After Pentecost | Monday 07 Oct 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Keep, O Lord,
your household the Church in continual godliness,
that through your protection
it may be free from all adversities,
and devoutly serve you in good works,
to the glory of your Name;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“Each person has a special gift from God,
and these gifts vary from person to person.”
(1 Corinthians 7:7b)
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From Psalms: Psalm 112 // Poor Bishop Hooper
praise the lord
blessed is the man who fears him
and delights in his commandments
his children will be strong
praise the lord
an entire generation
of the upright will be blessed
wealth and riches are in his home
his righteousness endures forever
in the darkness a light shines
praise the lord
good will come to him
who generously lends
he won’t be overcome
praise the lord
he is not afraid
his heart is firmly placed
trusting in the lord
his righteousness endures forever
he is generous merciful and compassionate
his horn is exalted in honor lifted high
in the darkness a light shines
his righteousness endures forever
in the darkness a light shines
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OT Reading: Deuteronomy 22:13-30 (GW)
Laws about Sex and Marriage
22:13 A man might marry a woman, sleep with her, and decide he doesn’t like her. Then he might make up charges against her and ruin her reputation by saying, “I married this woman. But when I slept with her, I found out she wasn’t a virgin.” The girl’s father and mother must go to the city gate where the leaders of the city are and submit the evidence that their daughter was a virgin. The girl’s father will tell the leaders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he doesn’t like her. Now he has made up charges against her. He says he found out that my daughter wasn’t a virgin. But here’s the evidence!” Then the girl’s parents must spread out the cloth in front of the leaders of the city. The leaders of that city must take the man and punish him. They will fine him 2¼ pounds of silver and give it to the girl’s father. The husband ruined the reputation of an Israelite virgin. She will continue to be his wife, and he can never divorce her as long as he lives.
But if the charge is true, and no evidence that the girl was a virgin can be found, they must take the girl to the entrance of her father’s house. The men of her city must stone her to death because she has committed such a godless act in Israel: She had sex before marriage, while she was still living in her father’s house. You must get rid of this evil.
If a man is caught having sexual intercourse with a married woman, both that man and the woman must die. You must get rid of this evil in Israel.
This is what you must do when a man has sexual intercourse with a virgin who is engaged to another man. If this happens in a city, take them to the gate of the city and stone them to death. The girl must die because she was in a city and didn’t scream for help. The man must die because he had sex with another man’s wife. You must get rid of this evil.
But if a man rapes an engaged girl out in the country, then only the man must die. Don’t do anything to the girl. She has not committed a sin for which she deserves to die. This is like the case of someone who attacks and murders another person. The man found the girl out in the country. She may have screamed for help, but no one was there to rescue her.
This is what you must do when a man rapes a virgin who isn’t engaged. When the crime is discovered, the man who had sexual intercourse with her must give the girl’s father 1¼ pounds of silver, and she will become his wife. Since he raped her, he can never divorce her as long as he lives.
A man must never marry his father’s wife because this would disgrace his father.
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I Will Stand With You // Rick Muchow
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NT Reading: 1 Corinthians 7:1-9 (GW)
Advice about Marriage
7:1 Now, concerning the things that you wrote about: It’s good for men not to get married. But in order to avoid sexual sins, each man should have his own wife, and each woman should have her own husband.
Husbands and wives should satisfy each other’s ⌞sexual⌟ needs. A wife doesn’t have authority over her own body, but her husband does. In the same way, a husband doesn’t have authority over his own body, but his wife does.
Don’t withhold yourselves from each other unless you agree to do so for a set time to devote yourselves to prayer. Then you should get back together so that Satan doesn’t use your lack of self-control to tempt you. What I have just said is not meant as a command but as a suggestion. I would like everyone to be like me. However, each person has a special gift from God, and these gifts vary from person to person.
I say to those who are not married, especially to widows: It is good for you to stay single like me. However, if you cannot control your desires, you should get married. It is better for you to marry than to burn ⌞with sexual desire⌟.
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Goodness of God / CeCe Winans
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Almighty God, our heavenly Father, you set the solitary in families: We commend to your continual care the homes in which your people dwell. Put far from them every root of bitterness, the desire of vainglory, and the pride of life. Fill them with faith, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience, and true godliness. Knit together in constant affection those who, in holy matrimony, have been made one flesh; turn the hearts of parents to their children, and the hearts of children to their parents; and so enkindle fervent charity among us all, that we may evermore be joined to one another with bonds of loving-kindness; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
O God, you have so consecrated the covenant of marriage that in it is represented the spiritual unity between Christ and his Church: Send your blessing upon your married servants that they may so love, honor, and cherish each other in faithfulness and patience, in wisdom and true godliness, that their homes may be havens of blessing and peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
Sovereign Lord: We pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
+ Do what only you can do to make your faithful people the blessing promised to every family on earth.
+ Protect them from the assaults of the evil one, coming from every direction and in every form.
+ Grant your heavenly wisdom to Israel’s leadership; give them the courage to do what’s right in your sight.
+ Comfort all those who mourn the loss of loved ones; deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls.
+ Destroy every stronghold and every expression of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East.
+ Protect the Israel Defense Forces and every soldier engaged in their mission to root out this evil.
+ Strengthen the Messianic communities; use them to restore your faithful people to their proper place in your kingdom.
+ Unify your faithful people around your promise to Abraham – to bless every family on earth through them.
+ Intervene in the Middle East in ways that only you can; protect the innocent and punish the guilty, that all may live in peace.
+ We ask in Jesus’ name.
Heavenly Father, you have promised to hear what we ask in the Name of your Son: Accept and fulfill our petitions, we pray, not as we ask in our ignorance, nor as we deserve in our sinfulness, but as you know and love us in your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 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.
The Peanut Gallery 