Shane Raynor 6/16/24 Shane Raynor 6/16/24

Sunday morning June 16

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall 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

Hail! Jesus Hail! Our Great High Priest

Charles Wesley

Hail! Jesus hail! Our great High Priest,
Entered into thy glorious rest,
That holy, happy place above;
Thou hast the conquest more than gained
The everlasting bliss obtained
For all who trust thy dying love.

The blood of goats and bullocks slain
Could never purge our guilty stain,
Could never for our sins atone;
But thou thine own most precious blood,
Hast shed to make us priests to God,
And seat us with thee on thy throne.

Not without blood, thou prayest above,
The marks of thy expiring love,
God on thy hands engraven sees!
He hears thy blood for mercy cry,
And sends his Spirit from the sky,
And seals our everlasting peace.

Thankful we now the earnest take,
The pledge thou wilt at last come back,
And openly thy servants own;
To us, who long to see thee here,
Thou shalt a second time appear,
And bear us to thy glorious throne.

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 42

As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul longs after You, O God.
My soul thirsts for God, the living God.
When shall I come and appear in God’s presence?
My tears have been my food
both day and night,
while men ask me all day long,
“Where is your God?”
These things come to mind as I pour out my soul:
how I walked with the multitude,
leading the procession to the house of God
with shouts of joy and praise.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him
for the salvation of His presence.

O my God, my soul despairs within me.
Therefore I remember You
from the land of Jordan and the peaks of Hermon—
even from Mount Mizar.
Deep calls to deep
in the roar of Your waterfalls;
all Your breakers and waves
have rolled over me.

The LORD decrees His loving devotion by day,
and at night His song is with me
as a prayer to the God of my life.

I say to God my Rock,
“Why have You forgotten me?
Why must I walk in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?”
Like the crushing of my bones,
my enemies taunt me,
while they say to me all day long,
“Where is your God?”

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior 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 case
against an ungodly nation;
deliver me from deceitful and unjust men.
For You are the God of my refuge.
Why have You rejected me?
Why must I walk in sorrow
because of the enemy’s oppression?

Send out Your light and Your truth;
let them lead me.
Let them bring me to Your holy mountain,
and to the place where You dwell.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God, my greatest joy.
I will praise You with the harp,
O God, my God.

Why are you downcast, O my soul?
Why the unease within me?
Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him,
my Savior 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, light and truth;
bring us to the altar of life
and renew our joy and gladness
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Deuteronomy 10:12-11:1

And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, and to keep the commandments and statutes of the LORD that I am giving you this day for your own good?

Behold, to the LORD your God belong the heavens, even the highest heavens, and the earth and everything in it. Yet the LORD has set His affection on your fathers and loved them. And He has chosen you, their descendants after them, above all the peoples, even to this day.

Circumcise your hearts, therefore, and stiffen your necks no more. For the LORD your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, mighty, and awesome God, showing no partiality and accepting no bribe. He executes justice for the fatherless and widow, and He loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing. So you also must love the foreigner, since you yourselves were foreigners in the land of Egypt.

You are to fear the LORD your God and serve Him. Hold fast to Him and take your oaths in His name. He is your praise and He is your God, who has done for you these great and awesome wonders that your eyes have seen. Your fathers went down to Egypt, seventy in all, and now the LORD your God has made you as numerous as the stars in the sky.

You shall therefore love the LORD your God and always keep His charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His commandments.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Acts 23:12-35

When daylight came, the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul. More than forty of them were involved in this plot. They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have bound ourselves with a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul. Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him down to you on the pretext of examining his case more carefully. We are ready to kill him on the way.”

But when the son of Paul’s sister heard about the plot, he went into the barracks and told Paul. Then Paul called one of the centurions and said, “Take this young man to the commander; he has something to tell him.”

So the centurion took him to the commander and said, “Paul the prisoner sent and asked me to bring this young man to you. He has something to tell you.”

The commander took the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need to tell me?”

He answered, “The Jews have agreed to ask you to bring Paul to the Sanhedrin tomorrow on the pretext of acquiring more information about him. Do not let them persuade you, because more than forty men are waiting to ambush him. They have bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they have killed him; they are ready now, awaiting your consent.”

So the commander dismissed the young man and instructed him, “Do not tell anyone that you have reported this to me.”

