Shane Raynor 6/19/26 Shane Raynor 6/19/26

Sat. morning Jun. 20

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

Revive Us Again

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.

Let God arise; let His enemies be scattered;
let those who hate Him flee before Him.
As smoke is driven away,
so drive them away;
as wax melts before the fire,
so let the wicked perish before God.
But let the righteous be glad;
let them rejoice before God;
let them rejoice exceedingly.

Sing to God, sing praises to His name;
extol Him who rides upon the clouds;
His name is the LORD;
rejoice before Him.
A father of the fatherless and a protector of the widows
is God in His holy habitation.
God settles the solitary in a home;
He leads out the prisoners to prosperity,
but the rebellious dwell in a dry land.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

O God, when You went forth before Your people,
when You marched through the wilderness,
the earth shook;
the heavens also poured down rain
at the presence of God; Sinai itself quaked
at the presence of God, the God of Israel.
You, O God, shed abroad a plentiful rain;
You confirmed Your inheritance when it was weary.
Your congregation dwelt in it;
You, O God, provided in Your goodness for the poor.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

The Lord gave the word;
great was the company of the women who proclaimed it:
“Kings of armies flee; they flee!”
Even she who remains at home divides the spoil.
Though you lie down among the sheepfolds,
you will be like the wings of a dove covered with silver,
and its pinions with yellow gold.
When the Almighty scattered kings in it,
it was white as snow on Mount Zalmon.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

The mountain of God is the mountain of Bashan;
a mountain of many peaks is the mountain of Bashan.
Why do you look with envy, you mountain of many peaks,
at the mountain which God desires to dwell in?
Yes, the LORD will dwell in it forever.
The chariots of God are twenty thousand, thousands upon thousands;
the Lord is among them as at Sinai, in the holy place.
You have ascended on high,
leading captives in your train;
You have received gifts among men,
even from the rebellious,
that the LORD God might dwell there.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears us up,
the God of our salvation.
Our God is the God of salvation;
and to God the Lord belongs escape from death.
But God will wound the heads of His enemies,
the hairy head of him who walks in his guilty ways.
The Lord said, “I will bring them back from Bashan;
I will bring them back from the depths of the sea,
that you may bathe your foot in blood,
and the tongues of your dogs may have their share from your enemies.”

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

They have seen Your processions, O God,
the processions of my God, my King, into the sanctuary.
The singers went in front,
the musicians followed behind;
between them were the young women playing tambourines.
Bless God in the congregations,
the LORD, from the fountain of Israel.
There is little Benjamin leading them,
the princes of Judah in their throng,
the princes of Zebulun, and the princes of Naphtali.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Summon Your might, O God;
show Your strength, O God, which You have done for us before.
Because of Your temple at Jerusalem,
kings will bring gifts to You.
Rebuke the animals that live among the reeds,
the herd of bulls with the calves of the peoples,
until everyone submits himself with pieces of silver;
scatter the peoples who delight in war.
Envoys will come from Egypt;
Ethiopia will quickly stretch out her hands to God.

𝙍: Sing to God, sing praises to His name.

Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth;
oh, sing praises to the Lord,
to Him who rides on the highest heavens, which were of old!
Behold, He sends out His voice, a mighty voice.
Ascribe strength to God;
His excellency is over Israel,
and His strength is in the clouds.
O God, You are awesome in Your sanctuary;
the God of Israel is He who 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

Then Jerub-Baal (that is, Gideon) and all the people who were with him got up early and set up camp at Harod Spring. There was a camp of Midianites to the north of them in the valley near the hill of Moreh. The LORD said to Gideon, “You have too many people with you for Me to give the Midianites into their hands, lest Israel glorify themselves over Me, saying, ‘Our own power saved us.’ So now, call out so the people can hear, ‘Whoever is afraid or anxious may turn back and leave Mount Gilead.’ ” So twenty-two thousand from among the people turned back, and ten thousand were left.

But the LORD said to Gideon, “There are still too many people. Bring them down to the water, and I will test them for you there. When I say to you, ‘This one will go with you,’ he will go with you. Everyone about whom I will say, ‘This one will not go with you,’ will not go.”

