After Pentecost | Wednesday 18 Sep 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord,
you have taught us that without love,
all our deeds are worth nothing:
Send your Holy Spirit and pour into our hearts
that most excellent gift of charity,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you;
grant this for the sake of your Son Jesus Christ,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Jesus said,
“I will still be with you for a little while.
Then I’ll go to the one who sent me.”
(John 7:33)
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From Psalms: Psalm 73 // Psalm 73 // Emu Music
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OT Reading: Proverbs 29:1-27 (GW)
29:1 A person who will not bend after many warnings
will suddenly be broken beyond repair.
When righteous people increase, the people ⌞of God⌟ rejoice,
but when a wicked person rules, everybody groans.
A person who loves wisdom makes his father happy,
but one who pays prostitutes wastes his wealth.
By means of justice, a king builds up a country,
but a person who confiscates religious contributions tears it down.
A person who flatters his neighbor
is spreading a net for him to step into.
To an evil person sin is bait in a trap,
but a righteous person runs away from it and is glad.
A righteous person knows the just cause of the poor.
A wicked person does not understand this.
Mockers create an uproar in a city,
but wise people turn away anger.
When a wise person goes to court with a stubborn fool,
he may rant and rave,
but there is no peace and quiet.
Bloodthirsty people hate an innocent person,
but decent people seek ⌞to protect⌟ his life.
A fool expresses all his emotions,
but a wise person controls them.
If a ruler pays attention to lies,
all his servants become wicked.
A poor person and an oppressor have this in common:
The Lord gives both of them sight.
When a king judges the poor with honesty,
his throne will always be secure.
A spanking and a warning produce wisdom,
but an undisciplined child disgraces his mother.
When wicked people increase, crime increases,
but righteous people will witness their downfall.
Correct your son, and he will give you peace of mind.
He will bring delight to your soul.
Without prophetic vision people run wild,
but blessed are those who follow ⌞God’s⌟ teachings.
A slave cannot be disciplined with words.
He will not respond, though he may understand.
Have you met a person who is quick to answer?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
Pamper a slave from childhood,
and later he will be ungrateful.
An angry person stirs up a fight,
and a hothead does much wrong.
A person’s pride will humiliate him,
but a humble spirit gains honor.
Whoever is a thief’s partner hates his own life.
He will not testify under oath.
A person’s fear sets a trap ⌞for him⌟,
but one who trusts the Lord is safe.
Many seek an audience with a ruler,
but justice for humanity comes from the Lord.
An unjust person is disgusting to righteous people.
A decent person is disgusting to wicked people.
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God of Justice – Tim Hughes // Christ Church New Malden
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NT Reading: John 7:25-36 (GW)
7:25 Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem said, “Isn’t this the man they want to kill? But look at this! He’s speaking in public, and no one is saying anything to him! Can it be that the rulers really know that this man is the Messiah? However, we know where this man comes from. When the Christ comes, no one will know where he is from.”
Then, while Jesus was teaching in the temple courtyard, he said loudly, “You know me, and you know where I come from. I didn’t decide to come on my own. The one who sent me is true. He’s the one you don’t know. I know him because I am from him and he sent me.”
The Jews tried to arrest him but couldn’t because his time had not yet come.
However, many people in the crowd believed in him. They asked, “When the Messiah comes, will he perform more miracles than this man has?”
The Pharisees heard the crowd saying things like this about him. So the chief priests and the Pharisees sent temple guards to arrest Jesus.
Jesus said, “I will still be with you for a little while. Then I’ll go to the one who sent me. You will look for me, but you won’t find me. You can’t go where I’m going.”
The Jews said among themselves, “Where does this man intend to go so that we won’t find him? Does he mean that he’ll live with the Jews who are scattered among the Greeks and that he’ll teach the Greeks? What does he mean when he says, ‘You will look for me, but you won’t find me,’ and ‘You can’t go where I’m going’?”
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Is He Worthy // CeCe Winans (Official Lyric Video)
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Te Deum Laudamus
+ We Praise You, O God
We praise you, O God; we acclaim you as Lord; *
all creation worships you, the Father everlasting.
To you all angels, all the powers of heaven, *
the cherubim and seraphim, sing in endless praise:
Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of power and might, *
heaven and earth are full of your glory.
The glorious company of apostles praise you. *
The noble fellowship of prophets praise you.
The white-robed army of martyrs praise you. *
Throughout the world the holy Church acclaims you:
Father, of majesty unbounded,
your true and only Son, worthy of all praise, *
and the Holy Spirit, advocate and guide.
You, Christ, are the king of glory, *
the eternal Son of the Father.
When you took our flesh to set us free *
you humbly chose the Virgin’s womb.
You overcame the sting of death *
and opened the kingdom of heaven to all believers.
You are seated at God’s right hand in glory. *
We believe that you will come to be our judge.
Come then, Lord, and help your people, *
bought with the price of your own blood,
and bring us with your saints *
to glory everlasting.
+ 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 October 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.
+ 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
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.
Keep your mind on things above, not on worldly things. You have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Christ is your life. When he appears, then you, too, will appear with him in glory.
21:28 “What do you think about this? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘Son, go to work in the vineyard today.’
You fool! Do you have to be shown that faith which does nothing is useless? Didn’t our ancestor Abraham receive God’s approval as a result of what he did when he offered his son Isaac as a sacrifice on the altar? You see that Abraham’s faith and what he did worked together. His faith was shown to be genuine by what he did. The Scripture passage came true. It says, “Abraham believed God, and that faith was regarded as the basis of Abraham’s approval by God.” So Abraham was called God’s friend. You see that a person receives God’s approval because of what he does, not only because of what he believes. The same is true of the prostitute Rahab who welcomed the spies and sent them away on another road. She received God’s approval because of what she did.
The Peanut Gallery 