Then he called two of his centurions and said, “Prepare two hundred soldiers, seventy horsemen, and two hundred spearmen to go to Caesarea in the third hour of the night. Provide mounts for Paul to take him safely to Governor Felix.” And he wrote the following letter:

Claudius Lysias,

To His Excellency, Governor Felix:

Greetings.

This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen, and since I wanted to understand their charges against him, I brought him down to their Sanhedrin. I found that the accusation involved questions about their own law, but there was no charge worthy of death or imprisonment.

When I was informed that there was a plot against the man, I sent him to you at once. I also instructed his accusers to present their case against him before you.

So the soldiers followed their orders and brought Paul by night to Antipatris. The next day they returned to the barracks and let the horsemen go on with him. When the horsemen arrived in Caesarea, they delivered the letter to the governor and presented Paul to him.

The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia, he said, “I will hear your case when your accusers arrive.” Then he ordered that Paul be kept under guard in Herod’s Praetorium.

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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 universal church
Bishops, superintendents and all who lead the church
The leaders of the nations
The natural world and the resources of the earth
All who are in any kind of need

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

Response

Loving God, we look to you.
Receive our prayer.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

Almighty God,
you have broken the tyranny of sin
and have sent the Spirit of your Son into our hearts
whereby we call you Father:
give us grace to dedicate our freedom to your service,
that we and all creation may be brought
to the glorious liberty of the children of God;
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.

Shane Raynor 6/15/24 Shane Raynor 6/15/24

Saturday morning June 15

Sunday morning
Friday morning

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Come, Holy Ghost, All Quickening Fire

Charles Wesley

Come, Holy Ghost, all quickening fire!
My consecrated heart inspire,
Sprinkled with the atoning blood;
Still to my soul thyself reveal,
Thy mighty working may I feel,
And know that I am one with God.

Thy witness with my spirit bear,
That God, my God, inhabits there;
Thou, with the Father, and the Son,
Eternal light’s coeval beam;
Be Christ in me, and I in him,
Till perfect we are made in one.

Let earth no more my heart divide,
With Christ may I be crucified,
To thee with my whole soul aspire;
Dead to the world and all its toys,
Its idle pomp, and fading joys,
Be thou alone my one desire!

My will be swallowed up in thee;
Light in thy light still may I see,
Beholding thee with open face;
Called the full power of faith to prove,
Let all my hallowed heart be love,
And all my spotless life be praise.

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 68

𝙍: Sing to God! Sing praises to His name.

God arises. His enemies are scattered,
and those who hate Him flee His presence.
As smoke is blown away,
You will drive them out;
as wax melts before the fire,
the wicked will perish in the presence of God.
But the righteous will be glad
and rejoice before God;
they will celebrate with joy.

Sing to God!
Sing praises to His name.
Exalt Him who rides on the clouds —
His name is the LORD—
and rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless,
and a defender of the widows,
is God in His holy habitation.
God settles the lonely in families;
He leads the prisoners out to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a sun-scorched land. 𝙍

O God, when You went out before Your people,
when You marched through the wasteland,
the earth shook and the heavens poured down rain
before God, the One on Sinai,
before God, the God of Israel.
You sent abundant rain, O God;
You refreshed Your weary inheritance.
Your flock settled therein;
O God, from Your bounty You provided for the poor. 𝙍

The Lord gives the command;
a great company of women proclaim it:
“Kings and their armies flee in haste;
she who waits at home divides the plunder.
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
the wings of the dove are covered with silver,
and her feathers with shimmering gold.”
When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
it was like the snow falling on Zalmon. 𝙍

A mountain of God is Mount Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is Mount Bashan.
Why do you gaze in envy, O mountains of many peaks?
This is the mountain God chose for His dwelling,
where the LORD will surely dwell forever.

The chariots of God are tens of thousands—
thousands of thousands are they;
the Lord is in His sanctuary
as He was at Sinai.
You have ascended on high;
You have led captives away.
You have received gifts from men,
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God may dwell there.
Blessed be the Lord,
who daily bears our burden,
the God of our salvation.

