Tag: Jesus Christ

After Pentecost| Friday – 19 Aug 2022: Psalm 71:1-6; Jeremiah 6:20-30; Acts 17:1-9 ~ Jesus: The Messiah of prophecy.

After Pentecost| Friday – 19 Aug 2022

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

Opening:

Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and because without you
the frailty of our nature causes us to fall,
keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

[Paul] explained the prophecies and proved
that the Messiah
must suffer and rise from the dead.
He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about
is the Messiah.”
(Acts 17:3)

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Psalms Reading: Psalm 71:1-3 – Rescue Story by Zach Williams
Stone Meadow

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OT Reading: Jeremiah 6:20-30 (NLT)

6:20 There’s no use offering me sweet frankincense from Sheba.
Keep your fragrant calamus imported from distant lands!
I will not accept your burnt offerings.
Your sacrifices have no pleasing aroma for me.”

Therefore, this is what the Lord says:
“I will put obstacles in my people’s path.
Fathers and sons will both fall over them.
Neighbors and friends will die together.”

An Invasion from the North

6:22 This is what the Lord says:
“Look! A great army coming from the north!
A great nation is rising against you from far-off lands.
They are armed with bows and spears.
They are cruel and show no mercy.
They sound like a roaring sea
as they ride forward on horses.
They are coming in battle formation,
planning to destroy you, beautiful Jerusalem.”

We have heard reports about the enemy,
and we wring our hands in fright.
Pangs of anguish have gripped us,
like those of a woman in labor.
Don’t go out to the fields!
Don’t travel on the roads!
The enemy’s sword is everywhere
and terrorizes us at every turn!
Oh, my people, dress yourselves in burlap
and sit among the ashes.
Mourn and weep bitterly, as for the loss of an only son.
For suddenly the destroying armies will be upon you!

“Jeremiah, I have made you a tester of metals,
that you may determine the quality of my people.
They are the worst kind of rebel,
full of slander.
They are as hard as bronze and iron,
and they lead others into corruption.
The bellows fiercely fan the flames
to burn out the corruption.
But it does not purify them,
for the wickedness remains.
I will label them ‘Rejected Silver,’
for I, the Lord, am discarding them.”

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Is He Worthy? – Andrew Peterson
Angie Jermyn

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NT Reading: Acts 17:1-9 (NLT)

Paul Preaches in Thessalonica

17:1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people. He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.” Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd. Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too. And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

The people of the city, as well as the city council, were thrown into turmoil by these reports. So the officials forced Jason and the other believers to post bond, and then they released them.

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Jesus Messiah – The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ Almighty God, you gave your servants boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

William Temple

+ Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thomas à Kempis

+ 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

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

When my body is weary
grant me peace
When my soul is weary
grant me faith
When my spirit is weary
grant me joy

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

After Pentecost| Thursday – 18 Aug 2022: Psalm 71:1-6; Jeremiah 6:1-19; Hebrews 12:3-17 ~ Jesus: Endured hostility unto death.

After Pentecost| Thursday – 18 Aug 2022

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

Opening:

Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and because without you
the frailty of our nature causes us to fall,
keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Think of all the hostility
[Jesus]endured from sinful people;
then you won’t become weary and give up.
After all, you have not yet given your lives
in your struggle against sin.
(Hebrews 12:3-4)

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Psalms Reading: Psalm 71 – Praise You More  – David Loftis Music

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OT Reading: Jeremiah 6:1-19 (NLT)

Jerusalem’s Last Warning

6:1 “Run for your lives, you people of Benjamin!
Get out of Jerusalem!
Sound the alarm in Tekoa!
Send up a signal at Beth-hakkerem!
A powerful army is coming from the north,
coming with disaster and destruction.
O Jerusalem, you are my beautiful and delicate daughter—
but I will destroy you!
Enemies will surround you, like shepherds camped around the city.
Each chooses a place for his troops to devour.
They shout, ‘Prepare for battle!
Attack at noon!’
‘No, it’s too late; the day is fading,
and the evening shadows are falling.’
‘Well then, let’s attack at night
and destroy her palaces!’”

