The Season of Advent | 4th Friday 22 Dec 2023
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Opening:
O Lord Jesus Christ,
you sent your messengers the prophets to preach repentance
and prepare the way for our salvation:
Grant that the ministers and stewards of your mysteries
may likewise make ready your way,
by turning the hearts of the disobedient
toward the wisdom of the just,
that at your second coming to judge the world,
we may be found a people acceptable in your sight;
for with the Father and the Holy Spirit you live and reign,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
God said about his Son,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
(Hebrews 1:8)
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From Psalms: Psalm 89 – Via Christus Choir
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OT Reading: 2 Samuel 6:12-19 (GW)
6:12 King David was told, “The Lord has blessed Obed Edom’s home and everything he owns because of the ark of God.” Then David joyfully went to get the ark of God from Obed Edom’s house and bring it to the City of David. When those who carried the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, David sacrificed a bull and a fattened calf.
Wearing a linen ephod, David danced in the Lord’s presence with all his might. He and the entire nation of Israel brought the ark of the Lord with shouts of joy and the sounding of rams’ horns. When the ark of the Lord came to the City of David, Saul’s daughter Michal looked out of a window and saw King David leaping and dancing in the Lord’s presence, so she despised him.
The men carrying the ark set it in its place inside the tent David had put up for it. David sacrificed burnt offerings and fellowship offerings in the Lord’s presence. When David had finished sacrificing the burnt offerings and the fellowship offerings, he blessed the people in the name of the Lord of Armies. He also distributed to all the people—to the whole crowd of Israelites, both men and women—one loaf of bread, one date cake, and one raisin cake. Then all the people went home.
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Dance Like David Danced | New Creation Worship, Singapore
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NT Reading: Hebrews 1:5-14 (GW)
1:5 God never said to any of his angels,
“You are my Son.
Today I have become your Father.”
And God never said to any of his angels,
“I will be his Father,
and he will be my Son.”
When God was about to send his firstborn Son into the world, he said,
“All of God’s angels must worship him.”
God said about the angels,
“He makes his messengers winds.
He makes his servants flames of fire.”
But God said about his Son,
“Your throne, O God, is forever and ever.
The scepter in your kingdom is a scepter for justice.
You have loved what is right and hated what is wrong.
That is why God, your God,
anointed you, rather than your companions, with the oil of joy.”
God also said,
“Lord, in the beginning you laid the foundation of the earth.
With your own hands you made the heavens.
They will come to an end, but you will live forever.
They will all wear out like clothes.
They will be taken off like a coat.
You will change them like clothes.
But you remain the same, and your life will never end.
But God never said to any of the angels,
“Take the honored position—the one next to me on the heavenly throne
until I put your enemies under your control.”
What are all the angels? They are spirits sent to serve those who are going to receive salvation.
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The King Shall Come – Heart Beats
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+ O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your faithful people in the Middle East, that your Son’s life-giving Gospel may be preached to every tribe and nation. 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.
+ Lord of Heaven’s Armies, we pray for swift and total victory over all evil in the Holy Land. Set free the hostages, and deliver from bondage every person captivated by the evil death cult terrorizing the Middle East. And finally, grant heavenly wisdom to those guiding Israel militarily, politically, diplomatically, and especially those who will restore Israel spiritually, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 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
May the Lord, when he comes,
find us watching and waiting.
+ In the Name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
The Peanut Gallery 