Fri. morning Aug. 21
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
Now Thank We All Our God
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 88
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
O LORD, God of my salvation,
I cry out day and night before You.
Let my prayer come before You;
incline Your ear to my cry.
For my soul is full of troubles,
and my life draws near to Sheol.
I am counted with those who go down to the pit;
I am like a man without strength,
abandoned among the dead,
like the slain who lie in the grave,
whom You remember no more,
and who are cut off from Your hand.
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
You have laid me in the depths of the pit,
in the dark and deep regions.
Your wrath lies heavy upon me,
and You have afflicted me with all Your waves.
You have removed my acquaintances far from me;
You have made me an abomination to them;
I am shut in and I cannot get out;
my eyes grow dim from affliction.
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
LORD, I have called daily upon You;
I have stretched out my hands to You.
Will You work wonders for the dead?
Shall the dead arise and praise You?
Will Your lovingkindness be declared in the grave,
or your faithfulness in Abaddon?
Will Your wonders be known in the darkness,
or Your righteousness in the land of forgetfulness?
𝙍: You are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
But to You have I cried out, O LORD,
and in the morning my prayer comes before You.
O LORD, why do You cast my soul away?
Why do You hide Your face from me?
Afflicted and close to death since my youth,
I suffer Your terrors; I am helpless.
Your fierce wrath has swept over me;
Your terrors have destroyed me.
They surround me all day long like a flood;
they encircled me altogether.
Lover and friend have You removed far from me;
My acquaintances have become darkness.
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 are my refuge, my portion in the land of the living.
Psalm prayer
In the depths of our isolation we cry to you, Lord God; give light in our darkness and bring us out of the prison of our despair through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 95
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
O come, let us sing to the LORD;
let us shout joyfully to the rock of our salvation!
Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms!
For the LORD is a great God,
and a great King above all gods.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
the heights of the mountains are His also.
The sea is His, for He made it,
and His hands formed the dry land.
Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
let us kneel before the LORD, our maker!
For He is our God,
and we are the people of His pasture,
and the sheep of His hand.
𝙍: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Today, if you will hear His voice,
do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,
as on the day of Massah in the wilderness,
when your fathers tested Me; they tried Me,
though they had seen My work.
For forty years I loathed that generation,
and said, “They are a people who go astray in their heart,
and they do not know My ways.”
Therefore I swore in My wrath,
“They shall not enter My rest.”
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: Come, let us worship and bow down.
Psalm prayer
Jesus our redeemer, you bore the cut of the lash for us and our salvation; help us to bear our sufferings and to share in the affliction of all who suffer for your holy name.
Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 7:18-29
Then King David went in and sat before the LORD. He said,
“Who am I, O Lord GOD, and what is my house that You have brought me this far? Yet this was comparatively insignificant in Your sight, Lord GOD, for You have also spoken about Your servant’s house into the distant future. Is this Your manner with man, Lord GOD?
“What more can David say to You? You know Your servant, Lord GOD. Because of Your word, according to Your will, You have done all of this greatness to inform Your servant.
“Therefore You are great, LORD God. There is none like You, and there is no God except You, according to everything that we have heard with our ears. And who is like Your people, like Israel—a single nation in the land, whom God went to redeem as a people for Himself, making a name for Himself by doing great and awesome things for Your land, before Your people whom You redeemed for Yourself from Egypt, a nation and its gods. You established Your people Israel as Your own people forever, and You, LORD, became their God.
“Now, LORD God, confirm forever the word that You spoke regarding Your servant and his house and do as You have spoken. May Your name be magnified forever by saying, ‘The LORD of Hosts is God over Israel,’ and may the house of Your servant David be established before You.
“For You, O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, have revealed a word to Your servant, saying, ‘I will build you a house.’ Therefore, Your servant has found the courage to pray this prayer to You. Now, LORD God, You are God, and Your words are true. You have spoken this good message to Your servant. Now, be resolved and bless Your servant’s dynastic house, so that it may stand before You forever. You, Lord GOD, have spoken, and with Your blessing, the house of Your servant will be blessed forever.”