So he brought the people down to the water, and the LORD said to Gideon, “You shall set apart by himself everyone who laps the water with his tongue like dogs; likewise, everyone who kneels down to drink.” The number of those who lapped, putting their hands to their mouths, was three hundred. The rest of the people had knelt to drink water.

The LORD said to Gideon, “With three hundred men who lapped, I will save you and give the Midianites into your hands. All the rest of the people should go home.” So the three hundred men took provisions and trumpets in their hands. Gideon sent all the other men of Israel to their tents, but he kept the three hundred men.

Now the Midianite camp was below him in the valley. That night the LORD said to him, “Get up and go down into the camp, for I have given it into your hands. Yet if you are afraid to go down, then go down to the camp with Purah your servant. Listen to what they say, and afterward you will be emboldened to go down to the camp.” So he and Purah his servant went down near the edge of the camp. Now the Midianites, Amalekites, and the Kedemites covered the valley like locusts; and their camels could not be counted, for they were as numerous as grains of sand on the seashore.

When Gideon came, behold, a man was telling his dream to his companion. And he said, “Behold, I dreamed a dream, and behold, a cake of barley bread tumbled into the Midianite camp, came to the tent, and struck it. It fell, turned upside down, and collapsed.”

The other man responded, “This is none other than the sword of Gideon son of Joash the Israelite. God has given Midian and the whole camp into his hands.”

When Gideon heard the telling of the dream and its interpretation, he worshipped, returned to the camp of Israel, and said, “Get up, for the LORD has given the Midianite camp into your hands.” He divided the three hundred men into three combat units. He gave all of them ram’s horn trumpets, empty jars, and torches within the jars.

He said to them, “Look at me and do likewise. Watch, and when I come to the perimeter of the camp, do as I do. When I and all who are with me blow the horn, then you will blow the horns all around the camp and shout, ‘For the LORD and for Gideon!’ ”

So Gideon and a hundred men with him went to the edge of the camp at the start of the middle night watch, just as they were setting the watch. Then they blew the horns and smashed the jars in their hands. The three combat units blew the horns and broke the jars. They held the torches in their left hands and the horns for blowing in their right hands. They called out, “A sword for the LORD and for Gideon!” Every man stood in his place all around the camp, but the men in the camp ran, shouted, and fled.

When they blew the three hundred horns, the LORD turned every man’s sword against his fellow man throughout the camp. The Midianite camp fled to Beth-shittah in the direction of Zererah, up to the border of Abel Meholah, near Tabbath. The men of Israel from Naphtali, Asher, and all of Manasseh were summoned, and they chased after the Midianites. Now Gideon sent messengers throughout the hill country of Ephraim, saying, “Come down to engage Midian in battle. Take control of the water ways as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan.”

All the men of Ephraim were summoned, and they took control of the water ways as far as Beth-barah and the Jordan. They captured Oreb and Zeeb, the two Midianite commanders. They killed Oreb at the rock of Oreb and killed Zeeb at the winepress of Zeeb. They chased after 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 went with Him. 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, and even his own life, he cannot be My disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.

“For who among you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost to see whether he has resources to complete it? Otherwise, perhaps, after he has laid the foundation and is not able to complete it, all who see it will begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to complete it.’

“Or what king, going to wage war against another king, does not sit down first and take counsel whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? Otherwise, while the other is yet at a distance, he sends a delegation and requests conditions of peace. So likewise, any of you who does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

“Salt is good. But if the salt has lost its saltiness, how shall it be made salty? It is fit neither for the land nor for the manure pile. So men throw it out.

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

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

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

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 6/18/26 Shane Raynor 6/18/26

Fri. morning Jun. 19

Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Beneath the Cross of Jesus

Confession of Sin

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

Our Lord Jesus Christ said:

“The first of all the commandments is, ‘Hear, O Israel, the Lord our God is one Lord. You shall 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: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these. On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

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 faithfulness is like a morning cloud, and like the early dew, it goes away. 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 lovingkindness;
according to the abundance of Your compassion,
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin.

