Lent | Monday 28 March 2022: Psalm 53; Leviticus 23:26-41; Revelation 19:1-8 ~ God reigns: be glad and rejoice!

Lent | Monday 28 March 2022

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Gracious Father, whose blessed Son Jesus Christ came down
from heaven to be the true bread which gives life to the world:
Evermore give us this bread, that he may live in us, and we in
him; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one
God, now and for ever. Amen.

“Praise the Lord!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.”
(Revelation 19:6b-7)

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Psalms: Psalm 53The Corner Room

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OT Reading: Leviticus 23:26-41 (NLT)

The Day of Atonement

23:26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Be careful to celebrate the Day of Atonement on the tenth day of that same month—nine days after the Festival of Trumpets. You must observe it as an official day for holy assembly, a day to deny yourselves and present special gifts to the Lord. Do no work during that entire day because it is the Day of Atonement, when offerings of purification are made for you, making you right with the Lord your God. All who do not deny themselves that day will be cut off from God’s people. And I will destroy anyone among you who does any work on that day. You must not do any work at all! This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed from generation to generation wherever you live. This will be a Sabbath day of complete rest for you, and on that day you must deny yourselves. This day of rest will begin at sundown on the ninth day of the month and extend until sundown on the tenth day.”

The Festival of Shelters

23:33 And the Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. Begin celebrating the Festival of Shelters on the fifteenth day of the appointed month—five days after the Day of Atonement. This festival to the Lord will last for seven days. On the first day of the festival you must proclaim an official day for holy assembly, when you do no ordinary work. For seven days you must present special gifts to the Lord. The eighth day is another holy day on which you present your special gifts to the Lord. This will be a solemn occasion, and no ordinary work may be done that day.

(“These are the Lord’s appointed festivals. Celebrate them each year as official days for holy assembly by presenting special gifts to the Lord—burnt offerings, grain offerings, sacrifices, and liquid offerings—each on its proper day. These festivals must be observed in addition to the Lord’s regular Sabbath days, and the offerings are in addition to your personal gifts, the offerings you give to fulfill your vows, and the voluntary offerings you present to the Lord.)

“Remember that this seven-day festival to the Lord—the Festival of Shelters—begins on the fifteenth day of the appointed month, after you have harvested all the produce of the land. The first day and the eighth day of the festival will be days of complete rest. On the first day gather branches from magnificent trees—palm fronds, boughs from leafy trees, and willows that grow by the streams. Then celebrate with joy before the Lord your God for seven days. You must observe this festival to the Lord for seven days every year. This is a permanent law for you, and it must be observed in the appointed month from generation to generation.

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Yom Kippur Song (Day of Atonement–a Memorial to Christ) “Fear not, fear not, for I am Your shield”
Steve McConnell

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NT Reading: Revelation 19:1-8 (NLT)

Songs of Victory in Heaven

19:1 After this, I heard what sounded like a vast crowd in heaven shouting,

“Praise the Lord!
Salvation and glory and power belong to our God.
His judgments are true and just.
He has punished the great prostitute
who corrupted the earth with her immorality.
He has avenged the murder of his servants.”

 And again their voices rang out:

“Praise the Lord!
The smoke from that city ascends forever and ever!”

 Then the twenty-four elders and the four living beings fell down and worshiped God, who was sitting on the throne. They cried out, “Amen! Praise the Lord!”

 And from the throne came a voice that said,

“Praise our God,
all his servants,
all who fear him,
from the least to the greatest.”

 Then I heard again what sounded like the shout of a vast crowd or the roar of mighty ocean waves or the crash of loud thunder:

“Praise the Lord!
For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns.
Let us be glad and rejoice,
and let us give honor to him.
For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb,
and his bride has prepared herself.
She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.”
For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.

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God RulesRick Muchow

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

Eucharistic Prayer (excerpt)

+ All praise and glory is yours, O God our heavenly Father, for in your tender mercy, you gave your only Son Jesus Christ to suffer death upon the Cross for our redemption. He made there, by his one oblation of himself once offered, a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of the whole world; and he instituted, and in his Holy Gospel commanded us to continue, a perpetual memory of his precious death and sacrifice, until his coming again.

Prayer for Mercy

+ 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.

If anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for
ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
(1 John 2:1-2)

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Closing: faith and worship | John Birch

Be the Life I live
Be the Love I give

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent | Saturday 26 March 2022: Psalm 32; Exodus 32:7-14; Luke 15:1-10 ~ What is our responsibility to the lost?

