Shane Raynor 1/24/26 Shane Raynor 1/24/26

Sat. evening Jan. 24

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Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed are you, Sovereign God, our light and our salvation, to you be glory and praise forever. You gave your Christ as a light to the nations, and through the anointing of the Spirit, you established us as a royal priesthood. As you call us into your marvelous light, may our lives bear witness to your truth and our lips never cease to proclaim your praise.

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God, so may your mercy come down upon us to cleanse our hearts and set us free to sing your praise now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Praise, My Soul, the King of Heaven

Words: Henry F. Lyte (1834)
Music: John Goss (1869)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#22)

Praise, my soul, the King of heaven;
to his feet your tribute bring.
Ransomed, healed, restored, forgiven,
evermore his praises sing.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise the everlasting King!

Praise him for his grace and favor
to his people in distress.
Praise him, still the same as ever,
slow to chide, and swift to bless.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Glorious in his faithfulness!

Fatherlike he tends and spares us;
well our feeble frame he knows.
In his hand he gently bears us,
rescues us from all our foes.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Widely yet his mercy flows!

Angels, help us to adore him;
you behold him face to face.
Sun and moon, bow down before him,
dwellers all in time and space.
Alleluia, alleluia!
Praise with us the God of grace!

Confession of Sin

Seek the LORD while He may be found,
call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
and let him return to the LORD, and He will have mercy upon him,
and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.

cf Isaiah 55

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Lord God, I have sinned against you; I have done what is evil in your sight. I am sorry and repent. Have mercy on me according to your lovingkindness. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. Renew a right spirit within me, and restore unto me the joy of your salvation, through Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

cf Psalm 51

May the Father of all mercies cleanse us from our sins, and restore us in his image to the praise and glory of his name, through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Blessed be the LORD,
because He has heard the voice of my supplications.
Therefore my heart rejoices,
and with my song I will thank Him.

cf Psalm 28:7,9

Psalm 61

𝙍: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.

Hear my cry, O God;
listen to my prayer.

From the end of the earth will I call to You,
when my heart is faint.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
For You have been my refuge,
a strong tower against the enemy.

I will abide in Your tent forever;
I will take refuge in the shelter of Your wings.

𝙍: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.

For You, O God, have heard my vows;
You have given me the heritage of those who fear Your name.

Prolong the life of the king,
and may his years be like many generations!
May he sit enthroned before God forever;
appoint mercy and truth to guard him.

So will I sing praise to Your name forever,
as I fulfill my vows day by day.

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.

𝙍: You are my refuge, O Lord, a strong tower against the enemy.

Psalm prayer

Risen Christ, as you knew the discipline of suffering and the victory that brings us salvation, so grant us your presence in our weakness and a place in your unending kingdom now and forevermore.

Psalm 66

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth!
Sing the glory of His name;
make His praise glorious.
Say to God, “How awesome are Your works!
Through the greatness of Your power
Your enemies will cringe before You.
All the earth will worship You
and sing praises to You;
they will sing praises to Your name.”

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

Come and see the works of God;
He is awesome in His deeds toward the sons of men.
He turned the sea into dry land;
they passed through the river on foot.
There we will rejoice in Him.
He rules by His power forever;
His eyes keep watch on the nations;
do not let the rebellious exalt themselves.

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

Oh, bless our God, you peoples,
and let the voice of His praise be heard,
who keeps our soul among the living,
and does not allow our feet to slip.
For You, O God, have tried us;
You have refined us, as silver is refined.
You brought us into the net;
You laid afflictions on our backs.
You let men ride over our heads;
we went through fire and through water;
but You brought us out to a place of abundance.

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

I will come into Your house with burnt offerings;
I will perform my vows to You,
which my lips have uttered,
and my mouth promised when I was in trouble.
I will offer You burnt sacrifices of fat animals,
with the incense of rams;
I will make an offering of bulls with goats.

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

Come and hear, all you who fear God,
and I will declare what He has done for my soul.
I cried to Him with my mouth,
and He was extolled with my tongue.
If I regard iniquity in my heart,
the Lord will not hear me;
but certainly God has heard me;
He has attended to the voice of my prayer.
Blessed be God,
who has not turned away my prayer,
nor His mercy from me.

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.

𝙍: All the earth will worship You, O God.