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 7:54-8:3
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart with rage, and they gnashed their teeth at him. But being full of the Holy Spirit, he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, and said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
Then they cried out with a loud voice, closed their ears, and rushed at him in unison. And they threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
They stoned Stephen as he was calling on God, praying, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” Having said this, he fell asleep.
And Saul was consenting to his death.
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him. But Saul ravaged the church, entering house by house and dragging out both men and women and committing them to prison.
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:
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
Lord of life
In your mercy, hear us.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.
Thu. morning Aug. 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
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 90
𝙍: O LORD my God, in You I put my trust.
Lord, You have been our dwelling place
in all generations.
Before the mountains were brought forth,
or ever You had formed the earth and the world,
from everlasting to everlasting, You are God.
You return man to the dust
and say, “Return, O sons of men.”
For a thousand years in Your sight
are like yesterday when it is past,
and like a watch in the night.
You carry them away like a flood;
they fall asleep; in the morning they are like grass that grows anew:
In the morning it flourishes and grows up;
in the evening it fades and withers.
𝙍: O LORD my God, in You I put my trust.
For we are consumed by Your anger;
by Your wrath we are terrified.
You have set our iniquities before You,
our secret sins in the light of Your countenance.
For all our days pass away under Your wrath;
we finish our years like a whisper.
The years of our life are seventy,
or even, by reason of strength, eighty;
yet their span is but toil and sorrow;
they soon pass away, and we fly away.
Who knows the power of Your anger?
For as the fear of You, so is Your wrath.
So teach us to number our days,
that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.
𝙍: O LORD my God, in You I put my trust.
Return, O LORD! How long?
Have compassion on Your servants!
Satisfy us in the early morning with Your mercy,
that we may rejoice and be glad all our days.
Make us glad for as many days as You have afflicted us,
for as many years as we have seen evil.
Let Your work appear to Your servants,
and Your glory to their children.
Let the favor of the LORD our God be upon us,
and establish the work of our hands among us;
yes, establish the work of our hands.
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: O LORD my God, in You I put my trust.
Psalm prayer
Almighty God, our eternal refuge, teach us to live with the knowledge of our death and to rejoice in the promise of your glory, revealed to us in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Psalm 92
𝙍: You, O LORD, are on high forever.
It is good to give thanks to the LORD,
and to sing praises to Your name, O Most High,
to declare Your lovingkindness in the morning,
and Your faithfulness in the night,
with the ten-stringed lute and with the harp,
and on the lyre with a solemn sound.
For You, O LORD, have made me glad through Your work;
I will sing joyfully at the works of Your hands.
O LORD, how great are Your works!
Your thoughts are very deep!
𝙍: You, O LORD, are on high forever.
A brutish man does not know,
nor does a fool understand this:
that though the wicked spring up like grass
and though all the workers of iniquity flourish,
they will be destroyed forever:
But You, O LORD, are on high forever.
For behold, Your enemies, O LORD,
for behold, Your enemies shall perish;
all the workers of iniquity shall be scattered.
But You have exalted my horn like the horn of the wild ox;
You have anointed me with fresh oil.
My eyes have seen the downfall of my enemies,
and my ears have heard the doom of my wicked adversaries.
𝙍: You, O LORD, are on high forever.
The righteous shall flourish like the palm tree
and grow like a cedar in Lebanon.
Those who are planted in the house of the LORD
shall flourish in the courts of our God.
They shall still bear fruit in old age;
they shall be healthy and flourishing,
to declare that the LORD is upright;
He is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in Him.
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 on high forever.
Psalm Prayer
Give us the music of your praise, Lord, morning, noon, and night, that our lives may be fruitful and our lips confess you as the true and only God.
Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 7:1-17
Now when the king settled into his house and the LORD had given him rest from all of his enemies on all sides, the king said to Nathan the prophet, “I am dwelling in a cedar house, but the ark of God is sitting in a tent.”
Nathan said to the king, “Go, do all that is in your heart because the LORD is with you.”
That night the word of the LORD came to Nathan:
Go and say to My servant David: Thus says the LORD: Do you intend to build a house for Me in which I will dwell? I have not dwelt in a house since the day I brought the Israelites from Egypt until this day. I have been moving about with a tent as My dwelling. Wherever I have moved with all the Israelites, have I ever spoken a word to anyone from the tribes of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people Israel, saying, “Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?”
Now therefore, you will say to My servant David: Thus says the LORD of Hosts: I took you from the pasture, from following after the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. I have been with you wherever you have gone, and I have cut off all of your enemies before you. I will make your name great, like the great ones across the land. Moreover, I will appoint a place for My people Israel. I will plant them, and they will dwell in that very place. They will be restless no longer, and the unjust will no longer oppress them, as in former times, ever since the day in which I appointed judges over My people Israel. I will give you rest from all of your enemies.
The LORD declares to you that He will instead bring about a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up after you an offspring from your body, and I will establish his rule. He will build a house for My name, and I will establish his royal throne forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to Me. When he goes astray, I will correct him with the rod of men and afflictions of the sons of men. My commitment will not abandon him, as I removed it from Saul, whom I deposed before you. Your house and dominion will endure before Me forever, and your throne will be established by the LORD forever.
So Nathan spoke to David in accordance with all of these words and the entirety of this vision.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 7:44-53
“Our fathers had the tabernacle of witness in the wilderness, telling Moses to make it as He had commanded, according to the pattern that he had seen, which our fathers, having received it, brought with Joshua into the land possessed by the Gentiles, whom God drove out in front of our fathers until the days of David, who found favor in the presence of God and asked to find a tabernacle for the God of Jacob. But Solomon built Him a house.
“However, the Most High does not dwell in houses made with hands. As the prophet says:
‘Heaven is My throne,
and the earth is My footstool.
What house will you build for Me? says the Lord,
or what is the place of My rest?
Has not My hand made all these things?’
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears! You always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? They have even killed those who foretold the coming of the Righteous One, of whom you have now become the betrayers and murderers, who have received the law by the disposition of angels, but have not kept it.”
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:
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
Lord, hear your people
and answer our prayers.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.
Wed. morning Aug. 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
Beneath the Cross of Jesus
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 119:105-128
𝙍: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
Your word is a lamp unto my feet
and a light unto my path.
I have sworn and I will confirm it,
that I will keep Your righteous judgments.
I am exceedingly afflicted;
revive me, O LORD, according to Your word.
Accept, I beseech You, the freewill offerings of my mouth, O LORD,
and teach me Your judgments.
𝙍: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
My life is continually in my hand,
yet I do not forget Your law.
The wicked have laid a snare for me,
yet I have not strayed from Your precepts.
Your testimonies have I taken as my heritage forever,
for they are the rejoicing of my heart.
I have inclined my heart to perform Your statutes forever,
even to the end.
I hate the double-minded,
but Your law do I love.
You are my hiding place and my shield;
I hope in Your word.
Depart from me, you evildoers,
that I may keep the commandments of my God.
Uphold me according to Your word, that I may live,
and let me not be ashamed in my hope.
𝙍: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
Hold me up, that I may be safe
and that I may observe Your statutes continually.
You reject all those who stray from Your statutes,
for their deceit is falsehood.
You destroy all the wicked of the earth like dross;
therefore I love Your testimonies.
My flesh trembles for fear of You,
and I am afraid of Your judgments.
𝙍: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
I have done justice and righteousness;
let not the proud oppress me.
Guarantee the well-being of Your servant;
let not the proud oppress me.
