After Pentecost | Friday 21 Nov 2025
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
Stir up, O Lord,
the wills of your faithful people,
that bringing forth in abundance the fruit of good works,
they may be abundantly rewarded
when our Savior Jesus Christ comes to restore all things;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!
According to his great mercy,
he has caused us to be born again
to a living hope….”
(1 Peter 1:3-9)
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Hymn of Praise: Luke 1:68-79 “The Canticle of Zechariah” | The Monks of Weston Priory / Ria Bianca Valeroso
1:68 “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for he has visited and redeemed his people
+ and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of his servant David,
+ as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old,
+ that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us;
+ to show the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant,
+ the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us
+ that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies,
might serve him without fear,
+ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.
+ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways,
+ to give knowledge of salvation to his people
in the forgiveness of their sins,
+ because of the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise shall visit us from on high
+ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.”
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OT Reading: Jeremiah 22:1-17 (ESV)
22:1 Thus says the Lord: “Go down to the house of the king of Judah and speak there this word, and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O king of Judah, who sits on the throne of David, you, and your servants, and your people who enter these gates. Thus says the Lord: Do justice and righteousness, and deliver from the hand of the oppressor him who has been robbed. And do no wrong or violence to the resident alien, the fatherless, and the widow, nor shed innocent blood in this place. For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation. For thus says the Lord concerning the house of the king of Judah:
“‘You are like Gilead to me,
like the summit of Lebanon,
yet surely I will make you a desert,
an uninhabited city.
I will prepare destroyers against you,
each with his weapons,
and they shall cut down your choicest cedars
and cast them into the fire.
22:8 “‘And many nations will pass by this city, and every man will say to his neighbor, “Why has the Lord dealt thus with this great city?” And they will answer, “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and worshiped other gods and served them.”’”
22:10 Weep not for him who is dead,
nor grieve for him,
but weep bitterly for him who goes away,
for he shall return no more
to see his native land.
Message to the Sons of Josiah
22:11 For thus says the Lord concerning Shallum the son of Josiah, king of Judah, who reigned instead of Josiah his father, and who went away from this place: “He shall return here no more, but in the place where they have carried him captive, there shall he die, and he shall never see this land again.”
22:13 “Woe to him who builds his house by unrighteousness,
and his upper rooms by injustice,
who makes his neighbor serve him for nothing
and does not give him his wages,
who says, ‘I will build myself a great house
with spacious upper rooms,’
who cuts out windows for it,
paneling it with cedar
and painting it with vermilion.
Do you think you are a king
because you compete in cedar?
+ Did not your father eat and drink
and do justice and righteousness?
+ Then it was well with him.
+ He judged the cause of the poor and needy;
then it was well.
+ Is not this to know me?
declares the Lord.
But you have eyes and heart
only for your dishonest gain,
for shedding innocent blood,
and for practicing oppression and violence.”
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Act Justly, Love Mercy, Walk Humbly | Pat Barrett
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NT Reading: 1 Peter 1:3-9 (ESV)
Born Again to a Living Hope
1:3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God’s power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
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Living Hope | Phil Wickham / music meets heaven
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Gracious and holy Father, please give me intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you, and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. Amen. | Benedict of Nursia
Almighty God, we pray for the peace of Jerusalem: Thank you for your intervention in the deliverance of the hostages from captivity; restore the souls of the living and comfort those who mourn the loss of the dead. Protect your people from the machinations of the evil one; and, as events unfold, grant Israel’s leaders your heavenly wisdom, and the courage to do what’s right in your sight. Unite all your people around the common goal of restoration and peace, that they might return to you – the one true God – 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
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.
“But woe to you Pharisees! For you tithe mint and rue and every herb, and neglect justice and the love of God. These you ought to have done, without neglecting the others. Woe to you Pharisees! For you love the best seat in the synagogues and greetings in the marketplaces. Woe to you! For you are like unmarked graves, and people walk over them without knowing it.”
The Peanut Gallery 