After Pentecost | Wednesday 02 Sep 2026
+ In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen
Opening prayer:
O Lord,
we pray that your grace
may always precede and follow after us,
that we may continually be given to good works;
through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever. Amen.
“So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—
except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,
which will never be forgiven.”
(Matthew 12:1)
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Psalms: Psalm 17: Poor Bishop Hooper
you have tested my heart and examined me
in the night you have tried me and found nothing
i’ve determined that my mouth will not sin anymore
hear my plea for it comes from honest lips
check my mind and my thoughts everyone of them
i pray because i know you hear it
i pray because i know you hear it
protect me oh lord as the pupil of your eye
underneath the shadow of your wings is where i hide
my steps are set up on your paths
my feet have never slipped despite
the countless men surrounding my every move
rise up oh lord and bring them down
rise up oh lord and bring them down
but i will see your face in righteousness
when i awake i will be satisfied
with your presence
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OT Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-18 (NLT)
Wisdom from the Lord
17:5 This is what the Lord says:
“Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans,
who rely on human strength
and turn their hearts away from the Lord.
+ They are like stunted shrubs in the desert,
with no hope for the future.
They will live in the barren wilderness,
in an uninhabited salty land.
17:7 “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord
and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.
+ They are like trees planted along a riverbank,
with roots that reach deep into the water.
Such trees are not bothered by the heat
or worried by long months of drought.
Their leaves stay green,
and they never stop producing fruit.
17:9 “The human heart is the most deceitful of all things,
and desperately wicked.
Who really knows how bad it is?
+ But I, the Lord, search all hearts
and examine secret motives.
I give all people their due rewards,
according to what their actions deserve.”
Jeremiah’s Trust in the Lord
17:11 Like a partridge that hatches eggs she has not laid,
so are those who get their wealth by unjust means.
At midlife they will lose their riches;
in the end, they will become poor old fools.
+ But we worship at your throne—
eternal, high, and glorious!
+ O Lord, the hope of Israel,
all who turn away from you will be disgraced.
They will be buried in the dust of the earth,
for they have abandoned the Lord, the fountain of living water.
17:14 O Lord, if you heal me, I will be truly healed;
if you save me, I will be truly saved.
My praises are for you alone!
+ People scoff at me and say,
“What is this ‘message from the Lord’ you talk about?
Why don’t your predictions come true?”
17:16 Lord, I have not abandoned my job
as a shepherd for your people.
I have not urged you to send disaster.
You have heard everything I’ve said.
+ Lord, don’t terrorize me!
You alone are my hope in the day of disaster.
+ Bring shame and dismay on all who persecute me,
but don’t let me experience shame and dismay.
Bring a day of terror on them.
Yes, bring double destruction upon them!
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Hear Me, Lord // Emu Music
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NT Reading: Matthew 12:22-32 (NLT)
Jesus and the Prince of Demons
12:22 Then a demon-possessed man, who was blind and couldn’t speak, was brought to Jesus. He healed the man so that he could both speak and see. The crowd was amazed and asked, “Could it be that Jesus is the Son of David, the Messiah?”
12:24 But when the Pharisees heard about the miracle, they said, “No wonder he can cast out demons. He gets his power from Satan, the prince of demons.”
12:25 Jesus knew their thoughts and replied, “Any kingdom divided by civil war is doomed. A town or family splintered by feuding will fall apart. And if Satan is casting out Satan, he is divided and fighting against himself. His own kingdom will not survive. And if I am empowered by Satan, what about your own exorcists? They cast out demons, too, so they will condemn you for what you have said. But if I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, then the Kingdom of God has arrived among you. For who is powerful enough to enter the house of a strong man and plunder his goods? Only someone even stronger—someone who could tie him up and then plunder his house.
12:30 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me.
12:31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come.
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Holy Spirit – Francesca Battistelli / James 2:17 Ministries
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O Holy Spirit, beloved of my soul, I adore you. Enlighten me, guide me, strengthen me, console me. Tell me what I should do; give me your orders. I promise to submit myself to all that you desire of me and to accept all that you permit to happen to me. Let me only know your will. Amen. | Joseph Mercier
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.
O God, our heavenly Father: Pour out your Spirit on your Church, that we may fulfill Christ’s 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.
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 