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Cut down the trees for battering rams.
Build siege ramps against the walls of Jerusalem.
This is the city to be punished,
for she is wicked through and through.
She spouts evil like a fountain.
Her streets echo with the sounds of violence and destruction.
I always see her sickness and sores.
Listen to this warning, Jerusalem,
or I will turn from you in disgust.
Listen, or I will turn you into a heap of ruins,
a land where no one lives.”

This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies says:
“Even the few who remain in Israel
will be picked over again,
as when a harvester checks each vine a second time
to pick the grapes that were missed.”

Judah’s Constant Rebellion

6:10 To whom can I give warning?
Who will listen when I speak?
Their ears are closed,
and they cannot hear.
They scorn the word of the Lord.
They don’t want to listen at all.
So now I am filled with the Lord’s fury.
Yes, I am tired of holding it in!

“I will pour out my fury on children playing in the streets
and on gatherings of young men,
on husbands and wives
and on those who are old and gray.
Their homes will be turned over to their enemies,
as will their fields and their wives.
For I will raise my powerful fist
against the people of this land,”
says the Lord.
“From the least to the greatest,
their lives are ruled by greed.
From prophets to priests,
they are all frauds.
They offer superficial treatments
for my people’s mortal wound.
They give assurances of peace
when there is no peace.
Are they ashamed of their disgusting actions?
Not at all—they don’t even know how to blush!
Therefore, they will lie among the slaughtered.
They will be brought down when I punish them,”
says the Lord.

Judah Rejects the Lord’s Way

6:16 This is what the Lord says:
“Stop at the crossroads and look around.
Ask for the old, godly way, and walk in it.
Travel its path, and you will find rest for your souls.
But you reply, ‘No, that’s not the road we want!’
I posted watchmen over you who said,
‘Listen for the sound of the alarm.’
But you replied,
‘No! We won’t pay attention!’

“Therefore, listen to this, all you nations.
Take note of my people’s situation.
Listen, all the earth!
I will bring disaster on my people.
It is the fruit of their own schemes,
because they refuse to listen to me.
They have rejected my word.

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I Heard the Voice of Jesus Say ~ Celtic Source
Alexander McConnell

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NT Reading: Hebrews 12:3-17 (NLT)

12:3 Think of all the hostility he endured from sinful people; then you won’t become weary and give up. After all, you have not yet given your lives in your struggle against sin.

And have you forgotten the encouraging words God spoke to you as his children? He said,

“My child, don’t make light of the Lord’s discipline,
and don’t give up when he corrects you.
For the Lord disciplines those he loves,
and he punishes each one he accepts as his child.”

As you endure this divine discipline, remember that God is treating you as his own children. Who ever heard of a child who is never disciplined by its father? If God doesn’t discipline you as he does all of his children, it means that you are illegitimate and are not really his children at all. Since we respected our earthly fathers who disciplined us, shouldn’t we submit even more to the discipline of the Father of our spirits, and live forever?

For our earthly fathers disciplined us for a few years, doing the best they knew how. But God’s discipline is always good for us, so that we might share in his holiness. No discipline is enjoyable while it is happening—it’s painful! But afterward there will be a peaceful harvest of right living for those who are trained in this way.

So take a new grip with your tired hands and strengthen your weak knees. Mark out a straight path for your feet so that those who are weak and lame will not fall but become strong.

A Call to Listen to God

12:14 Work at living in peace with everyone, and work at living a holy life, for those who are not holy will not see the Lord. Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. Make sure that no one is immoral or godless like Esau, who traded his birthright as the firstborn son for a single meal. You know that afterward, when he wanted his father’s blessing, he was rejected. It was too late for repentance, even though he begged with bitter tears.

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Finish Well – The Carr Family

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ Almighty God, you gave your servants boldness to confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and courage to die for this faith: Grant that we may always be ready to give a reason for the hope that is in us, and to suffer gladly for the sake of our Lord Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

William Temple

+ Almighty and eternal God, so draw our hearts to you, so guide our minds, so fill our imaginations, so control our wills, that we may be wholly yours, utterly dedicated to you; and then use us, we pray, as you will, and always to your glory and the welfare of your people; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

Thomas à Kempis

+ 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

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

When my body is weary
grant me peace
When my soul is weary
grant me faith
When my spirit is weary
grant me joy