For I acknowledge my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against You, You only, have I sinned,
and done what is evil in Your sight,
so that You are justified when you speak,
and blameless when You pass judgment.

𝙍: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin my mother conceived me.
Behold, You desire truth in the inward being,
and in my secret heart You will teach me wisdom.

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that You have broken rejoice.

𝙍: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

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,
and take not Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore unto me the joy of Your salvation,
and uphold me with Your willing spirit.

Then will I teach transgressors Your ways,
and sinners will return to You.

𝙍: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

Deliver me from the guilt of bloodshed, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud 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 give it;
You do not delight in burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and a contrite heart,
O God, You will not despise.

𝙍: The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit.

Do good to Zion in Your good pleasure;
build the walls of Jerusalem.
Then You will be pleased with the sacrifices of righteousness,
with burnt offering and whole burnt offering;
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

Save me, O God, by Your name,
and vindicate me by Your strength.
Hear my prayer, O God;
give ear to the words of my mouth.

For strangers have risen against me,
and oppressors seek my life;
they do not set God before them.

Behold, God is my helper;
the Lord is with those who uphold my life.

He will repay my enemies for their evil.
In Your faithfulness, destroy them.

I will sacrifice a freewill offering to You;
I will give thanks to Your name, O LORD, for it is good.
For He has delivered me from every trouble,
and my eye has looked in triumph on my enemies.

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

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

That night the LORD said to him, “Take a bull from your father’s herd and a second bull seven years old. Tear down your father’s Baal altar and cut down the Asherah pole beside it. Then build an altar to the LORD your God on top of this stronghold in an orderly way. Take the second bull and offer it as a burnt offering with the wood of the Asherah pole that you will cut down.”

So Gideon took ten men from among his slaves and did as the LORD had told him, but because he was too afraid of the rest of his father’s household and the men of the city to do it by day, he did it at night.

When the men of the city got up early in the morning, behold, the altar of Baal was torn down, the Asherah pole beside it was cut down, and the second bull had been offered on the new altar that had been built.

They said to each other, “Who has done this?”

When they had inquired and asked, they responded, “Gideon son of Joash has done this.”

Then the men of the city said to Joash, “Bring out your son so that he may die, for he tore down the altar of Baal and cut down the Asherah pole beside it.”

Joash then said to all who stood against him, “Would you plead for Baal? Would you save him? Whoever fights for him will be killed by morning. If Baal is a god, let him fight for himself, for someone has torn down his altar.” Therefore on that day he called him Jerub-Baal, saying, “Let Baal fight him, for he tore down the altar of Baal.”

All the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east gathered together, and they crossed over, and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. The Spirit of the LORD enveloped Gideon. He blew a ram’s horn trumpet, and the Abiezrites assembled behind him. He sent messengers throughout all of Manasseh and they assembled behind him as well. He also sent messengers to Asher, Zebulun, and Naphtali, so these tribes came up to meet them.

Gideon said to God, “If You will use my hands to save Israel, as You have said — behold, I am placing a fleece of wool on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece only and all of the ground remains dry, then I will know that You will save Israel with my hands, as You have said.” So it happened. He got up early the next morning and squeezed the fleece. Enough dew poured out of the fleece to fill a bowlful of water.

Then Gideon said to God, “Do not let Your anger burn against me as I speak only one more time. Please let me perform a test with the fleece one more time. Please, let the fleece be the only thing dry, and let there be dew on all of the ground.” So God did this during that night. Only the fleece was dry, and the dew was on all the ground.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 14:12-24

Then He said also to the one who invited Him, “When you prepare a dinner or a supper, do not call your friends or your brothers or your kinsmen or your rich neighbors, lest they also invite you in return, and you be repaid. But when you prepare a banquet, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, for they cannot repay you. You shall be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.”

When one of those who sat at dinner with Him heard this, he said to Him, “Blessed is he who shall eat bread in the kingdom of God!”

Then He said to him, “A man prepared a banquet and invited many, and sent his servant at supper time to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now prepared.’

“But they all with one mind began to make excuses. The first said to him, ‘I have bought a piece of land, and I must go and see it. I ask you to excuse me.’