My eyes fail from watching for Your salvation,
and for the fulfillment of Your righteous word.
Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy,
and teach me Your statutes.
𝙍: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
I am Your servant; give me understanding,
so that I may know Your testimonies.
It is time for You, O LORD, to act,
for they have broken Your law.
Therefore I love Your commandments
more than gold, more than fine gold.
Therefore I esteem all Your precepts to be right;
I hate every false way.
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: Deal with Your servant according to Your mercy.
Psalm prayer
O God, save us from ourselves, from double standards and divided hearts, and give us light and life in Jesus Christ our Lord.
Old Testament reading
2 Samuel 6:1-19
Again David gathered all of the chosen men in Israel, thirty thousand. David and all of the people who were with him arose and went from Baalah of Judah to bring up the ark of God, so named for the name of the LORD of Hosts who sits enthroned among the cherubim that are upon it. They loaded the ark of God on a new cart and brought it from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill. Uzzah and Ahio the sons of Abinadab were driving the new cart. They brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab on the hill, and Ahio was walking in front of the ark. Meanwhile, David and the entire house of Israel were celebrating before the LORD with all sorts of instruments made of fir wood, on harps, on stringed instruments, on tambourines, on sistrums, and on cymbals.
When they came to the threshing floor of Nakon, Uzzah reached out and took hold of the ark of God, because the oxen had stumbled. The LORD became angry against Uzzah, and God struck him down on the spot for his irreverence. He died there beside the ark of God.
David became angry because of the outburst of the LORD against Uzzah; that place is called Perez Uzzah to this day.
David feared the LORD that day, and he thought, “How can the ark of the LORD come to me?” So David did not allow the ark of the LORD to be brought to him in the City of David. Instead, David redirected it to the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite. The ark of the LORD remained at the house of Obed-Edom the Gittite for three months, and the LORD blessed Obed-Edom and his entire household.
When it was reported to King David, “The LORD has blessed Obed-Edom and everything that belongs to him, for the sake of the ark of God,” David went and brought up the ark of God from the house of Obed-Edom to the City of David with rejoicing. When those who were carrying the ark of the LORD had taken six steps, David would sacrifice an ox and a fattened steer. David danced before the LORD with all of his might, and he wore a linen ephod. So David and the whole house of Israel escorted the ark of the LORD with shouting and the sound of the horn.
When the ark of the LORD entered the City of David, Michal the daughter of Saul looked down from the window, and upon seeing King David leaping and dancing before the LORD, she thought contemptuously of him in her mind.
They brought the ark of the LORD and set it in its place inside the tent that David had erected for it. Then David offered burnt offerings and peace offerings before the LORD. When David had finished offering the burnt offerings and peace offerings, he blessed the people before the LORD of Hosts. He distributed to all of the people, the entire multitude of Israel, both men and women, one bread cake, one date cake, and one raisin cake to each one. Then all of the people left, each to his house.
David returned to bless his household, but Michal the daughter of Saul came out to meet him. She said, “How the king of Israel has dignified himself today, exposing himself this day in the sight of his servant’s slave girls like one of the rabble might shamelessly expose himself.”
Then David responded to Michal, “It was before the LORD, who chose me over your father and over everyone in his household, to appoint me ruler over the people of the LORD, over Israel. I was celebrating before the LORD. I will humble myself even more than this and be abased in my own eyes. But by the maidservants, of whom you have spoken, I will be held in honor.”
Michal the daughter of Saul had no children to the day of her death.
Silence may be kept.
New Testament reading
Acts 7:17-43
“When the time of the promise drew near, which God had sworn to Abraham, the people grew and multiplied in Egypt until another king rose up who did not know Joseph. He dealt deceitfully with our people and mistreated our fathers, forcing them to expose their infants, so that they would not live.
“At that time Moses was born, and was fair in the sight of God. And he was reared for three months in his father’s house. When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him away and reared him as her own son. Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in words and in deeds.
