ABOUT TODAY
In the church calendar the long stretch of time between Pentecost and the beginning of Advent is known as ‘Ordinary Time.’ Inasmuch as we have celebrated to birth, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the subsequent descent of the Holy Spirit; so this time is often seen as representative of the long ‘Church Age’ when the gospel is preached to all creation.
CALL TO WORSHIP
Reader:
God, come to my assistance.
All:
Lord, make haste to help me.
Reader:
All glory to God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
All:
As it has been from the beginning, is today and forever! Amen
AFTERNOON PSALM
Psalm 54
For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time the Ziphites came and said to Saul, “We know where David is hiding.” To be accompanied by stringed instruments.
Come with great power, O God, and rescue me!
Defend me with your might.
Listen to my prayer, O God.
Pay attention to my plea.
For strangers are attacking me;
violent people are trying to kill me.
They care nothing for God. Interlude
But God is my helper.
The Lord keeps me alive!
May the evil plans of my enemies be turned against them.
Do as you promised and put an end to them.
I will sacrifice a voluntary offering to you;
I will praise your name, O Lord,
for it is good.
For you have rescued me from my troubles
and helped me to triumph over my enemies.
All:
Glory be to the Father and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen
WORSHIP (Optional)
All:
(A short time of worship and thanksgiving, led or spontaneous. Alternatively a devotional song may be played and listened to.)
OLD TESTAMENT READING
Deuteronomy 1:34-46
When the Lord heard what you said, he was angry and made an oath, saying, “I promised a good land to your ancestors, but none of you evil people will see it. Only Caleb son of Jephunneh will see it. I will give him and his descendants the land he walked on, because he followed the Lord completely.”
Because of you, the Lord was also angry with me and said, “You won’t enter the land either, but your assistant, Joshua son of Nun, will enter it. Encourage him, because he will lead Israel to take the land for their own.
“Your little children that you said would be captured, who do not know right from wrong at this time, will go into the land. I will give the land to them, and they will take it for their own. But you must turn around and follow the desert road toward the Red Sea.”
Then you said to me, “We have sinned against the Lord, but now we will go up and fight, as the Lord our God commanded us.” Then all of you put on weapons, thinking it would be easy to go into the mountains.
But the Lord said to me, “Tell the people, ‘You must not go up there and fight. I will not be with you, and your enemies will defeat you.’”
So I told you, but you would not listen. You would not obey the Lord’s command. You were proud, so you went on up into the mountains, and the Amorites who lived in those mountains came out and fought you. They chased you like bees and defeated you from Edom to Hormah. So you came back and cried before the Lord, but the Lord did not listen to you; he refused to pay attention to you. So you stayed in Kadesh a long time.
Reader:
The Word of the Lord.
All:
Thanks be to God.
Pause for Reflection……
PRAYER
(Take a moment to bring to God any issues that have arisen during the morning. You may like to end with the following prayer…)
Reader:
Lord Jesus, you worked with your hands as a carpenter.
May we who labour upon the earth never cease to give you praise,
And know your loving presence with us.
We ask this for your glory. Amen
GRACE (Optional)
Reader:
Lord God, we thank you for your gift to us of this food;
Produce of earth, sky, many living beings, and much hard work.
May we eat with prayerfulness, gratitude and moderation;
With renewed minds and spirit-controlled appetites.
May we eat with compassion for those who hunger today,
And in such a way that reduces the suffering of all creatures;
Healing and preserving our precious planet.
Use this food to strengthen our bodies, revive our spirits,
Nurture our family and nourish our resolve;
That we may continue to serve all that lives with all our life. Amen
Psalms in Bold – Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved
All other Psalms – Scripture quotations are taken from The Living Bible copyright © 1971. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, a Division of Tyndale House Ministries, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
All other Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, New Century Version®. Copyright © 2005 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
