Epiphany Season | Wednesday 31 Jan 2024
+ 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.
“Go home to your family,
and tell them how much the Lord
has done for you and how merciful
he has been to you.”
(Mark 5:19)
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From Psalms: Psalm 35:1-10 GW
35:1 O Lord, attack those who attack me.
Fight against those who fight against me.
Use your shields, ⌞both⌟ small and large.
Arise to help me.
Hold your spear to block the way of those who pursue me.
Say to my soul, “I am your savior.”
Let those who seek my life be put to shame and disgraced.
Let those who plan my downfall be turned back in confusion.
Let them be like husks blown by the wind
as the Messenger of the Lord chases them.
Let their path be dark and slippery
as the Messenger of the Lord pursues them.
For no reason they hid their net in a pit.
For no reason they dug the pit ⌞to trap me⌟.
Let destruction surprise them.
Let the net that they hid catch them.
Let them fall into their own pit and be destroyed.
My soul will find joy in the Lord
and be joyful about his salvation.
All my bones will say, “O Lord, who can compare with you?
You rescue the weak person from the one who is too strong for him
and weak and needy people from the one who robs them.”
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Mi Sheberach | מי שברך | Yeshivah of Flatbush Elementary School Choir
He who blessed our holy ancestors
He will bless the soldiers of Israel
God will protect and save you—our soldiers
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OT Reading: Jeremiah 29:1-14 (GW)
Jeremiah Writes to the Captives in Babylon
29:1 The prophet Jeremiah sent a letter from Jerusalem to the rest of the leaders among the captives. He also sent it to the priests, the prophets, and all the people that Nebuchadnezzar took away as captives from Jerusalem to Babylon. (This was after King Jehoiakin and his mother, the court officials, the leaders of Judah and Jerusalem, the craftsmen, and metal workers left Jerusalem.) He sent the letter with Shaphan’s son Elasah and Hilkiah’s son Gemariah, whom King Zedekiah of Judah had sent to King Nebuchadnezzar in Babylon. The letter said:
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says to all those who were taken captive from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses, and live in them. Plant gardens, and eat what they produce. Get married, and have sons and daughters. Find wives for your sons, and let your daughters get married so that they can have sons and daughters. Grow in number there; don’t decrease. Work for the good of the city where I’ve taken you as captives, and pray to the Lord for that city. When it prospers, you will also prosper.
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Don’t let the prophets or the mediums who are among you trick you. Don’t even listen to your own dreams. These people are prophesying lies to you in my name. I didn’t send them, declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: When Babylon’s 70 years are over, I will come to you. I will keep my promise to you and bring you back to this place. I know the plans that I have for you, declares the Lord. They are plans for peace and not disaster, plans to give you a future filled with hope. Then you will call to me. You will come and pray to me, and I will hear you. When you look for me, you will find me. When you wholeheartedly seek me, I will let you find me, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from captivity. I will gather you from all the nations and places where I’ve scattered you, declares the Lord. I will bring you back from the place where you are being held captive.
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ZION [Official Lyric Video] – Aaron Shust
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NT Reading: Mark 5:1-20 (GW)
Jesus Cures a Demon-Possessed Man
5:1 They arrived in the territory of the Gerasenes on the other side of the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus stepped out of the boat, a man came out of the tombs and met him. The man was controlled by an evil spirit and lived among the tombs. No one could restrain him any longer, not even with a chain. He had often been chained hand and foot. However, he snapped the chains off his hands and broke the chains from his feet. No one could control him. Night and day he was among the tombs and on the mountainsides screaming and cutting himself with stones.
The man saw Jesus at a distance. So he ran ⌞to Jesus⌟, bowed down in front of him, and shouted, “Why are you bothering me now, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? Swear to God that you won’t torture me.” He shouted this because Jesus said, “You evil spirit, come out of the man.”
Jesus asked him, “What is your name?”
He told Jesus, “My name is Legion [Six Thousand], because there are many of us.” He begged Jesus not to send them out of the territory.
A large herd of pigs was feeding on a mountainside nearby. The demons begged him, “Send us into the pigs! Let us enter them!”
Jesus let them do this. The evil spirits came out of the man and went into the pigs. The herd of about two thousand pigs rushed down the cliff into the sea and drowned.
Those who took care of the pigs ran away. In the city and countryside they reported everything that had happened. So the people came to see what had happened. They came to Jesus and saw the man who had been possessed by the legion of demons. The man was sitting there dressed and in his right mind. The people were frightened. Those who saw this told what had happened to the demon-possessed man and the pigs. Then the people began to beg Jesus to leave their territory.
As Jesus stepped into the boat, the man who had been demon-possessed begged him, “Let me stay with you.” But Jesus would not allow it. Instead, he told the man, “Go home to your family, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how merciful he has been to you.”
So the man left. He began to tell how much Jesus had done for him in the Ten Cities. Everyone was amazed.
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The State of Faith: Israel | Woman’s Testimony from Jew to Jesus | TBN Israel
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+ O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that your Son’s life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Bring home the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically, and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually, 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
May Christ, who sends us to the nations,
give us the power of his Spirit.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
An unmarried woman or a virgin is concerned about the Lord’s things so that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But the married woman is concerned about earthly things, ⌞that is,⌟ about how she can please her husband. I’m saying this for your benefit, not to restrict you. I’m showing you how to live a noble life of devotion to the Lord without being distracted by other things.
But God said to Balaam, “Don’t go with them! Don’t curse these people, because they are blessed.”
They shouted, “Why are you bothering us now, Son of God? Did you come here to torture us before it is time?”
I know where you live. Satan’s throne is there. You hold on to my name and have not denied your belief in me, even in the days of Antipas. He was my faithful witness who was killed in your presence, where Satan lives. But I have a few things against you: You have among you those who follow what Balaam taught Balak. Balak trapped the people of Israel by ⌞encouraging⌟ them to eat food sacrificed to idols and to sin sexually. You also have some who follow what the Nicolaitans teach. So return to me and change the way you think and act, or I will come to you quickly and wage war against them with the sword from my mouth. Let the person who has ears listen to what the Spirit says to the churches. I will give some of the hidden manna to everyone who wins the victory. I will also give each person a white stone with a new name written on it, a name that is known only to the person who receives it.
The Peanut Gallery 