Wednesday morning July 13

Thursday morning
Tuesday morning

Preparation

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth will proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, creator of all,
to you be glory and praise forever.
You founded the earth in the beginning
and the heavens are the work of your hands.
In the fullness of time you made us in your image,
and in these last days you have spoken to us
in your Son Jesus Christ, the Word made flesh.
As we rejoice in the gift of your presence among us
let the light of your love always shine in our hearts,
your Spirit ever renew our lives
and your praises ever be on our lips.
Blessed be God: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

The night has passed, and the day lies open before us;
let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As we rejoice in the gift of this new day,
so may the light of your presence, O God,
set our hearts on fire with love for you;
now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Angels Your March Oppose

Charles Wesley
           
Angels your march oppose,
Who still in strength excel,
Your secret, sworn, eternal foes,
Countless, invisible.
With rage that never ends
Their hellish arts they try;
Legions of dire malicious fiends,
And spirits enthroned on high.

From thrones of glory driven
By flaming vengeance hurled
They throng the air, and darken heaven,
And rule this lower world.
But shall believers fear?
But shall believers fly?
Or see the bloody cross appear,
And all their power defy?

Jesus’ tremendous name
Puts all our foes to flight:
Jesus, the meek, the angry Lamb,
A Lion is in fight.
By all hell’s host withstood,
We all hell’s host overthrow;
And conquering them, through Jesus’ blood,
We still to conquer go.

Our Captain leads us on;
He beckons from the skies,
And reaches out a starry crown,
And bids us take the prize:
“Be faithful unto death;
Partake my victory;
And thou shalt wear this glorious wreath.
And thou shalt reign with me.”

Confession of sin

The Lord is compassionate and merciful,
very patient, and full of faithful love.
He doesn’t deal with us according to our sin
or repay us according to our wrongdoing.
Because as high as heaven is above the earth,
that’s how large God’s faithful love is for those who honor him.

Silence is kept for reflection.

Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.

As far as east is from west—
that’s how far God has removed our sin from us.

As a father has compassion on his children,
that’s how the Lord feels compassion for those who honor him.

Let my whole being bless the Lord.
Let everything inside me bless his holy name.

Let my whole being bless the Lord,
and never forget all his good deeds.

The Word of God

Psalm 119:105-128

Refrain:
Act toward your servant according to your faithful love.

Your word is a lamp before my feet
    and a light for my journey.
I have sworn, and I fully mean it:
    I will keep your righteous rules.
I have been suffering so much—
    Lord, make me live again according to your promise.
Please, Lord, accept my spontaneous gifts of praise.
    Teach me your rules!
Though my life is constantly in danger,
    I won’t forget your Instruction.
Though the wicked have set a trap for me,
    I won’t stray from your precepts.
Your laws are my possession forever
    because they are my heart’s joy.
I have decided to keep your statutes forever, every last one.

I hate fickle people,
    but I love your Instruction.
You are my shelter and my shield—
    I wait for your promise.
Get away from me, you evildoers;
    I want to guard my God’s commandments!
Sustain me according to your word so I can live!
    Don’t let me be put to shame because of hope.
Support me so I can be saved
    and so I can focus constantly on your statutes.
You discard everyone who strays from your statutes
    because they are dishonest and false.
You dispose of all the wicked people on earth like waste—
    that’s why I love your laws.
My body shudders because I fear you;
    I’m in awe of your rules.

I’ve done what is just and right.
    Don’t just hand me over to my oppressors.
Guarantee good things for your servant.
    Please don’t let the arrogant oppress me.
My eyes are worn out looking for your saving help—
    looking for your word that will set things right.
Act toward your servant according to your faithful love.
    Teach me your statutes!
I’m your servant!
    Help me understand so I can know your laws.
It is time for the Lord to do something!
    Your Instruction has been broken.
But I love your commandments
    more than gold, even more than pure gold.
That’s why I walk straight by every single one of your precepts.
    That’s why I hate every false path.

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
Act toward your servant according to your faithful love.

Psalm prayer

God, save us from ourselves,
from double standards
and divided hearts,
and give us light and life
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading
Judges 15:1-16:3

Later on, at the time of the wheat harvest, Samson went to visit his wife, bringing along a young goat. He said, “Let me go into my wife’s bedroom.”

But her father wouldn’t allow him to go in. Her father said, “I was so sure that you had completely rejected her that I gave her in marriage to one of your companions. Don’t you think her younger sister is even better? Let her be your wife instead.”

Samson replied, “No one can blame me now for being ready to bring down trouble on the Philistines!”

Then Samson went and caught three hundred foxes. He took torches, turned the foxes tail to tail, and put a torch between each pair of tails. He lit the torches and released the foxes into the Philistines’ grain fields. So he burned the stacked grain, standing grain, vineyards, and olive orchards.

The Philistines inquired, “Who did this?”

So it was reported, “Samson the Timnite’s son-in-law did it, because his father-in-law gave his wife in marriage to one of his companions.” So the Philistines went up and burned her and her father to death.

Samson then responded to them, “If this is how you act, then I won’t stop until I get revenge on you!” He struck them hard, taking their legs right out from under them. Then he traveled down and stayed in a cave in the rock at Etam.

