After Pentecost | Thursday 26 Sep 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O God,
because without you we are not able to please you,
mercifully grant that your Holy Spirit
may in all things direct and rule our hearts;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit
and continued to speak God’s word boldly.”
(Acts 4:31)
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From Psalms: Psalm 124 // Had It Not Been The Lord // The ZOE Group
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OT Reading: Esther 1:1-21 (GW)
Queen Vashti Disobeys King Xerxes
1:1 In the days of Xerxes the following events took place. This was the same Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces from India to Sudan. At the time when King Xerxes sat on the royal throne in the fortress of Susa, he held a banquet in the third year of his reign. The banquet was for all his officials and advisers, that is, the military officers of the Persians and Medes, the nobles and officials of the provinces who had access to him. He showed them the enormous wealth of his kingdom and the costly splendor of his greatness for many days, 180 to be exact. When those days were over, the king held a banquet lasting seven days. This banquet was held in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace for all people in the fortress of Susa, whatever their rank.
The garden had white and violet linen curtains. These curtains were attached to silver rods and marble pillars by cords made of white and purple fine linen. Gold and silver couches were on a mosaic pavement of purple rock, white marble, pearl-like stone, and black marble. People drank from golden cups. No two cups were alike. The king also provided plenty of royal wine out of his royal generosity. The drinking followed this rule: Drink as you please. (The king had ordered all the waiters in his palace to let everyone do as he pleased.)
Queen Vashti also held a banquet for the women at the royal palace of King Xerxes.
On the seventh day when the king was drunk on wine, he ordered Mehuman, Biztha, Harbona, Bigtha, Abagtha, Zethar, and Carcas, the seven eunuchs who served under King Xerxes, to bring Queen Vashti in front of the king, wearing her royal crown. He wanted to show the people, especially the officials, her beauty, because she was very attractive. But Queen Vashti refused the king’s command that the eunuchs delivered to her. As a result, the king became very angry, and his rage burned inside him.
Now, the king usually asked for advice from all the experts in royal decrees and decisions, from those closest to him—Carshena, Shethar, Admatha, Tarshish, Meres, Marsena, and Memucan. These seven officials of the Persians and Medes had access to the king and held the highest rank in the kingdom. The king asked these wise men who knew the times, “According to the royal decrees, what must we do with Queen Vashti since she did not obey King Xerxes’ command, which the eunuchs delivered?”
Then Memucan spoke up in the presence of the king and the officials, “Queen Vashti has done wrong, not only against the king but also against all the officials and all the people in every province of King Xerxes. The news of what the queen has done will spread to all women, and they will despise their husbands. They will say, ‘King Xerxes ordered Queen Vashti to be brought to him, but she would not come.’ Today the wives of the officials in Persia and Media who have heard what the queen did will talk back to all the king’s officials. There will be contempt and short tempers. If it pleases you, Your Majesty, issue a royal decree. It should be recorded in the decrees of the Persians and Medes, never to be repealed, that Vashti may never again appear in front of King Xerxes. Furthermore, Your Majesty, you should give her royal position to another woman who is more worthy than she. When you issue your decree, your whole kingdom, great as it is, will hear it. Then all the wives will honor their husbands, regardless of their status.”
The king and his officials approved of this, and so the king did as Memucan suggested.
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Show your power (He is the Lord) – Catshill Baptist Church
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NT Reading: Acts 4:13-31 (GW)
4:13 After they found out that Peter and John had no education or special training, they were surprised to see how boldly they spoke. They realized that these men had been with Jesus. When they saw the man who was healed standing with Peter and John, they couldn’t say anything against the two apostles. So they ordered Peter and John to leave the council room and began to discuss the matter among themselves. They said, “What should we do to these men? Clearly, they’ve performed a miracle that everyone in Jerusalem knows about. We can’t deny that. So let’s threaten them. Let’s tell them that they must never speak to anyone about the one named Jesus. Then the news about the miracle that they have performed will not spread any further among the people.”
They called Peter and John and ordered them never to teach about Jesus or even mention his name.
Peter and John answered them, “Decide for yourselves whether God wants people to listen to you rather than to him. We cannot stop talking about what we’ve seen and heard.”
The authorities threatened them even more and then let them go. Since all the people were praising God for what had happened, the authorities couldn’t find any way to punish Peter and John. (The man who was healed by this miracle was over 40 years old.)
The Apostles and Other Believers Pray for God’s Help
4:23 When Peter and John were released, they went to their own people and told them everything the chief priests and leaders had said. When they heard this, they were united and loudly prayed to God, “Master, you made the sky, the land, the sea, and everything in them. You said through the Holy Spirit, who spoke through your servant David (our ancestor),
‘Why do the nations act arrogantly?
Why do their people devise useless plots?
Kings take their stand.
Rulers make plans together
against the Lord and against his Messiah.’
“In this city Herod and Pontius Pilate made plans together with non-Jewish people and the people of Israel. They made their plans against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed. Through your will and power, they did everything that you had already decided should be done.
“Lord, pay attention to their threats now, and allow us to speak your word boldly. Show your power by healing, performing miracles, and doing amazing things through the power and the name of your holy servant Jesus.”
When they had finished praying, their meeting place shook. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak God’s word boldly.
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In Jesus’ Name | Darlene Zschech
+God is fighting for us
God is on our side
He has overcome
Yes, He has overcome
We will not be shaken
We will not be moved
Jesus, You are here
+Carrying our burdens
Covering our shame
He has overcome
Yes, He has overcome
We will not be shaken
We will not be moved
Jesus, You are here
+I will live, I will not die
The resurrection power of Christ
Alive in me and I am free
In Jesus’ name
+I will live, I will not die
I will declare and lift You high
Christ revealed and I am healed
In Jesus’ name
+In the name of Jesus
In the name of Jesus, ooh
Oooh
Everything’s changing
God is fighting for us
Pushing back the darkness
Lighting up the Kingdom
That cannot be shaken
In the name of Jesus
Enemy’s defeated
And we will shout it out
Shout it out
+God is fighting for us
Pushing back the darkness
Lighting up the Kingdom
That cannot be shaken
In the name of Jesus
Enemy’s defeated
And we will shout it out
Shout it out
+And we will shout it out
Shout it out
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+ O God, you desire that all people be saved and come to knowledge of the truth: Prosper all those who live, preach, and teach the Gospel at home and in distant lands [especially in The Holy Land]; protect them in all perils, support them in their loneliness, sustain them in the hour of trial; give them your abundant grace to bear faithful witness; and endue them with burning zeal and love, that they may turn many to righteousness; 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.
+ Almighty God our Savior: 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
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 