“When he was forty years old, it came to his heart to visit his brothers, the Israelites. But seeing one being wronged, he defended him, and avenged him who was oppressed, and struck the Egyptian. He supposed that his brothers would understand that God would deliver them by his hand, but they did not understand. On the next day he appeared to them as they fought and tried to reconcile them in peace, saying, ‘Men, you are brothers. Why do you wrong each other?’
“But the one wronging his neighbor pushed him away, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge over us? Will you kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’ Moses fled at this word and became a sojourner in the land of Midian, where he became the father of two sons.
“When forty years had passed, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he marveled at the sight. As he drew near to look at it, the voice of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.’ Moses trembled and dared not look.
“Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off the shoes from your feet, for the place where you are standing is holy ground. I have indeed seen the oppression of My people who are in Egypt. I have heard their groaning, and I have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you to Egypt.’
“This Moses, whom they rejected, saying, ‘Who appointed you a ruler and a judge?’ God sent as both ruler and redeemer by the hand of the angel who appeared to him in the bush. He led them out after he had shown wonders and signs in the land of Egypt, and at the Red Sea, and for forty years in the wilderness.
“This is the Moses who said to the Israelites, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear.’ This is he who was in the congregation in the wilderness with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our fathers, who received living oracles to give to us, whom our fathers would not obey, but thrust away. And in their hearts they turned back to Egypt, saying to Aaron, ‘Make for us gods to go before us. For we do not know what has become of this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt.’ So they made a calf in those days, and offered a sacrifice to the idol, and rejoiced in the works of their hands. But God turned and gave them up to worship the host of heaven, as it is written in the book of the Prophets:
‘O House of Israel, have you offered to Me slain animals and sacrifices
for forty years in the wilderness?
Yes, you even raised the shrine of Moloch,
and the star of your god Remphan,
idols which you made to worship;
therefore I will exile you beyond Babylon.’
Silence may be kept.
The Benedictus (The Song of Zechariah)
Luke 1:68-79
Blessed be the Lord God of Israel,
for He has visited and redeemed His people,
and has raised up a horn of salvation for us
in the house of His servant David,
as He spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets of long ago,
that we should be saved from our enemies
and from the hand of all who hate us,
to perform the mercy promised to our fathers
and to remember His holy covenant,
the oath which He swore to our father Abraham,
to grant us that we, being delivered out of the hand of our enemies,
might serve Him without fear,
in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our lives.
And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Highest;
for you will go before the presence of the Lord to prepare His ways,
to give knowledge of salvation to His people
by the remission of their sins,
through the tender mercy of our God,
whereby the sunrise from on high has visited us;
to give light to those who sit in darkness
and in the shadow of death,
to guide our feet into the way of peace.
Glory to the Father and to the Son
and to the Holy Spirit;
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be forever. Amen.
Brief silence.
The Apostle’s Creed
Let us unite in this historic confession of the Christian faith:
I believe in God,
the Father Almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ,
his only Son, our Lord.
He was conceived by the Holy Spirit
and born of the Virgin Mary.
He suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried.
He descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again.
He ascended into heaven,
and is seated at the
right hand of the Father.
He will come again to judge
the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting.
Amen.
Intercession and thanksgiving
Prayers may be offered for:
the day and its tasks
the world and its needs
the church and her life
Prayers may include the following concerns:
The social services
All who work in the criminal justice system
Victims and perpetrators of crime
The work of aid agencies throughout the world
Those living in poverty or under oppression
Other intercessions and supplications may be offered as the Holy Spirit leads.
Response
In faith we pray
We pray to you, our God.
Silence may be kept.
Collect of the day
O God, you declare your almighty power most chiefly in showing mercy and pity: mercifully grant to us such a measure of your grace, that we, running the way of your commandments, may receive your gracious promises, and be made partakers of your heavenly treasure; 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.