Psalm prayer

How generous is your goodness, God, how great is your salvation, how faithful is your love; help us to trust you in trial and praise you in deliverance; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Hosea 2:2-17

Plead with your mother, plead—
for she is not My wife,
and am I not her husband —
that she put away her harlotry from her face,
and her adultery from between her breasts,
lest I strip her naked
and leave her as in the day that she was born,
and turn her into a wilderness,
and turn her into a dry land,
and kill her with thirst.
I will not have mercy upon her children,
for they are children of harlotry.
For their mother has played the whore.
She that conceived them has acted shamefully.
For she said, “I will pursue my lovers,
who provide my bread and my water,
my wool and my flax, my oil and my drink.”
Therefore, behold, I will hedge up your way with thorns,
and make a wall, so that she will not find her paths.
She will pursue her lovers, but she will not reach them;
and she will seek them but will not find them.
Then she will say,
“I will go and return to my first husband,
for it was better for me then than now.”
But she did not know that it was I who provided her
the grain, the wine, and the oil,
and multiplied her silver and gold
that they used for Baal.

Therefore I will take back My grain in its time
and My wine in its season,
and I will recover My wool and My flax,
given to cover her nakedness.
Therefore I will uncover her shame
in the sight of her lovers,
and no one will deliver her from My hand.
I will also bring to an end all her joy,
her annual feasts, her New Moons,
and her Sabbaths, and all her solemn assemblies.
I will destroy her vines and her fig trees,
of which she has said, “These are my rewards that my lovers have given me.”
I will make them a forest,
and the beasts of the field will eat them.
I will punish her for the days of the Baals,
when she burned incense to them
and adorned herself with her earrings and her jewelry,
and pursued her lovers,
but forgot Me,
declares the LORD.

Therefore, I will allure her,
and bring her into the wilderness,
and speak tenderly to her.
From there, I will give her vineyards to her,
and the Valley of Achor as a door of hope.
She will respond there as in the days of her youth,
and as in the day when she came up out of the land of Egypt.

On that day, declares the LORD,
you will call Me, “My husband,”
and will no longer call Me, “My Baal.”
I will remove the names of the Baals from her mouth,
and they will no longer be remembered by their name.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 9:1-14

Am I not an apostle? Am I not free? Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? Are you not my work in the Lord? If I am not an apostle to others, yet indeed I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.

This is my answer to those who examine me. Do we have no right to eat and to drink? Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife as do other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas? Or is it only Barnabas and I who have no right to refrain from working?

Who goes to war at any time at his own expense? Who plants a vineyard, but does not eat of its fruit? Or who feeds a flock, but does not drink of the flock’s milk? Do I say these things as a man? Or does the law not say the same thing also? For it is written in the Law of Moses, “You shall not muzzle the mouth of the ox while it treads out the grain.” Is God concerned about oxen? Or does He say it completely for our sake? For our sake, no doubt, this is written so that he who plows should plow in hope, and that he who threshes in hope should partake of his hope. If we have sown for you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your material things? If others partake of this right over you, should not we instead?

Nevertheless, we have not used this right, but suffer all things, lest we might hinder the gospel of Christ.

Do you not know that those who minister unto holy things live from the things of the temple? And do you not know that those who wait at the altar partake of the altar? In the same way, the Lord has ordained that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

My soul magnifies the Lord,
and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.
For He has regarded
the low estate of His servant.
For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed.
For He who is mighty has done great things for me,
and holy is His name.
His mercy is on those who fear Him
from generation to generation.
He has shown strength with His arm;
He has scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
He has pulled down the mighty from their thrones
and exalted those of low degree.
He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich He has sent away empty.
He has helped His servant Israel,
in remembrance of His mercy,
as He spoke to our fathers,
to Abraham and to his descendants forever.

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.

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.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He 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,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the Church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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

Response

Father, hear our prayer,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God, whose Son revealed in signs and miracles the wonder of your saving presence: renew your people with your heavenly grace, and in all our weakness sustain us by your mighty power; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Our Father, who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come,
thy will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those
who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
For thine is the kingdom,
and the power, and the glory,
forever. Amen.

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 1/23/26 Shane Raynor 1/23/26

Fri. evening Jan. 23

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God, so may your mercy come down upon us to cleanse our hearts and set us free to sing your praise now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Deeper, Deeper, in the Love of Jesus

Words: Charles P. Jones (1900)
Music: Charles P. Jones (1900)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#328)

Deeper, deeper in the love of Jesus
daily let me go;
higher, higher in the school of wisdom,
more of grace to know.

Refrain:
O deeper yet, I pray,
and higher ev'ry day,
and wiser, blessed Lord,
in Thy precious, holy Word.