The Philistines marched up, made camp in Judah, and released their forces on Lehi. The people of Judah asked, “Why have you marched up against us?”

“We’ve marched up to take Samson prisoner,” they replied, “and to do to him just what he did to us.”

So three thousand people from Judah traveled down to the cave in the rock at Etam and said to Samson, “Don’t you realize that the Philistines rule over us? What have you done to us?”

But he told them, “I did to them just what they did to me.”

Then the people of Judah said to him, “We’ve come down to take you prisoner so we can turn you over to the Philistines.”

Samson responded to them, “Just promise that you won’t attack me yourselves.”

“We won’t,” they said to him. “We’ll only take you prisoner so we can turn you over to them. We won’t kill you.” Then they tied him up with two new ropes, and brought him up from the rock.

When Samson arrived at Lehi, the Philistines met him and came out shouting. The Lord’s spirit rushed over him, the ropes on his arms became like burned-up linen, and the ties melted right off his hands. He found a donkey’s fresh jawbone, picked it up, and used it to attack one thousand men. Samson said,

“With a donkey’s jawbone,
    stacks on stacks!
With a donkey’s jawbone,
    I’ve killed one thousand men.”

When he finished speaking, he tossed away the jawbone. So that place became known as Ramath-lehi.

Now Samson was very thirsty, so he called out to the Lord, “You are the one who allowed this great victory to be accomplished by your servant’s hands. Am I now going to die of thirst and fall into the hands of the uncircumcised?” So God split open the hollow rock in Lehi, and water flowed out of it. When Samson drank, his energy returned and he was recharged. Thus that place is still called by the name En-hakkore in Lehi today.

Samson led Israel for twenty years during the time of the Philistines.

One day Samson traveled to Gaza. While there, he saw a prostitute and had sex with her. The word spread among the people of Gaza, “Samson has come here!” So they circled around and waited in ambush for him all night at the city gate. They kept quiet all night long, thinking, We’ll kill him at the first light in the morning. But Samson slept only half the night. He got up in the middle of the night, grabbed the doors of the city gate and the two gateposts, and pulled them up with the bar still across them. He put them on his shoulders and carried them up to the top of the hill that is beside Hebron.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading
Luke 18:15-30

People were bringing babies to Jesus so that he would bless them. When the disciples saw this, they scolded them. Then Jesus called them to him and said, “Allow the children to come to me. Don’t forbid them, because God’s kingdom belongs to people like these children. I assure you that whoever doesn’t welcome God’s kingdom like a child will never enter it.”

A certain ruler asked Jesus, “Good Teacher, what must I do to obtain eternal life?”

Jesus replied, “Why do you call me good? No one is good except the one God. You know the commandments: Don’t commit adultery. Don’t murder. Don’t steal. Don’t give false testimony. Honor your father and mother.”

Then the ruler said, “I’ve kept all of these things since I was a boy.”

When Jesus heard this, he said, “There’s one more thing. Sell everything you own and distribute the money to the poor. Then you will have treasure in heaven. And come, follow me.” When he heard these words, the man became sad because he was extremely rich.

When Jesus saw this, he said, “It’s very hard for the wealthy to enter God’s kingdom! It’s easier for a camel to squeeze through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter God’s kingdom.”

Those who heard this said, “Then who can be saved?”

Jesus replied, “What is impossible for humans is possible for God.”

Peter said, “Look, we left everything we own and followed you.”

Jesus said to them, “I assure you that anyone who has left house, husband, wife, brothers, sisters, parents, or children because of God’s kingdom will receive many times more in this age and eternal life in the coming age.”

Silence may be kept.

Gospel canticle
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Refrain:
You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

Bless the Lord God of Israel
because he has come to help and has delivered his people.
He has raised up a mighty savior for us in his servant David’s house,
just as he said through the mouths of his holy prophets long ago.
He has brought salvation from our enemies
and from the power of all those who hate us.
He has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors,
and remembered his holy covenant,
the solemn pledge he made to our ancestor Abraham.
He has granted that we would be rescued
from the power of our enemies
so that we could serve him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness in God’s eyes,
for as long as we live.
You, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High,
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way.
You will tell his people how to be saved
through the forgiveness of their sins.
Because of our God’s deep compassion,
the dawn from heaven will break upon us,
to give light to those who are sitting in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide us on the path of peace.”

Luke 1:68-79

Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning is now
and will be forever. Amen.

Refrain:
You have shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and remembered your holy covenant.

Brief silence.

The Apostle’s Creed

Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith: 

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.

Prayers

Intercession and thanksgiving

Prayers may be offered for:

the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression

Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.

Response

Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without whom nothing is strong, nothing is holy:
increase and multiply upon us your mercy;
that with you as our ruler and guide
we may so pass through things temporal
that we lose not our hold on things eternal;
grant this, heavenly Father,
for our Lord Jesus Christ's sake,
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. 
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our sins
as we forgive those who sin against us.
Lead us not into temptation
but deliver us from evil.
For the kingdom, the power,
and the glory are yours
now and forever.
Amen.

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.