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

After Pentecost| Wednesday – 17 Aug 2022: Psalm 74; Isaiah 27:1-13; Luke 19:45-48 ~ church: become a house of prayer

After Pentecost| Wednesday – 17 Aug 2022

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

Opening:

Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and because without you
the frailty of our nature causes us to fall,
keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

[Jesus] said to them, “The Scriptures declare,
‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’
but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”
(Luke 19:46)

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Psalms Reading: Psalm 74 – Poor Bishop Hooper – Psalm 74 (EveryPsalm)

lord why do you cast us off
why does your anger burn
lord the very mount you dwelt
lies everlasting in ruin

remember remember the ones you purchased long ago
remember remember zion your stronghold

like axes on the trees
see your house there burning burning
no longer prophets voice
no more signs for seeing

remember remember the ones you purchased long ago
remember remember zion your stronghold

why do you hold your hand
there in the fold it stays
come destroy our enemies
how long o god will we wait

remember remember the ones you purchased long ago
remember remember zion your stronghold
remember remember you crushed the creatures of the deep
remember remember yours is the day night summer spring
remember remember oppressors stand in mocking
remember remember don’t give your dove to wild beasts

arise oh god defend your cause
arise oh god again again again

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OT Reading: Isaiah 27:1-13 (NLT)

27:1 In that day the Lord will take his terrible, swift sword and punish Leviathan, the swiftly moving serpent, the coiling, writhing serpent. He will kill the dragon of the sea.

“In that day,
sing about the fruitful vineyard.
I, the Lord, will watch over it,
watering it carefully.
Day and night I will watch so no one can harm it.
My anger will be gone.
If I find briers and thorns growing,
I will attack them;
I will burn them up—
unless they turn to me for help.
Let them make peace with me;
yes, let them make peace with me.”
The time is coming when Jacob’s descendants will take root.
Israel will bud and blossom
and fill the whole earth with fruit!

Has the Lord struck Israel
as he struck her enemies?
Has he punished her
as he punished them?
No, but he exiled Israel to call her to account.
She was exiled from her land
as though blown away in a storm from the east.
The Lord did this to purge Israel’s wickedness,
to take away all her sin.
As a result, all the pagan altars will be crushed to dust.
No Asherah pole or pagan shrine will be left standing.
The fortified towns will be silent and empty,
the houses abandoned, the streets overgrown with weeds.
Calves will graze there,
chewing on twigs and branches.
The people are like the dead branches of a tree,
broken off and used for kindling beneath the cooking pots.
Israel is a foolish and stupid nation,
for its people have turned away from God.
Therefore, the one who made them
will show them no pity or mercy.

Yet the time will come when the Lord will gather them together like handpicked grain. One by one he will gather them—from the Euphrates River in the east to the Brook of Egypt in the west. In that day the great trumpet will sound. Many who were dying in exile in Assyria and Egypt will return to Jerusalem to worship the Lord on his holy mountain.

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Fruitful vineyard ~ Godfrey Birtill

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NT Reading: Luke 19:45-48 (NLT)

Jesus Clears the Temple

19:45 Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”

After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.

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House of Prayer ~ Eddie James
Melody Royal

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

William Laud

+ Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

+ O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful: Sanctify our local assemblies by your abiding presence. Bless those who minister in holy things. Enlighten the minds of your people more and more with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring erring souls to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ; and those who are walking in the way of life, keep steadfast to the end. Give patience to the sick and afflicted, and renew them in body and soul. Guard those who are strong and prosperous from forgetting you. Increase in us your many gifts of grace, and make us all fruitful in good works. This we ask, O blessed Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

Give us grace, O Lord,
not only to hear your Word with our ears,
but also to receive it into our hearts
and to show it forth in our lives;
for the glory of your great name.

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

After Pentecost| Tuesday – 16 Aug 2022: Psalm 74; Isaiah 5:24-30; Acts 7:44-53 ~ church: listen to the Holy Spirit

After Pentecost| Tuesday – 16 Aug 2022

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

Opening:

Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and because without you
the frailty of our nature causes us to fall,
keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

“You stubborn people!
You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth.
Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit?”
(Acts 7:51)

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Psalms Reading: Psalm 74 – (A Hymn) – New Life Church

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OT Reading: Isaiah 5:24-30 (NLT)

5:24 Therefore, just as fire licks up stubble
and dry grass shrivels in the flame,
so their roots will rot
and their flowers wither.
For they have rejected the law of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies;
they have despised the word of the Holy One of Israel.
That is why the Lord’s anger burns against his people,
and why he has raised his fist to crush them.
The mountains tremble,
and the corpses of his people litter the streets like garbage.
But even then the Lord’s anger is not satisfied.
His fist is still poised to strike!