Deeper, deeper! Blessed Holy Spirit,
take me deeper still,
till my life is wholly lost in Jesus,
and His perfect will. [Refrain]

Deeper, deeper! Though it cost hard trials,
deeper let me go!
Rooted in the holy love of Jesus,
let me fruitful grow. [Refrain]

Deeper, higher, ev'ry day in Jesus,
till all conflict past
finds me conqu’ror, and in His own image
Perfected at last. [Refrain]

Confession of Sin

Let us admit to God the sin which always confronts us.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

Almighty God, patient and of great goodness: I confess to you, I confess with my whole heart my neglect and forgetfulness of your commandments, my wrong doing, thinking, and speaking; the hurts I have done to others, and the good I have left undone. O God, forgive me, for I have sinned against you; and raise me to newness of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

May the God of love and power forgive us and free us from our sins, heal and strengthen us by his Spirit, and raise us to new life in Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Psalm 73

𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.

Truly God is good to Israel,
to those who are pure in heart.

But as for me, my feet had almost stumbled;
my steps had almost slipped.
For I was envious of the boastful
when I saw the prosperity of the wicked.

For there are no pangs in their death,
but their strength is firm.
They are not in trouble as other men are,
nor are they plagued like other men.
Therefore pride is their necklace;
violence covers them like a garment.
Their eyes bulge with fatness;
they have more than a heart could wish.

𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.

They mock and wickedly speak of oppression;
they speak loftily.
They set their mouths against the heavens,
and their tongue parades through the earth.
Therefore his people return here,
and waters of abundance are drunk by them.
They say, “How does God know?
Is there knowledge in the Most High?”

Behold, these are the wicked; always at ease,
they increase in riches.

Surely I have kept my heart clean in vain,
and washed my hands in innocence.
For all the day long I have been plagued,
and chastened every morning.

If I had said, “I will speak thus,”
I would have been untrue to the generation of Your children.

𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.

When I thought how to understand this,
it was troublesome in my sight,
until I went into the sanctuary of God;
then I understood their end.

Surely You set them in slippery places;
You cast them down to destruction.
How are they brought into desolation, as in a moment!
They are utterly consumed by terrors!
Like a dream when one awakes,
O Lord, when awakened,
You will despise their image.

When my heart was embittered,
and I was pierced in my heart,
I was foolish and ignorant;
I was like a beast before You.

𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.

Nevertheless I am continually with You;
You have held me by my right hand.
You will guide me with Your counsel,
and afterward receive me to glory.
Whom have I in heaven but You?
And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides You.
My flesh and my heart fail,
but God is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from You shall perish;
You have destroyed all those who are unfaithful to You.
But it is good for me to draw near to God;
I have put my trust in the Lord GOD,
that I may declare all Your works.

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.

𝙍: I have put my trust in the Lord GOD.

Psalm prayer

Holy God, may we find wisdom in your presence and set our hope not on uncertain riches, but on the love that holds us to the end; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Hosea 1:1-11

The word of the LORD that came to Hosea son of Beeri, in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, and in the days of Jeroboam the son of Joash, king of Israel.

When the LORD first spoke by Hosea, the LORD said to Hosea: “Go, take for yourself a wife of harlotry and children of harlotry, for the land has committed great harlotry, departing from the LORD.” So he went and took Gomer the daughter of Diblaim as a wife. She conceived, and bore him a son.

The LORD said to him: “Call his name Jezreel, for in a little while, I will punish the house of Jehu for the blood of Jezreel, and will bring to an end the kingdom of the house of Israel. On that day, I will break the bow of Israel in the Valley of Jezreel.”

Then Gomer conceived again, and bore a daughter. And the LORD said to Hosea: “Call her name Lo-Ruhamah, for I will no longer have mercy upon the house of Israel but will utterly sweep them away. But I will have mercy upon the house of Judah, and will save them by the LORD their God, and will not save them by bow, or by sword, or by battle, or by horses, or by horsemen.”

When Gomer had weaned Lo-Ruhamah, she conceived, and bore a son. Then the LORD said: “Call his name Lo-Ammi, for you are not My people, and I am not your God.”

Yet the number of the Israelites will be as the sand of the sea, which cannot be measured or numbered. And in the place where it was said to them, “You are not My people,” there it will be said to them, “You are the sons of the living God.” Then will the Judahites and the Israelites be gathered together, and appoint themselves one head, and they will come up out of the land, for great will be the day of Jezreel.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 8

Now as concerning food offered to idols: We know that “we all have knowledge.” Knowledge produces arrogance, but love edifies. So if anyone thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as he ought to know. But if anyone loves God, this one is known by Him.

So concerning the eating of foods that are offered in sacrifice to idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is no other God but one. For there are those who are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, as there are many gods and many lords. But for us there is but one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist. And there is one Lord Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.