“Another said, ‘I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to prove them. I ask you to excuse me.’

“Still another said, ‘I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come.’

“The servant came and reported this to his master. Then the master of the house in anger said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in here the poor and the maimed and the lame and the blind.’

“The servant said, ‘Master, what you commanded has been done, and yet there is room.’

“Then the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, so that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my supper.’ ”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

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.

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.

Brief silence.

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.

Shane Raynor 6/17/26 Shane Raynor 6/17/26

Thu. morning Jun. 18

Opening response

O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

Prayer of thanksgiving

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

Pass Me Not, O Gentle Savior

Confession of Sin

When we cry to the LORD in our trouble,
He will save us from our distress.

God will bring us out of darkness
and out of the shadow of death.

Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

A time of silence and self-examination may be kept.

May the Father forgive us by the death of his Son, and strengthen us to live in the power of the Spirit all our days.
Amen.

Let us give thanks to the LORD for His goodness,
and for His wonderful works to all people!

Let us offer sacrifices of thanksgiving,
and declare God’s works with rejoicing.

cf Psalm 107

Psalm 56

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Be gracious to me, O God, for man would trample on me;
fighting all day long he oppresses me.
My enemies would trample on me all day long,
for there are many who fight against me, O Most High.

When I am afraid,
I will trust in You.
In God, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can mere flesh do to me?

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

All day they twist my words;
all their thoughts are against me for evil.
They stir up strife, they lurk,
they watch my steps,
when they wait for my life.
For their wickedness will they escape?
In Your anger cast down the peoples, O God.

You keep count of my wanderings;
put my tears in Your bottle;
are they not in Your book?

𝙍: In God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Then my enemies will turn back
in the day when I call;
this I know, that God is for me.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the LORD, whose word I praise,
in God have I put my trust; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?

My vows to You are binding upon me, O God;
I will render thank offerings to You;
for You have delivered my soul from death,
and kept my feet from falling,
that I may walk before God
in the light of the living.

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 God have I put my trust; I will not fear.

Psalm prayer

Faithful God, your deliverance is nearer than we know; free us from fear and help us to find courage in your Word, Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 57

Be merciful to me, O God, be merciful to me!
For in You my soul takes refuge;
in the shadow of Your wings will I take refuge,
until these calamities pass by.

I will cry out to God Most High,
to God who performs all things for me.
He will send from heaven and save me;
He will reproach him who tramples on me.
God will send forth His mercy and His truth.

My soul is among lions;
I lie among the sons of men who are set on fire,
whose teeth are spears and arrows,
and their tongue a sharp sword.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens;
let Your glory be above all the earth.

They have prepared a net for my steps;
my soul is bowed down;
they have dug a pit before me,
but they have fallen into it themselves.

My heart is steadfast, O God,
my heart is steadfast;
I will sing and give praise.
Awake, my glory!
Awake, psaltery and harp!
I will awaken the dawn.

I will give thanks to You, O Lord, among the peoples;
I will sing to You among the nations.
For Your mercy is great unto the heavens,
and Your truth unto the clouds.

Be exalted, O God, above the heavens.
Let Your glory be above all 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.

Psalm prayer

Tender God, gentle protector in time of trouble, pierce the gloom of despair and give us, with all your people, the song of freedom and the shout of praise; in Jesus Christ our Lord.

Psalm 63

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

O God, You are my God;
early will I seek You;
my soul thirsts for You;
my flesh longs for You,
in a dry and weary land
where there is no water.

So I have looked upon You in the sanctuary,
beholding Your power and Your glory.
Because Your lovingkindness is better than life,
my lips shall praise You.
Thus will I bless You while I live;
I will lift up my hands in Your name.

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness,
and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips.

When I remember You upon my bed,
I meditate on You in the night watches,
for You have been my help.
Therefore in the shadow of Your wings will I rejoice.
My soul clings to You;
Your right hand upholds me.

𝙍: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

But those who seek my soul, to destroy it,
shall go into the lower parts of the earth.
They shall fall by the sword;
they shall be prey for jackals.

