Sat. morning Sep. 19
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
To God Be the Glory
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;
andall that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
and forget not all His benefits.
Psalm 41
𝙍: LORD, be merciful to me.
Blessed is he who considers the poor;
the LORD will deliver him in the day of trouble.
The LORD will preserve him and keep him alive,
and he will be blessed on the earth;
You will not deliver him to the will of his enemies.
The LORD will sustain him on his sickbed;
in his illness, You will restore him to health.
I said, “LORD, be merciful to me;
heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.”
𝙍: LORD, be merciful to me.
My enemies speak evil of me:
“When will he die, and his name perish?”
And if he comes to see me, he speaks vain words;
his heart gathers iniquity to itself;
when he goes out, he tells it.
All who hate me whisper together against me;
against me they devise my hurt.
They say, “An evil disease clings to him.
And now that he lies down, he will not rise again.”
Even my own familiar friend,
in whom I trusted, who ate of my bread,
has lifted up the heel against me.
𝙍: LORD, be merciful to me.
But You, O LORD, be gracious to me,
and raise me up, that I may repay them.
By this I know that You are well pleased with me:
because my enemy does not triumph over me.
As for me, You uphold me in my integrity,
and set me in Your presence forever.
Blessed be the LORD God of Israel,
from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.
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: LORD, be merciful to me.
Psalm prayer
God our deliverer, raise up the poor and comfort the betrayed, through the one who for our sakes became poor and whose betrayal brought our salvation, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 42
As the deer pants for the water brooks,
so my soul pants for You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When shall I come and appear before God?
My tears have been my food
day and night,
while they continually say to me,
“Where is your God?”
When I remember these things,
I pour out my soul within me.
For I would go with the throng of people,
and lead them in procession to the house of God,
with the voice of joy and praise,
a multitude keeping festival.
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God,
for I shall again praise Him
for the help of His presence.
O my God, my soul is cast down within me;
therefore I remember You
from the land of Jordan,
and of Hermon, from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
at the thunder of Your waterfalls;
all Your waves and Your billows
have gone over me.
The LORD will command His lovingkindness in the daytime,
and in the night His song will be with me,
a prayer to the God of my life.
I will say to God, my rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why do I go mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?”
As a shattering of my bones,
my enemies reproach me,
while they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
for I shall again praise Him,
my salvation and my God.
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
Come, creator Spirit, source of life; sustain us when our hearts are heavy and our wells have run dry, for you are the Father’s gift, with him who is our living water, Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 43
Vindicate me, O God,
and plead my cause against an ungodly people;
deliver me from the deceitful and unjust man!
For You are the God of my refuge;
why have You cast me off?
Why do I walk about mourning
because of the oppression of the enemy?
Oh send out Your light and Your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to Your holy hill
and to Your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and with the harp I will praise You,
O God, my God.
Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God;
for I shall again praise Him,
my salvation and my God.
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
Come, Holy Spirit, light and truth; bring us to the altar of life, and renew our joy and gladness in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
1 Kings 12:1-24
And Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all Israel had gone to Shechem to make him king. When Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was still in Egypt, heard of it (for he had fled from King Solomon and stayed in Egypt), they called and sent for him. And Jeroboam and all the congregation of Israel came and spoke to Rehoboam, saying, “Your father made our yoke unbearable. Now, therefore, make the grievous service to your father and the heavy yoke he put upon us lighter, and we will serve you.”
He said to them, “Depart for three days, and then come back to me.” And the people departed.
King Rehoboam consulted with the old men who advised his father Solomon while he was still alive and asked, “How do you advise me to answer the people?”
And they spoke to him, saying, “If you will be a servant to this people this day and will serve them and answer them and speak kind words to them, they will be your servants forever.”
But he rejected the advice that the old men gave him and consulted with the young men who grew up with him and who stood before him, and he said to them, “What advice do you give on how we should answer this people, who have spoken to me saying, ‘Make the yoke your father put on us lighter’?”
And the young men who grew up with him said, “Thus shall you answer this people who said to you, ‘Your father made our yoke heavy, but make it lighter for us’; thus shall you say to them, ‘My little finger will be thicker than my father’s loins! Whereas my father loaded you with a heavy yoke, I will add to your burden. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions!’ ”
So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, just as the king had appointed, saying, “Come to me again the third day.” The king answered the people roughly and forsook the counsel the old men gave him, and instead spoke to them following the advice of the young men. He said, “My father made your yoke heavy, and I will add to your burden. My father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions.” Thus the king did not listen to the people, for the cause was from the LORD, that He might fulfill His saying, which the LORD spoke by Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat.
So when all Israel saw that the king did not listen to them, the people responded to the king, saying,
“What portion do we have in David?
We also do not have an inheritance in the son of Jesse.
To your tents, O Israel,
and see to your own house, David!”
So the people of Israel departed to their tents. But the people of Israel living in the cities of Judah were ruled over by Rehoboam.
Then King Rehoboam sent Adoniram, who was in charge of the forced labor, and all Israel stoned him to death. As a result, King Rehoboam quickly mounted his chariot and fled to Jerusalem. So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.
When all Israel heard that Jeroboam had returned, they sent and called him before the congregation and made him king over all Israel. Only the tribe of Judah followed the house of David.
When Rehoboam arrived at Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah along with the tribe of Benjamin, one hundred and eighty thousand chosen men who were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel and to bring the kingdom back to Rehoboam the son of Solomon.
But the word of God came to Shemaiah the man of God, saying: Speak to Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all the house of Judah and Benjamin and to the remnant of the people, saying, “Thus says the LORD: You shall not go up, nor fight against your brothers the Israelites. Every man is to return to his house, for this thing is from Me.” They listened therefore to the word of the LORD and turned to depart, according to the word of the LORD.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 18:22-19:7
When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.
After spending some time there, he departed and passed through the entire region of Galatia and Phrygia in sequence, strengthening all the disciples.
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, who was an eloquent man and powerful in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John, but being fervent in spirit, he accurately spoke and taught the things concerning the Lord. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him and explained the way of God more accurately.
When Apollos intended to pass into Achaia, the brothers wrote to encourage the disciples to welcome him. On arriving, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. For he vehemently refuted the Jews publicly, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples and said to them, “Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believed?”
They said to him, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”
He said to them, “Into what then were you baptized?”
They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Paul said, “John indeed baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the One coming after him, that is, in Christ Jesus.” When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all.
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, in your mercy
hear our prayer.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
God, who in generous mercy sent the Holy Spirit upon your Church in the burning fire of your love: grant that your people may be fervent in the fellowship of the gospel that, always abiding in you, they may be found steadfast in faith and active in service; 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, 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.