our unworthiness we bring our prayers to You, through Christ our Lord. Amen.
__________

Hymn: “Holy Are You Lord” – Terry MacAlmon