Saturday morning August 27
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
Into a World of Ruffians Sent
Charles Wesley
Into a world of ruffians sent,
I walk on hostile ground,
Wild human bears on slaughter bent,
And ravening wolves, surround.
The lion seeks my soul to slay,
In some unguarded hour,
And waits to tear his sleeping prey,
And watches to devour.
But worse than all my foes I find
The enemy within,
The evil heart, the carnal mind,
My own insidious sin.
My nature every moment waits
To render me secure,
And all my paths with ease besets,
To make my ruin sure.
But thou hast given a loud alarm;
And thou shalt still prepare
My soul for all assaults, and arm
With never-ceasing prayer.
O do not suffer me to sleep,
Who on thy love depend;
But still thy faithful servant keep,
And save me to the end!
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.
The Word of God
Psalm 76
Refrain:
The Lord has made fast his throne for judgment.
God is known in Judah;
his name is great in Israel.
His dwelling place became Salem;
his habitation was Zion.
It was there that he broke the fiery shafts of the bow,
the shield, the sword—even the battle itself!
You are ablaze with light,
mightier than the mountains that give food.
The bravehearted lie plundered.
They sank into deep lethargy.
All the strong troops
couldn’t even lift their hands!
At your rebuke, Jacob’s God,
both chariot and horse were stopped dead-still.
You! You are awesome!
Who can stand before you when you are angry?
You have announced judgment from heaven.
The earth grew afraid and fell silent
when God rose up to establish justice,
when God rose up to save all of the earth’s poor.
Even human rage will turn to your praise
when you dress yourself
with whatever remains of your wrath.
Make promises to the Lord your God and keep them!
Let all around him bring gifts to the awesome one.
He breaks the spirit of princes.
He is terrifying to all the kings of the earth.
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:
The Lord has made fast his throne for judgment.
Psalm prayer
Majestic and gracious God,
more awesome than the agents of war,
more powerful than the wrath of nations,
restrain the violence of the peoples
and draw the despised of the earth
into the joyful life of your kingdom,
where you live and reign forever and ever.
Psalm 79
Refrain:
God of our salvation, help us for the glory of your name!
The nations have come into your inheritance, God!
They’ve defiled your holy temple.
They’ve made Jerusalem a bunch of ruins.
They’ve left your servants’ bodies
as food for the birds;
they’ve left the flesh of your faithful
to the wild animals of the earth.
They’ve poured out the blood of the faithful
like water all around Jerusalem,
and there’s no one left to bury them.
We’ve become a joke to our neighbors,
nothing but objects of ridicule
and disapproval to those around us.
How long will you rage, Lord? Forever?
How long will your anger burn like fire?
Pour out your wrath on the nations
who don’t know you,
on the kingdoms
that haven’t called on your name.
They’ve devoured Jacob
and demolished his pasture.
Don’t remember the iniquities of past generations;
let your compassion hurry to meet us
because we’ve been brought so low.
God of our salvation, help us
for the glory of your name!
Deliver us and cover our sins
for the sake of your name!
Why should the nations say,
“Where’s their God now?”
Let vengeance for the spilled blood of your servants
be known among the nations before our very eyes!
Let the prisoners’ groaning reach you.
With your powerful arm
spare those who are destined to die.
Pay back our neighbors seven times over,
right where it hurts,
for the insults they used on you, Lord.
We are, after all, your people
and the sheep of your very own pasture.
We will give you thanks forever;
we will proclaim your praises
from one generation to the next.
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:
God of our salvation, help us for the glory of your name!
Psalm prayer
When faith is scorned
and love grows cold,
then, God of hosts, rebuild your Church
on lives of thankfulness and patient prayer;
through Christ your eternal Son.
Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 2:1-11
Some time later, David questioned the Lord, “Should I go to one of the towns in Judah?”
“Yes, go,” the Lord told him.
“Which one should I go to?” David asked.
“To Hebron,” the Lord replied.
So David went there, along with his two wives: Ahinoam from Jezreel and Abigail, Nabal’s widow, from Carmel. David also took the soldiers who were with him, each with his family, and they lived in the towns around Hebron. Then the people of Judah came to Hebron and anointed David king over the house of Judah.
When David was informed that it was the people of Jabesh-gilead who had buried Saul, 5 he sent messengers to the people of Jabesh-gilead. “The Lord bless you,” he said to them, “for doing this loyal deed for your master Saul by burying him. May the Lord now show you loyal love and faithfulness. I myself will also reward you because you did this. So now take courage and be brave—yes, your master Saul is dead, but the house of Judah has anointed me king over them.”
Meanwhile, Abner, Ner’s son, the commander of Saul’s army, had taken Ishbosheth, Saul’s son, and brought him over to Mahanaim. There he made him king over Gilead, the Geshurites, Jezreel, Ephraim, and Benjamin—over all Israel. Saul’s son Ishbosheth was 40 years old when he became king over Israel, and he ruled for two years. The house of Judah, however, followed David. The amount of time David ruled in Hebron over the house of Judah totaled seven and a half years.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 5:27-42
The apostles were brought before the council where the high priest confronted them: “In no uncertain terms, we demanded that you not teach in this name. And look at you! You have filled Jerusalem with your teaching. And you are determined to hold us responsible for this man’s death.”
Peter and the apostles replied, “We must obey God rather than humans! The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a tree. God has exalted Jesus to his right side as leader and savior so that he could enable Israel to change its heart and life and to find forgiveness for sins. We are witnesses of such things, as is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”
When the council members heard this, they became furious and wanted to kill the apostles. One council member, a Pharisee and teacher of the Law named Gamaliel, well-respected by all the people, stood up and ordered that the men be taken outside for a few moments. He said, “Fellow Israelites, consider carefully what you intend to do to these people. Some time ago, Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and some four hundred men joined him. After he was killed, all of his followers scattered, and nothing came of that. Afterward, at the time of the census, Judas the Galilean appeared and got some people to follow him in a revolt. He was killed too, and all his followers scattered far and wide. Here’s my recommendation in this case: Distance yourselves from these men. Let them go! If their plan or activity is of human origin, it will end in ruin. If it originates with God, you won’t be able to stop them. Instead, you would actually find yourselves fighting God!” The council was convinced by his reasoning. After calling the apostles back, they had them beaten. They ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, then let them go. The apostles left the council rejoicing because they had been regarded as worthy to suffer disgrace for the sake of the name. Every day they continued to teach and proclaim the good news that Jesus is the Christ, both in the temple and in houses.
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:
Our homes, families, friends and all whom we love
Those whose time is spent caring for others
Those who are close to death
Those who have lost hope
The worship of the church
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
Let your merciful ears, O Lord,
be open to the prayers of your humble servants;
and that they may obtain their petitions
make them to ask such things as shall please you;
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
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.