Sat. morning Jul. 4
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
What a Friend We Have in Jesus
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 96
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Oh sing to the LORD a new song;
sing to the LORD, all the earth!
Sing to the LORD, bless His name;
proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day.
Declare His glory among the nations,
His wonders among all peoples.
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
For the LORD is great, and greatly to be praised;
He is to be feared above all gods.
For all the gods of the peoples are idols,
but the LORD made the heavens.
Honor and majesty are before Him;
strength and beauty are in His sanctuary.
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Ascribe to the LORD, O families of the people,
ascribe to the LORD glory and strength.
Ascribe to the LORD the glory due His name;
bring an offering, and come into His courts.
Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness;
tremble before Him, all the earth!
Say among the nations, “The LORD reigns!
Indeed, the world is established; it shall not be moved;
He will judge the peoples righteously.”
𝙍: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
let the sea roar, and all that fills it;
let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the forests will rejoice
before the LORD, for He is coming,
for He is coming to judge the earth.
He will judge the world in righteousness,
and the peoples in His faithfulness.
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: Worship the LORD in the splendor of holiness.
Psalm Prayer
Lord God, you draw us by your beauty and transform us by your holiness; let our worship echo all creation’s praise and declare your glory to the nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 97
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
The LORD reigns; let the earth rejoice;
let the many coastlands be joyful!
Clouds and darkness surround Him;
righteousness and justice are the foundation of His throne.
Fire goes before Him
and burns up His enemies all around.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
His lightnings light up the world;
the earth sees and trembles.
The mountains melt like wax at the presence of the LORD,
at the presence of the Lord of all the earth.
The heavens declare His righteousness,
and all the peoples see His glory.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
Let all who serve graven images be put to shame,
who boast of idols;
worship Him, all you gods.
Zion hears and is glad,
and the daughters of Judah rejoice
because of Your judgments, O LORD.
For You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth;
You are exalted far above all gods.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are Most High above all the earth.
You who love the LORD, hate evil!
He preserves the souls of His saints;
He delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Light is sown for the righteous,
and joy for the upright in heart.
Rejoice in the LORD, you righteous,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name!
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, O LORD, are Most High over all the earth.
Psalm Prayer
Most high and holy God, enthroned in fire and light, burn away the dross of our lives and kindle in us the fire of your love, that our lives may reveal the light and life we find in your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.
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.
Old Testament reading
Judges 18:1-20, 27-31
In those days there was no king in Israel.
And in those days the tribe of the Danites was looking for an inheritance in which to live, for no territory had come into their possession among the tribes of Israel up to that time. So the Danites sent out from their families five valorous men from Zorah and Eshtaol in order to spy out and explore the land. They said to them, “Go, explore the land.”
They came to the hill country of Ephraim, to the house of Micah, and they spent the night there. When they were at the house of Micah, they noticed the speech of the young Levite. They turned aside and said to him, “Who brought you here? What are you doing in this place? What is your business here?”
He told them what Micah had done for him, saying, “He hired me, and I became his priest.”
They said to him, “Please ask God if we may know whether our mission will be a success as we go to do it.”
The priest said to them, “Go in peace. The LORD is watching the way you are going.”
The five men went away and came to Laish. They saw the people who were there, living securely according to the culture of the Sidonians. There were no rulers in the land who might put them to shame for anything. They were far from the Sidonians and had no ties with anyone.
When they came back to their brothers in Zorah and Eshtaol, their brothers asked them, “What do you have to say?”
They said, “Arise, and let us go up against them, for we have seen the land, and behold, it is very good. Do you stand still? Do not be slow to go, to enter and possess the land. When you go, you will come to a secure people and to an expansive land. For God has given it into your hands: a place where there is no lack of anything on the earth.”
So six hundred fully armed men set out from the family of the Danites, from Zorah and Eshtaol. They went up and set up camp in Kiriath-jearim in Judah. Therefore they call that place Mahaneh Dan to this day; behold, it is west of Kiriath-jearim. From there they passed the hill country of Ephraim and came to the house of Micah.
The five men who went to spy out the land of Laish said to their brothers, “Did you know that in these houses are an ephod, household idols, a carved image, and a metal idol? Now think about what to do.” So they turned aside there and came to the house of the young Levite, to the house of Micah, and greeted him. The six hundred men armed with their weapons of war, who were the Danites, stood at the entrance to the gate. The five men who went to spy out the land went in and took the carved idol, ephod, household idols, and the metal idol. The priest was standing at the entrance to the gate with the six hundred fully armed men.
When these men went into the house of Micah and took the carved idol, ephod, household idols, and the metal idol, the priest said to them, “What are you doing?”
They said to him, “Quiet! Put your hand over your mouth and go with us. Be a father and priest for us. Is it better to be a priest for one man’s house or for a tribe and a family in Israel?” So the priest’s heart was glad. He took the ephod, the household idols, and the carved image and went among the people.
They took what Micah had made and his priest, and came to Laish to a quiet and secure people. They struck them down with the edge of the sword and burned the city with fire. There was no one to save them because the city was far from Sidon and had no contact with anyone. It was in the valley by Beth-rehob.
They rebuilt the city and lived there. They called the city Dan, after their father Dan, who was born to Israel (Laish was the former name of the city). The Danites set up the carved idol for themselves. Jonathan the son of Gershom, the son of Manasseh, and his sons were priests to the tribe of Dan until the time of exile from the land. So they displayed Micah’s graven image that he had made, for the whole time that the house of God was in Shiloh.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Luke 19:11-27
As they heard these things, He continued and told them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and because they thought the kingdom of God would immediately appear. Therefore He said, “A nobleman went to a distant country to receive a kingdom and to return. So he called his ten servants and entrusted to them ten pounds and said to them, ‘Trade until I come.’
“But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
“When he returned, having received the kingdom, he summoned these servants, to whom he had entrusted the money, that he might know what everyone gained by trading.
“The first came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made ten pounds more.’
“He said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in very little, take authority over ten cities.’
“The second came, saying, ‘Master, your pound has made five pounds more.’
“He said in like manner to him, ‘You, take authority over five cities.’
“Then another came, saying, ‘Master, look, here is your pound, which I have kept put away in a napkin. For I feared you, because you are an exacting man. You collect what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
“He said to him, ‘Out of your own mouth will I judge you, you wicked servant. You knew that I was an exacting man, collecting what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow. Why then did you not deposit my money in the bank, so that at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
“Then he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the pound from him and give it to him who has ten pounds.’
“They said to him, ‘Master, he has ten pounds.’
“ ‘I tell you that to everyone who has will be given. But from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away from him. But as for those enemies of mine, who would not let me reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me.’ ”
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:
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
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, 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.