The Season of Advent | 2nd Tuesday 12 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Blessed Lord, who caused all Holy Scriptures
to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn,
and inwardly digest them,
that by patience and the comfort of your holy Word
we may embrace and ever hold fast
the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
They praised God by saying,
“Then God has also led people who are not Jewish
to turn to him so that they can
change the way they think and act
and have eternal life.”
(Acts 11:18b)
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From Psalms: Psalm 27 (You’re My Hope) Warr Acres
On a trouble day
You will keep me safe
Hiding me with sacred arms
Sitting high upon
You my solid rock
You are my hope
Should my enemies
Come surrounding me
I will shout in songs of joy
For if e’er I fall
You will hear my call
You’re my hope
Through the storms
Through the night
MY salvation appears
For the Lord is my light
Tell me whom shall I fear
Lord teach me your ways
Lead me in paths straight
Far from my oppressing foes
Now see your goodness
I am confident
You’re my hope
You are my hope
Through the storms
Through the night
MY salvation appears
For the Lord is my light
Tell me whom
whom shall I fear
And through the storms
Through the night
MY salvation appears
For the Lord is my light
Tell me whom shall I fear
And I will wait on you
Til my life is through
Taking hard mixed highs and lows
And may my soul stay strong
For it won’t be long
You’re my hope
You’re my hope
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OT Reading: Isaiah 4:2-6 (GW)
The Lord’s New Glory for Zion
4:2 When that day comes, the branch of the Lord
will be beautiful and wonderful.
The fruit of the land
will be the pride and joy of Israel’s survivors.
Then whoever is left in Zion and whoever remains in Jerusalem will be called holy, everyone who is recorded among the living in Jerusalem. The Lord will wash away the filth of Zion’s people. He will clean bloodstains from Jerusalem with a spirit of judgment and a spirit of burning. The Lord will create a cloud of smoke during the day and a glowing flame of fire during the night over the whole area of Mount Zion and over the assembly. His glory will cover everything. It will be a shelter from the heat during the day as well as a refuge and hiding place from storms and rain.
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ABBA |אבא | Piano Worship| Hebrew worship| Prayer for the peace in Jerusalem @thebrothers_global
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NT Reading: Acts 11:1-18 (GW)
Peter Reports That Non-Jewish People Can Belong to the Church
11:1 The apostles and the believers throughout Judea heard that people who were not Jewish had accepted God’s word. However, when Peter went to Jerusalem, the believers who insisted on circumcision began to argue with him. They said, “You went to visit men who were uncircumcised, and you even ate with them.”
Then Peter began to explain to them point by point what had happened. He said, “I was praying in the city of Joppa when I fell into a trance. I saw something like a large linen sheet being lowered by its four corners from the sky. The sheet came near me. I looked into the sheet very closely and saw tame animals, wild animals, reptiles, and birds. I also heard a voice telling me, ‘Get up, Peter! Kill these animals, and eat them.’
“But I answered, ‘I can’t do that, Lord! I’ve never put anything impure or unclean into my mouth.’
“A voice spoke from heaven a second time, ‘Don’t say that the things which God has made clean are impure.’ This happened three times. Then everything was pulled back into the sky again.
“At that moment three men arrived at the house where we were staying. They had been sent from Caesarea to find me. The Spirit told me to go with them without any hesitation. Six believers ⌞from Joppa⌟ went with me, and we visited Cornelius’ home.
“He told us that he had seen an angel standing in his home. The angel told him, ‘Send messengers to Joppa, and summon a man whose name is Simon Peter. He will give you a message that will save you and everyone in your home.’
“When I began to speak, the Holy Spirit came to these people. This was the same thing that happened to us in the beginning. I remembered that the Lord had said, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized by the Holy Spirit.’ When they believed, God gave them the same gift that he gave us when we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. So who was I to interfere with God?”
When the others heard this, they had no further objections. They praised God by saying, “Then God has also led people who are not Jewish to turn to him so that they can change the way they think and act and have eternal life.”
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Come to Jesus – Steffany Gretzinger
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+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your Son, Christ Jesus, into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that his 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. Set free 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 and diplomatically, as well as those who will restore Israel spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Almighty God our Savior, you desire that none should perish, and you have taught us through your Son that there is great joy in heaven over every sinner who repents: Grant that our hearts may ache for a lost and broken world. May your Holy Spirit work through our words, deeds, and prayers, that the lost may be found and the dead made alive, and that all your redeemed may rejoice around your throne; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
Closing: FaithandWorship.com | John Birch
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Peter answered them, “All of you must turn to God and change the way you think and act, and each of you must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins will be forgiven. Then you will receive the Holy Spirit as a gift. This promise belongs to you and to your children and to everyone who is far away. It belongs to everyone who worships the Lord our God.”
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you. I will remove your stubborn hearts and give you obedient hearts. I will put my Spirit in you. I will enable you to live by my laws, and you will obey my rules. Then you will live in the land that I gave your ancestors. You will be my people, and I will be your God.
They started to spread the Good News about the Lord Jesus to Greeks. The Lord’s power was with his followers, and a large number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
You imitated us and the Lord. In spite of a lot of suffering, you welcomed God’s word with the kind of joy that the Holy Spirit gives. This way, you became a model for all the believers in the province of Macedonia and Greece. From you the Lord’s word has spread out not only through the province of Macedonia and Greece but also to people everywhere who have heard about your faith in God. We don’t need to say a thing about it. They talk about how you welcomed us when we arrived. They even report how you turned away from false gods to serve the real, living God and to wait for his Son to come from heaven. His Son is Jesus, whom he brought back to life. Jesus is the one who rescues us from ⌞God’s⌟ coming anger.
The Peanut Gallery 