But the king shall rejoice in God;
everyone who swears by Him shall glory,
for the mouths of those who speak lies shall be stopped.

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: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.

Psalm prayer

To you we come, radiant Lord, the goal of all our desiring, beyond all earthly beauty; gentle protector, strong deliverer, in the night you are our confidence; from first light be our joy; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Old Testament reading

Judges 6:1-24

The Israelites did evil in the sight of the LORD, so the LORD gave them into the hands of Midian for seven years. The hands of Midian dominated Israel, and because of Midian the Israelites made hiding places for themselves in the mountains, caves, and strongholds. Whenever Israel would plant crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and the people from the east would come up against them. Then they would make camp by them and ruin crops of the land all the way to Gaza. They did not leave any provisions behind in Israel—neither sheep, nor cattle, nor donkeys. For they came with their livestock and tents like a swarm of locusts. They and their camels were too numerous to count, and they came into the land to destroy it. Israel was made weak before Midian and cried out to the LORD.

When the Israelites cried out to the LORD because of Midian, the LORD sent them a prophet who said, “Thus says the LORD God of Israel: I brought you up from Egypt and out of that place of slavery. I delivered you from the hands of Egypt and all your oppressors. I drove them out from before you and gave you their land. I said to you, ‘I am the LORD your God. Do not worship the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living.’ But you have disobeyed Me.”

Now the angel of the LORD came and sat under the oak tree in Ophrah belonging to Joash the Abiezrite. Gideon his son was threshing wheat in a winepress to hide it from the Midianites. The angel of the LORD appeared and said to him, “The LORD is with you, O mighty man of valor.”

Then Gideon said to him, “O my lord, if the LORD is with us, then why has all this happened to us? Where are all His miracles that our fathers told us about? They said, ‘Did not the LORD bring us out of Egypt?’ Yet now the LORD has forsaken us and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.”

Then the LORD turned to him and said, “Go in this strength of yours. Save Israel from the control of Midian. Have I not sent you?”

And he said to Him, “O my Lord, how can I save Israel? Behold, my clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the youngest in my father’s house.”

Then the LORD said to him, “But I will be with you, and you will strike the Midianites as one man.”

And he said to Him, “If I have found favor in Your sight, give me a sign that it is You who are speaking with me. Please do not depart from here until I come to You and bring out my gift and set it before You.”

And He said, “I will stay until you return.”

So Gideon went and prepared a young goat and unleavened bread from an ephah of flour. He put the meat in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought them out and offered them to Him under the oak.

And the angel of God said to him, “Take the meat and the unleavened bread, lay them on this rock, and pour out the broth.” And so he did. The angel of the LORD reached out the tip of the staff that was in His hand and touched the meat and unleavened flatbread. Fire rose out of the rock and consumed the meat and unleavened bread. Then the angel of the LORD departed from his sight. Then Gideon perceived that it was indeed the angel of the LORD. So Gideon said, “Alas, O Lord GOD! I have seen the angel of the LORD face to face.”

Then the LORD said to him, “Peace be with you. Do not be afraid. You will not die.”

Then Gideon built an altar for the LORD there and called it The LORD Is Peace. Even to this day it stands in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.

Silence may be kept.

New Testament reading

Luke 14:1-11

On the Sabbath they watched Him as He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees to eat bread. And behold, there was a man before Him who had dropsy. Jesus said to the lawyers and Pharisees, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” But they remained silent. So He took him and healed him, and let him go.

Then He said, “Which of you having a donkey or an ox that has fallen into a pit will not immediately pull him out on the Sabbath day?” And they could not answer Him regarding these things.

When He marked how they chose the seats of honor, He told a parable to those who were invited, saying to them, “When you are invited by any man to a wedding banquet, do not sit down in a seat of honor, lest a more honorable man than you be invited by him; and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give this man the seat,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest seat. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest seat, so that when he who invited you comes, he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have respect in the presence of those who sit at dinner with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”

Silence may be kept.

The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)

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.

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:

Local government, community leaders
All who provide local services
Those who work with young or elderly people
Schools, colleges and universities
Emergency and rescue organizations

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

Response

In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.

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.