Lent | Saturday 26 March 2022

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon
the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered
affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of
Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“If a man has a hundred sheep and
one of them gets lost, what will he do?
Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness
and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?”
(Luke 15:4)

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Psalms: Psalm 32Poor Bishop Hooper

blessed the man who has been forgiven
blessed the one with sins obsolete
blessed the spirit found with no deceit
blessed

when i kept silent my bones wasted away
night and day all day and night your hand was heavy on me
my strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer
and then and then and then i confessed

and you forgave the guilt of my sin
you forgave the guilt of my sin
you forgave the guilt of my sin

i will instruct you in the way you should go
i will always watch and keep my eye steady on you
be not like the mule controlled by bit or the bridle
but trust but trust but trust in him

therefore let all the godly ones pray
therefore when the mighty waters rise you won’t be dismayed
therefore your hiding place will be safe
therefore

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OT Reading: Exodus 32:7-14 (NLT)

32:7 The Lord told Moses, “Quick! Go down the mountain! Your people whom you brought from the land of Egypt have corrupted themselves. How quickly they have turned away from the way I commanded them to live! They have melted down gold and made a calf, and they have bowed down and sacrificed to it. They are saying, ‘These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Then the Lord said, “I have seen how stubborn and rebellious these people are. Now leave me alone so my fierce anger can blaze against them, and I will destroy them. Then I will make you, Moses, into a great nation.”

But Moses tried to pacify the Lord his God. “O Lord!” he said. “Why are you so angry with your own people whom you brought from the land of Egypt with such great power and such a strong hand? Why let the Egyptians say, ‘Their God rescued them with the evil intention of slaughtering them in the mountains and wiping them from the face of the earth’? Turn away from your fierce anger. Change your mind about this terrible disaster you have threatened against your people! Remember your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. You bound yourself with an oath to them, saying, ‘I will make your descendants as numerous as the stars of heaven. And I will give them all of this land that I have promised to your descendants, and they will possess it forever.’”

So the Lord changed his mind about the terrible disaster he had threatened to bring on his people.

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Comfort, Comfort All My PeopleKoine

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NT Reading: Luke 15:1-10 (NLT)

Parable of the Lost Sheep

15:1 Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to Jesus teach. This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that he was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!

So Jesus told them this story: “If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his shoulders. When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors, saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’ In the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven’t strayed away!

Parable of the Lost Coin

15:8 “Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Won’t she light a lamp and sweep the entire house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she will call in her friends and neighbors and say, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels when even one sinner repents.”

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Rescue the PerishingAltar of Praise Choir
SE Samonte

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Almighty God our Savior, you desire that none should perish, and you have taught us through your Son that there is great joy in heaven over every sinner who repents: 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.

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Closing: faith and worship | John Birch

God’s love surround you, God’s Spirit guide you,
God’s whisper cheer you, God’s peace calm you,
God’s shield protect you, God’s wisdom arm you,
wherever God may lead you.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent | Friday 25 March 2022: Psalm 32; Joshua 4:14-24; 2 Corinthians 5:6-15 ~ What is our responsibility to the Lord?

Lent | Friday 25 March 2022

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon
the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered
affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of
Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

Because we understand
our fearful responsibility to the Lord,
we work hard to persuade others.
(2 Corinthians 5: 11)

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Psalms: Psalm 32ForgivenSons of Korah
Greg Wansink

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OT Reading: Joshua 4:14-24 (NLT)

4:14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

The Lord had said to Joshua, “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the riverbed.” So Joshua gave the command. As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.

The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

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The Fear of the LordFirst Baptist Dallas Choir & Orchestra

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NT Reading: 2 Corinthians 5:6-15 (NLT)

5:6 So we are always confident, even though we know that as long as we live in these bodies we are not at home with the Lord. For we live by believing and not by seeing. Yes, we are fully confident, and we would rather be away from these earthly bodies, for then we will be at home with the Lord. So whether we are here in this body or away from this body, our goal is to please him. For we must all stand before Christ to be judged. We will each receive whatever we deserve for the good or evil we have done in this earthly body.

We Are God’s Ambassadors

5:11 Because we understand our fearful responsibility to the Lord, we work hard to persuade others. God knows we are sincere, and I hope you know this, too. Are we commending ourselves to you again? No, we are giving you a reason to be proud of us, so you can answer those who brag about having a spectacular ministry rather than having a sincere heart. If it seems we are crazy, it is to bring glory to God. And if we are in our right minds, it is for your benefit. Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.
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Nimekupata Yesu ( Since I have you Jesus…I have everything I need) Ambassadors of Christ Choir Rwanda

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ O God, our heavenly Father, you manifested your love by sending your only-begotten Son into the world, that all might live through him: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill his command to preach the Gospel to all people. Send forth laborers into your harvest; defend them in all dangers and temptations; and hasten the time when the fullness of the Gentiles shall be gathered in, and faithful Israel shall be saved; through your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ Almighty God our Savior, you desire that none should perish, and you have taught us through your Son that there is great joy in heaven over every sinner who repents: 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.

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Closing: faith and worship | John Birch

God’s love surround you, God’s Spirit guide you,
God’s whisper cheer you, God’s peace calm you,
God’s shield protect you, God’s wisdom arm you,
wherever God may lead you.

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent | Thursday 24 March 2022: Psalm 32; Joshua 4:1-13; 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5 ~ What will our new bodies be like?

Lent | Thursday 24 March 2022

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon
the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered
affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of
Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

We want to put on our new bodies
so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life.
God himself has prepared us for this,
and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.
(2 Corinthians 5: 4b-5)

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Psalms: Psalm 32The Corner Room

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OT Reading: Joshua 4:1-13 (NLT)

Memorials to the Jordan Crossing

4:1 When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.