Our God is a God of deliverance;
the Lord GOD is our rescuer from death.
Surely God will crush the heads of His enemies,
the hairy crowns of those who persist in guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will retrieve them from Bashan,
I will bring them up from the depths of the sea,
that your foot may be dipped
in the blood of your foes—
the tongues of your dogs in the same.” 𝙍

They have seen Your procession, O God—
the march of my God and King into the sanctuary.
The singers lead the way,
the musicians follow after,
among the maidens playing tambourines.
Bless God in the great congregation;
bless the LORD from the fountain of Israel.
There is Benjamin, the youngest, ruling them,
the princes of Judah in their company,
the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali. 𝙍

Summon Your power, O God;
show Your strength, O God,
which You have exerted on our behalf.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem
kings will bring You gifts.
Rebuke the beast in the reeds,
the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations,
until it submits, bringing bars of silver.
Scatter the nations who delight in war.
Envoys will arrive from Egypt;
Cush will stretch out her hands to God. 𝙍

Sing to God, O kingdoms of the earth;
sing praises to the Lord—
to Him who rides upon the highest heavens of old;
behold, His mighty voice resounds.
Ascribe the power to God,
whose majesty is over Israel,
whose strength is in the skies.
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel Himself
gives strength and power to His people.

Blessed be 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.

𝙍: Sing to God! Sing praises to His name.

Psalm prayer

Blessed are you, gracious God;
you make your home among the weak,
you deliver us from death,
you bring us joy beyond our imagining
to the praise of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Judges 7

Early in the morning Jerubbaal (that is, Gideon) and all the men with him camped beside the spring of Harod. And the camp of Midian was north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh.

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people for Me to deliver Midian into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘My own hand has saved me.’ Now, therefore, proclaim in the hearing of the people: ‘Whoever is fearful and trembling may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ”

So twenty-two thousand of them turned back, but ten thousand remained.

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Take them down to the water, and I will sift them for you there. If I say to you, ‘This one shall go with you,’ he shall go. But if I say, ‘This one shall not go with you,’ he shall not go.”

So Gideon brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to him, “Separate those who lap the water with their tongues like a dog from those who kneel to drink.” And the number of those who lapped the water with their hands to their mouths was three hundred men; all the others knelt to drink.

Then the LORD said to Gideon, “With the three hundred men who lapped the water I will save you and deliver the Midianites into your hand. But all the others are to go home.”

So Gideon sent the rest of the Israelites to their tents but kept the three hundred men, who took charge of the provisions and rams’ horns of the others. And the camp of Midian lay below him in the valley.

That night the LORD said to Gideon, “Get up and go down against the camp, for I have delivered it into your hand. But if you are afraid to do so, then go down to the camp with your servant Purah and listen to what they are saying. Then your hands will be strengthened to attack the camp.” So he went with Purah his servant to the outposts where armed men were guarding the camp.

Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and all the other people of the east had settled in the valley like a swarm of locusts, and their camels were as countless as the sand on the seashore. And as Gideon arrived, a man was telling his friend about a dream. “Behold, I had a dream,” he said, “and I saw a loaf of barley bread come tumbling into the Midianite camp. It struck the tent so hard that the tent overturned and collapsed.”

His friend replied: “This is nothing less than the sword of Gideon son of Joash, the Israelite. God has delivered Midian and the whole camp into his hand.”

When Gideon heard the dream and its interpretation, he bowed in worship. He returned to the camp of Israel and said, “Get up, for the LORD has delivered the camp of Midian into your hand.” And he divided the three hundred men into three companies and gave each man a ram’s horn in one hand and a large jar in the other, containing a torch.

“Watch me and do as I do,” Gideon said. “When I come to the outskirts of the camp, do exactly as I do. When I and all who are with me blow our horns, then you are also to blow your horns from all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’ ”

Gideon and the hundred men with him reached the outskirts of the camp at the beginning of the middle watch, just after the changing of the guard. They blew their horns and broke the jars that were in their hands. The three companies blew their horns and shattered their jars. Holding the torches in their left hands and the horns in their right hands, they shouted, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!”

Each Israelite took his position around the camp, and the entire Midianite army fled, crying out as they ran. And when the three hundred rams’ horns sounded, the LORD set all the men in the camp against one another with their swords. The army fled to Beth-shittah toward Zererah as far as the border of Abel-meholah near Tabbath. Then the men of Israel were called out from Naphtali, Asher, and all Manasseh, and they pursued the Midianites.

Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim to say, “Come down against the Midianites and seize the waters of the Jordan ahead of them as far as Beth-barah.” So all the men of Ephraim were called out, and they captured the waters of the Jordan as far as Beth-barah. They also captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two princes of Midian; and they killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. So they pursued the Midianites and brought the heads of Oreb and Zeeb to Gideon on the other side of the Jordan.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 14:25-35

Large crowds were traveling with Jesus. Turning to them, he said, “Whoever comes to me and doesn’t hate father and mother, spouse and children, and brothers and sisters—yes, even one’s own life—cannot be my disciple. Whoever doesn’t carry their own cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.

“If one of you wanted to build a tower, wouldn’t you first sit down and calculate the cost, to determine whether you have enough money to complete it? Otherwise, when you have laid the foundation but couldn’t finish the tower, all who see it will begin to belittle you. They will say, ‘Here’s the person who began construction and couldn’t complete it!’ Or what king would go to war against another king without first sitting down to consider whether his ten thousand soldiers could go up against the twenty thousand coming against him? And if he didn’t think he could win, he would send a representative to discuss terms of peace while his enemy was still a long way off. In the same way, none of you who are unwilling to give up all of your possessions can be my disciple.

“Salt is good. But if salt loses its flavor, how will it become salty again? It has no value, neither for the soil nor for the manure pile. People throw it away. Whoever has ears to hear should pay attention.”Large crowds were now traveling with Jesus, and He turned and said to them, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

Which of you, wishing to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost to see if he has the resources to complete it? Otherwise, if he lays the foundation and is unable to finish the work, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, ‘This man could not finish what he started to build.’

Or what king on his way to war with another king will not first sit down and consider whether he can engage with ten thousand men the one coming against him with twenty thousand? And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.

In the same way, any one of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be My disciple.

Salt is good, but if the salt loses its savor, with what will it be seasoned? It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile, and it is thrown out.

He who has ears to hear, let him hear.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.

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

Lord, you have taught us
that all our doings without love are worth nothing:
send your Holy Spirit
and pour into our hearts that most excellent gift of love,
the true bond of peace and of all virtues,
without which whoever lives is counted dead before you.
Grant this for your only Son 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

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.

Shane Raynor 6/13/24 Shane Raynor 6/13/24

Friday morning June 14

Saturday morning
Thursday morning

Opening response

Lord, open our lips
and our mouth shall proclaim your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Gracious Redeemer, Shake This Slumber

Charles Wesley

Gracious Redeemer, shake
This slumber from my soul!
Say to me now, "Awake, awake!
And Christ shall make thee whole."
Lay to thy mighty hand!
Alarm me in this hour,
And make me fully understand
The thunder of thy power.

Give me on thee to call,
Always to watch and pray,
Lest I into temptation fall,
And cast my shield away;
For each assault prepared
And ready may I be,
Forever standing on my guard,
And looking up to thee.

O do thou always warn
My soul of evil near!
When to the right or left I turn,
Thy voice still let me hear;
"Come back! this is the way,
Come back, and walk herein!"
O may I hearken and obey,
And shun the paths of sin!

Confession of sin

Come, Holy Spirit of God,
and search our hearts with the light of Christ.

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
The first commandment is this:
‘Hear O Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart
and with all your soul and with all your mind
and with all your strength.’

The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’
No other commandment is greater than these.
All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.

Amen. Lord, have mercy.

After a period of reflection

Come, let us return to the Lord and say:

Lord our God,
in our sin, we have avoided your call.
Our love for you is like a morning mist,
like the early dew that vanishes.
Have mercy on us;
deliver us from judgment;
bind up our wounds and revive us;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen.

cf Hosea 6

May almighty God,
who sent his Son into the world to save sinners,
bring us his pardon and peace, now and forever.
Amen.

Psalm 51

𝙍: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

Have mercy on me, O God,
according to Your loving devotion;
according to Your great compassion,
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me clean of my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is always before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You may be proved right when You speak
and blameless when You judge. 𝙍

Surely I was brought forth in iniquity;
I was sinful when my mother conceived me.

Surely You desire truth in the inmost being;
You teach me wisdom in the inmost place.
Purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones You have crushed rejoice. 𝙍

Hide Your face from my sins
and blot out all my iniquities.

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.
Cast me not away from Your presence;
take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation,
and sustain me with a willing spirit.
Then I will teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will return to You. 𝙍

Deliver me from bloodguilt, O God,
the God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing of Your righteousness.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare Your praise.
For You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it;
You take no pleasure in burnt offerings.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise. 𝙍

In Your good pleasure, cause Zion to prosper;
build up the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices,
in whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on Your altar.