He will send a signal to distant nations far away
and whistle to those at the ends of the earth.
They will come racing toward Jerusalem.
They will not get tired or stumble.
They will not stop for rest or sleep.
Not a belt will be loose,
not a sandal strap broken.
Their arrows will be sharp
and their bows ready for battle.
Sparks will fly from their horses’ hooves,
and the wheels of their chariots will spin like a whirlwind.
They will roar like lions,
like the strongest of lions.
Growling, they will pounce on their victims and carry them off,
and no one will be there to rescue them.
They will roar over their victims on that day of destruction
like the roaring of the sea.
If someone looks across the land,
only darkness and distress will be seen;
even the light will be darkened by clouds.

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The Isaiah Song – Urshan College

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NT Reading: Acts 7:44-53 (NLT)

7:44 “Our ancestors carried the Tabernacle with them through the wilderness. It was constructed according to the plan God had shown to Moses. Years later, when Joshua led our ancestors in battle against the nations that God drove out of this land, the Tabernacle was taken with them into their new territory. And it stayed there until the time of King David.

“David found favor with God and asked for the privilege of building a permanent Temple for the God of Jacob. But it was Solomon who actually built it. However, the Most High doesn’t live in temples made by human hands. As the prophet says,

‘Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?’
asks the Lord.
‘Could you build me such a resting place?
Didn’t my hands make both heaven and earth?’

“You stubborn people! You are heathen at heart and deaf to the truth. Must you forever resist the Holy Spirit? That’s what your ancestors did, and so do you! Name one prophet your ancestors didn’t persecute! They even killed the ones who predicted the coming of the Righteous One—the Messiah whom you betrayed and murdered. You deliberately disobeyed God’s law, even though you received it from the hands of angels.”

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Resting place: Brian Doerksen

Heaven is my throne
And earth is my footstool
Where is the house you will build for me?
Whom of you will hear the cry of my heart?
Where will my resting place be?

Here Oh Lord
Have I prepared for You a home
Long have I desired for You to dwell
Here Oh Lord
Have I prepared a resting place
Here Oh Lord I wait for You alone

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

William Laud

+ Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

+ O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful: Sanctify our local assemblies by your abiding presence. Bless those who minister in holy things. Enlighten the minds of your people more and more with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring erring souls to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ; and those who are walking in the way of life, keep steadfast to the end. Give patience to the sick and afflicted, and renew them in body and soul. Guard those who are strong and prosperous from forgetting you. Increase in us your many gifts of grace, and make us all fruitful in good works. This we ask, O  blessed Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

Give us grace, O Lord,
not only to hear your Word with our ears,
but also to receive it into our hearts
and to show it forth in our lives;
for the glory of your great name.

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

After Pentecost| Monday – 15 Aug 2022: Psalm 74; Isaiah 5:8-23; 1 John 4:1-6 ~ church: resist deceptive spirits

After Pentecost| Monday – 15 Aug 2022

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

Opening:

Keep your Church, O Lord,
by your perpetual mercy; and because without you
the frailty of our nature causes us to fall,
keep us from all things hurtful, and lead us
to all things profitable for our salvation;
through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God,
for ever and ever. Amen.

Dear friends, do not believe everyone
who claims to speak by the Spirit.
You must test them
to see if the spirit they have comes from God.
(1 John 4:1)

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Psalms Reading: Psalm 74 – Oh God, Why? Jason Silver

[On our 6400 kilometer drive this summer (2020), we passed more than a few derelict churches. The broken windows, overgrown graveyards, and peeling paint seemed to cry out to passersby: “God is dead.”

Some churches have been awkwardly converted into homes. It’s difficult to disguise the signature architecture of steeples and stain-glass windows. But for the others, grasses grew right up to the steps, birds flew in and out of windows, and in one church a small fox took up residence. Stepping in through doorways I was sometimes startled by a flurry of wings, which broke upon the silent mood of abandonment.]

