Easter Season | Thursday 18 Apr 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
Almighty God,
you gave your only Son to be for us
both a sacrifice for sin and an example of godly living:
Give us grace thankfully to receive his inestimable benefits,
and daily to follow the blessed steps of his most holy life;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
“God has brought his servant [Jesus] back to life
and has sent him to you first.
God did this to bless you
by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”
(Acts 3:26)
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From Psalms: Psalm 23– Psalm 23 (Live from the Sing! Conference) – Stuart Townend
The Lord’s my shepherd, I’ll not want;
He makes me lie in pastures green.
He leads me by the still, still waters,
His goodness restores my soul.
And I will trust in You alone,
And I will trust in You alone,
For Your endless mercy follows me,
Your goodness will lead me home.
He guides my ways in righteousness,
And He anoints my head with oil,
And my cup, it overflows with joy,
I feast on His pure delights.
And though I walk the darkest path,
I will not fear the evil one,
For You are with me, and Your rod and staff
Are the comfort I need to know.
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OT Reading: Genesis 30:25-43 (GW)
Jacob’s Flocks Prosper
30:25 After Rachel gave birth to Joseph, Jacob said to Laban, “Let me go home to my own country. Give me my wives and my children for whom I’ve worked, and let me go. You know how much work I’ve done for you.”
Laban replied, “Listen to me. I’ve learned from the signs I’ve seen that the Lord has blessed me because of you.” So he offered, “Name your wages, and I’ll pay them.”
Jacob responded, “You know how much work I’ve done for you and what has happened to your livestock under my care. The little that you had before I came has grown to a large amount. The Lord has blessed you wherever I’ve been. When can I do something for my own family?”
Laban asked, “What should I give you?”
“Don’t give me anything,” Jacob answered. “Instead, do something for me, then I’ll go back to taking care of and watching your flocks again. Let me go through all of your flocks today and take every speckled or spotted sheep, every black lamb, and every spotted or speckled goat. They will be my wages. My honesty will speak for itself whenever you come to check on my wages. Any goat I have that isn’t speckled or spotted or any lamb that isn’t black will be considered stolen.”
Laban answered, “Agreed. We’ll do as you’ve said.” However, that same day Laban took out the striped and spotted male goats, all the speckled and spotted female goats (every one with white on it), and every black lamb. He had his sons take charge of them. He traveled three days away from Jacob. Jacob continued to take care of the rest of Laban’s flocks.
Then Jacob took fresh-cut branches of poplar, almond, and plane trees and peeled the bark on them in strips of white, uncovering the white which was on the branches. He placed the peeled branches in the troughs directly in front of the flocks, at the watering places where the flocks came to drink. When they were in heat and came to drink, they mated in front of the branches. Then they gave birth to young that were striped, speckled, or spotted.
Jacob separated the rams from the flock and made the rest of the sheep face any that were striped or black in Laban’s flocks. So he made separate herds for himself and did not add them to Laban’s flocks. Whenever the stronger of the flocks were in heat, Jacob would lay the branches in the troughs in front of them so that they would mate by the branches. But when the flocks in heat were weak, he didn’t lay down the branches. So the weaker ones belonged to Laban and the stronger ones to Jacob. As a result, Jacob became very wealthy. He had large flocks, male and female slaves, camels, and donkeys.
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HEBREW – God Full of Mercy / El Maleh Rachamim by Sarah Liberman
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NT Reading: Acts 3:17-26 (GW)
3:17 “And now, brothers, I know that like your rulers you didn’t know what you were doing. But in this way God made the sufferings of his Messiah come true. God had predicted these sufferings through all the prophets. So change the way you think and act, and turn ⌞to God⌟ to have your sins removed. Then times will come when the Lord will refresh you. He will send you Jesus, whom he has appointed to be the Christ. Heaven must receive Jesus until the time when everything will be restored as God promised through his holy prophets long ago.
“Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will send you a prophet, an Israelite like me. Listen to everything he tells you. Those who won’t listen to that prophet will be excluded from the people.’ Samuel and all the prophets who followed him spoke about these days. You are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the promise that God made to our ancestors when he said to Abraham, ‘Through your descendant all people on earth will be blessed.’ God has brought his servant back to life and has sent him to you first. God did this to bless you by turning every one of you from your evil ways.”
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The Blessing for the People of Israel | Canada Christian College
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+ Almighty God, you have not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities; grant that we, who for our evil deeds deserve to be punished, by the might of your grace may mercifully be relieved; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
+ Almighty God, our heavenly Father, send down on those who hold public office the spirit of wisdom, charity, and justice; that with steadfast purpose they may faithfully serve in their offices to promote the well-being of all people; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift justice and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Deliver the hostages from captivity and restore their souls. Destroy every stronghold of the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And grant your heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically – and especially to those who will restore Israel spiritually – through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
+ 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
May the risen Christ grant us the joys of eternal life.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 