However, not everyone has this knowledge. Some, being accustomed to the idol until now, eat the food as a thing offered to an idol. So their weak conscience is defiled. But food does not commend us to God. Neither if we eat are we the better, nor if we do not eat are we the worse.

But take heed, lest by any means this liberty of yours becomes a stumbling block to those who are weak. For if anyone sees you, who have knowledge, eating in the idol’s temple, shall the conscience of him who is weak not be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols, and by your knowledge shall the weak brother perish, for whom Christ died? When you thus sin against the brothers, wounding their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat, lest I cause my brother to stumble.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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.

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 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the Church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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

Response

God of grace,
hear our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God, in Christ you make all things new: transform the poverty of our nature by the riches of your grace, and in the renewal of our lives make known your heavenly glory; through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 1/22/26 Shane Raynor 1/22/26

Thu. evening Jan. 22

Opening response

Make haste, O God, to deliver me!
Make haste to help me, O LORD!

From the rising of the sun to its setting
your glory is proclaimed in all the world.

Prayer of thanksgiving

Blessed be God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Blessed be God forever.

That this evening may be holy, good, and peaceful, let us pray with one heart and mind.

Silence is kept.

As our evening prayer rises before you, O God, so may your mercy come down upon us to cleanse our hearts and set us free to sing your praise now and forever.
Amen.

Hymn

Alas! and Did My Savior Bleed?

Words: Isaac Watts (1707); ref. Ralph E. Hudson (1885)
Music: Ralph E. Hudson (1885)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#564)

Alas, and did my Savior bleed?
And did my Sovereign die?
Would He devote that sacred head
For sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done
He groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!

Refrain:
At the cross, at the cross
where I first saw the light,
And the burden of my heart rolled away,
It was there by faith I received my sight,
And now I am happy all the day!

Well might the sun in darkness hide,
And shut His glories in,
When Christ, the mighty Maker, died
For man, the creature’s sin. [Refrain]

But drops of grief can ne’er repay
The debt of love I owe;
Here, Lord, I give myself away,
’Tis all that I can do.

Confession of Sin

Let us confess our sins against God and our neighbor.

Silence may be kept.

Most merciful God, we confess that we have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed, by what we have done, and by what we have left undone. We have not loved you with our whole heart; we have not loved our neighbors as ourselves. We are truly sorry and we humbly repent. For the sake of your Son Jesus Christ, have mercy on us and forgive us; that we may delight in your will, and walk in your ways, to the glory of your name. Amen.

Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us all our sins through our Lord Jesus Christ, strengthen us in all goodness, and by the power of the Holy Spirit keep us in eternal life.
Amen.

Psalm 99

The LORD reigns;
let the peoples tremble!
He sits enthroned above the cherubim;
let the earth quake.
The LORD is great in Zion;
He is exalted above all the peoples.
Let them praise Your great and awesome name!
Holy is He!

The King in His might loves justice;
You have established equity;
You have executed justice
and righteousness in Jacob.
Exalt the LORD our God,
and worship at His footstool!
Holy is He!

Moses and Aaron were among His priests,
and Samuel was among those who called upon His name.
They called upon the LORD,
and He answered them.
He spoke to them in the pillar of cloud;
they kept His testimonies and the statute that He gave them.

You answered them,
O LORD our God;
You were a forgiving God to them,
though You took vengeance on their deeds.
Exalt the LORD our God
and worship at His holy mountain,
for the LORD our God is holy!

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.

Psalm prayer

Lord God, mighty king, you love justice and establish equity; may we love justice more than gain and mercy more than power; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 100

𝙍: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Make a joyful noise unto the LORD, all the earth!
Serve the LORD with gladness;
come before Him with singing.
Know that the LORD, He is God!
It is He who has made us, and we are His;
we are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.

𝙍: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Enter His gates with thanksgiving,
and His courts with praise!
Be thankful to Him, and bless His name.
For the LORD is good; His mercy endures forever,
and His faithfulness to all generations.

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.

𝙍: The LORD is good; His mercy endures forever.

Psalm prayer

O Christ, door of the sheepfold, may we enter your gates with praise and go from your courts to serve you in the poor, the lost, and the wandering, this day and all our days.

Psalm 111

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

Praise the LORD!

I will give thanks to the LORD with my whole heart,
in the assembly of the upright, and in the congregation.

Great are the works of the LORD,
studied by all who have pleasure in them.
Honorable and majestic is His work,
and His righteousness endures forever.
He has made His wonderful works to be remembered;
the LORD is gracious and compassionate.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

He has given food to those who fear Him;
He will ever be mindful of His covenant.