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OT Reading: Isaiah 5:8-23 (NLT)

Judah’s Guilt and Judgment

5:8 What sorrow for you who buy up house after house and field after field,
until everyone is evicted and you live alone in the land.
But I have heard the Lord of Heaven’s Armies
swear a solemn oath:
“Many houses will stand deserted;
even beautiful mansions will be empty.
Ten acres of vineyard will not produce even six gallons of wine.
Ten baskets of seed will yield only one basket of grain.”

What sorrow for those who get up early in the morning
looking for a drink of alcohol
and spend long evenings drinking wine
to make themselves flaming drunk.
They furnish wine and lovely music at their grand parties—
lyre and harp, tambourine and flute—
but they never think about the Lord
or notice what he is doing.

So my people will go into exile far away
because they do not know me.
Those who are great and honored will starve,
and the common people will die of thirst.
The grave is licking its lips in anticipation,
opening its mouth wide.
The great and the lowly
and all the drunken mob will be swallowed up.
Humanity will be destroyed, and people brought down;
even the arrogant will lower their eyes in humiliation.
But the Lord of Heaven’s Armies will be exalted by his justice.
The holiness of God will be displayed by his righteousness.
In that day lambs will find good pastures,
and fattened sheep and young goats will feed among the ruins.

What sorrow for those who drag their sins behind them
with ropes made of lies,
who drag wickedness behind them like a cart!
They even mock God and say,
“Hurry up and do something!
We want to see what you can do.
Let the Holy One of Israel carry out his plan,
for we want to know what it is.”

What sorrow for those who say
that evil is good and good is evil,
that dark is light and light is dark,
that bitter is sweet and sweet is bitter.
What sorrow for those who are wise in their own eyes
and think themselves so clever.
What sorrow for those who are heroes at drinking wine
and boast about all the alcohol they can hold.
They take bribes to let the wicked go free,
and they punish the innocent.

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Woe to those who call Evil Good, and Good Evil / Isaiah 5 Song / Rich Moore

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NT Reading: 1 John 4:1-6 (NLT)

Discerning False Prophets

4:1 Dear friends, do not believe everyone who claims to speak by the Spirit. You must test them to see if the spirit they have comes from God. For there are many false prophets in the world. This is how we know if they have the Spirit of God: If a person claiming to be a prophet acknowledges that Jesus Christ came in a real body, that person has the Spirit of God. But if someone claims to be a prophet and does not acknowledge the truth about Jesus, that person is not from God. Such a person has the spirit of the Antichrist, which you heard is coming into the world and indeed is already here.

But you belong to God, my dear children. You have already won a victory over those people, because the Spirit who lives in you is greater than the spirit who lives in the world. Those people belong to this world, so they speak from the world’s viewpoint, and the world listens to them. But we belong to God, and those who know God listen to us. If they do not belong to God, they do not listen to us. That is how we know if someone has the Spirit of truth or the spirit of deception.

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Greater Is He – Sixteen Cities

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

William Laud

+ Gracious Father, we pray for your holy catholic Church. Fill it with all truth, in all truth with all peace. Where it is corrupt, purify it; where it is in error, direct it; where in anything it is amiss, reform it. Where it is right, strengthen it; where it is in want, provide for it; where it is divided, reunite it; for the sake of Jesus Christ your Son our Savior. Amen.

+ O God the Holy Spirit, Sanctifier of the faithful: Sanctify our local assemblies by your abiding presence. Bless those who minister in holy things. Enlighten the minds of your people more and more with the light of the everlasting Gospel. Bring erring souls to the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ; and those who are walking in the way of life, keep steadfast to the end. Give patience to the sick and afflicted, and renew them in body and soul. Guard those who are strong and prosperous from forgetting you. Increase in us your many gifts of grace, and make us all fruitful in good works. This we ask, O  blessed Spirit, whom with the Father and the Son we worship and glorify, one God, world without end. Amen.

Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch

Give us grace, O Lord,
not only to hear your Word with our ears,
but also to receive it into our hearts
and to show it forth in our lives;
for the glory of your great name.

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