After Pentecost | Friday 20 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.

“God has placed all people
into the prison of their own disobedience
so that he could be merciful to all people.”
(Romans 11:32)

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From Psalms: Psalm 1 // “Psalm 1 (Everything He Does Shall Prosper)”  [feat. Lance Edward] by The Psalms Project

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OT Reading: Proverbs 30:18-33 (GW)

Four Things of Intrigue

30:18 Three things are too amazing to me,
even four that I cannot understand:
an eagle making its way through the sky,
a snake making its way over a rock,
a ship making its way through high seas,
a man making his way with a virgin.

About the Woman Who Commits Adultery

30:20 This is the way of a woman who commits adultery:
She eats, wipes her mouth,
and says, “I haven’t done anything wrong!”

Four Things That Are Intolerable

30:21 Three things cause the earth to tremble,
even four it cannot bear up under:
a slave when he becomes king,
a godless fool when he is filled with food,
a woman who is unloved when she gets married,
a maid when she replaces her mistress.

Four Things That Are Small—Yet Smart and Strong

30:24 Four things on earth are small,
yet they are very wise:
Ants are not a strong species,
yet they store their food in summer.
Rock badgers are not a mighty species,
yet they make their home in the rocks.
Locusts have no king,
yet all of them divide into swarms by instinct.
A lizard you can hold in your hands,
yet it can even be found in royal palaces.

Four Things That Move with Dignity

30:29 There are three things that walk with dignity,
even four that march with dignity:
a lion, mightiest among animals, which turns away from nothing,
a strutting rooster,
a male goat,
a king at the head of his army.

Keep Calm and Quiet

30:32 If you are such a godless fool as to honor yourself,
or if you scheme,
you had better put your hand over your mouth.
As churning milk produces butter
and punching a nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger  produces a fight.

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Mercy; Rachem Carlos Perdomo // Magein Shalom Messianic Community

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NT Reading: Romans 11:25-32 (GW) 

11:25 Brothers and sisters, I want you to understand this mystery so that you won’t become arrogant. The minds of some Israelites have become closed until all of God’s non-Jewish people are included. In this way Israel as a whole will be saved, as Scripture says,

“The Savior will come from Zion.
He will remove godlessness from Jacob.
My promise  to them will be fulfilled
when I take away their sins.”

The Good News made the Jewish people enemies because of you. But by God’s choice they are loved because of their ancestors. God never changes his mind when he gives gifts or when he calls someone. In the past, you disobeyed God. But now God has been merciful to you because of the disobedience of the Jewish people. In the same way, the Jewish people have also disobeyed so that God may be merciful to them as he was to you. God has placed all people into the prison of their own disobedience so that he could be merciful to all people.

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God of Mercy and Compassion // Team Tenor

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

Prayer for Purity:

+ Almighty God, to you all hearts are open, all desires known, and from you no secrets are hid: Cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspiration of  your Holy Spirit, that we may perfectly love you, and worthily magnify your holy Name; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer of Confession:

+ Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son  Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your Name. Amen.

Declaration of Pardon:

+ Almighty God, our heavenly Father, in your great mercy you have promised forgiveness of sins to all those who sincerely repent and with true faith turn to  you: Have mercy upon us, pardon and deliver us from all our sins, confirm and strengthen us in all goodness, and bring us to everlasting life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:

• • 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.

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

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.