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 sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

Psalm prayer

Take away, good Lord, the sin that corrupts us;
give us the sorrow that heals
and the joy that praises
and restore by grace your own image within us,
that we may take our place among your people;
in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 54

𝙍: Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

Save me, O God, by Your name,
and vindicate me by Your might!
Hear my prayer, O God;
listen to the words of my mouth.
For strangers rise up against me,
and ruthless men seek my life—
men with no regard for God.

Surely God is my helper;
the Lord is the sustainer of my soul. 𝙍

He will reward my enemies with evil.
In Your faithfulness, destroy them.
Freely I will sacrifice to You;
I will praise Your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For He has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eyes have stared down my foes.

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: Surely God is my helper; the Lord is the sustainer of my soul.

Psalm prayer

Living God,
reach through the violence of the proud
and the despair of the weak
to create in Jesus Christ
a people free to praise your holy name,
now and forever.

Old Testament reading

Judges 6:25-40

On that very night the LORD said to Gideon, “Take your father’s young bull and a second bull seven years old, tear down your father’s altar to Baal, and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build a proper altar to the LORD your God on the top of this stronghold. And with the wood of the Asherah pole you cut down, take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering.”

So Gideon took ten of his servants and did as the LORD had told him. But because he was too afraid of his father’s household and the men of the city, he did it by night rather than in the daytime.

When the men of the city got up in the morning, there was Baal’s altar torn down, with the Asherah pole cut down beside it and the second bull offered up on the newly built altar. “Who did this?” they said to one another.

And after they had investigated thoroughly, they were told, “Gideon son of Joash did it.”

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son. He must die, because he has torn down Baal’s altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

But Joash said to all who stood against him, “Are you contending for Baal? Are you trying to save him? Whoever pleads his case will be put to death by morning! If Baal is a god, let him contend for himself with the one who has torn down his altar.”

So on that day Gideon was called Jerubbaal, that is to say, “Let Baal contend with him,” because he had torn down Baal’s altar.

Then all the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east gathered together, crossed over the Jordan, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel.

So the Spirit of the LORD came upon Gideon, who blew the ram’s horn and rallied the Abiezrites behind him. Calling them to arms, Gideon sent messengers throughout Manasseh, as well as Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so that they came up to meet him.

Then Gideon said to God, “If You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said, then behold, I will place a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew only on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that You are going to save Israel by my hand, as You have said.”

And that is what happened. When Gideon arose the next morning, he squeezed the fleece and wrung out the dew—a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not be angry with me; let me speak one more time. Please allow me one more test with the fleece. This time let it be dry, and the ground covered with dew.”

And that night God did so. Only the fleece was dry, and dew covered the ground.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 14:12-24

Then Jesus said to the man who had invited Him, “When you host a dinner or a banquet, do not invite your friends or brothers or relatives or rich neighbors. Otherwise, they may invite you in return, and you will be repaid. But when you host a banquet, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, and the blind, and you will be blessed. Since they cannot repay you, you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

When one of those reclining with Him heard this, he said to Jesus, “Blessed is everyone who will eat at the feast in the kingdom of God.”

But Jesus replied, “A certain man prepared a great banquet and invited many guests. When it was time for the banquet, he sent his servant to tell those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.’

But one after another they all began to make excuses. The first one said, ‘I have bought a field, and I need to go see it. Please excuse me.’

Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please excuse me.’

Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, so I cannot come.’

The servant returned and reported all this to his master. Then the owner of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the city, and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind, and the lame.’

‘Sir,’ the servant replied, ‘what you ordered has been done, and there is still room.’

So the master told his servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel them to come in, so that my house will be full. For I tell you, not one of those men who were invited will taste my banquet.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

Luke 1:68-79

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.

𝙍: In your tender compassion, O God, the dawn from on high shall break upon us.

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.

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:

Political leaders and the armed forces
Peace and justice in the world
Those who work for reconciliation
All whose lives are devastated by war and civil strife
Prisoners, refugees and homeless people

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

Response

Father, by your Spirit
Bring in your kingdom.

Silence may be kept.

Collect of the day

The Lord’s Prayer

As our Savior taught us, so we pray

Conclusion

The Lord bless us, and preserve us from all evil, and keep us in eternal life.
Amen.