After Pentecost | Wednesday 13 Nov 2024
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O God, whose blessed Son came into the world
that he might destroy the works of the devil
and make us children of God and heirs of eternal life:
Grant that, having this hope,
we may purify ourselves as he is pure; that,
when he comes again with power and great glory,
we may be made like him
in his eternal and glorious kingdom;
where he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Then Jesus added,
“I can guarantee this truth:
A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown.”
(Luke 4:24)
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From Psalms: Psalm 113 | Poor Bishop Hooper
oh servants of the lord give praise
praise the lord yes praise his name
blessed be the name of the Lord
from this time forevermore
oh from the sunrise to its set
everywhere from east to west
the lords above the nations
his glory higher than heaven
who is like like the lord?
who is seated high there enthroned
who looks down down on both
the heavens and the earth
he raises the poor from the dust
sees the needy and he lifts them up
he brings the barren woman home
makes her joyous with her children
who is like like the lord?
who is seated high there enthroned
who looks down down on both
the heavens and the earth
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OT Reading: Genesis 24:28-42 (GW)
24:28 The girl ran and told her mother’s household about these things. Rebekah had a brother whose name was Laban. He saw the nose ring and the bracelets on his sister’s wrists and heard her tell what the man had said to her. Immediately, Laban ran out to the man by the spring. He came to the man, who was standing with the camels by the spring. He said, “Come in, you whom the Lord has blessed. Why are you standing out here? I have straightened up the house and made a place for the camels.”
So the man went into the house. The camels were unloaded and given straw and feed. Then water was brought for him and his men to wash their feet. When the food was put in front of him, he said, “I won’t eat until I’ve said what I have to say.”
“Speak up,” Laban said.
“I am Abraham’s servant,” he said. “The Lord has blessed my master, and he has become wealthy. The Lord has given him sheep and cattle, silver and gold, male and female slaves, camels and donkeys. My master’s wife Sarah gave him a son in her old age, and my master has given that son everything he has. My master made me swear this oath: ‘Don’t get a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, in whose land I’m living. Instead, go to my father’s home and to my relatives, and get my son a wife.’
“I asked my master, ‘What if the woman won’t come back with me?’
“He answered me, ‘I have been living the way the Lord wants me to. The Lord will send his angel with you to make your trip successful. You will get my son a wife from my relatives and from my father’s family. Then you will be free from your oath to me. You will also be free of your oath to me if my relatives are not willing to do this when you go to them.’
“When I came to the spring today, I prayed, ‘Lord God of my master Abraham, please make my trip successful.
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The God of Abraham Praise // Chet Valley Churches
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NT Reading: Luke 4:16-30 (GW)
4:16 Then Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up. As usual he went into the synagogue on the day of rest—a holy day. He stood up to read the lesson. The attendant gave him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened it and found the place where it read:
“The Spirit of the Lord is with me.
He has anointed me
to tell the Good News to the poor.
He has sent me
to announce forgiveness to the prisoners of sin
and the restoring of sight to the blind,
to forgive those who have been shattered by sin,
to announce the year of the Lord’s favor.”
Jesus closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Everyone in the synagogue watched him closely. Then he said to them, “This passage came true today when you heard me read it.”
All the people spoke well of him. They were amazed to hear the gracious words flowing from his lips. They said, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
So he said to them, “You’ll probably quote this proverb to me, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ and then say to me, ‘Do all the things in your hometown that we’ve heard you’ve done in Capernaum.’ ” Then Jesus added, “I can guarantee this truth: A prophet isn’t accepted in his hometown.
“I can guarantee this truth: There were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time. It had not rained for three-and-a-half years, and the famine was severe everywhere in the country. But God didn’t send Elijah to anyone except a widow at Zarephath in the territory of Sidon. There were also many people with skin diseases in Israel in the prophet Elisha’s time. But God cured no one except Naaman from Syria.”
Everyone in the synagogue became furious when they heard this. Their city was built on a hill with a cliff. So they got up, forced Jesus out of the city, and led him to the cliff. They intended to throw him off of it. But Jesus walked right by them and went away.
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Worthy | CeCe Winans
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Gracious and holy Father, please give me intellect to understand you, reason to discern you, diligence to seek you, wisdom to find you, a spirit to know you, a heart to meditate upon you, ears to hear you, eyes to see you, a tongue to proclaim you, a way of life pleasing to you, patience to wait for you, and perseverance to look for you. Grant me a perfect end, your holy presence, a blessed resurrection, and life everlasting. Amen.
O God, of your goodness, give me yourself, for you are enough for me. I can ask for nothing less that is completely to your honor, and if I do ask anything less, I shall always be in want. Only in you I have all. 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. Amen.
Hasten, O Father, the coming of your kingdom; and grant that we your servants, who now live by faith, may with joy behold your Son at his coming in glorious majesty; even Jesus Christ, our only Mediator and Advocate. 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.
Don’t include younger widows ⌞on your list⌟. Whenever their natural desires become stronger than their devotion to Christ, they’ll want to marry. They condemn themselves by rejecting the Christian faith, the faith they first accepted. At the same time, they learn to go around from house to house since they have nothing else to do. Not only this, but they also gossip and get involved in other people’s business, saying things they shouldn’t say.
5:1 Never use harsh words when you correct an older man, but talk to him as if he were your father. Talk to younger men as if they were your brothers, older women as if they were your mothers, and younger women as if they were your sisters, while keeping yourself morally pure.
A Widow’s Contribution
The Peanut Gallery 