 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.

The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.

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For God Is With Us by for KING & COUNTRY
Landon’s Lyric Videos

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NT Reading: 2 Corinthians 4:16-5:5 (NLT)

4:16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

New Bodies

4:5 For we know that when this earthly tent we live in is taken down (that is, when we die and leave this earthly body), we will have a house in heaven, an eternal body made for us by God himself and not by human hands. We grow weary in our present bodies, and we long to put on our heavenly bodies like new clothing. For we will put on heavenly bodies; we will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.

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All Things NewBig Daddy Weave

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Prayer: ACNA | BCP2019

+ O God, the light of the minds that know you, the life of the souls that love you, and the strength of the wills that serve you: Help us so to know you that we may truly love you, and so to love you that we may fully serve you, whom to serve is perfect freedom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ O God, without whose beauty and goodness our souls are unfed, without whose truth our reason withers: Consecrate our lives to your will, giving us such purity of heart, such depth of faith, and such steadfastness of purpose, that in time we may come to think your own thoughts after you; through Jesus Christ our Savior. Amen.

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Closing: ACNA | BCP2019

May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(Romans 15:13)

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Lent | Wednesday 23 March 2022: Psalm 39; Numbers 13:17-27; Luke 13:18-21 ~ What is the Kingdom of God like?

Lent | Wednesday 23 March 2022

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.

Opening:

Heavenly Father, you have made us for yourself, and our hearts
are restless until they rest in you: Look with compassion upon
the heartfelt desires of your servants, and purify our disordered
affections, that we may behold your eternal glory in the face of
Christ Jesus; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

“What is the Kingdom of God like?
How can I illustrate it?
It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden;
it grows and becomes a tree,
and the birds make nests in its branches.”
(Luke 13:18)

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Psalms: Psalm 39 Poor Bishop Hooper

god remind me just how brief
my time on this shallow earth will be

god remind me that every single morning
my days are numbered and they’re not that many

how fleeting this life is

 

how fleeting this life is

my entire life is but a moment to you
at very best a breath in the way you see it see it see it
heaping mounds of wealth are merely shadows on the move
all our busy rushing ends in nothing nothing nothing nothing

so where can my hope go
where can my hope go
my hope is in you
in you alone

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OT Reading: Numbers 13:17-27 (NLT)

13:17 Moses gave the men these instructions as he sent them out to explore the land: “Go north through the Negev into the hill country. See what the land is like, and find out whether the people living there are strong or weak, few or many. See what kind of land they live in. Is it good or bad? Do their towns have walls, or are they unprotected like open camps? Is the soil fertile or poor? Are there many trees? Do your best to bring back samples of the crops you see.” (It happened to be the season for harvesting the first ripe grapes.)

So they went up and explored the land from the wilderness of Zin as far as Rehob, near Lebo-hamath. Going north, they passed through the Negev and arrived at Hebron, where Ahiman, Sheshai, and Talmai—all descendants of Anak—lived. (The ancient town of Hebron was founded seven years before the Egyptian city of Zoan.) When they came to the valley of Eshcol, they cut down a branch with a single cluster of grapes so large that it took two of them to carry it on a pole between them! They also brought back samples of the pomegranates and figs. That place was called the valley of Eshcol (which means “cluster”), because of the cluster of grapes the Israelite men cut there.

The Scouting Report

After exploring the land for forty days, the men returned to Moses, Aaron, and the whole community of Israel at Kadesh in the wilderness of Paran. They reported to the whole community what they had seen and showed them the fruit they had taken from the land. This was their report to Moses: “We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

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Mustard SeedDavid Ashley Trent

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NT Reading: Luke 13:18-21 (NLT)

Parable of the Mustard Seed

13:18 Then Jesus said, “What is the Kingdom of God like? How can I illustrate it? It is like a tiny mustard seed that a man planted in a garden; it grows and becomes a tree, and the birds make nests in its branches.”

Parable of the Yeast

13:20 He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like the yeast a woman used in making bread. Even though she put only a little yeast in three measures of flour, it permeated every part of the dough.”

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The Kingdom of GodTaize 
Johan ter Beek

The kingdom of God is justice and peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit.
Come, Lord, and open in us
the gates of your kingdom.

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Prayer: ACNA / BCP2019

+ O God, you have made of one blood all the peoples of the earth, and sent your blessed Son to preach peace to those who are far off and to those who are near: Grant that people everywhere may seek after you and find you; bring the nations into your fold; pour out your Spirit upon all flesh; and hasten the coming of your kingdom; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

+ O God, by whom the meek are guided in judgment, and light rises up in darkness for the godly: Grant us, in all our doubts and uncertainties, the grace to ask what you would have us do, that the Spirit of wisdom may save us from all false choices; that in your light we may see light, and in your straight path we may not stumble; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Closing: faith and worship | John Birch

God bless the steps you take
and the path you tread.
May they bring you safely
to where God needs you
at the start of this new day

+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.