He has shown His people the power of His works,
in giving them the inheritance of the nations.
The works of His hands are truth and justice;
all His precepts are trustworthy.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

They stand forever and ever,
and are performed in truth and uprightness.
He has sent redemption to His people;
He has commanded His covenant forever;
holy and awesome is His name.

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom;
a good understanding have all those who do His commands.
His praise endures forever!

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.

𝙍: The LORD is gracious and compassionate.

Psalm prayer

Gracious God, you are full of compassion; may we who long for your kingdom to come rejoice to do your will and acknowledge your power alone to save; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Amos 9

I saw the Lord standing upon the altar, and He said:

Strike the capitals
so that the thresholds shake;
break them off onto the heads of all of them.
Those who remain I will slay with the sword.Not one of them will get away;
not one fugitive will survive.
Though they dig down to Sheol,
from there My hand will capture them;
though they climb up to the heavens,
from there I will bring them down;
though they hide on the top of Carmel,
from there I will search and catch them;
though they hide from My sight on the bottom of the sea,
from there will I command the serpent to bite them;
and though they go into captivity before their enemies,
from there will I command the sword to slay them.

I will set My eyes upon them
for evil and not for good.

The Lord GOD of Hosts,
He who touches the earth and it melts,
and all who live on it mourn;
it all rises up like the Nile,
and subsides like the river of Egypt;
who builds His chambers in the heavens,
and founds His vault over the earth;
who summons the waters of the sea,
and pours them out upon the surface of the earth—
the LORD is His name.

Are you not like the Cushites to Me,
O Israelites?
says the LORD.
Did I not bring Israel up from the land of Egypt,
but also the Philistines from Caphtor,
and the Arameans from Kir?

The eyes of the Lord GOD
are upon the sinful kingdom,
and I will destroy it
from off the face of the earth,
though I will not completely destroy
the house of Jacob,
says the LORD.
Behold, I am giving the command,
and I will sift the house of Israel
among all the nations,
as one sifts with a sieve,
and not a pebble falls to the ground.
All the sinners of My people
will die by the sword,
those who say,
“Never will disaster reach or overtake us.”

On that day will I raise up
the hut of David that is fallen;
I will close up its breached walls,
raise up its ruins,
and rebuild it as in the days of old;
that they may possess the remnant of Edom,
and of all the nations called by My name,
says the LORD who will do this.

Indeed, the days are coming, says the LORD,

when the plowman will overtake the one who is reaping,
and the treader of grapes the one who is sowing the seed;
the mountains will drip sweet wine,
and all the hills will flow with it.
I will restore the fortunes of My people Israel;
they will rebuild the ruined cities and inhabit them;
they will plant vineyards and drink their wine;
they will make gardens and eat their fruit.
I will plant them upon their land,
and no more will they be uprooted
out of their land which I have given them.
The LORD your God has spoken.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

1 Corinthians 7:25-40

Now concerning those not having married, I have no command from the Lord. Yet I will give my judgment as one who has obtained mercy from the Lord to be faithful. I suppose therefore that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you committed to a wife? Do not seek to be uncommitted. Are you free from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But if you marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. Nevertheless they will have trouble in this life, but I would spare you that.

But this I say, brothers, the time is short. It remains that those who have wives should be as though they had none; those who weep, as though they did not weep; those who rejoice, as though they did not rejoice; those who buy, as though they possessed nothing; and those who use this world, as though they did not make full use of it. For the form of this world is passing away.

But I prefer that you have no concern. He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife. There is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares for the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and in spirit. But she who is married cares for the things of the world, how she may please her husband. I say this for your own benefit, not to put any restraint upon you, but for what is proper, and that you may serve the Lord without distraction.

If any man thinks that he is behaving improperly toward his unmarried woman, and if she is past the bloom of her youth, and passions so require, let him do what he will. He does not sin. Let them marry. Nevertheless he who stands steadfast in his heart without necessity, and has power over his own will, and has so decreed in his heart that he will keep his virgin, does well. So then he who gives her in marriage does well, but he who gives her not in marriage does better.

The wife is bound by the law as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she will, but only in the Lord. But in my judgment she is happier if she so remains as she is. And I think that I have the Spirit of God.

Silence may be kept.

The Magnificat (The Song of Mary)

Luke 1:46-55

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.

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 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.

Thanksgiving and intercession

Thanksgiving may be made for the day.

Intercessions are offered
for peace
for individuals and their needs

Prayers may include the following concerns:

The unity of the Church
The peace of the world
The healing of the sick
The revelation of Christ to those from whom his glory is hidden
All who travel

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

Response

Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

Believing the promises of God, as our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

May Christ, who sends us to the nations, give us the power of his Spirit.
Amen.