Wed. morning May 27
Opening response
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare 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
Am I a Soldier of the Cross
Words: Isaac Watts (c. 1721)
Music: Thomas A. Arne (1762)
Our Great Redeemer’s Praise (#600)
Am I a soldier of the cross,
a follower of the Lamb,
and shall I fear to own His cause,
or blush to speak His name?
Must I be carried to the skies
on flow'ry beds of ease,
while others fought to win the prize,
and sailed through bloody seas?
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood?
Is this vile world a friend to grace,
to help me on to God?
Sure I must fight, if I would reign;
increase my courage, Lord!
I'll bear the toil, endure the pain,
supported by Thy word.
Am I a soldier of the cross,
a follower of the Lamb,
and shall I fear to own His cause,
or blush to speak His name?
Confession of Sin
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in mercy.
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
nor recompensed us according to our iniquities.
For as the heavens are high above the earth,
so great is his mercy toward those who fear Him.
Silence is kept for reflection.
Holy God,
Holy and strong,
Holy and immortal,
have mercy upon us.
As far as the east is from the west,
so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father pities his children,
so the LORD pities those who fear Him.
Bless the LORD, O my soul;
and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 119:153-176
𝙍: I long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Consider my affliction and deliver me,
for I do not forget Your law.
Plead my cause and redeem me;
give me life according to Your word.
Salvation is far from the wicked,
for they seek not Your statutes.
Great are Your tender mercies, O LORD;
give me life according to Your judgments.
𝙍: I long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Many are my persecutors and my enemies,
yet I do not turn from Your testimonies.
I look at the transgressors and grieve,
because they keep not Your word.
Consider how I love Your precepts;
revive me, O LORD, according to Your lovingkindness.
The entirety of Your word is truth,
and every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.
𝙍: I long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Princes persecute me without cause,
but my heart stands in awe of Your word.
I rejoice at Your word
like one who finds great spoil.
I hate and abhor lying,
but Your law do I love.
Seven times a day do I praise You,
because of Your righteous judgments.
𝙍: I long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Great peace have those who love Your law;
nothing causes them to stumble.
LORD, I hope for Your salvation,
and I keep Your commandments.
My soul keeps Your testimonies,
and I love them exceedingly.
I keep Your precepts and Your testimonies,
for all my ways are before You.
Let my cry come before You, O LORD;
give me understanding according to Your word.
Let my supplication come before You;
deliver me according to Your word.
My lips will utter praise,
for You teach me Your statutes.
My tongue will speak of Your word,
for all Your commandments are righteousness.
𝙍: I long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Let Your hand be ready to help me,
for I have chosen Your precepts.
I long for Your salvation, O LORD,
and Your law is my delight.
Let my soul live that it may praise You,
and let Your ordinances help me.
I have gone astray like a lost sheep;
seek out Your servant,
for I forget not Your commandments.
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 long for Your salvation, O LORD.
Psalm prayer
God of mercy, swift to help us, as our lips pour forth your praise, fill our hearts with the peace you give to those who wait for your salvation in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
Joshua 3
In the morning Joshua got up early; then he and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan. They stayed there before crossing over. After three days the officers went through the camp. They commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God and the Levite priests carrying it, then you shall set out from where you are and go behind it. There must be a distance of two thousand cubits between you and it. Do not draw closer to it, in order that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will perform wondrous deeds among you.”
Joshua said to the priests, “Pick up the ark of the covenant, and proceed ahead of the people.” So they picked up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.
The LORD said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to honor you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who carry the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the bank of the Jordan, stand still in the river.’ ”
So Joshua said to the Israelites, “Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you will know that the living God is among you, and that He will thoroughly drive out the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites from before you. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth is passing before you into the Jordan. Now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man per tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, touch the water of the Jordan, the water of the Jordan that flows from upstream will be cut off and pile up.”
When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests were carrying the ark of the covenant before the people. When the carriers of the ark came to the Jordan, the feet of the priests carrying the ark dipped into the edge of the water. (Now the Jordan overflows its banks all the days of the harvest.) Then the water that flows down from upstream stood still and rose up in a heap very far away at Adam, the city beside Zarethan. The water that flows down toward the Sea of Arabah (the Dead Sea) stopped and was cut off. The people crossed over opposite Jericho. The priests carrying the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firmly on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, and all Israel crossed over on dry ground until the entire people completed crossing over the Jordan.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 9:37-50
The next day, when they came down from the mountain, a great crowd met Him. And behold, a man from the crowd cried out, saying, “Teacher, I beg You, look upon my son, for he is my only child. And behold, a spirit seizes him, and he suddenly cries out. It convulses him until he foams at the mouth, and bruises him, and scarcely leaves him. I begged Your disciples to cast it out, but they could not.”
Jesus said, “O faithless and perverse generation, how long shall I be with you and bear with you? Bring your son here.”
While he was coming, the demon threw him down and convulsed him. But Jesus rebuked the unclean spirit, and healed the child, and returned him to his father. And they were all amazed at the mighty power of God.
But while everyone marveled at all the things Jesus did, He said to His disciples, “Let these words sink down into your ears, for the Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men.” But they did not understand this statement, and it was hidden from them, so that they did not perceive it. And they were afraid to ask Him about this statement.
A dispute arose among them as to which of them was the greatest. Jesus, perceiving the thought of their heart, took a child and put him by Him, and said to them, “Whoever receives this child in My name receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives Him who sent Me. For he who is least among you all will be great.”
John answered, “Master, we saw a man casting out demons in Your name and we forbade him, because he does not follow with us.”
Jesus said, “Do not forbid him, for he who is not against you is for you.”
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
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.
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 Lord, from whom all good things come: grant to us your humble servants, that by your holy inspiration we may think those things that are good, and by your merciful guiding may perform the same; through our Lord Jesus Christ, who is alive and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.
Amen.
The Lord’s Prayer
Rejoicing in God’s new creation, 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
The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.